In this chapter we must see something of Christ in Revelation. Christ in this book is quite different from all the other books of the Bible. Let us read Revelation 1:13-16. “In the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle. And His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun shines in its power.”
In the verses above Christ is the man walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. We know that these golden lampstands are the local churches. This reveals that today Christ is the Son of Man walking in the midst of the local churches. We may have been Christians for years but did not realize that Christ today is the glorious man walking in the midst of the local churches. He is walking in the midst of the golden lampstands, and the golden lampstands are the local churches.
If we want Him to walk in our midst, we must be in the local church. If we are in the denominations, we are still in captivity. In the midst of the local churches, Christ is walking. We must not think that it is a small thing to be in the local churches. Christ as the glorified man is walking in their midst. This is the greatest reward for us in the local church. For more than thirty-six years I have enjoyed His precious walking in the midst. The first point in this book about Christ is that He is walking. He is not walking in the denominations or in any organizations. He is walking in the midst of the local churches.
If we would have Christ walking in the United States, we must have a good number of local churches in this country. To have Christ walking in the Northwest, there must be a number of local churches there. To have Christ walking in California, there must be the local churches there. Praise the Lord! Where the local churches are, there Christ is walking in the midst.
To have Christ walking in our midst is not a small matter. Suppose tonight we were to have the president of the United States walking in our midst. That would indeed be exciting. But he is just the president and nothing to compare with Christ. To have Christ walking in our midst is inexpressibly glorious!
Now we realize how precious is the book of Revelation. This book tells us that Christ today is walking in the midst of the local churches.
Revelation continues to tell us what kind of a Christ He is. He is a Christ who is so perfect: He is wearing a long garment down to His feet. Nothing is short or lacking; nothing is needed. He is perfect. The garment in the Bible always signifies what a person is and what he does. Christ wears a perfect garment, and we know that this is the perfect robe of the high priest. He is walking in the midst of the local churches as the High Priest. He brings the local churches into the priesthood. He is walking in our midst not as a general in the army, or as a king, but as the High Priest in a perfect robe.
It is indeed interesting to notice that as the High Priest, Christ does not gird His loins, but His breast. This means that His work has been accomplished. His work is past, but His concern and His love still remain. The girdle is not now upon His loins but upon His breast. His work is over, but His loving concern still abides for the local churches. His concern is a concern of love—this is why He girds His breast. He has finished His work, but He is so concerned in love for all the local churches.
This book also tells us that Christ is the ancient One, for His hair is exceedingly white. White hair, humanly speaking, always signifies oldness, but here it signifies that Christ is the ancient One. No one is as ancient as He. But this does not mean that He is old. He is ancient, yet He is so living. “I am...the living One” (1:17-18).
The older we are, the more living we must be. We, the older ones, must be more living. Christ is the most ancient One, yet He is the most living One. He is living forever and ever. He is ancient, and He is living.
I have known some local churches who were very living when they first began to meet, but after two or three years they became old. This is wrong. The older a church is, the more living it must be. The church must be as Christ, the Head. He is the oldest, the most ancient, yet He is the most living. I hope that as the church in Los Angeles grows older, it will also become more and more living.
The local churches should not be dead. This is why the Lord Jesus spoke in the way He did to the church in Sardis. He told them that He was the One who has the seven Spirits; therefore, they should not be so dead. There was nothing wrong with the church in Sardis except that she was dead. She had a name that she was living, but in fact she was dead. This is wrong. In Sardis was a dead local church, yet Christ is so living. This means that she had lost her contact with the living Christ.