Translation
He was holding seven stars
Go to footnote numberin his right hand,
Go to footnote numberand out of His mouth
Go to footnote numbercame a two-edged sword,
Go to footnote numberand his face
Go to footnote numberwas like the sun
Go to footnote numbershining in its full strength.
Go to footnote numberParaphrase
He was holding all the stars, making all His strength available for their protection, and His commands and judgments penetrate to one’s inner being. Everything about Him was full of absolute purity and life-giving truth, the greatest degree of purity and truth imaginable.
Footnotes
1: "seven stars"
(For an explanation of the meaning of the “seven stars” you can keep reading until you get to 1:20, or you can jump to Rev 1:20 now and then come back.)
2
The right hand was considered stronger because most people are right-handed. It was also a symbol for honor. In this case the idea of strength seems to fit better than honor.
3: "His mouth"
Here it refers to that which comes from His mouth with authority, i.e. His judgments and commands.
4: "a two-edged sword"
Unlike the normal sword which had one sharpened side and had to be swung at the enemy, the double-edged sword could be thrust into someone as Ehud did to King Eglon (Judges chapter 3). Therefore, it is a picture of something that penetrates. The fact that the authoritative words of Jesus penetrate means that they are right and true. When He judges, no one can argue against His ruling; when He issues commands, no one can question His authority or the wisdom of His commands. Also notice that the only “sword” Christ needs is the words of His mouth; He needs no humanly contrived weapons. The weapon of Christ’s words was a protection to true believers against attacks from their enemies, and against false teaching within their ranks.
5
“Face” can mean countenance or appearance, thus representing more than just the face. I take it in this instance to mean his appearance in general, everything about Him put together.
6
The sun is the source of the most intense and pure light known to man. Light, to the ancients represented purity, and truth, and the sun was seen as necessary for life (which it is). The way this is stated indicates that this is not ordinary truth nor common purity; it is intense and unhindered.
7: "shining in its full strength"
Using the sun as a symbol for purity and truth is itself a very strong symbol and conveys an intensity of purity and truth without further description necessary, but that was not enough in this case. The truth and purity of Jesus required an additional degree of descriptive force. It is made clear that we are to envision the brightest source of light we know, the sun, in its brightest form, the hottest and brightest we have ever seen it.