Revelation: The Seven Lampstands and Stars of Jesus

 

 Revelation; Justification by Faith

The Seven Lampstands and Stars of Jesus

Revelation 1:12-16 (ESV):
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.
14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.
16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

Revelation 1:20 (ESV):
As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

In Revelation, seven churches are named, which we will go through one by one later. These are symbolized by lampstands. The idea is that the church should be a kind of shining lampstand for the world. The angels or preachers of God are depicted as stars that must also give light. We have already discussed some of this.
Today, I want to focus on how Jesus walks among the golden lampstands and holds the seven stars in His hands.
By using the image of Jesus walking in the midst of the lampstands, it is made clear that He is always with His church and His church is with Him. Legally, God's people are already seen as citizens of heaven because they are bought by Jesus with His blood. But Jesus is also present now through the Holy Spirit to strengthen His church.
The well-known promise of Jesus is:

Matthew 28:20 (ESV):
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

The whole idea of reconciliation is that two hostile parties are made one. The goal of Jesus' work was always to dwell with us. And although He does not physically dwell among us now, He is present through the Holy Spirit. This would have been impossible in this way before.
Sin creates separation from God, but through Jesus, our sins are taken away. Through His effort to be with us, we can now receive the Holy Spirit, who is the representative of Jesus. He comes in place of Jesus to strengthen us as if He were Jesus Himself.
This is what the arduous and hard work of Jesus here on earth has accomplished. Now it is as if He Himself walks in the midst of those lampstands.
For the same reason, it is also possible to describe Jesus as someone who holds seven stars in His right hand. The right hand was always considered more important than the left at that time, and this can still be found in some expressions in our language, such as "he is my right-hand man."
Jesus firmly holds those who shine like stars by spreading the Gospel. He has not forgotten them. Just as He keeps the literal stars in their orbit, He also keeps these workers for the Gospel in the right course.
And did He not prove on the cross that He would do this? If He was willing to go through such a great soul struggle and pay such a high price to become one with us, why would He not carry this out?
Often we will have moments where we feel this is not the case and that Christ has indeed left us. But let those who are in the darkness of the world be encouraged to continue the fight of faith. For it is faith in the darkness that shines the most in a dark world. God wants us to place our faith in His character when our steadfastness is tested. Just one look at Him will make us realize again that He is indeed with us and holds us if we only trustingly grasp His guiding hand.

Psalm 23:1-4 (ESV):
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.