PART 6
MF Blume Jan. 7/96
Zech 4:2-3 And 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: And two olive trees by it, one upon the right [side] of the bowl, and the other upon the left [side] thereof.
The interpretation of the vision was as follows:
Zech 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
Notice that the Spirit is the OIL that gives fuel to the candlestick. The olive oil flowed from the two trees and into the candlestick through pipes. The SPIRIT is the fuel that gives LIGHT.
The candlestick is the light-giving wisdom of God which burns from the source of the Spirit of God. These seven spirits of God run throughout the whole earth as eyes. Connect this with the thought of the lamb of Revelation 5 having seven eyes which are the seven spirits of the Lord.
Zech 4:10 For 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] the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.
Those seven eyes, which see the work of God being accomplished, will rejoice! This is what God is looking for. People who will obey His word as Joshua and Zerubbabel did in restoring the temple and the city, move God to rejoicing. He sees them with His seven eyes.
He judges and sees it as His will that is being accomplished.
Wisdom of God is the understanding that nothing of God, such as this building of the City and temple in Zechariah's day, can be accomplished through the might and power of humanity. It is not by human might or power, but by God's SPIRIT! This is WISDOM. It is PERFECT judgment, for it is represented by SEVEN (the number of completion - as in seven days when the Lord completed creation and RESTED). And it leads to REST, since 7 also represents REST. OUR GOAL!
In Revelation 1, we read of the seven candlesticks as being the seven churches of Asia in Christ's letters to those churches.
Reve 1:20 The 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.
These seven churches represent God's body in this earth concerning the manner in which we are to live for Him. There is the thought of every type of church PROBLEM or proper church situation that we will ever come across being illustrated by way of examples in these 7 churches, as 7 represents completeness and we are dealing with church problems and qualities in these seven churches. There were several churches amongst these seven that required reprimanding, while a couple were noted for proper obedience to God!
The seven churches speak of every (number 7) possible situation which the Church today may find itself in, and offers the solution for whatever problems may arise within the Church today. The words of correction and approval to these 7 churches stand as examples to every Christian that shall ever live. It provides us a message of WISDOM for church life. It is a complete (7) understanding of what and what not to do by way of illustration.
Only Christians led of the Spirit can understand this WISDOM, just as the Holy Place, in which the candlestick stood, was only accessible by the priests of Israel
We are kings and Priests to God!
Reve 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
He made us priests that we might have entrance into the Holy Place and experience the enlightenment of the seven-fold WISDOM of God!
The effects of this understanding will allow the 7 spirits of God's righteousness to shine upon us. And all of this process of working leads to manifested holiness - our goal of perfection. And holiness enables us to SEE GOD.
Hebr 12:14 Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
Within the Holy Place, where stood the candlestick, we also find the table of shewbread and the altar of incense. Therefore, the light of the candlestick not only illuminated the way into the holiest through the veil, but also illuminated the shewbread and the altar.
The Bread, also, is Jesus. He is the bread of life. The Word made flesh.
2Cor 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
"SHEW"bread is also translated as BREAD OF FACE. We gain KNOWLEDGE through the Word of God ONLY WHEN SPIRIT ILLUMINATION shines upon it. Those outside the holy place of the Christian life and outside the believer's priesthood cannot SEE what we see. We have the illumination of the Spirit. And through that light of revelation we view the Word of God as being Christ. HE is truth. This is not a paper page with ink on it, but the MESSAGE from God. The FACE of Christ grants LIGHT of God's KNOWLEDGE.
The light of the candlestick shines in our hearts to reveal God's glory which He put into the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to help us understand the importance of the WORD. We need this light of knowledge that we might correctly comprehend the teachings of Christ. His glory is in the FACE or the SHEW-bread. Eat it and learn.
Jesus spoke with the Father face-to-face as did Moses, Christ's foreshadow. Howbeit, Moses communion was far less deep than Christ's.
Finally, why was it that the candlestick represented an ALMOND TREE with OLIVE OIL flowing through it? An alien life flowed through a tree which seemed to exchange its natural life for this other life. And the illustrated result was light!
Praise God! This is precisely what we must do if we want to let God's light shine through us! We must allow God to exchange our natural lives for His life of the Spirit. We must let it flow through us. Natural life will not emit light from our lives. Natural life is fallen life. The natural mind is enmity against God. We must live by His Life, and that, folks, is WISDOM!
Let us receive the light of WISDOM and proceed into all of God's blessings for us!