“To the angel of
the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his
right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. Revelation 2:1
In Revelation 2 and 3, John wrote to
seven churches and the “angels” over each church. The word in Greek is aggelos and means
“angel or messenger.” The word is used
180 times in the New Testament and each time seems to refer to a supernatural
being.
However, in this
context, why would John be writing to an angel?
He has no authority over the angel.
If we use the word “messenger,” then a pastor can be a messenger. The pastor has authority over his
congregation, which these letters are meant to encourage new behavior. His job would be to send a new message to his
people, saying either God is happy or sad with them and they need to change
their practices.