Revelation 1:20

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 are the seven churches. Enough has already been said about this.

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. That is, the rulers of the churches. For the priest, as Malachi says, is the angel of the Lord of hosts (Mal. II).

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand,....

in--Greek, "upon My right hand." the mystery . . . candlesticks--in apposition to, and explaining, "the things which thou hast seen," governed by "Write." Mystery signifies the hidden truth, veiled under this symbol, and now revealed; its correlative is revelation. Stars symbolize lordship (Nu 24:17; compare Da 12:3, of faithful teachers;

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens

The mystery - That is, the allegorical explanation of the seven stars is the seven angels or ministers of the Churches; and the allegorical meaning of the seven golden lamps is the seven Churches themselves.

The mystery of the seven stars - On the word “mystery,” see notes on Eph 1:9. The word means, properly, “what is hidden, obscure, unknown” - until it is disclosed by one having the ability to do it, or by the course of events. When disclosed, it may be as clear, and as capable of comprehension, as any other truth. The meaning here, as applied to the seven stars, is, that they were symbols, and that their meaning as symbols, without a suitable explanation, would remain hidden or unknown. They were designed to represent important truths, and John was directed to write down what they were intended in the circumstances to signify, and to send the explanation to the churches. It is evidently implied that the meaning of these symbols would be beyond the ordinary powers of the human mind to arrive at with certainty, and hence John was directed to explain the symbol. The general and obvious truths which they would serve to convey would be that the ministers of the churches, and the churches themselves, were designed to be lights in the world, and should burn clearly and steadily. Much important truth would be couched under these symbols, indeed, if nothing had been added in regard to their signification as employed here by the Saviour; but there were particular truths of great importance in reference to each of these “stars” and “lampbearers,” which John was more fully to explain. Which thou sawest in my right hand - Greek, “upon my right hand” - ἐπὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς μου epi tēs dexias mou: giving some support to the opinion that the stars, as they were seen, appeared to be placed on his hand - that is, on the palm of his hand as he stretched it out. The expression in Rev 1:16 is, that they were “in (ἐν en) his right hand”; but the language used here is not decisive as to the position of the stars. […]