In this book, we will specifically consider the golden lampstand in the Bible. Apparently, the Gospel, the Epistles, and the Revelation written by John are unrelated to the book of Exodus in the Old Testament; or we may say that it is difficult to find the relationship between them. It is as if the former were “wearing Western attire” and the latter “Chinese gowns,” so that no one can see the relationship between them. However, I want to make it clear that in substance John’s writings are the development of Exodus.
There are several important items in the book of Exodus. The first item is the passover lamb. The book of Exodus is called Exodus because the passover lamb enabled the children of Israel to go out of Egypt. The second item is the tabernacle. After the children of Israel kept the passover, left Egypt, and reached the wilderness, God wanted them to build a tabernacle for Him. Hence, when we come to the end of Exodus in chapter forty, we see a tabernacle erected and filled with the glory of God. Thus, we see that the first main item in Exodus is the lamb, and the last main item is the tabernacle. Now I would like to ask, in John’s Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation, what are the first and last main items? In John’s writings there are two “beholds.” In John 1 there is one “behold”: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (v. 29), and in Revelation 21 there is another “behold”: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men” (v. 3). In Exodus there are the lamb and the tabernacle, and the lamb is for the tabernacle. Likewise, in John’s writings there are the Lamb and the tabernacle, and the Lamb is also for the tabernacle.
Between the lamb and the tabernacle there are several other items, one of which is the holy anointing oil. This holy anointing oil is found in Exodus and also in John’s Epistles. The anointing which John spoke of was not invented by him; rather, he took it from Exodus. However, if we read only John’s Epistles, we may know about the holy anointing oil itself but not its ingredients. If we want to know its ingredients, we have to go back to Exodus. There we find that one of its ingredients is a hin of olive oil; this is the base. Added to this hin of olive oil are four kinds of spices: five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of fragrant cinnamon and two hundred fifty shekels of calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. The two units of two hundred fifty shekels form one combined unit of five hundred shekels. These are the constituents of the holy anointing oil. Four kinds of spices were added to, compounded into, the olive oil as the base. Thus, the oil is no longer merely oil but has become an ointment. Furthermore, the measurements of the ingredients signify the Triune God, of whom the second was split. The number five signifies God the Creator with man the creature. The second unit being split implies Christ’s death. Furthermore, calamus, which grows in a marsh or muddy place, signifies resurrection, and the fragrance of cassia has the power to repel poisonous insects. When we add all these items together, we can see the elements and the functions of the holy anointing oil.
From the foregoing points, we can see that it is not enough for us to have only the New Testament; we also need the Old Testament. In the New Testament we can see the holy anointing oil, the anointing, but we cannot find its ingredients and its functions. To find its ingredients and functions we have to go to the “classics” to find the original picture. Where are the “classics”? One of the classics is Exodus. The entire book of Exodus is a classical book. What does “Behold, the Lamb of God!” mean? We find the answer in the classics. After some searching, we find in Exodus 12 that every house had to prepare a lamb. In addition, Revelation 21:3 says, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men.” What does this mean? Again, we need to go back to the classics. In Exodus we can see how the tabernacle was built, what kind of materials were used, and what kind of a situation was there. To find these matters, we must go back to the classics. Therefore, we all need to study the classical books.