Genesis 2:2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
Seven is the number of completion and there are seven churches that John wrote about. So we are finished with them. Or are we?
Some could have noticed that I edited those passages and left out the first verse of every letter. John was not instructed to write to the churches themselves but to the angel that is in those cities.
“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.”
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.’”
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.’”
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.’”
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.’”
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens.’”
“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.’”
Each and every preamble to those letters is different. Each one can be traced back to biblical events and the last one is the words of the Amen, as in the Alpha and Omega, He who was first and last. The completion has order, even from the very beginning.
Here is the problem with our understanding of order. There is no time stamp. We may see that some things have occurred in our past and some towards our future but there is nothing that says where we stand in time.
Remember Jesus said to beware of those who said “There is the Christ.”