Message 92
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Scripture Reading: Exo. 25:31-40
In this message we come to the lampstand. The golden lampstand may be regarded as the most mysterious of all the furnishings in the tabernacle.
The lampstand signifies the expression of the Triune God. This alone is sufficient to impress us with how mysterious the lampstand is. Nothing in the universe is more mysterious than the Triune God. Furthermore, the most puzzling element of the divine revelation in the Bible is also the Triune God. Throughout the centuries, readers of the Bible have been puzzled by the revelation of the Triune God in the Scriptures. Even today we do not have an adequate understanding of the Triune God. However, it is very helpful to see that the lampstand is the expression of the Triune God.
Throughout the centuries of their history, the Jewish people have treasured the lampstand. But no rabbi would ever say that the lampstand signifies the expression of the Triune God. I do not even know of any Christians who have such a realization. Actually, this understanding of the lampstand is a truth recently recovered by the Lord in His recovery. Years ago, we said nothing about the lampstand signifying the expression of the Triune God. But several years ago we began to see that in the Bible the lampstand is an expression of the Triune God.
As we consider this matter of the golden lampstand, we need to remember that the Bible is a complete entity. Hence, we should not separate 25:31-40 from the rest of the Word and ignore all the other books of the Bible. The lampstand is mentioned not only in Exodus, but also in 1 Kings, Zechariah, and Revelation. According to chapter one of Revelation, the lampstand is the church. Furthermore, the seven lamps are the Spirit. How mysterious this is! Eventually, at the consummation of the divine revelation, the lampstand in Exodus 25 becomes the church, and the seven lamps become the Spirit of God. By this we see that a great deal is involved with the lampstand, for the lampstand is related both to the church and to the Spirit of God. The book of Revelation also emphasizes the church and the Spirit. Revelation 22:17 even contains the words, “The Spirit and the bride say....” Here we see that the Spirit and the church have become one in speaking.
In the last century certain teachers emphasized the significance of the types in the Old Testament. Concerning the lampstand, these teachers mainly said that the lampstand is a type of Christ as the light of the world. What they said was right and good; however, it was not adequate. These teachers of the Word did not see that the lampstand is an expression of the Triune God, that consummately the lampstand becomes the church, and that the seven lamps of the lampstand are the seven Spirits of God.
As we ponder the substance, the stand, and the lamps of the lampstand, we see that the lampstand is indeed the expression of the Triune God. According to 25:31, the lampstand was of pure gold. Thus, gold is the substance, the element, of the lampstand in its entirety. In typology gold signifies the divine nature, the nature of God the Father. If we consider this substance, this element, of the lampstand, we shall see that it signifies the divine nature. Therefore, by this we can see God the Father, the One whose nature is the very substance of the lampstand. The golden lampstand exists in the nature of God the Father.
God the Father is invisible and abstract. God the Son is the embodiment of this invisible One. The stand is a form signifying God the Son as the embodiment of God the Father. This solid form of the lampstand is the embodiment of the gold. According to the New Testament, God the Father is embodied in God the Son. Here in the lampstand we have the substance signifying the Father, and the solid form signifying the Son.
Exodus 25:37 says, “And you shall make its lamps, seven.” These seven lamps signify God the Spirit being the seven Spirits of God for His expression (Rev. 4:5; 5:6). The shining of the lamps denotes expression. Thus, the seven lamps are the expression of God the Son as the embodiment of God the Father. In the book of Revelation we see that the seven lamps are the Spirit of God.
Because we have in the lampstand the element of gold signifying God the Father, the stand signifying God the Son, and the seven lamps signifying God the Spirit, we have the ground to say that the lampstand itself is the expression of the Triune God.
We have pointed out that, consummately, in the book of Revelation the lampstand becomes the church. If we realize this, our understanding of the church will be deepened and enriched. The church is actually the expression of God. In this expression we see the Father’s nature, the Son’s embodiment, and the Spirit’s expression. In the proper church life, God the Father is the substance, God the Son is the embodiment, and God the Spirit is the expression. In Exodus 25 the lampstand signifies Christ, but in Revelation 1 it signifies the churches. This indicates that the unique Christ has been reproduced, that the one lampstand has become seven lampstands. In Exodus 25 we have the masterpiece, but in Revelation 1 we have the masterpiece reproduced and multiplied. Praise the Lord for the one lampstand in Exodus 25 and the seven lampstands in Revelation 1! At first God’s expression was only in Christ as the lampstand. Now this expression has been reproduced in the churches as golden lampstands. By this we see that Christ has been reproduced. The church is actually the reproduction of Christ. Both Christ and the church are the expression of the Triune God. In the church life we have the nature of the Father, the embodiment of the Son, and the expression of the Spirit. How wonderful!
The lampstand was not in the outer court; it was in the Holy Place, that is, within the dwelling place of God.
In their experience, most Christians have not yet entered the Holy Place. On the contrary, they spend a great deal of time at the altar, the cross, in the outer court. In a very real sense, we need to leave the cross and enter into the Holy Place. Where are you in your experience — at the altar or in the Holy Place? Many among us may still be at the cross.
We have seen that the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, signifies the saints who have been built up to be the house of God. We all need to ask ourselves if we are truly in the dwelling place of God. This means that we must inquire whether or not we have been built into the church as God’s house. Among a great many Christians today, there is no experience of the lampstand, because these believers are still at the cross and have not been built up with others. Since there is no dwelling place of God, no building with the saints, how can there be the lampstand? It is impossible. The lampstand is not near the cross in the outer court; it is within the dwelling place of God, that is, among the saints who have been built up together to be the house of God.
In the eyes of God, every local church is a lampstand. God regards every church as a house built up for His dwelling. If we would see the lampstand, we must be in the house of God, the church.
According to the sequence of revelation, the lampstand comes after the table of the bread of the Presence. This table signifies Christ as the life supply; it is a figure showing us that Christ is the source of our life supply. The lampstand signifies Christ as the light of life (John 8:12). Hence, the table is the supply of life, and the lampstand is the light of life.
The Gospel of John speaks of Christ as the light of life. John 1:4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” According to John 8:12, 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.”
What is the meaning of the expression “the light of life”? Although this is rather difficult to explain, it is easy to illustrate. Life is light, but death is darkness. Because we are living, we are able to see. But if we were to die, we could no longer see anything. Death would produce darkness. In the Bible blindness equals death. All the worldly people are blind and in darkness. Because they are dead, they are also blind. When we receive the divine life supply, we have spiritual sight, and this sight is the light. Hence, it is the light of life. Christ as the light of life comes out of the life supply. This is the reason we must first have the table and then the lampstand.
Even in our physical life there is a connection between the life supply and sight. For example, if a person goes a long period of time without eating, his eyesight will begin to fail. But if he eats nourishing food, his vision will improve. This indicates that the lack of the life supply can cause loss of sight. It also indicates that the life supply brings in the sight, the light.
If we would have the light of life, we must come to the table before we come to the lampstand. The reason we need morning watch every day is that we need to be nourished by the life supply on the table. Then in our experience the lampstand will appear. Whenever we have the food, the supply of life, the light from the lampstand shines upon us. For example, a brother may think that regarding a certain matter he is right and that his wife is wrong. But after he enjoys Christ as the life supply at the table, his sight becomes clear, and he is enlightened concerning the matter. Then he realizes that he was the one who was wrong. This illustrates the fact that when we take in the life supply, we automatically receive the light of life.
We know from verse 31 that the lampstand was of pure gold. Pure gold signifies the pure divine nature. As the embodiment of the Father for His expression, Christ is purely divine. This is also true of the church as the lampstand. In Revelation we see that the seven churches are seven golden lampstands (1:20). It is true that in the church life we need a strong uplifted humanity, a proper humanity. Nevertheless, the actuality of the church does not depend at all on humanity. On the contrary, it depends on divinity. How much of the divine nature has been imparted into us determines to what extent we are the church in actuality.
Christians have said to us, “Why do you call yourselves the church? Are we not the church just as much as you are?” In God’s standard of measurement, the church is measured by divinity. How much of God do we have in us? How much of the divine element is in the church in our locality? If we have only a very limited amount of the divine element, of divinity, then the church in our locality is limited, small, and immature. But if we have a greater measure of divinity, the actuality of the church is increased.
When Christ was on earth, He had both humanity and divinity. However, it was not because of His humanity that the light was shining, but because of His divinity. This is why there is no mention in Matthew, Mark, and Luke of Christ as the light of life. Matthew does refer to Christ as a light (4:16), but not in the way John does. John says explicitly that Christ is the light of life, because his Gospel reveals the divinity of Christ. It opens with the words, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1, 4). Christ’s being the light of life is intimately related to His divinity. If He were not divine but simply a good man, He could not be the light of life. To repeat, the light of life is derived from Christ’s divinity. This is the significance of the lampstand being of pure gold.
Just as Christ shines because of His divine nature, so we are able to shine with the divine element which has been infused into us. The degree of our shining is according to the degree of the divine element within us. If you are kind, nice, humble, and loving in a natural way, without any portion of divinity, you will not have any light. Others will not see light in you. But if you live Christ with His divinity and express God, light will be manifest. First John 1:5 says, “God is light.” Light comes from divinity, not from humanity.
Exodus 25:31 says, “Of beaten work shall the lampstand be made.” Verse 36 says, “Their knobs and their branches shall be from it — all of it one beaten work of pure gold.” Beaten work signifies sufferings. To be beaten is to suffer. When Christ, the embodiment of God, was on earth, He experienced much suffering, much beating.
With the ark, the gold was beaten to express the glory of God. The two cherubim were made of gold which had been beaten. These cherubim of glory signify that the glory of God comes out of the beating, that the glory of God expressed in Christ comes out of His sufferings.
With the lampstand, the gold was beaten to shine forth the light of God. This light equals the glory of God. This means that the light on the lampstand equals the glory above the ark. Both came out of gold which had been beaten. This indicates that through His sufferings Christ expresses God’s glory.
If we are short of sufferings, our light may not shine brightly. Although we should not seek to suffer, we should not despise sufferings, for they are useful. If we never experience any difficulties, any beating of the gold, we shall not be able to shine. For example, if your husband or wife or your children are always good to you, this may hinder your shining. But if you face difficulties in your family life, these difficulties will help you to shine. Children can be compared to little hammers, hammers which beat the gold within their parents and help them to shine.
We do not know the measurements of the lampstand. The dimensions of neither the cherubim nor the lampstand are recorded. No one knows how high the lampstand was. Although we know that the weight of the lampstand with all its utensils was one talent, we do not know the exact weight of the lampstand itself.
What the Bible does not say is sometimes just as significant as what it does say. The significance of the lampstand being without measurement is that the divinity of Christ and the light He shines are immeasurable (John 3:34). The shining of the lamps we use today can be measured, but the shining of Christ is immeasurable. Both His divinity and His light are beyond measure.
Verse 31 speaks of the base and the shaft of the lampstand. The base is for stability, and the shaft is for strength. The four Gospels reveal that the Lord Jesus was always stable and strong. He always had a stable base, and no matter what situation He encountered, He stood as a strong shaft.
Now we come to an aspect of the lampstand which is difficult to understand. Verse 31 says of the lampstand, “Its cups, its knobs and its blossoming buds shall be from it.” What are these cups, and why are they on the branches and the shaft? The expression “blossoming buds” actually means blossoms, although “blossoming buds” is the literal translation of the Hebrew. What is the significance of these blossoms? When I was young, I had great difficulty understanding this matter. I thought that on each branch there was a knob over the cup and a blossom over the knob. Actually, the cup, the knob, and the blossoming bud are all parts of one flower, one blossom.
A flower, an almond flower for example, has several layers. The bottom layer may be green, like a green leaf. The proper word to describe this bottom layer is calyx. The word knob in verse 31 denotes the calyx of a flower, the outer leafy green layer of a flower. The calyx contains the blossoming bud. The top of the flower, the blossoming bud, is actually the flower itself. In verse 31 the word cup is used to describe the whole flower, including the calyx and the blossoming bud. Thus, the cup is equal to the complete flower. This cup comprises the calyx at the bottom and the buds at the top. When the buds blossom, a flower is produced.
In the lampstand the cup is shaped like an almond blossom, an almond flower. Here the almond flower is called a cup. Almonds blossom early in the spring, before other trees. Every little almond flower is a cup. At the bottom of the cup there is a leafy green part called the calyx, which forms a container to hold the blossoming buds. Eventually these buds become flowers.
The cups shaped like almond blossoms signify the resurrection life blossoming. According to Numbers 17:8, Aaron’s rod budded and brought forth almonds. This is a picture of resurrection life coming out of death. Aaron’s rod was a dead stick, but through resurrection it brought forth almonds. Hence, almond blossoms signify the blossoming of resurrection life.
We have pointed out that an almond tree blossoms early in the spring. Thus, the almond blossom signifies the firstfruit of resurrection.
Jeremiah 1:11 and 12 say, “Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.” In Hebrew the words almond and hasten are from the same root. This root word means to watch over, to be alert. The spiritual significance of this is very meaningful. Resurrection implies to watch, to be alert, to hasten. Resurrection hastens matters. According to Jeremiah 1:12, the Lord’s intention was to hasten His word to perform it; that is, He would hasten to fulfill His word.
We have pointed out that Christ’s being the light of life is altogether a matter of divinity. Now we see that it is also a matter wholly in resurrection. Without resurrection life, there cannot be any light. Christ can be the light of life only in His divinity and in resurrection. Hence, divinity and resurrection are the prerequisites for Christ to be the light of life. In principle, the same is true of us in our experience. We cannot shine by our natural life, by our humanity. If we would shine forth the light of life, we must have divinity and we must be in resurrection. Resurrection is the basis for the shining of the divine light.
The knobs, the calyxes, the external green leafy parts of the flowers, containing the blossoming buds, signify the sustaining and supporting power of the resurrection life. We can comprehend this only through our experience with the Lord. To shine the divine light is to blossom. But this blossoming requires a container to support and sustain it. From our experience we know that in order to shine with the divine light, we must have resurrection life to be a knob, a calyx, as a container to sustain and support our shining. If we do not have resurrection life as such a container, our blossom will collapse. This means that the shining of the divine light in us will cease. Without the knobs, the calyxes, the flowering buds would fall. In like manner, without the resurrection life, we have nothing to uphold, support, and sustain our shining of the divine light.
Suppose in your daily life with your family you are shining with the divine light. Suddenly, however, you revert to your natural life and begin to speak and behave in a natural way, especially in your relationships with the members of your family. Immediately, your blossoming buds collapse and you stop shining. Because you have lost the calyxes as the support of the blossoming buds, there is no more shining. When you remain in resurrection, you are blossoming, shining. But when you leave resurrection and return to your natural life, you immediately stop shining. You may have been shining a few minutes ago, but now, having lost the support of resurrection life, you are no longer shining. Whenever the calyx, the support of the blossoming bud, is removed, the flower collapses and falls. Thus, because there is no blossoming, there is no shining. The shining of the divine light is held by the resurrection life.
The blossoming buds, the petals, signify the expression of the resurrection life. Resurrection life is both the container and the blossom, both the support and the expression.
Exodus 25:32 says, “And there shall be six branches going out from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from its one side, and three branches of the lampstand from its other side.” On each side of the lampstand there are three branches arranged in layers. Here the number three denotes both resurrection and the Triune God. Actually resurrection is the Triune God. According to 1 Corinthians 15, the life-giving Spirit is the ultimate expression of the Triune God and the ultimate reaching of the Triune God to man. Hence, the life-giving Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the Triune God. Through resurrection, in resurrection, and with resurrection, Christ, the last Adam, became a life-giving Spirit. This life-giving Spirit is the processed Triune God. Resurrection is nothing less than the processed Triune God Himself. Resurrection is the Spirit of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself. This understanding of resurrection corresponds to the Lord’s word: “I am the resurrection” (John 11:25).
On the one hand, in the Bible the number three refers to the Triune God; on the other hand, it refers to resurrection. Resurrection is the very Triune God. In the lampstand resurrection is signified not only by the almond blossoms, but also by the three branches on each side of the lampstand.
Furthermore, the branches signify the branching out of Christ’s resurrection life. The six branches in two groups of three signify the testimony of the light of life. Two is the number of testimony. For this reason, the Lord Jesus sent out the disciples two by two. In the same principle, the two groups of branches on the two sides of the lampstand signify the testimony of the light of life.
The three cups shaped like almond blossoms on each branch with knob and blossoming bud signify the resurrection life blossoming in and with the resurrection life. We have pointed out that there were three blossoms on each branch. This indicates resurrection with resurrection, and resurrection in resurrection. The lampstand is filled with almond blossoms. This reveals that the divine thought here is focused on resurrection.
We truly need a spirit of wisdom and revelation (Eph. 1:17) to understand the significance of the lampstand. In the golden lampstand we have divinity, resurrection, and the light of life. The shining is the expression of the divine life in resurrection. Although we are human and natural, through regeneration we have received the divine life with the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). This means that as believers in Christ, we have the divine substance, the divine element, that is, divinity. Now we need to live Christ, to live divinity, by practicing to be one spirit with the Lord. The vast majority of Christians neglect this matter. Instead, they simply teach others to improve their natural humanity. But in our natural humanity there is no divinity, no resurrection, and no light. We must not remain in our natural life, but enter into resurrection. For this, we must pass through the cross. Then we shall be in resurrection, and with the divine element in resurrection there will be the blossoming, the shining.
Once again I would emphasize the fact that the blossoming is the shining. When we blossom, we shine. With the lampstand we have divinity and resurrection. Now this resurrection needs to blossom. Whenever it blossoms, it shines; that is, it expresses the life of God. This expression, this blossoming, is the shining.
I encourage all the saints to consider the picture of the golden lampstand and pray about it. This will help us to see how Christ today is shining over us and how we can be a shining member of Christ through the divine nature and by blossoming in resurrection. This is to shine the divine light. The more we shine in this way, the more we shall be the church with the seven Spirits.
