He Who Holds the Seven Stars

To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, “These things says He who holds the seven stars
in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.”
Revelation 2:1

If there was a file folder for unusual titles of Christ, He Who Holds the Seven Stars would certainly go in it. Not even strong Christians understand this title unless they are able to recognize the context of the verse. It comes from the letter Christ dictates to the Ephesian church, which appears in Revelation chapter 2 and refers to the Apostle John’s vision of the Lord in chapter 1. Here, the Savior is seen holding seven stars, which are later explained as being the angels that minister to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 1:16 and 20).

John had a special burden for these churches in the later years of his life, and their well-being was on his mind and in his prayers. Even though the circumstances of these local churches were historical, they are also seen as representing different periods of church history throughout the ages, as well as representing different types of churches that can be found at every point in time.

The glorified Son of Man identified Himself to the church of the Ephesians as He Who Holds the Seven Stars. This church was doctrinally sound and doing great works, but they had fallen out of love with the One who had loved them unto death. The idea of the title is that Christ has them in His hand and won’t let them go. The name speaks of possession and fellowship.

In scripture, the number seven symbolizes completeness, so the idea is that He has every church in His hand. If someone is playing poker, he is dealt five cards; when dealing with churches, a full hand is seven.

Christ has his finger on the pulse of every local church everywhere in the world at every moment. We have a very small assembly of believers that meets in our home, but the Lord Jesus is here even when only two or three are gathered together (Matthew 18:20). Knowing that makes it hard to stop loving Him Who Holds the Seven Stars.

 March 16