Revelation 1:12 – Part 2 – A Detailed Description of our Spiritual Mind
(In reading this post, please keep in mind that this is part of a long series in which John the Revelator is seen as a type of a believer living in the end times. Each verse seen with this in mind will reveal something we can expect to experience with the Lord as our perception of his closeness increases with our daily pursuit of him. This kind of interpretation is not commonly known in the church today, but it is based on the truths expressed by St. Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theologica as well as by some of the early Church Fathers. They wrote that Scripture can have, in addition to its historical or literal interpretation, a spiritual sense which includes a threefold division—allegorical, moral and anagogical. For those of you not familiar of the word “anagogical” it means “the interpretation of a word, passage or text (as of Scripture or poetry) that finds beyond the literal, allegorical and moral senses a fourth and ultimate spiritual or mystical sense.” This is what can be seen in my biblical studies posted on this site or in my books.)
A Detailed Description
For a detailed description of the spiritual mind, we can turn to Exodus 25 where God gives specific instructions for the making of the candlestick which was to be placed in the tabernacle. Earlier in Exodus 25 as he begins the instructions for the tabernacle he says, “Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them” (Exo. 25:8). We are the tabernacle and everything detailed in Exodus regarding the tabernacle has spiritual significance for the inner working of God in our life. Revelation shows us more about how this sanctuary will be completed as we work with Christ to make ourselves ready to be a place for God to dwell in his fullness.
The description of the candlestick begins in verse 31 of Exodus 25:
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” (Exodus 25:31).
“And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold” means: And you are to make your spiritual mind (candlestick) of the holy nature of Jesus (of pure gold).
“Of beaten work shall the candlestick be made” means: You are going to create your spiritual mind by persevering and struggling through circumstances in life as you share in the sufferings of Christ. This will require that you take up your cross daily, deny yourself and follow Christ (beaten work). (In Revelation, the mature Christian represented by John has already gone through years of enduring the cross and is now refining his/her spiritual mind with the mental visions.)
Then various parts of the candlestick are listed: his shaft, his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers. All of these are to be made of beaten gold. These things are developed in our life as we face trials and suffering with godly attitudes that enable Christ to work in our lives. In the more mature Christian, they are enhanced by repeatedly going over the mental visions. Let’s take these parts of the candlestick one at a time:
His Shaft:
The primary meaning for the Hebrew word translated shaft is “soft.” Here is how it appears in Strong’s Concordance: “Shaft -3409. yarek, yaw-rake’; from an unused root mean. to be soft; the thigh (from its fleshy softness)…”
Webster defines “soft” as “implies an absence or reduction of all that is harsh or rough; easily shaped as with pine wood or pure gold.”
Now we can see what “shaft” means regarding our spiritual mind. It is not to be harsh or rough…no angry outbursts or coarse talking. We are to treat other people in a gentle, non abrasive way. Our spiritual mind is not to be rigid and inflexible but rather soft and pliable in the Lord’s hands.
His Branches:
Here is Strong’s definition of the Hebrew word translated ‘branches:” “7070. qaneh, kaw-neh’; from H7069; a reed (as erect); by resemblance a rod (espec. for measuring), shaft, tube, stem, the radius (of the arm), beam (of a steelyard):–balance, bone, branch, calamus, cane, reed, X spearman, stalk.”
Jesus is said to be the “Branch” as seen in various Old Testament scriptures. An example is found in Isaiah 11: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: and the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”
Our definition of branch also reveals it to be a rod used for measuring. This would indicate that the branches can be spiritually interpreted as: you are to measure your life to be spiritually perfect according to the purity of Jesus.
There is something else important about the definition for “Branch” that needs to be included here…it is “erect” (a reed [as erect]). To be erect is to stand tall before God not being bent towards any idols; therefore, branches also means, your spiritual mind is to be free from all idolatry.
His Bowls:
Bowls are containers. They have a certain capacity to contain things put into them. These bowls, along with all parts of the candlestick, are made of pure gold, a type of the pure life of Jesus. Bowls contain oil, and oil is a type of the Holy Spirit.
His bowls may be interpreted as meaning Your spiritual mind is to have the capacity to contain the Spirit of God even as Jesus had when he walked upon this earth.
His Knops:
According to Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldea Lexicon to the Old Testament, “knops” means “crowns.” We turn to the rest of Scripture to determine what crowns are as pertaining to our spiritual mind. By looking up “crowns” in the concordance we find that in the New Testament there are five different crowns God intends for his people: the crown of incorruption (I Cor. 9:25); the crown of rejoicing (1 Thes. 2:19); the crown of righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8); the crown of life (James 1:12 and Rev. 2:10); and the crown of glory (1 Pet. 5:4).
His Flowers:
Flowers are fragrant and lovely. They are full of life, ever growing and opening until they reach their fullness. Flowers beget more flowers. This says to me that there is no end to the growth we can experience in our spiritually perfect mind. Each new aspect of the nature and personality of Christ that comes into this mind is like a small bud that opens up into fullness and releases fragrance into our entire being and outwardly to all we meet. This will continue throughout eternity.
Now we can put all of the above together to make the following statement about the spiritual mind that God is building in us as we focus on the mental visions.
Exo 25:31 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.
A Spiritual Interpretation:
And you are to make your spiritual mind (And thou shalt make a candlestick) to be pure and holy like Jesus’ (of pure gold). Your spiritual mind of purity and holiness will come forth from suffering for righteousness and bearing of the cross in your life (of beaten work shall the candlestick be made). You are to have an absence of all that is harsh or rough in your spiritual mind…no angry outbursts or coarse talking. You are to treat other people in a gentle, non abrasive way. Your spiritual mind is not to be rigid and inflexible but rather soft and pliable in the Lord’s hands (his shaft). You are to measure your life to be spiritually perfect according to the purity of Jesus. Your spiritual mind is to be free from all idolatry (his branches). Your spiritual mind is to have the capacity to contain the Spirit of God even as Jesus had when he walked upon this earth (his bowls). Your spiritual mind is to be filled with incorruption, rejoicing, righteousness, glory and life (his knops). Your spiritual mind is to be like flowers… fragrant and lovely, full of life, ever growing and opening until they reach their fullness. Flowers beget more flowers. There will be no end to the growth you can experience in your spiritually perfect mind. Each new aspect of the nature and personality of Christ that comes into your mind will be like a small bud that opens up into fullness and releases fragrance into your entire being. This will continue throughout eternity (his flowers). In all things, your spiritual mind is to be as the mind of Christ (shall be of the same).
There is much, much more we could include here about the spiritual mind as it is revealed in Exodus 25, but that will be covered in another book I hope to write on the tabernacle.
