We come now to the last four New Testament symbols of the believers: stars, the man-child, the firstfruit and the harvest, and jasper and other precious stones.
In the book of Revelation stars are the shining ones in the churches who are the serving ones (angels) of the churches, responsible for the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:20, 2, 9). Revelation 1:20 says, “The seven stars are messengers of the seven churches.” These messengers are the spiritual ones in the churches. They may not be responsible for the affairs of the church, but they are responsible for bearing the testimony of Jesus. As stars, they should be of the heavenly nature and in a heavenly position.
In the Acts and the Epistles the elders were the leading ones in the operation of the local churches (Acts 14:23; 20:17; Titus 1:5). The eldership is somewhat official, and at the time the book of Revelation was written the offices in the churches had deteriorated in the degradation of the church. Therefore, in this book the Lord calls our attention back to spiritual reality. For this reason, Revelation emphasizes the stars, the messengers, of the churches rather than the elders. The office of the elders is easily perceived, but the believers need to see the importance of the spiritual and heavenly reality of the stars for the proper church life to bear the testimony of Jesus in the darkness of the church’s degradation.
The stars may or may not be elders. It is certain that they are the faithful ones, the genuinely spiritual ones, the overcoming ones among the saints in the church. In the sight of God such ones are shining stars.
All believers should aspire to be stars. Do not aspire to have a position-desire to be a shining star. We all, not only the leading ones in the local churches, must be stars. What the Lord Jesus wrote to the messengers, the stars, in Revelation 2 and 3 was what He wrote to the whole church. This indicates that we all can be stars. This is not a matter of title or position; it is absolutely a matter of shining. We all need to be shining stars bearing the testimony of Jesus.
The stars are held in the hand of Christ the Head of the church. Revelation 1:16a says, “He had in His right hand seven stars,” and 2:1 tells us that the Lord “holds the seven stars in His right hand” as He walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. The messengers of the churches, the spiritual ones, signified by the stars, are held in the right hand of the Lord, and the Lord is walking in the midst of the churches signified by the seven golden lampstands. What a wonderful scene! While the Lord is sitting at the right hand of God as our High Priest interceding for us (Heb. 7:25), He is holding the stars and walking in the midst of the churches to care for them. This is very comforting. The leading ones should praise the Lord that they are in His hand and that He is holding them. Christ truly takes the responsibility for His testimony.
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