THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The All-inclusive Christ
Message Ten—Experiencing, Enjoying, and Ministering Christ
in the Stage of Intensification
Scriptures Reading: Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 2:7, 17; 3:20; 1:2, 9; 19:10
I. The seven lamps of the golden lampstand are the seven Spirits as the seven lamps of fire burning before God’s throne; this signifies that the seven lamps are absolutely related to God’s administration, economy, and move from His throne to execute His eternal policy—Rev. 1:4; 4:5:
A. In order to know God’s administration and economy, we must have the light of the golden lampstand from the seven shining and illumining lamps:
1. Natural light cannot help us to know God’s economy, administration, and eternal purpose; the light of the lampstand is the light in the Holy Place, which typifies the church—Matt. 5:14; 1 Cor. 1:2; Rev. 21:23, 25; 22:5.
2. Once we enter into the realm of the church, we are enlightened to know God’s eternal purpose, and we also know the path that we should take for the journey before us toward God’s goal—Psa. 73:16-17.
B. The light of the lampstand is based on the strength of the priests’ service:
1. In 1 Samuel the lamp of God was about to go out because Eli the priest was weak and degraded—3:3.
2. The light in the local church cannot be bright unless we fulfill our priestly duty to burn the incense and light the lamps—Exo. 25:37; 27:20-21; 30:7-8; Acts 6:4; 1 Cor. 14:24-25.
II. The seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the redeeming Lamb and of the building stone—Rev. 4:5; 5:6; Zech. 3:9:
A. The seven eyes are for transfusing all that Christ is as the redeeming Lamb in His judicial redemption and as the building stone in His organic salvation into our being so that we may be saved in His life to become exactly the same as He is for God’s building, God’s expression—v. 9; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; Rom. 5:10:
1. The seven Spirits as the seven eyes of the Lamb transfuse all that the Lamb is into our being so that we may be the same as He is—1 John 3:1.
2. Christ’s eyes are upon us so that we may be transformed and conformed into His image for God’s building—Zech. 3:9; Rom. 12:2; 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18.
3. The church is the place where the Lord transfuses His inner being into us for our transformation; transformation is the transfusing of the Lord’s lovable person into us—3:16-18; Rom. 12:2.
B. God guides us with His eyes—2 Chron. 16:9; Psa. 32:8; Prov. 15:3; 2 Cor. 2:10.
1. Our cooperation with God to complete His move depends upon our being intensified for His move—Rev. 3:1; 4:5; 5:6.
2. We all need to pray, “Dear divine Flame, come! Come and judge! Come and purify! Come and refine that You may produce the golden lampstand” (God’s New Testament Economy, p. 241).
III. Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit is working to produce the overcomers by bringing them out of the degradation of the church back to the enjoyment of Himself for the finalization of God’s New Testament economy—Rev. 1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; 2:7, 17; 3:20:
A. The overcomers love the Lord with the first love—2:4; Col. 1:18b.
B. The overcomers enjoy eating Christ as the tree of life in the church as today’s Paradise to be a shining lampstand—Rev. 2:7; cf. v. 5.
C. The overcomers are faithful unto death in suffering poverty and trial for the crown of life—vv. 9-10.
D. The overcomers enjoy Christ as the hidden manna, a special portion of the nourishing supply, to overcome the worldliness of the degraded church with the idolatrous teaching of Balaam and the hierarchical teaching of the Nicolaitans—vv. 12-17a.
E. The overcomers are transformed to be a “white stone,” justified and approved by the Lord, for the building up of the house of God, with a “new name” according to the transformation in life—v. 17b.
F. The overcomers stand strongly against the Romish teaching of Jezebel, which is full of fornication, idolatry, and the deep things of Satan—vv. 20, 24.
G. The overcomers flee spiritual death, being living in reality with nothing dying in imperfection, and they walk in “white garments” without any defilement, that their name would not be erased out of the book of life but confessed by the Lord before His Father and His Father’s angels—3:1-2, 4-5.
H. The overcomers keep the Lord’s word of endurance and do not deny the Lord’s name unto the last bit of their power, that they may be kept out of the hour of trial, which is coming to try all those who dwell on the earth, and that they may receive the crown of reward to be pillars in the temple of God with the name of God, the name of the city of God, the New Jerusalem, and Christ’s new name written upon them—vv. 8b, 10-12.
I. The overcomers are hot, instead of being lukewarm, to buy gold refined by fire, white garments, and eyesalve so that they may not be spewed out of the Lord’s mouth but may be invited to dine with the Lord and to sit with Him on His throne—vv. 15-21.
IV. The overcomers enjoy the sevenfold intensified Spirit to become the testimony of Jesus—1:2, 9; 19:10:
A. The testimony of Jesus is the seven golden lampstands as the shining churches—divine in nature, shining in darkness, and identical with one another—1:11-20.
B. The testimony of Jesus is the great multitude serving God in the heavenly temple, the whole Body of God’s redeemed, who have been raptured to the heavens to enjoy God’s care and the Lamb’s shepherding—7:9-17.
C. The testimony of Jesus is the bright woman, representing the whole Body of God’s redeemed, with her man-child, representing the overcomers as the stronger part of God’s people—12:1-17.
D. The testimony of Jesus is the firstfruits, signifying the overcomers raptured before the great tribulation, and the harvest, signifying the majority of the believers raptured at the end of the great tribulation—14:1-5, 14-16.
E. The testimony of Jesus is the victorious ones standing on the glassy sea, signifying the late overcomers who will pass through the great tribulation and overcome Antichrist and the worshipping of Antichrist—15:2-4.
F. The testimony of Jesus is the bride ready for marriage, consisting of the overcoming saints during the millennium—19:7-9.
G. The testimony of Jesus is the bridal army to fight in oneness with Christ, the embodiment of God, and to defeat Antichrist, the embodiment of Satan, with his armies—vv. 14-19; 17:14.
H. Ultimately, the testimony of Jesus is the New Jerusalem, the great universal, divine-human incorporation of the processed and consummated Triune God with His regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite people (21:2-3, 22; cf. Exo. 38:21) and the unique lampstand as the consummation of all the lampstands for the consummate expression of God (Rev. 21:18, 23; 22:5).
Ministry Excerpts:
THE BOOK OF REVELATION UNFOLDING THE CHURCH
IN A VERY PARTICULAR WAY
The book of Revelation firstly reveals Christ, and secondly the testimony of Jesus. In other words, this book is concerned with Christ and the church. In Revelation, Christ and the church are revealed in a unique and particular way. In the last message we pointed out that many aspects of Christ which are not found in other books in the Bible are unveiled in Revelation. The same is true with the church. The book of Revelation unfolds the church in a very particular way.
THE LAMPSTANDS
Firstly, in Revelation the churches are unveiled as being the lampstands (1:11-20). In no other New Testament book is this term used with respect to the church. In other books we are told that the church is the gathering of God’s chosen ones, that it is the Body of Christ, and that it is the house of God. But apart from Revelation, we are not told that the church is the lampstand. As the lampstands, the churches shine in the darkness. The word lampstand enables us to understand much about the church and its function. The church is not the lamp; it is the lampstand, the stand which holds the lamp. Without the lamp, the lampstand is vain and means nothing. But the lampstand holds the shining lamp. God is in Christ and Christ as the lamp is held by the stand to shine out God’s glory. This is the testimony of the church.
Golden (Divine) in Nature
As the local churches, the lampstands are golden in nature. In typology, gold signifies divinity, the divine nature of God. All the local churches are divine in nature; they are constituted with the divine nature of God. To say this is absolutely scriptural, for the book of Revelation says that the local churches are golden lampstands (1:20). These stands are not built of clay, wood, or any inferior substance; they are constructed out of pure gold. This means that all the local churches must be divine. Without divinity, there can be no church. Although the church is composed of humanity with divinity, humanity should not be the basic nature of the local churches. The basic nature of the local churches must be divinity, God’s divine nature. By these two simple words—golden lampstands—we realize a great deal about the church: that the church is something shining with Christ and that it is constituted with the divine nature.
Shining in Darkness
The lampstands shine in the darkness. If there were no darkness, there would be no need for the shining of the light of the lamp. The shining of the lamp is quite particular. In order for the lamp to shine, it must have oil burning within it. If the oil burns within the lamp, the light will shine out through all the darkness. This is the function of the church. The function of the church is not simply to preach or to teach doctrine. In the dark night of this age, the church must shine out the very glory of God. This is the testimony of the church.
Identical with One Another
All the lampstands are identical with one another. Many Christians, having taken in a mistaken concept, desire to be different from other Christians. When I came to this country fourteen years ago, I met some dear Christians who were troubled because the local churches were all the same. They told me that they would try their best to be different. This is not right. Everyone has a head, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, and ten fingers, and every human head has seven holes: two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, and a mouth. It is ridiculous to say, “I don’t want to have the same appearance as others. In order to be different, I would like to have five holes in my head.” How ridiculous this is! Those who claim that every local church should be unique base their concept upon the differences among the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Some have said, “Look! All the seven churches are different.” In the early years, when I was very young, I was influenced by this concept and I taught the same thing. But one day the light dawned upon me and I saw that all the differences in the local churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are negative, not positive. Ephesus lost her first love—negative; Pergamos is worldly—negative; Thyatira is demonic—negative; and Laodicea became lukewarm—negative. On the positive side, however, all the local churches are identical, because they all are seven golden lampstands. If you could place all the seven lampstands on a table before you, unless you numbered or labeled them, you would be unable to tell them apart. All the seven lampstands are the same.
THE GREAT MULTITUDE
In 7:9-17 we see the testimony of Jesus as the great multitude. According to the record of chapter seven, this great multitude is the whole Body of God’s redeemed ones, having been redeemed “out of every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (7:9). All of them have passed through tribulation. This indicates that at no time nor at any place is there a church which has not passed through tribulation. The world always persecutes the churches (John 16:33). Wherever the church is, there will always be a certain amount of persecution. That the whole Body of the redeemed ones will pass through tribulation is indicated by 7:14, which says, “These are those who come out of the great tribulation.” This great multitude has come out of tribulation in a victorious way, for they all hold palm branches which signify their victory over tribulation (7:9). Eventually, in eternity, they will be overshadowed by God with His tabernacle. As 7:15 says, “He who sits upon the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them.” This is the destiny of God’s redeemed ones. How wonderful! Furthermore, they will also be shepherded by the Lamb at the springs of waters of life for eternity (7:17).
Revelation 7:9-17 does not portray a particular group of believers. Rather, it presents a general record of the whole Body of God’s redeemed ones and their state in eternity. In eternity, their state will be that of enjoying God’s overshadowing and Christ’s shepherding. This is our destiny. This portion of the Word reveals that while Christ is executing God’s judgment upon mankind, He will take care of God’s redeemed ones. All God’s redeemed ones eventually will be raptured to the throne of God and will stand there enjoying God’s overshadowing and the Lamb’s shepherding.
THE WOMAN WITH THE MAN-CHILD
The Woman
In 12:1-17 we see another symbol of the church: the woman with the man-child. The church is not only the lampstand and the great redeemed multitude; it is also the greater part of the woman with the man-child. No human mind would ever conceive of the church in this way. The woman in this chapter represents the whole Body of God’s people, and the man-child represents the stronger part of God’s people. As there is the man-child within the woman, so among God’s people there is a stronger part. This woman, who is bright with the sun, the moon, and twelve stars (12:1) and who is persecuted by Satan, the great red dragon, represents God’s people throughout all the generations. In every generation, a portion of God’s people has always been persecuted by Satan. Nevertheless, during the three and a half years of the great tribulation she will be protected by God from the attack of the serpent.
The Man-child
As we have seen, the man-child is the stronger part of the people of God. Among the people of God, even among us in the Lord’s recovery today, there is the stronger part. This stronger part will be raptured to the throne of God before the great tribulation. In other words, the woman will be left on earth to pass through the tribulation, but the stronger part, the man-child, will be raptured to the throne of God before the tribulation. Why will the man-child be raptured prior to the tribulation? Because God needs the man-child to fight Satan in the heavens and to cast him down. Although God has many angels who will fight against Satan, the final victory over the enemy will not be gained by the angels but by the man-child. God needs the man-child. God will shame Satan by using the very man Satan corrupted to defeat him. God may say, “Satan, you have corrupted the man I created. But I have got a man-child out of this corrupted man to defeat you. And he will not mainly defeat you on earth but in heaven.” The man-child will fight through and up, fighting up to the throne to cast Satan down from the heavens to the earth. This is a part of the testimony of Jesus. Although Jesus has defeated Satan on the cross, there is still the need for the church to execute His victory over the enemy. Because so many members of the Body have failed in this matter, only the stronger part of the Body, the man-child, will execute Christ’s victory over Satan. The man-child will be raptured to the heavens to accomplish this job.
THE FIRSTFRUITS AND THE HARVEST
The church is not only the lampstand shining and the man-child fighting, but also a field growing a crop which must ripen and become mature. Any crop which is still green is too tender to be harvested. But once the crop has ripened in the field, it will be harvested immediately.
The Firstfruits
That part of the crop which ripens first is called the firstfruits. The firstfruits will be raptured to Zion in the heavens before the great tribulation. As 14:4 points out, the firstfruits are those who “follow the Lamb wherever He may go.” Being the firstfruits, they are raptured to the house of God in Zion as the fresh enjoyment to God. This is for God’s satisfaction. According to the type in the Old Testament, the firstfruits of the ripened harvest were not taken to the barn but into the temple of God (Exo. 23:19). This indicates that all the early overcomers will be taken up to the house of God in heaven for God’s enjoyment. The rapture is not mainly for our enjoyment but for God’s enjoyment. The rapture is for defeating the enemy and for satisfying God. We must not only be today’s lampstands but also today’s man-child to fight against God’s enemy and today’s firstfruits to satisfy God’s desire.
The Harvest
Following the firstfruits, in chapter fourteen, we have the harvest. Verse 15 says, “Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” The harvest will be reaped near the end of the great tribulation. It will be raptured to the air where Christ will be on the cloud. Why will the harvest be left to pass through the great tribulation? Because green, unripened fields need strong sunshine in order to ripen. In a sense, the great tribulation will be the strong sunshine which will ripen all the saints who will not be ready before the tribulation. To put it simply, if today you do not give up the world and live for Christ, Christ will leave you on earth to pass through the great tribulation. At that time, you will surely give up the world and realize that the best way to live is to live for Christ. All the children of God must do this; otherwise, they could never ripen. If you do not believe my word, I ask you to wait. Perhaps you feel that the world is too lovely to give up. If so, the Lord may say, “Since you love the world so much, I will leave you with the world and let you find out whether it is really lovely.” Then the Lord will shake the world, and eventually you will say, “Lord, I repent.” That repentance, however, may be rather late. Do not wait until the great tribulation comes to repent. Repent now! Sooner or later, every real Christian must repent. I have the full assurance that eventually every saved one will realize that the world is not lovely but poisonous. The more you love the world, the more you are poisoned by it. The world is at enmity with God, and we all must despise it. Sooner or later, the Lord will cause you to realize how much He hates this world. The day will come when all of us will be ripe.
THE OVERCOMERS OVER THE BEAST
In 15:2-4 we see the overcomers over the beast. God is sovereign. Even during the time of the great tribulation, there will be some overcomers, those whom we may call the late overcomers. These overcomers will pass through the great tribulation in which the Antichrist, the beast, will compel people to worship him as God and to worship his image in the temple of God. We expect to see the rebuilding of the temple in Israel, for this will be a sign that the Lord’s coming back is very near. The Bible prophesies that Antichrist will erect his image in the temple of God and will force people to worship it (Matt. 24:15). During that time, many Christians will overcome the beast and be killed. I advise you to be an early overcomer and to love the Lord today. Do not wait to overcome by being killed during the great tribulation.
THE BRIDE
In 19:7-9 we see the church as the Bride. Ephesians 5 reveals that the church is the Bride of Christ, but it does not reveal the Bride in such an intimate way. But in Revelation 19 we see how intimate is the church as the Bride. In this portion of the Word we see that the Bride will wear bright raiment, being clothed with bright and pure righteousness, and will be invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb (vv. 7-9). This is a very intimate matter. To God’s enemy, we must be the man-child; for God’s satisfaction, we must be the firstfruits; and for Christ, we must be the Bride. When we are eager to be the Bride, Christ will receive His satisfaction. Not only will Christ be satisfied, but we ourselves will be glad.
THE ARMY
The church is also the army (19:14-19; 17:14). The part of the church which will be the man-child to fight against the enemy in the heavens will also be the army to fight with Christ against Satan on earth. After all the raptures have been completed and after the believers have been judged at the judgment seat of Christ, all the overcomers will come back to the earth with Christ as His army to fight against the Antichrist and his army. Both Christ and Antichrist will have an army. Although one army is heavenly and the other is earthly, both will fight on the earth. In 17:14 we see that Christ’s heavenly army will be composed of all the overcomers, those who have been called and chosen. Eventually, at the end of this war, Christ will defeat the Antichrist.
THE NEW JERUSALEM
Ultimately, the testimony of Jesus will be the New Jerusalem (21:1—22:5). Beginning with the lampstand and passing through the great multitude, the man-child, the firstfruits, the late overcomers, the Bride, and the army, all the saved ones will eventually be the New Jerusalem, which will be a living composition of all of God’s redeemed ones, the ultimate consummation of God’s building of His people. In and for eternity, the New Jerusalem will express God in the Lamb with the flow of the Spirit. When we come to chapters twenty-one and twenty-two, we shall see a clear picture of this ultimate consummation.（Life-study of Revelation, msg.3）