The lampstand was a very crucial item in the tabernacle because it directed people to the ark in the Holy of Holies. Consider the arrangement of the furnishings in the tabernacle and the outer court. Firstly, in the outer court there were the altar and the laver. Then, in the Holy Place, there were the showbread table and the lampstand with seven lamps. The lampstand directed people into the Holy of Holies; it pointed the way to the law of life in the ark of testimony.
If we had only the book of Exodus, we would not be able to understand the significance of the lampstand and its seven lamps. But in Zechariah 3 and 4 the lampstand with its lamps appears again as a development of the lampstand in Exodus 25. In Zechariah 3:9 we have the seven eyes on the stone, and in 4:10 we see that these seven eyes are the eyes of the Lord “which run to and fro through the whole earth.” When we put Zechariah 4:10 with Zechariah 4:2, we see that the seven lamps of the lampstand are also the seven eyes of the Lord. Thus, in Zechariah the seven lamps in Exodus are developed into the seven eyes of Jehovah, the Lord. Furthermore, these seven lamps are the seven eyes of the stone. Therefore, in Zechariah the seven lamps are developed into seven eyes, and the lampstand is developed into the stone and into Jehovah, the Lord. Hence, the seven lamps are the seven eyes, and the lampstand is the stone, Jehovah, the Lord. Here we have not only the seven lamps, but also the seven eyes; not only the lampstand, but also the stone, Jehovah. This implies that the seven lamps are the seven eyes and that the lampstand is Jehovah.
As we have pointed out a number of times, the matter of the stone is developed in the New Testament. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus said, “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church.” Here the Lord refers to Himself as the rock. In Matthew 21:42 He said, “Have you never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the cornerstone; this was from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” The stone referred to here is the very stone with the seven eyes in Zechariah 3:9. Peter spoke of the Lord as this stone in Acts 4:11, where he said, “This is the stone which was despised by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.” Peter was telling the religionists that they rejected not only their Redeemer, but also the cornerstone of God’s building.
In Revelation 4 and 5 we have a further development of the seven lamps. According to 4:5, the seven lamps of the lampstand are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God. The seven lamps on the lampstand were for enlightening, but the seven lamps before the throne of God are both for enlightening and for the carrying out of God’s administrative government. Revelation 5:6 indicates that the seven lamps burning before the throne are also the seven eyes of the Lamb. Thus, the seven eyes are the seven eyes of the stone, the seven eyes of the Lord, and the seven eyes of the Lamb. These seven eyes combine the stone, the Lord, and the Lamb. This indicates that the Lamb is the stone and that the stone is the Lord. Moreover, 5:6 reveals that the seven eyes of the Lamb are the seven Spirits of God. On the one hand, there is a line containing six items: the lampstand, the stone, Jehovah, the Lamb, the throne of God, and God. On the other hand, there is another line with three items: the seven lamps, the seven eyes, and the seven Spirits. The lampstand signifies shining, and the stone refers to God’s building. Jesus, our Savior, is Jehovah, and the Redeemer is the Lamb. The throne of God indicates God’s government, God’s administration.