The lampstand in the tabernacle emphasizes Christ with the seven Spirits of God for God’s building (Exo. 25:31-39). The lampstand for the recovered temple emphasizes the Spirit as the seven Spirits of Jehovah for God’s building (Zech. 4:2-6, 10). In Exodus the lampstand emphasizes Christ. In Zechariah the lampstand emphasizes the Spirit. This is because the New Testament tells us that the redeeming Christ has become the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). As the redeeming One, He was Christ and as the life-giving One, He is the Spirit. Thus, both Christ and the Spirit are the lampstand.
The lampstands for the churches emphasize the church with Christ and with the Spirit (Rev. 1:12-13, 20). The wonderful church is with Christ and with the Spirit. The lampstand in Exodus, which typifies Christ, had seven lamps, and these seven lamps are the seven eyes of God, Jehovah (Zech. 4:10). In Psalm 32:8 the Lord says, “I will guide thee with mine eye.” I was always taught that God had two eyes, but Revelation and Zechariah tell us that God has seven eyes. God has seven eyes and these seven eyes are mainly for God’s moving, for God’s working. How needed a person’s eyes are! We need eyes so that we can walk properly, move properly, and work properly. God’s eyes are for God’s move, for God’s work. Christ has seven lamps, which are the seven eyes of God.
The seven lamps are the seven eyes of Christ as the Lamb and as the stone (Zech. 4:2, 10; Rev. 5:6; Zech. 3:9). Zechariah 3 tells us that Christ as the building stone has seven eyes, and Revelation 5 tells us that Christ as the redeeming Lamb has seven eyes. This proves that the Lamb is the stone and the stone is the Lamb. The Lamb is for redemption, and the stone is for building. For the purposes of redemption and building, Christ has seven eyes.
Eventually, the seven lamps and the seven eyes of Christ are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 4:5; 5:6). We have seen that the seven lamps, which are the seven eyes of Christ as the Lamb and as the stone, are also the seven eyes of Jehovah. Thus, the seven lamps are the seven eyes, and the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of the Lamb, of the stone, and of the Lord Jehovah. The Lamb is the stone, and the stone is the Lord Jehovah. The Lord Jehovah, who is the stone and the Lamb, has the seven Spirits; the seven Spirits are the seven eyes; and the seven eyes are the seven lamps. In other words, the seven lamps are the seven eyes, and the seven eyes are the seven Spirits of the Lord Jehovah, who is the building stone and the redeeming Lamb. Thus, there are six items related to the lampstand: the seven lamps, the seven eyes, the seven Spirits, the Lord Jehovah, the stone, and the Lamb. The Lord, who is also called the stone and the Lamb, has the seven Spirits, the seven eyes, the seven lamps. When the seven lamps enlighten us, the seven eyes look at us. When the seven eyes look at us, they work in us, move in us, and even move us as the seven Spirits. While the seven Spirits are working in us, the Lamb is there, the stone is there, and the Lord is there.
The church is the totality of the Lamb for redemption, of the stone for building, of the Lord for administration, of the seven Spirits for moving, of the seven eyes for looking at us, and of the seven lamps for enlightening us. While the seven lamps are enlightening us, the seven eyes are looking at us; while the seven eyes are looking at us, the seven Spirits are moving in us. When the seven Spirits are moving in us, the Lamb is here for redemption, the stone is here for building, and the Lord is here for His administration.
This wonderful truth matches our experience in the church life. When we come into the church, the seven lamps are shining within us and enlightening us. At the same time, we have the deep sensation that someone is watching over us. This One who is watching over us has seven eyes. He is watching over us from every side—not only from the right, left, front, back, top, and bottom, but also from within. We have no way to hide ourselves. Many times in the church life we may want to hide ourselves, but we find that “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3). Wherever we are, the eyes of the Lord are. When we were in the religious world, it might have been easy for us to hide ourselves in the gloom. But now that we have come into the church life, where are we going to hide ourselves? Nowhere! There are always seven eyes watching over us.
We also have the experience that while the seven eyes are watching over us and looking at us, what grace, supply, encouragement, and support are infused into us! The looking of the seven eyes is not mainly for watching but for transfusing. When the seven eyes look at us, the divine element is transfused into us. The divine looking transfuses the divine element! What we are fellowshipping here is not something doctrinal, but is according to our experiences of Christ in the church. When we receive the Lord’s transfusion, many times we have to confess our failures, sins, and weaknesses to the Lord. Then we enjoy the Lamb, the redeeming One. Building follows redemption. The more we confess our sins, failures, and weaknesses, the more we will be brought into the building, the practical and actual building in the local church. In this way, we experience the Lamb and the stone. Furthermore, when we are brought into the practical building, we will see that He is Jehovah, the Lord, and everything to us. We will experience all that He is.
The seven Spirits of God are for the seven churches (Rev. 1:4). The Spirit is the reality of Christ (John 14:17-20; 16:13-15), and the church is the reprint of the Spirit (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 22:17). The church with the Spirit is the embodiment of Christ, the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:2, 9; 19:10). The more Spirit, the more church, the more testimony of Jesus!
The lampstands, the churches, as the testimony of Jesus in Revelation are golden and shining (1:12-13). All the seven lampstands are exactly the same. If the seven lampstands were placed together, we would not be able to discern one from another. I hope that the day will come when all the local churches on this earth are identical to each other in reality. Then it would even be hard for Satan to find out which church is which. The church in Anaheim, the church in Frankfurt, the church in New York, and the church in Taipei would all be the same.
There is only one Spirit and one Body (Eph. 4:4), but there are many local churches as the expression of the one Body. Although the lampstands signifying the local churches are many, they are all identical. The seven lampstands in Revelation 1 represent seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The localities are different, but the lampstands are the same. Surely London is different from Frankfurt. But the two local churches in these two cities must be identical. The New Testament does not tell us that the local churches should be different. Paul did not teach the churches in Galatia in one way and the church in Colossae in another way. He said that he taught the same thing in every church (1 Cor. 4:17).
I do expect that the day will come when all the local churches look alike, and I believe that when that day comes, the Lord will return. What a lie it is to say that every local church must be unique! If any local church is unique, it is unique in a negative sense. The church in Pergamos was unique with the teaching of Balaam (Rev. 2:14), and the church in Thyatira was unique with Jezebel (2:20). The local churches in Revelation were unique in their negative aspects. But the seven churches as the lampstands are identical to one another in a positive sense. Unless the lampstands were numbered, one would not be able to identify one lampstand from another. The lampstands are all reprints of the same Spirit.
Every printed copy of a certain document is a reprint of the original typeset version of that document. If a thousand copies are made, they are identical to one another. Likewise, the church is the reprint of the Spirit. We can experience the church in this aspect by the enlightening of the seven lamps, the divine looking of the seven eyes, and the moving and working of the seven Spirits. Then we have to make a thorough confession to the Lord to apply His redemption, and then we will be brought into the actual building. Eventually, we are all in the church, and the church is the reprint of the Spirit.
I hope that the fellowship in this book will be a governing vision to us. This vision needs to be shining over us and within us as the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits. This vision will bring us actually into the building of the church, and eventually all the local churches on this earth will be identical to one another. When this happens on the earth, I believe we will be ready for Him to come back. O Lord Jesus! Come quickly! There is no other way to bring Him back and no other way to get ourselves ready but by seeing, experiencing, and enjoying the church as the reprint of the Spirit.