When we come to the meetings to light the lamps, we may be short of the real experience of Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God. We may also be lacking in the experience of the divine nature and the humanity of Christ. Furthermore, we may not have the oil of the Spirit of Christ. Instead, we may try to light the lamps with something other than olive oil. Sometimes in the pray-reading of certain saints and in their calling on the name of the Lord Jesus, there is no olive oil. They do not have the oil which comes from Christ as the olive tree, but they have oil from some inferior source. Should someone pray-read or call on the Lord in a light way, he certainly is not lighting the lamps with pure olive oil. When some saints hear this word, they may be disappointed and say, “Now I feel condemned for the way I pray-read, call on the Lord’s name, and shout praises to the Lord. From now on I’ll be silent in the meetings. I don’t want to use oil that is not olive oil.” There is no need for us to be discouraged, but there is the need for us to be purified. Young brothers, you must admit that sometimes when you shout, “Praise the Lord!” there is no olive oil in your shouting. We need to praise the Lord in a proper way, with the pure olive oil of the Spirit.
I do not agree with pray-reading, calling, or shouting that brings in some impure, natural element. The pure and holy pray-reading, calling on the Lord’s name, and praising should not be mixed with lightness or joking. Whenever there is such a mixture, there is darkness instead of light. Whatever we utter in the meetings must be with the pure oil of the olive tree. This is the only oil that will burn to give light in the Holy Place. Pray-reading, calling, or shouting in a natural way never causes the holy light to ascend, and it never enlightens the other saints.
We need the cross to work in us. The pure olive oil is oil that has passed through incarnation and crucifixion, and has entered into resurrection. In this oil there is no mixture, no natural element. Certainly we need to be released in the meetings and also full of joy. Sometimes we may even laugh. But our release, enjoyment, and laughter must always be with pure olive oil.
Whenever we come together to meet as the church, that meeting is in God’s dwelling place. It is very important to remember this. Our gathering is a sanctuary. Therefore, we should not behave as if we were in a stadium. We need to remember that we are in a holy gathering of the saints. As those whose gathering is the sanctuary of God, we need to light the lamps in the sanctuary, that is, in the tent of meeting. Of course, the physical building in which we meet is not the sanctuary, or the Holy Place; it is the gathering which is the sanctuary. No matter where we may meet, in a building or in the open air, our gathering is the Holy Place. For this reason, we should not meet in a natural way or in a secular way. Everything we do in the meeting—our speaking, singing, praising, calling, shouting, pray-reading—must cause the holy light to ascend. This is to light the lamps in God’s sanctuary so that the light may swallow up the darkness.
Exodus 27:21 says, “In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall set them in order from evening until morning before Jehovah; it shall be a statute forever for their generations by the sons of Israel.” This verse speaks of “outside the veil which is before the testimony.” The reason we still need the lighting of the lamps is that, for the most part, we are not yet in the Holy of Holies. Our gathering is in the Holy Place, not in the Holy of Holies. This means that the veil still separates the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. Behind the veil there is the ark with the law, called the testimony. The phrase “before the testimony” means before the law in the ark. Even though we have the light ascending in the Holy Place, we are still in the Holy Place, not yet in the Holy of Holies. But we are in the Holy Place with a view to entering the Holy of Holies. Even though we are still in the Holy Place, we are before the testimony. We have the expectation that we shall enter the Holy of Holies. We are lighting the lamps before the testimony, which is on the other side of the veil, hoping that the veil will be taken away. Therefore, whenever we come together to meet in the sanctuary of God, we light the lamps, causing the light to ascend before the testimony, with the expectation of entering the Holy of Holies. Once we enter the Holy of Holies, the shekinah glory will replace the light we cause to ascend in the sanctuary. This is to light the lamps with the qualifications of the priesthood. We need to have these qualifications in order to be before the testimony with the expectation of coming into the Holy of Holies. By lighting the lamps we can see the way leading into the Holy of Holies, the way leading into the depths of Christ within God.
I hope that we all shall be impressed that in the meetings, the gatherings, we need to light the lamps and that lighting the lamps is a matter of the priesthood. In our gatherings we should cause the divine light to shine so that the darkness may vanish and that we may be brought into the light with the expectation of stepping into the Holy of Holies, where the testimony of God is. Perhaps we are still in the Holy Place. Nevertheless, we are very close to the testimony, and we have the expectation of coming into the Holy of Holies.