Candlestick

The candlestick (more accurately, the lamp-stand or menorah) was one of the most sacred furnishings of the Mosaic tabernacle and later the temple. God commanded Moses to make it of pure beaten gold: a central shaft from which six branches extended, three on each side, each branch terminating in an almond-blossom-shaped lamp cup (Exodus 25:31–40). Its seven lamps were kept burning continually by the priests, giving light in the Holy Place before the veil. The completed lamp-stand is depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome, among the spoils removed from the Jerusalem temple by Roman forces in A.D. 70. In the prophetic vision of Zechariah a golden lamp-stand flanked by two olive trees represents the Spirit's supply of light to the covenant community (Zechariah 4:2–6). In the book of Revelation the seven golden lamp-stands symbolize the seven churches of Asia (Revelation 1:12, 20).