Mystery of the 7 Stars

I want us this afternoon to focus on the mystery of the seven stars which are in Christ's right hand. The mystery is interpreted for us in verses 16 and 20 as meaning that these stars are the angels of the seven churches. We are going to see in Chapters 2 and 3 that there are messages given to the seven churches. These messages are addressed to the angel of that certain church to which John writes. And I would like to assert to you this afternoon that the angels who are referred to in verse 20 are none other than the pastors, elders, and messengers of those local churches. So the question that will naturally occur to you is this. How do we know that the seven stars are ministers in the local churches? I want to give you 3 reasons why I think that this is so.