Ephesus lay on the shores of the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor. Of the seven churches mentioned, this one was the closest to the island of Patmos. With some 250,000 inhabitants it was the major city of the entire region. Its harbour and its location on trade routes leading to the interior ensured considerable wealth among the inhabitants as well as a very international feel to its population.
1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.