In this message we will continue to consider Christ as the Priest who trims the lampstands, the churches.
Revelation 2:26-27 says, “He who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; and he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father.” This indicates that Christ is the One who has received authority over the nations from the Father and that the overcomers will share in that authority. In the millennial kingdom the ruler is a shepherd. In Psalm 2:9 God gave Christ authority to rule over the nations. Here Christ gives the same authority to His overcomers.
To reign with Christ over the nations in the millennial kingdom is a prize to the overcomers (Rev. 20:4, 6). This promise of the Lord strongly implies that those who do not answer His call to overcome degraded Christianity will not participate in the reign of the millennial kingdom. We need to first reign as kings today. In order to reign in life today, we must receive the Lord’s abounding grace (Rom. 5:17). If we do not reign as kings today in Christ’s life, we cannot be kings in the coming age to rule over the nations.
When the Lord Jesus returns, He will assign the overcomers to rule over all the nations. In that day there will be no more nonsensical talk. Everyone will talk rightly because they will be under the proper ruling. The whole earth is waiting and groaning to be released from the improper rulers. The earth will be released from that kind of rule when the Lord Jesus comes back. The nations on earth surely need to be ruled by the overcomers.
Our work, our exercise, and our use of the talent given to us by God determine whether or not we will share in the Lord’s kingship. The word talent in Matthew 25 is the equivalent of the word gift in the Epistles. Paul tells Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you” (2 Tim. 1:6). In life we need to grow, and in work we need to exercise our gift. The parable of the ten virgins reveals our need of transformation by the life-giving Spirit, and the parable of the talents reveals our need to have the proper exercise of the spiritual gifts. We need to be transformed by the extra portion of oil (the Spirit) in our vessel (our soul), and we need to exercise our gift to gain some profit for the Lord. We need to grow on the one hand and make profit in God’s economy on the other. Our growth will determine the time of our maturity, and the exercise of our gifts will determine the position we will share with Christ in the millennial kingdom. If we do not mature and exercise our gifts, we will miss the enjoyment of reigning with Christ in the coming kingdom.
In the parable of the talents the Lord said to the servant with the five talents, “Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21). This is to be a co-king with the Lord Jesus and to enjoy the real rest, the Sabbath during the millennial kingdom. In Luke 19:17 the Lord said, “Well done, good slave. Because you have become faithful in the least, have authority over ten cities.” In the millennial kingdom, some will rule over ten cities and others over five cities (v. 19). We may be not merely a mayor of one city but a governor of ten cities.
Revelation 2:28 tells us that Christ will give the morning star to the overcomers. The New Testament reveals that Christ, who is signified by the heavenly luminaries, the lights, is the bright morning star (22:16). Concerning the types of Christ, the entire Bible begins with Him as the light (Gen. 1:3) and ends with Him as the morning star, a luminary. The morning star appears in the darkest hour, after midnight and prior to the dawn. This indicates that Christ will appear as the bright morning star in the darkest time, prior to the close of this age.
His appearing as the morning star (Rev. 2:28) and His appearing as the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2) will not be at the same time. The former occurs before dawn, and the latter occurs after the dawning of the day. As the Sun of righteousness after the dawning of the day, He will appear publicly to all the people on the earth. As the bright morning star before the dawning of the day, He will appear privately to the overcomers who are watching, preparing, and waiting for Him. While people are sleeping soundly in the night, He will secretly give Himself as the morning star to those who love Him and who watch and wait for Him (Rev. 2:28), that they may have the priority to taste the freshness of His presence at His coming back after a long absence. This will encourage them to earnestly seek the Lord’s presence and be watchful so that they will be able to stand before Him in the secret part of His coming, when He will come as a thief (Luke 21:36; Matt. 24:43). Christ as the morning star will be given to the overcomers as their first reward, the earliest prize (Rev. 2:26-29). We must make ourselves ready for the secret appearing of the Lord as the morning star.
The “Star out of Jacob” (Num. 24:17) and the star appearing at the Lord’s birth (Matt. 2:7, 9-10) consummate in the morning star in Revelation 2:28. No star is as bright as the morning star. At the darkest time, within the overcomers there is a star shining. The overcomers will have and enjoy the particular light, Christ as the morning star.
At the beginning of the New Testament the star was outside of religion (Matt. 2:1-6), but at the end of the New Testament the star is within the church. If we would see the star today, there is no need for us to look to the sky, as the Gentile magi did. Today the star is in the church and among the churches. Jesus Christ, who is the morning star, is walking today among the local churches. To see the star, we must come to the local churches. If we are for religion, we will not be able to see Christ as the star. But if we are in the genuine local church, we will see the star. When we are in religion, we have the sense of being in darkness, but when the Lord brings us into the churches, we see the bright star. The heavenly star today is in the local churches.
According to 2 Peter 1:19, the morning star is associated with the Bible. Peter tells us to take heed to the prophetic word. If we take heed to the word of prophecy, the day will dawn within us, and the morning star will arise in our hearts. To take heed to the prophetic word is to pay attention to the living Word. It is not simply to read the Word; it is to enter into the Word until something arises within us. We may call this the dawn, or the morning star. In 2 Peter 1:19 the term “morning star” in Greek is phosphorus, a light-bearing substance. A piece of phosphorus can shine in darkness. Christ is the real phosphorus shining in today’s darkness. However, the Word cannot shine over us unless we take heed to it. We must take heed until something begins to shine within us. That shining will become the divine “phosphorus” in our heart. Then we will have the morning star. We will be like the wise men, and something from the heavens will shine over us. We must come to the sure Word and open up our whole being to the Word—our mouth, our eyes, our mind, our spirit, and our heart—until Christ as the morning star rises up in us and shines over us.