In the New Testament, Revelation is addressed at its beginning to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia.
Revelation 1 names the churches as Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These communities were located in western Anatolia, in what is now Turkey. Chapters 2 and 3 contain individual messages to each church, addressing faithfulness, hardship, compromise, and spiritual decline.
The number seven is important throughout Revelation and commonly symbolizes completeness. The seven churches were real historical communities, but the messages have also been read as representing the wider Christian church. The opening address names John as the recipient of a revelation on Patmos.
Revelation is sometimes confused with apocalyptic passages in other New Testament books, especially Matthew 24 or parts of Daniel in the Old Testament. It is the only New Testament book structured around a series of visions involving the seven churches, seals, trumpets, and bowls.