Mystery of the Seven Golden Candlesticks

By Doug Gilworth

John the Apostle was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and he heard Jesus speak as the voice of a trumpet. When John turned to look, the first thing he saw was "seven golden candlesticks" and Jesus in the midst of them.

What are these "seven golden candlesticks" John heralds to us in the first chapter of the book of Revelation? Bible scholars and students have speculated on this topic for almost two thousand years.

Some suggest a deeper meaning of the seven golden candlesticks is they represent seven periods of the church, seven personality types within the church, and seven types of churches, among others. But no widely held view exists.

An angel explained to John deep spiritual truth pertaining to the seven golden candlesticks, giving the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea as the answer, but is that all there is to it, or did the angel tell John more? Did the angel tell John something in which he was instructed not to write, because it was for the end-times?

Most believe there is a deeper meaning; otherwise there would not have been so much conjecture over the years. And it is called a mystery for a reason.

Seven messages to the seven churches occupy two full chapters in the preeminent end-time book of prophecy, undoubtedly for an important purpose, certainly adding fuel to the fire of grandeur.

The ultimate meaning of the mystery of the seven golden candlesticks is what this book possibly divulges, and along with it the understanding of who the seven stars in Jesus's right hand are, the unfolding of the righteous experiencing victory over death, the judgment seat of Christ, the kingdom of heaven, and many other things revealed by the understanding of this mystery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 9, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098088613

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Mystery of the Seven Golden Candlesticks

Doug Gilworth

Copyright © 2021 by Doug Gilworth

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

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Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture references are from KJV.

All jokes are coming from Phil Gardners book Jokes and Phil-isms

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

News

The Number 7

Nugget

Names

The Firstborn Branch

The Martyr Branch

The Branch of Israel

The Steward Branch (Prophets, Priests, and Pastors; Laborers)

The Unaccountable Branch

The Branch of the New Testament Church

The Jewel Branch

A Very Mysterious Figure

Victory Over Death

The Judgment Seat of Christ

The Kingdom

Introduction

The book of Revelation is the grand finale to the greatest book ever written. Contained in its pages is one of the last great mysteries of this life, and with its clearer understanding may come a firmer grasp of many difficult prophetic passages.

God’s plan was destined for the revealing of this mystery in the last days.

Ideas are presented in this book, which will differ from your current view of the book of Revelation and end-time events. Don’t read it with intent to bolster your current interpretation of prophecy, but let it challenge you to consider many new ideas. Please make an honest effort, with an open mind, to understand what is being said and prayerfully compare to the Scripture. This will necessitate reading this book several times and studying the Bible as the Bereans did.

For the past two thousand years, the church has been fighting against new ideas concerning the Godhead, the gospel, who Jesus is, and other ultra-important doctrine, as the devil has made an effort to twist the Bible and its teachings. Doctrine directly impacts the eternal destiny of man’s soul and should be defended staunchly.

Eschatology, on the other hand, does not condemn or promote any soul to heaven or hell.

In fact, the Bible indicates there are some things not intended to be known until the time of the end (Daniel 12:4, 9). More and more prophecy will be understood as we approach those days.

Your favorite Bible commentator, the one who may be closest to the truth on doctrine, may also be largely wrong on eschatology.

Writings of early church fathers are ardently studied for what they believed about important issues, but beyond the apostles, they did not have a clear knowledge of the time of the end.

I believe John, Peter, Paul, Matthew, and maybe a couple of others knew the mystery but were told, like Daniel, not to write directly about it (Revelation 10:4).

At the least, realize afresh, the end is well-nigh, get your house in order, and draw closer to God.

Any who does not believe in and know the Lord Jesus Christ in a committed way should consider accepting him as the redeemer, savior, deliverer of your eternal soul.

Chapter 1

News

The word mystery means a special secret or something veiled or hidden and is used twenty-two times in the New Testament.

Something about Israel is spoken of as a mystery (Romans 11:25; Revelation 10:7).

The New Testament Church is called a mystery, thirteen times or more (Ephesians 3:3–6).

Victory over death is referred to as a mystery (1 Corinthians 15:51–58).

The antichrist is dubbed a mystery (2 Thessalonians 2:7, 1–17).

Mystery is the word used for the great whore (Revelation 17).

This book is focused on the mystery in Revelation 1:12, 20, which John saw in two parts: seven golden candlesticks and seven stars in Jesus’s right hand. In chapter 2, we will deal with who the seven stars in Jesus’s right hand may be. Here we look at the mystery of the seven golden candlesticks.

Mystery (Revelation 1:12, 20)

What are the seven golden candlesticks viewed by John at the very beginning of the book of Revelation? They are undoubtedly representative of something very, very important.

An angel explains to John the seven golden candlesticks symbolized seven local churches in Asia, called Ephesus, Symrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. But is that all there is to it, or was John told by the angel to refrain from writing all he was shown?

Mystery is the word describing Israel, the New Testament Church, the antichrist, the great whore, and the saints’ victory over death. These are all big, important concepts understandably associated with the word mystery.

But how does mystery apply to the seven local churches in the first century? There has to be more John is not telling us.

Over the years, there has been much speculation about the seven golden candlesticks, the seven churches, and the seven messages to them. The reason for this speculation is apparent.

Why, in the Bible’s final book of Revelation, a book filled with terror-stricken judgment, end-time events, thrones, and glory and focused on marvelous mysterious future matters, would over two chapters be devoted to seven local churches in Asia Minor almost two thousand years ago?

These were not the only local churches in the world, nor the only local churches in Asia Minor, even at that time.

C. I. Scofield’s response to the seven messages is These messages by their very terms go beyond the local assemblies mentioned.

So Bible students over the years have come up with large creative theories as to the possible deeper meaning of this mystery. They may agree with Scofield’s statement, but they do not agree on what the ultimate meaning is.

Types, periods, personalities, and stages, oh my.

Attempted explanations of the ultimate meaning of who or what the seven churches are have included seven periods of the New Testament Church, seven stages or conditions the church did and will go through, seven personalities of people within the church, seven church types, and more. All of these thoughts, although possibly helpful, surely fall far short of the actual meaning of the seven golden candlesticks.

Here is a general quick look at the stages, periods, and types some have portrayed as possible meanings for the seven golden candlesticks/churches and the messages to them.

Countless sermons have been preached by ministers using the verses in Revelation chapters 2 and 3, and many have doubtless been used of God for his glory.

David Jeremiah’s church types may have helped many churches move closer to God, through the idea of being more like the spiritual churches and refraining from being like the less godly churches.

Ephesus—the loveless church

Smyrna—the suffering church

Pergamos—the compromised church

Thyatira—the adulterous church

Sardis—the dead church

Philadelphia—the faithful church

Laodicea—the lukewarm church

An example of a stage and period theory for the seven golden candlesticks:

First stage: Ephesus (apostolic age)—from AD 33 to about 100

Smyrna—second stage—Caesars—from 100 to about 300

Pergamos—third stage—Constantine—from 300 to about 600

Thyatira—fourth stage—Middle or Dark Ages—from 600 to about 1500

Sardis—fifth stage—reformation—from 1500 to about 1700

Philadelphia—sixth stage—missionary—from 1700 to about 1900

Laodicea—seventh stage—apostate—from about 1900 to the present

There are several variations of other periods, presented by different people.

Trench and Shaff say there is no unanimity, nothing approaching consensus among those setting these dates.

An example of dispensation periods:

The state of perfection—innocents

From the fall to the flood—antediluvian

From the flood to Abraham—conscience

From Abraham to Jesus—promise/law

From Jesus to the close of the church age—grace

The seven years of tribulation—judgment

The millennium—peace/rest

Randy White has a new and unique conjecture of the seven churches and messages picturing future congregations of Jewish believers living in seven years of the tribulation.

Frucktenbaum and Bullinger submit periods of the church as a mirror of Israel’s history.

There are vast numbers of different ideas on the various aforementioned listings, all with the idea of shining a spotlight on the seven golden candlesticks, the seven messages to them, and the seven stars in Jesus’s right hand.

If in times past any of these have helped you in your Christian walk, then there is merit in them, but I do not see any of these being the utmost solution.

Why would the angel not make perfectly clear to John if any of these stages, periods, or church types were the main interpretation? Is there any reason for any of these being a great mystery? Quite to the contrary, if this was meant to help the church, it would have been clearly understood nineteen hundred years ago and would not have been called a mystery.

Details of God’s overall plan and purpose for time and eternity, however, might be kept secret till the time of the end. God expects his children to trust him as to the last basic unanswered human question of what’s it all about. This question’s answer is to be revealed at the proper time.

Meaning

Candlesticks-churches-branches: Is it possible the seven branches of godly people, developed through time, are the ultimate meaning of the seven golden candlesticks, pictured by seven local churches in Asia and to be identified in the last days by the seven messages in Revelation chapters 2 and 3?

Seven separate and distinct groups established over the course of time, by similar procedures and for a grand paramount purpose.

To illustrate part of what I’m talking about, picture construction of the great pyramid at Giza. It was one of the largest building projects on earth for over five thousand years.

What does it take for a human project of that magnitude?

The project has to have designers, overseers, managers, planners, and bosses.

You need quarry crews. People in the quarry hammering out stones.

Teams of movers taking the stones from the quarry to the pyramid site.

Assembly people are needed to position the stones in the proper place.

You need a group providing and preparing food for the large workforce.

When it came time for granite blocks, boat crews would be necessary to bring these huge stones from great distances.

A brilliant smooth white limestone finish should be applied by a skilled team at the final phase.

Here we have seven large groups, doing different jobs and with varying responsibilities. All serving Pharaoh and the project.

God’s project is eternity, heaven.

Branches of beings who are not slaves and not just servants, but family, sons of God through a relationship to him, and who populate, plan, oversee, judge, watch, and rule endless boundless worlds and also direct worship services in God’s everlasting grand plan.

These teams are put together over the limits of time, by enlistment, by special provision, and by his choosing and our accepting.

Do we see seven branches in the Scripture? Who are they? What do they do throughout time? What difficult prophecy Scripture verses will this help clarify? Will many previous thoughts on eschatology be found to be incorrect or incomplete? These are some of the questions this book will look at.

Big Questions Most Humans Ask

Man is an inquisitive creature; we are designed that way. From the age at which we are able to put words together, basic questions are asked.

Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I doing here? Where am I going? And what’s it all about?

Christians know answers to the first four universal questions.

Who am I? I am a child of God.

Where did I come from? God created man.

What am I doing here? I am serving, obeying, worshiping, witnessing, in fellowship with God.

Where am I going? I will spend eternity with God in heaven.

What’s it all about? For thousands of years, it has not been necessary for children of God to know the answer to this question in any detail. It has been more than enough to know it is God’s plan, and it is good (best).

At the proper time, God may reveal to us what it is all about.

Is it possible that Daniel, John, Matthew, Peter, Paul, and maybe