Christian practice (although, in her case, those boundaries are considerably wider than John would understand them to be). In Revelation, the seven “letters” to the seven churches are a prime example of early Christian prophecy. They are better labeled the seven “oracles” to the seven churches, for after the command to John to “write” down the oracle, the actual message to the church begins in a manner recollecting the prophetic formula, “Thus says the Lord” (e.g., “These are the words of the Son