Revelation Chapter 1
Verse 12 (NASB) 
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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, turned to see who was 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 the Lord - 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
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
.
References to the Revelation of Jesus Christ are in bold italics. All other references are in bold only.