Tag Archives: Faithful Witness

Seven Golden Candlesticks – Part 1

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Revelation 1:12: “I saw seven golden candlesticks.”

This passage shows how the symbols of the Book of Revelation are to be understood. The symbolism of the stars is no mere literary device but is an integral part of the purpose and message of the Book. The starry heavens are interpreted as the Heavenly Pattern of earthly realities, both of which agree as witnesses of a higher spiritual truth. Many Scriptures may serve as referents to show that heaven and earth are witnesses to God.[1] The seven-starred constellation of Ursa Major is here used as a visual analogy of the seven golden lampstands of the Temple.

 The Hosts of Heaven are reflected on Earth

Another use of analogy is in the “hosts of heaven” and the “hosts on earth.” The word translated ‘host’ is Hebrew tsabah, meaning: “an earthly army, or host and is used equally of the sacred host of Levites.” Moses was commanded to make all things “according to the Pattern” which God showed him on the mountain. Thus he made the orders of the Levites, serving in their rotating courses, even as the constellations of the heavens rotated in their order and the order was changed every month, as were the constellations of the heavens.

The word tsabah also means: “…specially …the host of heaven.”: “(a) the angels round the throne of God, 1 Kings 22:19; II Chronicles 18:18; Psalms 148:2; compare also Psalm 103:21; and Joshua 5:15; (b) Used of the sun, moon, and stars. Isaiah 34:4; 40:26; 45:12; Jeremiah 33:22; Daniel 8:10; also used when the worship of the stars is mentioned. Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kings 17:16; 21:3, 5; Zephaniah 1:5.”*

The word is used also more comprehensively as including all the heavenly bodies, …  compare Job 38:7, where angels and stars are mentioned together, and Isaiah 24:21, where the host of heaven is in opposition to the kings of the earth.

Jehovah is very often called “Lord God of Hosts,” and “Jehovah God of the heavenly Hosts.” This is most frequent in the prophetic books: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Malachi, but is not found in the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ezekiel, Job, or Solomon.

Zeugma: Hebrew Tsabah:

The “Hosts of Heaven” and the “Hosts on Earth” are a unity and are both called by the word tsabah. This unity of the heavenly and earthly hosts is expressed by the grammatical use called ‘zeugma.’ Zeugma is the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words, usually in a manner that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one. Literally, it means “joining, to join,” as for example, “a yoke.”

The usage of zeugma applies in Biblical Hebrew to the relationship of the heavenly hosts and the inhabitants or whatever fills the earth, even the plants being included. The concept of zeugma may help to clarify the particular type of analogy used in the Book of Revelation, but which is also well attested in Old Testament Scriptures. The following discussion follows Gesinius’ Lexicon p. 699.

Genesis 2:1: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”

This zeugma of the yoke between the hosts of heaven and the hosts of earth is resolved in Nehemiah 9:6 where the two are separated and each is described separately:

“Thou, even Thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.”

In Joshua 5:15 we see the “Captain (or Prince) of the host of the Lord” appearing to Joshua. He was shâr, (Prince), of all the host of the Lord whereas each Prince,  shâr, of Daniel 10:13, 20 represented only a particular nation. This passage sets a precedent for referring to the Messiah as the Prince Who is the Leader or Head of all God’s host in heaven and in earth. In this sense all of the hosts in heaven and earth are considered as a single host.

It is appropriate, therefore, to make His symbol that star around which the apparent marching of all heaven and earth revolve, the pole star, the apparent great Bond between heaven and earth which makes them a unity, a Uni-verse,by which all earth can be mapped in reference to the heavens.

Faithful Witness in the Heavens:

The promises to David were of a cosmic and ideal nature. The ideal model is forever established in heaven regardless of the corruption suffered by the earthly images. The Revelation of Jesus Christ deals with this ideal model. That dominion is described in Psalm 89:27: “And I will make my firstborn, (Light), higher than the kings of the earth” (also vv. 35-37):

“Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie to David. His seed shall endure forever and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.”

These promises clearly indicate their cosmic nature. To find a suitable heavenly symbol for this promised ‘throne’ and ‘witness’ which is as conspicuous in its own way as the sun or moon, again, we need only consider the pole star. No other heavenly body has served so well as a “faithful witness” for orientation for it is forever “established” and “unmovable” from its place.

Psalm 89:2-6: “Thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn unto David my servant, ‘Thy seed will I establish for ever and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah. And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O Lord: Thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints…For who in the heavens can be compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?”

Verses 11:12 (Psalm 89) show the value of the heavens for orientation north and south:

“The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine; as for the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them. The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon, (the north and south mountains) shall rejoice in thy name.”

Next: Seven Golden Candlesticks – Part 2

This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book, Revelation in Context, available locally at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma or www.Amazon.com, or www.XulonPress.com.
Free downloads are also available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net.

The Faithful Witness

Revelation Commentary, , ,

Revelation 1:5: “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.”

In this passage Christ is shown to be The New Covenant, The Seed of David, The New Creation, and the King of Israel. He is “the faithful witness” which title is also claimed by Christ Himself in 3:14: “The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness.”

The word faithful translates the Hebrew word ’âman, other meanings of which are: “to sustain, support, as to support or carry a child, to found or build up a building; to be faithful, trustworthy, sure, certain; to be of long continuance, perennial, as of a covenant.”

As a noun it means “a workman, artificer.” As an exclamation it indicates confirmation of the word of another and expresses a wish that that word be fulfilled. [1]

The word witness has been dealt with above, (verse 2). There is again, however, a difference in John as a “witness to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” and Jesus Christ as “The Faithful Witness, the Amen,” as John testifies of Christ, but Christ testifies of God because He is God.

The phrase faithful witness is also used in Psalm 89. The promise to The Seed of David was:
“(29)His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. (36) His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. (37) It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.”

 “First-Begotten of the Dead”

Psalm 89:27 is a referent for this phrase and may be a partial quote: “And I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.” This Psalm is a hymn concerning God’s faithfulness to the covenant with David. The Psalm abounds with such words as faithfulness, steadfast love, established, firm, founded, foundation.

Christ as the First-born of the Dead probably is similar in meaning to “the beginning of God’s creation” in 3:14. The resurrection for the Christians meant the beginning of the new creation. Although Christ was indeed the beginning of the original creation in Genesis 1:2 as Light, He is now the beginning of the new creation as the Second Adam, Whose flesh has been translated into immortality. (See Romans 8:19-23; I1 Cor. 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:15.)

“Prince of the Kings of the Earth”

Christ is here proclaimed to be that promised Seed of David and His throne is established in the heavens as the vision of Revelation 1:12-20 shows.

In Isaiah 55:3-4 the covenant with David is reaffirmed:

“I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast sure [a form of ’âman is used here] love for David. Behold I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples.” RSV

The Christian convert has been buried with Christ and raised from the dead, (Galatians 2:20; Colossians 2:12-13). Since Christ is the Seed of Promise, (Galatians 3:16), He is the eternal “Israel of God.” By participation in His resurrected Body, we are heirs together with Him of this reborn nation, Galatians 3:29 .

[1] Ges. Lexicon, 58-9.