In this book we want to see the Spirit and the church. In our fellowship we want to focus our attention on the lampstands in Exodus 25, Zechariah 4, and Revelation 1. The first mention of the lampstand in the Bible is related to the tabernacle in the Old Testament (Exo. 25:31-39). The lampstand in the Holy Place, referred to in Hebrews 9:2, is one of the main items in the tabernacle.
The furniture related to the tabernacle is arranged in pairs. There are three pairs of items related to the tabernacle. First, are the altar (Exo. 27:1-8) and the laver (30:18-21) in the outer court, typifying the redeeming blood and the washing, cleansing Spirit. These two go together as one pair and are the initial experience of Christ. Second, are the showbread table on the north side and the lampstand on the south side in the Holy Place (Exo. 40:22, 24). The food of the showbread table is life, and the light of the lampstand is the light of life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). These two items form a pair for the continuing experience of Christ. The third pair of items in the tabernacle is the incense altar in the Holy Place and the ark in the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:4). The incense altar has to be one with the ark. On the ark is the propitiation-cover, which is the oracle where God speaks to man (Heb. 9:4-5; Rom. 3:25). This propitiation-cover is the throne of grace in the New Testament where we may take grace. Hebrews 12:28 says, “Let us have grace,” which may also be translated, “Let us take grace.” To take grace we have to come forward to the throne of grace. We take grace at the throne of grace, and the throne of grace is the propitiation-cover where God speaks to us and meets with us. We are accepted by God at the incense altar, and God speaks to us at the propitiation-cover of the ark. This is a picture of the traffic between God and man. Between the ark and the incense altar there is divine traffic, fellowship, communion. The first pair of items is the initial experience of Christ, the second pair is the continuation of the experience of Christ, and the final pair is the ultimate experience of Christ.
Among all the pieces of furniture in the tabernacle, the lampstand is the most peculiar. The altar, the showbread table, the incense altar, and the ark all have definite measurements, but the lampstand is without measurement. To describe the shape of the lampstand is not a simple matter. The laver is also without measurement, but is not as peculiar as the lampstand in that we can define its shape. The laver is shaped like a bowl so that it can contain water for the priests to wash with. There are no words, however, such as rectangular, square, triangular, or round to describe the shape of the lampstand. Furthermore, among the furniture in the tabernacle only the laver and the lampstand are without measurement. The laver is without measurement because it is a symbol of the life-giving Spirit. With the Spirit, there is no measurement. The Spirit is immeasurable, unlimited.
It is true to say that the lampstand typifies Christ, but we need to realize that Christ is the Spirit. Second Corinthians 3:17 is a strong verse telling us that the Lord is the Spirit. On one occasion, some of the brothers confronted certain ones who opposed us because we stood for the truth that Christ is the Spirit. One brother asked them if they believed the entire Bible. They said that they did, so the brother referred them to 2 Corinthians 3:17—“The Lord is the Spirit.” The brother asked, “Who is the Lord?”, and they said, “Jesus.” Then he asked, “Who is the Spirit?”, and they said, “The Holy Spirit.” Then the brother said, “This means that the Lord Jesus is the Holy Spirit.” These opposing ones were defeated by this one verse. Christ today is the Spirit.
The lampstand signifies Christ. No one can argue with this. But the lampstand also typifies something further. The “nursery” for all the seeds of the biblical truths is not only the book of Genesis but also the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch written by Moses. We cannot say that all the seeds of the truths were sown merely in Genesis. The first mention of the lampstand is not in Genesis but in Exodus (25:31-37). Then the lampstand is mentioned in 1 Kings as an item in the temple built by Solomon (7:49). Eventually, the lampstand is mentioned again in Zechariah related to the recovered temple (4:2). Zechariah is a record of the recovery of the destroyed temple. The lampstand in the tabernacle in Exodus signifies Christ Himself. But the lampstand in Zechariah signifies the Spirit. Zechariah 4 tells us that when Zechariah saw the lampstand, he asked the angel what this was. Then the angel answered, “This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts” (v. 6). The Lord told Zechariah that the lampstand was His Spirit. In Exodus the lampstand was Christ. In Zechariah the lampstand was the Spirit.
As the seed of the truth concerning the lampstand in Exodus, the lampstand is Christ. The growth of this seed in Zechariah is that the lampstand is the Spirit. In Revelation is the harvest of the truth concerning the lampstand. The seed was one lampstand and the harvest is seven lampstands. The harvest is always a multiplication of the seed, so the seed has been multiplied from one into seven. The seed is Christ, the growth is the Spirit, and the harvest is the church. Hallelujah for Christ, the Spirit, and the church! The lampstand first signifies Christ, then the Spirit, and ultimately the church. This indicates that the very Christ is the Spirit and that the Spirit with the very Christ produces the churches. The lampstand in Exodus, the lampstand in Zechariah, and the lampstands in Revelation are three stages of the truth concerning the lampstand.