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Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:31-32, 37; Zech. 3:9; 4:2-10; Rev. 1:4, 11-13, 20; 4:5; 5:6
The revelations in the Bible are progressive. Most of the revelations are sown as seeds in Genesis, they are developed little by little in the succeeding books, and they consummate in Revelation. We may say that in Genesis we have the seeds and in Revelation we have the harvest. The revelation concerning the golden lampstand, which is first mentioned in Exodus 25, is the same in principle. Here I must add a little word: The concept concerning the golden lampstand cannot be found in human history or in any human writings. It is a very particular matter. Not even an expert designer today could possibly create such a pattern. Hence, in the last several thousand years the golden lampstand has remained a unique matter that is not of human thought but of the divine conception. Therefore, this pattern is very special; it is one lampstand with seven lamps. Every item of this lampstand bears some spiritual meaning.
The golden lampstand is thoroughly covered in Exodus, but there is the need for further development. For example, in Exodus 25 the lampstand is spoken of as a beaten work of pure gold, but there is no mention of the oil. However, in Zechariah 4 something is added. It says that there are two olive trees by the sides of the lampstand, and at the end of chapter 4 the two olive trees are the two sons of oil. These two sons of oil are filled with oil. In Revelation 11 these two olive trees, the two sons of oil, are the two witnesses who are coming (vv. 3-4). After many believers are raptured to the heavens, the testimony of God on this earth will fall upon these two witnesses. We must see that the two witnesses in Revelation 11 are also two golden lampstands. The main point, however, is that in Exodus there is the golden lampstand but not the olive oil; it is in Zechariah 4 that the oil is mentioned. Concerning the lampstand with the two olive trees by its sides, the prophet Zechariah asks, “What are these, sir?” Then the angel answers, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts” (vv. 4, 6). This indicates that in Zechariah 4 the concept concerning the Spirit is brought in. In Exodus 25 there is only the concept concerning the gold—the golden lampstand—with no mention of the oil, but in Zechariah 4 the oil is mentioned. This oil is the Holy Spirit. First there is the golden lampstand, and then there is the olive oil (the Holy Spirit). Then in Revelation 1 we see that there is not just one golden lampstand but seven golden lampstands (v. 12). One has become many.
The speaking concerning the golden lampstand in the Bible is in three stages: The first stage is the golden lampstand, the second stage is the golden lampstand with the olive oil (the Holy Spirit), and the third stage is the singular lampstand becoming the plural lampstands—one lampstand becoming many lampstands. This is very meaningful. In Exodus 25 the emphasis of the lampstand is on Christ; in Zechariah 4 the emphasis is on the Holy Spirit; and in Revelation 1 the emphasis is on the churches. All three passages mention the lampstand, but in the first passage Christ is emphasized, in the second passage the Holy Spirit is emphasized, and in the third passage the churches are brought forth.
How is the church brought forth? It is produced by having the Spirit in addition to Christ. Christ with the Spirit is the church as the golden lampstand. According to God’s eternal desire, economy, or plan, the golden lampstand is not merely Christ or merely Christ with the Spirit; instead, the golden lampstand is Christ with the Spirit producing the church. The church is God’s ultimate goal. God’s plan is from Christ through the Spirit to the church. If there is Christ yet not the Spirit, God cannot carry out His plan; if there is Christ with the Spirit yet without the church, God has not yet reached the ultimate goal of His economy.
We need to see that when the lampstand is spoken of in the last book of the Bible, the emphasis is neither on Christ nor on the Spirit but on the church. Here I must speak a word that may make people unhappy; however, what is true is true and what is false is false, and what is good is good and what is bad is bad. I would be glad to say something good about others, and sometimes I have made up my mind and resolved that I would not mention Christianity in my preaching. However, while I am giving a message, I cannot help mentioning it because the anointing anoints me to do so. In the divine revelation, first there is Christ, then the Spirit, and eventually the church. However, is the reality of the church in today’s Christianity? Absolutely not. Therefore, Christianity is really pitiful. There is even a group of so-called seekers of spirituality who say, “We only care for Christ; we don’t care for the church.” This has become their slogan. They want Christ but not the church; this means that they want Exodus but not Revelation. Does Revelation speak about Christ or the church? John did not say, “I turned and saw Christ.” Rather, he said, “When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands”; he also said, “In the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man” (1:12-13). This is a complete vision.
Today we must see the church, and we must also see Christ walking in the midst of the churches. Many of us can testify that when we were in the denominations, we did not see much of Christ, nor did we enjoy much of Christ, but since we have come into the church in the Lord’s recovery, we definitely see the Son of Man walking in the midst of the local churches. As to those who say, “We want Christ but not the church,” the more they speak, the emptier they become. In the church we say, “We want the church!” Why do we want the church? Because Christ is in the church. If we really care for Christ, we must care for the church. We can compare this to the way we drink water. If we say that we want water but not the cup, we cannot drink, because without the cup, there is no water.
In April 1957 several brothers who came from England and Denmark greatly appraised the audience attending a big conference held in Taipei. One elderly brother said that he had never seen such an audience in his whole life of service to the Lord. However, after a period of time he tried to put down the church. Those brothers stayed among us for eight weeks, and they very much appreciated Chinese tea. One day, we sat down to have some tea in the workers’ house, and while we were enjoying the tea, we seized the opportunity to speak. To be sure, I knew what they were thinking within themselves. They thought that we were good in everything but regrettably had a “fly in the ointment,” that is, the matter of the church. However, they did not dare to speak out or openly oppose. Therefore, that day in the workers’ house, while we were drinking tea, I seized the opportunity to say, “You came here and really appreciate our tea, but unfortunately I have discovered that you are trying to break our teacups and our teapot.” Furthermore, I said, “May I ask you, if you break our teapot and teacups, how can we serve the tea? There could be no tea.” They looked at each other and understood in their heart. Nevertheless, after that time, a small number of younger co-workers were affected by them and began to shout the slogan: “We want Christ but not the church.” This was twenty years ago, and there is no way to deny the fact of what has happened to them. Twenty years of history proves to us that those who want Christ but not the church are finished; they are through and have nothing.
Of course, we do not mean that we “drink the teapot but not the tea.” The reason we want the “teapot” is that we want to “drink tea.” When I drink tea at home, I am very particular about the teapot and the teacup. I may spend many dollars to buy the teapot but only five dollars to buy the tea. May I ask, do you spend more money on the teapot or on the tea? We have been fighting the battle for more than twenty years. Today we are still fighting; the battle is not over Christ but over the church. The focus of the dispute is not Christ but the church. Twenty years’ history proves that those who want only Christ but not the church are doomed to be finished. They care only for the tea but do not care for the teapot. However, I care for both the tea and the teapot. The Bible does not stop at Exodus; rather, it goes on all the way to Revelation. At the end of Revelation there is a huge, universal “teapot” called the New Jerusalem. This is a great and unique “teapot.” The divine revelation does not stop at Exodus or Zechariah but goes all the way to Revelation.
Now let us consider again what the golden lampstand is. We have seen that the golden lampstand is the Triune God. The Father is the substance, the Son is the form, and the Spirit is the expression. All those who have seen the light will say, “Hallelujah, the golden lampstand is the Triune God!” Now I would like to point out a few more matters. First, the Bible says that there are seven lamps on the golden lampstand, and the book of Zechariah tells us that the seven lamps are the seven eyes of Jehovah. The seven eyes are equal to the seven lamps. Who, then, is Jehovah? Jehovah is equal to the lampstand. The lampstand with the seven lamps is Jehovah with the seven eyes. This is very clear. The seven lamps are the seven eyes; hence, the lampstand is Jehovah.
Second, these seven eyes are the seven eyes of the Lamb (Rev. 5:6). Originally there was the lampstand; then there was a progression from the lampstand to Jehovah and another progression from Jehovah to the Lamb. This tells us that the lampstand is Jehovah, that Jehovah is the Lamb, that the seven lamps on the lampstand are the seven eyes of Jehovah, and that the seven eyes of Jehovah are the seven eyes of the Lamb. Moreover, Zechariah 3:9 says that these seven eyes are also the seven eyes of the stone; therefore, this stone is equal to the Lamb. The lampstand is equal to Jehovah, Jehovah is equal to the Lamb, and the Lamb is equal to the stone. These four are one. The seven lamps of the lampstand are the seven eyes of Jehovah; the seven eyes of Jehovah are the seven eyes of the Lamb; and the seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven eyes of the stone.
Do not consider this to be simple. I do not know why our God did not present these things in a simpler way when He inspired the writing of the Holy Scriptures! More than twenty years ago when I studied these items—the lampstand, Jehovah, the Lamb, and the stone—I had a very hard time with them. Today, however, I have found the way for you. If I had not found the way for you, then even after reading Exodus 25, Zechariah 3 and 4, and Revelation 1, 4, and 5 for a whole day, you would not be able to come to a proper conclusion. What are these four matters? They are the lampstand, Jehovah, the Lamb, and the stone. Now we will see three other matters: the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits.
The seven lamps are the seven eyes, the seven eyes are the seven Spirits, and the seven Spirits are the seven lamps. We can keep going in a circle! What, then, do the lamps, the eyes, and the Spirits mean? Furthermore, how can the lamps be the eyes, the eyes be the Spirits, and the Spirits be the lamps? Some may say, “The seven lamps shine, the seven eyes infuse, and the seven Spirits saturate.” This sounds logical, but it is still not complete. We may ask further, “How can the lampstand be Jehovah, Jehovah be the Lamb, and the Lamb be the stone?”
These truths have been buried in the Bible for centuries. Even those in the best theological schools, when reading these things, try to disregard them. They say, “Do not try to take care of so many things. Some portions in the Bible are very difficult to understand, and we should only take care of what we can understand.” Eventually, many only care for John 3:16 and 1 Timothy 1:15. If we ask the theologians and study all their expository books, we cannot find anything that tells us that the lampstand is the Triune God. There is also nothing that tells us that the lampstand in Exodus emphasizes Christ, the lampstand in Zechariah emphasizes the Spirit, and the lampstands in Revelation are the churches. Hence, many Christians today do not highly regard the church because they do not have this light and revelation. We may illustrate this in the following way: I once bought a very good watch, which came in a nice-looking box. When one of my children saw the package, he did not care about the watch but asked for the box. He saw that the box was very attractive, and he appreciated the box; that was the extent of his “vision” and “revelation.” Actually, that was his foolish vision and low revelation. I was wise; I kept the watch in my pocket and gave him the box because I had the insight to see what was valuable.
One day after I gave a message in Houston, Texas, a married woman came to me and said, “Brother Lee, your message was very good, but why do you speak only about the church life and not the family life?” I replied, “There are enough people speaking about the family life, so there is no need for me to speak about it. Because no one speaks about the church life, I have to make up the lack and speak specifically about the church life.” I continued, “Seriously speaking, which is more precious, the church life or the family life? Which is high and which is low? Which is weighty and which is light?” I kept speaking and eventually I said, “If you do not have a proper church life, it will be hard for you to have a proper family life.” That woman was separated from her husband, so she was hoping that I would say something about the family life to help them be reconciled. Actually, she did not realize that the reason for their separation was that they did not have the church life. I do not believe that any family who practices the church life will have a separation. We can boast and say that today in the practical church life there is no divorce or separation! After a quarrel, a husband will first blame himself, confess his sins, shed tears, and then go to his wife to say, “I am sorry; please forgive me. The church life compels me to confess and apologize.” Therefore, I said to that woman, “Today you need the church life. I came here because I have been commissioned by the Lord to tell you that you need the church life.”
All these precious truths are in the Bible, but because we are too shallow, we have not seen them or entered into them. The golden lampstand is ultimately not for Christ or for the Spirit but for the church. Where does the church come from? The church comes from Christ with the Spirit. Never forget that Christ with the Spirit is the church.
The name Jesus means “Jehovah the Savior,” that is, “Jehovah as our salvation.” Therefore, this Jehovah is the Lamb. John 1:29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Who is this Lamb? This Lamb is Jehovah the Savior, God who was incarnated to bear our iniquities in His flesh. He is our Jehovah-Lamb. He is the eternal God who came to be our Redeemer. Therefore, the eyes of Jehovah are the eyes of the Lamb. Furthermore, this Lamb not only died on the cross to bear our sins but also resurrected from the dead. In His resurrection He became the stone. How do we know this? It is not easy to explain. For this purpose we need to read Acts 3 and 4. In Acts 3:15 Peter preached the gospel, saying, “The Author of life you killed, whom God has raised from the dead.” Then in 4:11 he said, “This is the stone which was considered as nothing by you, the builders, which has become the head of the corner.” When did Christ become the head of the corner? It was in resurrection. The Jews considered Jesus the Nazarene as a small stone that did not deserve their attention, so they cast Him aside, even cast Him into the tomb. However, God opened the grave and brought that small stone out of the tomb and made it the first, the head, of the corner. On this stone are seven eyes. This stone is the Lamb, the Lamb is Jehovah, and Jehovah is the golden lampstand. This is not simple.
What does this all mean? This tells us that the eternal God became flesh to be the Lamb who bore our sins and redeemed us by His death, and then He was resurrected to become a stone. The stone is the lampstand, and the lampstand is the stone. We all know that the lampstand is for giving light and for shining and that the stone is for the building of God’s eternal dwelling place. The first time the lampstand is spoken of in the Bible is for the building of the tabernacle. God’s building can never come into being without the lampstand. If there is no lampstand, there is no building of God. The first building of God was the tabernacle, within which was the lampstand, and later in the temple there was also the golden lampstand. Still later, the temple was destroyed, and in the restoration and rebuilding of the temple in Zechariah 4, the lampstand reappeared. Thus, in God’s building there is always the lampstand.
On the one hand, Zechariah 3 and 4 speak of the lampstand, and on the other hand, they speak of the stone. Upon the lampstand are seven lamps, and upon the stone are seven eyes, which are the seven eyes of Jehovah. This proves that the stone is Jehovah. The seven eyes of Jehovah are the seven eyes of the stone. Is not this tantamount to saying that Jehovah is the stone? The resurrected Christ is Jehovah, but now Jehovah is a stone, and this stone is for the building of God’s dwelling place. In Zechariah 4 He is for the restoration, the rebuilding, of the temple, whereas in Revelation 1 He is for the building of the church. Revelation deals with God’s building, which begins with the church and reaches the New Jerusalem as its eternal goal. This building altogether hinges on Christ as the living stone.
Dear brothers and sisters, when we put all these things together, we can see a picture that is better than a thousand words. When we look at these things as a whole, we know what the church is. What is the church? Jehovah became the redeeming Lamb who died and resurrected to become the building stone; this building stone is the lampstand with seven eyes, seven Spirits, and seven lamps to produce the church. This golden lampstand is the church. This lampstand-church, or church-lampstand, is not so simple. In it there is Jehovah, there is the redeeming Lamb, and there is the resurrected stone. The lampstand is here, the seven lamps are here, and the seven Spirits are here; all these items are present.
Now we can see what the church is. It is the church, not Christianity, that must go to bear the testimony in every place. When I speak about this, a fire is ignited within me. I want to stir you up so that you will go out to preach the gospel of the glorious church and bear the testimony of the church. Every city, town, village, and hamlet on the island of Taiwan needs this testimony. I am very happy in my visit at this time because I see that so many young people are burning with love for the Lord and bearing the responsibility for the service in this conference. Today, however, I want to stir you up to go forth. You need to go through the entire island of Taiwan and establish a church in every place. This is not to establish Christianity but to establish the church in the Lord’s recovery.
I want to disturb your “nests” so that from this day on you can no longer have a peaceful life; rather, you need to go out and preach the gospel. “Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). We say Amen! You should go first through the entire island of Taiwan and then to Southeast Asia. This age is yours; you should not preach the low gospel, a gospel merely for people to be forgiven of their sins and for their souls to be saved. Rather, you should preach the gospel of the glorious church. Our Bridegroom will come, but where is the bride? There must be churches raised up in every locality on earth. Only the proper church can be His bride.
Today this is the work that the Lord is doing in the United States, Europe, and South America. This is why nearly the whole of Christianity in Europe and America is opposing us. Today the Lord needs the testimony of the lampstand; He needs the churches as the lampstands in every locality. It does not matter whether our number is big or small; what matters are the brightness of the lamps and the shining of the gold. The hope of such a testimony rests on you who are the young generation. We thank the Lord that from 1948 to this day His testimony has been in Taipei for twenty-nine years. Many of you who are the working young people are the crystallization of this testimony of twenty-nine years. If you do not rise up, this testimony will not have much future or prospect. Therefore, today I hope that your eyes will be opened to see that in the Bible what the Lord desires to have ultimately is the lampstand with Christ, full of the Spirit, with the shining of the lamps and the gold, bearing the testimony for the Lord. Every city, every town, and every village on the whole island of Taiwan must have such a testimony. One place may have thirty people meeting together, another forty, another twenty, and still another fifty. In every locality there must be a lampstand. You have heard enough, eaten enough, and enjoyed enough; today you should accept such a commission.
