“You shall charge the sons of Israel, that they bring you clear oil of beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually.
Exodus 27:20 NASB
Light is the essence of God. This description is used continually to describe His presence.
For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.
Psa 36:9
O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.
Psa 43:3
Come, house of Jacob, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Isa 2:5
It’s interesting to dive deep into Scripture to see the consistent themes that stick out from beginning to end. For instance, here in Exodus (second book of the Bible), God is placing His presence with Israel in the temple, and the representation of that existence is found in the burning lamp that is lit continuously. The reason for this is obvious. Israel needed the Lord’s presence to deal with their sin condition, and they needed Him continually.
In Revelation (last book of the Bible) we see the same metaphor being used.
Revelation 4:5 NASB Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
The number 7 indicates a divine completeness, or, wholeness. From this passage, which gives us a glimpse of God’s throne, we again see the burning lamps. Also in Revelation, John sees Jesus standing among the 7 lampstands that represent the 7 churches. What does all this mean?
Very simply, we can understand that God’s Spirit has always been represented by fire and light. It’s a consistent theme. Today believers have the Holy Spirit which burns brightly in our temple (physical bodies) as the presence of God. He has placed His image in us to proclaim His glory to the world. When we read about the temple in Exodus, we should think about how powerful this metaphor is for the manifestation of God’s glory in our own personal lives. Just as the priests were given specific duties to manage their temple, we must take great care of our temple which contains the powerful burning flame of God’s Spirit within us.