As I said earlier, it's an excellent topic for discussion. I've enjoyed reading it.
Thank you brother,
Shalom All,
There have been more studies based on the menorah than I can recall. And I am sure that some of you will have material to contribute. I am simply sharing some of what I have recently observed about the Seven Churches and tie that to the Seven Candlesticks. This is the parallel that the Messiah made:
Rev 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.
And it goes without saying that the better translation would be congregations rather than churches...
This portion of the study has the potential to wander way off course, so help me if you can, to stay on track. Thanks in advance for that. It is the intent of this post to connect the symbolic dots between the churches and the Menorah via the priestly service in the Temple in preparation for Yom Kippur; the Day of Atonement.
The study that I did on light and the Hebraic idioms that utilize that expression, all seem to come back to the "fear of the Lord" and a revelation of His glory on some level. Those who walk in the light have it. Those that walk in darkness do not. And this rule of interpretation seems to hold true here too for the Churches (congregations). I think that relating what is said to the congregations in the Revelation is a little misleading though, because all of the praises and rebukes of the Lord apply to individuals within those congregations as well as the Churches as a whole. Further it appears that the names of the Churches indicate situational trials that the believers are undergoing within the congregation, so there is a circumstantial element to examine here too.
In preparation for the morning service, a priest serviced the Menorah. On the Day of Atonement this was usually performed by the High Priest. Two of the lamps (on a rotating basis) would remain lit (for illumination in the Holy Place) while the remaining five would be cleaned, re-wicked (with wicks made from the holy garments of the priests), refilled with fresh oil sanctified to that purpose and finally reignited.
The center lamp (the Shamash or Servant Lamp) was used to relight all of the other lamps and when it had to be reignited, only a burning coal from the Altar of Sacrifice could be used; a coal that YHVH ignited with fire come down from heaven. Five of the seven congregation were rebuked in one manner or another. There is a comparison to be made to the warning about removing the candlestick (the congregation) from Ephesus, and the removing of the candlestick in the preparation of the Menorah. This symbolism connects the first dot between congregations and the Menorah via the priestly service.
Many studies have been done on these congregations. But here, I wanted to try and offer something new. There are many more parallels to draw, but before I get too far ahead of myself I wanted to show you the situational aspect of this portion of this study. I have added emphasis to the names of those Churches that had no rebuke in a simple list that displays the meanings of the name of the congregations. This gets interesting when you see what the name means and the whys and hows of the rebuke. It also adds a little flavor to the relationships I am trying to draw:
MEANING of the Congregational NAME
Ephesus..........Desirable
Smyrna..........Myrrh
Pergamos.......Height; Elevation
Thyatira..........a perfume; Sacrifice of Labor
Sardis.............Prince of Joy
Philadelphia.....Love of a Brother
Laodicea.........Just People; justice of the people
Allow me to jump to the last Congregation,
Laodicea first. The Lord describes Himself thus:
Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
...then goes on to say this:
Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
While each of the congregations that had been rebuked could be characterized by one of these condition, Laodicea seemed to personify them all. Its name means "Just People" or "justice of the people", but the Lord does not consider them so just. When we rely on our own judgment and justice we fall well short of the glory of the Father. Laodicea means "Just People; justice of the people". When we attempt to clothe ourselves in our own righteousness we are naked before the Lord.
Strong's G1131 γυμνός gumnos goom-nos' Of uncertain affinity; nude (absolutely or relatively, literally or figuratively): - naked.
He is the faithful witness that sees all.
But it was these five words I bolded that caught my attention. I will for a time concentrate on the Churches that had been rebuked and return to the other two in a moment. So if Laodicea identified with all of these conditions, I reasoned that I might find the other four in the remaining.
Ephesus means "Desirable" but they had lost their first love and were instead, wretched.
Strong's G5005 ταλαίπωρος talaipōros tal-ah'ee-po-ros From the base of G5007 and a derivative of the base of G3984; enduring trial, that is, miserable: - wretched.
They had borne and labored and done all these "works" to make themselves desirable but lost the first love. They had works without faith. Basically they belonged to a club that did good things. Yeshua wasn't "in it". And He, "
that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks" was prepared to remove their candlestick. They were no longer "desirable" and so became wretched.
Pergamos means "Height; Elevation" and look what He, "
which hath the sharp sword with two edges", said. It was the place of residence of Satan, the one that would have elevated his throne above the Most High! He rebuked them for, "the doctrine of Balaam," and "the doctrine of the Nicolaitans". The first is a doctrine that undermines the teachings of the Lord through fleshly and secular means and the second falsely elevates men and their traditions. It places them in authority above His children and His Word. But this will in fact, make them miserable.
Strong's G1652 ἐλεεινός eleeinos el-eh-i-nos' From G1656; pitiable: - miserable.
And we know from His word that those who elevate themselves will be brought low. In this case, by the sword that proceeds from His mouth.
Thyatira is the name of a perfume called "Sacrifice of Labor". Here says the , "
Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass", "
thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication". Many of the ancient MMS, read
την γυναικα σου Ιεζαβηλ, Thy Wife Jezebel; which intimates that this woman was the wife of the bishop of the Church. I have some rather controversial views on this so I will leave them be. But the word on my list that corresponds to this Church is poor.
Strong's G4434 πτωχός ptōchos pto-khos' From πτώσσω ptōssō (to crouch; akin to G4422 and the alternate of G4098); a beggar (as cringing), that is, pauper (strictly denoting absolute or public mendicancy, although also used in a qualified or relative sense; whereas G3993 properly means only straitened circumstances in private), literally (often as noun) or figuratively (distressed): - beggar (-ly), poor.
This definition seems more indicative of a lack of sacrifice in this circumstance. Indeed, a willingness to let the status quo continue. Here is what He said:
Rev 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.Rev 2:24 But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden.
Wow!
Sardis means "Prince of Joy". And indeed it seems that they were celebrating their salvation before they crossed the finish line.
Rev 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.
Faith without works is... dead. It seems they were so secure in their "salvation" that they forgot His commandments. The next word on the list is blind.
Strong's G5185 τυφλός tuphlos toof-los' From G5187; opaque (as if smoky), that is, (by analogy) blind (physically or mentally): - blind.
He tells them to be watchful. He says, "
If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee."
It was the practice of the Chief Priest of the Watch to make irregular rounds in order to catch the priest that fell asleep on the night watches. Next Messiah says,"
He that overcometh, the same shall be
1)
clothed in white raiment;
2)
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,
3)
but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
There are a number of things that must occur before someone from a priestly line is declared a priest. It is not enough to be of the right family. The candidate must be free from certain physical, mental, emotional and moral defects. And he must be examined to prove that He knows the Torah and all of the requirements of his position. When all these conditions are met, he is given a priestly garment, his name is written in a scroll of priest kept at the Temple and he is confessed as a priest by the Chief Priest before the Sanhedrin. Then and only then is he given full access to the Temple.
This next verse has an even more interesting link to the priesthood.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
It was the custom of the priest in charge to come around and gently knock at the door of th inner chambers. All the priest were bare footed because they were on holy ground. And the Fall Feasts in the mountains of Jerusalem found the Temple to be cool, especially at night. It was not uncommon for the priests that were not required on the watch to gather in front of the fireplaces in these inner chambers. And some would fall asleep. So the gentle knock at the door was easy to miss unless there was someone paying attention. As a special reward and to honor those that stayed alert over their brethren, the priest in charge would bring some bread to share with those who answered his call. Sound familiar?
And consider this:
Rev 16:15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
If a priest was found sleeping at his post in the Temple, there was two punishments that might occur. He might be "beaten with many stripes" or the more shameful, he might awaken to find his clothes on fire! And the only way to stop the burning was to strip naked. Both of these punishments usually happened in the presence of the Captain of the Watch and the other Temple guards. On Yom Kuppur, that would have been the High Priest.
Comments are welcome.
Blessings,
To be continued...