The lampstands are for God’s building in three stages: for the tabernacle, or temple (Exo. 25:31-39); for the recovered temple (Zech. 4:2-6); and for the church (Rev. 1:12-13, 20). In other words, for God to build the tabernacle, there was the need of the lampstand, for God to rebuild the temple there was the need of the lampstand, and for God to build the church today there is the need of the lampstand. All the lampstands are golden, which means that they are divine, and all are without measure.
The lamps of the lampstand are for giving light and the light is for moving (John 9:4-5; 8:12). There was no window in the tabernacle. If there had been no lampstand in the tabernacle, the priest would have been in the dark and would have lost his direction. He would not have known what to do, how to do things, or where to go. Thus, the whole move in the tabernacle depended upon the shining lampstand. This indicates that the shining lampstand is not for nourishing, not for strengthening, not for watering, and not for acceptance, but for moving. The showbread table is for nourishing, the incense altar is for acceptance, but only the lampstand is for moving. God’s building is God’s moving. God has a building. God is moving on. For the moving on there is the need of the shining light. If you stay away from the church life for one month, you will see that you are in the gloom, losing your direction, not knowing what to do, how to do things, or where to go. You will come to a standstill. The church is the lampstand shining for all of us to move. When we came into the church life, we can testify that we began to know how to do things, what to do, and where to go because the church is the lampstand, shining for all of us to move.
In Revelation there are seven lampstands, and each lampstand has seven lamps. Twelve is the number for absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s administration, but seven is the number for completion in God’s move. There were seven days for creation with its rest (Gen. 1:31—2:3). Creation was God’s first move. There are seven dispensations for God’s move with man. These dispensations are the dispensations of innocence, conscience, human government, promise, law, grace, and the kingdom. There were seventy years, ten times seven, for the dispersion of Israel in the Old Testament (Jer. 25:11). There are seventy weeks for God’s economy with Israel (Dan. 9:24-27). Those seventy weeks are divided into three sections: the first section is seven weeks, the second section is sixty-two weeks, and the third section is the final one week. Each week signifies seven years.
The seven lampstands are the seven churches, indicating that the churches are the completion in God’s move. The seven seals in Revelation are for the destiny of the earth (Rev. 5:5), the seven trumpets are for tribulation upon the earth (Rev. 8:2), and the seven bowls are for the wrath of God upon the earth (Rev. 15:7). The destination of the earth, the tribulation of the earth, and the wrath upon the earth are all in seven because they are all items in God’s move.
The seven lamps are the seven eyes (Zech. 4:2, 10). The seven lamps are first seen in Exodus, and the seven eyes are first seen in Zechariah. These seven eyes are of Christ as the Lamb for redemption (Rev. 5:6), of Christ as the stone for God’s building (Zech. 3:9), and of Jehovah for the visitation of man (4:10).
The seven lamps and the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 4:5; 5:6). The seven lamps are the seven eyes, and the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God. The lamps are for enlightening. The eyes are for transfusion by looking. You may know whether a person is happy or angry with you by looking at his eyes. The Lord has seven eyes for the purpose of transfusing all that He is into us. The seven Spirits are for moving and working. As seven is the number for completion in God’s operation, so the seven Spirits must be for God’s move on the earth. In substance and existence, God’s Spirit is one; in the intensified function and work of God’s operation, God’s Spirit is sevenfold. It is like the lampstand in Zechariah 4:2. In existence it is one lampstand, but in function it is seven lamps. Because the church has become degraded and the age is dark, the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God is needed for God’s move and work on the earth.