«　WEEK 37　DAY 1　»

　　Rev. 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood.

　　20 The mystery of the seven stars…and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

　　On one hand, Revelation gives us the revelation of Christ, and on the other hand, it shows us the testimony of Jesus, which is particular and consummate (1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4). The testimony of Jesus is the church. Revelation presents the revealed Christ and the testifying church. In this book we have a particular and consummate record of the church. (Life- study of Revelation, p. 9)

　　In Revelation the churches are unveiled as being the lampstands (1:11- 20). In no other New Testament book is this term used with respect to the church…As the lampstands, the churches shine in the darkness. The word lampstand enables us to understand much about the church and its function. The church is not the lamp; it is the lampstand, the stand that holds the lamp…God is the light, and the Lamb is the lamp (21:23)…God is in Christ, and Christ as the lamp is held by the stand to shine out God’s glory. This is the testimony of the church.

　　As the local churches, the lampstands are golden in nature. In typology, gold signifies divinity, the divine nature of God. All the local churches are divine in nature; they are constituted with the divine nature of God. To say this is absolutely scriptural, for the book of Revelation says that the local churches are golden lampstands (1:20). These stands are not built of clay, wood, or any inferior substance; they are constructed out of pure gold. This means that all the local churches must be divine. Without divinity, there can be no church. Although the church is composed of humanity with divinity, humanity should not be the basic nature of the local churches. The basic nature of the local churches must be divinity, God’s divine nature. By these two simple words—golden lampstands—we realize a great deal about the church: that the church is something shining with Christ and that it is constituted with the divine nature.

　　The lampstands shine in the darkness…In order for the lamp to shine, it must have oil burning within it. If the oil burns within the lamp, the light will shine out through all the darkness. This is the function of the church. The function of the church is not simply to preach or to teach doctrine. In the dark night of this age, the church must shine out the very glory of God. This is the testimony of the church.

　　All the lampstands are identical with one another. Many Christians, having taken in a mistaken concept, desire to be different from other Christians…Everyone has a head, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, and ten fingers, and every human head has seven holes: two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, and a mouth. It is ridiculous to say, “I don’t want to have the same appearance as others…” Those who claim that every local church should be unique base their concept upon the differences among the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Some have said, “Look! All the seven churches are different.”…All the differences in the local churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are negative, not positive. Ephesus lost her first love—negative; Pergamos is worldly—negative; Thyatira is demonic— negative; and Laodicea became lukewarm—negative. On the positive side, however, all the local churches are identical, because they all are seven golden lampstands. If you could place all the seven lampstands on a table before you, unless you numbered or labeled them, you would be unable to tell them apart. All the seven lampstands are the same. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 25-27)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 3; Life-study of Exodus, msgs. 92—94