Literary Parallels of the 7 CHURCHES

 ...and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Revelation 1:20

".....the order of the seven churches reflects a parallel between the first and last, second and sixth, third and fifth—with Thyatira, the fourth, as the apex. The following symmetric arrangement is visible in relation to the warnings.
        A. Ephesus: removal of lampstand from its place (Rev. 2:5)
                B. Smyrna: (no direct warning)
                        C. Pergamum: will come quickly and make war (vs. 16)
                                D. Thyatira: I will kill her children (vss. 22, 23)
                        C. Sardis: come like a thief, not know when I come (3:3)
                B. Philadelphia: (no direct warning)
        A. Laodicea: spit you out of the mouth (vs. 16)
        
As may be noted in the above structure, the message to Ephesus, though worded differently, corresponds to that of Laodicea; that of Pergamum to Sardis; and the absence of a direct warning to Smyrna with a similar absence to Philadelphia. Thyatira forms the climax of this arrangement. The promises manifest a similar structure.

        A. Ephesus: the right to eat from the tree of life in paradise (2:7)
                B. Smyrna: the crown of life, not hurt by second death (vss. 10, 11)
                        C. Pergamum: the hidden manna, a white stone, a new name
                            (vs. 17)
                                D. Thyatira: authority over nations, rule with an iron
                                    scepter, give the morning star (vss. 26, 27)
                        C. Sardis: not blot out the name from the book of life; will walk
                              in white (3:5)
                B. Philadelphia: hold crown, a pillar in the temple, never to leave
                      (vss. 11, 12)
        A. Laodicea: the right to sit and eat with Jesus (3:20, 21)
        

From the above structure of promises, it is evident that a similar parallel exists between Ephesus and Laodicea, Smyrna and Philadelphia, and Pergamum and Sardis, respectively. This again points to Thyatira as the climax." Kim Papaioannou and Edward Moyo