The letter to the church communities is not different from the book but an integral part of The Revelation. He is instructed to write all that he sees on a scroll, not just what he is about to see concerning the churches and send it to the seven churches. From this we can conclude that the whole of The Revelation is a message for the seven churches or communities. In verse 19, John received a similar command to write, given by the One like a Son of Man, and there he was specifically commanded to "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later”.
Thus, The Revelation was for the benefit of the seven churches and John was about to see the spiritual form of the activity and progress or otherwise of these churches and to receive guidance and warning on their behalf. This enlarged view of the churches suggests that they are indeed representative of all Universes where human spirits exist in the whole Material Creation. Although, students of The Revelation have held the view that the churches represent the seven small churches in Asia Minor, this will seem highly unlikely for reasons already mentioned in the introductory section. The churches’ names are likely to be symbolic of communities of human spirits.
As explained in the work, “In the Light of Truth”, these churches represent the seven Universes that make up Material Creation and our earth belongs to one of these Universes, Ephesus. The great structure of Creation as explained in the last Message from the Light, the Grail Message, consists of Spiritual Creation and Material (or Subsequent) Creation. Creation, whether Spiritual or Material, comprise of seven broad sections. In Material Creation (the World of Matter), these are the seven Universes referred to here as the seven churches. We are more familiar with the Galaxies and solar systems of our Universe, Ephesus.
From the Spiritual heights, it is easy to have a comprehensive overview of the whole of Material Creation in its great groupings, but this is not as easy seen from below. We are still struggling to recognize the vastness of our own Universe of which we know next to nothing. Our Universe, Ephesus, has not been fully explored and so the full extent of the sublime work of God even in these Material planes remains far from our comprehension. This of course has not prevented human beings, or at least, some so-called scientists, from challenging the Creator on the basis of the ridiculously petty knowledge they have gleaned from the observation of Nature from our small planet.
Thus, in the message to Ephesus we should look closely for the final form of judgment on our Material environment, on us as individuals and on the end of the paths we are now following. It will be to our eternal advantage if, even from today, we begin to modify and adapt our lives to overcome. However, although, the admonition to the other churches may be directed to different Universes, they are still relevant to us because these Universes and spiritual development on them are at different stages of maturity and progress with their purification. Some are in advance and others behind that of Ephesus and the admonitions to them may therefore apply even more pertinently to us as individuals with varied maturity, than even the generic assessment of Ephesus at the time of its purification.
It is also possible, given the significance of the number seven for our spirituality, that all human spirits striving after God in the various planes of existence fall into seven categories according to the level of their striving and the peculiar circumstances formed by their propensities, weaknesses and strengths and that these churches are intended to represent such a grouping. Therefore, within the activities, strengths and weaknesses of these churches we are each to identify ourselves - our levels and our propensities, and in the admonitions from the Lord seek our further path upwards.
The different communities may also be interpreted to refer to a description of humanity at various levels of recognition of the One God, the God of Abraham, from Ephesus (the earliest recognition) through the coming of the Lord Jesus to the time of the final judgment (Morris, 1987). If we assume this, then the seven churches may refer to striving human spirits of specific maturity or those whose progress is fixed at a specific level of recognition. In this regard, Ephesus may be seen to represent the earliest recognition – Judaism, Smyrna as the level of early Christianity and Pergamum as a fallen church etc.
Nevertheless, the admonitions to each church, however interpreted, remain relevant to us as individuals, irrespective of how and where we stand today and we should see each as applying to us at different times.
As an individual experiences Creation, his or her spiritual maturity rises or falls according to how he or she stands with regards to the Will of God and he or she shifts from one community to another. Thus, these admonitions are vital for human spirits at all epochs of development. This indeed applies to the whole revelation and it is not surprising that all generations who have studied the revelation see it as applying to their time. It is ridiculous to limit the revelation to the times of the early Christians and to interpret everything in relation to Rome.
The Guardians of the Churches (Rev. 1:12-20)
112 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
On turning around to see the source of the voice like a trumpet, John saw the spiritual image of the seven churches (the golden lampstands), and amongst them, and Lord over them all was ‘one like a son of man’. He also saw the designated shepherds of these churches before the throne of God held in the right hand of the Son of Man (the seven stars in the hand of the Lord). It is unlikely that the voice like the Trumpet that asked John to write is that of the Son of Man revealed here, as John himself describes the voices differently (Rev. 1.10 vs. 1.15). John certainly did not specifically indicate that the one like a Son of Man was the one that spoke in the trumpet-like voice and subsequent events do not support this conclusion. It is probable that the trumpet-like voice is that of the angel mediating the revelation or that of one of the Guardians of the churches, i.e. one of the Archangels.
The personality and thus, the identity of the One like a son of man, is intrinsic in the description of what John is permitted to see of him. The mode of dressing clearly indicates his authority. Wisdom and purity could be discerned in his white hairs, power and omniscience in his blazing eyes, and unyielding, rapidly approaching justice in his feet of glowing bronze. His voice was pervasive, soothing and life-giving. Like the sound of much water, it is our sustenance, and being immanent in all things, he speaks to us all the time. This is not the same as the trumpet-like voice sending a warning to humanity. Out of his mouth came the sharp double-edged sword of Truth against which we will all judge ourselves. In his total countenance, we see his essence, the pure unapproachable Light, the eternal source of Life. His immediate helpers (the stars in his right hand) are seven powerful angels, each in turn shepherding one lampstand (v20).
The Lord is described as ‘one like the son of man’ and it had commonly been assumed that this represents the Lord Jesus Christ who had walked the earth as one of us, a son of man. However, because this is looking into the future, the description will apply to Jesus only if we are considering his second coming. It is more likely to apply to the Spirit of Truth promised by Christ, who is to come just before the end to bring the final word and admonition, and usher in the judgment.
Is the ‘one like a son of man’ then the Love of God or the Will of God or both? This question remained unanswered