The lampstand was in the Holy Place, over against the table of the bread of the Presence and close to the ark. With the table we have the supply of life, and with the lampstand we have the shining of the life. The placement of the lampstand with respect to the table and the ark indicates that in the church the light of the truth and the supply of life must match and balance each other for the carrying on of Christ as the testimony of God.
In the making and display of the furniture of the tabernacle, the lampstand was followed by the incense altar (Exo. 37:23-25; 40:24-27). According to chapter thirty-seven, the incense altar was made after the lampstand. According to chapter forty, the incense altar was displayed following the lampstand. This signifies that the shining of Christ in resurrection as the divine light leads us into contact with God in the sweet fragrance of prayer. In experience we go from the table to the lampstand, and from the lampstand to the incense altar. Spontaneously, the shining of Christ as the divine light in resurrection leads us to prayer. Whenever we are enlightened by Christ, we are spontaneously led into prayer to contact God.
There were three layers of different lights with the tabernacle. First, there was the natural light in the outer court. The outer court did not have any covering. The light there came from the sun by day and from the moon and the stars by night. Hence, this light is a natural light. Because many Christians today are in the outer court, the light they have is natural.
The light in the Holy Place came from the light of the lampstand. This light signifies the shining of Christ in resurrection and in the Spirit. This light excludes all human thoughts, concepts, and perspectives. We should not do things according to natural light. Many Christians still look at matters according to their natural philosophy, culture, background, education, and perspectives. We in the Lord’s recovery must view things differently. We need to experience the shining of the lampstand in the Holy Place. Only when we have been enlightened by Christ are we able to drop our natural thoughts, concepts, and perspectives.
The light in the Holy of Holies is the light of God’s shekinah glory. Thus, the light in the Holy of Holies is the inmost light. The natural light in the outer court is the outer light, the light of the lampstand in the Holy Place is the inner light, and God’s shekinah glory in the Holy of Holies is the inmost light, God’s glory appearing on Christ as the propitiatory cover. Thus, the glory of God is our inmost light.
According to Revelation 1:20; 4:5; and 5:6, eventually the lampstand becomes the church to bear the testimony of Jesus, and the seven lamps become the seven Spirits of God to express the Triune God. The one lampstand in Exodus 25 has been reproduced as the seven lampstands in Revelation 1. Today the churches are the lampstands bearing the testimony of Jesus, and the seven Spirits of God are the seven lamps expressing the Triune God. In the Lord’s recovery we hope that every saint will live a shining life and that every local church will be a lampstand bearing the testimony of Jesus. Then we shall have the Holy Spirit as the seven Spirits, the sevenfold intensified Spirit, expressing the Triune God among all the churches in the Lord’s recovery.