![]() And, as we learn in John 10:28, no one can snatch them out of Jesus’ hand. John’s vision shows that each pastor is being held in the Lord’s right hand. A pastor is God’s “messenger” to the church in that he is responsible to faithfully preach God’s Word to them. Even if that is the case, a better interpretation of the “messengers” of Revelation 1 is that they are the pastors or bishops of the seven churches, symbolized by the lampstands. It could be that every local church has a “guardian angel” who oversees and protects that congregation. An “angel” is literally a “messenger.” But that leads us to the question-are these human messengers or heavenly beings? Jesus explains to John that the “stars are the angels of the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). The right hand is a sign of strength and control. The fact that the stars are in Jesus’ right hand indicates that they are important and under His authority. Jesus then revives John and strengthens him for the task of writing the coming revelation. John falls down at Jesus’ feet “as though dead” (verse 17). The Lord is standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands, and “in his right hand he held seven stars” (verse 16). He turns around and sees a vision of the Lord Jesus in His glory. In Revelation 1, John is “in the Spirit” and hears “a loud voice like a trumpet” behind him (verse 10). Also, the first few chapters of Revelation contain letters from Jesus to seven historical churches in Asia Minor. There are other “sevens,” as well: seven lampstands, seven spirits, and seven churches. Hence, in her dead condition, she needs the living Spirits and the shining stars.In Revelation chapters 1-3, “seven stars” are referenced four times. The reformed Protestant Church has been considered to be living, but the Lord says that she is dead. Become watchful and establish the things which remain, which were about to die for I have not found your works completed before My God.” These two verses present a full picture of the so-called Protestant Church. To the messenger of the church in Sardis the Lord says, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and you are dead. It also needs the shining stars, not the positions or the organization. This is what dead Protestantism needs today. This is not a matter of the so-called Pentecostal or charismatic movement, but of the indwelling sevenfold intensified Spirit. The seven Spirits are the full intensified realization of Christ as the Spirit. However, they do not pay attention to the seven Spirits. This is all they need-the intensified Spirit and the shining stars. ![]() Because of their organization, they also need the shining stars. Their deadness is due to the lack of the seven Spirits. ![]() If we examine the situation of Protestant Christianity today, we shall see that it lacks the seven Spirits. The dead reformed church needs the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God and the shining leaders. Now to the church in Sardis, He is the One who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars. The apostate church needed His searching and judging. To the church in Thyatira, He is the One who has eyes like flaming fire and feet like shining brass. The degraded, worldly church needed His judging and slaying word. To the church in Pergamos, Christ is the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. The suffering church needed the resurrection life of Christ. To the church in Smyrna, He is the One who became dead and lived again. The initial church needed the care of Christ, and her leaders needed His keeping grace. To the church in Ephesus, Christ is the One who holds the seven stars and walks in the midst of the seven lampstands. In 3:1 the Lord says, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars.” The seven Spirits of God are for the church to be living intensely, and the seven stars are for her to be shining intensely. Hence, it was the restoration by the remainder. It was accomplished by a minority of the believers, the remainder. The Reformation was God’s reaction to the apostate Roman Catholic Church, signified by the degraded church in Thyatira. As a sign, the church in Sardis prefigures the Protestant Church from the time of the Reformation to the second coming of Christ. Sardis in Greek means the remains, the remainder, or the restoration. In this message we must consider the church in Sardis, the church in reformation (3:1-6). The history of the church from the first century to the present is clearly divided into seven stages: the initial stage, the suffering stage, the worldly stage, the apostate stage, the stage of Reformation, the stage of the recovered church, and the stage of the degradation of the recovered church. It is truly sovereign of the Lord that the situation and condition of the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 match the stages of church history. LIFE-STUDY OF REVELATION MESSAGE FOURTEEN THE CHURCH IN SARDIS.
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