

THE CEDARS AND CANDLESTICKS. 243 



The two symbols were witnesses that God's election of 

 His covenant people had not been in vain ; that the 

 original charter in virtue of which they were to conquer 

 the earth and bless, alike under the form of Judaism 

 and of Christianity, all the families of the earth, was not 

 abrogated, but was to be fulfilled to the utmost. The 

 burning bush was never to be extinguished, it was to be- 

 come a candlestick ; and the fire of God's dealings with 

 His people for their purification was to become a con- 

 spicuous light held aloft to lighten the whole world. 



The same truth is still further illustrated by the fact 

 that the vision of John in Patmos was based upon the 

 Jewish tabernacle and temple. The candlesticks which 

 the beloved disciple saw were like the one which Moses 

 was commanded to place in the tabernacle, and the 

 slightly different one which Solomon caused to be 

 wrought when he built an house for the God of Israel. 

 He who was banished from the earthly sanctuary from 

 the visible symbols saw, like Moses on the Mount, the 

 patterns of those things. He entered within the veil, 

 and in the spirit beheld the realities of which the temple 

 objects and services were the mere passing signs. The 

 resemblance was dear to him, and it was doubtless 

 meant to remind the followers of the Lord Jesus of a 

 sacred past with which they were closely connected ; 

 that though the former revelation was to cease, it was to 

 appear in a higher form, which should nevertheless pre- 

 serve the essential features and elements of what had 

 been familiar to them. Separated outwardly from the 

 solemnities of the ancient worship from the priesthood, 



