"To
the angel of the church of Ephesus write, 'These things says He
who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the
midst of the seven golden lampstands.
Revelation 2:1
If
there was a file folder for unusual titles of Christ, He who holds
the seven stars would certainly go in it. Not even strong
Christians understand this title unless they are able to recognize
the context of the verse. It comes from the letter Christ dictates to
the Ephesian church which appears in Revelation chapter 2 and refers
to the Apostle John's vision of the Lord in chapter 1. Here, the
Savior is seen holding seven stars, which are later explained as
being the angels that minister to the seven churches of Asia Minor
(Revelation 1:16 and 20).
John
had a special burden for these churches in the later years of his
life and their well-being was on his mind and in his prayers. Even
though the circumstances of these local churches were historical,
they are also seen as representing different periods of church
history throughout the ages as well as representing different types
of churches that can be found at every point in time.
The
glorified Son of Man identified Himself to the church of the
Ephesians as He who holds the seven stars. This church was
doctrinally sound and doing great works, but they had fallen out of
love with the One who had loved them unto death. The idea of the
title is that Christ has them in His hand and won't let them go. The
name speaks of possession and fellowship.
In
scripture, the number seven symbolizes completeness so the idea is
that He has every church in His hand. If someone is playing poker, he
is dealt five cards; when dealing with churches a full hand is
seven.
Christ
has his finger on the pulse of every local church everywhere in the
world at every moment. We have a very small assembly of believers
that meets in our home, but the Lord Jesus is there even when only two
or three are gathered together (Matthew 18:20). Knowing that
makes it hard to stop loving Him who Holds the Seven Stars.
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