In Revelation chapters 2 and 3, John fulfills his commission to write individual letters to the seven churches in Asia.¹ His letters were to be read as one in all seven churches.² Thus, a single scroll was passed among the seven churches, probably in the order of the churches listed by John.³

By the time John wrote his letters in 96 AD,⁴ the other apostles of the New Testament were dead.⁵ John alone held apostolic authority over the congregations that remained from Christ's ancient Church.⁶ The several bishops of the church in Rome did not have apostolic authority,⁷ or keys of the kingdom,⁸ to preside over the seven churches.⁹ If the bishop in Rome‒who at that time was Clement‒had been the presiding authority of Christ's church in 96 AD,¹⁰ then Clement would have received the Revelation that John received,¹¹ and Clement would have authored the seven letters instead of the apostle John.¹²

The seven congregations of Asia were in differing states of apostasy,¹³ although John's letters did not condemn either Smyrna or Philadelphia for weaknesses of any kind.¹⁴ The conditions in the seven ancient churches symbolize spiritual conditions that exist in the restored church today.¹⁵ Therefore, John's multiple messages in his letters to the ancient churches apply equally to modern members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.¹⁶ Saints today possess the same talents,¹⁷ spiritual capacities,¹⁸ and weaknesses as their ancient counterparts.¹⁹ The letters provide both a historical context and foreshadowing of events that will lead to the Second Coming.²⁰ The demise and utter ruin of all seven churches during the Great Apostasy²¹ foreshadows the destruction of the wicked at Christ's Second Coming, including apostates from within the latter-day church of Jesus Christ.²²

The seven letters have the same structure,²³ but each letter was tailored to the specific spiritual conditions in, and physical features of, each particular city.²⁴ Thus, each letter was addressed to the angel²⁵ or presiding authority²⁶ from each congregation.²⁷ The seven letters contain the words of Christ, which incorporate the attributes of Christ from Revelation chapter 1 to describe saints in the seven churches.²⁸ The letters universally speak about the dangers of personal apostasy,²⁹ followed by the promise of exaltation to those that overcome tribulation.³⁰ All seven letters convey an overriding message of hope³¹ and a promise of eternal life³² to him that overcometh.³³