I.　The lampstands in Revelation signify the local churches are the testimony of Jesus—Rev. 1:12-13, 2:

A.　Christ as the Son of Man is walking in the midst of the churches as the lampstands to cherish and nourish them—Rev. 1:12-13:

1.　He takes care of the churches as the lampstands in His humanity as “the Son of Man” to cherish them—v. 13a:

a.　By dressing the lamps of the lampstand—Exo. 25:38.

b.　By trimming the wicks of the lamps of the lampstand—Exo. 25:38.

2.　He as the High Priest takes care of the churches as the lampstands in His divinity with His divine love, signified by the golden girdle on His breasts, to nourish the churches—Rev. 1:13b:

a.　With His divine and mystical ministry by love in His stages.

b.　That the churches may grow and mature in His divine life and become the overcomers in His sevenfold intensification.

B.　The churches as the lampstands bear the testimony of Jesus, shining in the dark age:

1.　With the Father’s divine essence—John 1:12-13; 1 John 5:11-12; 2 Pet. 1:4.

2.　In the Son’s human form—Col. 2:9; Gal. 4:19; Rom. 8:29; Phil. 3:10.

3.　Through the Spirit’s expression—Eph. 5:18; Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16, 22-23.

II.　The lampstands in Revelation indicate that the church is the reproduction of Christ and the reprint of the Spirit:

A.　According to the lampstand in Exodus, the church is the reproduction of Christ, and according to the lampstand in Zechariah, the church is the reprint of the Spirit.

B.　This is accomplished by the Triune God being wrought into His redeemed people in Christ’s sevenfold intensified organic salvation:

1.　Through regeneration (John 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:23), dispositional sanctification (Eph. 1:4; 5:26-27), renewing (Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10), transformation (2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 12:2), conformation (Rom. 8:29), and glorification (Rom. 8:30, 23).

2.　This is to build up the Body of Christ with the Triune God as the source, element, and essence—Eph. 4:4-6.

3.　This building will consummate as the New Jerusalem, the one unique lampstand as the consummation of the lampstands—Rev. 21:18, 23; 22:5.

III.　The lampstands in Revelation are all identical, on the positive side, without a distinct characteristic:

A.　This indicates that the churches are exactly the same in essence, appearance, and expression as the multiplied embodiment of the processed Triune God.

B.　This indicates the need for the churches to be blended:

1.　The local churches are not the goal of God’s economy but a procedure to reach God’s goal.

2.　The local churches need to be blended together as one, as much as possible, in the processed Triune God, the pneumatic Christ, and the consummated Spirit for the building up of the universal Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem and attain the goal of God’s economy.