“Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which 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 which you saw are the seven churches. ““To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:”
Revelation 1:19-2:1 NKJV
Jesus once again commands John to write about the past, present and future; in other words, the unfolding of history. Then, in this context, He suddenly shifts to explaining the symbolism of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. The word “angels” in Greek is translated “messengers”. So in this instance, “angels” is figurative language representing the human spiritual leaders that are messengers to each of the seven churches. This is like local church pastors today. And Jesus beautifully describes Himself as holding them in His right hand, which is His hand of favor. Now if Jesus is holding these messengers in His right hand, then it stands to reason that He must be present in the church. And that is exact how He describes Himself. He says the seven lampstands represent the seven churches and He is walking in the midst of them. Family, let this sink in. Jesus is here. He walks in our midst. You see, John’s letter to us will be needed as we move forward to the end, because it reveals…
JESUS CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST TO THE END.
Right now in our home, our daughter Eden simply refuses to go to bed or sleep throughout the night without knowing that Mommy or Daddy is in her midst. Therefore, one of us has to lie next to her or hold her in order for her to go to sleep. And if we return to our room and she wakes up not seeing one of us beside her, she will call out for mommy or daddy until one of us comes to lie down beside her or she will eventually come lie down next to us. And why does she do this every night? Because she finds it reassuring to know that daddy or mommy is in her midst. And this is the kind of reassurance Jesus is trying to anchor our souls with. He wants us to have the certain assurance of His presence in our midst until the very end!
Jesus being in our midst until the end was His explicit promise in Matthew 28:20, which says, “… I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:20 NKJV. Knowing that Jesus is with us in our midst through the Spirit is a strong encouragement, yet it is also a challenge. “How can this be?”, you may say. Well, He is present to not only comfort us, but also to confront us when we need to repent of sin, spiritual lethargy and complacency. This is literally what happens as Jesus addresses each of the seven churches in John’s open letter. However, even in this He says, ““As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”” Revelation 3:19-22 NKJV.
Friends, Jesus is here, in our midst; offering comfort and confrontation, reassurance and rebuke, all because He loves us and wants us to grow to spiritual maturity in Him. And He promises to complete this work in us until the end. Church, moving forward, there is literally no challenge that we can’t face when we know that Jesus is in our midst. Debt, a new chiller, obstacles to mission and the rising chaos and turmoil in our world are small matters for the glorified Christ to handle; and He is here walking in our midst! Is there anything too hard for God? Jesus says, “Be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world!” John 16:33.
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ that John’s letter to the church gives us.
The revelation of Jesus Christ means faith over fear!
The revelation of Jesus Christ means yes we can, when all the obstacles say no we can’t!
The revelation of Jesus Christ means patient endurance is more than possible!
The revelation of Jesus Christ means your best days are still ahead of you!
The revelation of Jesus Christ means the inevitable just judgment of all evil is coming!
The revelation of Jesus Christ means our ultimate victory is secured!
The revelation of Jesus Christ means grace, joy and the peace of His presence is ours until He comes!
John’s letter to us will be needed as we move forward to the end, because it reveals Jesus Christ is the beginning and end of the story, the Conqueror over death forever, and in our midst to the end. You see the book of Revelation was not given to the seven churches of Asia Minor or to us to paralyze us with fear of the future, but rather to strengthen our faith and trust in Jesus who will take us safely through whatever the future holds until we are with Him in the new creation forever!
But first you must see Him revealed in His sufferings on His way up the hill called Calvary. See Him hanging there on the cross taking the full weight of all your sin and mine. He hangs there as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, which includes your sin and mine. Where you there when He cried, “It is finished!” Can you see Him being taken down from the cross and placed in a nearby tomb by Joseph of Aramithea, Nicodemus and the women who followed Him? Then can you hear the earth quake when early on Sunday morning the large stone of the tomb is rolled away, for the grave could not hold! Death is conquered! Your sins forgiven! Your victory secured! Your future destination certain! I bid you come receive this revelation of Jesus!
