Angels of the Churches in Revelation 1–3: Status Quaestionis and Another Proposal

This article surveys the interpretations of "the angel of the church" in each of the seven letters in Rev 2–3, the advocates of each position, and the principal arguments for and against each view. These interpretations are guardian angel, heavenly counterpart, prevailing spirit of the church, bishop/pastor, prophet, messenger to or from John. Another possibility is that the angel is the reader of the communication to the church.