Christ began to Reveal the Revelation to John. He instructed him to write this Revelation in the form of a book that was originally to go to the seven churches in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Christ reveals Himself here as the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. This emphasizes the eternal and universal nature of Christ. Christ is the “same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).” God may manifest Himself in various ways during various seasons, but the fundamental nature of God and the message of the gospel are always the same. It is Christ, both as the living word and the revealed written Word, which is the reference frame. God will not be put in a cultural box that is created by a particular mode of doing things in a particular season.
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Revelation 1:9-19 |
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“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,… |
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Revelation 1:9-19 |
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“…11Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; “13And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.14His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;15And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.16And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength… |
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Revelation 1:9-19 |
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“…17And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:18I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.19Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; |
The Candlesticks (Menorahs) represent the Anointed Churches.
Jesus Christ then introduces the symbolism of the candlesticks. These candlesticks or lamp stands are the lamp stands that were located in the Holy Place of the Jewish Temple. Christ was holding seven starts in His hand and was in the middle of seven golden candlesticks. Christ identifies the candlesticks as the seven churches.
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Revelation 1:20 |
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“ 20The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. “ |
Zech 4 gives us some additional insight into the purpose of the candlesticks. These candlesticks are connected to two olive trees through pipes that transport oil. These olive trees are theanointed ones who “stand by the Lordof the whole earth.” Oil is used symbolically for anointing. The flow of oil is the Presence of the Spirit of God in those who are anointed as represented by the candlesticks.
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Zechariah 4:1-2 |
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”And the angel that talked with me came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his sleep.2And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof. |
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Zechariah 4:10-14 |
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“10For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are theeyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.11Then answered I, and said unto him,What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof?… |
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Zechariah 4:10-14 |
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“…12And I answered again, and said unto him, What bethese two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?13And he answered me and said, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.14Then said he,These are the two anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.″ |
The seven lamps of the candlesticks are also called the”eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.” In 2 Chronicles 16:7-9, Asa was rebuked for relying upon foreign kings instead of the Lord. In verse 9, the text reads that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.“ This means that God is seeking out those who trust in him so that He may demonstrate His anointing and His power. The candlestick not only gives light that creates faith, but supplies the power to back that faith up.
In Revelation 5:6, the “seven eyes of the Lord” are described as the eyes of the Lamb who was slain and the “seven spirits of God.” Christ himself sends the Holy Spirit to be light and power for the church. When Christ identifies the seven candlesticks as the seven churches in Rev 1:20 – and he does identify the churches themselves as the candlesticks, He is not saying that the organizational forms are special but that the presence of the Holy Spirit in anointed individuals in these churches empowers these churches to shine as light and demonstrate God’s power.
Exodus 40 describes the arrangement of the article in the Temple. In the Most Holy was the Ark of the presence, where special presence of the Spirit of God dwelt. In this area, God’s glory was the light and it was concealed by a veil. Just outside this area was the Holy Place. There was placed the table for the showbread and the seven candled lamp stand. The lamp stand provided light for the Holy Place and allowed the High Priest to see the entrance to the Most Holy Place.
The lampstand is also represented as the Eyes of the Lord to represent both directions of our entanglement with God when we come into His Presence. The lampstand gives us light to access God and the Eyes transform how He sees us when we come into His Presence
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Zechariah 4:10-11 |
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“10For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabelwith those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.11Then answered I, and said unto him, What are these two olive trees upon the right side of the candlestick and upon the left side thereof? ” |
If the lampstand gives us light to access God and the Eyes transform how He sees us when we come into His Presence, then the eyes represent God transforming how He – and we see the world, which releases power for transformation.
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2 Chronicles 16:7-9 NKJV |
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“ (7)And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the LORD your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. (8)Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand. (9)For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” |
God watches over the righteousness, to strengthen them.
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Psalm 34:12-16 | 1 Peter 3:10-12 NKJV |
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“ (12)Whois the manwho desires life, And lovesmany days, that he may see good? (13) Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit. (14) Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. (15) The eyes of the LORDare on the righteous, And His earsare open to their cry. (16) The face of the LORDis against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. |
At a minimal the eyes of the lord represent God watching over his saints to deliver any anointing and empowerment that is needed to gain victory over sin and over oppression. There are quantum mechanical implications to these texts that were not apparent to the original hearer but are indicated. In Romans 10 we see that the proclamation of the Word of God transforms the senses, which then produce the faith that releases power. This is a quantum mechanical dynamic, in which transforming the senses changes how the Wave function is parsed.
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Rom 10:17 NKJV |
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“ So then faithcomes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Depart from evil and do good; Seek peace and pursue it. (15) The eyes of the LORDare on the righteous, And His earsare open to their cry. (16) The face of the LORDis against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. |
Hebrews describes creation in quantum mechanical terms. We read that creation is Framed by the word of God. This implies that physical reality emerges out of information (Gen 1; Psalm 33:6; John 1:1). Verse 3 tells us that the things that are seen are not made from visible things. In philosphy they often refer to the subject-object distinction as the thing-as-it-is-to-us vs the thing-in-itself. Verse 3 is arguing that the thing-in-itself is not visible.
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Heb 11:1-3 NKJV |
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“ (1)Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. (3) By faith we understand that theworlds were framed by the word of God, so that thethings which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” |
The world isn’t made of matter, but material reality emerges out of information. The eyes of the lord transform how both god and man parse the wave-function to bring power into our experience – power to save, deliver, heal, and bring justice. These eye are the lights on the lamp, both light to enable us to see God and eyes of the Lord that transform the world around us and enable us to experience transformation. These lights are of a seven branch menorah in which seven has meaning.
The Feasts of the Lord representing the work of God in the Church.
The seven fold-nature of the lamps symbolizes the seven feasts God gave to Israel. These feasts represent different works of God upon the earth:
1. Passover– legal protection from God’s judgment. For the ancient Israelites, putting the blood of the lamb on the doorpost provided legal protection from the angel of death. In the New Testament, the blood of Jesus the Lamb of God protects us from God’s judgment by taking away the guilt of our sins. Christ was crucified on Passover.
2. Unleavened Bread– leaven symbolized the corrupting influence of sin. Christ destroyed sin in his body upon the cross. He is the unleavened sent by God. Christ lay in the grave during the feast of Unleavened Bread
3. Firstfruits– absolute first offering of the season to God. Christ rose from the dead on Firstfruits and was the first to enter God’s glory. Christ, being equal to God, always had standing with God as God. After the resurrection, He also had standing as a Holy man – the first man to do so.
4. Pentecost– beginning of the harvest. The church was born on Pentecost, marking the beginning of the harvest of God’s people into the kingdom.
The first four feasts were all fulfilled in the first century during the former rain revival. The last three will be fulfilled during the latter rain revival.
5. Trumpets– Alarm of impending judgment and to call sacred assembly. On the Feast of Trumpets, trumpets were blown to warn of impending judgment against sin of the Day of Atonement and to call sacred assembly to seek God.
6. Atonement– Cleansing of the land and people. In the OT, this cleansed the temple and the nation of evil. In the New Testament, it is the cleansing of the Earth of all evil.
7. Tabernacles– God dwelling with man. In the OT, booths were built in remembrance of God presence with the Israelites in the Wilderness. In the New Testament, it celebrates Jesus returning to Earth so that God may live with man.
The Lamp stands symbolize the Light God gives to the church that allows her and her members to have access to God’s presence. The next installment covers the messages to the seven church that are sent to prepare the churches to enter into God’s presence as overcomers.