a theme that becomes dominant in the rest of the book,119 providing the perfect transition to the next major section of Revelation. The seven prophetic messages end with the familiar call to discerning obedience. At one level, this call is specific to the church in Laodicea. But owing to its strategic location as the final church addressed, and given that the horizons of this message and all the messages begin to merge from about v. 19 onward, the hearers from all churches would have reason to pause