The three that are mentioned are Ephesus which comes up a lot actually, perhaps more then any other location outside the Promised Land. Thyatira which is the home town of Lydia who Paul met at Philippi in Acts 16, and Paul visits unnamed cities in the same general area. And then Laodicea is mentioned in Colossians 2:1 and 4:13-16, and it's probably among the cities of Phrygia alluded to in Acts.
But Smyrna, Pergamos/Pergamon, Sardis and Philadelphia are not mentioned, by those names at least, anywhere but in Revelation.
Studies of the Seven Churches often see symbolic or poetic significance in the names used to refer to these cities. That is a potential reason why some of them might be called by different names then what other ancient writers including other NT writers would call them.
In the case of Pergamos, it's not even that name's real etymology sited but the idea that it can be reinterpreted to mean "perverted marriage" because it's a Church that married the World.
Pergamos has a tendency to be the most mysterious to me, even if purely symbolic/spiritual a city being said to be where Satan's Throne is located is a pretty big deal. And by secular standards Sardis and Pergamon were two of the most important cities of the region, so their being missing in Acts is much more of an enigma then Smyrna or Philadephia, or for that matter Thyatira and Laodicea being mentioned pretty rarely.
I argued in the past that the Martyrdom of Anitpas makes the Serapeum most likely to be the Pagan Temple Jesus had in mind, not the more popular Altar depicting the Gigantarchy.
But what's interesting is that as I was doing more research into this I discovered that The Illiad mentions a Citadel in Iliom called Pergamos. In fact that Citadel is said to have a Seat for Apollon.
Homer, Iliad 7.17 ff :Since I know from my past Revised Chronology interests that many question the traditional site of Troy, I decided to see if any have argued that Troy and/or Iliom was actually Pergamon. And in so doing found this website.
"Now as the goddess grey-eyed Athene [on Olympos] was aware of these two [the Trojan princes Hektor (Hector) and Paris] destroying the men of Argos in the strong encounter, she went down in a flash of speed from the peaks of Olympos to sacred Ilion, where Apollon stirred forth to meet her from his seat on Pergamos, where he planned that the Trojans should conquer. These two then encountered each other beside the oak tree, and speaking first the son of Zeus, lord Apollon, addressed her : ‘What can be your desire this time, o daughter of great Zeus, that you came down from Olympos at the urge of your mighty spirit? To give the Danaans victory in battle, turning it back? .
http://thetroydeception.com/
I don't think I can agree with the claim that this mistake was a deliberate conspiracy, it's probably the same as many other mistaken identifications I've dealt with regarding locations in Israel, it just happened because of details being lost to time and people reading these texts who don't live there making assumptions. The Dardanians role in the story could be part of the issue I should maybe mention here my support for the theory that Homer was contemporary with Gyges of Lydia.
[Update: I've since learned others have proposed the same theory in different ways. Like Troy: The World Deceived by John Lascelles.]
How does this relate to the issue of Pergamon being missing from Acts? Because Acts does mention Troas in chapter 16, arriving there in verses 7&8 and leaving in verses 10&11. Troas is placed in Mysia there which is also mentioned on the above site and on Pergamon's Wikipedia page as being where Pergamon was.
It's important to the timeline of Acts as the narrative voice changing from third person to first person here leads many to conclude this is where Luke joined Paul's party. Pergamon as a cult center of Aesculapius was a place many Physicians would have visited regularly.
Now at first glance the website I linked to above might be skeptical of the Acts 16:11 Troas being their real Troy since it's against thinking Troy was right by Samothrace. But Luke doesn't actually say they were that close, in fact they possibly stopped at a Neapolis first, which could well be the Neapolis of Lesbos which as the above link says was just west of Mysia. Or even if this Neapolis is a place reached after Samothrace, Luke says they set a course to Samothrace, there is no indicator of how far away it was. Maybe people misunderstanding Act 16 is the real origin of the error that Troy was near Samothrace?
Troas is visited again in Acts 20:5-12, and there it is seemingly nearer to Lesbos (Mytilene) then Samothrace, in fact they would not have sailed to Assos if they were leaving from the Hisarlik site, that trip would have been much shorter by land.
If the Seat of Satan Jesus refereed to was chiefly the Serapeum, the mythological memory of Apollo's seat could still have also been in mind. Hellenic comparative mythology I'm pretty sure often identified Serapis with Apollo. Aesculapius was a son of Apollo who also had a Temple near by.
The Seven Church Ages theory of the Seven Churches promoted by many Protestant Historicists and some Futurists tends to see the message to Pergamos as partly a Prophecy of when The Church married Rome, the era of the Ecumenical Councils. Well Rome in John's time saw themselves as the successor of Troy via Aeneas, the Aeneid written to celebrate that identification also used Pergamos as synonymous with Troy. In fact the Illiad itself mentions Aeneas in connection to Apollo's temple at Pergamos.
I've learned while researching this that Pergamon's Serepeum wasn't built till the reign of Hadrian, so the tradition about that being where Antipas was killed must be false since Revelation was written well before then
Pergamon became a center of the Imperial Cult under Augustus in the late 1st century BC. Augustus deification of himself involved associating himself with Apollo, while also claiming descent from Aeneas. So like Smynra the Imperial cult is probably the real backstory behind Martyrdom being mentioned here. I wonder if those books about Pergamon being Troy have a specific theory about where Apollo's sanctuary was? If the text of the Iliad can be interpreted as implying it's the highest peak, that would be where Trajan built his Temple, further tying it to the Imperial Cult. Did Trajan simply build over where Augustus and other prior Emperors had been worshiped? And did Augustus in turn choose the site of an ancient Temple to Apollo? But then Trajan preferred to associate his deification with Zeus rather then Apollo?
Later in Revelation 13 Satan gives his Seat to The Beast, and The Beast is often viewed as being in some way Rome or a Roman Emperor.
Pergamon was a known cult center of Aesculapius going back to the fourth century BC according to Pausanias. But the surviving remains near the Serapeum like the Serapeum itself are mainly a 2nd century AD construction.
Now at first glance the website I linked to above might be skeptical of the Acts 16:11 Troas being their real Troy since it's against thinking Troy was right by Samothrace. But Luke doesn't actually say they were that close, in fact they possibly stopped at a Neapolis first, which could well be the Neapolis of Lesbos which as the above link says was just west of Mysia. Or even if this Neapolis is a place reached after Samothrace, Luke says they set a course to Samothrace, there is no indicator of how far away it was. Maybe people misunderstanding Act 16 is the real origin of the error that Troy was near Samothrace?
Troas is visited again in Acts 20:5-12, and there it is seemingly nearer to Lesbos (Mytilene) then Samothrace, in fact they would not have sailed to Assos if they were leaving from the Hisarlik site, that trip would have been much shorter by land.
If the Seat of Satan Jesus refereed to was chiefly the Serapeum, the mythological memory of Apollo's seat could still have also been in mind. Hellenic comparative mythology I'm pretty sure often identified Serapis with Apollo. Aesculapius was a son of Apollo who also had a Temple near by.
The Seven Church Ages theory of the Seven Churches promoted by many Protestant Historicists and some Futurists tends to see the message to Pergamos as partly a Prophecy of when The Church married Rome, the era of the Ecumenical Councils. Well Rome in John's time saw themselves as the successor of Troy via Aeneas, the Aeneid written to celebrate that identification also used Pergamos as synonymous with Troy. In fact the Illiad itself mentions Aeneas in connection to Apollo's temple at Pergamos.
Homer, Iliad 5. 445 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :Wow, that's really interesting given what happens later in Revelation, with a Head of the Beast having a mortal wound that is healed and being given Satan's Seat. Aeneas was a son of Aphrodite/Venus as I mentioned in the post I made yesterday. Still I have my skepticism of the seven ages theory. Also the context of this wounding in the Iliad is not with a sword or to the head but a boulder to the thigh.
"Apollon caught [the wounded] Aineias (Aeneas) now and away from the onslaught [of the battle], and set him in the sacred keep of Pergamos (Pergamus) where was built his own temple. There Artemis of the showering arrows and Leto within the great and secret chamber healed his wound and cared for him."
I've learned while researching this that Pergamon's Serepeum wasn't built till the reign of Hadrian, so the tradition about that being where Antipas was killed must be false since Revelation was written well before then
Pergamon became a center of the Imperial Cult under Augustus in the late 1st century BC. Augustus deification of himself involved associating himself with Apollo, while also claiming descent from Aeneas. So like Smynra the Imperial cult is probably the real backstory behind Martyrdom being mentioned here. I wonder if those books about Pergamon being Troy have a specific theory about where Apollo's sanctuary was? If the text of the Iliad can be interpreted as implying it's the highest peak, that would be where Trajan built his Temple, further tying it to the Imperial Cult. Did Trajan simply build over where Augustus and other prior Emperors had been worshiped? And did Augustus in turn choose the site of an ancient Temple to Apollo? But then Trajan preferred to associate his deification with Zeus rather then Apollo?
Later in Revelation 13 Satan gives his Seat to The Beast, and The Beast is often viewed as being in some way Rome or a Roman Emperor.
Pergamon was a known cult center of Aesculapius going back to the fourth century BC according to Pausanias. But the surviving remains near the Serapeum like the Serapeum itself are mainly a 2nd century AD construction.
I've decided I can't agree with the Fullness of the Pergamon was the original Troy theory because of how Young Pergamon is archeologically, one of these Pergamon theory books date the fall of Troy to 811 BC but Pergamon was founded later then that. But I do think locals in Pergamon saw themselves as the real Troy all through antiquity and that belief influenced some aspects of the Iliad.
I'm not today going to propose any theories about Smyrna or Sardis. [Update: in light my newer theories about the Latest Date for The Revelation I now think Smyrna and Sardis didn't have Christian communities till the Second Century.]
I'm not today going to propose any theories about Smyrna or Sardis. [Update: in light my newer theories about the Latest Date for The Revelation I now think Smyrna and Sardis didn't have Christian communities till the Second Century.]
I do have some interesting thoughts on Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was the name of several cities in antiquity and could easily have been a nick name to many more. The Philadelphia traditionally identified with the Philadelphia of Revelation is the city today called Alasehir. But Alasehir was still a predominantly Pagan city well into the sixth century with it's major Church not being built till 600 AD. That's not what I'd expect from the Christian legacy of one of the two most praised Churches in Revelation.
Ammia in Philadelphia is the designation of a Prophetess mentioned by Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History Book 5 Chapter 17 quoting a Miltiades criticizing the Montanists. Montanus and his women claimed to have inherited their Prophetic gifts from Quadartus and Ammia in Philadelphia. Quadartus is also mentioned in Book 3 Chapter 37, it's possible he too was in or from Philadelphia but not certain. Eusebius and Miltiades considered these Prophets valid, it's the Montanists' claim of succession from them they're rejecting.
What's interesting is that when Montanus and his women claimed to have inherited their Prophetic gifts from Ammia and Quadartus, it was supposedly a line of succession they got from the Daughters of Philip from Acts 21:9. And Montanus and his women were from Phrygia. The exact locations of Pepuza and Tymion where Montanus claimed New Jerusalem would descend and thus made his head quarters are also a mystery, we just know they were in Phrygia. I've come to suspect they may have been simply Montanus's personal pet names for cities usually known by other names.
I believe that Philip one of the Twelve Disciples and Philip the Deacon aka Philip the Evangelist are in fact the same person, no NT passage mentions both by name together. I get why people assume Acts 6 allows no overlap between the Twelve and the Seven. But remember in John chapter 12 the Philip who is of the Twelve serves as the contact between Greek Speaking Jews interested in Jesus message and the Twelve, so Acts 6 could just be him still playing that role. And Stephen is mentioned first even over one of the Twelve because he became the first Martyr, while when Acts was written Philip's own Martyrdom probably hadn't even happened yet. Deacon was not meant to be a rank in the NT Church, it was a word meaning "servant", Jesus, Peter and Paul intended for the Church's Elders and Overseers to see themselves as servants.
Polycrates of Ephesus records some traditions I think are wrong like identifying a John with The Beloved Disciple when I view them as different and if either was ever in Ephesus it wasn't John. But he doesn't call that John one of the Twelve. The only one of the Twelve whom Polycrates mentions is Philip, he says this Philip was one of the Twelve and had at least three daughters, Philip and two of his daughters fell asleep and were buried in Hierapolis in Phrygia. Eusebius in Book III chapter 31 also cited another source for Philip and his Four Daughters who were Prophetesses coming to Hierapolis in Phrygia.
Philadelphia isn't mentioned at all in Polycrates discussion of Asian Churches observing Passover on the 14th. It's not the only city from Revelation 2&3 missing, but Hierapolis is the only Church mentioned that doesn't appear to be one of the Seven. Thyatira and Pergamon he might have left out since they were specifically associated with bad doctrines in Revelation, but if Philadelphia's Church kept Passover on the 14th that is something he'd want to mention, and perhaps try to explain away if they didn't.
Hierapolis means Holy City, as in a sacred city with an important Temple(s), because it had a lot of pagan temples. The message to Philadelphia is the one that speaks of the City of God which is New Jerusalem and the Temple of God. In Revelation 3:12 Jesus promises to make the Overcomer a Pillar in the Temple of God, Paul refers to the Apostles in Jerusalem as Pillars in Galatians 2:9. Revelation 21:14 says the Twelve Apostles are the Foundations of New Jerusalem, and in Ephesians 2:20 Paul says the Apostles are the Foundations of The Temple of God. Based on Polycrates I think Philip was the only one of the Twelve who fell asleep in Asia.
Philadelphia was the name of several cities in antiquity and could easily have been a nick name to many more. The Philadelphia traditionally identified with the Philadelphia of Revelation is the city today called Alasehir. But Alasehir was still a predominantly Pagan city well into the sixth century with it's major Church not being built till 600 AD. That's not what I'd expect from the Christian legacy of one of the two most praised Churches in Revelation.
Ammia in Philadelphia is the designation of a Prophetess mentioned by Eusebius in Ecclesiastical History Book 5 Chapter 17 quoting a Miltiades criticizing the Montanists. Montanus and his women claimed to have inherited their Prophetic gifts from Quadartus and Ammia in Philadelphia. Quadartus is also mentioned in Book 3 Chapter 37, it's possible he too was in or from Philadelphia but not certain. Eusebius and Miltiades considered these Prophets valid, it's the Montanists' claim of succession from them they're rejecting.
What's interesting is that when Montanus and his women claimed to have inherited their Prophetic gifts from Ammia and Quadartus, it was supposedly a line of succession they got from the Daughters of Philip from Acts 21:9. And Montanus and his women were from Phrygia. The exact locations of Pepuza and Tymion where Montanus claimed New Jerusalem would descend and thus made his head quarters are also a mystery, we just know they were in Phrygia. I've come to suspect they may have been simply Montanus's personal pet names for cities usually known by other names.
I believe that Philip one of the Twelve Disciples and Philip the Deacon aka Philip the Evangelist are in fact the same person, no NT passage mentions both by name together. I get why people assume Acts 6 allows no overlap between the Twelve and the Seven. But remember in John chapter 12 the Philip who is of the Twelve serves as the contact between Greek Speaking Jews interested in Jesus message and the Twelve, so Acts 6 could just be him still playing that role. And Stephen is mentioned first even over one of the Twelve because he became the first Martyr, while when Acts was written Philip's own Martyrdom probably hadn't even happened yet. Deacon was not meant to be a rank in the NT Church, it was a word meaning "servant", Jesus, Peter and Paul intended for the Church's Elders and Overseers to see themselves as servants.
Polycrates of Ephesus records some traditions I think are wrong like identifying a John with The Beloved Disciple when I view them as different and if either was ever in Ephesus it wasn't John. But he doesn't call that John one of the Twelve. The only one of the Twelve whom Polycrates mentions is Philip, he says this Philip was one of the Twelve and had at least three daughters, Philip and two of his daughters fell asleep and were buried in Hierapolis in Phrygia. Eusebius in Book III chapter 31 also cited another source for Philip and his Four Daughters who were Prophetesses coming to Hierapolis in Phrygia.
Philadelphia isn't mentioned at all in Polycrates discussion of Asian Churches observing Passover on the 14th. It's not the only city from Revelation 2&3 missing, but Hierapolis is the only Church mentioned that doesn't appear to be one of the Seven. Thyatira and Pergamon he might have left out since they were specifically associated with bad doctrines in Revelation, but if Philadelphia's Church kept Passover on the 14th that is something he'd want to mention, and perhaps try to explain away if they didn't.
Hierapolis means Holy City, as in a sacred city with an important Temple(s), because it had a lot of pagan temples. The message to Philadelphia is the one that speaks of the City of God which is New Jerusalem and the Temple of God. In Revelation 3:12 Jesus promises to make the Overcomer a Pillar in the Temple of God, Paul refers to the Apostles in Jerusalem as Pillars in Galatians 2:9. Revelation 21:14 says the Twelve Apostles are the Foundations of New Jerusalem, and in Ephesians 2:20 Paul says the Apostles are the Foundations of The Temple of God. Based on Polycrates I think Philip was the only one of the Twelve who fell asleep in Asia.
New Jerusalem is called the Holy City in Revelation 21:2 though it's a different Greek word for Holy, Hagias/Hagian. However the word for Holy that is the first part of Hierapolis happens to look like the beginning of how Jerusalem is spelled in Greek. Greek was often a very precise language, but I think Hieros and Hagios were understand as synonyms, or at least that mostly anything which can be described as one can also be described as the other. Also the only time either of these words for Holy appears in Revelation 2-3 is the beginning of the message to Philadelphia.
Philip is a name derived from the same Greek word for Love as the first syllable of Philadelphia. The meaning of Philadelphia is often said to be "brotherly love" but Greek was unlike English in that the words for Brother and Sister used in the New Testament are just slight variations on each other, and so the last part of Philadelphia is almsot arguably closer to the word for sister since city names often wind up mostly feminine in form. So maybe there is some wordplay going on here where the name also suggests the sisters who were daughters of Philip? The first Hellenistic Monarch given the epithet Philadelphos was Ptolemy II who was given it in reference to his love for his Sister, so yes it absolutely can mean Sisterly Love.
One of the most famous sites in Hierapolis is the Ploutonion, a ceremonial gateway to Hades, the Underworld. Jesus introduced himself in the message to Philadelphia as one who is Holy and as He who openeth and shutteth and has the Key of David. In the other messages the titles for Jesus used here are references back to titles from chapter 1, but David isn't mentioned in chapter 1 and the only Keys mentioned in Chapter 1 are the Keys of Hades and Death. Sheol comes up in some Davidic Psalms, including one Peter quoted in Acts 2. The Key of David and the talk of opening and shutting also comes from Isaiah 22:22, and the context there can maybe also be inferred to relate to the Resurrection.
Some people see in the message to Philadelphia possible allusions to the city having a history of Earthquakes, well it was the same for Hierapolis, being damaged by Earthquakes in 17 AD and 60 AD. As Colossians 4:13 indicates, Hierapolis was close to Laodicea, so that could be why they're next to each other in Revelation chapter 3. Hierapolis was between Laodicea and Alasehir but much closer to Laodicea, and some think Hierapolis hot springs provide context to understanding the lukewarm water of Laodicea, Jesus is definitely contrasting Laodicea and Philadelphia spiritually.
Antiochus III aka Antiochus The Great settled 2,000 Jews in Phrygia in the early second century BC, by 62 BC the Jewish population in Hierapolis was 50,000. Jews from Phrygia were at Pentecost according to Acts 2:10, Paul was there in Acts 16:6 before heading to Mysia/Troas and then returned there in Acts 18:23. Alasehir in contrast does not seem to have ever had a Jewish population.
Based on John 8, those who say they are Jews but are not but are of the synagogue of Satan, probably refers to non Christian Jews. It's unfortunate that today some people use that to justify their Antisemitism, these privileged Jews were being criticized for persecuting those with different beliefs, modern Jews living in America and Europe are in no position to be the persecutors, at least not to Christians. Today it is if anything many Christians committing the sins of the Pharisees in John 8 and the Synagogue of Satan.
Philadelphia is presented in Revelation as a city where Christians aren't facing the immediate threat of death for their faith the way they were in Smynra due to the presence of the Imperial Roma cult. But while Christians were the minority everywhere this city is one where it seems to have been particularly not easy to be a Christian culturally. How many Pagan Temples Hierapolis had could be the reason for that.
If Montanus knew full well that the Philadelphia of Revelation was in Phrygia, that could make sense of his ability to develop a belief that Phrygia was where New Jerusalem would descend by ignoring how New Jerusalem being referenced in that message isn't about Geography. In fairness to Montanus however, Revelation 21 makes New Jerusalem large enough that if you place it's exact center at Jerusalem and/or Bethlehem and/or Bethel, it would include all of Phyrgia.
Papias is also said to have spent time in Hierapolis. And it should also be noted that Apolinarius a chief early critic of the Montanists was a Bishop of Hierapolis, so they had opposition in Phrygia as well. Indeed there was a Bishopric in Hierapolis that existed all through Pre-Nicene and Post-Nicene Early Church History, while the one for Alasehir doesn't appear till the time of Nicaea. And in the Fourth Century Hierapolis became a majority Christian city very quickly, unlike Alasehir.
My Philadelphia theory is not one I'm gonna promote as strongly because I lack any independent evidence that Hierapolis was also known as Philadelphia. But even if I can never find that smoking gun, I'm willing to consider that this city might have been called that only by it's Christian population, perhaps as a pun on the name of the Disciple who was buried there.
One of the most famous sites in Hierapolis is the Ploutonion, a ceremonial gateway to Hades, the Underworld. Jesus introduced himself in the message to Philadelphia as one who is Holy and as He who openeth and shutteth and has the Key of David. In the other messages the titles for Jesus used here are references back to titles from chapter 1, but David isn't mentioned in chapter 1 and the only Keys mentioned in Chapter 1 are the Keys of Hades and Death. Sheol comes up in some Davidic Psalms, including one Peter quoted in Acts 2. The Key of David and the talk of opening and shutting also comes from Isaiah 22:22, and the context there can maybe also be inferred to relate to the Resurrection.
Some people see in the message to Philadelphia possible allusions to the city having a history of Earthquakes, well it was the same for Hierapolis, being damaged by Earthquakes in 17 AD and 60 AD. As Colossians 4:13 indicates, Hierapolis was close to Laodicea, so that could be why they're next to each other in Revelation chapter 3. Hierapolis was between Laodicea and Alasehir but much closer to Laodicea, and some think Hierapolis hot springs provide context to understanding the lukewarm water of Laodicea, Jesus is definitely contrasting Laodicea and Philadelphia spiritually.
Antiochus III aka Antiochus The Great settled 2,000 Jews in Phrygia in the early second century BC, by 62 BC the Jewish population in Hierapolis was 50,000. Jews from Phrygia were at Pentecost according to Acts 2:10, Paul was there in Acts 16:6 before heading to Mysia/Troas and then returned there in Acts 18:23. Alasehir in contrast does not seem to have ever had a Jewish population.
Based on John 8, those who say they are Jews but are not but are of the synagogue of Satan, probably refers to non Christian Jews. It's unfortunate that today some people use that to justify their Antisemitism, these privileged Jews were being criticized for persecuting those with different beliefs, modern Jews living in America and Europe are in no position to be the persecutors, at least not to Christians. Today it is if anything many Christians committing the sins of the Pharisees in John 8 and the Synagogue of Satan.
Philadelphia is presented in Revelation as a city where Christians aren't facing the immediate threat of death for their faith the way they were in Smynra due to the presence of the Imperial Roma cult. But while Christians were the minority everywhere this city is one where it seems to have been particularly not easy to be a Christian culturally. How many Pagan Temples Hierapolis had could be the reason for that.
If Montanus knew full well that the Philadelphia of Revelation was in Phrygia, that could make sense of his ability to develop a belief that Phrygia was where New Jerusalem would descend by ignoring how New Jerusalem being referenced in that message isn't about Geography. In fairness to Montanus however, Revelation 21 makes New Jerusalem large enough that if you place it's exact center at Jerusalem and/or Bethlehem and/or Bethel, it would include all of Phyrgia.
Papias is also said to have spent time in Hierapolis. And it should also be noted that Apolinarius a chief early critic of the Montanists was a Bishop of Hierapolis, so they had opposition in Phrygia as well. Indeed there was a Bishopric in Hierapolis that existed all through Pre-Nicene and Post-Nicene Early Church History, while the one for Alasehir doesn't appear till the time of Nicaea. And in the Fourth Century Hierapolis became a majority Christian city very quickly, unlike Alasehir.
My Philadelphia theory is not one I'm gonna promote as strongly because I lack any independent evidence that Hierapolis was also known as Philadelphia. But even if I can never find that smoking gun, I'm willing to consider that this city might have been called that only by it's Christian population, perhaps as a pun on the name of the Disciple who was buried there.
Update 2023: Both these theories I have become inclined towards.
For Pergamon I do still think people in that believed they were Troy and that may have influenced what's said in Revelation, but Toas in Acts probably refers to the Troad region and not a single city.
For Philadelphia I realize I was missing the point by making such a point out of the Philadpehian Church's seeming insignificance. The message about them being the smallest and weakest Church by Secular Standard but the truest in their faith. But also maybe Eusebius couldn't give a list of Bishops because they never accepted Episcopal Polity before Nicaea. And maybe a Pro-Montanist could argue the Montanists were the legacy of Philadelphia.
Some of the circumstantial stuff I mentioned could still be interesting. Polycrates letter only accounts for 3 of Philip's 4 daughters, so maybe the remaining one settled in Philadelphia where she became the Sempai of Ammia.
And some of these regions terms within the Province of Asia were flexible and so maybe Alasehir can be considered part of Phyrgia even though it's usually classified as Lydian. The location of Pepuza is known now, and was when I first wrote this, I had simply been influenced by outdated information. It is arguably closer to Alasehir then it is to the Laodicea/Hierapolis/Colossae area.
