The bride of Christ.
TO THE ANGEL OF THE CHURCH OF . . . . WRITE. REV 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14.
While the Book of Revelation has many similarities with other ancient apocalyptic books, the letters of Revelation 2 and 3 are somewhat out of character in such a work. Some scholars suggest that the letters to the seven churches are “prophetic letters,” a type of writing that appears in the Old Testament (E.g. 2 Chr 21:12-15; Jeremiah 29) and early Jewish literature (2 Baruch 77:17-19; Epistle of Jeremiah 1). Such letters carried a great deal of authority and were treated like royal or imperial edicts.
In the Roman world there was no official postal system, except for governmental business. Most letters were carried by friends who happened to be travelling in the right direction, or by designated messengers. But the Empire’s superb road system, combined with efficient shipping on the Mediterranean Sea, made travel easier and faster than it had ever been before. Archaeologists have found evidence of people in Egypt sending letters to Asia Minor and receiving replies in as short a time as 25 days!
Letters almost always introduce an element of suspense. The envelope gives some idea as to sender and purpose, but the content may still be a surprise. I can imagine the suspense in the cities of Asia Minor as the readers of the Apocalypse came to the part that said, “To the angel of the church of Ephesus, write,” or “To the angel of the church of Smyrna, write.” The members of these respective churches must have held their breaths as they awaited a message directly from Jesus. And there were a lot of surprises in this collection!
“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.” Revelation 1:20 (NASB)
The word “mystery” is here applied to the church (the bride of Christ.) The same word is used for the “other women” in Revelation 17:5. Rev 10:7 also uses the word in relation to the sounding of the seventh trumpet. In Eph3:9-11 Paul talks about the “mystery” that has now been revealed in Christ and made known “to the principalities and powers in heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose which He (God) has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Thus, the stars are “in my right hand” says Jesus, because He is their sustaining power, guidance and protection. For the seven golden lampstands, Jesus is the source of light, by which they become the light of the world.
There is a strange irony that many Christian’s face. The longer they are in the church, the easier it is for their faith to grow dim or even die out. The opposite, though, should happen. After all, the longer we walk with Jesus, the more we should learn about Him and His love for us. How, then, can we keep the fire of faith not only burning, but burning brighter and brighter, as it should? What role would a study in Revelation do for our faith?
This book is a powerful revelation of who Jesus is and what He is doing now, as we await the grand consummation. The panorama of history that we are about to behold shows us that everything is in His hands – even you and your eternal destiny!
He came once in humility but now He comes in power, He came once in weakness but now we look to the glory of His second advent.
Tomorrow I will do a summary of Chapter 1.
Hi I. missed receiving 14 and 15. Thankyou. Debbie.
i,m enjoying this study and learning more about Jesus God bless you and your family 🙏 Robyn ❤️ x