Church

Historical View

Modern Church View

Ephesus

The Orthodox Church

Late Apostolic Age

33 AD - 100 AD

Active churches over emphasizing Orthodoxy, but lacking spiritual fervor.

Smyrna

The Poor, Rich Church

The Early Centuries of Persecution

100 AD - 300 AD

Missionary and other churches enduring persecution.

Pergamos

The Church with Bad Surroundings

The Age of Constantine

300 AD - 600 AD

The churches supported by the government or New Age.

Thyatira

The Church of the Evil Prophetess

The Age of Papal Apostasy

600 AD - 900 AD

The development of numerous modern cults

Sardis

The Dying Church

The Middle Ages

900 AD - 1500 AD

Churches that manifest a growing formalism accompanied by spiritual decline

Philadelphia

The Weak but Loyal Church

The Reformation

1500 AD - 1900 AD

All earnest churches

Laodicea

The Rich, Poor Church

The Last Days

1900 AD - Now

Popular, self-satisfied, worldly churches