FourFifteen

 After we learn about the basic shape of the lampstand (and by analogy, the basic shape of the local church ), we then come these details in Exodus 25:33-34 " Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower - and so for the six branches that come out of the lampstand "On the lampstand itself, four bowls shall be made like almond blossoms, each with its ornamental knob and flower. " On each of the six branches , there were three golden flowers shaped like almond blossoms; and on the center shaft, there were another four blossoms. Three of those four almond blossoms grew below each pair of branches, and the fourth was directly below the center lamp itself.  As we'll see later; we have absolute biblical teaching of what each of these blossoms represent - and even their placement on the branches and center shaft is signi...

 Exodus 25:32 - " And six branches shall come out of its sides: three branches of the lampstand out of one side, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side. " Exodus 25:37 - " You shall make seven lamps for it... " The lampstand was to have one post up the center, itself holding a lamp on the top. In three places on this center shaft, two branches would extend - one from either side. Altogether, this made for six  branches, and seven  lamps. This is how incredible this blueprint for the local church is: From this one fact (six branches, seven lamps) we can see four major biblical doctrines  that apply to every local church congregation! He Is The Vine, We Are The Branches John 15:5 - " I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. For without Me you can do nothing. "  Jesus is that center post. We are the six branches.  Churches need to pay attention to that last sentence in verse 5 - " wit...

 A Single Piece - From Start To Finish Continuing to use the Golden Lampstand of the Tabernacle as God's blueprint for the local church , let look at Exodus 25:31. " You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be of hammered work . Its shaft, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs and flowers shall be of one piece. " Moses was instructed to make the lampstand out of a single piece of gold. The craftsman responsible for it was not going to fabricate different pieces and then weld them together That probably would've been much easier, but wouldn't be God's way. No matter how intricate and detailed the lampstand was going to be at the end, it was all going to be made from one single piece. I would have loved to watch the process of blacksmithing the lampstand. No doubt, there were heavy, powerful blows at the beginning of the shaping, as the rough shape started to be formed. Then as the work continued, the blows started turning lighte...

The Three That Endure When giving instructions to Moses, God told him that He wanted the lampstand in the Tabernacle to be made from a single piece of pure gold. If we're using the lampstand as a blueprint to build a local church ( Revelation 1:20 says that "the lampstands are  the churches" ), then we need to find out what that gold represents. If it's the only material a congregation is supposed to use when building a church, shouldn't we know what it is? Let's look at 1 Corinthians 3 again, and see what Paul has to say about building a local church. Per my usual warning, don't allow yourself to glance through this passage without reading it carefully! If you were building a house, wouldn't you study the blueprint to see how it was supposed to be built? 1 Corinthians 3:9-14 - " For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder ...

God's Blueprint For The Local Church In my last post , we found out that the churches are represented in Revelation chapter one as seven golden lampstands. These are not representing the global  church, but the local churches . We know this for a couple of reasons: One - Jesus used the term "church es " - a plural term that ONLY applies to local congregations in the New Testament. When the Bible is talking about the worldwide church, it never uses the plural term. There's an obvious reason for this: There is only one church . If the Bible mentions "church es " , it's always referring to local congregations that are a part of the  church of God.  Two - The specific local congregations named by Jesus all existed together. They were not seven "church ages", as is sometimes claimed. Each of these churches operated side-by-side   as the Book of Revelation was being written. These weren't seven future periods of time...they were seven local assem...