November, 1945
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presence. Woe to the despisers in the day when His holy feet tread upon His enemies! “And his.voice as the sound of many waters.” Christ does not speak in a monotone. Sometimes His voice is as the roar of the breakers as they dash themselves to pieces on the rock-bound coast; again He speaks as the cataract from the depths of the wooded mountain. We hear Him as the laughter of the brook along-its pebbly bed, or as the distant murmur of the sea. He has spoken to us .in the wooing notes of the Gospel of His love, in the impressive tones of His kingly demands, in the threatenings of the Judge who stands ,at the door, and in the solemn appeals of life’s sorrows and losses. If we refuse to listen to His gentler notes, He will lift His vo.ice in stentorian tones. But blessed be any inflection of His voice that will subdue our hearts and bring us to His feet! “And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” His people are likened to lampstands hold ing little lamps of light; His ministers are as stars in the firmament of Heaven; but He is the Sun of Right eousness who rises with healing in His wings. Here is radiance of glory beyond the power of human ¿yes to behold. Saul, the persecutor, fell blinded to the earth by reason of that flashing light. Yet, by His grace, we may walk in the light of His countenance, undazzled and unabashed. The Activities of the Son of Man Christ is the One “who walketh in the midst of the seven lampstands.” . He is “the head of the body, the church,” “head over all things to the church.”. For “the seven lampstands are the seven churches” in proconsu lar Asia, to which the book of Revelation was primarily addressed, with a special letter to each church. Those seven churches were representative in character, having the characteristics of all local churches of all ages. Com bined, they were “the church, which is his body.” Thus, walking amid the lampstands, our Lord and Head is engaged in two tasks. As John saw Him, He “had in his right hand seven stars,” a “mystery” which He Himself explained: “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.” Our word “angel” is a transliteration of the Greek word, the primary meaning of which is simply “messen ger,” but .which is used in a variety of senses. By far its most .common usage has to do with Heavenly mes sengers, spirit beings sent forth by God on various er rands. However, the same word is employed three times with reference to John the Baptist, twice to the human spirit, once to the messenger which John the Baptist sent to Christ with an inquiry as to whether or not He were the Messiah, once to those who went before Jesus as He entered Jerusalem, once to Paul’s “thorn in the flesh,” once to the spies whom Joshua sent to Jericho, and once to Paul himself. There are, in general, two views as to the meaning ing of the word here. Some hold that the “angels of the seven churches” are Heavenly beings who are in some way charged with the care of the churches, and held re sponsible to the Lord for them. The other view is that the “angels” are the pastors .(or messengers) of the churches. The latter interpretation seems to me to fit the whole context, and to be entirely consistent with the New Testament teaching concerning the pastoral office. “He had in his right hand seven stars . . . The seven stars are the angels of the.seven churches.” Christ as Head of the Body, the Church, claims the prerogative of placing His ministers and appointing to the churches their pastors. What a happy, holy bond is the pastoral relation when He is allowed to exercise His right! I am reminded of a close friend who is about to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his pastorate in Nimes. France. Pastor and people together have expe
rienced great trials and greater triumphs; they, have laughed and wept together, they have borne one an other’s burdens. At the end of half a century, the tie is stronger, sweeter, dearer than at any time in the past. The younger generation love their minister as much as do their elders, for he is a true “father in God” to them. That appointment was made by the Man in the Glory, “who walketh in the midst of the seven golden lamp- stands.” Let the Lord be denied His prerogative, and pastoral appointments be made on the carnal level, and we are not surprised that such churches become “synagogues of Satan” and their pastors “wandering stars.” It is an unspeakable comfort to know that our mighty Lord holds His ministers in .His strong, tender,, nail-pierced right hand. All God’s people need uphold ing, but His ministers more than any. Flesh alone can not bear the responsibility that is committed to them. The hearts of all pastors.echo Paul’s cry: “Who is suf ficient for these things?” The answer here is all-suffi cient: “He hath in his right hand seven stars.” Right well our great Head knows that His ministers are the special targets of Satanic opposition and attack, but who can be afraid when held by His conquering hand! Not only does our Lord exercise this ministry toward His servants, but He engages in a blessed, solemn ac tivity with regard to the churches which they serve/The second and third chapters of this Book of Revelation show our Lord trimming the lamps. As He walks amid the golden lampstands, He is examining, commending, rebuking, correcting, admonishing, encouraging. Ap proaching the lamp of Ephesus, among many things which He commends, He finds a defect which, .if not quickly remedied, will prove fatal: “Thou hast forsaken thy first love.” He advances to the lamp of Smyrna, and the words of the Song of Songs echo through His statement: “Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee” (S. S. 4:7). He moves on to Pergamos, to praise her for marked faithfulness, but to rebuke a dangerous tendency to tolerate evil doctrine. He proceeds to Thya-. tira, acknowledging many virtues and earnest works, but sternly condemning the unchecked activities of “that Jezebel of a woman” who is corrupting the life of .the church. He approaches Sardis, and there deals with the creeping paralysis of spiritual deadness, while lovingly recognizing those who have resisted sin and kept .their garments white. He continues His round of inspection, coming with words of encouragement and arousement to Philadelphia, the “church of the open door,” with its tremendous and challenging opportunities. Sorrowfully, He turns to Laodicea, and sickens at the lukewarmness of this church which had such a promising beginning.. All these words of praise and rebuke, of encourage ment and warning, He addresses to the pastors, who must accept, in large measure, responsibility for the spiritual condition of the flock. I wonder what sort of session they had at the next gathering of their ministerial as sociation! Surely seven very humbled men must have met for confession, for repentance, for long, earnest prayer, for mutual exhortation and renewing of vows. Is not that the kind of ministerial meeting we need today? Jesus still walks in the midst of the golden lamp- stands. He still holds the stars in His right hand. He still scrutinizes His churches—yours, mine. What does He see? “I know thy works!” He assures us. What are they? “O make Thy Church, O Saviour, A lamp of burnished gold, To bear before the nations Thy sure light as of old; “O teach Thy wandering pilgrims By this their path to trace, Till, clouds and darkness ended. They see Thee face to face.”
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