Letters to the seven churches

“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” Revelation 1:11
Revelation 2-3 contains seven letters, written by Jesus, to seven churches. Only two of these are mentioned in the Bible: Ephesus (to which Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians), and Laodicea (Col. 4:15-16). Lydia was said to come from Thyatira (Acts 16:14) but the church there is not mentioned. There has been much speculation on why these particular churches were chosen. The number seven symbolises completeness, so the selection of seven churches shows that what Jesus writes to them counters all the issues that arise in any church. There are four levels of meaning with these letters. Firstly, these were literal churches at the time, with the issues that are described. Secondly, the letters are written ‘to the churches’ – any church can be described as a combination of the attributes presented here. Thirdly, they are written to individual believers (‘he who has an ear’). Fourthly, some also suggest that in the order the letters are presented, the seven letters give an outline of church history: beginning with the apostolic church (Ephesus), the persecuted church (Smyrna), the church becoming accepted and embraced by the world (Pergamum), the medieval church (Thyatira, which endures to the present day in Roman Catholicism), the reformed church (Sardis), the missionary church (Philadelphia), and the last days apathetic church (Laodicea).
Each of the letters follows a similar structure, which can be separated into seven parts.
1. The name of the church (“To the angle of the church in ... write”). The names have relevance to the issues that Jesus addresses in His letter to them.
2. The title that Jesus gives of Himself. These can all be found in chapter 1, and again, are relevant to the issues addressed.
3. Commendation – the things the church is doing well. Note that for two of the churches, there is no commendation.
4. Rebuke – the things the church is not doing well. Note that for two of the churches, there is no rebuke.
5. Exhortation – what Jesus encourages them to do.
6. The phrase, ‘he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’. The position of this phrase changes from Pergamum, the third letter, to Thyatira, the fourth letter.
7. A promise ‘to him who overcomes’.
In the following days, we’ll take each letter and discuss each of these seven things.