The Mystery
“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” (Rev 1:20 KJV)
Mystery 3466 μυστήριον musterion {moos-tay’-ree-on}
Meaning: 1) hidden thing, secret, mystery 1a) generally mysteries, religious secrets, confided only to the initiated and not to ordinary mortals 1b) a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding 1c) a hidden purpose or counsel 1c1) secret will 1c1a) of men 1c1b) of God: the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly 3) in rabbinic writings, it denotes the mystic or hidden sense: of an OT saying, of an image or form seen in a vision, of a dream
Jesus is explaining the mystery that John saw in verse 12:
“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;” (Rev 1:12 KJV)
By giving this explanation, Jesus is giving an example of how to interpret the symbolism in Revelation. The context surrounding the symbols provides the keys to understanding the prophecies. The symbols represent something, and it is usually explained elsewhere in Scripture. We can’t make a symbol fit whatever we want it to. We have to look at the proper context of Scripture.
Here, Jesus is using stars to represent messengers and candlesticks to represent Churches. Candlesticks provide light. The Church is the light of the world.
” Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.” (Mat 5:14 KJV)
As members of God’s Church, we are to shine as a beacon to the world- directing the world to Christ.