19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
20 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.
Now the Glorified Lord specifically commands John to write what he has already had revealed unto him, together with every remaining portion of this surpassing Revelation of the Son of God. This advanced Revelation will embrace essentially everything: past, present and future.
An essential element of this advanced Revelation will be the new channel of redemption, ordained by God: the churches. Thus, the Glorified Lord tells John that the candlesticks represent the seven churches of Asia, unto whom the Lord will shortly dictate epistles for John to write down and pass along. Additionally, the Lord makes it clear to John that the stars that were seen in His right hand represent the “angels” of the seven churches.
The most commonly-accepted interpretation of these “angels” is that they are the “messengers” that serve in these seven assemblies, grounding the saints in the Word [and the words] of God. The Greek word translated “angels” here is translated the same way no less than 179X in the N.T. The remaining 7 times the word is used, it is translated “messenger” or “messengers.” This same word, “angel” is translated as “messenger” in the passage in which Paul describes his thorn in the flesh as “the messenger [angel] of Satan to buffet me.”[1]
One wonders if the same eternal Lord held the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel in His hand, in the same sense as He is seen here holding the leaders of the little assemblies. When a man is faithful to his commission to give God’s Truth, his entire ministry is carried out with the full authority of God Himself. Those that fall away from such faithfulness are in grave danger of becoming reprobate concerning the faith.[2]
The Glorified Lord has set the stage for His final personal messages to the seven churches of Asia. As we continue in our studies, we do well to sustain an abiding awareness of Who it is that is addressing the churches in the next couple of chapters.