Revelation 1:12-20. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
The resurrected Christ reigns as the sovereign Lord over His church throughout the world. He has entrusted His church with a single, eternal mission: to proclaim the gospel to all nations until the day He returns in glory.
To fulfill this task, He has given His church the only message that can save the world—the gospel that Jesus is the Christ, as foretold from Genesis 3:15 through Exodus 3:18, Isaiah 7:14, and clearly declared in Matthew 16:16. This gospel is not a human idea but the fulfillment of God’s plan of salvation from the beginning.
He has prepared His church to carry this message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20). They are not delivering mere information; they are ambassadors of Christ, pleading with the world on God’s behalf.
He has also provided the absolute method to reach every nation: making disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Triune God, and teaching them to obey everything Christ has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).
Even now, the risen Christ works tirelessly with His church from His throne, confirming His word with accompanying signs (Mark 16:20). He is not passive or distant. He is actively engaged in every part of His church’s mission.
John’s vision in Revelation reveals Christ walking among the seven golden lampstands, which represent the churches. He holds the seven stars, representing the leaders of the churches, in His right hand. He has full authority over the power of darkness and commands angelic hosts to speak to and protect His church. He encourages, warns, corrects, and strengthens His church to this day.
Jesus is deeply involved in His church. He holds His servants in His hand and walks among the churches with sovereign authority—holding the seven stars and walking among the lampstands (Revelation 2:1). He is the First and the Last, the One who died and came to life again (Revelation 2:8). His rule is eternal and unshakable.
He governs His church through His unchanging Word as the sharp, double-edged sword (Revelation 2:12). This Word discerns, pierces, and transforms. It exposes the motives of the heart and brings life where there is death (Ezekiel 37:1-14, Hebrews 4:12).
He also appears as the righteous Judge. He is the Son of God whose eyes are like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze (Revelation 2:18). He sees the spiritual reality of each church and addresses it with truth and justice. He refuses to allow compromise with the assembly of Satan (Revelation 2:9).
He knows the deeds of His church (Revelation 3:1). He sees beyond outward appearance and reputation. A church may appear alive but be spiritually dead. No human accomplishment or religious program can fool the all-knowing God. He does not measure success by numbers or buildings but by truth and obedience.
A church that loses its saltiness is like salt that has lost its flavor—useless and trampled underfoot (Matthew 5:13). When the church compromises the gospel, conforms to the world, or loses its spiritual distinctiveness, it can no longer fulfill its purpose to preserve truth, proclaim Christ, and shine light in darkness. Only when the church remains rooted in the gospel and empowered by the Holy Spirit can it retain its saltiness and carry out its mission as the salt of the earth.
We must remember that Jesus possesses absolute authority over His church. He holds the key of David (Revelation 3:7). What He opens, no one can shut; what He shuts, no one can open. He opens doors for the gospel and closes the doors to falsehood. When the church acknowledges His sovereignty, the gates of hell will not prevail.
Jesus oversees His church with faithfulness and truth—He is called the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation (Revelation 3:14). Just as He has always been faithful, He desires His church to be faithful and true to Him. He counsels with patience, warns with compassion, and disciplines in love.
He rebukes not to harm but to restore (Revelation 3:19). His correction comes from love, not anger, with the purpose of leading His church to sincere repentance and renewed devotion. Like a father disciplines a child he delights in, Jesus desires His people to turn from apathy and return to Him with wholehearted faith. He wants His church to know His heart for the world—that none should perish but all come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Through repentance, the church recovers its identity, renews its mission, and shines the light of the gospel once more.
A church God desires is one He remembers and honors for its work produced by faith, its labor motivated by love, and its endurance sustained by hope in the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3). This is a church whose every action flows from a deep trust in God’s covenant, whose service is driven by sincere love for Christ and others, and whose perseverance is anchored in the unshakable hope of His return. It stands as a living testimony of Christ to the world.
As Jesus loved the church and gave Himself up for her, we too must love the church with all our heart and mind. We must pray for our spiritual leaders, support one another in the mission field, and keep our eyes fixed on the global task. The world is desperate to hear the good news that Jesus is the Christ. Let us move beyond the boundaries of our local congregations and denominational lines. Let us unite as the body of Christ to carry out the Great Commission He has entrusted to us.
Prayer. Lord Jesus, watch over Your church and cause us to arise and shine the light of the gospel to all nations. In Your mighty name, Amen.