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The Seven Stars

The Seven Stars

2 December 2011

"And he had in his right hand seven stars...The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches." (Rev 1.16 & 20)

The Revelation is the message from Israel's Messiah and the Church's Head to His beloved Flock in a time of great tribulation. It is therefore of paramount importance in these last of the Last Days...pre-eminently as The Revelation of Jesus Himself. Any attempt to understand such things as many-coloured horses, sea and earth beasts, and particular combinations of numbers will be doomed to distortion and delusion...unless viewed (and brought into acute and accurate focus), first-of-all through The Revelation of who He truly is.

In chapter one, Jesus is revealed "in the midst" of the seven churches; which is to say that we "see" Him personally present to each and every gathering and assembly to and for Him throughout this Grace Age. And how do we see Him so present?

Well, we "see" Him as "the Son of man" (Da 7.13-14), Heaven's King whose "kingdom shall not be destroyed" on earth, and our "great high priest". (Heb 4.14)

But for the specific purpose of this essay, let us observe that "in his right hand" are the seven "angels of the seven churches"!

(1) "In his right hand".

According to Spiros Zodhiates (editor of the NAS 'Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible'), "a person of high rank who puts anyone on his right hand gives him equal honour with himself and recognizes him as of equal dignity."

"(King Solomon) caused a seat to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand." (1 Ki 2.19)

"Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God." (Lk 22.69)

"Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God." (Ac 7.56)

Therefore, these "seven" persons are granted by the Lord Jesus Christ "the same honour and dignity" as that accorded Him by the "seven" churches...because of their core and absolute calling to represent and act on behalf of Almighty God.

"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me." (Mt 10.40)

(2) "The angels of the seven churches".

"Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire...ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." (Heb 1.7 & 14)

According to Daniel (10.13 & 21, 12.1) the arch- or chief angel, Michael specifically "has charge, stands guard, protects" the People of Israel. Hence the mysterious event of (literally) acting as the national leader's bodyguard, recorded in Jude 9, "But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses...said, 'The Lord rebuke you.' "

(Note: It was the Lord himself who buried Moses "in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor". Thus, "no man knows the place of his burial to this day." Deuteronomy 34.6 Also, Michael addresses the devil precisely and exactly along the same lines and employing the same words that God uses in His Zechariah 3.2 confrontation with the evil one, "The Lord rebuke you, O satan!" The angel's obedience is perfect down to the most minute detail.)

Thus we may safely say that God appoints his servants, the holy angels, to take spiritual responsibility for entire nations. And further, we can be confident that He also assigns them to care for His People, individually.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Mt 18.10)

"And Peter came to himself, and said, 'Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me...(Rhoda) ran in and told that Peter was standing at the gate. They said to her, 'You are mad.' But she insisted that it was so. They said, 'It is his angel!' " (Ac 12.11 & 13-15)

Therefore, in the context of the New (fulfilled) Covenant, it is not a great stretch at all to believe joyfully and confidently that local churches are each allotted His "servants made of flaming fire"! Hence, every one of the seven Heavenly messages to each of Revelation's seven churches begins,

"To the angel of the church write."

The Lord Jesus Christ honours each one of his angelic servants by addressing them personally and thus keeping them fully in-the-loop, so far as His dealings with every local congregation are concerned. We would all do very well to likewise honour them, by acknowledging their role and expressing gratitude for their completely divine and unstinting toil and care for us.

Immediately before the 2nd Coming, the Church, Israel and this world are going to be enveloped in the great tribulation (pressure) of the final clash of kingdoms. In his doomed struggle for supremacy the devil will use a particularly subtle and lethal device against God's People...isolation and disconnection. By separating local church from local church (and the Church from Israel), he will seek to weaken them, thus rendering us vulnerable to all-out demonic attack and injury. Belonging to this or that denomination, movement or organisation (no matter how large or efficient or "glittering") will not be sufficient answer or remedy for this hellish stratagem. It was employed against the Church in Nazi Germany to very great effect. The Confessing (resisting) Church quite quickly learned that the antidote was the fostering of authentic, "organic" fellowship and community, as widely and as deeply as possible.

The supernatural leadership of your church's angel in Jesus' Name (so closely linked 24/7 to Heaven's throne and its surrounding "living creatures, elders and many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands"), is not merely going to helpful. It will mean and make the difference between victory and defeat, success or oblivion.

(3) "The messengers of the seven churches".

The Bible's word "angel" (in both Testaments) means "messenger" and "agent".

"This is he (John the Baptist) of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send my messenger (angel) before your face, who shall prepare your way before you.' " (Mt 11.10)

"And he (Jesus) sent messengers (angels) ahead of him...to make ready for him." (Lk 9.52)

I believe that today there are some, particular apostles and prophets who are sent as messengers to specific local churches (and are received as such by the elders). But they have not been dispatched upon their mission by another congregation or collection of churches...they have been sent by Jesus, and have come out of "his right hand"!

"But let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong (raised up) for yourself." (Ps 80.17)

These apostolic and prophetic persons are neither better nor superior...but they are very different. As agents of His "right hand" they exist and are empowered to serve God alone, and as He is in Himself. Their perspectives, messages and prophecies are totally and blatantly biased towards the Kingdom of Heaven alone. Their terrible jealousy and prejudice for the "I AM WHO I AM" does not in fact make them awkward or difficult...but completely indispensable, because they are also networking and connecting "machines". They'll hook up and ally themselves unequivocally with absolutely anything and everyone bearing the "marks of Jesus" (Gal 6.17), or exuding the fragrance of the approaching King. (SS 3.6)

The sign or brand on your church's front door will neither attract nor deflect them.

For those who are busily and greedily constructing their own empires, such "visitors" might appear menacing and even destructive. But for authentic End Times' assemblies, these earthly "angels" will bring and facilitate meaningful relationships with the whole Body of Christ...as well as un-franchised, fresh "meat" and "bread", as well as mature and strong "wine"!

There has ever been a certain amount of unhealthy and unhelpful tension between such "visitors" and local church elders and leaders. In his third letter, the Apostle John talks about relating aright to "strangers (not local) who are workers in the truth and have accepted nothing from the heathen"! John chides a certain Diotrephes "who likes to put himself first" and "does not acknowledge (apostolic) authority" when "he refuses himself to welcome the brethren, and also stops those who want to welcome them and puts them out of the church"!

Unravelling this situation, the redoubtable professor of divinity, William Barclay (1907-78, Scotland), points out that the infant Christian Movement had a real problem with "wandering prophets and preachers" because "their position was one which was singularly liable to abuse."

"Some," according to Doctor Barclay, "were nothing better than clever and plausible rogues who had found an easy way of making a comfortable living."

Nevertheless, he says, the controversy addressed in 3 John is "no storm in a tea-cup. This was a fundamental cleavage. It was the clash between local and itinerant ministry." It is now, and has always been, terrifically important that "the settled ministry and the local elders...run their own congregation" (to use William Barclay's terms). But this arrangement will go awry and off-key if a biblical balance is overthrown and "visitors" from further afield (both geographically and theologically) are stereotyped as little more than "dangerous intruders", and thereby marginalised and even excluded.

As with supernatural angels assigned to local churches, so too these natural, apostolic and prophetic messengers (angels) deserve to be honoured by our "acknowledging their role and expressing gratitude for their divine toil and care for us"!

It is an awesome and massively consoling revelation to "see" our mighty King and Saviour "in the midst" of His People, stormed-tossed and wave-smashed in great tribulation. But what an act of grossest ignorance and stupendous folly it would be, if we were to abhor and scorn these most precious Gifts from His right hand.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death." (Rev 2.11)

"Your right hand supported me, and your help made me great." (Ps 18.35)

"As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with victory." (Ps 48.10)

"O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things! His right hand and his holy arm have gotten him victory." (Ps 98.1)