Revelation 1:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

NIV: 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.

NASB: As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

CSB: The mystery of the seven stars 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.

NLT: This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

KJV: The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

NKJV: The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

In this verse Jesus explains the meaning of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands. He says the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. Some students of Scripture identify these angels as heavenly beings who serve as guardians of the churches. It is argued that individual believers have guardian angels, so perhaps individual churches might also have guardian angels. But why would Jesus instruct John to send letters to heavenly beings? And how would those letters be delivered?

It is helpful to realize that the Greek word translated "angels" may also be translated "messengers." Even the Hebrew word for an angel, mal'ak, essentially means "a messenger." The messengers referred to here may have been pastors or church members who were responsible to handle correspondence on behalf of their respective church. What is especially noteworthy is the fact that Jesus holds the "angels" in His right hand. Although their work is challenging, the omnipotent Head of the church protects His servants.

The seven golden lampstands, Jesus states, are the seven churches. A lampstand is an appropriate symbol for a church, because a church's responsibility is to help enlighten its members regarding God's will and to shed the light of the gospel into a spiritually and morally dark world.

Revelation 1:17–20 reports John's dramatic response to seeing the glorified Son of God and Jesus' comforting actions and words. Jesus also describes Himself and repeats His command to John to write what he has seen, the present things, and what lay in the future. Finally, He explains the meaning of the seven stars and the seven lampstands.

The Roman government had banished John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. While John was at Patmos, the risen, glorified Son of God appeared to him and commanded him to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). John pronounces blessings to those who read and obey Revelation, and then he greets his readers warmly and describes Jesus' appearance.

The apostle John begins this chapter by stating that he received the revelation of Jesus Christ by divine activity. God sent this vision to John while he was on the island of Patmos, likely as a punishment from the Roman government. This book follows John's four prior messages contained in the New Testament: the Gospel of John and the letters 1, 2, and 3 John. Chapters 2 and 3 tell what Jesus dictated to seven churches in Asia Minor, while the rest of John's message concerns future events.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''