Zechariah 3:9 says, “For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” The reference to engraving the stone indicates that this stone is Christ. It is difficult to understand this matter of engraving the stone. In brief, it means that the Lord Jesus, as the building stone, was engraved, dealt with, by God on the cross for the iniquity of God’s people. In one day, by that engraving on the cross, the Lord Jesus took away all the sins of God’s people. This is the equivalent of John 1:29, which says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” By the latter half of Zechariah 3:9 we know that the stone with the seven eyes is Christ.
Zechariah 4:2 says, “What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof” (Heb.). In Zechariah 3:9 the building stone has seven eyes, and in this verse the lampstand has seven lamps. If we exercise our spirit in this matter, we shall surely understand that the lampstand equals the stone. Both the stone and the lampstand are Christ. Obviously, the stone is for the building, and the lampstand is for light, for enlightening. On the stone there are seven eyes, and on the lampstand there are seven lamps. Hence, the seven lamps of the lampstand must be the seven eyes on the stone.
Proceeding to Zechariah 4:10, we read, “For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” This verse begins with a reference to “the day of small things.” In the eyes of men, the recovery of the building was not a great thing. Nevertheless, no one should despise it. Likewise, the recovery of the church life today is not a great thing in the eyes of men. Rather, it is a small thing. But no one should despise it. This verse also speaks of “those seven,” which refers to the seven lamps in verse 2. Then we are told that “those seven” are “the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” This proves that the building stone with the seven eyes is simply Jehovah, the Lord God Himself.
Having this understanding, we come to the book of Revelation. I say again that most of the symbols and other crucial points found in Revelation are not new; they are further developments of items found in the Old Testament. In Revelation chapters four and five, we have a new and further development of the seven eyes and the seven lamps. Revelation 4:5 says, “And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders; and seven lamps of fire are burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” Notice that the seven lamps here are not on the lampstand, but are burning before the throne. The seven lamps that are burning before the throne are the seven Spirits of God. In Zechariah 3 and 4 we have the seven eyes and the seven lamps but not the seven Spirits. In Revelation, however, the seven lamps have developed into the seven Spirits. Here we have a new and further development of the seven lamps as the seven Spirits. In 4:5 we are told clearly that the seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God.
Revelation 5:6 says, “And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing as having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.” The Lamb here has seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God. In 4:5 the seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God, and in 5:6 the seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven Spirits of God. Here we have a further development over Zechariah, for the seven eyes are not only the seven eyes on the stone, but also the seven eyes of the Lamb. These seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. This is a reference to Zechariah 4:10, where we are told that the seven eyes of the Lord “run to and fro through the whole earth.” In Zechariah 3 and 4 we see the seven eyes of the stone, the seven lamps of the lampstand, and the seven eyes of the Lord. Thus, the Lord is the stone, and the stone is also the lampstand. The stone is both the lampstand and the Lord God Himself. These three — the Lord, the lampstand, and the stone — are one. In Zechariah, we see that the seven eyes are the seven lamps. But as we come to the further development in Revelation, the seven lamps are no longer just on the lampstand, but are also burning before the throne. These seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God. Eventually, these seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the Lamb who is in the very center of God’s administration. May we all be deeply impressed with this picture.
According to the context of both Zechariah and Revelation, all this is for God’s building. The stone and the lampstand are mentioned in Zechariah at the time when Zerubbabel was rebuilding the temple. In Revelation, we firstly have the seven lampstands symbolizing the seven local churches. Later, we have the throne before which the seven lamps are burning. Ultimately, this throne is the center of the New Jerusalem. This reveals that the New Jerusalem comes into existence by means of the seven Spirits burning before the throne. By all this we can see that the seven eyes, the seven lamps, the seven Spirits, the stone, the lampstand, the Lord, God, and the Lamb are all for the building. This building is the temple, the church today and the New Jerusalem, God’s eternal habitation, in eternity.
Suppose we had only two books, the Gospel of John and Revelation, both written by the apostle John. If we read these books again and again, what would we see? Let us begin with John chapter one. Verse 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God,” and verse 14 says, “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us...full of grace and reality.” Verse 29 says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” According to John 1, many words are used to describe this One: the Word, God, the flesh, and the Lamb. Verse 4 says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” With Him there were also grace and reality. When Peter was brought to this wonderful One, He changed his name from Simon to Cephas, which means a stone (v. 42). When Nathanael met Him, He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (v. 51). This word reminds us of Jacob’s dream, the center of which is Bethel (Gen. 28:10-22). John chapter one, extending from eternity past to eternity future, covers a great deal. In eternity past there was the Word, and in eternity future there will be Bethel, the house, the dwelling of God. This will be the New Jerusalem. This one chapter reaches from eternity to eternity. Of course, John takes another twenty chapters to develop all the points covered in the first chapter.
After many years, when John was old and had been exiled to the Isle of Patmos, the Lord charged him to write Revelation, not only the last of his writings but also the last book of the whole Bible. Revelation 1:4 and 5 say, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace...from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.” In chapters four and five we see that the seven Spirits are the seven lamps and the seven eyes mentioned in Zechariah. The seven lamps, which, according to Zechariah, are both the seven eyes of the stone and of the Lord are now the seven Spirits of God, and these seven Spirits of God are the seven eyes of the redeeming Lamb. Revelation 5:5 and 6 reveal that this redeeming Lamb is the overcoming Lion. As the overcoming Lion, He has absolutely defeated the enemy of God. All the enemies — the serpent and the scorpions — have been swallowed up by the Lion. Because He overcame all the enemies, He was qualified to be the redeeming Lamb. As the Lamb, He took away all the sins, the iniquity, of God’s people on the day God engraved Him on the cross. Because He accomplished this as the redeeming Lamb, He eventually became the building stone. In the eyes of God, when the Jewish builders rejected Him, they not only rejected the Lamb, but also the cornerstone of God’s building. On the day of His death, He was the Lamb, but in resurrection God made Him the head cornerstone. Thus, after His death and resurrection, He is now the Lion-Lamb-stone. All the enemies have been defeated, all the sins have been removed, and He has become the stone for God’s building. On this stone there are seven eyes, shining and burning before the throne of God to carry out God’s eternal economy. Today, it is not just a matter of the Lion or the Lamb, but of the stone. Where are we today? Are we just with the Lion and the Lamb, or are we with the stone? Most Christians are only with the Lamb; very few are with the Lion. Many hymns say, “Worthy the Lamb,” but I would like to hear a hymn that says, “Worthy the Lion!” We also need hymns that say, “Worthy the stone,” and “Worthy are the seven eyes.” What a shortage there is in today’s Christianity! Many fight, argue, and debate, but are ignorant of Christ’s being the building stone.
We must proceed further to the seven eyes of the stone. We have seen that the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God sent forth throughout all the earth. These seven eyes, as the seven lamps, are burning before the throne. Undoubtedly, burning is for enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging. While the lamps are for judging, the seven eyes are for transfusing and for infusing. As long as my eyes are upon you, whether I am happy or sad, they will transfuse something of me into you. My eyes are not lamps for burning, but for transfusing. A brother who is a typesetter by trade uses in his business a machine called a phototypesetter. This machine copies characters from a master character disc onto sensitive photopaper. Four burning lamps, which resemble four eyes, transmit intense beams of light through the disc and reflect them off two mirrors onto the photopaper. In this way the exact image of the original characters on the disc is burned into the photopaper. We may say that through this process the image on the disc is transfused into the paper. In like manner, through the seven eyes, something of Christ is transfused into us.
We not only have the seven lamps for burning, searching, exposing, and judging and the seven eyes for transfusing, but also the seven Spirits for the imparting of life. Since the Spirit is the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2), the seven Spirits are mainly for imparting life. If we only had the seven lamps and not the seven eyes or the seven Spirits, we would be consumed. The seven lamps are not only the seven lamps, but also the seven eyes transfusing and infusing us and the seven Spirits imparting life into us. Praise the Lord that His enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging are for the impartation of life. He is not only the seven lamps, but also the seven Spirits.
Consider your experience. When we came into the church life, we all sensed that there was something shining within, over, and around us. That shining searched, exposed, and judged us. Everyone in the church life has experienced this shining that searched out and judged things that were concealed in the depths of our being. When these hidden things were exposed, we were condemned. But praise the Lord that through this judging, life was imparted into us. Although we might not have had the word infusion, we definitely experienced it. From that time onward, the Lord Jesus became so lovable to us. Due to this infusion, we began to love the Lord more than ever before.
This experience is for the building. There is only one place where we can have this kind of experience — in Bethel. I have the full assurance to say that if your intention is not for God’s building, you will surely be kept from having this experience. When some hear this, they may say, “The Lord is not as narrow as you are.” In some respects, the Lord is even narrower than I am; He is more strict. You cannot experience the things we are describing in this message unless you are in Bethel. Even if we have just the intention to go up to Bethel, we, like Jacob, will experience these things. Only in the local church can we experience the things concerning God’s dwelling place. This experience simply cannot be had anywhere else.
We come again to the matter of the Trinity. According to the traditional teaching of the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three separate and distinct Persons. In a good and positive sense, I agree with this. I have even used these terms myself. For example, one of my hymns says, “What mystery, the Father, Son, and Spirit, In person three, in substance all are one.” I am familiar with all these things. In the traditional teaching, the Son is the second Person, and the Spirit is the third Person. In the book of Revelation the Holy Spirit has become the seven Spirits. Have you ever realized that these seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the second Person? How, then, can the seven Spirits be a separate Person? Are the second Person and the seven Spirits, the eyes of the second Person, two separate Persons? We simply cannot understand the Trinity by using traditional terms. The more we use these terms, the more entangled we shall become. To say that the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the second Person is not my definition or interpretation; it is my figuration, my reading of the verses in Revelation. Those at the Nicene Council probably were not clear about the seven Spirits. Since they were not clear, how can we follow their creed? If we follow it, then we must be blind. We do not follow anything blindly. Our opposers say that they believe the creed, but we believe the pure word of the Bible. If the early church Fathers had seen that the Holy Spirit is the seven Spirits, which are the eyes of the second Person, they would have been reluctant to formulate a creed. They would have realized that it was impossible for them to make a creed. Any creed that lacks a sentence found in the Bible is incomplete. For more than fifty years, we have been declaring that we do not want any creed. Our only creed is the Holy Bible with its two testaments. Of course, when we declared this more than fifty years ago, we did not see the seven Spirits. We saw this less than twenty years ago. Gradually, during the past twelve years, this matter has become very clear.
I would like to address a question to our opposers: Do you not believe that the Holy Spirit, who is the third Person, is in the book of Revelation the seven Spirits? But the seven Spirits are the eyes of the second Person. Are They, then, two separate Persons? I am not debating doctrine; rather, I am speaking the reality for God’s building. For us today, the Trinity should not be a doctrinal matter; it must be the experience of the Triune God dispensing Himself into us.
We have seen that, according to the Gospel of John, the eternal Word, who is God, became flesh, and that this flesh was the Lamb of God. In Revelation we see that this Lamb has become the Lion. The Lamb is also the stone with the seven eyes, and these eyes are the seven enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging lamps. The seven lamps are also the seven Spirits of God imparting life into those who have been judged. Furthermore, the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the Redeemer, transfusing and infusing what He is and what He has accomplished into our being that we may become, in His nature, a stone for God’s building. Do not remain content with traditional teachings and do not stay attached to any doctrinal understandings. We must see that the Triune God is too wonderful. He is the Word, the very God, and He became flesh to be the Lamb of God. In John 14 He indicated that He and the Father are one and that the Spirit is He. This wonderful One is the Lion, the Lamb, and the stone with seven eyes. With these seven eyes He gazes at us and transfuses what He is and what He has accomplished, attained, and obtained into our being to make us the material for God’s building. These seven eyes are the seven Spirits sent by God from His throne throughout all the earth.
We should not have a Trinity in doctrine, but experience the wonderful, mysterious, and excellent riches of our God. All these riches are not only for our redemption and regeneration, but also for our transformation and building up. Oh, how we need the light to see these things! We should not be superficial, and we should never be distracted by today’s Christianity. Rather, we should ignore what the opposers are saying and hold to the Bible, with the pure word and the up-to-date light. We all must see this light. Whenever we attempt to understand the Bible in a “theological” way or come to the Bible seeking theology, we shall be killed. We cannot know the Bible in a so-called “theological” way.
Let us now consider further some of the crucial terms found in the Gospel of John and in the book of Revelation. Firstly, in John 1:1, we have the eternal Word. The “beginning” in this verse certainly refers to eternity past, indicating that the Word is the eternal Word. As this verse makes clear, the Word was God. One day, this Word, who was God, became flesh (John 1:14). According to the theological mentality, we are accustomed to saying that the Son of God was incarnated. This, of course, is correct. However, if you read the New Testament, you will not find a word saying that the Son of God was incarnated. Although this fact is true, the New Testament does not express it this way. This is the traditional theological teaching of the incarnation. But do not misunderstand me and think that I do not believe that the incarnation was of the Son of God. I believe it at least as much as you do. I believe that the incarnation was of the Son of God. But the New Testament says that the Word, which was in the beginning, became flesh. It was not only the Son of God who became flesh; it was the very God who was incarnated. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, said of this Word who had become flesh, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Thus, in the first half of John chapter one we have the Word, God, the flesh, and the Lamb.
In Revelation, we see that the Lamb of God is the Lion. One of the angelic elders, not a human being, introduced Christ in this way, recommending Him as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5). Revelation 5:6 says that on this Lamb there are seven eyes. The mention of the Lion refers to Genesis 49, and the word about the seven eyes points back to the book of Zechariah, which speaks of the seven eyes on the stone. Hence, the Lamb is also the stone. In other words, the Redeemer who took away the sin of the world has become the building stone, the building One.
This concept is not new. Before the Lord Jesus was crucified, He indicated to the Jewish builders that they were not only rejecting the Redeemer but also the cornerstone (Matt. 21:42). I believe that as the Lord Jesus was talking to them, He fully realized that He was the stone spoken of in Zechariah 3:9, the stone that had seven eyes and that, by being engraved, would remove the iniquity of the people in one day. He knew that He would be engraved by God to take away the iniquity of God’s people in one day so that God could have His building.
Both the Lamb and the stone, redemption and building, are connected by the seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps burning before His administrating throne. Therefore, we have the Word, God, the flesh, the Lamb, the Lion, the stone, the seven eyes, the seven Spirits, and the seven lamps. Ultimately, we have the building, God’s eternal habitation, the New Jerusalem. None of these words are my interpretation; rather, they are my quotation. I am simply pointing out ten crucial terms found in the Bible: the Word, God, the flesh, the Lamb, the Lion, the stone, the seven eyes, the seven Spirits, the seven lamps, and the New Jerusalem. When we put all these terms together, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that are scattered here and there in various books of the Bible, we really see something. If we would pray over these ten items, we would see the vision that the New Jerusalem is the consummate enlargement of God.
In the beginning was the Word, the expression, of God. One day, the very God, expressed as the Word, became flesh. This was His first step to enlarge Himself. This flesh was the Lamb of the righteous God, the God who judges and condemns sin. The Lamb took away sin to fulfill God’s righteous requirements. This was the second step of God’s enlargement. When He was crucified, He was engraved, and this engraving removed the iniquity of God’s people in one day. In addition to this, He is also the Lion, indicating that He has defeated all the enemies. As the Lion He has accomplished an absolute defeat of the enemy. He is both the redeeming Lamb and the overcoming Lion for the enlargement of God. This Lion-Lamb is now the stone. Do you know what the Lord Jesus is today? He is the stone. He is the Lamb and the Lion in order to be the stone. Having removed the iniquity and having defeated all the enemies, He is now building. This age is not the age merely of the Lamb and of the Lion; it is mainly the age of the stone. Now we can understand why, in His last visit to Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus indicated to the Jewish builders that they were rejecting not only the Lamb, the Redeemer, and the Lion, the Overcomer, but also the stone, the head cornerstone. After His death and resurrection, the age became the age of the church, which is God’s building. For the building of the church, Christ is the rock. As He Himself told Peter, “You are a stone, and on this rock I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18, lit.). After the crucifixion and the resurrection, the age became the age of the rock, the age of the stone. This is the age of building.
Christianity, having missed the mark, nearly makes this age simply an age of redemption. Some of the so-called inner life Christians have proceeded a little further and speak about the overcoming Lion. It seems that throughout the centuries no one has ever realized that this age is not merely the age of redemption and of overcoming, but mainly of the building. Christ today is the stone. We all must see that this age is the building age. Praise the Lord that He is now the Lion-Lamb-stone. His victory and His redemption both were for Him to be the stone. If He had not defeated the enemy and removed iniquity, there would have been no way for Him to accomplish God’s building work. Hallelujah, our Lord Jesus is now the Lion-Lamb-stone!
This stone has seven eyes. This is the crucial point. These seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God, and the seven Spirits of God are the seven burning, flaming lamps. What is the function of the eyes? Certainly, it is seeing. The seven eyes of Christ, however, are not for seeing things but for Him to see us, to look at us. Undoubtedly, the seven eyes of the building stone are for transfusing and infusing. Whenever He looks at us, we can understand if He is happy or unhappy. There is no need for Him to say anything. By looking at us, He transfuses all that He is into our being. Hence, the eyes are for transfusing and infusing. As we have already mentioned, the seven Spirits of God are for the imparting of life because, in the Bible, the Spirit is the Spirit of life. The seven lamps are for enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging in God’s move. This is for God’s administration. The transfusing by the eyes, the imparting of life by the Spirits of God, and the enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging by the seven lamps are all found in the book of Revelation. All this is for the New Jerusalem. Before we came into the church, we never heard anything like this. But after we were in the church, we experienced something shining in us to search out every secret of our entire life.
Before I came into the church, I was saved and was loving the Lord. I did not love the world. Rather, I was a clean, young Christian who sought the Lord, studied the Bible, and prayed every day. However, after I came into the church, I was thoroughly searched, not by any teacher, but by something within. At that time, I did not have the terms we have today. Nevertheless, I experienced the searching and made a thorough confession to the Lord. Before coming into the church meetings, I used to make a thorough confession of item after item. What a searching and digging that was! Many of us have had a similar experience. This was the experience of the enlightening, the searching, the exposing, and the judging of the Lord. I can still recall the judgment I underwent as I came to the meetings. I hated myself, my nature, my old man, and my disposition. Oh, how I hated and judged myself! I especially experienced this at the Lord’s table. On the one hand, I was remembering the Lord, but, on the other hand, I was under His judgment. He seemed to be saying, “You are so fleshly, so natural, and so much in yourself. You are still too much in the old creation.” As I sat at the Lord’s table, I was under this inner judgment. This was the work of the flaming lamps in the church. I had never experienced this before.
As a result of this flaming of the seven lamps, the Lord Jesus became so precious, so dear, and so lovable to me. Never before had I had such a deep sense of the Lord’s preciousness and loveliness. This was the transfusing and infusing of the Lord Jesus Himself into my being. How dear, precious, and available the Lord was to me! He was a lovely treasure to me. I loved Him more than ever before. I had truly been infused with Him. I can testify that during that time I was in the third heaven and that every sin and weakness was under my feet. I had no need to try to overcome anything.
Following this infusing, there was the impartation of life. The seven lamps became the seven eyes, and the seven eyes became the seven Spirits. The enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging issued in the transfusing of the Lord Jesus into me, and this transfusion resulted in the impartation of life. I received more life, the life which is just Christ Himself. More of Christ was added into my being. He was imparted deeply into my whole being. In those days I did not have the terminology, but I did have the experience. As a result, I had some transformation, and I loved the church and all the saints meeting with me. This was the building.
Ultimately, this building will consummate in the New Jerusalem, which will be the ultimate and eternal enlargement of our wonderful God. If you would understand the Gospel of John and the book of Revelation, and even the whole Bible, you must see the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits of God. Eventually, the New Jerusalem comes into existence, in which the seven Spirits before the throne of God’s administration will become the flow of the river of water of life proceeding from the throne. In the New Jerusalem, the seven lamps before the administrative throne will become the water of life flowing out of the life-imparting throne, and the stone Himself will be the lamp shining God through the city for eternity. These are the crucial points of the revelation in the Bible. May we all see them.
