The law of God comprises the moral law (Exo. chs. 20—23) and the ceremonial law (Exo. 25 — Lev. 27). The moral law, as God’s testimony based on His divine attributes, is composed of the Ten Commandments (Exo. 20:2-17), the statutes (Exo. 20:22-26), and the ordinances (21:1—23:19) and typifies Christ as God’s testimony, God’s expression (see note Exo. 20:1¹). The ceremonial law was composed of the laws of the tabernacle, the offerings, the priesthood, and the feasts. The tabernacle typifies Christ as the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9; John 1:14) for God’s people to contact Him and to enter into Him for their enjoyment; the offerings typify Christ as all kinds of sacrifices (Lev. chs. 1—7; Heb. 10:5-12) to meet the need of God toward His people and the need of His people before Him; the priesthood typifies Christ as the High Priest (Heb. 8:1), who takes care of God’s chosen people before God; and the feasts typify Christ as the bountiful enjoyment in every aspect assigned by God to His chosen people (Col. 2:16-17; Phil. 1:19).

God knew that no man could keep the Ten Commandments, the moral section of His law, to be justified by Him (Rom. 3:20). Hence, by His grace and according to His economy He also gave His people the ceremonial section of His law that through the priesthood and the offerings the condemned sinners, the breakers of the moral law of God, could be saved from the condemnation under the moral law and could contact God and enter into Him to enjoy Him as their everything. In this way sinners could be justified by God to be righteous men (cf. Matt. 1:19a; Luke 1:6, 75; 2:25; 23:50) and could have fellowship with God.

The entire law of God was decreed by God to His people with the intention of exposing and convicting His people by the moral section of His law, that they would be conducted to the ceremonial section of His law, signifying that God’s people should be conducted to the all-inclusive Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God for their redemption, salvation, and bountiful enjoyment in every aspect (Gal. 3:23-24) through all the ages unto eternity.

To heave is to lift up. The heave offering typifies the uplifted Christ, the Christ who was lifted up in His ascension (Acts 1:9); it was often accompanied by the wave offering, a type of the resurrected Christ (Exo. 29:26-28; Lev. 7:30-32; Num. 18:11). The fact that the materials for the building of the tabernacle were offered to God by His people as a heave offering signifies that the church is built up not with any natural materials but with the very Christ who has been gained, possessed, enjoyed, and experienced by God’s people in resurrection and in the heavenlies (Phil. 3:7-14; Eph. 3:8; 2:5-6). Cf. 1 Cor. 3:12 and notes.

All the materials for the building of the tabernacle signify the virtues of Christ’s person and work. Twelve kinds of materials were used, in three categories: minerals, signifying Christ’s building life (1 Cor. 3:9-12); plants, signifying Christ’s generating life (John 12:24); and animals, signifying Christ’s redeeming life (John 1:29). The redeeming life is for the generating life, and the generating life is for the building life. The fact that minerals were mentioned as the first category indicates that whatever Christ is and whatever He has done and is doing are all for God’s building (Matt. 16:18). In the New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of God’s building, there will be only minerals: gold, pearl, and precious stones (Rev. 21:18-21). However, in order to arrive at God’s goal, the redeeming life and the generating life are needed.

The minerals in vv. 3-9 signify Christ as the building material ordained and prepared by God. Gold signifies Christ’s divine nature, which is pure and everlasting. Silver (Exo. 26:19; 27:10) signifies Christ’s redemption, which also involves termination and replacement (see note Exo. 20:24¹). Bronze (Exo. 27:2-4, 6; 30:18) signifies Christ’s being tested by God’s judgment (Num. 16:39; 21:8-9). Onyx stone (v. 7; 28:9-10), having red in it, signifies Christ’s blood shed for redemption. The other precious stones (v. 7; 28:17-20) signify the different aspects of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18) based on Christ’s redemption.

The color blue signifies that which is heavenly in both nature and appearance (cf. 1 Cor. 15:47-48). Purple denotes royalty, that which is kingly in both position and behavior (Esth. 8:15; John 19:2, 19-22), and scarlet, a dark red color, signifies the blood of Christ shed for redemption (Heb. 9:22; cf. Josh. 2:18 and note Josh. 2:18^1a).

Fine linen (Exo. 26:1) signifies the righteous conduct of Christ as a pure and perfect human being (cf. Rev. 19:8).

Goats signify sinners (Matt. 25:33, 41), and goats’ hair signifies the sins of sinners. Goats’ hair as a covering on the tabernacle (Exo. 26:7) signifies Christ being made sin for us in His redemptive work (2 Cor. 5:21).

Rams’ skins dyed red (v. 5; 26:14) signify Christ suffering death and shedding His blood to accomplish redemption (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 9:22), and porpoise skins (v. 5; 26:14) signify Christ as the One who is strong toward Satan and is able to withstand trials, attacks, troubles, and sufferings (Matt. 4:1-11; John 14:30; 1 Pet. 2:21-23).

The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. It probably refers to the skin of a sea animal, such as a porpoise or sea cow.

See note Exo. 25:10².

Oil signifies the Spirit of Christ, including all the virtues of the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ (see note Rom. 8:9^4a).

The spices, used in making the anointing oil and the incense that was burned before God (Exo. 30:23-24, 34-35), typify the effectiveness and sweetness of Christ’s death and resurrection. See note Exo. 30:25¹ and note Exo. 30:34^1a.

The pattern of the tabernacle and all its furnishings is a full and complete type of both the individual Christ as the Head and the corporate Christ as the Body, the church, including many details of the experience of Christ for the church life. See note Heb. 9:4^3c.

The physical tabernacle (and later the temple) as God’s dwelling place in the Old Testament was actually a symbol of a corporate people, the children of Israel as the house of God (see note Heb. 3:6^1a). At the beginning of the New Testament age the incarnated Christ as God’s embodiment was both the tabernacle and the temple of God (John 1:14; 2:19-21). Through His death and resurrection the individual Christ was enlarged to be the corporate Christ, the church composed of the New Testament believers as the temple, the house of God, and the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; 1 Cor. 12:12). Ultimately, the tabernacle and the temple will consummate in the New Jerusalem — the Triune God mingled with His redeemed people of both the Old Testament and the New Testament — as God’s eternal dwelling place (Rev. 21:3, 22). See note Rev. 7:15³ and note Rev. 21:3^1b, note Rev. 21:12⁴, note Rev. 21:14², and note Rev. 21:22¹.

Because the law, God’s testimony (see note Exo. 20:1¹), was placed in the Ark (vv. 16, 21; Deut. 10:1-5), the Ark was called the Ark of the Testimony (v. 22; 26:33-34); and because the Ark was in the tabernacle, the tabernacle was called the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Exo. 38:21; Num. 1:50, 53). As the embodiment of God’s testimony, the Ark typifies Christ as the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9). The Ark as a type of Christ indicates that God’s redeemed people can contact God and enjoy God in Christ and through Christ (see note Exo. 25:22^1a; John 14:6; Heb. 10:19-20).

As the center and content of the tabernacle, the Ark also signifies Christ as the center and content of the church as God’s tabernacle, God’s house (Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15). The fact that the Ark is the item first mentioned in the vision of the tabernacle and its furniture indicates that it occupies the place of preeminence (cf. Col. 1:18). It also indicates that the church, the Body of Christ, typified by the tabernacle, comes out of Christ, typified by the Ark. See note Exo. 26:15² and note Gen. 2:22^1a. Cf. note Exo. 36:8¹ and note Exo. 40:3^1a.

Acacia wood (vv. 5, 10, 23; 26:15; 27:1) signifies Christ’s human nature, strong in character and high in standard. Christ’s humanity is the basic element, the basic substance, for Him to be God’s testimony on earth. See note Mark 1:1¹, par. 2, note Luke 1:3¹, par. 2 and note Col. 2:9³.

The measurements of the Ark are halves of the numbers three and five, the numbers of God’s building (see note Gen. 6:15²). This signifies that the Ark is a testimony, another half being needed to make a complete unit, a full testimony (Deut. 17:6; 19:15; Matt. 18:16; 19:5-6a). This implies that Christ, typified by the Ark, needs the church as His counterpart, His bride, to be a testimony in full in humanity (Eph. 5:22-32; 3:21 and notes).

The Ark was made of acacia wood (v. 10) overlaid with gold, signifying that Christ is one person with two natures, the human nature and the divine nature. He is both God and man — a God-man. That the acacia wood was overlaid with gold both inside and outside signifies the divine nature mingled with the human nature — God and man becoming one — without a third nature being produced by the mingling. It also signifies that the divine nature penetrates the human nature and rests on the human nature so that it may be expressed through the human nature.

Or, crown; i.e., a border in the form of a wreath as a crown. So also in vv. 24, 25; 30:3, 4 and Exo. 37:2, 11-12, 26-27. The rim of gold signifies the glory of the divine nature. Christ as God’s embodiment expresses God by showing forth His glory (Heb. 1:3a; 2 Cor. 4:6). Through Christ’s human life the divine nature was expressed as a wreath, or crown, of glory.

The glory of the divine nature as a rim also signifies the divine keeping power and holding strength. The Christ whom we live and magnify (Phil. 1:20-21a) becomes the glory expressed through us, and this glory is a rim that holds us and keeps us.

The four rings and two poles (v. 13) were for the move of the Ark (Num. 10:33). The number four signifies the four corners of the earth, to which Christ as the embodiment of God’s testimony should be borne to reach all men (Rev. 7:1; Matt. 28:19; Acts 1:8). A ring, which has no beginning or ending, signifies the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14; Luke 15:22). The four rings of gold signify that the Spirit of Christ is the linking factor and power for bearing Christ as God’s testimony. The casting of the gold into rings signifies the experience of the cross through which the eternal life-giving Spirit becomes the linking power in us.

The two rings with the two poles (v. 14) on the two sides of the Ark signify that the move of Christ as God’s embodied testimony is through a good coordination as a testimony in every respect (Luke 10:1 and note Luke 10:1²).

The poles made of acacia wood signify that Christ’s human nature is the strength for His move as God’s testimony. Their being overlaid with gold signifies that Christ’s divine nature is the expression of His move. The move of Christ is always by His two natures, human and divine, mingled as one. See note Exo. 25:11¹.

The poles being put into the rings for carrying the Ark signifies that the move of Christ is by men bearing God’s testimony in their bodies (cf. 2 Cor. 4:10-12) in the uniting power of the Spirit (Eph. 4:3). Those who bore the Ark carried it on their shoulders, indicating that they were one with the Ark. In reality, to bear the Ark is to live Christ as His testimony, His witnesses, wherever we go (Acts 1:8 and note Acts 1:8^3c; Acts 23:11 and note Acts 23:11⁴). That the two poles were to be in the rings and were not to be taken from the Ark (v. 15) signifies our readiness for the move of Christ as God’s testimony.

See note Exo. 25:10^1b, par. 1. That the testimony (the law) was put into the Ark signifies that the living law of God as God’s testimony dwells in Christ bodily (Col. 2:9), making Him the testimony of God (John 1:18).

The expiation cover, corresponding to the propitiation place in Rom. 3:25 and Heb. 9:5, was the lid of the Ark. It signifies Christ as the cover of God’s righteous law and also as the place where God meets with His redeemed people and speaks to them in grace (v. 22). Hence, the expiation cover on the Ark in the Holy of Holies equals the throne of grace, the very Christ who dwells in our spirit (Heb. 4:16 and note Heb. 4:16¹). According to Rev. 8:3, it is also the throne of God’s authority, the throne of the divine administration. The pure gold of which the cover was made signifies Christ’s pure divine nature. See note Lev. 16:1¹.

See note Exo. 25:10³.

The cherubim signify God’s glory (Ezek. 10:18; Heb. 9:5). Thus, the cherubim on the expiation cover indicate that Christ expresses God’s glory (John 1:14). They were made of beaten work, indicating that Christ’s expressing of the divine glory was through sufferings (cf. Heb. 2:9-10; Rom. 8:17-18).

That the two cherubim were one piece with the expiation cover indicates that God’s glory shines out from Christ and upon Christ as the expiation cover to be a testimony (cf. John 1:14; 2 Cor. 4:4, 6). The form, size, and weight of the cherubim are not given, indicating that the glory of Christ’s shining is immeasurable and mysterious.

That the wings of the cherubim covered the expiation cover indicates that God’s glory is expressed in Christ to be a full testimony (Heb. 1:3a; Eph. 3:21 and note Eph. 3:21⁴). The faces of the cherubim were toward each other and toward the cover, signifying that God’s glory watches over and observes what Christ has done.

That the wings of the cherubim covered the expiation cover indicates that God’s glory is expressed in Christ to be a full testimony (Heb. 1:3a; Eph. 3:21 and note Eph. 3:21⁴). The faces of the cherubim were toward each other and toward the cover, signifying that God’s glory watches over and observes what Christ has done.

That the cherubim and the expiation cover were made of pure gold (vv. 17-18) signifies that the shining of Christ as the effulgence of God’s glory (Heb. 1:3a) is divine. That the expiation cover of gold was put on top of the Ark of acacia wood (v. 10) signifies that Christ’s humanity, not His divinity, is the base for Him to express the glory of His divine nature. See note Exo. 25:10².

See note Exo. 25:16¹.

Meaning to meet at an appointed place or to meet by appointment. So also in Exo. 29:42, 43 and Exo. 30:6, 36. The same word is the root of the word meeting in the expression Tent of Meeting. That God met with His people and spoke to them from above the expiation cover and between the cherubim signifies that God meets with us and speaks to us in the propitiating Christ and in the glory expressed in the propitiating Christ as His testimony (cf. 2 Cor. 3:8-11, 18). Thus, the expiation cover with the blood of the sacrifices sprinkled on it on the Day of Expiation (Lev. 16:14-15, 29-30) portrays the redeeming Christ in His humanity and the shining Christ in His divinity as the place where fallen sinners can meet with the righteous, holy, and glorious God and hear His word, thereby being infused with God as grace and receiving vision, revelation, and instruction from Him. See note Exo. 25:17^1b.

The table of the bread of the Presence signifies Christ as the nourishing feast for the believers as God’s priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10). This table was set up in the Holy Place within the tabernacle (Exo. 40:22; Heb. 9:2), signifying within, or among, God’s people as His builded habitation (see note Exo. 26:15¹). In the Bible a table signifies not an individual feasting but a corporate feasting (1 Cor. 10:16, 21; cf. Psa. 23:5). Christ as the food of God’s priests is for a corporate feasting within God’s dwelling place.

In the sequence of God’s revelation, the table comes after the Ark (vv. 10-22), implying that the table is connected to the Ark. In spiritual experience, when we meet with God upon Christ as the propitiation cover, enjoying fellowship with God and hearing words from His mouth, the Ark becomes the table of the bread of the Presence, where we enjoy a nourishing feast. This means that Christ, the embodiment of God’s testimony, issues in our enjoyment of Him. Furthermore, in our experience, our enjoyment of Christ always brings us back to Him as God’s testimony.

Acacia wood here signifies that Christ’s humanity is the basic element for Him to be our feast (John 6:51, 53-55). The gold that overlaid the wood signifies Christ’s divinity as the expression of God. As we enjoy Christ as the supply by which we serve God, the outcome will be gold — Christ’s divinity as the expression of God.

In length and width the table was two square cubits, which is composed of two units, each of one square cubit, signifying the perfect (signified by a square) and complete (signified by the number one) life supply of Christ issuing in a testimony (signified by the number two).

The height of the table was the same as that of the Ark of the Testimony, signifying that the nourishment of Christ as the supply of the serving priests matches the standard of God’s testimony (cf. note Exo. 16:34^1a).

The frame was near the bottom of the table, close to the rings put on the four corners at the feet of the table (vv. 26-27). Its purpose was to connect the legs and strengthen them, the handbreadth signifying its being full of strength to connect and strengthen. The rim of gold on the frame is for keeping and holding (see note Exo. 25:11²). In spiritual experience, the enjoyment of Christ as a feast strengthens us, connects us, upholds us, and keeps us.

As with the Ark, the four rings on the table signify the Spirit of Christ as the linking factor and power (see note Exo. 25:12¹). The oneness of the Spirit as a ring is a uniting bond with binding power (Eph. 4:3). That the four rings were put on the four feet of the table signifies that Christ as our feast moves and follows us (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4). That the rings, as holders for the poles, were close to the frame (v. 27) signifies that both the linking and the moving are dependent on the connecting and strengthening (see note Exo. 25:25¹).

See note Exo. 25:13¹.

The plates were for displaying the bread. The cups contained frankincense (signifying Christ’s resurrection), which was poured on the bread of the Presence displayed on the table (Lev. 24:7). The pitchers and bowls were used for pouring out drink offerings. That all the utensils were made of pure gold signifies that the divine nature of Christ is the means through which we partake of Him as our life supply and our offering to God.

The number three denotes both resurrection (1 Cor. 15:4) and the Triune God, who is resurrection (John 11:25). That there were three branches on each side of the lampstand signifies resurrection, and the branches themselves 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 being the number of testimony (Deut. 19:15).

A cup, equal to a complete flower, consists of a calyx (the outer leafy green layer of a flower) and a blossom bud, which is actually the flower itself (vv. 33-34). The cups shaped like almond blossoms signify the resurrection life blossoming (Num. 17:8). To shine the divine light is to blossom. This indicates that Christ’s being the light of life and our shining forth the light of life as the church are in resurrection (cf. note Exo. 25:32¹). The calyxes containing the blossom buds signify the resurrection life as a container to sustain and support our shining forth of the divine light. The blossom buds signify the expression of the resurrection life.

The beating of the gold to shine forth the light signifies that Christ’s shining of the divine light as the expression of the divine glory (Rev. 21:23) is through sufferings (cf. note Exo. 25:18¹), through which Christ was constituted as the divine light-holder to shine in God’s dwelling place so that God’s serving ones could serve there. The beating of the gold to form a stand also signifies the believers’ participation in Christ’s sufferings and their being blended together through the cross and by the Spirit for the producing and building up of the church, the Body of Christ (Rom. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:21; Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; 1 Cor. 12:24).

The base for stability and the shaft for strength signify that the Lord Jesus was always stable and strong

Pure gold, signifying the pure divine nature, indicates that as the embodiment of God the Father for His expression, Christ is purely divine. Although as a man Christ has humanity, His shining as the light of life (John 8:12) is related not to His humanity but to His divinity (John 1:1, 4-5). The same is true of the church as the lampstand (Rev. 1:20) — the actuality and the shining of the church depend not on humanity but on how much of the divine element has been infused and wrought into the church (2 Pet. 1:4).

As described in vv. 31-36, the lampstand consisted of a base, a central stalk, and three branches on each of its two sides. Underneath each pair of branches there was a calyx, which held two branches at the stalk. On each branch there were three cups shaped like almond blossoms, each cup being composed of a calyx (the leafy green bottom of the blossom) and a blossoming bud. The whole flower, including the calyx and the blossom, was a cup shaped like an almond blossom. On the lampstand there were twenty-five calyxes — one at the base of each pair of branches, three on each of the six branches, and four on the shaft — and twenty-two blossoms (the three calyxes at the base of each pair of branches did not have blossoms). The divine thought here is that the lampstand is actually a living and growing tree with calyxes and blossoms.

The lampstand signifies the Triune God embodied and expressed. Pure gold as the substance of the lampstand (v. 31) signifies God the Father in His divine nature; the form of the lampstand signifies God the Son as the embodiment of God the Father (John 14:9-11a; 2 Cor. 4:4b; Col. 1:15; 2:9); and the seven lamps (v. 37) signify God the Spirit being the seven Spirits of God for the sevenfold intensified expression of the Father in the Son (Rev. 4:5; 5:6). The lampstand in this chapter signifies Christ as the embodiment and expression of the Triune God shining with the seven lamps, the seven Spirits of God (Col. 2:9; Matt. 4:16; John 1:4-9); the lampstand in 1 Kings 7:49 signifies the enlarged Christ; the lampstand in Zech. 4 signifies the nation of Israel as God’s shining testimony with the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit as the reality of Christ (Zech. 4:2, 6, 10; Rev. 5:6); and the lampstands in Rev. 1 signify the local churches as the reproduction of Christ and the reprint of the Spirit (Rev. 1:11-12, 20). The consummation and aggregate of all the lampstands in the Scriptures is the New Jerusalem, the ultimate, unique, and eternal golden lampstand, with Christ as the lamp and God as the light shining within Him and through the city for the expression of the Triune God in eternity (Rev. 21:11, 18, 23; 22:5). See note Rev. 1:12^3b.

That the lampstand is revealed after the table of the bread of the Presence (vv. 23-30) indicates that Christ as the supply of life, signified by the table, becomes the light of life to us (John 1:4; 8:12), signified by the lampstand. The placing of the lampstand in the Holy Place opposite the table and near the Ark (Exo. 26:34-35) indicates that in the church the light of the truth (1 John 1:5-6) and the supply of life must match and balance each other for the carrying on of Christ as God’s testimony. In the making and displaying of the furniture of the tabernacle, the lampstand was followed by the incense altar (Exo. 37:23-25; 40:24-27), indicating that the shining of Christ in resurrection as the divine light leads us to enjoy Christ as the fragrant incense of resurrection in the prayer of fellowship with God. The light from the lampstand directs us to enjoy Christ as our life supply and also guides us into the Holy of Holies to enjoy Christ in the deepest way as the testimony of God with the throne of grace (see note Exo. 25:10^1b and note Exo. 25:17^1b).

Or, Face. The bread of the Presence, the face-bread, means that God’s presence, God’s face, is the life supply to the serving priests (cf. 2 Cor. 2:10; 4:6-7; 3:18). In our experience the reality of God’s presence is the Spirit in our spirit (2 Tim. 4:22; cf. 2 Cor. 3:17), who is also the reality of Christ as the bread of life (John 6:33, 51, 63).

The bread on the table is called the bread of the Presence because the table was set before God, i.e., in God’s presence, not far from the Ark. Whereas manna was gathered by all the people in the wilderness outside the court of the tabernacle, the bread of God’s presence was enjoyed only by the priests in the presence of God in the Holy Place within the tabernacle (Exo. 40:22-23; Heb. 9:2; Lev. 24:9). Manna typifies Christ as the life supply of God’s people for their living (see note Exo. 16:19¹); the bread on the table typifies Christ as the life supply of God’s priests, enabling them not only to live but also to serve God. This bread indicates that God’s people should no longer live by themselves but by Christ as their life and life supply (John 6:57).

The bread of the Presence was the most holy of Jehovah’s offerings by fire (Lev. 24:7, 9). It signifies the surplus of the believers’ enjoyment of Christ that is offered to God to be His food for His satisfaction. God caused certain loaves of this offering to be spared, brought into the Holy Place, and arranged and displayed on the table to be food for the serving priests.

That the lampstand with all its utensils was one talent (approximately one hundred pounds) of pure gold signifies that Christ as the lampstand shining the divine light in resurrection is perfectly and completely weighty (John 7:45-46; 18:37-38; cf. 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Tim. 2:2). The measurements of the lampstand are not given, signifying that the divinity of Christ and the light He shines are immeasurable (cf. John 3:34).

In the three parts of the tabernacle there were three kinds of light. The light in the outer court was the natural light, the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The light in the Holy Place was the inner light, the light of the lampstand, signifying God in Christ shining in resurrection and in the Spirit. The light in the Holy of Holies was the innermost light, God appearing in His shekinah glory on the expiation cover, which typifies Christ as the place of propitiation (v. 22; 40:34; cf. Rev. 21:23; 22:5). Eventually, through our enjoyment of Christ in the Holy of Holies the shining light of the lampstand is replaced by and becomes the shekinah glory of God for our closest fellowship with God (2 Cor. 3:18; 4:6).

The seven lamps of the lampstand signify the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 4:5) as the seven eyes of Jehovah (Zech. 4:10), the seven eyes of the redeeming Lamb (Rev. 5:6), and the seven eyes of the building stone (Zech. 3:9) for the full expression of the Triune God. See note Zech. 4:10¹, note Rev. 4:5^1b, note Rev. 5:6^5d, and note Rev. 1:14^3c.

Six is the number of man, since man was created on the sixth day (Gen. 1:26). Here the number six is composed of three plus three, three signifying the Triune God in resurrection. Hence, the six branches signify the believers in Christ as created men who are in the Triune God in resurrection. The picture of the lampstand indicates that Christ as the resurrection life is growing, branching, budding, and blossoming both in Himself as the central stalk and in His believers as His branches (John 15:5a; Col. 2:19) to shine the divine light for the expression of the Triune God.

According to the description given in this chapter, in the divine thought the golden lampstand is actually a living and growing tree with calyxes and blossoms (see note Exo. 25:31^1b, par. 1). Thus, the lampstand portrays the Triune God embodied in Christ as a living tree, growing, branching, budding, and blossoming to shine the light for His full expression. The calyx under each pair of branches signifies life branching out by growing to produce the shining. The repetition in this verse related to the calyxes and the branches also indicates growth. As the central shaft, or stalk, of the lampstand grows upward, it produces three pairs of branches, and as the branches grow out, calyxes, buds, and blossoms appear on the branches (v. 33). The light of the lampstand is the blossoming of the resurrection life (John 1:4; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9), and the shining of the light is the issue of the growing, branching, budding, and blossoming. That there are twenty-five calyxes and twenty-two blossoms indicates that with the lampstand the responsibility for growth is greater than the matter of budding, blossoming, and shining.

The fact that the lampstand is pure gold signifies that, as the embodiment of God, Christ is altogether divine. However, the four cups made like almond blossoms on the shaft of the lampstand, its calyxes and blossom buds, signify Christ’s humanity in His shining with the resurrection life. Thus, in the lampstand there is not only the Triune God but also the creature, signified by the number four (Ezek. 1:5; cf. Col. 1:15). See also note Exo. 27:20².

The three cups made like almond blossoms on each branch, a calyx and a blossom bud, signify the resurrection life blossoming in and with the resurrection life. The shining of the lampstand signifies the blossoming, the expression, of the divine life in resurrection. To have the blossoming of the resurrection life for the shining of the divine light, the believers in Christ, who have received the divine life with the divine nature through regeneration (Col. 3:4; 2 Pet. 1:4), need to live Christ, to live divinity, by practicing to be one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21a).