Joh 6:63\u00a0 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing:\u00a0the words that I speak unto you,\u00a0they<\/i>\u00a0are spirit<\/u>,<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0they<\/i>\u00a0are life.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then we are also told this amazing truth which very few can receive:<\/p>\n

2Co 5:16 Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more<\/u>.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yet the whole world believes that since Christ was raised bodily to be able to witness to His faithless disciples, we will therefore all be given bodies of ‘eternal flesh’ at the time of our resurrection. Here we are being told that we are to no longer know Christ after the flesh, and yet the whole world believes that Christ was resurrected with a body of flesh that is ‘eternal flesh.’ Christ’s words are spirit, and spirit is not<\/span> flesh. ‘That which is born of the Spirit is spirit, and which is born of the flesh is flesh.’<\/p>\n

Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit<\/strong><\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is Christ\u2019s doctrine concerning whether there is such a thing as \u2018eternal flesh\u2019:<\/p>\n

1Co 15:50\u00a0 Now this I say, brethren, that\u00a0flesh and blood\u00a0cannot<\/u> inherit the kingdom of God<\/strong>; neither doth\u00a0corruption<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0inherit incorruption.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Truly “that old serpent, called the devil” has deceived the whole world.<\/p>\n

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,<\/strong> which deceiveth the whole<\/u> world:<\/strong> he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now let’s examine the second part of verse 12: “And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.” We’ve already covered the fact that the seven golden candlesticks represent the complete church. Chapters 2-3 reveal that the entire church is in its complete apostasy. We have already seen that the apostasy of the church was complete before either Paul or Peter or John had died.<\/p>\n

2Ti 1:15 This thou knowest, that all<\/u> they which are in [“the seven churches of”] Asia<\/strong> be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.<\/p>\n

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<\/u>, and miserable<\/u>, and poor<\/u>, and blind<\/u>, and naked<\/u>:<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To apply verse three, instructing each of us that we must \u201ckeep the things which are written therein\u201d, we must see that it is we who have “in time past… left our first love,” and must now repent.<\/p>\n

Where the revelation of Jesus Christ takes place<\/h4>\n

Let me mention at this point that the setting for this vision is within the temple of God. It is within this temple that this entire vision takes place. That’s right; it is all primarily within ourselves that we “keep the things that are written therein.” It all takes place within this temple of God, “which temple ye are.”<\/p>\n

2Co 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God<\/strong><\/u> with idols? for ye<\/u> are the temple of the living God<\/strong>; as God hath said, I will dwell in them<\/strong>, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

“You are the temple… I will dwell in you… keeping the things written therein… the revelation of Jesus Christ…” because “the kingdom of God is within you.”<\/p>\n

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
\nLuk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you<\/u><\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If we are to understand what we are being told when John tells us that he looked behind himself and saw seven golden candlesticks, we must first understand that the temple of God, in which these seven golden candlesticks are located, is within the temple courtyard, and that temple is the last of three structures within that courtyard. The temple of God stands west of the brazen sea and the brazen altar. The ‘brazen sea’ is a huge copper pot with spigots near the bottom where the priests washed their hands after making all of the bloody sacrifices that had to be made for the sins of the people. The brazen sea stood behind the brazen altar on which the sacrifices were made. This brazen altar was the first thing seen by the people of God who came through the gate of the temple courtyard to present their sacrifice to the Lord.<\/p>\n

Christ Jesus is every sacrifice that is mentioned in the Scriptures. There are no exceptions. He is all of the daily sacrifices. He is all of the weekly, monthly and seasonal sacrifices. He is also all of the special sacrifices, including the sacrifice of the scapegoat and the leper’s two doves. Be sure to read the Law of the Offerings<\/a> series on iswaswillbe.com and come to know Christ as the Father wants us to see Him and to know Him. God has shown Christ to us as He wants us to see Christ in the law of the offerings.<\/p>\n

When an Israelite entered the courtyard, he presented his sacrifice to the priest. The priest would inspect the sacrifice to see if it were fit to present to the Lord. Then the offerer himself would lay his hands on the head of the sacrifice and spill its blood on the north side of the altar.<\/p>\n

That was as far as any Israelite could go who was not a Levite. Only Levites were permitted to perform the service of the tabernacle. Even the Levites could go no further toward the presence of God than the brazen sea. Only the sons of Aaron, the high priest, were permitted to enter into the temple of God. No Israelite who was of any of the other eleven tribes could ever go beyond the brazen altar. That was as close to the presence of God as they were permitted to approach. The Levites who were not the sons of Aaron could<\/u> go beyond the brazen altar, yet they could never<\/u> enter the temple.<\/p>\n

All of this is “written for our admonition” and is really all about the process of the revelation of Jesus Christ, and how that is accomplished within us as we come from without the court, into the court, and then progress to the brazen altar. In time, we become Levites who served the tabernacle around the brazen altar and around the brazen sea. Finally, we are permitted to enter into the temple of God. In other words, all of this is about the progress of our walk in Christ.<\/p>\n

The Levites who were not the sons of Aaron, performed the duties of bringing the wood for the altar, drawing water for the brazen sea, and they were commissioned to handle all the implements concerned with the brazen altar and the brazen sea. All of these instruments were made of brass<\/strong>, and could be handled by any Levite, even if he was not a descendent of Aaron. However, no one except a son of Aaron could enter into the holy place within the temple of God and handle any of the golden implements of the holy place.<\/p>\n

So when John “turned to see the voice”, what He saw was “seven golden<\/u> candlesticks.” This tells us that John was in the holy of holies. John had passed beyond the second veil, and was looking behind himself back into what had once been a room separated from the presence of God by “the veil, that is to say His flesh.” John could do that only because the veil of the temple had been torn from top to bottom, thus signifying the fact that our high priest had entered into the holy of holies to appear before our Father for us and opening up to us the blessing of entering into the presence of the Father:<\/p>\n

Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
\nMat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent<\/u> in twain from the top to the bottom<\/strong>; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;<\/p>\n

Heb 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest<\/u> by the blood of Jesus<\/strong>,
\nHeb 10:20 By a new and living way<\/span><\/strong>, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh<\/u>;<\/strong>
\nHeb 10:21 And having an high priest<\/u> over the house of God<\/u>;<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What is this ‘new and living way’ He has consecrated for us ‘through the veil, that is to say, his flesh?’ It was Christ’s body of flesh when He was on the earth, but what is “His flesh” now? What is it that keeps us from seeing God now? What is that veil now?<\/p>\n

Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh;<\/strong> but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
\nEph 5:30 For we<\/u> are members of his body, of his flesh,<\/u> and of his bones.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If we say we are Christ’s “flesh and his bones” are we denying that we “no longer know him after the flesh?” Absolutely not! When we acknowledge that we have this spiritual gift “in earthen vessels” as Christ’s Church and as His wife, we are<\/u> acknowledging Christ no longer as flesh but as spirit within us<\/span>. That is the secret which has been hidden for generations.<\/p>\n

Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of [the] Christ in my flesh<\/u> for his body’s sake, which is the church<\/u>:<\/strong>
\nCol 1:25 Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;
\nCol 1:26 Even the mystery [Greek: muste\u0304rion<\/em>, a secret] which hath been hid from ages and from generations<\/u>, but now is made manifest to his saints:<\/strong>
\nCol 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery<\/u><\/strong> among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you<\/u>, the hope of glory:<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Where is Christ? He is \u201cin you.\u201d Where is His kingdom? It, too, is \u201cwithin you\u201d:<\/p>\n

Luk 17:20\u00a0 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
\nLuk 17:21\u00a0 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Paul tells us that he “fills up in his<\/u> flesh<\/strong> what is behind of the afflictions of the<\/u> Christ,” and yes, the article ‘the’ is there in the original Greek; it says ” the<\/u> Christ.” If Paul or you or I are filling up what is behind of the afflictions of the<\/span> Christ in our own flesh, then we are indeed of His flesh and of His bones. Also, the mystery that has been hidden from ages and from generations is now being made manifest in us His saints. Acknowledging that mystery in no way denies that Christ is now spirit. To the contrary, when we say, “We are His flesh and His bones”, we are acknowledging that we now know Christ as spirit within us<\/span>. We are also acknowledging “the secret which has been hidden from ages and from generations… which [secret] is Christ<\/strong> in us<\/span> the hope of glory.” In doing that, we are also acknowledging that we know our brothers in Christ now as\u00a0having\u00a0Christ\u00a0within<\/u><\/b>\u00a0them\u00a0and\u00a0no longer \u201cafter the flesh.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Paul tells us that he “fills up in his flesh what was behind of the afflictions of Christ,” is not his body of flesh “a lively stone” in the temple of God? That is what Peter tells us:<\/p>\n

1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones<\/strong><\/u>, are built up a spiritual house<\/strong><\/u>, an holy priesthood<\/strong><\/u>, to offer up spiritual sacrifices<\/strong><\/u>, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now let’s just believe the Scriptures. The secret that has been hidden from the generations and from the ages is that Christ is in us. So if Christ is in us, then according to Peter, we are a holy priesthood. Where then, would you expect to find a priest? That’s right; you would expect to find a priest in the holy place where the seven golden candlesticks are located. That is another thing we learn when we read what the scriptures teach us about the law of the offerings. John tells us in the very next verse:<\/p>\n

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto<\/u> the Son of man<\/strong>, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Christ is a priest who is in God’s temple doing the work of a priest. You and I know where that temple is. As priests we had better be about our Father’s business, ministering to and serving in His temple. Verse 13 is for our next study.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h4>\n

We have seen how all-encompassing the statement, ‘I am the first and I am the last’ is. We have seen how completely Christ-centric the Bible is. We have seen that the significance of “What you see, write in the book” means that these words are for every generation which reads them. We have also seen the spiritual significance of the number seven and how that relates to the complete churches and how the word ‘Asia’ relates to the apostasy of the complete church.<\/p>\n

Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We have seen what the spiritual significance of John telling us that he had to turn to see the voices spake with him was. We saw that we see truth only as we ourselves are being judged and having all the wood, hay and stubble burned out of our lives through the fiery trials which are now on the house of God. We also saw that the fact John saw seven golden candlesticks when he turned, reveals to us that he was now in the temple of God, in the very presence of God. Also, we have seen that it is here that this entire vision takes place; within God’s temple, which temple we are.<\/p>\n

Rev 1:12 And I turned<\/strong><\/u> to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We have seen that this statement regarding John seeing the seven golden candlesticks reveals to us that this entire vision is experienced within the temple of God.<\/p>\n

Next study, Lord willing, we will learn what it means to be “clothed with a garment down to the foot.” We will learn why John tells us that Christ is “girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” We will also learn what the Biblical phrase “like unto” means in Scripture. Does it mean not quite the same, or does it mean exactly the same? Knowing God and His Son depends on understanding the meaning of that phrase “like unto.”<\/p>\n

Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto<\/strong><\/u> the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Audio Download Rev 1:11-12 Golden Candlesticks [Updated September 20, 2023] Rev 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[665,1019,116,1022],"class_list":["post-3801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-studies","tag-alphaomega","tag-book-of-revelation","tag-booksbook-of-life","tag-first","series-alphaomega","series-book-of-revelation","series-booksbook-of-life","series-first"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3801"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28366,"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3801\/revisions\/28366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/server1.xploreseo.com\/iswasandwillbe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}