Re:Vision: The Key to Transforming Your Church

by Aubrey Malphurs

understood that the “angels” of Revelation 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14, the messengers, were the pastors of the churches.[17] It is highly significant that the messengers were the ones being evaluated by the Lord. All of the pronouns in the opening lines addressed to the messenger of each church are masculine singular. When the Lord rebukes, he rebukes the messenger. Thus the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to the earthly shepherds, the pastors, whose character had become the character of the church. For example, when the Lord Jesus said, “Yet I hold this against you [singular]: You have forsaken the love you had at first” (Rev. 2:4), he was addressing the earthly shepherd, the pastor of Ephesus, whose character had become the character of the church. Each church had become the lengthened shadow of its pastor. I understood this to mean the Lord Jesus himself would hold me accountable for the churches that I would pastor for the time that I led them. Understanding the gravity and responsibilities of serving as the pastor, I nearly resigned from ministry.

In Revelation Jesus is holding His messengers His pastors responsible for the conduct of His church ******