THIS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU
The answer
Rome. The seven are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea (Revelation 1:11). All were cities of the Roman province of Asia, in what is now western Turkey. Neither Rome nor Jerusalem is on the list.
Why it’s interesting
Ephesus, first on the list, was the capital of the province. Laodicea lay about 95 miles east of it.
Scholarly consensus
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.