Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: They say prophecy is history written in advance. Today we'll be looking at a remarkable series of prophecies in the book of Revelation that outlines 2,000 years of church history, all predicted centuries before it ever happened. Right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Aiello. Today Dr. Gary Hedrick is teaching on the mystery of the seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about two special resources we're making available during this series, so be sure to have a pencil and paper ready. Now with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you, and welcome listening friends to another edition of the program. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on the mystery of the seven churches. And we're looking at the book of Revelation, which by the way is the most valuable prophetic book in the entire Bible. Because everywhere else you look, whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, all you have are bits and pieces of the divine program.

In the Old Testament for example, there's that apocalyptic formula that the prophets used when they said, "And it shall come to pass after those days," and then they would give some prophecy about events leading up to the Messianic age. So you've got bits and pieces of the divine program scattered throughout the prophets. Then you've got some of it in the Gospels. Then there's more of it in the Epistles of Peter and Paul.

But the book of Revelation is the most important prophetic book in the Bible because it gives us a panoramic view of the entire scope of God's prophetic program. Now watch what it says in chapter one of Revelation beginning in verse 19. Here's what the Lord tells John to do. He says, "Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter."

Verse 20, "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks or lampstands which you saw are the seven churches." Now notice, he talks about the mystery of the seven stars. And then he explains what the stars represent, the angels of the seven churches.

And the seven candlesticks or lampstands are the seven churches. So it's a mystery. And the mystery is that this prophecy is in two dimensions. Because he says John is to write what? Things which are, present tense, and the things which shall be hereafter, future tense. So there are two dimensions, one in the present tense and the other in the future tense. And the seven churches are represented by seven lampstands.

Now it's important to understand why the Lord uses a lampstand to symbolize a church. The lampstand is a seven-branched menorah, like the one that stood outside the second curtain in the tabernacle and later in the temple. Exodus 25 is where the instructions were given for the construction of the menorah for the tabernacle. It was to be made of pure gold.

By the way, when we were in Israel just a few months ago, we saw the wax model of the menorah that they're making for the third temple. They haven't actually made the menorah yet because it's going to take something like almost 100 pounds of gold, and that's just to electroplate it. If you could imagine, the original menorah wasn't electroplated, it was solid gold.

It would take millions of dollars to duplicate the original menorah. And in Solomon's temple, there wasn't just one menorah. By that time, there were 10 of them. They were carried off to Babylon when the temple was destroyed in 586 BC. But when the temple is rebuilt, it'll have an electroplated menorah rather than one made of solid gold. They just don't make them like they used to, do they?

So in Exodus 25, you have a seven-branched lampstand. Three branches on each side and then one in the middle. Seven altogether. And now in Revelation chapter one, we have more sevens. There are seven lampstands, seven menorahs representing the seven churches. Now what is the symbolism of this lampstand? What does it mean?

Well, in the book of Isaiah, God told the nation Israel that she was to be a light to the Gentiles. In other words, Israel would be a beacon of God's truth for all the world to see. Sometimes people say, "Well, why did God say the Jewish people would be his chosen people?" They think God's policy is discriminatory, that he's giving the Jewish people preferential treatment. But that's not the case at all, my friend.

The reason God chose the Jewish people was in order to make them a light to all the nations of the world. In fact, way back there in Genesis chapter 12, when God made those first promises to Abraham, one of those promises was what? Through you all families of the earth will be blessed. That's why God chose the Jewish people, to make them a channel through which God would bless the entire world.

They were to be his light in the world. Jesus talked about that, didn't he? In the Sermon on the Mount, he said that his disciples were to be the light of the world. Then a few chapters later, Jesus said he was the light of the world. Is it a contradiction? Not at all. In fact, he explains in John chapter nine verse five that as long as Jesus was here, he was the light of the world.

But once he left and went back to heaven, we became the light of the world. We are the reflectors of his light, so others can see his light reflected in us even though he's gone far, far away. Like the moon, the moon has no light of its own. It reflects the light of the sun. And at night, even though the sun is 93 million miles away, we can see the light of the sun reflected on the moon.

You see, we are reflectors of his light. And that golden lampstand that stood in the ancient tabernacle and later in the temple symbolized the fact that God's people are to be a light in this world. And how did that menorah in the holy place burn? Each of the seven branches had a bowl at the end. The Mishna tells us that the young priests would climb a ladder up to the top of the menorah and pour oil into each of those seven bowls.

Then there was a wick that slowly absorbed the oil as it burned, giving off light in the holy place of the temple. According to the Mishna, during the Second Temple period, each bowl of the menorah held the equivalent of nine liters of oil. And it says the wicks were made from the discarded undergarments of the Kohanim or the priests.

Remember, the priestly garments were woven in a very special way and made from the finest fabrics available. So according to the Mishna, they didn't just throw them away. They were shredded into strips and used among other things for the wicks in the menorah in the holy place. By the way, do you know what else those strips were used for?

The material was so soft it was often used to wrap up newborn babies. Remember in Bible times, you couldn't just run down to the local Walmart and buy a baby blanket. Blankets in those days were made of coarse material that might not be soft enough for a baby's skin. So they would use these strips of material from the discarded garments of the temple priests to wrap babies in because the material was finely woven and very soft.

It was called sparganon in the Greek, which comes from the word sparasso, which means to tear. It was strips that were torn from the undergarments of the Kohanim. The King James Bible translates it swaddling clothes. Sound familiar? "And Mary brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger." A manger was a feeding trough.

He was wrapped in those strips of cloth and laid in a manger. And so on that first night as the baby Jesus lay in a manger in Bethlehem, he was wrapped in the same material that was being used on that same night to light the temple just a few miles up the road in Jerusalem. No wonder Jesus himself later said, "I am the light of the world."

So Jesus himself was the light of the world as long as he was here. But once he left, we became the light of the world because the Messianic community or the church is a reflection of his light. People are supposed to see the Shekinah glory of God dwelling in us. Not necessarily in a physical way like the face of Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai, but we are to be a reflection of the character and the nature of Jesus Christ as his spirit indwells us.

Ephesians 3:21 says, "To him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end." That's the Shekinah glory of God dwelling in the church. And what made the menorah burn in the temple? The oil, symbolizing the Holy Spirit. Because he's the one who lives in us. He's the one who provides the vitality and the power for us to shine as lights in this dark world.

And that's why these seven churches here in the beginning of the book of Revelation are represented by seven golden lampstands or menorahs, because God's people are the light of the world. And there's something interesting about the placement of this vision of the seven churches. It's right here between two heavenly visions. The first vision is the one in chapter one where John sees Jesus in the midst of the seven lampstands.

He's wearing the full-length robe and the golden sash of the High Priest, signifying his present role in heaven as our Great High Priest. And then the second vision is the vision of the glorified church gathered around God's throne in chapter four. So you have the vision of Jesus in heaven as our Great High Priest in chapter one. Then chapters two and three are the messages to the seven churches.

And then chapter four is the vision of God's throne. It says in chapter four verse four, "And round about the throne were four and 20 seats, and upon the seats I saw four and 20 elders sitting, clothed in white raiment, and they had on their heads crowns of gold." Of course, in the New Testament, the elders represent the leadership of the churches. So there's a continuity here.

Almost 2,000 years ago, Jesus went back to heaven and assumed his role as our Great High Priest, Revelation chapter one. Then there are seven successive periods of church history represented by these seven churches in chapters two and three. Then in chapter four, after about 2,000 years, the church is removed from Earth, glorified, and taken to heaven.

You see how it all fits? Well, once again our time is gone, and we didn't even get to the church at Ephesus yet. So we'll do it next time. Until then, this is Gary Hedrick saying God bless you, take care, bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary, and thank you listening friend for tuning in today. If you liked what you heard today, you will be pleased to know we've taken all of the programs in this series and placed them on one convenient CD entitled "The Mystery of the Seven Churches," and it's yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives.

Also available is the companion chart, adapted from the original drawn by Clarence Larkin in the early 1900s entitled "The Messages to the Seven Churches Compared with Church History." This interesting chart shows how the messages to the seven churches in Revelation correspond to the seven successive periods of church history. It's the perfect companion for this series of studies on "The Mystery of the Seven Churches."

So that's the CD for $6 and the chart for $3, or both for a total of $9. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line.

The number is 1-800-926-5397. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "The Mystery of the Seven Churches" right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the freewill contributions of our listeners in this area.