The Local Churches in the Book of Revelation


The Seven Lampstands as Symbols of the Local Churches (Revelation 1:20)

2. The Progressive Revelation of the Lampstand in the Scripture (Exodus 25; Zechariah 4; Revelation 1)

The progressive revelation of the lampstand throughout the Bible, from the type of Christ in Exodus to the type of the churches in Revelation, indicates that the local churches are a multiplication of Christ. Witness Lee explains:

In Exodus the lampstand signifies Christ Himself as God’s embodiment (25:31-37). The lampstand in the temple signifies the enlarged Christ (1 Kings 7:49), while the lampstand in Zechariah 4:2 signifies the children of Israel as God’s expression. Finally, in the last book of the Bible is the harvest of the truth concerning the lampstand. The lampstands in Revelation 1 signify the churches (vv. 12-13, 20). In Revelation there is not merely one lampstand but seven, and these lampstands are the local churches. In Exodus the lampstand was Christ as God’s embodiment, and at the end of the New Testament the lampstands are the churches as the multiplied embodiment of the Triune God.

(Witness Lee, Divine Economy, 129)

This notion that the lampstands in Revelation are the multiplication of Christ is supported by other Scripture, as Witness Lee explains:

This embodiment [the lampstand signifying Christ as the embodiment of God], which was unique in Exodus 25, has been multiplied by the local churches which are composed of all the believers. All the believers are also the multiplication of Christ. In John 12:24 the Lord Jesus indicated that He was as a grain of wheat falling into the ground to die and that when He died He would bear much fruit. When the Lord died on the cross many grains were produced in His resurrection, and the many grains are the multiplication of that one grain. Also, Paul said in Philippians 1:21a, “For to me to live is Christ.” This is another indication of the multiplication of Christ. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 12:12 tells us that Christ is not only the Head but also the Body. In Exodus the lampstand was Christ and in Revelation the lampstands are the churches. This indicates that not only Christ Himself is a lampstand but every local church is also a lampstand; therefore, the lampstands as the local churches are the multiplication of that unique lampstand.

(Witness Lee, NT Economy, 265)

3. The Substance, Shape, and Expression of the Lampstand

The substance, shape and expression of the lampstand in the Scripture reveal that each lampstand is “the embodiment of the Triune God.” Witness Lee elaborates:

These local churches are lampstands. A lampstand is the embodiment of the Triune God. How do we know this? First, the substance of the lampstand is gold, signifying God the Father and the divine nature. Then, the lampstand has a shape; it is not just a lump of gold but has a definite form. This signifies Christ as the very embodiment of God. Third, the seven lamps are the seven eyes of the Lamb and the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 5:6; 4:5). The seven lamps as the seven Spirits of God are the expression of the Triune God. The Spirit is the expression, the Son is the shape, the form, and the Father is the substance of the church as the wonderful lampstand.
To say that the church is the embodiment of the Triune God is not to make the church a part of deity, an object of worship. We mean the church is an entity born of God (John 1:12-13), possessing God’s life (1 John 5:11-12), and enjoying God’s nature (2 Pet. 1:4). The church has the divine substance, bears the likeness of Christ, and expresses the very God. Since we have been born of God, we surely have God’s life and possess His nature, and we enjoy this life and nature every day. We are learning by His mercy and grace not to live by our natural life but by the divine life and nature. As we are thus being transformed, there will be the fullness, the expression, the form, the appearance, of Christ, and we shall be shining, not by ourselves but by the sevenfold, intensified Spirit.
The church is the embodiment of the Triune God to express Him. We as members of Christ are the sons of God born of Him, having His life and possessing His nature. We are doing our best to live by this life and nature that we may be filled and saturated with this rich Christ to become His expression through the sevenfold, intensified Spirit.

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