Revelation is a book from the Lord to John about the 7 churches. At the time, there were other churches besides the 7, for example, Colosse which was beside Laodicia. Why was this letter written only to these 7 churches?

We know that 7 represents completeness. The problems in these 7 churches can represent the problems that can occur in the church, so Revelations was not written to just these 7 churches but to all the churches of God. We read Revelation 2:7;

‘“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’’

Every time the Lord finishes what He wants to say, He ends off with this same phrase (He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says). Revelations were written to all the Churches. Revelation has to be circulated among all the churches so that all the children of God can hear what God has to say, including our church in the last days. Amongst all the sayings of the Lord to the 7 churches, we see that He has His self-proclamation to these 7 churches as well. These 7 self-proclamations also have 7 different meanings and these meanings are important to us because they pertain to our salvation. Therefore, we must understand what these 7 self-proclamations are and what relation it has to our life of faith.

Let us first look at the Lord’s self-proclamation to Ephesus. We read Revelation 2:1;

‘“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: ‘

We see here that the Lord proclaims Himself to Ephesus as He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. What do the golden lampstands mean? We read Revelation 1:20;

‘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 which you saw are the seven churches.’

The Lord Himself explains that the 7 golden lampstands are the 7 churches.

Gold is very pure and precious but we see that these 7 churches were not perfect and had much corruption. Amongst the 7 churches, only 2 weren’t rebuked by the Lord while the other 5 were very severely rebuked. We see from the corruption that they were like rotten onions. So how can you call them a golden lampstand? The golden lampstand refers to when the church is perfected.

Currently, the church is still in the process of being constructed and so we see that in this process there’s still much imperfection and corruption. Hence, let us not look at the current state of the church in its imperfection and be discouraged. We must look forward to the perfect church and pursue imperfection. Representing the church as the lampstand means that the church needs to shine for the Lord Jesus because the primary purpose for a lamp stand is to shine. If a lampstand doesn’t shine, it deserves to be thrown away. Therefore the church being a golden lampstand reminds us to shine for the Lord.

What light shall we shine? Most importantly is for us to shine the light of the gospel into this world of darkness to use the light of truth to guide everyone into this way of salvation. For a lampstand to shine, its most important ingredient is oil. No matter how nice it’s exterior is, if it doesn’t have oil, it cannot shine. The Lord’s lampstand, to shine light, needs the Holy Spirit.

We know the Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth. If the church doesn’t have the spirit of truth, how will it lead others into the truth? The Lord walks amid the 7 golden lampstands. In the original language, ‘walk’ is in the present-continuous stand and not in the past tense. This represents the fact that the Lord is still walking currently in these 7 lampstands, just that in the past He walks amid the tabernacles.

We look at 2 Samuel 7:6;

‘For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. ‘

The Lord not only walked in the tabernacle, but also in the tents where the Israelites stayed. We always think that the Lord walks in His tabernacle but we forget that He also walks in the tents that we stay. When we come to church, we are very careful, because the Lord is walking in the church. However, at home, we forget that the Lord is also walking amid our house.

Is the Lord truly walking in the tents? We look at how Moses replies the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 23:14;

‘For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you; therefore your camp shall be holy, that He may see no unclean thing among you, and turn away from you.’

Moses reminds these people that the Lord is walking amid their camps. So in the tabernacle, you must be careful & preserve your tents. This also applies to when you are in your tent. If your holiness is not maintained in the camp, He’ll see the uncleanness and turn away.

We cannot blame God for not protecting our home and for being far from us, “I often come to church to worship You and when I’m in church I properly conduct myself!” But at home, do you similarly remain holy and show your proper behaviour? The Israelites have forgotten this and Moses reminded them (Moses reminds them in v14).

How do we know that the Lord truly walks amongst us? Some say, “I come to church but I don’t feel God”. We will never be able to use our feelings to feel God, unless God has mercy on you and allows you to feel Him for a moment, just like Moses to Thomas says, “come and touch”. But let us not just believe when we have touched, Jesus says, “Blessed is he who has not seen and yet believe”. We don’t use feelings to feel God, we use our faith to believe in the presence of God. Just like when we talk about the faith of Moses, Moses by true faith in Hebrews 11:27;

‘By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ‘

Moses could see Him by faith. The Lord has mercy on us. How does He build up our faith? He uses the Holy Spirit to help us build up our faith. True, when you come to church you don’t feel God. But when you come to church don’t you hear others praying in tongues? Why do they pray in tongues? Because they’ve received the Holy Spirit and this is the spirit of the Lord! The abidance of the Holy Spirit is the abundance of the Lord. In John 3:4;

‘Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”’

We know that He abides in us by the spirit He has given. The Lord through the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts and the Lord through the Holy Spirit walks amid the church. Through our faith and by hearing and seeing the prayers of the Holy Spirit, we know that the Lord is walking amid the church. When we see the Lord walking amid the church, we can obtain comfort.

Just like at home, why can our children can be so at ease when they’re sleeping or studying? In their room, they can’t see their parents, but they can hear the footsteps of their parents at home. They’re at peace. At night when there’s a storm, parents will go into their room and close their windows and tuck them into bed. Hence, knowing that their parents are walking in their house gives them comfort and peace.

Do we see God walking in our church? Although we see many weaknesses and failures in the church, more importantly, we must see the abidance of God. The Lord through His Holy Spirit will bring our church into the state of perfection. The Lord walking amidst our church shows that He’s walking and looking at our actions, He is not just walking aimlessly. He wants to see how we worship Him, how we obey our commandments, how we repent and if His church is shining for Him.

Some lamp stands don’t give out light but smoke. If they give off smoke, it disappoints the Lord and unease others. We are lampstands as well. Are we giving off light or smoke? Sometimes we inevitably give off smoke but if we’re constantly pouring out smoke, it’s not good. We have to examine ourselves to give our light and not smoke. We see what the Lord says to Ephesus, “I know your works”.

Did someone report to the Lord? The Lord doesn’t require others to rattle on them; He knows because He is walking in the churches and so He knows everything about us. Today many believers forget that the Lord is walking in the church and some even believe God is not. In our church, we may see how unedifying their actions are or without the fear of the Lord. When they’re angry, they throw a tantrum without restraint, they treat the church as their house or market and do whatever they want. We see that the moment they’re unhappy with someone, they just argue. You don’t dare to do this in the police station, but why are you so uncontrolled in the house of God?

The Lord is in the church, but who believes this? Firstly, this person doesn’t believe in God’s abidance in the church. We must see God walking amid our church. Some may see God’s abidance, but they forget the nature of God. They believe that God is a very kind old man with cloudy eyes and can’t see what you’re doing - He doesn’t see you hitting someone else and thinks you’re just greeting someone. His ears are stuffy and can’t hear what you’re saying. When you scold, He hears it as singing. Many people think Jesus is a very kind old grandpa and whatever we do, He will forgive. Is this true?

The Lord told John not to write what he has seen. What kind of God is walking amongst the 7 lampstands? Is He truly just a kind old grandpa? We read Revelation 1:12-16;

12 ‘Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands,
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ‘

The One who John saw amidst the 7 lampstands was one “like the Son of Man”. Was he unclear or that he didn’t dare to confirm? When he says “like the Son of Man”, he refers to the “Son of Man” as described in the book of Daniel. When Daniel describes the coming of the Son of Man, he also describes it as “like the Son of man”. We read Daniel 7:13-14;

13 ‘“I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.
14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed.’

Daniel prophesied that one like the Son of Man was coming like the clouds of heaven, and His kingdom shall never pass away and be destroyed. In history, they constantly had prophets about this one “like the Son of man”, but they couldn’t wait because they don’t see the one like the Son of man as described here. They waited for Jesus to come, resurrect and rise to heaven. When He rose to heaven, He said, “you must go out to the whole world to preach the word and establish God’s kingdom - which is the church, so all nations can come under the name of the Lord.”

From all these, we know the one “like the Son of Man” described by Daniel is Jesus. Because He resurrected, rose to heaven, and is standing at the right hand of God, He truly obtained dominion and hence all nations and languages are worshipping Him. More importantly, one day He shall come with the clouds of heaven and that will be the end of the world, and the church will be received up into heaven. This kingdom shall be one that never is destroyed.

When He descends, what will He be like? John describes one particular scene in Revelation 1:7;

‘Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.’

When Jesus was on the cross, every eye looked at Him and mocked, “Didn’t you say You’re the saviour? Save Yourself from the cross and we’ll believe. If you can’t save Yourself; how can You save us?” These people mocked Him. But one day when He comes again, these people will mourn instead of mock. John says those who hurt Him will also mourn.

We see how hard-hearted these soldiers were when they pierced Jesus. We see their cruelty and hardness of their hearts, “the person you think is your saviour, I’m piercing Him.” When Jesus comes again, these people will also see Him. The hardness is their heart will become endless regret now. But no matter their mourn or regret, it’s too late. Do we believe that the Lord Jesus will come one day? When He comes, will we be mourning or rejoicing? It all depends on how we believe and treat God now. John reminds us, “Behold, He’s coming with clouds!” This saying is true.

Can we say amen in our hearts today? Are we prepared to receive the Lord on the second coming? If you truly believe, then you must repent and obey God’s word. Because He knows our actions and will judge us according to our words. We read Revelation 1:13-14;

13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;

Isn’t this description just like a kind and old grandpa? He’s not in armour and not wearing a crown, but a long garment down to His feet - sounds like a kind old grandpa? But if you read carefully in v15-16;

15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ‘

When we look closely, we see that this Lord is so magnificent - One that can inspire fear and reverence. Why must He appear so majestically? Just as we mentioned just now, it’s precisely because many believers don’t see His abidance and misunderstand this. They’re not serious in repentance and don’t watch their behaviour. They worship God, and listen to God but don’t obey the word of God. They take God’s judgement lightly. They always say that the Lord is kind and merciful and will forgive us. It’s true; in the days of salvation, He will forgive and have mercy on us. He’s always giving us chances to repent and return to Him. This is the period of salvation, but it’ll come to an end. The day of judgement will come, and then we’ll no longer see the mercy of God, but the righteous judgement of God. So Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11;

10 ‘For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.’

Paul says we know the terror of the Lord, therefore we persuade men. Why must we persuade and rebuke men? Precisely because we know the terror of God. One day each of us must appear before the judgement seat of Christ. Whether we’ve done evil or good, God will judge us. This reminds us to have this heart of fear because of the terror of the Lord. When talking about salvation, Paul emphasises the mercy of God. Paul says, “Even though I was the chief sinner, but I’ve obtained mercy. You shall as well.” Regarding the judgement of God, His words were severe. So we must remember - God’s salvation is full of mercy, but God’s judgement is to be feared. If we believe in the salvation of God, we’ll believe in the judgement of God. We must fear God, then we can obtain the mercy of God.

God also describes Himself to hold the stars, and these 7 stars in English is translated as ‘7 angels’ but in the original language refers to ‘the messengers’. These messengers refer to the divine workers in the church. They are sent by God to pastor the church and they’re in the hand of God. Thus, they must submit to the governing of God. Whether in pastoring the flock or overseeing the church, not according to their opinions but according to the word of God because they’ve been sent by God to do this work of pastoring the flock. They can’t say, “My opinions matter.” If his opinions are according to the Bible then it’s okay because his words are not his own, but God’s. Their words are what the church should obey. But if his words don’t go according to the Bible, and is speaking on his accords and ideas, then we don’t have to listen to God. Only the words of the Lord can give salvation. So as messengers of the church, no matter what department you’re working with, you must be clear that you’re in the hands of the Lord and you’ve been sent by the Lord to oversee His church.

Peter encourages elders to pastor the Lord’s flicks according to His teachings. At the same time, they represent the Lord and they must be especially careful of their actions and words. Just as the ambassadors of our country, in whatever foreign country, they represent our country. They can’t consider their face and position, but the benefits and face of the entire country because they ambassador the country, not themselves. Thus their actions and words must be extra careful. If they make a fool of themselves, they’re making a fool of the whole country. Hence the messengers of the church must take note of this. We represent God and spread His words, so all the more we must be careful of our words.

Here says the 7 stars are in our right hands. In Revelation 1:16;

He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. ‘

Here emphasises that in His right hands are 7 stars. To us, in our language, it just says, it holds in our right hands but scholars tell us the words are different for ‘hold’. In Revelation 1:16, this ‘hold’ means possessive hold. But I’m 2:1;

‘“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: ‘

This ‘holds’ refers to holding it tightly in the right hand. Just as the holding of stone and diamond, it’s different. It doesn’t matter if you hold a stone, it’s okay if you drop. But for a diamond, you hold it tightly because you do not want it to fall off your hand. This goes to show that the Lord tightly holds onto us and won’t let us go. We often say, “Lord, why have You forsaken us?” Actually, the Lord holds you tightly in His hand and has not forsaken you. On the other hand, we hold on the Lord lightly and are ready to let go anytime. Holding on the right hand refers to His authority.

We read John 10:27-29;

27 ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ‘

The Lord here says, “Those who believe in Me shall never perish, no one can snatch them out of my hand.” He gives an extra layer of guarantee; “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand”. The Lord’s guarantee is already good enough, why must He add on the heavenly ones as well? This guarantee + chop tells us we’re tightly in His hands. No one has authority greater than Jesus and the Heavenly Father.

Some Christians are especially afraid during the Lunar 7th month. Even though they say they’re not scared, in their hearts they’re a bit scared. They hear many ghost stories and are afraid, they’re afraid that they’ll harm them. This is when we forget about the authority about the Lord and forget we’re in His hands. On this earth, nothing can take away the authority of God. Perhaps they can harm our bodies, but they won’t be able to harm our spirits. Our souls are in the hand of our Lord, so we need not fear.

But some say, “Why do we see believers taken away by the devil? They’ve been possessed by demons and have gone crazy. Why has the Lord allowed them to be possessed by the devil and not save them? Have you not said that no one can take us out of Your hands?” Does this undermine the guarantee the Lord gave about His authority? If not, how can the devil work and harm these people? Where does the problem lies Jesus already said in v27; ‘My sheep and My voice’. If we hear the Lord’s voice and follow Him, no power on this earth can snatch us out of His hand. If we don’t follow Him, we will be eaten by the roaring lion. Just as Jesus said, “Jerusalem Jerusalem, I’m like a Mother hen protecting the baby chicks but you’re not willing to come under my wing.” If the baby chicks listen to the Mother hen’s call and go under the wing, they’ll be protected. But if the chicks don’t listen, run out and play outside, they’ll be taken away by the eagle.

Is it that Mother hen has no power to protect them chicks? No. It’s the chick that is not willing to go under the protection. It’s because you’re not willing. Today we have many who believed and not willing to come before Him, or they come before Him but are unwilling to go before Him. Is it that the Lord doesn’t love them, or do they not love the Lord? Is it because the Lord doesn’t want to protect us, or because we don’t want to be protected by the Lord? We must preserve ourselves in the Lord, then we can obtain peace.