Before we look at the signs of Healthy Candlesticks, let’s review a summary of the concerns, corrections, and commendations of the Lord as He examined His Candlesticks. As we do, may we take and overlay them on the church today. I shared last week, there is going to be a greater separation between what most call the “church” today and the Ecclesia until we can clearly see the difference between the apostate church and the Ecclesia. The separation should be so great it’ll be like the Red Sea parting with the Egyptians on one side and the Israelites on the other. I remember the word the Lord gave me in March of 2025: America’s Red Sea Moment Approaches? I did a couple messages on this topic, and the focus was on the need for the church to expel the ways of the world and prepare for His glory. This remains the message of the Lord; He is examining His Candlesticks. At the end, I’ll share why this timing is so critical for us to understand and pray into.

As I prepared this message, I had a vision of the Lord walking among His Candlesticks thoroughly examining them. I did not see His face as He examined them, only His feet which were like fine brass, as if burned in a furnace. I saw the Candlesticks, the corrupt, the defiled, the purified. My view expanded upward and I saw him pull some of them close and with His hands, began to heat them up, then shape, and mold them. Some were pushed far off into the distance where their color faded, and the tarnished material was exposed. In the end, I saw Him, He stood in the center of a circle of purified Candlesticks and He breathed out upon them and when He did, the Glory of the Lord fell and they lit up with such a brilliant light, I cannot describe it with words.

I cannot fully explain the weight of that moment; I can only liken it to the “Kairos Moment” I shared a couple weeks ago. Time stood still, and the seconds weighted upon me with great intensity; it felt impossible to breathe. I knew in my spirit the impact of this on the body. We must stand in the gap and pray for the Ecclesia. It’s a necessary but painful process. This is not about pointing out specific people engaged in blatant sin or those who have compromised their mantle, it is about addressing a Church that has lost its way; the Lord wants to bring the prodigals home. He also wants us to recognize and pray into the healthy Candlesticks that He is preparing even now, to receive of His Glory.

Why did I only see His feet at first? Jesus’ feet of bronze as seen in Revelation 1:15 and 2:18, represent His priest-kingly identity amid the seven Candlesticks, His authority over the churches, and His future judgment of the nations. The burnished bronze of His feet underlines stability—He stands immovable—and it is with the fiery holiness that He treads sin underfoot.

The Greek word here is chalkolibanon. It speaks of an alloy of copper (or gold) and silver having a brilliant luster, it represents the furnace-refined metal. Thyatira, famous for metalworking guilds, would grasp the metaphor: the Lord who walks among them is of a higher, purer alloy than any earthly craftsmanship.

In addition, this speaks of the Refiner, coming to examine His Candlesticks. Again, I cannot explain the weight of what I saw, all I could do was weep.

Why is He doing this now? When the world looks at us, they should see the Light shining so bright, they are drawn to it like a moth to a flame, however, this Flame will envelop them and bring them everlasting life. (John 1:5, 3:16) Remember, there is no darkness in Him (1 John 1:5) and as His Ecclesia, every effort should be made by us to expel the darkness and shine forth His Light. (Matt 5:14-16)

Let’s review some Scriptures from last week: Revelation 1:12-13a,16, and 20 (KJV) to refresh the stance of the Lord in this moment, and then quickly read the concerns the Lord has over the seven Candlesticks. Remember, He is addressing the seven stars which are the angels or messengers, or as we would call them today: “pastors” of those seven churches, He always starts at the top.

Jesus continued in Revelation 1:20:

Why does Jesus have a examine His Candlesticks?

Here in Revelation, Jesus is walking among His Candlesticks to examine how they are carrying His light into the environment around them. As I shared last week, the Lamp or Candlestick was to be pure gold. It’s hammered, crushed, and formed into a God-directed stand to hold His pure and holy Light. Examination, shaping, and molding all often feel like immense crushing but that is what enables us to carry His light. He Himself was bruised for our transgressions to pave the way for us to be able to carry His light, how we carry it is of utmost importance to Him.

Why is He doing this with the seven churches? What were His concerns and corrections? We could have an entire message on each church, but today, we will review them briefly so we can cover the signs of a healthy Candlestick with greater understanding:

I can see the condemnations and corrections of these five churches in many very popular denominations of our time. Many have fallen into the social gospel trap. They fight for social causes, climate justice, social injustice, racial injustices, class injustices, and of course, Women’s Rights. However, since Biden cancelled women and rebranded them as “birthing people” his first month in office, it’s “reproductive injustices” which always involve abortion on demand. This is Cultural Marxism. Marx who was an atheist who said, “my object in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism.”

This is not the purpose of the church, and the Lord is going to bring correction to this deception.

What is so grievous to me about the church today is the fact that many denominations have gone so off course, they’ve become so worldly in their actions that movies, comedians, and television shows depict their activities in offensive, exaggerated skits without much effort. In the effort to straddle the fence between the Christ and the world, many have become the target of mockery. For those who have never entered a church building, this is often the image they carry, and the excuse they use to stay out of the Church.

The beauty of each of these is that Jesus still calls them to repentance that their names might not be blotted out of the Lamb’s book of Life and adds that He reproves and disciplines those whom He loves. His love for them had not changed, theirs however, had grown cold.

What about the other two? What did Jesus see as He examined the Candlesticks from Smyrna and Philadelphia.

6. In Philadelphia, (Rev 3:7-8) He recognized how this church walked in love. They had the opportunity for evangelism and were embracing it, He saw that they relied on God, and they were faithful to the Word and in the midst of great persecution, had not denied His name.

7. In Smyrna, (Rev 2:9) This church had been crushed, more than any of the other Candlesticks, they had endured great persecution, and that pressing produced a sweet-smelling fragrance that reached the heavens. They were the poorest but the purest of the seven Candlesticks and all He wanted to do was encourage them in their suffering.

I’m going to share seven signs of a healthy Candlestick so as we pray for the Ecclesia, we can pray into these issues.

1. A healthy Candlestick embraces the Spirit of God.

This seems like a no-brainer for us here, but many churches today have shut themselves off to the Spirt of the Lord not realizing, Jesus left the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, Teacher, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby that He may remain with us forever. (John 14: 16-17)

So much occurs in a healthy Candlestick when they embrace the Spirit of God! They can enter into a holy Worship of the Lord. Psalm 96 tells us that we are to worship the Lord in the splendor of His Holiness. How do we do this? We can start by meditating on the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:12-17. As we worship Him in this image, we would surely fall at His feet as dead as the Apostle John did. Mario Murrillo often chides churches with “worship services” that involve skinny jeans, fog machines and light shows. The truth, however, is that these are artificial, and often very offensive imitations. They do not reflect the reality or impact of the presence of our Holy Lord. When He enters the room, the congregation falls on their faces.

It is the Spirit of God Who ignites a passion within (Acts 2:1-4 and 17-21, which fulfills in part, Joel 2).

The Baptism of Fire comes through the Spirit—His fire purifies us as Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 2:10-11. When we embrace the Spirit of God, we avail ourselves to this purifying work as it exposes and purifies our hearts.

When we embrace the Spirit of God, revelation of the mysteries of God will come forth as Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 2:9-16.

We become more discerning as a congregation (1 Cor. 2:14). In this hour, with the advent of the internet and thousands of internet prophets who “mine” social media or allow disgruntled friends to feed into their “prophecies” it’s more important than ever that we use wisdom and discernment in who we listen to.

It’s through the Spirit of God that we can even endure suffering, to the point that we can offer a sacrifice of praise in the midst of great suffering (Psalm 50:23).

2. A healthy Candlestick remembers the call to be “An House of Prayer” (Mark 11:17).

Intercessory life is a calling, but we are all called to prayer. Prayer builds relationship and intimacy with the Lord. Jesus when He walked this earth was a man of prayer. John depicts this beautifully in his Gospel account with John 17 being a template for the body to follow.

The healthy Candlestick engages in regular corporate prayer. This teaches the congregation the value of prayer and encourages prayer in their personal life. Matt 6:5-13 is another powerful template for us to follow as we pursue His heavenly will here on earth.

What about the leadership? Pastors, those messengers Jesus holds in the palm of His hands, should be people of prayer, there’s no better way to keep your life pure and discern what your congregation needs than through prayer. Worship leaders cannot usher people into the presence of the Lord without being people of prayer; perhaps this is why some lean on the fog machines. Nothing keeps us from stumbling more effectively than laying ourselves bare before the Lord for thorough examination in prayer. (Psalm 139:23-24, Luke 6:42)

Prayer demonstrates and creates further dependency upon the Lord for apostles, pastors, teachers, worship leaders, and evangelists.

Prayer brings wisdom, knowledge, revelation and opens the eyes of our understanding to the things of God (Eph 1:17-18)

The bowls that the elders present unto the Lord in Heaven in Revelation 5:8 contain the prayers of the saints. How full are they? A healthy Candlestick is full of people who know and are learning this truth.

3. Healthy Candlesticks are students of the Word

This solidifies in them a refusal to compromise or exclude anything contained therein as they teach His Word, even if it is uncomfortable. Today, many are falling because they embraced a social gospel rather than a pure unadulterated Gospel message. This caused us to move off course.

As students of the Word, we embrace God’s justice. We pursue not only milk, but meat (1 Cor. 3:2-3, Heb 5:12-13, 1 Pet 2:2 depict the importance of maturing to the point that we are no longer babes in Christ but mature believers.

As students of the Word, we are purified. Ephesians 5:26-17 talks about the washing of the water of the Word that we might be presented to the Lord without spot or wrinkle.

Healthy Candlesticks pursue the Word and life of the perfected One, understanding that the desire of one who pursues union, actively pursues a life without spot or wrinkle. Every believer is accountable to the Lord for their walk, but a babe in Christ must be taught the way of purity, and that is through His Word. Understanding His Word enables us to separate from the world so when the world is in crisis, we can be the light they can run to for hope.

4. A Healthy Candlestick submits to Christ as the Head of the Church.

This is a difficult concept for many, but it’s clearly stated in Ephesians 1:22-23. When we can grasp this truth, we tend to be quick to repent for sin. Submission to the Head and repentant hearts seem to go hand in hand, even in the midst of Divine scrutiny. We fight so much for our personal rights, we resist submission to anything or anyone. Most especially our Lord and Savior. Jesus called the church to repentance for the corruption, idolatry, misuse of funds, apathy, persecution of others, embracing the world and so on. How many did? I think if Candlesticks kept the image of Christ, the one we read in Revelation 1, front and center night and day, we would submit to Him and embrace His thorough examination and consistently work to eradicate anything that would offend Him from their congregations so that, should He come and examine us again, He would find we’d repented rather than digging our heels in deeper.

5. A healthy Candlestick does not run from suffering.

In reality, it burns even brighter as it presses into the Lord. Like Smyrna, they endure the suffering and the pressing and it brings forth a sweet-smelling fragrance unto the Lord. Smyrna was the major hub of trade and idolatry with shrines to Zues, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Cybele, it encompassed cultic practices in religion and commerce. If you did not participate, you were excluded from commerce. Even though it was a very wealthy area, because of their faith, the church of Smyrna had to become dependent on the Lord and one another for everything. Persecution was intense, with more coming. They clung tightly to their faith.

Eusebius, a 4th Century historian, known as the father of Church history, records a long line of bishops who began as disciples of the Apostle John and Polycarp (his disciple) who came from here to evangelize other areas for centuries. Polycarp’s martyrdom is profound.

I’d like to add; a healthy Candlestick does not consider monetary gain as sign of success or a lack of it as a rejection by the Lord. We are not called to be “name it and claim it” congregations. Smyrna teaches us this truth. Smyrna was the poorest but the purest of the seven. Instead, they see Christ as their most valuable possession. This enables them to burn ever brighter in the midst of the suffering, shining His light into the region paving the way for others to see the Light in the midst of the cultic and corrupt world.

6. A healthy Candlestick demonstrates the love of Christ to one another.

Philadelphia was commended for its love for one another. Open doors were promised, stability was assured, in a city that was a hub for massive earthquakes, this declaration spoke volumes to them. Why were they granted this privilege of longevity and stability? They loved one another.

Remember the hymn “they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love”? This was written by Peter Scholtes, who, after studying Scriptures on love and the call to unity in the body, was inspired by the Lord to pen this hymn. This is the call to every Christian, every Church, every Pastor to ensure their congregation understands the importance of walking in and demonstrating the love of Christ to one another as well as our neighbor.

Everything Jesus did was to extend God’s hand of love into mankind. It involved correction, healing, teaching, deliverance, multiplication, mighty creative miracles, discipleship, and the laying down of His life that we might be united with our Father which is in heaven. That is love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a teaches how significant love is in the eyes of the Lord.

Due to their love for one another, God covenanted with Philadelphia to open doors and even protect them in persecution. Why didn’t He promise this to Smyrna? Because each person, each congregation has been given the grace for the cross they bear. Never forget this truth, the enemy would love to have you believe that it’s your sin or God’s rejection of you that kept you in the difficult situation you are in, if you have sought Him and laid your heart before Him and know this is not true, stand on that truth with all you have. Remember, God is examining us all to prepare us for something great.

7. A healthy Candlestick understands that God alone is the source of their light and they are to be a vessel of His light.

As such, they understand that they can do nothing of significance without Him. Their flame remains lit with only the purest of oil. Oil harvested from the same conditions as our Lord and Savior, who Himself, was crushed in the garden, to become that sweet-smelling fragrance unto the Father. The oil used in the Temple was from olives harvested outside the Temple, in the Garden of Gethsemane. The olives are cleansed, crushed, and pressed with a great weight to harvest the oil used to keep the Menorah lit in the Temple.

The Garden of Gethsemane is where Jesus spent His final night before His passion in Luke 22, crying out to the Father as the agony over what He was about to endure became so great, Luke tells us He sweat great drops of blood. He endured the cleansing, the crushing, and the weight of His passion to leave the Light of the Living God here in the earth for us to receive still today. The light we carry was paid for with the blood of the Son of the Living God. A healthy Candlestick understands this truth and recognizes their purpose, their reason for existing, is to be the vessel through which His Light can shine in the midst of the darkness.

In the coming days, the Lord will be walking among His Candlesticks for a thorough examination. His glory will pour out and fill those who prepared themselves, like Philadelphia, who walked in love and was one of the last remaining lights in Asia-Minor up until the 20th century. Or, Smyrna, who endured great persecution and intense crushing, became a sweet-smelling fragrance unto the Lord. Smyrna, known today as Izmir, Turkey, still remains with a small Christian community keeping His Light in the region.

The glory is coming. The Awakening is here, pockets of revival are springing up, but the glory will blanket it all. The cry today is for revival to spread across the land in such mighty waves, the glory will fill this place. I look at the people of the land, the corruption, the frustration, the sin, not just here, but all over the world and my heart breaks. People need healing, our youth need their minds healed, they’ve been brainwashed into cultural Marxist ideology, full of social justice warriors who now even embrace an assassination culture. They need their brains re-wired by the Spirit of God.

When people are victims of corruption, abuse, brainwashing, and so on, they need healing. Whether they are women, children or men trapped in human trafficking, family members of congressional leaders or journalists killed for trying to expose or stand against the corruption, or entire states full of citizens who discovered their tax-payer dollars have funded 9 billion dollars’ worth of fraud, and counting, they need healing.

The glory brings healing. He heals with His touch, they don’t need years of intervention and inner healing before deliverance, they need a mustard seed of faith ignited by the Spirit of the Living God and when that happens, the enemy must flee. They are saved, they are delivered, they are set free and as long as they pursue Him, they can stay set free. I am not negating the importance of counselling; I’m simply standing on the power of God’s mighty hand of deliverance and healing.

I’ll close with this: years ago, I had a dream. I was standing on the platform of a huge arena. This was not about me, this was about what God is going to do in, and for His body. The platform looked like a piano keyboard. The message ended and I invited people up for prayer. A person I know very well made their way down for inner healing. I knew the history of this individual well, and when I prayed, they fell under the power and anointing of God. I watched as the glory enveloped them. His Spirit completely consuming them. When they finally got up, the light of God shone through their eyes. They were completely healed of trauma that went back several decades, and His light poured out of them. As soon as this occurred, people all over the sanctuary began to be touched by the Spirit of God, they received immediate and permanent healing with several experiencing deliverance on the spot.

I asked the Lord why, why He healed some quickly, and others had such a journey to walk through. He said, “it is the season”.

We are moving into a season wherein we will not have the time for salvation, lengthy inner healing sessions, followed by hours and hours of deliverance over the course of months and years. In His mercy, He is going to do a quick work, that they might join His Kingdom in the fight. This truly, is the mercy of God. May we pray for the Candlesticks, may we lay ourselves bare before the Lord as well, and as He begins to pour out His Glory, may we recognize and embrace the workings of our God.

In His love

Ricci Johnson-Wilson

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