2024/08/05

155. Priesthood and the Angels of the Church

In the previous article, we discussed the phrase, "Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.'" (Revelation 21:9), and concluded that the "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb" was the cross of the Lord, i.e., the priesthood, the office borne by the priests who perform the words of Jesus in memory of him. In this issue, we will discuss angels appearing in Revelation like that angel and the priesthood. 

At the beginning of Revelation, the author heard a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Per'gamum and to Thyati'ra and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to La-odice'a" (1:11). He then was ordered to write a letter to each of these churches, with the instruction: "To the angel of the church in XX write:". In some of these letters, the singular 'you' and the plural 'you' are written separately, evoking the image of a church community with a priest and a congregation (Smyrna, Per'gamum, Thyati'ra). The letters also depict the recipients of the letters confronting various issues for the sake of the church community to which they have been entrusted, despite their own shortcomings and weaknesses. So, the "angel " refers to the priest. However, why is the priest called an "angel?" 

Elsewhere in Revelation, an angel describes himself as follows: "I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus" (19:10). The expression "hold the testimony of Jesus" is found only in two places in Revelation, in this passage and the sentence "Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus" (12:17). And in this "dragon" scene, Revelation says: "[T]he woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days" (12:6). Therefore, we have considered that the "woman" i.e., the priesthood was hidden in the memory of the Apostles, the "wilderness." 

The Gospels depict Jesus talking about the "servant" to the Apostles, infusing this Word into their memory (cf. Matthew 20:26-28; Mark 9:35; 10:43-45; Luke 22:26). In the memory of the Apostles was placed the word "servant", which the angel said about himself. This Word is Jesus himself. At the last table, Jesus commanded the Apostles, "Become ... as one who serves" (Luke 22:26), and said, "For which is the greater, one who sits at table, or one who serves? Is it not the one who sits at table? But I am among you as one who serves" (Luke 22:27). For this reason, the priests, the recipients of the seven letters, are also called an "angel" as a "servant." From this fact, we can see that the "servant" was the genuine image of the priesthood that had been hidden in the Apostles' memory. 

So, returning to the seven letters of Revelation and reviewing the contents of each letter with the word "servant" in mind, we can see answers to the various problems described therein. Furthermore, the descriptions of the rewards given to "He who conquers" at the end of each letter reveal a new picture of the "servant" and end up with the last table of Jesus (see notes). The priesthood is the servant with the brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus, just as the angels are. The priesthood leads all to the last table of Jesus. We know these things because we already have the New Testament. After the letters to the seven churches, Revelation proceeds to the third prophecy of the Prophetic Composition of the Book of Revelation (see diagram below), the Prophecy of the Establishment of the New Testament (chapters 4-11). 

Notes: Rewards received by "He who conquers"

1. "To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7/Ephesians).

2. "He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death" (2:11/Smyrna).

3. "To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it" (2:17/Bergamon).

4. "He who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, I will give him power over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received power from my Father; and I will give him the morning star" (2:26-28/Tyatira).

5. "He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels" (3:5/Sardis).

6. "He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name" (3:12/Philadelphia).

7. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. He who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I myself conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne" (3:20-21/Laodicea).

 Maria K. M.