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.'
▸This is the beginning of the letters to the seven churches.
This is the beginning of the letters to the seven churches. Each letter follows the same structure: description of the sender → commendation → rebuke → exhortation → promise. Ephesus was the largest city in Asia Minor and the missionary center of Paul and John. Christ is introduced as the one 'who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands,' emphasizing that he governs the churches and is present among them.