"12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And 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." - Revelation 1:12-13
From Omega Frequency: Episode 9 (2:30):
Jesus is not clothed in the simple clothes of a Rabbi, but clothed in the glory of a King. We see in verse 20 that the seven golden candle sticks are the seven churches that John is writing to. In this passage the church is compared to two things:
1. The first one is gold. Gold represents the church's faith, and if that faith is genuine.
1 Peter 1:7 says. "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
This puts the tribulation that comes upon the earth just before the appearing of our Lord in context for us. Just as God used the trials and sufferings of Jesus to work a mighty work of salvation, in His same mercy, He uses trials and tribulations to work a mighty work within us. We need not to be afraid of these trials. They have a purpose.
James 1:2-3 says, "[2] My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience."
You will never know how much your faith is worth until, like gold, it passes through the fire and all the dross falls away. Now the devil will be in for a big time shock, when he finds out the persecution he has planned for the true church only makes it stronger, and we plunder hell because of it.
2. The second thing the church is compared to is the seven golden candlesticks.
These candlesticks are actually a Jewish menorah. This ancient Hebrew lamp stand is made of pure gold and had seven small bowls with wicks attached to the top of it. Fresh olive oil of the purest quality was burned daily to light its lamps. The menorah was used in the portable sanctuary that Moses set up in the wilderness and later in the temple in Jerusalem. The light of the Menorah was hidden and not seen outside of the tabernacle. It shined inside the tabernacle where the priests needed it so they could see in the darkness and minister unto God.
In the same way, we have the light of the Holy Ghost within us, He give us the power to overcome the darkness. Then something very powerful happened. The bible tells us that when the Messiah was crucified the veil that separated the holy place from the people was torn apart. Then the light then shined out for all the world to see.
In the same way Matthew 5:16 says this, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
That was the whole purpose of the tabernacle in the first place. God wanted a place where His glory could be displayed. he wanted an address on Earth where people could go and meet him. So before there existed a temple made of marble and stone, there was a tabernacle in the wilderness. The tabernacle was a giant tent made of animal skins and fine linen. It was mobile so wherever they went, they would always have a place to meet with God. The tabernacle was a symbol of God.
John 1:14 says this about the Messiah, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
The word dwelt is a very interesting word. In the original Greek language that word meant a tent or encamp. To reside as God did in the tabernacle of old. Jesus was the skin tent of God, and we beheld his glory.
2000 years ago, Jesus was the physical address where people could go and meet God.
Ephesians 2:21-22 makes this amazing claim. It says this about the church, "[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
We are now the temple of God. We are now the place where the Holy Spirit dwells. We are the skin tents of God. 2000 years ago if you wanted to experience the power of the Holy Spirit and the glory of God, you had to go and find God. You had to go where He was, but now His church can find you, and it is going everywhere that god sends them. It is multiplying daily and it is going global. You are the address that your neighbors go to when they need to experience the power and glory of God.
The Bible teaches us that Christ is in us is the hope of glory. That is why there is oil flowing through the menorah. Oil represents the Holy Spirit in the Bible. It represents the life and light of God and that power is to flow through us.
Why was he walking around the menorahs in this passage of Revelation? He was checking to see if the wicks were burning. If the light and life of the Holy Spirit is present. If we are truly the skin tents of God, then we must be like God. We must be of one mind and one heart with Him.
Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" That is why we see in the letters to the seven churches the he praises the things that they did, that represented what Jesus did. Where they loved what He loved, but he rebuked them when they had fellowship with the things that Jesus would never have fellowship with. Where they tolerated things He would never tolerate.
The Bible says we are to be conformed to the image of Christ. There are no super-saints. The greatest struggle we will face is to die to self and become more like Christ. Just when we think we are making progress, the reality of just how far we have to go sets in.
Luke 12:35 says, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;"
Praise God we are not called to be perfect, but we were called to be faithful. To be ready to do the work of God. We are to be lights in dark places. We cannot afford to have our lamps gunked up, so that the oil doesn't flow. Lamps become gunked up when you burn old oil in your lamp. You must always add new and fresh oil daily. It is the same with the Christian life, you cannot rest on yesterday's success and experiences. We must daily seek the Lord through his Word and prayer to be filled afresh.
In Christ Alone!
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