The Apostle John, having written Revelation sometime during A.D. 81-96, is told to send the letter of Revelation to seven churches. The churches – in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodecia – were located in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

In the letter’s introduction, the readers are clearly informed that the contents come from the Trinitarian Godhead. As such the letter’s greeting is (1) “Grace to you and peace from the One who is and who was and who is coming; (2) and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; (3) and from Jesus Christ. Because the letter is prophetic, more than likely the thinking behind listing the source was to re-enforce the preaching of 2 Peter 1: 21. “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”

From The One who is and who was and who is coming refers to the Father, whom we first see in Rev. 4: 2, 3 sitting on the throne.The phrase is also attributed to Him in verse 8. From Jesus Christ is clear. From the seven Spirits is a reference to the Holy Spirit (read my post Seven Spirits of God).

But why was the letter sent to only seven churches? That number was chosen because it is divinely held as being “whole” and “complete.” Therefore, seven churches were selected to be representative of the whole of Christianity, from John’s imprisoned time on the island of Patmos – where he wrote the letter – to the end-times. That indeed is the range of time that the letter (book) of Revelation covers. For in Rev. 1: 19, John states that his Patmos visions were of “the things which are,”referring basically to the seven messages to the seven churches (1:9 to 3: 22), and of “the things which are about to take place after these things,” primarily referring to the rest of Revelation.