There are similarities in the outlines of all seven letters.

1. a greeting (linked to chapter 1)
2. an assessment by Jesus of what the church is like.

iii. a call to be faithful or repent

1. a closing promise (linked to chapters 19-22)

The first letter was to the church in Ephesus which was the largest and most important city in the Province of Asia.

Jesus in His greeting (v1), is described as “Him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.”

The seven stars are the messengers or angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Jesus gives first a positive report (v2-3, 6). The church is commended for working hard for the Gospel, for persevering in difficult times and for being a sound church. They tested those who claimed to be apostles and rejected those who proved to be false. They opposed the ‘works’ of the Nicolaitans (v6, see also v15) who held to false teaching.