6. Christ’s exhortation; e.g., ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.’ 7. Christ’s promise; e.g., ‘to him that overcomes … I will give to eat of the tree of life.’ In each church—with the single exception of Laodicea—Christ finds something to commend. In five of the seven He finds something to condemn. The laudable exceptions are Smyrna and Philadelphia. These seven epistles are divided into two groups: one of three and one of four.1 In the first three letters