Angels and Churches
REVELATION Number 28
Angels and Churches
Revelation 1:20
“As for 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 are the seven churches.”
The imagery of the seven stars and the seven lampstands is called a “mystery.” They are a symbolized representation signifying something else. Once again here we are reminded that The Revelation itself is a book of signs and symbols and that we must view it that way if we are to benefit from the truth it contains.
The seven lampstands are the seven churches in Asia to which the seven letters to follow will be addressed. They are also symbolic of the greater Church, the body and bride of Christ, in all ages and all places. As this was addressed earlier in our study, I will not belabor it here.
The Lord Jesus tells John that the seven stars are “the angels of the seven churches.” This statement has been the subject of a great deal of interpretive conjecture. It is unclear, but I find myself in agreement with William Hendriksen who, in his book “More Than Conquerors, an Interpretation of the Book of Revelation,” writes in a footnote as follows. Parentheses are mine.
“If these ‘Angels’ in fact indicated the messengers of the churches sent to visit John, as the Schofield Bible holds, the expression ‘To the angel of the church at…write’ would be meaningless. Nor can real angels, heavenly beings, be meant, for it would have been rather difficult to deliver the book or its epistles (letters) to them. Neither do we believe that the expression ‘angels’ can mean the churches as personified or as in the expression ‘the Spirit of Ephesus.’ We seriously doubt whether the expression, thus interpreted, would have been understood by those who first read or heard the book.”
In agreeing with this reasoning, I also agree that “angels” is best understood to be referring to the elders, overseers, or teachers of the churches. The Lord holds them in His hand, having authority over them and protecting them as ambassadors and under-shepherds of the flock. They are then responsible to read the letters and exhort those in their local fellowships.
