Item number six says that as the Lamb who is God’s High Priest, He is also God’s particular Messenger. He is the High Priest, the Executor, and Mediator of the new covenant. As such, He is also the redeeming Lamb. Revelation 7:2, 8:3, 10:1, and 18:1 all mention another Angel. This another Angel is Christ. In Revelation, as in the Old Testament, Christ is the messenger of God (Gen. 22:11-12; Exo. 3:2-6; Judg. 6:11-24; Zech. 1:11, 12; 2:8-11; 3:1-7) to fulfill God’s special commission. This special Messenger cared for the Israelites, the chosen people of God, and has shepherded the redeemed saints throughout the generations, executing the prayer of the saints concerning God’s economy. In Revelation 8:3, the Messenger offers the prayers of the saints to God. As a result, God hears the prayers and executes His economy on earth. Not only so, He will come to take over the earth and will descend in glory to claim the whole earth for His kingdom. These are the special commissions of this particular Messenger.
Item number seven says that as the seven eyes of the Executor of God’s New Testament economy, He is the seven lamps supported by the seven golden lampstands which are the seven churches. Upon every lampstand are seven lamps, and these seven lamps are the seven eyes of the Lamb. Hence, every golden lampstand supports the seven eyes of the Lamb as the seven lamps, shining forth as the testimony of Jesus. These seven lamps who are the seven Spirits in this age will become the lamp which is the Lamb in the new heaven and new earth. The seven lamps supported by the seven lampstands are the seven Spirits today. In the new heaven and new earth, the lamp in the New Jerusalem will be the Lamb. This does not mean that there are two lamps, but rather, that it is one lamp in two different ages. The Spirit today is the Lamb in the future. Today the Spirit is the lamp. In the future the Lamb will be the lamp. When the Lamb becomes the lamp, the world will no longer be dark, and there will be no more night. But today the world is full of darkness; hence, there is the need for the seven Spirits to be the seven lamps. The seven Spirits who are the seven lamps are Christ Himself. In eternity future in the New Jerusalem the Lamb will be the lamp. This is because in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth, the old heaven and earth will have passed away, and everything will be made new. In eternity future there will be no darkness, neither will there be night anymore. Therefore, the seven lamps which are the seven Spirits will become the lamp of the Lamb to shine forth the glory of God.
Item number eight says that the seven Spirits are the lamps of fire in this age, executing God’s New Testament economy. In the new heaven and new earth, they will become the river to water the holy city of God, the New Jerusalem. Today in the church age, the seven Spirits are the seven lamps for the shining, activating, and executing of God’s New Testament economy. But in the age of the new heaven and new earth, they will become the river of water for the supplying, irrigating, and refreshing of the holy city, the New Jerusalem.
Item number nine says that the result of the searching and transfusing of the seven Spirits, which are the seven eyes of the Lamb, is the seven golden lampstands in this age and the holy city, the New Jerusalem, in the new heaven and the new earth. In between these two, there is the Lamb’s wife for His satisfaction, and there is the Lamb’s army to fight with Him to bring in the Lamb’s kingdom.
Item number ten says that in eternity the redeeming Lamb becomes the Lamb-God. In Revelation 22:1 it says that God and the Lamb sit on one throne. For God and the Lamb both to occupy one throne is a problem that puzzles many who study the Bible. Only by reading it in its context can we understand this kind of expression. It is by God being in the Lamb that They can sit on one throne, because chapter twenty-one says that God is the light and the Lamb is the lamp. The light is in the lamp; therefore, God is in the Lamb. It is by this that God and the Lamb can be sitting on the same throne. In other words, God and the Lamb are one. This is also to say that the redeeming God is the Lamb-God. From this Lamb-God flows the river of water of life, which is the all-inclusive Spirit as the life infusion. On the two sides of the river grows the tree of life, which is the all-inclusive Christ as the life supply. The river of life is the Spirit, and the tree of life is Christ. This is the divine Trinity becoming the life and essence of the redeemed ones in eternity, enabling them to be mingled with Him as one to be His corporate expression in eternity that is full, perfect, and complete.
Today the church is in a dark and confusing age, and Christ is the all-inclusive, sevenfold, intensified Spirit. Hence, to be a Christian in this age, we should not only analyze the biblical doctrines merely with our mind, but we should exercise our spirit to read the Lord’s Word, which is the Bible. If we would turn every word that we read into prayer, the words will be in us as the supplying Spirit and the shining light. By pray-reading the Lord’s Word and enjoying the supply of the Spirit this way, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit and full of light. We do not need the dead letters and doctrines, but we need the living Spirit and the light of life. We must touch the living Spirit and enjoy the light of life through pray-reading the Lord’s Word. In this way, the one Spirit who indwells us is intensified to become the seven Spirits, and every local church is a golden lampstand as the embodiment of the Triune God.
The golden lampstand has gold as its essence, signifying that the Father is the source and the nature. The shape of the lamp has a form, signifying that the Son is the embodiment and expression of the Father. The seven lamps signify the Spirit as the manifestation and the shining. Therefore, the golden lampstand is the embodiment of the Triune God as the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In this age, the golden lampstands are the local churches. A local church must be full of the Spirit to be the bride as the counterpart of the Lamb to satisfy His heart and also to be the Lamb’s army following Him and fighting with Him, defeating Antichrist to bring in the Lamb’s kingdom. In the end, the New Jerusalem will come down from heaven to be the ultimate expression of the Triune God. The New Jerusalem is composed of the mingling of the Triune God with all His redeemed people. God is the life and the essence within His redeemed ones, and His redeemed ones become a city without, to express God’s effulgence, that is, the glory of God.
The New Jerusalem is the ultimate expression of the church and is built of three kinds of material: gold, precious stones, and pearls. Gold signifies the nature of God the Father. Pearls signify the result of the redemption of God the Son. The precious stones signify the result of the transformation of God the Spirit. Hence, the New Jerusalem bears the nature of God the Father, the result of God the Son’s redemption, and the work of transformation of God the Spirit. The New Jerusalem, composed of these three persons, becomes God’s eternal habitation, with God in it as its source. As the One sitting on the throne, He is the Lamb-God, the redeeming God, from whom flows the river of water of life, which is the Spirit. On either side of the river is the tree of life, which is the Son. Here we have the Father as the source, the Spirit as the flow, and the Son as the life supply to meet all the needs of the entire city. Hence, everything related to this city is life and light. By then, the New Jerusalem will have become the full expression of the Triune God, expressing Him forever in eternity future. This is the Christ revealed in the book of Revelation. It is also the ultimate revelation of the whole Bible concerning Christ.