Asia Minor

In the Bible

The term "Asia Minor" does not appear in the Bible. Where the New Korean Revised Version reads "Asia," the term usually refers to the Roman province of Asia in the western part of the peninsula. The peninsula's various regions and cities, however, appear frequently in the New Testament.

• Acts 2:9-10: Among those gathered in Jerusalem at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost were people from Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia.
• Acts 13-14: Paul and Barnabas preached in Perga, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe.
• Acts 16:1-8: Paul took Timothy with him from Lystra. Because the Holy Spirit forbade them to preach the word in Asia and "the Spirit" of Jesus did not permit them to go into Bithynia, the company went down to Troas.
• Acts 19-20: Paul taught in Ephesus for two years, "so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 19:10). A riot broke out among the craftsmen who made shrines of Artemis (Diana), and Paul later bade farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus.
• Epistles: Galatians, Ephesians, and Colossians were letters sent to churches in this region. 1 Peter 1:1 is addressed to the believers "scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia."
• Revelation 1-3: These chapters contain the messages sent to the seven churches of Asia (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea). See also Seven Churches of Asia Minor.

Background

The Greek word "Asia" originally designated the lands east of the Aegean Sea. "Asia Minor" is a later Latin geographical term used to distinguish this region from the Asian continent as a whole. After Alexander the Great, Hellenistic kingdoms ruled the region. After the Kingdom of Pergamum passed to Rome in 133 BC, its territories successively became Roman provinces. In the New Testament era, Greek-speaking cities flourished, and synagogues of the Jewish Diaspora were found throughout the region. Many cities are known to have had pagan temples as well as temples of the imperial cult. Paul's hometown of Tarsus also lay in Cilicia, in the southeastern part of the peninsula.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The region does not appear directly as a major setting in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Asia Minor is a key corridor through which the gospel, having begun in Jerusalem, spread into the Gentile world. It was a principal setting of Paul's missionary journeys and the home of churches that received several of the epistles. After the apostolic age, the Council of Nicaea and the Council of Chalcedon were also held on this peninsula. The Cappadocian Fathers were active there, and Montanism arose in Phrygia.

Interpretation and Issues

• Asia and Asia Minor: Most commentaries point out that "Asia" in the Bible refers not to the modern Asian continent but to the Roman province.
• Recipients of Galatians: The North Galatian theory holds that the letter was addressed to churches in the territory of the Celtic Galatians in the north-central part of the peninsula. The South Galatian theory holds that it was addressed to the churches of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, founded during the first missionary journey. Scholars remain divided.
• Interpretation of the seven churches: Most interpreters read the seven churches as actual churches that existed in the first century. Some dispensationalist interpreters additionally see them as foreshadowing seven periods of church history.
• The Spirit's prohibition: Acts 16:6-7 does not specify how the Holy Spirit prevented them. Various conjectures have been offered, such as a vision, illness, or persecution, but these are explanations from outside the text.
• Tradition: The accounts that the apostle John spent his final years in Ephesus and that Mary lived in Ephesus are church traditions; they do not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Pilgrimage tours to biblical sites organized by Korean churches commonly include itineraries that visit the sites of the seven churches in Türkiye and follow Paul's routes. Sermon series on Revelation 2-3 that treat each of the seven churches in turn are also common.