To Whom Is The Message Addressed?
As we look at Rev. 3:14-21, several very
important factors come to light:
First, we find that the message is not
addressed to the laity of the church, but to its leadership.
This is entirely different from the usual application made for many
decades. Whereas we ministers have often pleaded with our congregations to
accept this message, all the while the Lord has intended that we accept
it. He addresses the message thus: "Unto the angel of the
church of the Laodiceans, write … " (Rev. 3:14). How do we know
that "the angel of the church" is the leadership of the church?
He Himself answers:
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).
Who are the "seven stars" that
He "holdeth … in His right hand" (Rev. 2:1)? They are the
ministerial leadership of the church:
God’s ministers are symbolized by the
seven stars, which he who is the first and the last has under His
special care and protection. The sweet influences that are to be
abundant in the church are bound up with these ministers of God, who are
to represent the love of Christ. The stars of heaven are under God’s
control. He fills them with light. He guides and directs their
movements. If He did not they would become fallen stars. So with his
ministers. (GW 13, 14).
The "crown of twelve stars" on
the head of the pure woman represents the twelve apostles (Rev. 12:1).
When the "little horn" "cast down some of the stars to the
ground," we commonly understand them to symbolize prominent Jewish
leaders (Dan. 8:10). The star "called Wormwood" we understand to
be Attila, leader of the Huns; and "the third part of the stars"
smitten by his depredations we take to be the leaders of the Roman Empire
(Rev. 8:11, 12).
Church leadership is said to be
especially "those in the offices that God has appointed for the
leadership of His people" (AA 163, 164). It follows that the
"angel of the church of the Laodiceans" is the human leadership
of the church, "the great heart of the work," "the highest
authority that God has upon the earth" (3T 492). It is to this
leadership, therefore, that the Lord Jesus primarily addresses His
all-important Laodicean message. If they truly understand and receive the
message, the ministry and laity of the church will be quick to accept it
also. This is implied from the Following:
The members of our churches are not
incorrigible; the fault is not so much to be charged upon them as upon
their teachers. Their ministers do not feed them. ("To Brethren in
Responsible Positions." Special Testimonies, No. 10, p. 46;
1890).
Second the Lord Jesus recognizes that
what has held us back is unknown sin. This is evident from several factors
found in the message:
-
He says,
"I know thy works." The "angel of the church" does
not know or understand his "works" or his true condition;
hence the message informing him.
-
When He
says, "Thou sayest, I am rich and increased with goods, and have
need of nothing," it is obvious
that the "angel" does not know or realize that he says those
things. In fact, in the century that has passed since this message was
first recognized among us as "present truth," never has a
responsible Seventh-day Adventist been heard to boast in those words.
Jesus must be speaking of the unconscious language of the heart. There
is something more meaningful here than a superficial glance makes
apparent.
-
"Thou
… knowest not" your true condition. The Greek verb does not
mean, "you know not because you have not been informed or because
you have not learned," but "you know not because you have
not perceived." (The negative with oida means a lack of
perception, a lack of relationship, the equivalent of our word
"unconscious").
"Thou knowest not" means that
the most elementary and fundamental truths of our condition are
unconscious to us. This is a lack of perception, not a lapse of conscious
memory. It is not a lack of awareness due to weakened physical organisms,
a lowering of the spiritual "IQ." due to illness or degeneracy,
or even a lack of mental information. It is not a lack of intelligence.
We "know not" because a spiritual and emotional barrier has been
erected in our souls due to our guilt in consequence of sin.
To recognize that the message is
addressed primarily to the leadership of the church is in no way being
critical. For one thing, the observation is based on simple fact. Further,
it is a truth that greatly enhances the respect that is due to church
leadership. Respect for the principles of church organization is inherent
in this understanding of the Laodicean message. Church leadership,
especially that of the General Conference, is tremendously important. To
understand that "the angel of
the church" is primarily General Conference leadership restores
respect for church organization to its rightful place. To deny it is to
invite chaos.
And, last, this recognition can in no way
be considered fault-finding. This
is because the principle of corporate guilt presented in this book
precludes the possibility of any "holier-than-thou" attitude. We
are all in this problem together, and the long delay is our total
responsibility together.
How the "Thou
Knowest Not" Problem Began |
