What does it mean that the churches in Revelation are “golden lampstands”?

In Revelation 1:9-13, it says that when the apostle John was in his spirit on the Lord’s Day, he heard behind him a loud voice like a trumpet telling him to write what he saw and send it to the seven churches in Asia—to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. When he turned to see the voice that spoke with him, he saw seven golden lampstands with Christ, the Son of Man, walking in their midst. Then, in verse 20, the Lord interpreted the vision to John by explaining that the mystery of the seven golden lampstands was seven churches.

But what does it mean for the churches to be “golden lampstands”?

For the churches to be golden lampstands signifies that they are the corporate expression of the Triune God (Eph. 4:4-6). In this post we’ll grasp this profound significance,by considering the picture of the lampstand in Exodus 25:31-40:

Being of pure gold—constituted of the divine nature of God the Father

The substance of the lampstand was of pure gold signifying that the church is constituted with the Father’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). Such “gold” is the first of the three approvable materials for the building the church referred to by Paul (1 Cor. 3:12). Later, the Lord revealed to John that the holy city, New Jerusalem was built of pure gold (Rev. 21:18).

Today we need to pay some price to buy from the Lord the divine gold by contacting Him every day to partake of His divine nature. We can do this by receiving by faith His exceedingly great and precious promised conveyed to us through His word (2 Pet. 1:4, note 4).

Being in the form of a stand—in the definite shape of God the Son

The gold of the lampstand was formed into a definite shape signifying Christ who is both the embodiment and image of the Triune God (Col. 2:9; 1:15). The more we experience being saved in Christ’s life, the more we will bear His image (Rom. 5:10).

As we daily behold the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18). Ultimately, we will be conformed to Christ’s image as the end result of our transformation (Rom. 8:29).

With seven shining lamps—the expression of God the Spirit, the seven Spirits of God

That the seven Spirits of God are called seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, signifies that the lamps on the lampstand are God the Spirit, intensified sevenfold to deal with the degradation of the church (Rev. 1:4, note 5; v. 4:5, note 1). By experiencing the sevenfold intensified operation of the Spirit, we become His living testimony, the testimony of Jesus (v. 3:1, note 2).

So in the lampstand we can see the entire Triune God—the Father, the Son and the Spirit. The lampstand is the embodiment and expression of the Triune God.

First, Christ was the unique lampstand shining as God’s testimony. But, when we get to Revelation, this testimony has been reproduced to be the many local churches as the many golden lampstands, the corporate testimony of the Triune God and the holy city, New Jerusalem as a universal golden lampstand for eternity (Rev. 21:11, note 2).

How can we apply the heavenly vision to become the corporate expression of the Triune God?

In Ephesians 3:16-19 we can see  the way to apply such a vision with the issue of  becoming the corporate expression of the Triune God, the testimony of Jesus.

We need to make Paul’s prayer our own by daily asking the Father to grant us through His Spirit to be strengthened into our inner man, so that Christ can make home deep down in our hearts (vv. 16-17). The issue of such an experience of the Triune God is that we are corporately filled unto all the fullness of God (v. 19). Such a fullness of God is the overflowing of the Triune God as His corporate expression.

May such a vision become the focus of all our Christian living and service such that whatever we do is under the heavenly vision of being the testimony of the Triune God.

When we sense our need to see the heavenly vision and become desperate to live in this focus, we need to pray:

“Lord, I need to see the heavenly vision that Paul and John saw. Grant  me this same spirit and heart that they had. Show me the vision that You are the golden lampstand, the expression of the Triune God. Make me the same as You. Make all my brothers and sisters in You the same as You in life and nature, constitution, and expression that we would be your corporate reproduction, the many golden lampstands shining You out. And Father, daily strengthen us into our inner man so that Christ can make His home deep down in our hearts so that we can experience You to such an extent that we are filled to all the fullness of God.”

This post was inspired by message one of the 2011 Thanksgiving Conference on The Focus of the Lord’s Recovery. You can read more on this topic at: agodman.wordpress.com. (Picture source: golden lampstand)