<P> Augustine of Hippo's reason for interpreting angels of the churches as the prelates of the church is that St. John speaks of them as falling from their first charity, which is not true of the angels . Others would say that the falling away relates to the churches, not to the messengers, as each of the seven letters conclude with the words "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches ." </P> <P> In the New Testament, the Greek word for angels (άγγελος) is not only used for heavenly angels, but also used for human messengers, such as John the Baptist (Matthew 11: 10, Mark 1: 2, Luke 7: 27) and God's prophets (Revelation 22: 8 - 9) C.I. Scofield has noted that "The natural explanation of the' messengers' is that they were men sent by the seven churches to ascertain the state of the aged apostle...but they figure any who bear God's messages to a church ." </P>

Where are the seven churches in revelation located today