1:13. In the Midst: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about
the paps with a golden girdle.”
The phrase “in the midst” does not merely indicate
that Jesus was among them in a central position, but
rather that he was the source of their cohesion, the nucleus, the center of
gravity, the magnetic center. In the analogy of the heavenlies, the “midst” of
the candlesticks would be represented by the pole star, the apparent center of
the turning heavens and the universe.
The prophets
foresaw an ensign or banner upon “the
high mountain.” This was the height of the heavens, not an earthly peak.
Isaiah 13:2-3 is about the mustering to
battle of the heavenly hosts, not merely an earthly army, (see verse 10), by
means of the signal, ensign, upon the high hill. (See also Isaiah 5:26; 11:12.)
This central
position of the universe was seen by the contemporary cultures of the East to
be the position of the center of power, the power that turned the whole
universe. Amos 5:8 refers to this center of power in the
midst of the seven stars:
[Seek him] that maketh the
seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and
maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and
poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD [is] his name.
Amos is saying that
we are not to worship any of the heavenly bodies, stars, sun, moon or any of
those things, but rather to worship Him that made the seven-stars and the one
that turns the universe so that there is night and there is day, there is dark
and there is light.
This view of Christ as the Center of Power of the
universe may be seen as the “sign of the
Son of Man in heaven” as
foretold in Matthew 24:30. The passage
in Habakkuk 3:3-15, and Psalm 18, (q.v.),
gives an awesome view of the Lord in his heavenly position of power, His anger
at the wicked and His tender care for His beloved children.
This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.
This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.
My Book is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com.
Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net .
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