Message Seven

The New Jerusalem—
the Universal Golden Lampstand

Scripture Reading: Rev. 21:18b, 23-24a; 22:1, 5; 1:12, 20; 2:1

1. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of the lampstands in the Scriptures:
   1. The lampstand in the tabernacle signifies Christ Himself—Exo. 25:31-37.
   2. The lampstand in the temple signifies the enlarged Christ—1 Kings 7:49.
   3. The lampstand in Zechariah 4:2 signifies the people of Israel.
   4. The lampstands in Revelation 1:12 and 20 signify the churches.
2. The churches as golden lampstands will be consummated in the New Jerusalem, the aggregate of all the lampstands—1:20; 21:18b, 23:
   1. In the book of Revelation, there are two great signs—the sign of the golden lampstands and the sign of the New Jerusalem—1:1, 12, 20; 21:2, 10-11.
   2. Revelation begins with the lampstands and ends with the lampstand—1:20; 21:18b, 23:
      1. At the beginning of Revelation, there are seven lampstands, the local lampstands in this age—2:1.
      2. At the end of Revelation, there is an aggregate, a composite, lampstand, the universal lampstand in eternity—21:18b, 23.
      3. The seven lampstands are local, but the golden lampstand is universal.
      4. The lampstands are signs of the churches, whereas the New Jerusalem is a sign of God’s eternal dwelling place—21:3, 22.
3. The New Jerusalem, a mountain of gold, is the universal golden lampstand holding the Lamb as the lamp shining out God as the light—vv. 18, 23; 22:1, 5:
   1. The New Jerusalem is a mountain of gold—21:18b, 21; 22:1:
      1. If we consider the facts that the New Jerusalem is a golden city, that it has one street which reaches all twelve gates, and that it is twelve thousand stadia high, we will realize that the city proper is a golden mountain.
      2. As a golden mountain, the New Jerusalem is the ultimate, unique, and eternal golden lampstand absolutely composed of God’s nature (gold).
   2. God as the light is in the Lamb as the lamp shining out from the top of this universal golden lampstand— 21:23; 22:1, 5:
      1. On the top of the golden mountain is the throne as the center, and on the throne is Christ the Lamb as the lamp with God in Him as the light shining out through the city—21:23; 22:5.
      2. The golden mountain is a stand, and upon this stand is a lamp; therefore, this golden mountain— the New Jerusalem—is a golden lampstand.
   3. The New Jerusalem, the aggregate of all the lampstands, the totality of today’s lampstands, is a consummate, universal golden lampstand to shine forth God’s glory in the new heaven and new earth for eternity— 21:24a.
4. The golden lampstand signifies the Triune God embodied and expressed, and the more we experience the aspects of the Triune God depicted in the lampstand, the more we will be in reality the golden lampstand as the embodiment and expression of the Triune God and thus become the New Jerusalem as the universal golden lampstand—1:12, 20; 21:18b:
   1. The lampstand is of pure gold, signifying the divine nature, the eternal, incorruptible nature of God the Father—Exo. 25:31:
      1. We need to experience the pure gold of the lampstand, receiving the golden element into the depths of our being—2 Pet. 1:4.
      2. How much of the divine nature has been wrought into us determines to what extent we are the church in actuality—Rev. 1:20.
      3. The degree of our shining is according to the amount of the divine element that has been infused into us.
   2. The stand is a solid form, signifying God the Son as the embodiment of God the Father—Exo. 25:31:
      1. Christ has been regenerated into our being, He is being formed in us, and we are being transformed into His being—John 1:12-13; Gal. 4:19; 2 Cor. 3:18.
      2. Through God’s organic salvation, we are being saved from self-likeness (the expression of the self) and are being conformed to the image of Christ as the firstborn Son of God—Rom. 5:10; 8:29.
   3. The seven lamps signify God the Spirit being the seven Spirits of God for His expression—Exo. 25:37; Rev. 4:5:
      1. Within us we have two lamps—the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God within our regenerated spirit— 4:5; Prov. 20:27; 1 Cor. 6:17.
      2. Both the spirit of man and the Spirit of God are lamps shining and enlightening our inward parts— 1 Cor. 2:11-12.
   4. All the gold must be brought together as one unit, one entity; this refers to the building—Exo. 25:31, 36; Matt. 16:18; Eph. 2:21-22; 4:16:
      1. God does not desire hundreds of individual units of gold; He wants all the gold put together and beaten to form the lampstand.
      2. If we have seen the building, we will never be individualistic; rather, we will realize that whatever we gain of the divine element is for the building.
   5. As the multiplied embodiment of the processed Triune God, the golden lampstands are identical—Rev. 1:12, 20; 2:1:
      1. The sign of the golden lampstands reveals that the churches should be the same in essence, appearance, and expression.
      2. Jesus has only one testimony, the embodiment and expression of the Triune God; thus, all the local churches in all the cities of all the nations should be exactly the same—Col. 3:10-11; John 17:22; Rev. 21:10.
      3. “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” (The Church—the Reprint of the Spirit, p. 29).