Numbers 24:17 says, “There shall come forth a Star out of Jacob.” In Revelation 22:16-17 the Lord Jesus testifies, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright morning star. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come!” The Star out of Jacob and the bright morning star in these verses are the heavenly Christ. The New Testament begins with a heavenly star appearing to the Gentile magi from the east who declared, “For we saw His star at its rising and have come to worship Him” (Matt. 2:2). The Bible reveals that in order to pursue such a heavenly Christ, we need both a heavenly, energizing vision of Him as well as the revelation from the Word of God. The magi had a living, present, up-to-date vision of the heavenly star that led them to Christ. However, because they were not grounded in the Word, they went to Jerusalem, the place where the King of the Jews would be born according to their natural concept. There, the chief priests and scribes had the mental knowledge in dead letters concerning the birth of Christ, but neither the vision nor the heart to seek after Christ. After the magi were corrected by the Scripture, they were led to Jesus by the living star, and they worshipped Him in Bethlehem. This shows us the way to find Christ today – by being led under a heavenly vision of the star within and guided by the Word without. After finding such a Christ, we will never be the same (Note 2, Matt. 2:12).
In the divine Word, we see that the believers also may find Christ by the living star, and even become the shining stars in the churches (Rev. 1:20; 2:1). In Genesis 22:17, Jehovah declared to Abraham that his seed would be like the stars of the heavens. It is God’s desire that we would be Christ’s duplication as shining stars to shine forth God as light in the dark night of this age. Daniel 12:3 expresses this sentiment: “And those who have insight will shine like the shining of the heavenly expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars, forever and ever.” The two-fold way for us to become such shining stars today, those who turn many to righteousness, is by the sure word and the Spirit. Day by day, we must come to the Bible as the sure word and give heed to it as a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts (2 Pet. 1:19). Furthermore, by opening to the infusion of the sevenfold intensified Spirit, the God who is light can impart Himself into us, making us the shining stars in the churches (Rev. 3:1). Today may we be those who, like the magi in Matthew 2, find Christ by the guiding Word and the living star in order to become His duplication as the shining stars in the local churches who turn many to righteousness for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
Further Reading:
Witness Lee, Finding Christ by the Living Star (Print).
Recovery Version of the Holy Bible, Matthew 2 with Footnotes (Nook, Kindle, iBooks, Print).
(Most references in the Further Reading can also be viewed on www.ministrybooks.org.)
I appreciate this aspect of Christ very much! Christ is the living star and we are the shining stars.
The way to become the shining stars,the messengers of the churches, is by the Word and the Spirit. When dealing with the word we should not act as if we know the word so well, like the pharisees at that time. They knew the prophecy only in doctrine. The magi, on the other hand, had the word and “a living, present, up-to-date vision of the heavenly star that led them to Christ.” In my pursuit of Christ, I too desire to be led by the Lord’s sure word and the living, present, up-to-date vision of the heavenly star!