The seven eyes of the Lamb as the Executor of God’s New Testament economy are the seven lamps upheld by the seven lampstands, the seven churches, shining and enlightening as the testimony of Jesus (Rev. 1:9b, 11-12). This burning, judging, purifying, refining, and producing Spirit is the lamps upheld by the lampstands, the churches. This means that the churches shine through the lamps and that these lamps are the Spirit, the real testimony. The seven Spirits today are judging, purifying, refining, and bringing forth the churches. The extent to which the seven Spirits refine is the extent to which the churches shine. If we do not allow the seven Spirits to refine us, the seven Spirits have no way to shine, and there is no testimony. The shining of the seven Spirits is the testimony. The more we let the Spirit purify us and refine us, the more He shines through us, and this shining is the testimony of the churches. This is why we need to open ourselves and welcome Him every day to enter into our being to refine, judge, purge, and purify us. Then He will shine through us, and this shining is the testimony of the church, the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the shining of the seven Spirits from within all the believers in the churches.
We should pray, “Dear divine Flame, come and judge! Come and purify! Come and refine that You may produce the golden lampstand.” By His mercy, we need to be open to Him. Every day we need to tell the Lord, “Come. I am open to You. I open every avenue of my being to You. Enlighten me, search me within, and expose me. I want to be enlightened by You and exposed in Your light.” Instead of shutting ourselves up and hiding from Him, we need to pray, “Lord, we are open. Come and shine upon us, and shine from within us and enlighten every avenue and every corner of our being. We desire to be exposed, purged, and purified.”
The seven eyes are mentioned not only in Revelation 5:6 but also in Zechariah 3:9 and 4:10. Zechariah 3:9 says, “Here is the stone that I have set before Joshua—upon one stone are seven eyes. I will engrave its engraving, declares Jehovah of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” The reference to engraving the stone indicates that this stone is Christ. The Lord Jesus, as the building stone, was engraved, dealt with, by God on the cross for the iniquity of God’s people. In one day, by that engraving on the cross, the Lord Jesus took away all the sins of God’s people. This corresponds to John 1:29, which says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” From Zechariah 3:9 we know that the stone with the seven eyes is Christ. In short, the stone with seven eyes in Zechariah 3:9 is the Lamb with seven eyes in Revelation 5:6.
Zechariah 4:2 says, “There is a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl on top of it and its seven lamps upon it, with seven pipes for each of the lamps on top of it.” In Zechariah 3:9 the building stone has seven eyes, and in this verse the lampstand has seven lamps. This reveals that the lampstand equals the stone. Both the stone and the lampstand are Christ. The stone is for the building, and the lampstand is for light, for enlightening. On the stone there are seven eyes, and on the lampstand there are seven lamps. Hence, the seven lamps of the lampstand must be the seven eyes on the stone.
Zechariah 4:10 tells us that the seven eyes on the stone are the “eyes of Jehovah running to and fro on the whole earth.” This verse corresponds to Revelation 5:6, which speaks of the seven eyes of the Lamb, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. This indicates that the seven eyes of God are the seven Spirits of God. Zechariah 4:4-6 also implies that the seven eyes, which are the seven lamps, are related to the Spirit. After speaking of seven lamps upon a golden lampstand in verse 2, Zechariah asked an angel in verse 4, “What are these?” Here, in effect, Zechariah was asking what the significance of the one lampstand with seven lamps is. In verse 6 the angel answered, “This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says Jehovah of hosts.” This clearly indicates the one lampstand with seven lamps is “My Spirit,” the Spirit of God. Here the seven lamps signify the seven Spirits of God. This is because the book of Revelation indicates that the seven eyes of God, which are the seven lamps, are the seven Spirits of God. As we have seen, Zechariah reveals that the seven eyes of God, which are the seven lamps on the lampstand, are also the seven eyes of the stone. By means of the seven eyes, Christ as the Lion and the Lamb unveiled in Revelation 5 is connected to the stone spoken of in Zechariah 3. Therefore, the One with the seven eyes is not only the Lion-Lamb but also the stone. He is the Lion-Lamb-stone; the Lion to destroy the enemy, the Lamb to redeem us, and the stone to build God’s house.
In the beginning was the Word, the expression, of God (John 1:1). One day God, expressed as the Word, became flesh (v. 14). This was His first step to enlarge Himself. This flesh was the Lamb of the righteous God, the God who judges and condemns sin. The Lamb took away sin to fulfill God’s righteous requirements. This was the second step of God’s enlargement. When He was crucified, He was engraved, and this engraving removed the iniquity of God’s people in one day. In addition to this, He is also the Lion, indicating that He has defeated all the enemies. As the Lion He has accomplished an absolute defeat of the enemy. He is both the redeeming Lamb and the overcoming Lion for the enlargement of God. This Lion-Lamb is now the stone. Today the Lord Jesus is the stone. He is the Lamb and the Lion in order to be the stone. Having removed the iniquity and having defeated all the enemies, He is now building. This age is not the age merely of the Lamb and of the Lion; it is mainly the age of the stone. Now we can understand why, in His last visit to Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus indicated to the Jewish builders that they were rejecting not only the redeeming Lamb and the overcoming Lion but also the stone, the head cornerstone. After His death and resurrection, the age became the age of the church, which is God’s building. For the building of the church, Christ is the rock. As He Himself told Peter, “You are a stone, and upon this rock I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18, lit.). This is the age of the stone, the age of building.
The Lamb’s seven flaming, searching, and enlightening eyes are not only for God’s judgment but also for His building. The Bible tells us clearly that these seven eyes are the seven lamps (Zech. 3:9; 4:2, 10). The seven lamps in Exodus 25 are for the building up of the tabernacle, especially for the move in the tabernacle. Without light, it is impossible to move. The light is for the move, and the move is for God’s building. The seven lamps, therefore, are for the building up of the tabernacle, God’s dwelling place among men on earth. The seven lamps in Zechariah 3 and 4 are for the recovery of God’s building.
The same is true of the book of Revelation. The seven Spirits, which are the seven eyes of the Lamb and the seven lamps before God’s throne, are for God’s building. Revelation begins with the seven local churches and ends with the New Jerusalem. Although this book contains the judgment of God, this judgment is not the goal. Judgment is a procedure that will consummate in the New Jerusalem. Apparently, the seven flaming eyes of the Lamb are for searching and judging. However, this searching and judging is a procedure to attain the consummate goal of building. The New Jerusalem, God’s eternal dwelling place, issues out of this judgment carried out by the seven flaming eyes of the Lamb. Thus, the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits are all for God’s building. The transfusing by the seven eyes, the imparting of life by the seven Spirits of God, and the enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging by the seven lamps are all for the New Jerusalem. We are here for the realization of God’s eternal goal in His divine building.
The accomplishment of God’s building requires His judgment. God’s judgment is carried out by Christ’s being the One with seven flaming eyes to burn, enlighten, search, purify, and refine us. Eventually, these flaming eyes infuse us with all that He is, metabolically transforming us into His being. The whole city of New Jerusalem will have the same essence and appearance as God. The appearance of God sitting on the throne in chapter 4 is of jasper (v. 3), and the appearance of the New Jerusalem, especially its wall, in chapter 21 is also of jasper (vv. 11, 18-19). Thus, the essence and appearance of God and of the city are the same. This can be accomplished by having God wrought into us by means of transfusion.
God became the redeeming Lamb who died and resurrected to become the building stone; this building stone is the lampstand with seven eyes, seven Spirits, and seven lamps to produce the church. This golden lampstand is the church. The seven lamps are the seven eyes of God, and these seven eyes are also on the stone. According to Zechariah, this stone is for God’s building. Eventually we see that the stone with the seven eyes is the lampstand. In the book of Revelation we see that the seven eyes of God are the seven eyes of the Lamb. The seven lamps of the lampstand are the seven eyes of God, the seven eyes on the stone, and the seven eyes of the Lamb. This means that the lampstand equals the stone, the stone equals the Lamb, and the Lamb equals God. In Exodus we have a lampstand with seven lamps. In Zechariah we see that these seven lamps are the seven eyes of God and the seven eyes of the stone. The book of Revelation indicates that these seven eyes are also the seven eyes of the Lamb. The seven lamps are the seven eyes of God, the seven eyes of the stone, and the seven eyes of the Lamb. This proves that the lampstand is God, that God is the stone, and that the stone is the Lamb. The lampstand is the stone, the stone is the Lamb, and the Lamb is God. These four things—the lampstand, the stone, the Lamb, and God—are four in one. The lampstand is for shining, the stone is for building, the Lamb is for redeeming, and God is for administrating. Therefore, we have the shining lampstand, the building stone, the redeeming Lamb, and the administrating God.
The seven lamps of the shining lampstand are the seven eyes of the building stone, the seven eyes of the building stone are the seven eyes of the redeeming Lamb, and the seven eyes of the redeeming Lamb are the seven eyes of the administrating God. These seven lamps and these seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God. In the present age the Spirit is the seven Spirits of God who are the seven lamps of fire burning for God’s administration and also the seven eyes of the redeeming and building One for transfusion and infusion. The lamps of burning fire are for God’s administration, and the eyes are for the redeeming and building One’s transfusion. On the one hand, these seven Spirits are seven lamps shining, burning, searching, judging, and carrying out God’s administration. On the other hand, these seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the redeeming and building Christ to infuse whatever Christ is into us.