^1:12 And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;

And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.

John, amazed at the sound of the voice, turns to see who is talking with him. How come the voice was behind John? Is it symbolic of our fleshly desire to go in a different direction than what God wants us to go? To get with God, we need to hear His voice, turn around (and leave our earthly selfish desires behind), and SEE who is speaking - Psalm 34:8-14.

And having turned I saw seven GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS;

These lampstands are clearly identified in Revelation 1:20 as the seven churches. With seven denoting completeness and golden the symbol of the indwelling of God, this view shows seven distinct churches whose believers are filled with God - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

At first glance, John may have thought of the Menorah of the Old Testament tabernacle - Exodus 25:31-39, but the Menorah has seven branches on one stand. Symbolically, the Menorah is equivalent to Israel and the single stand, the tribe of Levi as priests for the whole nation. In John's vision, he sees individual lampstands with Jesus Christ in their midst (next verse). The lampstand is only the holder of the light source...the source is none other than God Himself - Matthew 5:14-16. And with the presence of Christ in the midst the light should be growing brighter every passing moment - Proverbs 4:18.