[Exo 25:31-40 KJV] 31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. 32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. 34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. 35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. 36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuff dishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. 39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. 40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount.

[Exo 26:35 KJV] 35 And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.

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[Rev 1:12-20 KJV] 12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. 19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter; 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.

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[Rev 2:1, 5, 12, 14-16, 18-22 KJV] 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; … 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. …

12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; … 14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. …

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass; 19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last [to be] more than the first. 20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

[Rev 3:1, 3, 14, 18-22 KJV] 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. … 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. 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. …

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; … 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and [that] the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 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.

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

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Those things of which you read in the book of Revelation, are a SIGNIFICATION. Things that do not actually exist, are used to give you a picture of things that do exist. The book of Revelation is very much like the tabernacle in the wilderness, which too was a signification. It was a 3D working model, a reflection of things Moses was shown in the heavens, and was subsequently told to take care to make everything EXACTLY as he was told to.

The Candlestick as shown Moses, was a depiction of assembly. It was placed in the South side of the holy place, against the camp of the South, which consisted of Gad, Reuben and Simeon. Gad means “troop/ assembly”. Reuben means “See”. Simeon means “Hear”. The entire camp of the South is composed of tribes whose names create a message. “Assemble to See and Hear”. The “place” of the candlesticks is in the part of the tabernacle that is called the holy place. It is not in the common outer court. It is not in the Holiest place. It’s “place”,  exactly according to what Moses was shown, is within the holy place, in the South, toward the camp of the South, the camp of “Assemble, See, Hear”. If you study scripture, you will find that at no time ever, does the golden candlestick enter into the holiest. Never. It has no “place” there. For within the ark of testimonies are the testimonies which God told Moses,”I will give you”. Among these are the Almond Rod of Aaron that was resurrected. The man made golden effigy of a candlestick, fashioned to look like a flowering Almond branch, is but a shadow of the actual resurrected Almond branch, and that but a shadow of Christ, who IS the resurrection.

Is there a lesson in all this? Yes! The churches have a place and a purpose, but can not fulfill in you, what Christ does. And when Jesus admonished that they should repent before their candlestick be removed from it’s place, that removal can only go in one direction… to the unmeasured outer courts, given over to the nations to be trampled under foot.

[Rev 11:1-2 KJV] 1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty [and] two months.

If the churches serve to testify to those things in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, they have a flame and a purpose. If their testimony turns to unmeasured things pertaining to the nations and vanity, then they have no place in the house called the tabernacle, which consists of the holy place and the holiest. They have but one place…the unmeasured outer courts, where their voices become a powerless addition to the din and mass confusion of all things human. Their uniqueness is lost and their word not measured. If you find yourself coming and going weekly, from a place that is concerning itself increasingly with pleasing all distinctions of fallen flesh, at the expense of unadulterated truth, be encouraged to know that your path is not irrevocably intertwined with the churches. In truth, they will never fulfill what they simply have the ability to point to; to mirror. If they fail to mirror it, they have no place in the message of God, which message is: CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY. We are not delivered into a process whereby we are to bumble and stumble our way through this life, attempting to build or accomplish anything. We are delivered, by faith, into a finished work. For it is finished. It was accomplished entirely by the now glorified Son of Man, who alone is worthy. The churches are to mirror this…to tell of this, but the individual abides in this by faith. When the churches mirror the world and it’s myriad of voices and concerns; they have lost their way, are in need of repenting, remembering from where they are fallen, and returning to their first works and love.

Encrypted in the seven assemblies of Revelation 2, 3 & 4 is THE CHURCH. You will notice two of these descriptive assemblies are not told to repent. These are Smyrna and Philadelphia. Smyrna is a word descended from Myrrh, and speaks of ointment. Philadelphia is “brotherly love”. These things speak of the unity of faith in the Holy Spirit. This unity can not be manufactured , as it already exists perfectly and completely. It is finished. And you abide in it in faith. One may vacillate, coming and going from it. But one can not manufacture it. It is not a middle ground of doctrinal agreement. It is the mind of Christ. No individual is called to forge an agreement with any church or church doctrine. Every individual is to forge an agreement with Christ. Psalm 133 is a beautiful picture of the above encrypted message:

[Psa 133:1-3 KJV] 1 [[A Song of degrees of David.]] Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! 2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; 3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

The ointment bypasses the warp and weave of the priestly garments, joining every member to the head! John, on the Isle of Patmos, having seen the state of the assemblies, is afterward told, “Come up here”.  Before seeing any of these things, John was told that the time is at hand. That was 2000+ years ago. John was not shown a process. he was shown a finished work. Patmos means “My death”.  If any will follow Him, let him take up his cross daily and follow Him. This journey involves walking in the Spirit, and has nothing to do with bodily locomotion. “If we live in the Spirit, then let us also walk in the Spirit” .

[1Jo 2:15-25 KJV] 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides for ever. 18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

(((20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.)))

21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he that denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whosoever denies the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledges the Son hath the Father also]. 24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

Antichrist means “another” Christ. But there is no other. There is nothing whatsoever that defines “the church which is His body”, except the Spirit of Christ. There is no other definition for His Church outside of the HABITATION OF GOD BY THE SPIRIT.