Revelation: The Sun and the Seven Stars

 

Revelation; Justification by Faith

The Sun and the Seven Stars

Revelation 1:13-16 (ESV):

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.

This is how Jesus is depicted. Today we will look at the seven stars in His right hand in relation to His face shining like the sun in its full strength. The meaning of the stars is revealed to us in the same chapter:

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.

The seven stars are the seven angels of the churches. In Greek, the word used for angels is ἄγγελος (angelos). This word also means messenger. Paul was seen as an angel by the Galatians because of the Gospel:

Galatians 4:13-15 (ESV):

13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first,
14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.
15 What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.

The angels are therefore the 'messengers' or preachers of the church who shine like stars in the night or are supposed to. They reflect the light of Jesus and thus give light through their good works and their Gospel. They work as representatives of God.
Jesus' face was described as shining like the sun in full strength. This glory and light are much greater.
We must see Jesus in contrast to the preachers of the church. The preachers may be a light in the night, but when Jesus is exalted and we look at Him, just as the stars fade before the sun, the preachers will disappear from view. Then our eyes will not be on the preacher, his good works, his beautiful deeds, his services, and sermons, but on Jesus Christ.
If we are so eager to exalt the work of the preacher in our hearts, this is a sign that we have not allowed the light of the Sun to shine in our hearts. Faith grasps this light and accepts it, and then we will see what John meant.
Why remain with the fallible and weak light of a preacher when we can lift our eyes to the Sun of Righteousness?
Even the preachers themselves must have a living faith and must resist every inclination toward self-exaltation. If they keep their eyes on Jesus through simple faith, the Holy Spirit will uproot our pride, arrogance, reliance on men, and the exaltation of man with great power.
This fight of faith that teaches us humility, we do not fight alone. The entirety heaven is involved, and God Himself—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—will not abandon us.