E
The living stars are the messengers of the churches, those who enjoy and experience the pneumatic Christ as the Messenger of God and as the fresh message from God so that they can dispense the fresh and present Christ into the people of God for the testimony of Jesus—1:16, 20; 2:1; Mal. 3:1-3.
F
The living stars have "great resolutions in heart" and "great searchings of heart"; they are lovers of God who are like the "stars...from their courses" to fight together with God against His enemy so that they may be "like the sun / When it rises in its might" and be those who "shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father"—Judg. 5:15-16, 20, 31; Dan. 11:32; Matt. 13:43.
G
The living stars are those who fear Jehovah and hear the voice of His servant, trusting in Jehovah so that they may have light while walking in darkness—Isa. 50:10-11; Psa. 139:7-12, 23-24:
１
Those who make light for themselves and walk in their self-made light instead of in God's light will suffer torment—Isa. 50:11.
２
This should be a warning to us so that we may walk in the light given by God, not in the light we make for ourselves; "Come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah"—2:5.
H
The living stars are typified by the stars that were established on the fourth day of God's restoration with His further creation, in which they rule by their shining; where there is shining, there is ruling for the growth of life—Gen. 1:14-19:
１
The shining forth of the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration was the coming of the kingdom in power; this shining forth is actually the ruling presence of the Triune God—Matt. 17:1-8; Mark 9:1-8.
２
The kingdom of God as the ruling of God, the reigning of God, with all its blessings and enjoyment is the shining of the Lord Jesus and the spreading of the Lord Jesus by shining over us.
３
The kingdom is the shining of the reality of the Lord Jesus; whenever He is shining over us and we are under that shining, we are in the kingdom under God's ruling and reigning within us for our growth of life.
Morning Nourishment
2 Pet. 1:19 And we have the prophetic word made more firm, to which you do well to give heed as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.Phil. 2:13 For it is God who operates in you both the willing and the working for His good pleasure.
In the days of the magi, the seeing of the star was a miraculous occurrence, but today to see the morning star is only normal and should be our regular experience. DAY by day we need to have the morning star rising in our heart. We should not merely read the Bible and not even merely pray-read the Bible; we need to give heed to the prophetic word until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our heart.
Today, therefore, the star comes from the living word. I am so happy that in 2 Peter 1:19 we have the word and the morning star together. First, we have the word; second, by giving heed to the prophetic word, we have the morning star rising in our heart. If we will simply go along continually with this inner, rising star, we will consistently be in the Spirit. This is the New Testament service. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 1, “New Testament Service,” p. 289)
Today’s Reading
The transfiguration of the Lord Jesus was the realization of what He is [Matt. 17:1-2]. When He was confined in His flesh, people thought of Him as only a little man from Nazareth. The kingdom was in Him, but they could not see it…He went to the mountaintop, and there He was “switched on.” He was shining. His shining came from within, not from the heavens. Something within Him was shining. Although this reality was present within Him before His transfiguration, people could not observe it. However, at His transfiguration His disciples could observe something shining out from within Him.We may say that this was the shining of the Lord Jesus or the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus, but He Himself said that it was the coming of the kingdom. The shining forth of the Lord Jesus on the mountaintop was the coming of the kingdom…The kingdom is simply the Lord Jesus shining over you. I hope this sentence will make a deep impression on you: the kingdom is the shining of the Lord Jesus, and the kingdom is the spreading of the Lord Jesus by shining over you. He told Peter, James, and John that they would see Him coming in His kingdom— that they would see the kingdom of God having come in power. What did they see? They saw the shining of the Lord Jesus. When Peter, James, and John were all under His shining, they were in the kingdom. Also, the dead saints, represented by Moses, and the living saints, represented by Elijah, appeared and were under the shining of the spreading of the Lord Jesus.
Suppose there are five brothers living together in a brothers’ house. If these brothers are really under the shining of the Lord Jesus, the kingdom will be there in that brothers’ house. Whenever you visit them, you will sense the shining, the reigning, the ruling, and the good order. Although you would find no list of regulations, everything is kept in order by the shining. Suppose, however, they do not live under the shining, but rather they criticize and despise one another while pretending to love one another. If you visit them, you will have the spiritual sensation that you are in a cemetery. Although everything is quiet, there is the dreadful presence of death. Although no one is fighting and everything is in order, death and the authority of darkness are still there. There is no shining.
The kingdom is the shining of the reality of the Lord Jesus. Whenever He is shining over you and you are under that shining, you are in the kingdom…The kingdom is not merely a dispensation, a sphere, or a realm. It is the realization of the reality of the Lord Jesus. Whenever He is spreading by shining over you, you are in the kingdom, and the kingdom has come in power. (CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” pp. 17-19)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1972, vol. 2, “The Kingdom,” ch. 2; Life-study of Genesis, msgs. 4—5