Many Christians realize that, according to Revelation 5, Christ, the slain Lamb, is worthy, and a number of Christian hymns praise the Lord for His worthiness. However, most hymns on the worthiness of the Lamb praise Christ for being worthy because of His redemption. It is difficult to find a hymn on the Lord’s worthiness that goes beyond redemption. It is absolutely scriptural to say that the Lamb is worthy because He has redeemed and purchased us. However, according to Revelation 5, the worthiness of the Lamb is not mainly due to His redemption, but to His being able to open the secret of God’s economy. Christ is worthy to open the seals of God’s economy because He has defeated the enemy and has redeemed us. As the One who has brought God’s authority to the earth, He is the victorious, overcoming Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Lamb who has accomplished a full redemption for God’s chosen people. Therefore, He is completely qualified and positioned to open the mystery of God’s economy. This is one of the crucial points in Revelation chapter five.
Another major point in Revelation 5 is that Christ as the Lion-Lamb has “seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God” (v. 6). These seven eyes are also the seven lamps burning before the throne of God (4:5). Hence, in these chapters we have the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits. Revelation is the only book in the Bible that mentions the seven Spirits. But here we see that these seven Spirits are the seven eyes of Christ, and that the seven eyes of Christ are the seven lamps before the throne of God.
The first mention of the seven lamps is in Exodus 25, where we see seven lamps on the one lampstand. But if we only had Exodus 25, we would not know the meaning of the lampstand and its seven lamps. According to our human understanding, we would simply say that the seven lamps are for the intensification of the light. Although this is both right and logical, the significance of the seven lamps is much deeper than this. Why did the lampstand not have six or eight lamps? In Zechariah we see something further regarding the seven lamps, for in Zechariah 3 and 4 we see that the seven lamps are the seven eyes (Zech. 3:9; 4:2,10). Although Zechariah 4:10 speaks of the seven eyes of the Lord, the connection between the eyes, the lamps, and the Spirit is not made clear. Thus, we need to proceed further to the book of Revelation, where we see the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits. We need to see the progression from Exodus through Zechariah to Revelation. In Exodus we have the seven lamps, in Zechariah we have the seven eyes, and in Revelation we have the seven Spirits. In Exodus the seven lamps are mentioned, but nothing is said of the eyes or of the Spirits. In Zechariah we have the seven lamps and the seven eyes with an obscure mention of the Spirit. But in Revelation we have the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits.
As we pointed out in message eight, the lampstand is a symbol of the Triune God. The gold symbolizes the divine substance of the Father; the stand, which is the embodiment of the gold, symbolizes Christ as the embodiment of the Father; and the seven lamps symbolize the Spirit as the expression of Christ who is the embodiment of the Father. Therefore, we have the Father (the gold) as the substance, the Son (the stand) as the embodiment, and the Spirit (the lamps) as the expression. We have the substance, the embodiment, and the expression. In Exodus we cannot see that the seven lamps are the seven Spirits of God. We must go on to Zechariah and eventually to Revelation before we can see this. As a recovery of divine revelation, this is absolutely new.
The 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 on earth.
The seven lamps in Zechariah 3 and 4 are for the recovery of God’s building. The principle is the same in the rebuilding of the temple as it was in the building of the tabernacle. The same is true of the book of Revelation. If we approach this book with a shortsighted view, we shall be unable to see that the seven Spirits, which are the seven eyes of the Lamb and the seven lamps before God’s throne, are for God’s building. But if we have an overall view, we shall see that the seven Spirits are absolutely for God’s building. Revelation begins with the seven local churches and it ends with the New Jerusalem. Although this book contains the judgment of God, this judgment is not the goal. Judgment is not for judgment; it is for God’s building. The New Jerusalem, God’s eternal dwelling place, issues out of this judgment. Thus, the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits are all for God’s building. We are here for the realization of God’s eternal goal in His divine building.