P. Exactly.

K: But that's in the book of Exodus. And the table and the showbread were announced by the Lawgiver in the book of Leviticus. Here He seems to expand this commandment and clearly teaches how the offering should be made, saying: "And take wheat flour and bake twelve loaves of it from it; in each loaf there shall be two tenths [of Ephah]; and thou shalt lay them in two rows, six in a row, on a clean table before the Lord; and thou shalt put on [each] row of pure frankincense, and it shall be with the bread, in remembrance, as a sacrifice to the Lord; On every day of the Sabbath they shall be laid constantly before the Lord from the children of Israel: this is an everlasting covenant; they shall belong to Aaron and his sons, who shall eat them in the holy place, for it is a great holiness unto them of the sacrifices of the Lord: [it] is an everlasting ordinance" (Lev. 24:5-9). In the Book of Numbers, He again pointed out to us, as it were, one bread from heaven and from us, for the Word, being God, became like us "and dwelt among us" (John 1:14), He pointed out, saying to the priest Moses: "Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye enter into the land into which I am leading you, and eat the bread of the land, then offer up an offering to the Lord; from the firstfruits of your dough you shall offer up the cake for an offering; offer it up as the threshing floor is offered; of the firstfruits of your dough you shall give to the Lord for an offering throughout your generations" (Num. 15:18-21). From these words, everyone can easily discern the mystery of truth. But in due time we will speak about this subtly and thoroughly, and we will transfer the discourse about it to another work of scripture. However, I think, Palladius, that anyone can be amazed at the following in the present case.

P. What do you mean by this?

K. Making Immanuel visible to us in many ways, He depicts His features in other words, for He says to Moses: "And make a lamp of pure gold; this lamp must be chased; its stem, its branches, its cups, its apples, and its flowers shall come out of it; six branches shall go out of the sides thereof: three branches of the candlestick from one side thereof, and three branches of the candlestick from the other side thereof" (Exodus 25:31-32). And then, having added to this that which pertains to the decoration and use of this work of art, I mean krini (in other words: lilies), cruzi (that is, round, apples) and cups, he adds: "The whole [must] [be] chased, whole, of pure gold. And thou shalt make seven lamps unto it, and set upon it its lamps, that they may shine on the front side thereof; and tongs thereof, and trays thereof, of pure gold; from the talent of pure gold, let him be made with all these utensils. See that you make them according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain" (25:36-40). Thus, the golden lampstand represents the image of Christ; for the Son is God by nature and in truth; whereas, as we have explained above, Divine brightness and superiority must be likened to gold. And Immanuel is sculpted (a lampstand) because he is beautiful and above all words, as far as mental goodness is concerned: for it is written that He is "more beautiful than the sons of men" (Psalm 44:3). Thus, the fact that the lamp was sculpted indicated very well the excellent, that is, divine, appearance of Immanuel. On the right and on the left, the branches, growing as if from a tree, ascend together with the middle stem, it is said, and rise to an equal height with it: for the Only-begotten, being one in nature and simple in essence, like God, seems to be plural in the diversity of His actions: but there is nothing in Him that is alien or alien, although in His divine virtues He is thought of as if He were not simple; because it is thought of as light, and life, and power, and incorruption. Wishing, I think, to teach that there is nothing in Him that has been assimilated from without, He added the following: "Of pure gold... its stem, its branches," that is, God is not sanctified in the same way as that which is produced, nor as, for example, the Angels, conceived in their nature, but illumined by His grace and glory, and anointed as with pure gold, by the gift of the Spirit, but by nature is this very thing, that is, God, the purest and highest nature. "Seven lamps": for the illumination from Christ is diverse: and "To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge, by the same Spirit" and so on (1 Corinthians 12:8 and 10). Again, the number seven is a sign of perfection: Immanuel is all-perfect by nature, like God, and in the division of the gifts that proceed from Him, He is perfectly invited to those who are worthy to receive them: for it is not "in measure that He gives the Spirit," according to the words of John (John 3:34), but from His fulfillment "we have all received" (John 1:16). Then He says: "Make seven lamps for him, and set his lamps upon him" (Exodus 25:37). But what this ordination should be, He clearly revealed in the book of Numbers, saying: "And the Lord said to Moses, saying, 'Tell Aaron, and say to him, 'When you light the lamps, there must be seven lamps burning on the front of the lamp. Aaron did so: on the front side of the lampstand he lit his lamps, as the Lord commanded Moses" (Num. 8:1-3). And so, understand that the seven lamps (luminaries) placed in front of the lamp cast light on those who beheld, for it is not to those who are behind and as if turned away from God that the Divine and mental light shines, but to those who are brought to the contemplation of Him through sanctification, and who have already turned their faces to Him through boldness in faith and through excellent honesty in right life; for everything that is vicious and disobedient is abominable and hateful, but honorable and God-honored, obedient and restrained. For this reason, to the Jews, who irresistibly decided to offend Him, He also says through the mouth of Isaiah: "And when you stretch out your hands, I hide My eyes from you" (Isaiah 1:15); "The eyes of the Lord [are turned] on the righteous," as sung in the Psalms (Psalms 33:16).

P. Pravda.

K. This holy lamp was also clearly mentioned by the divine Zachariah, for he said: "And the angel who spoke to me returned, and awoke me, as one awakens a man from his sleep. And he said to me, What do you see? And I answered, I see, behold, a lamp all of gold, and a cup of oil on the top thereof, and seven lamps on it, and seven tubes by the lamps that are on the top of it. and two olive trees on it, one on the right side of the cup, the other on the left side thereof. And I answered, and said to the angel who spoke to me, What is this, my lord? And the angel that spoke to me answered and said to me, 'Do you not know what this is?' And I said, I do not know, my lord" (Zech. 4:1-5). And so, the blessed prophet asked, saying, "What is this, O Lord?" And the Divine Angel, having inserted a brief narrative (4:6-10), interprets the vision and attributes the arrangement of the lamp to Christ, speaking of the seven lamps on it: "These are the eyes of the Lord, which encompass the whole earth with their gaze" (4:10): for, to use a sensual form of expression, God looks upon us with innumerable eyes, and beholds human works, "He knoweth that which is in darkness," according to what is written, and the light is with Him (Dan. 2:22): for if God sends light to us who are in the world, how much more and above all others does He abound in it in His nature; or, if some suspect that this is not so, then perhaps it is time to appeal to those who have decided to think so: "Come to your senses, senseless people! When will you be wise, ignorant? Will not he who planted the ear hear? and he who formed the eye will not see?" (Psalm 93:8-9.) "For the word of God is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword: it penetrates to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from Him, but all things are naked and open before His eyes" (Hebrews 4:12-13). Thus, Christ truly illuminates and edifies everything, which is why He said through one of the prophets: "Am I God [only] near, says the Lord, and not God afar off?" Is it possible to "hide" from Me (Jeremiah 23:23-24)? For nothing can be hidden from the omniscient mind. Don't you think I've considered it very well?

P. Exactly.

K. Seeing something extraordinary in the candlestick (for it contained olive branches), the prophet asked again, saying: "Then I answered and said to him, What are the meaning of those two olive trees on the right side of the candlestick and on the left side of it? A second time," he said, "I began to speak, and said to him, What is the meaning of the two olive branches, which pour out gold through two golden tubes? And he said to me, Do you not know what these are? I answered, I do not know, my lord. And he said, These are two anointed with oil, standing before the Lord of all the earth" (Zech. 4:11-14).

P. What need was there for the blessed prophet to ask again? For "For the second time," he says, "I began to speak."

K. Do you not think, Palladius, wise for those who have decided to think quite rightly, to make precise and deliberate questions about anything necessary?

P. I think so.

K. So, looking at the olive branches, which are adorned with a delicate and barely blossoming sprout, the prophet called them olives, and not branches of olives. After this, the divine Angel was silent, waiting for a more prudent and true question; but when the awakened prophet had already named the two olive branches and insistently asked to be taught what this symbol was, he was immediately taught by the words of the Angel: "These are the two sons of fatness, who stand before the Lord of all the earth." And the two sons of fatness were called the people who came from Israel and from the Gentiles, of whom he also says that they "stand before the Lord of all the earth," clearly and evidently placing in the image of Christ the arrangement of a lamp, in which olive branches, placed to the right and to the left, and as it were in a circle, are fattened with oil, and this oil is an image of the Holy Spirit, watering the minds of believers, according to what is written: "anointed my head with oil" (Psalm 22:5).

P. But why did he call them not olives, but olive branches?

K. Because, my friend, believers, like thin shoots and barely blossoming branches from olive trees, are taken down and transplanted, as it were, by faith in godliness, some taken from the synagogue of the Jews, and others from the crowd of the Gentiles: for not all who are of Israel have believed, and not all the multitude of the Gentiles have entered into the Church. Thus the olive branches are those which, as it were from the trees, are separated from the multitude of the Jews, as well as of the Hellenes, and are brought to the light of God, and are already in some way abundant in the most abundant outpouring of the Holy Spirit: for this, I think, means that in the nostrils (tongs) of the lamps lie olive branches, of which the blessed Psalmist also mentioned somewhere, singing the song of all to the Saviour Christ, and speaking of the bride betrothed to Him, that is, the Church, and of her children in the faith: "Thy wife is like a fruitful vine in thy house; thy sons are like olive branches round about thy table" (Psalm 127:3-4): for we are quickened by the communion of the Spirit and the holy table of Christ, having received faith in Him.