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In this message we shall still dwell on the experience at Bethel. In Gen. 35:14, at Bethel Jacob eventually set up a pillar of stone as he did after having the dream when he was at Bethel the first time (Gen. 28:18). There, this pillar of stone was called the house of God (Gen. 28:22). If Jacob had not called this pillar the house of God, we would never realize that the pillar of stone was for the building of God's house. We would think that it was simply a mass of rock. But now we know that this stone can become a house. This indicates that the pillar will become a building, the house of God.
In the book of Genesis, there are two kinds of pillars — the pillar of stone (Gen. 28:18; 35:14) and the pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26). Which kind of pillar do you want to be? Certainly, we all want to be pillars of stone. The pillar of stone indicates building in strength. Solomon set up two pillars in the porch of the temple (1 Kings 7:21). The first pillar was named Jachin, which means, "He shall establish," and the second was named Boaz, which means, "In it is strength." The pillar of stone not only indicates building, but building in strength. The pillar of salt indicates shame, for a pillar of salt is useless for God's purpose. Lot's wife, who was one of God's called people, became a pillar of shame. She should have been building material, but due to her degradation she became shameful material.
During the course of this life-study, we have seen again and again that nearly everything in this book is a seed of the truth that is developed in the following books of the Bible. The way to study Genesis is to trace all its points in the subsequent books of the Bible. The way to study the book of Revelation is just the opposite. If you would understand Revelation, you must trace its points backward in the foregoing books. In this message we need to follow the development of the seed of the pillar.
After Solomon built the temple, he purposely added the two pillars. According to our natural concept, we would think that Solomon should firstly have built the pillars and then the temple. But it was after he had built the temple that he proceeded to build two pillars and to place them in front of the temple (1 Kings 7:15-22). If we could have seen that temple, our eyes would have firstly attended, not to the temple itself, but to these two pillars. The size of these pillars is seemingly out of proportion to the size of the temple. The disproportionate size of the pillars is significant. It indicates that the two pillars in the temple are like a huge signboard. Today, when we approach a certain building, there is a sign designating what that building is. Likewise, in front of the temple were two pillars which said, "God shall establish," and, "In it is strength." These two pillars declare to the whole universe, including mankind, Satan, and all the fallen angels, that the Lord establishes and that strength is in the building. The Bible emphatically says that the first pillar is called Jachin and the second Boaz. We have pointed out that the name Jachin means, "He shall establish" and that the name Boaz means, "In it is strength." This reveals clearly that the building of God's house is altogether dependent on the pillar. This is the reason that Jacob did not build the house of God, but only set up a pillar.
In chapter twenty-eight, Jacob was still a supplanter. Nevertheless, this supplanter received both the vision and the interpretation of the vision. He interpreted his vision, his dream, by setting up a pillar and calling it God's house. This interpretation was much better than Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams. Daniel merely interpreted; he did not set up anything or take any action. Jacob, however, not only interpreted his dream verbally, saying, "This is the house of God"; he also set up a pillar and called it the house of God. How could Jacob, an unrepentant, unregenerated, and untransformed supplanter, have done such a wonderful thing? Nevertheless, he did it, and we all must say, "Thank you, Jacob, for opening the heavens that we might see the house of God."
For the building of God's house, the heavens were opened by a supplanter. I believe this because the Bible tells us so. I do not trust in my concept, for according to my concept, it would be impossible for a supplanter to do this. I could easily believe that a godly and pious person like Daniel, a man who prayed daily, could have interpreted a spiritual dream. But it seems neither fair nor logical for a supplanter to do this. But he did it spontaneously. This is absolutely a matter of grace. As Romans 9:11 indicates, it is "not of works, but of Him who calls." Romans 9:13 says, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." Grace is not a matter of fairness. Do not question God, saying, "God, why do You hate Esau? To me Esau is better than Jacob. It is unfair for You to love Jacob and hate Esau." To this, God would reply, "I simply love Jacob and hate Esau. What do you have to say about this? When I hate, I have the position to hate, and when I love, I have the grace to love." Who are you — Esau or Jacob, a good man or a supplanter? We all must confess that we are Jacobs, heel-holders, supplanters. The church is filled with heel-holders. If you are not a heel-holder, you will miss God's grace. We are true heel-holders, but we are heel-holders in grace. No one can deny this. I can shout and declare, "Praise the Lord that I am a heel-holder in grace. Grace makes me different."
Although in chapter twenty-eight Jacob was a supplanter, by the time we come to chapter forty-eight we see that this supplanter has been thoroughly transformed into a man of God. This man of God is the pillar. In a sense, the house of God was built with this pillar. When you enter into the temple of God in the universe, the first thing you see is this God-man, this Israel standing before God's building. After Jacob was transformed into Israel, he stood in front of God's building as a signboard of God's house.
As we proceed to the New Testament, we see that the Lord Jesus came through incarnation. His incarnation was the erecting of a tabernacle (John 1:14). This tabernacle, which was erected that God might dwell among men, was a precursor of the temple. When you see a little boy, you know that a full-grown man is coming. Likewise, when you see the tabernacle, you realize that the temple is coming. As the tabernacle, Jesus was the indicator that God's temple was soon to appear. This is why the Lord changed the name of Simon, the representative of the first group of disciples, to Cephas, which means a stone (John 1:42). In Matthew 16:18, after Peter had answered the Lord's question, "Who do you say that I am?" by saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God," the Lord Jesus responded, "You are a stone" (Gk.). The Lord seemed to be saying, "I am Christ, the rock, and you are a stone to be built upon Me for the building up of My church." In his first Epistle, Peter later said, "You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house" (1 Pet. 2:5). Consider also the case of the Apostle Paul. Formerly, he was an opposer of God's building, doing everything possible to persecute, damage, and lay it waste. But as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the church, he was caught by the Lord and became not only the material for the building, but also a wise masterbuilder (1 Cor. 3:10).
In Gal. 2:9 Paul said that James, Cephas, and John were reputed to be pillars. At that time, they were respected by the saints as pillars. The pillars in 1 Kings 7:21 refer to the building of the temple of God in the Old Testament, but the pillars in Galatians 2:9 refer to the building of God's house in the New Testament. Many Christians realize that Peter and John were disciples and apostles, but not many realize that they were also pillars. They were not only disciples discipled by the Lord and apostles who discipled, taught, and edified others; they were also pillars, signboards of God's building in the New Testament. If you came to Peter, John, and James, they would not declare doctrine or religion to you. Instead, just as the pillars in front of the temple did not declare religion, teachings, or commandments, but the temple, so they would declare the house of God. When anyone saw the two pillars in front of the temple, they immediately realized that the temple was there. Likewise, when we see Peter, James, and John, we realize that the building of God's house is there. Many Christians view things through colored glasses. When you speak to them of Peter, they simply think of him as an apostle. Do you have the concept that Peter is a pillar? For years, whenever I thought of Peter and John, I considered them as apostles, not as strong pillars. Recently, however, the Lord has revolutionized my concept. Now whenever I think of Peter, James, and John, I think of three large columns standing before me. When we see these columns, we do not think of religion or doctrine; we think of the house of God. These pillars stand in the universe to declare Bethel, God's temple.
Do not think that in this matter of the pillars I am allegorizing the Bible. The letters G-o-d spell "God," and the letters d-o-g spell "dog." This is not allegorization; it is reading. God, who is the best typesetter, has printed some very clear words for our understanding. Firstly, in Genesis 19:26 He typeset a negative pillar, the pillar of salt. By mentioning this negative pillar, God is asking us whether we want to become a pillar of salt. In chapter twenty-eight, we have the pillar of stone, and in 1 Kings 7 we have the two pillars in front of the temple. In Galatians 2:9 pillars are mentioned again, this time with respect to the temple of God in the New Testament. In Revelation 3:12, the Lord again speaks of the pillar, saying, "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God." The pillar in this verse does not refer to the temple in either the Old Testament or the New Testament, but to the New Jerusalem in the coming kingdom and in eternity. The temple of God is in three stages, three dispensations: the Old Testament stage, the New Testament stage, and the stage in the kingdom and in eternity. First Kings 7 covers the Old Testament stage, Galatians 2:9 covers the New Testament stage, and Revelation 3:12 covers God's building in the kingdom age and in eternity. This is God's way of typesetting. We put G-o-d together and we read the word "God." Likewise, as we put 1 Kings 7:21, Galatians 2:9, and Revelation 3:12 together, we can say, "Now I understand why, in interpreting his vision of God's house, Bethel, Jacob set up a pillar. The pillar is an indicator, a signboard, a designation, of the house of God."
In 1 Kings 7:21 there were just two pillars, and in Galatians 3:9 there were only three pillars. How many pillars will there be in the coming age? The number will not be written by the Lord, but by you and me. No one knows how many pillars there will be. We can only say, "Whosoever will may be." Whosoever will may be a pillar in the temple of God. The door is wide open. Unlike certain outstanding universities who only accept a limited number of their applicants, there is no limitation to the number who desire to be and may become pillars in the temple of God in the coming age. The number, whether it be a thousand or a million, is open. If the number were limited to two, none of us would have an opportunity. It would be hopeless for us to be pillars. But the number is not limited — it is, "Whosoever will may be." Are you willing to be made a pillar? I am. What mercy the Lord has upon us!
Consider the size of the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. It was a cube of ten cubits in each dimension (Exo. 26:8, 16). The Holy of Holies in the temple was somewhat larger, being a cube of twenty cubits in each dimension (1 Kings 6:20). But consider how large the Holy of Holies in the coming New Jerusalem will be. The entire city, which is twelve thousand stadia in length, breadth, and height, (approximately 1,363 miles, about the distance from Los Angeles to Dallas) will be an enlarged Holy of Holies (Rev. 21:16). For the small Holy of Holies, two pillars were sufficient. But how many pillars will be needed for the enlarged Holy of Holies? The answer is, "Whosoever will may be." There is a place for you. If you would not occupy this place, there would be a vacancy in eternity.
I have been reading and studying the Bible for more than fifty years. The Bible is too profound, and no one can understand it to the uttermost. I believe that what I am ministering to you in this message has been mined from the depths of this book. In the Old Testament, two pillars indicated the temple of God, and in the New Testament, three pillars declared God's building. But the pillars in the coming kingdom and in the New Jerusalem in eternity will be numberless. Today, whosoever will may be one of these pillars.
Now we need to consider how to become a pillar. I believe that all of us, young and old alike, are eager to know this. If you would know how to be a pillar, you must consider five different places: the place of Lot's wife, who became a pillar of salt; the place where Jacob set up the pillar at Bethel; the place of Solomon, where he built the two pillars; the place of Peter, James, and John, who were pillars of the New Testament church; and the place of the church in Philadelphia, where we see that whosoever will may be a pillar. Is your position that of Lot's wife? To this question, you should certainly answer, "No!" But is your position that of Jacob, the two pillars in the temple, the three pillars in the New Testament, and that of the ones in Philadelphia in Revelation 3:12? To this, you must answer, "Yes," for your position must be in each of these four places. Firstly, you need to take the position of Jacob, then the position of Solomon's pillars, then the position of the three pillars, and finally the position of Philadelphia. If you would be a pillar in the coming New Jerusalem, you must escape the place of Lot's wife. As long as you stay with her, you cannot be a pillar of stone. Recall the Lord's warning in Luke 17:32: "Remember Lot's wife." Today, many Christians are in the position of Lot's wife. This is even true of some of us. It seems that many do not care whether they become a pillar of salt or a pillar of stone. But you must care. If you do not care now, you will care someday. Someday, you will not only repent of your indifference, but also regret it.
After we have escaped the position of Lot's wife, we must come to Bethel. During the past fifty years, we have been burdened by God with Bethel. We simply cannot keep away from the church. We have been condemned for this and people have said that we are too extreme regarding the church. They accuse us of being too much for the church and of not caring for gospel preaching, Bible teaching, or other types of Christian work. My answer to this accusation is this: "I am not yet enough for the church. I am not `crazy' enough for the church." Do not think that this is my concept. If you read your New Testament, you will see that the pillars — Peter, James, John, as well as Paul — were "crazy" for God's building. Through the years, many have argued with me, saying, "As long as we preach the gospel, win souls, teach people the Bible, and help them to love the Lord, isn't this good enough?" My answer is, "Where is the church? In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus said, `I will build My church.' Where is this builded church? Can the Lord's word fail to be fulfilled? Where, with whom, and by what way will He build His church?" Now is the time for the building of the church. Here and now, with us, the Lord is building His church. Many Christians devote their attention to the study of prophecy. The greatest prophecy is the Lord's word in Matthew 16:18 — "I will build My church." Do not be occupied with Israel, Antichrist, the restored Roman Empire, or the ten horns. Rather, you must devote your full attention to the Lord's declaration in Matthew 16:18. Throughout the centuries, and even today, this church has not yet been built up. Because of this, we are burdened about the church.
If you would be a pillar of stone, you must be in Bethel. Bethel is the unique place. The place of Lot's wife is the right position to become a pillar of shame, and Bethel is the proper place to become a pillar for the building. When some Christians hear this, they will say, "Brother Lee, do you mean that only those in the church can become pillars of stone? What about those of us who are not in the church?" My answer is, "The surest way to become a pillar is to get into the church." We are all familiar with the need for insurance. You may be fortunate enough never to have an accident, but it is still wise to have insurance. When those outside the church argue with me about this matter, I have often said, "Friend, I have peace within me. Whether my way is right or wrong I really do not care. But I know that as long as I remain on this way, I am at peace. How about you? While you are arguing with me, do you have peace?" Many have said, "No, I don't have peace." Then I have replied, "Why do I have peace, yet you don't have it? It is because you are not on the way. Please don't argue with me." To all our Christian friends, I would say this word: "Come to Bethel and get into the church. This is the best insurance company. Here we are all insured." It is significant that, in chapters twenty-eight and thirty-five, Jacob set up a pillar in Bethel, in the house of God. Today, the house of God is the church. In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul said, "But if I delay, that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth." If you would be a pillar of stone, you must be here in Bethel.
Jacob came to Bethel twice. According to my experience, this indicates that we all come into the church twice. The first time we come in a dream, and the second time we come in actuality. In 1925, I had a clear dream, but it was not until seven years later, in 1932, that I came into the actuality and practicality of the church life. Many of you have had a similar experience. When you first came into the church, it was, for quite a period of time, a dream. You might have been in a dream for a number of years. But after those years, it was no longer a dream, and you could say, "Oh, I am actually and practically in the church life. The past years have been a dream. Thank the Lord for keeping me in this dream, but now I have the actual experience." Firstly, Jacob had the dream. More than twenty years later, he was brought into the experience.
If you compare chapters twenty-eight and thirty-five, you will see a great difference between them. Everything in chapter twenty-eight, being a dream, is somewhat vague; nothing is definite. In the experience in chapter thirty-five, however, everything is definite and practical. Nevertheless, we thank the Lord that the dream in the beginning was a true picture. Everything in the reality is the same as that in the dream. In this, there is no difference. The only difference is that the dream is indefinite and that the actuality is definite. We need both the dream and the practicality. We praise the Lord that today we are in the practicality of the church life.
In the practicality of Bethel in chapter thirty-five, Jacob not only set up a pillar, but poured a drink offering upon it. In chapter twenty-eight there was no pouring out of a drink offering, only the pouring out of oil. But here, prior to the pouring out of the oil, there was the pouring out of the drink offering. This experience is very subjective. In Bethel, we firstly have the dream and then the actuality. In the actuality we build a pillar and pour ourselves upon it. This is very meaningful. Jacob did not pour out the drink offering upon himself or upon the earth; he poured it out upon the pillar. We shall see more of this in another message.
According to 28:18, Jacob "took the stone that he had made his pillow, and set it up for a pillar" (Heb.). The pillar was the stone he had used for a pillow. This stone depicts Christ as our rest. Jacob did not have this dream when he was at home, but when he was traveling on his pilgrim journey. Like Jacob, we also are pilgrims. As we are traveling on our way, we see the vision of the church. Everyone who is on this pilgrim way is weary and needs rest. Where can we find this rest? The answer is the Lord's word in Matthew 11:28: "Come to Me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." Christ is the stone on which we may lay our weary head and find rest. The Christ on whom we rest is the constituent of the pillar. We ourselves are not the material for building the pillar. This material must be the Christ on whom we rest and whom we experience. It is the Christ wrought into our being who is constituted into the pillar.
In today's Christianity it is very difficult for people to have the constitution of the pillar because few have been instructed how to experience Christ in a subjective way. When you were in Christianity, were you ever told how to experience Christ's being wrought into you? Recently, I told some brothers and sisters that we in the church must not only love the Lord and live for Him — we must also live by Him. Oh, there is a vast difference between living for Christ and living by Christ. If you live for Christ, it is you who do things for Him, but you remain yourself and Christ is not wrought into your being. To live by Christ, however, means that Christ is wrought into us. By having Christ wrought into our being, we become material for the building. The stone for the pillar is firstly Christ. Following this, it is Christ experienced by us and wrought into us. Now this stone is not merely Christ, but Christ within us. Christ is wrought into our being, and we become one with Him. In this way, we become the building material for the pillar.
This experience is only possible in the church life. At the least, we can say that the greatest possibility of having this experience is in the church life. The reason for this is that outside the church, in the so-called Christian religion, very few are taught to have Christ wrought into them. I am fully assured that, from now on, message after message will be given instructing us how to live by Christ. This working of Christ into our being is true transformation. When the element of Christ is added into us, we become the material for the building of the pillar. This all takes place in Bethel, the place where Jacob was.
In 1964, I was invited to speak to a certain group in Dallas. My hosts, who appreciated my ministry, were very kind to me. However, they told me, both in plain words and by suggestions, that the people in Dallas were not ready to hear about the church. They said, "Brother Lee, please sympathize with us and do not say a word about the church." I did not promise to comply with their request. Rather, I said, "I fully realize the situation. But I assure you that the more I talk about Christ and minister Christ as life to the people, the more they will desire to have the church. Even if I do not say a word about the church and only minister Christ as life, they will still have the desire for the church." In the last meeting, I was burdened to speak a word about the church. When I stood up and asked the people to read Romans 12, they were disappointed. But I said to myself, "I don't care whether I offend you or not. If I do not release my burden, I cannot live." I then gave a strong word concerning the church, and they were offended by it. Later, I learned that a certain brother, who had not yet come into the church life, had attended that last meeting. Many had been praying for him. During that meeting, which was the only meeting he attended, he was caught for the church life. Although I had offended those people, the Lord gained this brother. Today, this brother has become a pillar.
How can you tell that someone has become a pillar? In the church life we realize that if certain brothers are taken away, everything collapses, but if they are present, they are pillars supporting the whole building. The Lord is not concerned about those who are offended; He cares for those who will become pillars. The pillars can only be perfected in Bethel. In other words, the pillars can only be set up in Bethel. No pillar for God's house has ever been set up outside of Bethel. If that brother whom I met in Dallas had not come into the church but had remained in a denomination, he could not have been perfected to be a pillar. He was perfected in Bethel, in the church life. After we experience Christ in a subjective way and are definitely and absolutely in the church life, we still need a great deal of perfection.
Let us consider further the pillars mentioned in Galatians 2:9. When the Lord called Peter, he was a fisherman. He was raw, wild, and unperfected. But after the Lord had spent three and a half years working on him, he was perfected and, on the day of Pentecost, he was set up as a pillar. When Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost, the angels might have rejoiced and said, "This is Boaz. This is the sign that God's building is coming." If you read the book of Acts, you will see that Peter was a pillar standing in front of the New Testament temple of God.
Young people, this is a word from my heart. The Lord's recovery is spreading, and I have the assurance that it will spread at a good pace. But the rate of the expansion of the Lord's recovery depends upon the pillars. I believe there will be churches in all the major cities of this country and in all the leading countries on earth. For this, there is the need of the pillars. I hope that you young people will see this. If you see it, you will say, "Lord, I cannot deny that You have appointed me to Your way and that I have heard Your up-to-date word. I realize that I must experience Christ in a subjective way and that I must be perfected in the church life in Bethel. Lord, have mercy on me and grant me the grace I need."
Young people, my burden is that you realize that your responsibility is tremendous. If during the coming years many of you will be perfected, the Lord's recovery will spread at a rapid speed. How much the Lord has done through those who have been perfected to be pillars! What do you think the Lord could do if He had a hundred more?
My burden is not simply to release a message. It is to help you see that today we all have the golden opportunity to be perfected and to be made pillars. Because we are at Bethel, our opportunity is much greater than Peter's was. Peter was in the Gospels, in the beginning of the New Testament, but we are at the end of the New Testament, even in Revelation 3:12. I believe that the opportunity we have today is unique in history. Never before has there been such a church life as there is today in Anaheim, and never before has the Lord's ministry of the Word been so bright and rich. Do not exercise your mentality or hold to your opinion. Your opinions will take you nowhere. Drop your opinions, love the Lord, take Him as your life and as your person, and live by Him in the church life. Learn of those who have become pillars. They have devoured, absorbed, and soaked in everything of the church and of this ministry. Follow them to know nothing and to daily be saturated with the church life and with the Word of God. If you do this, I believe that after a few years many of you will become pillars. Then wherever you go, the pillar, the signboard of God's building, will go with you. We all are in the church and under this ministry. Today is surely a golden opportunity ordained by the Lord.
