Search
Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:31-32, 36-37; Zech. 4:2, 10b; Rev. 1:12-13, 20; 4:5b; 5:6; 1:4
In this book we will specifically consider the golden lampstand in the Bible. Apparently, the Gospel, the Epistles, and the Revelation written by John are unrelated to the book of Exodus in the Old Testament; or we may say that it is difficult to find the relationship between them. It is as if the former were “wearing Western attire” and the latter “Chinese gowns” so that no one can see the relationship between them. However, I want to make it clear that in substance John’s writings are the development of Exodus.
There are several important items in the book of Exodus. The first item is the passover lamb. The book of Exodus is called Exodus because the passover lamb enabled the children of Israel to go out of Egypt. The second item is the tabernacle. After the children of Israel kept the passover, left Egypt, and reached the wilderness, God wanted them to build a tabernacle for Him. Hence, when we come to the end of Exodus in chapter 40, we see a tabernacle erected and filled with the glory of God. Thus, we see that the first main item in Exodus is the lamb, and the last main item is the tabernacle. Now I would like to ask, in John’s Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation, what are the first and last main items? In John’s writings there are two “beholds.” In John 1 there is one “behold”: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29), and in Revelation 21 there is another “behold”: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men” (v. 3). In Exodus there are the lamb and the tabernacle, and the lamb is for the tabernacle. Likewise, in John’s writings there are the Lamb and the tabernacle, and the Lamb is also for the tabernacle.
Between the lamb and the tabernacle there are several other items, one of which is the holy anointing oil. This holy anointing oil is found in Exodus and also in John’s Epistles. The anointing that John spoke of was not invented by him; rather, he took it from Exodus. However, if we read only John’s Epistles, we may know about the holy anointing oil itself but not its ingredients. If we want to know its ingredients, we have to go back to Exodus. There we find that one of its ingredients is a hin of olive oil; this is the base. Added to this hin of olive oil are four kinds of spices: five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of fragrant cinnamon and two hundred fifty shekels of fragrant calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. The two units of two hundred fifty shekels form one combined unit of five hundred shekels. These are the constituents of the holy anointing oil. Four kinds of spices are added to, compounded into, the olive oil as the base. Thus, the oil is no longer merely oil but has become an ointment. Furthermore, the measurements of the ingredients signify the Triune God, of whom the second was split. The number five signifies God the Creator with man the creature. The second unit being split implies Christ’s death. Furthermore, calamus, which grows in a marsh or muddy place, signifies resurrection, and the fragrance of cassia has the power to repel poisonous insects. When we add all these items together, we can see the elements and the functions of the holy anointing oil.
From the foregoing points, we can see that it is not enough for us to have only the New Testament; we also need the Old Testament. In the New Testament we can see the holy anointing oil, the anointing, but we cannot find its ingredients and its functions. To find its ingredients and functions we have to go to the “classics” to find the original picture. Where are the “classics”? One of the classics is Exodus. The entire book of Exodus is a classical book. What does “Behold, the Lamb of God!” mean? We find the answer in the classics. After some searching, we find in Exodus 12 that every house had to prepare a lamb. In addition, Revelation 21:3 says, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men.” What does this mean? Again, we need to go back to the classics. In Exodus we can see how the tabernacle was built, what kind of materials were used, and what kind of a situation was there. To find these matters, we must go back to the classics. Therefore, we all need to study the classical books.
Having seen the holy anointing oil in the classics, we now want to look at Revelation 1. There the apostle John said, “When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands” (v. 12). To see what the lampstands are, we again need to turn to the classics. I do not know if you have ever looked into the classics about the lampstands. Again, I say to the young people, you must learn to study the classics. For example, if you want to have a good foundation in the Chinese language, you must study the Chinese classics; otherwise, you will only follow others by repeating what they say without understanding what you are saying. This is true also in spiritual things. Today, not to mention Christians in general, even theologians only follow what others have said.
The seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. Why is this? Most would say that it is because the lampstands give forth light, and the churches also give forth light and shine in today’s dark age. This is to “parrot” what others say. The golden lampstands are not so simple; to know them we need to search the classics. The lamb, the tabernacle, and the holy anointing oil can be found in the classics; so also the golden lampstand is found in the classics. In Exodus we find not only the lamb and the tabernacle but also the holy anointing oil and the golden lampstand. Likewise, in John’s writings we find not only the Lamb and the tabernacle but also the holy anointing oil and the golden lampstand. John’s writings are the development of Exodus. Exodus is the seedbed, the nursery, with the seeds sown and the sprouts growing; John’s writings are a big farmland, no longer a nursery. I encourage you to go back to study the classics and “dig in the nursery.”
For seven and a half years I was with a Brethren assembly that was well versed in the Bible. I attended more than a thousand meetings there, and there was not one meeting in which we did not study the Bible or hear a message. They did not gossip, and they did not have much prayer and singing. Whenever they came together, they only read the Bible, studied the Bible, and expounded the Bible. I was with those teachers and was taught by them well over one thousand times. I cannot count how many times I heard about the tabernacle and the lamb. I also heard about the seventy weeks at the end of Daniel 9, the four beasts in Daniel 7, the two beasts in Revelation, and the great image in Daniel 2. Because I heard them speak for a full seven and a half years, from 1925 to the summer of 1932, I became so familiar and deeply impressed with these matters that even to this day I can recite the chapters and the verses. However, my point is this: After listening to so much, I only learned from the Brethren teachers that the golden lampstand signifies Christ as the light, because the Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). I accepted their interpretation. Then after 1932 when the church was raised up in my hometown, Chefoo, I preached five times a week. I told others that the Lord Jesus is the golden lampstand, the light of the world, and that without Him we are in darkness but with Him we walk in the light. My preaching was bold and clear, and it was also very inspiring. Nevertheless, no one ever told me that the golden lampstand is related to the church. Actually, the golden lampstand is not only related to the church, but it is the church. Have you heard this before? Praise the Lord that we have heard this in the church throughout the past two years.
In Exodus the golden lampstand is Christ, but in the development in Revelation 1, the golden lampstands are no longer merely Christ but also the churches. In the nursery it is Christ, but in the farmland it is the churches. The golden lampstand has been expanded from one to seven. In Exodus there is one lampstand, but in Revelation there are seven lampstands. One lampstand is Christ, whereas the seven lampstands are the churches. Originally it was Christ alone, but Christ has become many churches. The Brethren teachers repeatedly taught that the tabernacle refers not only to Christ but also to the church; they were very clear concerning this matter. However, they never told people that the lampstand refers not only to Christ but also to the church. They did not have sufficient light concerning this matter. Thank the Lord, He has given us further light, which enables us to see that the golden lampstand is indeed Christ, but this Christ who is one has become many.
Upon hearing this, those who do not have the light of the subjective truth will say, “Witness Lee teaches heresy, saying that one Christ has become many Christs. Do we, then, have many Saviors?” This is not the proper way of reasoning. Christ, who is one, has become many, but Christ the Savior is unchanged. First Corinthians 12:12 says, “Even as the body is one and has many members, yet all the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.” Can we change so also is the Christ to so also is the Savior or so also is God? Of course not, yet this is the method of argument generally used by the opposing ones in Christianity. I have told people in a definite way that Christ can increase from one to many, but some say that this is heresy because this makes one Savior many Saviors. Nevertheless, “All the members of the body, being many, are one body, so also is the Christ.” This clearly tells us that today Christ is the Body, and since the Body is the church, Christ is also the church. In Exodus the golden lampstand, which is Christ, is uniquely one; in Revelation the golden lampstands being seven are many. In Exodus the lampstand is Christ, but in Revelation it has become the churches. If you do not agree with me, you should go back and have a quiet time to pray to the Lord; then He will give you the light to see that in the Old Testament the golden lampstand is Christ and that in the New Testament, especially at the end, the golden lampstands are the churches. In the Old Testament type, there was only Christ but not the church, but in the New Testament, Christ as the one grain of wheat has become many grains and as the one lampstand has become many lampstands. Instead of trying to argue with me, go back and pray quietly; the light will shine upon you so that you will see that today every proper local church is a golden lampstand. Just as Christ is the golden lampstand, so every local church is also a golden lampstand, exactly the same, without any difference.
More than forty years ago I had a wrong concept. I thought that the lampstand in the Old Testament consisted of one stand with seven lamps, but that the seven lampstands in Revelation consist of seven stands with a total of seven lamps. Now I would like to say that this is wrong. Each stand of the golden lampstands in Revelation has seven lamps. How can we prove this? The proof is in the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Over forty years ago I saw only the Holy Spirit but not the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Today, however, I clearly see that the lampstands in the New Testament are exactly the same as the lampstand in the Old Testament; they also consist of one stand with seven lamps each, and these seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God.
The golden lampstand also signifies the Triune God. In the golden lampstand there is the number three. It has a shaft with six branches going out from its sides, three branches on the right side and three branches on the left side. Three signifies the Triune God. In addition, on the shaft and the branches of the lampstand there are three layers—the cups, the calyxes, and the blossom buds—which also signify the Triune God. Besides these, there are other features, which show us that the golden lampstand signifies the Triune God.
The golden lampstand is of pure gold, without any impurities. In biblical typology, gold denotes the divine nature. Just as the substance of a table is wood and the substance of a book is paper, so the substance of the golden lampstand is gold. Gold signifies the nature of God. With the exception of gold, every kind of metal is alterable. God’s nature is like gold, which is unique, pure, rustproof, and unalterable. Therefore, the lampstand in its substance signifies God the Father; in the golden lampstand we see the substance, the nature, of God the Father.
The golden lampstand is a stand with a form, and this form signifies Christ. Christ is the embodiment of God, and in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9). Therefore, in the lampstand we see not only the substance, the nature, but also the form. A fragment, pile, piece, or lump of gold has no definite form. The one talent of gold in the golden lampstand, however, is not a pile of gold; it has a solid form, which signifies the incarnated Christ. In the incarnated Christ, the embodiment of God, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily. Here, therefore, we have the nature of God the Father and the form of God the Son.
The golden lampstand has seven lamps. What are these seven lamps? We cannot find the full explanation in the Old Testament; there is a partial answer in the book of Zechariah, but it is not clear enough. Zechariah 4 says that the seven lamps on the lampstand are the seven eyes of God. Today in His administration and operation, God has seven eyes. Many Christians like to use pictures to express spiritual things, but I have never seen a picture that shows God as having seven eyes. According to our concept, how many eyes does God have? To be sure, we may say that He has two eyes, yet the Bible says that God has seven eyes. We cannot separate the seven eyes from God and “suspend them in the air.” Therefore, because the seven lamps are the seven eyes of God, the seven lamps are God Himself. We must see that the golden lampstands are God.
The Bible is not so simple. When we come to Revelation, we see that the seven lamps are not only the seven eyes but also the seven Spirits of God. The seven lamps are the seven eyes, the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God, and the seven Spirits of God are the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is one. Why, then, does Revelation speak of seven Spirits? This may be likened to a light bulb with a brightness that can be adjusted and strengthened onefold, twofold, or threefold. If we do not need a very bright light, onefold is enough; if we need brighter light, we can increase the brightness to the second or third intensity. The Spirit of God is the lamp of God. In the severest darkness there is the need to intensify the light sevenfold. The time in which John wrote the book of Revelation was the darkest time. Today do we need the one Spirit or the seven Spirits? It is too dark today! We need the sevenfold intensified Spirit. How much light do we have in the local churches today? The light is sevenfold! Many can testify that since they came to the church, they have been under the constant shining of this light. This light is not a negligible light like the light of a firefly, a match, or a candle. Today the light in the local churches is a sevenfold intensified light.
Formerly, as a “churchgoer,” a brother could strike his wife after coming home from a Sunday worship service and have no problem. But now after coming home from a meeting of the church and finding that his wife has done something wrong, as he is about to rebuke her, the light strongly shines on him. The light is so strong that his anger is dissipated. Sometimes a husband may speak a harsh word, but as the wife is about to talk back, the light shines strongly on her. It is for this reason that many of us can testify that since we came into the church, there is not much quarreling in our homes. This does not mean that we do not have opinions. Sometimes I have an opinion on the tip of my tongue concerning a certain person, but the light comes, and I say, “O Lord, I praise You! All things, even this misbehaving one, are mine. I thank and praise You, Lord, that all things work together for good to those who love God.” In this way we do not quarrel.
In contrast, in many of the board meetings and meetings of the responsible ones in Christianity, there are frequent quarrels, sometimes openly and other times secretly. However, many of us can testify that it is not this way in the local churches. We thank the Lord for this! This is because in the churches the light is very strong. When we are about to quarrel, the light shines not only on our lips but also in the depths of our being. This sevenfold intensified light is stronger than any kind of x-ray. This is true not only in quarreling but also in many other matters. In the local churches the light is strong because there is the sevenfold intensified Spirit.
The substance of the golden lampstand is God the Father, its form is God the Son, and its expression is God the Spirit. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all here. When the Lord Jesus walked on the earth, He was the golden lampstand; wherever He went, the light shined. Matthew 4 tells us that when He went to Galilee in particular, a great light shined over those sitting in the region and shadow of death (v. 16). Moreover, while He was walking on the earth, He had a bodily form. Jesus Christ was that bodily form. The substance, the nature, within Him was God Himself, and the expression upon Him was the Spirit. The Triune God is the golden lampstand, and the golden lampstand is the Triune God.
Today’s Christianity still holds the traditional doctrine concerning the Trinity, saying that the Father is one entity, the Son is another, and the Spirit is still another. Many would say that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three different, separate entities. This shows that they are short of light. Revelation says that the Spirit of God as the seven Spirits is not only the seven eyes of God but also the seven eyes of the Lamb. The Lamb is Christ, and the seven eyes are the Holy Spirit. Can we say that a person’s eyes and the person himself are two separate, independent entities? The seven Spirits of God as the Holy Spirit are the eyes of Christ as the Lamb. This tells us that the Holy Spirit and Christ cannot be divided, just as our eyes and our person cannot be separated. Likewise, the lamps and the lampstand cannot be divided. The seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God, so these seven Spirits cannot be separated from the lampstand. The Holy Spirit and Christ can never be divided. We must be deeply impressed that the lampstand in reality is the very Triune God, and all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Christ; this Christ has been expressed, and His expression is the sevenfold intensified Spirit.
Is the lampstand one or seven? It is both. According to its substance, the lampstand is one; according to its development, function, and administration, the lampstand is seven. Our God is the Triune God; He is the Father as the substance, the Son as the form, and the Spirit as the expression. The Father as the substance is in the Son as the form, and the Son as the form is expressed as the Spirit. A picture speaks far better than a thousand words. The Triune God is so exceedingly mysterious that we cannot describe Him with our human language. We cannot even describe the human face, so how can we describe the Triune God? Thanks be to God that there is a picture in the Bible! This picture is the lampstand—its substance is gold, its form is the stand, and its expression is the seven lamps. This is the picture of the Triune God.
While He was walking on the earth, the Lord Jesus was the Triune God. We can say this because He was the pure gold. Apparently, He was Jesus the Nazarene; actually, He was one talent of gold. You and I are so many pounds of clay; we may adorn ourselves to look very nice, but when anyone touches us, our clay is exposed. However, while the Lord Jesus was on the earth, no one could touch anything of clay in Him. On the contrary, the more people touched Him, the more shining and precious He was. Certain ones tested Jesus, as if to pour water on Him to see if He was clay, but the more people touched Him, the more shining He was, and the more they “poured water on Him,” the brighter He became. When the Lord Jesus was on the earth, He went through the cities and villages. All kinds of people—Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, rabbis, elders, and scribes—came to touch Him and “pour water on Him,” yet the more they touched Him, the more shining He was, and the more they “poured water,” the brighter He became. He is pure gold. Not only so, as He stood in front of people, He was the light. He was the seven lamps; wherever He went, there was the sevenfold light. He was the golden lampstand, denoting the Triune God. The Father was there, the Son was there, and the Spirit was there; that is, the Father’s substance was there, the Son’s form was there, and the Spirit’s expression and illumination were there. This is what Christ is.
We praise the Lord that this Christ as the one grain of wheat was buried in the ground and died, and He resurrected to become many grains. After His death and resurrection the church was produced. He is uniquely one, but the churches are many; the church in each locality is an expression of Christ. Hence, one lampstand has become many lampstands. What is the church? The church is the reproduction of Christ. The one Christ has been reproduced through His death and resurrection. As Christ is, so is the church. This is not a doctrine but a subjective experience.
