[Photo by Nathan Jennings on Unsplash]
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw i seven golden lampstands, [Revelation 1:12 ESV]
Sometimes it is straightforward to identify a symbol used in Revelation. Here is one instance where we can easily decipher the code. John, the elderly apostle, has been given an instruction to write letters to seven churches which are identified by name. They were real churches at the time. They were in present-day Turkey. John has heard this command and when he hears this voice, he turns round obviously expecting to see the speaker. But he sees seven golden lampstands instead. It is clear that these seven lampstands were these seven churches which have been identified by name - Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. We will reflect on the order in which their names are listed later on but the point I would like to make just now is that each of these churches were functioning individually in 7 cities.
We are going to observe in future blogs that the churches are all different. Each church is unique (to use an overused word) as it has its own distinct characteristics. They were all functioning churches in a Roman province called Asia Minor and they were all seeking to worship Jesus the Messiah in a pagan cities where people worshiped many gods including the Roman emperor. These Christians were all seen as being part of a strange cult which had its origins in someone called Jesus of Nazareth who had been crucified by the Romans outside the city of Jerusalem. He was a Jew but the Jews had handed him over to the Romans to be crucified. The message these followers of Jesus preached was insane - they were claiming that this Jesus was the Son of God and that he had come back to life after being brutally executed.
So it was not easy to be a church in Sardis or Thyatira or Ephesus or any of these cities. It is not easy today but it was much harder then. Read the blog entitled, "Living in the Roman Empire" (dated 01/05/2023) to remind yourself of the challenges each church would face. John saw seven lampstands. It is not difficult to work out what this symbol is telling us. They were to shine brightly in the darkness of a heathen city. The words of a hymn are coming into my mind:
'The darker the night;
The brighter the light shines.'
Sadly, not all the seven lampstands were shining brightly. In fact, some were just glowing faintly. In the Book of Exodus we read of God' instruction regarding light shining in the tabernacle - God's dwelling place on earth.
"You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.
Exodus 27:20-21 ESV
To keep the lamps burning in the tabernacle required diligence and vigilance. If no effort was made, the light would go out. The oil speaks of the power of the Holy Spirit which is essential for the church to shine brightly. It is exactly like that in our churches. This is not so much about us as individuals: it is the church as a corporate identity. However, the church is made up of individuals. The leaders of the church have a particular responsibility to act as shepherds for the flock. They are to care for all members of the church especially those who are vulnerable. Their responsibility is for their spiritual welfare so that collectively the church will shine brightly. Jesus expects the individual members to shine - to make their contribution to the worship and witness of the church. As each Christian is a priest, each one of us can function as holy priests in worship, 'offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ' [1 Peter 2:5 ESV] and as royal priests in service, 'proclaiming the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light' [1 Peter 2:9 ESV]. Are we worshipping from the heart? Are we witnessing to our neighbours, workmates, friends and relatives introducing them to Jesus, the Light of the World.
This video reminds us about letting our light shine in a dark world
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