Revelation Chapter 1
VERSE 13 “and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”
AND IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN LAMPSTANDS:
Thus overseeing them all (Compare Matt 18:20.) The following characteristics help us see why this introduction to the Churches is so important. The oversight of the Church has nothing lacking:
ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN: (i.e., like a human figure)
This is a reference to Jesus stressing that he WAS (at one time) a human being —that his experiences and sympathies are to our advantage. This obviously is NOT to suggest how Jesus actually looks now, but is representative of his functions toward the Churches.
CLOTHED WITH A GARMENT DOWN TO THE FEET:
This seems descriptive of the clothing of Aaron, thus showing that Jesus is functioning as our High Priest. The reference to feet IS NOT to the feet members of the body. Verse 17 seems to prove this. These several verses are telling us about him who walks in the midst of the lamp-stands, NOT about the Church members.
“As stated, the robe that reached down to the feet, reminds us of the robe of a High Priest (Exod 28:4, 39:29). This description fits Jesus very well since he completely fulfilled and abolished the literal sacrificing for all ages (Heb. 7:27, 9:28, and 10:12).”
AND GIRDED ABOUT THE CHEST WITH A GOLDEN BAND:
A girdle represents service; gold makes it Divine (Indicating the Master is employed in the divine service of Jehovah). It also represents righteousness and faithfulness (Isa 11:5). Even in his glorified condition Jesus, BY WILL, is a (faithful) servant of his Father.
“The fact that the Master is girt about the breasts or chest, instead of the waist, is significant. Although God has highly exalted Jesus, giving him a name above every name and making him a partaker of His own nature, Jesus’ strength and delight are still to do his Father’s will and be harnessed in divine service. Thus the Master’s service is voluntary and different from that of a bond servant; it is performed wholeheartedly with love, devotion, compassion, and great desire. Also intimated by the placement of the girdle on the breasts are the preciousness of Jesus’ love and the tenderness with which he maintains the cause of his people as a sympathetic high priest touched by their infirmities.”
Thus this girdle represents HEART SERVICE.
“Although the lamp stands of Revelation are obviously single-stemmed, in contradistinction to the seven-branched lamp stand of the Tabernacle, the lesson is the same. As the branches of the Menorah were united into a central stem, so the seven separate candlesticks of Revelation are unified by the personage of Jesus walking in and out of their midst, clothed with long priestly vesture. True to his promise in Matt 28:20, Jesus has been present with his Church throughout the past nineteen centuries, protecting the interests of his cause, directing the affairs of the Lord’s people, and especially inspecting and caring for the Church as a light-bearer, a candlestick.
In attending to the candlesticks, the Master trims the wicks and supplies the oil; hence he is caretaker of his professed Church, trimming it of earthly and doctrinal dross. Alas, how poor the wicks sometimes have been, how feeble the light that has at times shone out into the darkness, how much trimming has been necessary, and how much more may yet be necessary!
We will continued with Verse 14 in our next post.
VERSE 13 “and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.”
AND IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN LAMPSTANDS:
Thus overseeing them all (Compare Matt 18:20.) The following characteristics help us see why this introduction to the Churches is so important. The oversight of the Church has nothing lacking:
ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN: (i.e., like a human figure)
This is a reference to Jesus stressing that he WAS (at one time) a human being —that his experiences and sympathies are to our advantage. This obviously is NOT to suggest how Jesus actually looks now, but is representative of his functions toward the Churches.
CLOTHED WITH A GARMENT DOWN TO THE FEET:
This seems descriptive of the clothing of Aaron, thus showing that Jesus is functioning as our High Priest. The reference to feet IS NOT to the feet members of the body. Verse 17 seems to prove this. These several verses are telling us about him who walks in the midst of the lamp-stands, NOT about the Church members.
“As stated, the robe that reached down to the feet, reminds us of the robe of a High Priest (Exod 28:4, 39:29). This description fits Jesus very well since he completely fulfilled and abolished the literal sacrificing for all ages (Heb. 7:27, 9:28, and 10:12).”
AND GIRDED ABOUT THE CHEST WITH A GOLDEN BAND:
A girdle represents service; gold makes it Divine (Indicating the Master is employed in the divine service of Jehovah). It also represents righteousness and faithfulness (Isa 11:5). Even in his glorified condition Jesus, BY WILL, is a (faithful) servant of his Father.
“The fact that the Master is girt about the breasts or chest, instead of the waist, is significant. Although God has highly exalted Jesus, giving him a name above every name and making him a partaker of His own nature, Jesus’ strength and delight are still to do his Father’s will and be harnessed in divine service. Thus the Master’s service is voluntary and different from that of a bond servant; it is performed wholeheartedly with love, devotion, compassion, and great desire. Also intimated by the placement of the girdle on the breasts are the preciousness of Jesus’ love and the tenderness with which he maintains the cause of his people as a sympathetic high priest touched by their infirmities.”
Thus this girdle represents HEART SERVICE.
“Although the lamp stands of Revelation are obviously single-stemmed, in contradistinction to the seven-branched lamp stand of the Tabernacle, the lesson is the same. As the branches of the Menorah were united into a central stem, so the seven separate candlesticks of Revelation are unified by the personage of Jesus walking in and out of their midst, clothed with long priestly vesture. True to his promise in Matt 28:20, Jesus has been present with his Church throughout the past nineteen centuries, protecting the interests of his cause, directing the affairs of the Lord’s people, and especially inspecting and caring for the Church as a light-bearer, a candlestick.
In attending to the candlesticks, the Master trims the wicks and supplies the oil; hence he is caretaker of his professed Church, trimming it of earthly and doctrinal dross. Alas, how poor the wicks sometimes have been, how feeble the light that has at times shone out into the darkness, how much trimming has been necessary, and how much more may yet be necessary!
We will continued with Verse 14 in our next post.
