Pattern of the Seven Letters in Revelation, from Brighton

 Pattern of the Letters to the Seven Churches

(Revelation 2:1-3:22)
Louis A. Brighton Revelation (Concordia Commentary)

1. The addressee (the angel of a city’s church)

2. A descriptive phrase about the glorified Christ, the Author / Sender

3. Acknowledgment of a particular circumstance or work of the addressed church

4. A danger or dangers confronting the particular church, owing to its sins, flaws, or weaknesses

5. A call to repentance, lest the individual church lose its place in the kingdom

6. A promise of blessing

7. An appeal: “Those with ears…” The appeal explicitly is made to all the churches, meaning that the addresses made to individual churches for all the churches of all time

Brighton sees the seven letters as preparation for the three sevenfold visions Christ will reveal to John and, through John. to us all in the ensuing chapters. The visions that follow are not chronological, but all describe the same era between Christ’s ascension and His return at the end of world history.