The first thing John saw in Jesus’ revelation to him were lampstands. We must not confuse lampstands with lamps. The function of a lamp (commonly a clay dish containing oil plus a wick) was to give light in the home. In a home with little furniture, its place was on a lampstand (see Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16); that way the light of the lamps spread farther. We’ll learn in Revelation 1:20 that the lampstands represent the seven churches.
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,