A First Century Message to Twentieth Century Christians

Chapter 2 of A First-Century Message to Twentieth-Century Christians by G. Campbell Morgan. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by Marianne Spiegel. Chapter 2. The Vision and the Voice. And I turned to see the voice which spake with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, in the midst of the lampstands, one like unto a son of man, clothed with the garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breast with a golden girdle. And his head and his hair were as white as white wool, white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace, and his voice as the voice of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are seven churches. Revelation chapter 1 verses 12 to 16 and verse 20. When in the loneliness of Patmos John heard a voice behind him, he turned to see, and having turned he saw. The vision that fell upon him was present during all the messages he received for the churches, lending value and emphasis to these messages. If we, therefore, are to understand, we must also see the vision. Let us take a general survey, note the first impression produced, and then proceed to a careful examination of the central figure. Having turned, he saw seven golden lampstands, one like unto a son of man. He had in his right hand seven stars. He first beheld seven golden lampstands. Lampstand is a better translation, and far more perfectly conveys the true symbolism. A candlestick presupposes a kind of light which is self-consumptive. A lampstand presupposes a light which may be perpetually fed by oil, and in Scripture, oil is constantly emblematic of the Holy Spirit. Of these lampstands, the master himself gives the interpretation. The seven lampstands are seven churches. Thus each individual church is seen as a center of light. Then, in the midst of the lampstands, he saw one like unto a son of man. Thus Christ is seen in all human sympathy, presiding over the churches in the exercise of their function. He, moreover, notices that in the right hand of the son of man were seven stars, and here again we have the interpretation of the Lord. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. The first impression produced by the vision is peculiar, and apparently contradictory. It is evidently a night scene, as witness the lampstands and the stars, and yet it is a day scene, for, behold, the countenance of the son of man is, as the sun shineth in his strength. John beheld as in a vision, the church in its present relation and responsibility to Christ and the world. The night all around is the world's darkness. The only light shining upon that darkness is that which comes from the lampstands. The vision of Christ's face is that of the sun, is a revelation of what he is to his people. To them it is daytime, for ye are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. The church is here seen as the light bearer, with Christ as unifying center and directing authority. Christ himself in the midst of the seven lampstands creates their unity. The unity of the church consists in the common relationship of each church to the Lord himself who is present in the midst. In his right hand he holds the messengers, and herein is revealed the true position that ministry occupies in the Christian church, whether it be the ministry of authoritative teaching as given through the apostles, the ministry of prophetic utterance, the ministry of evangelization, or that of the pastoral office. Christ the truth, the angel his messenger, the church that to which truth is made known by the messenger, and in which truth is embodied, that its light may fall upon the surrounding darkness. No man can be a messenger of the master and the church save as he is held in the right hand of Jesus and interprets not his idea concerning the church's well-being, nor the church's wish concerning its function, but the will of the master. The messenger has no authority in himself, no authority which he derives from the church over which he presides. His authority is the communicated authority of the Son of Man, who is Lord and Master of the whole. In the midst of the world's night, the church unified by the presence of the Lord, diversified in the seven lampstands, is a light shining in a dark place. This perfectly sets forth the one responsibility of every church of Jesus Christ. It is to be a medium through which the essential light of the world shall shine upon the world's darkness. The most important principle to be perpetually borne in mind by those who would fulfill the highest function of church life is that the world waits for light, and the church's only capacity for shedding the light is that she should live in the day which the face of Christ creates for her. No church, and no individual member of a church, can fling across the darkness one ray or gleam of light, save as that church, or that person, lives in the sunshine created by the shining of his face. When the master was here, he said, I am the light of the world. That light was eclipsed in the darkness of Calvary's cross, but from behind the dense cloud it broke again to shine upon all those who receive life by the way of that cross, and through them to flash upon the night of the world. Thus having seen the general scheme, before passing to a close consideration of the central figure, we pause for a moment to look again at the lampstands and at the stars. Let it be emphasized that the lampstands are not the sources of light, but the bearers of light, also that their number is seven, and that they are golden. So that if they do not in themselves create light, it is evident that the medium upon which the light is to rest, and from which it is to flash upon the darkness, must be heavenly and perfect. While we have no light of our own with which to help men in the darkness, for God's light must shine upon and through us, we must, in order to that shining, know what it is to partake of that nature which is symbolized by the gold of the sanctuary. Thus we have a symbolism of function and a symbolism of character. The stars held in his right hand are symbols of the fact that ministry, to be effective, must be of a heavenly character, revolving solely around the central sun. In reverently examining the central figure, we notice first his position. He is, in the midst of the lampstands, unifying them into one whole and directing them by individual messages, showing his intimate acquaintance with the details of each. His general appearance is that of the son of man. It is important to remember that this phrase often occurs in the gospel narratives with regard to the master, eighty-five times, and of these, Christ himself makes use of it eighty-three. The first detail of the vision is a symbolism of function, and the second a symbolism of character. His function is suggested by his robing, clothed with the garment down to the foot and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. Two things are suggested by this double figure. The garment to the foot suggests the right to govern and to judge. It is the robing of judicial authority, not the robing of the priest. He is here seen as the central authority in all church life, having sole right to pronounce verdict and sentence upon all the service that the church renders. The girdle is frequently mentioned in Scripture. Sometimes it is the girdle of the loins, and sometimes the girdle of the breasts. The former is the symbol of activity and power, the latter that of faithfulness and affection. In this case, the girdle is at the breasts, showing the fidelity of his love. This robing of the son of man reveals his judicial position among the churches, and that all the exercise of judicial right is based upon the faithfulness of the eternal love. A remarkable scripture in the prophecy of Isaiah will serve to throw light upon the robing. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Helkiah, and I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the houses of Judah. There is, of course, no immediate connection between the subject dealt with in Isaiah and the one now under consideration, but we refer to it that we may have light upon the symbolism of the robe and the girdle in our vision. Jesus moves amid the churches with the robe reaching to his feet, marking the fact that he is the sole governor of his people, having the right to pass his verdict upon their service, and reward or punish them as he will. The golden girdle about the breast reveals the fact that every judgment he pronounces, and every sentence he passes, is based upon his infinite love and faithfulness. Christ is the one supreme head, ruler, governor among his people, and all his headship, his rule, and his government are based upon his infinite and unfailing compassion. Passing from the symbolism of function to that of character, we have the most marvelous and entrancing vision of Jesus Christ contained in Scripture. We can do no more than pass rapidly over, attempting to indicate the significance of the sevenfold glory revealed. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow. His eyes were as flames of fire. His feet like underburnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice as the voice of many waters. In his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His countenance was as the sun that shineth in his strength. Here are seven points to which our attention is directed. His head, his hair, his eyes, his feet, his voice, his hand, his mouth, his countenance. Let us take them in their order. His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow. Two facts are symbolized by this language. His purity and his eternity. The description is remarkably similar to that in the book of Daniel, describing the Ancient of Days. The hair white as wool is the mark of age, and yet of age that is not aged. This whiteness is moreover the symbol of purity, and these two facts are, in the last analysis, but one, for all eternal things are pure, and only purity can be eternal. The doomed things are the base, the impure, the unholy things, and in the glorious vision of the royal head of the Son of Man, shining like some snow-capped mountain peak, far elevated, we see him as Son of God also, his purity as the basis of his eternity, his eternity the crowning of his purity. His eyes were as a flame of fire. Here the suggestion is that of infinite and infallible knowledge, eyes that pierce and penetrate, from which no secret thing can possibly be hidden, eyes that being as a flame of fire, seeing through and through, detect all that is hidden from ordinary sight, separating with unerring accuracy the alloy from the pure gold. Thus the Son of Man amid the churches is revealed as the one from whom nothing can be hidden. There's no detail in the doings of a church, or in the life of an individual member, that he is not perfectly acquainted with. He has seen and rightly valued every deed of lowly service, which the earthly records of the church have found no place for. The steady, searching eyes of the great Son of Man are ever upon the churches that bear his name, and absolutely nothing can be hidden from that gaze. His feet, like underburnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. The feet are the symbols of procedure, and indicate the continued activity of Christ among the churches, and through the churches, as he marches, the leader of the hosts of God, toward his ultimate victory. These feet are of brass, as though they burned in a furnace. Brass is invariably the type of strength, and the furnace of fire is symbolic of purification. Thus the Son of Man is seen moving amid the churches ever toward the consummation upon which heart of God is set, with such absolute purity that he can never be contaminated with the evil upon which he treads, and with such tremendous strength that he can never be prevented by the opposition raised against him. His Voice as the Voice of Many Waters This exquisitely beautiful statement I think I never appreciated, until for the first time I stood near the mighty falls of Niagara, as the water sweeps from height to depth in calm, persistent majesty, with a cry that excludes all other sounds, possesses all your soul, and yet fills you with a deep peace and quiet. The mighty music of the many waters impressed me as nothing else, and as I listened there came to me with new meaning the words, His Voice as the Voice of Many Waters. The suggestion is very beautiful. What is the Voice of Many Waters? It is a perfect concord of diverse tones, many waters, one voice. God, having of old spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by diverse portions and in diverse manners, hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son. His Voice as the Voice of Many Waters These waters have come from the hills of long ago in single streams, all their courses bent toward him. In him they mingle and they merge, and in him is discovered the perfect harmony of the thousand melodies of the past. Close attention by a trained ear will detect each a separate value, and it will be found that there is no subject upon which he has not something to say. He speaks to art, to music, to science, to literature, to all life, to each separately, and yet to each in its relation to all the rest. Many waters, many messengers, many messages, yet one voice, one word, one revelation. So moving amid the lampstands, with hair like wool, telling of his purity and eternity, with eyes as a flame of fire, searching and knowing every detail of all the life of the churches, with his feet like brass that burned in a furnace, moving toward the consummation, he speaks, and the infinite music is a perfect harmony of all the tones of the Voice of God. He had in his right hand seven stars. In all the symbolism of the old economy the right hand is the mark of authoritative administration, and here has the same significance. In the center of that hand of power rest the seven stars which are the angels of the churches, the place of perfect rest, perfect power, perfect protection. O blessed, blessed place of rest for the Master's messengers! O high and holy honor to lie in that right hand, and listen while he speaks, and still from the same vantage ground to repeat the words of his will. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. We have heard the voice of many waters that speaks of revelation, of his uttering of the deep things of God. Here is symbolized another aspect of his speech to men, that namely of his pronouncement on the things of men. While he was yet on earth, he distinctly affirmed that by his words men should be judged, and the value of this symbolism will be better understood as we hear his verdict concerning the churches amid whom he moves. It will then be seen how sharp that sword is, and how its double action condemns the fault and approves the excellence. His countenance as the sun shineth in his strength. The countenance is the sum total of all the features of the face. The dome-like splendor of the forehead, crowned by the white hair, the flashing glory of the wondrous eyes, the marvelous expressiveness of the mouth, from which proceeds the sword-like speech, and the sound of the voice of many waters. Take all these, and other things not described, in culmination, and the result is a sun of light and glory, shining in strength. God is a sun, and the merging of the features of humanity into the perfect impression of the countenance, reveals in might and majesty the deity of the man. Take this picture, and look at it again and again, until the vision holds you in its marvelous power. His head and his hair white like wool, his purity and his eternity, his eyes like a flame of fire, his intimate knowledge penetrating and piercing, his feet like burnished brass, signifying the procedure of strength and purity, his voice like the voice of many waters, a concord of perfect tones, in his hand seven stars, his administrative right, power and protection, from his mouth a sharp two-edged sword, keen and accurate verdicts concerning his people, his whole countenance as the sun, creating day, flashing light, bathing all the landscape with beauty. Such was the one who moved amid the churches in the vision of the saint at Patmos, and such the one who still unifies the churches into the church by his presence and precedence. Thus the Lord is seen in all the fullness and the functions of his glory, presiding over the witnessing of the church in the midst of darkness. And we now turn to study the messages he delivers, ever keeping this vision before us. End of chapter 2