Quote:
Originally Posted by Presbyterian Deacon  So then, you're not saying the two witnesses are Smyrna and Philadelphia, but (which is how I first read your comment), but a picture of the characteristics of the faithful church as exemplified by those two assemblies? |
That's correct; the seven churches themselves are used as a symbol of the universal church in 1:19-20. Regrettably commentators generally stop referring to the letters after chapter 4, but the reality is that these letters are a key to understanding the symbols used throughout the book.