2. candlestick--symbolizing the Jewish theocracy; and ultimately,
the Church of which the Jewish portion is to be the head: the
light-bearer (so the original is of "lights,"
Mt 5:14, 16;
Php 2:15)
to the world.
all . . . gold--all pure in doctrine and practice,
precious and indestructible; such is the true ideal of the Church; such
she shall be
(Ps 45:13).
bowl upon the top--In the candlestick of the tabernacle the plural is used, bowls
(Ex 25:31).
The Hebrew implies that it was the fountain of supply of
oil to the lamps. Christ at the head ("on the top") of the Church is
the true fountain, of whose fulness of the Spirit all we
receive grace
(Joh 1:16).
his seven lamps--united in one stem; so in
Ex 25:32.
But in
Re 1:12
the seven candlesticks are separate. The Gentile churches will not
realize their unity till the Jewish Church as the stem unites all the
lamps in one candlestick
(Ro 11:16-24).
The "seven lamps," in
Re 4:5,
are the "seven Spirits of God."
seven pipes--feeding tubes, seven apiece from the "bowl" to each
lamp (see Margin) [MAURER and CALVIN]; literally, "seven and seven": forty-nine in all.
The greater the number of oil-feeding pipes, the brighter the light of
the lamps. The explanation in
Zec 4:6
is, that man's power by itself can neither retard nor advance God's
work, that the real motive-power is God's Spirit. The seven
times seven imply the manifold modes by which the Spirit's grace is
imparted to the Church in her manifold work of enlightening the
world.
JFB.
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