The Hands of Christ in John’s Writings (5)—His Servants - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2026

He had in His right hand seven stars.
Revelation 1:16

The Hands of Christ in John’s Writings (5)—His Servants
In today’s text we see a vision that was given to John the apostle. In it we learn about Christ’s hand of divine control over His servants. The “stars” were in His right hand.

Revelation is a book of “signs”; signs are symbols used to signify something else. The fact that there are many signs in Revelation has made some think we cannot understand this book, but this is incorrect. One of the things about the Bible, and true of Revelation, is that it often interprets itself. The meaning of the “stars” is given to us in the passage: “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand … The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20). Obviously these “stars” cannot be actual stars, they are called “angels.” Neither are these “angels” winged spirit beings; they are very human. An angel simply means one who is a “messenger.” We see in Revelation 2–3 that Christ gives each of the seven churches in Asia a message by means of an angel, or messenger. Those constituting each assembly are called to “hear” the message that the Spirit is saying.

God raises up men by the Holy Spirit who have a care for the flock and bring God’s Word (Acts 20:28). As the responsible element in the assemblies, they were to “take the lead” (1 Th. 5:12 ???). It is often asked, “Who are the elders or leaders?” The answer is found in Hebrews 13:7. Those who have the “rule” were those who, on a consistent and faithful basis, brought the Word of God to the flock. The Lord is faithful in sending His angels, His servants who are in His “right hand,” and giving them the message of the Spirit for the right time. They are under His control and are directly responsible to Him.

Brian Reynolds