"Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth." Revelation 1:4,5
John saw Revelation 4 and 5 before he wrote chapter one. John injects into chapter one what he could not have seen until chapter four. For instance, it is in Revelation 4:5 that we are told about "seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God."
John recalls this vision and that these "seven Spirits of God" were before the great throne. However, in this chapter the "seven Spirits" were stationary. They were not sent forth and no greetings were mentioned.
John saw the vision of Revelation 5:6 in which he saw a "Lamb" with "seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth." The "seven Spirits" are now identified with the Lamb. We have now been given three different descriptions of these "seven Spirits of God." It is not until Revelation 5:6 that the "seven Spirits" are SENT FORTH.
Revelation 4:5 speaks of the "seven Spirits" as "burning before the throne," but they were not yet sent forth. They would not be and could not be sent forth until the Lamb was found "worthy" to open the "seven seals" and release the information contained therein.
There is "but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." 1 Corinthians 8:6 As long as the Lamb had not been slain, the "seven Spirits of God" just "burned before the throne" as "lamps" or "torches." They were a part of God’s plan and purpose, but they were not sent forth. They were not activated.
So we see a stationary vision in Revelation 4, but in Revelation 5 the Lamb is energized and through him the "seven Spirits of God" are "sent out into all the earth," to gather His elect from the "four winds of heaven and the four corners of earth."
We notice the evolution regarding these "seven Spirits."
--First they are described as "seven lamps of fire" burning before
God’s throne.
--Then they are said to be "the seven Spirits [or teachings] of
God," although not yet sent forth from the throne.
--Then in Revelation 5 we see the slain "Lamb" standing before the
throne, with "seven horns" and "seven eyes."
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Seven Golden Candlesticks
"And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks." Revelation 1:12.
The above verse is introduces us to a symbol the Lord used in a vision given to the aged apostle John. The previous verse had mentioned seven congregations located in Asia Minor. The Lord uses seven golden candlesticks to represent these churches.
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." Revelation 1:20.
Unfortunately today the word "church" is often used to describe other things than that which the candlesticks symbolized. So often, people use the word to refer to a building which was built for the purpose of worship. But the word never meant that in the Bible. God has something completely different in mind when He uses the term "church" in the Scripture.
So, the seven golden candlesticks do not represent seven buildings, at least not the kind made with brick, wood and stone. Concerning the church in Jerusalem, the Bible says, "And fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard these things." (Acts 5:11). We are fairly certain that we are not talking about a building here! "And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem..."; "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church..." (Acts 11:22; Matthew 18:17). These verses would be rather funny if the word "church" meant a building.
The word "church" refers to people. In the universal sense, specifically those people who have obeyed the gospel by faith (Ephesians 1:22,23). In the local sense, as the word is used in our text, the word "church" refers to a local body of believers who are in fellowship together in work and worship (Romans 16:16; 2 Corinthians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 16:10).
One more thing: a local church can cease to be recognized by the Lord as His due to ongoing sin without repentance. Jesus told the church at Ephesus "...or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place - unless you repent." (Revelation 2:5; see also 2:16 and 3:3).
There are two sides to the church. There is the Divine side and the human side. The Divine side, the Head of the church, is perfect. But the human side, the members of the body, are less than perfect. But the better they listen to the Head, the closer to perfection they get.
There were seven golden candlesticks. Why seven? In ancient thought, the number seven stood for perfection. There are no improvements to be made to the church on the Divine side. The Law of the Lord is perfect. His design for the local church is just as He wants it to be. There is no innovation we can or should make. The Lord has already claimed all authority (Matthew 28:18-20).
However, on the human side, there are improvements we can make. We can grow in the character traits of discipleship; in love, joy and peace (see Philippians 3:12-14). A problem exists when someone is intent on trying to make improvements on the Divine side and fails to see that it is on the individual side where improvements are necessary. The Divine side is fine, thank you. Keep your hands off (Galatians 1:11,12; Acts 2:42)!
The candlesticks are gold. This would symbolize something of great value. Perhaps a case can be made for purity as well. We recall how the church at Corinth was rebuked for allowing impurity within it to go on without action (1 Corinthians 5:2-8).
As Jesus walked amid the seven candlesticks in our text (Revelation 1:13-20), one of the ways in which He identifies Himself is "Do not be afraid, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, Iam he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 1:17b-18). It was in His death that He purchased the church with His blood (Acts 20:28).
The above verse is introduces us to a symbol the Lord used in a vision given to the aged apostle John. The previous verse had mentioned seven congregations located in Asia Minor. The Lord uses seven golden candlesticks to represent these churches.
"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." Revelation 1:20.
Unfortunately today the word "church" is often used to describe other things than that which the candlesticks symbolized. So often, people use the word to refer to a building which was built for the purpose of worship. But the word never meant that in the Bible. God has something completely different in mind when He uses the term "church" in the Scripture.
So, the seven golden candlesticks do not represent seven buildings, at least not the kind made with brick, wood and stone. Concerning the church in Jerusalem, the Bible says, "And fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard these things." (Acts 5:11). We are fairly certain that we are not talking about a building here! "And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem..."; "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church..." (Acts 11:22; Matthew 18:17). These verses would be rather funny if the word "church" meant a building.
The word "church" refers to people. In the universal sense, specifically those people who have obeyed the gospel by faith (Ephesians 1:22,23). In the local sense, as the word is used in our text, the word "church" refers to a local body of believers who are in fellowship together in work and worship (Romans 16:16; 2 Corinthians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 16:10).
One more thing: a local church can cease to be recognized by the Lord as His due to ongoing sin without repentance. Jesus told the church at Ephesus "...or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place - unless you repent." (Revelation 2:5; see also 2:16 and 3:3).
There are two sides to the church. There is the Divine side and the human side. The Divine side, the Head of the church, is perfect. But the human side, the members of the body, are less than perfect. But the better they listen to the Head, the closer to perfection they get.
There were seven golden candlesticks. Why seven? In ancient thought, the number seven stood for perfection. There are no improvements to be made to the church on the Divine side. The Law of the Lord is perfect. His design for the local church is just as He wants it to be. There is no innovation we can or should make. The Lord has already claimed all authority (Matthew 28:18-20).
However, on the human side, there are improvements we can make. We can grow in the character traits of discipleship; in love, joy and peace (see Philippians 3:12-14). A problem exists when someone is intent on trying to make improvements on the Divine side and fails to see that it is on the individual side where improvements are necessary. The Divine side is fine, thank you. Keep your hands off (Galatians 1:11,12; Acts 2:42)!
The candlesticks are gold. This would symbolize something of great value. Perhaps a case can be made for purity as well. We recall how the church at Corinth was rebuked for allowing impurity within it to go on without action (1 Corinthians 5:2-8).
As Jesus walked amid the seven candlesticks in our text (Revelation 1:13-20), one of the ways in which He identifies Himself is "Do not be afraid, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, Iam he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death." (Revelation 1:17b-18). It was in His death that He purchased the church with His blood (Acts 20:28).
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)