THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

Revelation

Message Two
The Lord’s Need for the Overcomers

Scripture Reading: Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21; 12:11; 6:9-11; 12:5; 14:1-5; 15:2-4; 19:7-9

I. The Christian life plus the church life is altogether an overcoming life—1 John 5:4-5; Rev. 21:7; 12:11:

A. Overcoming as portrayed in Song of Songs—1:2-4; 2:8-9; 4:8:

1. The lover of Christ overcomes the world by being attracted by Christ—1:2-4.

2. The lover of Christ overcomes the self by being one with the cross of Christ—2:8-9, 14.

3. The lover of Christ overcomes the old creation by living in ascension—4:8.

4. The lover of Christ overcomes the flesh, the natural man, the old man, by living within the veil—6:4a.

B. Overcoming as presented in 1 John—5:4-5; 2:13-14; 4:3-4:

1. The believers overcome the world through faith in the Son of God—5:4-5.

2. The strong believers overcome the evil one by being nourished, strengthened, and sustained by the word of God—2:13-14.

3. The believers overcome the antichrists through the indwelling Christ—4:3-4.

C. Overcoming as unveiled in Revelation—21:7; 2:7, 11, 17; 3:5, 12:

1. The overcoming in 21:7 qualifies all believers for participation in the New Jerusalem with all its enjoyment as a common portion of God’s eternal salvation.

2. The overcoming in chapters two and three qualifies the overcoming believers for participation in the enjoyment of the millennial kingdom as a particular reward in God’s dispensational administration—2:7, 11, 17, 3:5, 12.

II. The book of Revelation is a book on the overcomers—1:3; 22:18-19; 12:11:

A. Although Revelation is a book on prophecy, the central purpose of this book is concerned not with prophecy but with the overcomers—1:3; 22:18-19; 12:11.

B. Revelation shows us the overcomers in five categories—6:9-11; 12:5; 14:1-5; 15:2-4; 19:7-9:

1. The first category consists of the martyrs of the Old Testament and the New Testament up to the time before the great tribulation— 6:9-11.

2. The second category is the man-child caught up to God and to His throne—12:5.

3. The third category is the firstfruits—14:1-5.

4. The fourth category is composed of those standing on the glassy sea, the overcomers who are killed under the persecution of Antichrist— 15:2-4.

5. These four categories constitute the fifth category—the prepared bride—19:7-9.

C. The New Jerusalem is the totality of the overcomers—2:7; 3:12; 21:7:

1. The overcomers will be the New Jerusalem in the coming age, the age of the millennial kingdom, as the precursor of the New Jerusalem— 2:7; 3:12.

2. In the New Jerusalem in eternity, all the believers will be overcomers—21:7.

D. In the book of Revelation what the Lord wants and what the Lord will build up is Zion, the overcomers—14:1.

III. The Lord needs the overcomers to conquer the destructive satanic chaos and to triumph in the unique constructive divine economy—1 Tim. 1:4; Rev. 12:4:

A. Alongside God’s economy, there has been the satanic chaos, which has resulted in three accumulations: Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism—a threefold chaos—2:9; 3:9; 2:20; 3:1-2:

1. In the eyes of the Lord, these three “isms” are more evil than sin, the world, and the self—2:9; 3:9; 2:20; 3:1-2.

2. The overcomers conquer everything of Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism—2:14-15, 20, 24; 3:1-2, 9.

B. The Lord needs the overcomers to carry out the divine economy to have the Body and to destroy His enemy—1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:10; 3:9; Rev. 12:11:

1. The overcomers are for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem— Eph. 4:16; Rev. 21:2, 10.

2. The overcomers see the Body, know the Body, care for the Body, and honor the Body—Rom. 12:4-5; 1 Cor. 12:12, 18, 24b-27.

3. The overcomers care for God’s interests above everything, including their necessities—Matt. 6:33; Col. 1:24.

IV. In Revelation 2 and 3 the Lord has a sevenfold calling for overcomers—2:4-6, 10, 12-15, 20, 24, 3:1, 11, 15-20:

A. In the epistle to the church in Ephesus, to overcome is to recover the first love toward the Lord and to hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans—2:4-6.

B. In the epistle to the church in Smyrna, to overcome is to overcome persecution by being faithful unto death—v. 10.

C. In the epistle to Pergamos, to overcome is to overcome the church’s union with the world, the teaching of idolatry and fornication, and the teaching of hierarchy—vv. 12-15.

D. In the epistle to Thyatira, to overcome is to overcome Roman Catholicism—vv. 20, 24.

E. In the epistle to Sardis, to overcome is to overcome dead Protestantism—3:1.

F. In the epistle to Philadelphia, to overcome is to hold fast what we have in the recovered church—v. 11.

G. In the epistle to Laodicea, to overcome is to overcome the lukewarmness and pride of the degraded recovered church, to pay the price to buy the needed items, and to open the door so that the Lord can come in—vv. 15-20.

V. The overcomers are produced through the intensification of God’s organic salvation by the sevenfold intensified Spirit, that is, by Christ in the stage of His intensification—1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6.

 

Ministry Excerpts:

THE LORD NEEDING A GROUP OF PEOPLE,
THE OVERCOMERS, TO BE ONE WITH HIM

In this chapter we want to see a particular group of persons—the overcomers. The Bible is a book concerning God with man. In between God and man there is a third party, Satan. Satan always makes trouble, and all the trouble is the chaos. The Lord needs a group of people, the overcomers, who will be one with Him to conquer all the destructive chaos and triumph in His unique constructive economy.

The book of Revelation shows us that without the overcomers Christ has no way to come back. We know that Christ is our way (John 14:6a). But from deep within His heart, Christ would tell us that the overcomers are His way. Without Christ we do not have a way, but today without the overcomers Christ has no way. The overcomers are the very way for Christ to come back. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation”, msg. 3)

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE PLUS THE CHURCH LIFE
BEING ALTOGETHER AN OVERCOMING LIFE

The Christian life plus the church life is altogether an overcoming life. This matter of overcoming began with our believing in the Lord. Our believing in the Lord was a strong step of overcoming. The entire universe is against people believing in the Lord. Therefore, to believe in the Lord is real overcoming, a real victory.

Overcoming the World through Faith in the Son of God

The overcomers in the church have overcome the world through faith in the Son of God. First John 5:4 and 5 say, “Because everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory which overcame the world—our faith. And who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” The Greek word for “world” in these verses is kosmos. Here it denotes not the earth but an ordered system set up by Satan, the adversary of God. God created man to live on the earth for the fulfillment of His purpose. But His enemy, Satan, in order to usurp the God-created man, has formed an anti-God world system on earth by systematizing men with religion, culture, education, industry, commerce, and entertainment through men’s fallen nature in their lusts, pleasures, pursuits, and even in their indulgence in living necessities, such as food, clothing, housing, and transportation. The whole of such a satanic system, which includes all persons, matters, and things, lies in the evil one (1 John 5:19). This system is altogether against God’s economy, and it opposes the believers in their following of Christ in an absolute way. Therefore, we need to overcome the world.

First John 5:4 tells us that “everything that has been begotten of God overcomes the world.” The word “everything” refers to every person who has been begotten of God. Yet such an expression should refer especially to the part that has been regenerated with the divine life, that is, the spirit of the regenerated person (John 3:6). The regenerated spirit of the believer does not practice sin (1 John 3:9), and it overcomes the world. The believer’s divine birth with the divine life is the basic factor of such a victorious living.

We have seen that “everything” in 5:4 points to the human spirit. To say that everything begotten of God overcomes the world actually means that it is the regenerated human spirit that overcomes the world. Regarding overcoming the world, we should not trust in our own ability or effort. On the contrary, we need to trust our regenerated spirit. In ourselves we cannot overcome the world. However, our regenerated spirit is well able to overcome the world, the evil satanic system. When we exercise our spirit, stay in our spirit, and walk by our spirit, we shall see that our spirit has the life ability to overcome all negative things. This is why we need to exercise our spirit to have fellowship with the Lord and pray concerning the enjoyment of the Lord. We also need to exercise our spirit to call on the Lord’s name and to pray-read the Word. This exercise stirs up the ability in our spirit to overcome the world.

It is the divine life in our spirit that has the ability to overcome the world. The divine life in our spirit can overcome the temptations that surround us. We all need to see that our spirit is mingled with the divine life and is the organ that can overcome the world.

First John 5:4b says, “This is the victory which overcame the world—our faith.” This is the faith that believes that Jesus is the Son of God (5:5) that we may be begotten of God and have the divine life, by which we are enabled to overcome the Satan-organized-and-usurped world.

Actually, our trust should not be in our faith itself. The faith by itself does not overcome the world. Our faith brings us into an organic union with the processed Triune God, and it is this organic union, not the faith directly, that overcomes the world. By believing in the Lord Jesus, we are brought into an organic union with the Triune God. This union, produced by faith, then overcomes the world.

First John 5:5 goes on to say, “And who is he who overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Such a believer is one who has been begotten of God and has received the divine life (John 1:12-13; 3:16). The divine life empowers him to overcome the evil world energized by Satan. Such believers are in contrast to those who remain the pitiful victims of the evil satanic system. Our believing that Jesus is the Son of God brings us into an organic union with the Son, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. It is this organic union with the Triune God in the Son that overcomes the world.

Overcoming the Evil One

First John 2:13 and 14 speak of the overcoming of the evil one. “I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, young children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” The Greek word translated “evil one” is poneros. This word differs from kakos, which refers to an essentially worthless and wicked character; it also differs from sapros, which indicates worthlessness and corruption, degeneracy from original virtue. The word poneros denotes one who is pernicious, harmfully evil, affecting and influencing others to be evil and vicious. Such an evil one is Satan, the Devil, in whom the whole world lies.

According to 1 John 2:13 and 14, the believers who are “young men” overcome the evil one. These are the believers who have grown up in the divine life. One characteristic of these grown-up and strong believers is that they overcome the evil one. This is possible because the young men are nourished, strengthened, and sustained by the word of God which abides in them and operates in them against the Devil, the world, and its lusts. Overcoming the evil one is a strong evidence that a believer has grown to be a young man.

Concerning the young men, in 2:14 John says not only that they have overcome the evil one, but also that they are strong and that the word of God abides in them. The word ending with “abides in you” strengthens the word “you have overcome,” which was written in the previous verse to the young men. Many in the church life are strong young men who have overcome the evil one and who have the word of God abiding in them. Through the word of God that abides in them, they are strengthened, nourished, sustained, and invigorated.

By overcoming the world the believers also overcome the evil one, Satan, who has formed the satanic world system and who is now instigating the world to rise up against the followers of the Lord Jesus.

Overcoming the Antichrists through the Indwelling Christ

First John 4:3 and 4 say, “Every spirit which does not confess Jesus, is not out of God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world. You are out of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” These verses indicate that the overcomers in the church have also overcome the antichrists through the indwelling Christ. There are many antichrists. Among the antichrists, the strongest and greatest one will be the Antichrist, who will rise up during the last years of the church age. But before his coming, there will be many antichrists, such as the Modernists, who deny the deity of Christ. Whoever brings in something as a factor and element of the degradation of the church is an antichrist. We must overcome the antichrists, not participating in their teachings, practices, or activities.

According to 1 John 4:3, the spirit which does not confess Jesus is not out of God, but is the spirit of antichrist. This is the spirit of a false prophet actuated by the spirit of deception, the spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.

In 4:4 John continues, “You are out of God, little children, and you have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” The believers are “out of God” because they have been begotten of God (1 John 4:7; 2:29; 3:9). Those who are overcome are the false prophets (4:1), the antichrists, those who teach heresy concerning Christ’s person. The believers have overcome them by abiding in the truth concerning Christ’s deity and concerning His humanity through divine conception, according to the teaching of the divine anointing (2:27).

In 4:4 John tells the believers that He who is in them is greater than he who is in the world. The One in the believers is the Triune God who dwells in the believers as the all-inclusive, life-giving, anointing Spirit, and who strengthens them from within with all the rich elements of the Triune God (Eph. 3:16-19). Such a One is much greater and stronger than Satan, the evil spirit.

The words “he who is in the world” in 1 John 4:4 refer to Satan, the fallen angel. Satan as the evil spirit usurps fallen mankind and operates in evil persons, who are the components of his world system. Such a one is less than the Triune God and weaker than He is. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 226)

REVELATION BEING A BOOK ON THE OVERCOMERS
WHO CONSUMMATE GOD’S ECONOMY

No Way for God to Accomplish His Economy without the Overcomers

Christ’s coming is actually a long process. This coming was initiated with His first coming and will be consummated at His second coming. In between these two comings is the process of His coming. He is still on the way of His coming, and this way is the church, His Body, as represented by the overcomers. His second coming will be consummated through the overcomers. His Body in this age is partly overcoming and partly defeated. The defeated part is always under the satanic chaos. That part cannot be the process of Christ’s coming. The overcoming part is the process of His coming. Revelation is a book on the overcomers who consummate God’s economy. Without the overcomers, there is no way for God to accomplish His economy.

The title of this book is The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation. The new creation came into being through the divine economy, and the divine economy will be consummated by the overcomers. The overcoming martyrs who are under the altar began with Abel, the first martyr. Eventually, it will take God, beginning from the time of Adam, at least six thousand years to gain His bride, who is the aggregate of all the overcomers. The bride is the New Jerusalem, the Paradise of God, in the thousand-year kingdom. In those thousand years God will discipline all those who have believed in the Lord Jesus but have been defeated and are not matured. Through this discipline for one thousand years, all of them will become mature, and they will be ready to become the constituents of the New Jerusalem in eternity.

Being Matured to Become the New Jerusalem

In the thousand-year kingdom the New Jerusalem is in the heavens, but after all of God’s redeemed people become matured to be a part of the New Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven from God to the earth (Rev. 21:2). This indicates that our dwelling place for eternity will not be heaven but the New Jerusalem on the new earth. That will be the consummated and enlarged New Jerusalem as the wife of the Lamb for eternity. We all need to see that we need to be matured to become the New Jerusalem. If we are not matured in this age, God has a way to make us mature in the next age, but that way to be matured is the hard way.

It is correct to say that Revelation is a book on prophecy, but that is not the central purpose of this book. The central purpose of the book of Revelation is concerning the overcomers. God did not accomplish His economy with the race of Adam, with the race of Abraham according to the flesh, or with the race of Abraham according to the Spirit. But out of these three races, God gained some overcomers. Hebrews 11 lists a number of these overcomers from the Adamic race and from the Abrahamic race according to the flesh. From among the race of Adam and from the earthly descendants of Abraham, God did gain some overcomers such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, etc. I hope that we also will be counted among the overcomers.

Running the Race and Finishing the Course So That
We Can Be Counted Among the Overcomers

The churches in the Lord’s recovery, however, should not be reckoned as churches of overcomers. We should not think that everyone who is in the churches in the recovery is an overcomer. But our being in the churches in the recovery will strengthen us and help us to be matured to be an overcomer. The recovery is the Lord’s way to help us to be the overcomers.

We have to run the race and finish the course so that we can be counted among the overcomers. Paul did not have the assurance that he had finished the course until right before his martyrdom. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8 Paul says, “I am already being poured out, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight; I have finished the course; I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness.” At that time Paul anticipated his reward in the coming kingdom. In order to be the overcomers, we must conquer all the destructive chaos and triumph in the unique constructive economy.

THE FIVE GROUPS OF OVERCOMERS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION

We have seen that the first sixty-five books of the Bible are on the Adamic race, the Abrahamic race physically, and the Abrahamic race spiritually. In all the ages these races suffered a defeat. God could not get through with them to finish His eternal economy. Thus, in the sixty-sixth book, the last book of the Bible, the Lord calls overcomers. It is the final race, the race of overcomers, who will accomplish and consummate God’s eternal economy.

The Martyrs of the Old Testament and of the New Testament
up to the Time Before the Great Tribulation

Revelation shows us the overcomers in five groups. The first group is in Revelation 6:9-11 where we see the martyrs who are under the altar. They are underneath the earth in Paradise, crying out, at the fifth seal near the end of this age, for the Lord to avenge them. They are both the martyrs of the Old Testament, such as Abel, the first martyr (Gen. 4:2-8), Isaiah, Jeremiah, and others (Matt. 23:34-36), and the martyrs of the New Testament up to the time before the great tribulation.

The Man-Child

The second group of overcomers is the man-child in Revelation 12:5. The man-child born of the universal woman is composed of the overcoming saints who have died and been resurrected before the three and a half years of the great tribulation (vv. 6, 14). These who constitute the man-child should include those martyrs who cried to the Lord at the fifth seal. They do not love their soul-life even unto death (v. 11). Unto death indicates martyrdom.

The Firstfruits

The third group of overcomers is the hundred and forty-four thousand living overcomers, the firstfruits, in Revelation 14:1-5. The living overcomers will be raptured to the heavenly Mount Zion before the great tribulation.

Those Who Are Standing on the Glassy Sea

Those who are standing on the glassy sea in Revelation 15:2-4 are the fourth group of overcomers. These overcomers are the martyrs who will be killed in the time of the great tribulation under the persecution of Antichrist and will be resurrected and raptured before the close of the great tribulation.

The Prepared Bride

These four groups of overcomers constitute the fifth group, which is the prepared bride in Revelation 19:7-9. The bride is a composition of all the overcomers, who, except those who will stand on the glassy sea, will be raptured to the third heaven before the three and a half years of the great tribulation. The man-child will be raptured to the throne of God in the third heaven (Rev. 12:5), and the hundred and forty-four thousand living overcomers will be raptured to stand on heavenly Mount Zion in the third heaven (14:1). Then the Lord Jesus will come down with them to the air near the end of the great tribulation. In the air the Lord will rapture the majority of the saints (14:14-16), and all the believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10). The mature believers will be the Lord’s bride for His wedding. The immature ones will enter into a place for discipline, which the Bible refers to as outer darkness (Matt. 25:30). Through this discipline they will be matured. While they are in outer darkness, the Lord will have the marriage feast with His overcoming believers.

The marriage dinner of the Lamb as the wedding feast will be a reward to the overcoming believers. After the marriage dinner, Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride as His army to fight against and defeat Antichrist and the kings under him with their armies at Armageddon (Rev. 19:11-21). Satan will then be bound and cast into the abyss for a thousand years (20:1-3). The defeat of Antichrist will end human government on earth, and Christ with His overcomers as co-kings will reign in His kingdom to rule over all the nations on earth for one thousand years (vv. 4-6). After these thousand years are completed, the old heaven and old earth will pass away and be renewed to become the new heaven and new earth. The New Jerusalem, composed of all of God’s chosen and redeemed people throughout all generations, will then come down out of heaven to the new earth (21:2).

TRIUMPHING IN THE UNIQUE CONSTRUCTIVE ECONOMY

Suffering the Chaos and Being Not Disappointed or Discouraged

The overcomers are those who suffer the chaos, but they are not disappointed or discouraged. Instead, they are strengthened and enabled to stand for and live out the divine economy. The satanic chaos is still going on around us in Christendom. Even within the Lord’s recovery, we have experienced this chaos. Beginning in 1987 some among us rebelled against the recovery. Because of this rebellion there are some divisions existing in the United States. All of us have to conquer this destructive chaos. If we are enabled by the Lord to conquer all the destructive chaos, we will triumphantly enter into the kingdom. We will be those who triumph in the unique constructive economy.

Romans 16:17 says that we need to mark those who make divisions and turn away from them. To turn away from those who make divisions is to conquer the destructive chaos. This preserves the oneness of the Body of Christ that we may have a normal church life. Those who make divisions like to contact the saints, and this contact causes the saints to be stumbled and leave the church life. If we open to these ones to listen to their divisive talk, we might be poisoned. This poison will cause us to doubt about the recovery and will weaken our morale for the recovery. We will be cold about attending the church meetings and about reading the Recovery Version with the Life-study messages. If we contact and open to these dissenting ones, we will be cooled down. At the very least, they will make us lukewarm. In the Life-study of 2 Timothy we pointed out that the subject of this book is the inoculation against the decline of the church. We need such an inoculation to preserve us against the germs of the satanic chaos of rebellion and division. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation”, msg. 3)

Being an Overcomer to Conquer Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism

My burden in this chapter is to show us how to conquer the satanic chaos and what to conquer. We may feel that as Christians, we should conquer sin, the world, our flesh, and our self. But Revelation 2 and 3 show that the Lord wants us to conquer three things: Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. The Lord referred to those in Judaism as being of the synagogue of Satan. If anything of Judaism is still lingering in us, we will be defeated. We must conquer anything Judaistic.

We have to be the overcomers who conquer everything of Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. In the eyes of the Lord, these three “isms” are more evil than sin, than the world, and than our self. Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism should be the first category of things that you and I have to conquer. It is worthwhile to study the outline at the beginning of chapter 3, which is concerning the overcomers spoken of in the epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. The Lord charges us in these epistles to conquer, to overcome, Judaism, Catholicism, and Protestantism. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 3, “The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation”, msg. 4)

BEING OVERCOMERS IN THE CHURCH

The believers may also be overcomers in the church. In the seven epistles to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 the Lord Jesus charges the saints to be overcomers (2:7b, 11b, 17b, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21). To overcome in these chapters does not mean to overcome sin, the world, the flesh, the self, and even Satan. Rather, according to the context of these chapters, to overcome is to overcome the degradation of the church.

To overcome in the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 is to overcome the degraded situation of the churches. The reason we need to be overcomers is that the church has become degraded. Today degradation is prevailing, and we need to overcome it.

Recovering Our First Love Toward the Lord and Hating the Works of the Nicolaitans

In Revelation 2:7b the Lord says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” In this epistle, addressed to the church in Ephesus, to overcome means to recover our first love toward the Lord (v. 4) and to hate the works of the Nicolaitans (v. 6), the hierarchy which the Lord hates.

Overcoming Persecution by Being Faithful unto Death

In 2:11b the Lord says to the church in Smyrna, “He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death.” To overcome in this epistle means to overcome persecution by being faithful unto death.

Overcoming the Church’s Union with the World, the Teaching of Idolatry and Fornication, and the Teaching of the Hierarchy

In 2:17b the Lord says to those in Pergamos, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows but he who receives it.” To overcome here means specifically to overcome the church’s union with the world, the teaching of idolatry and fornication (v. 14), and the teaching of the hierarchy (v. 15).

Overcoming Catholicism, the Apostate Roman Catholic Church

In 2:26-28 we have the Lord’s word to the church in Thyatira: “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.” Whereas Pergamos signifies the worldly church, Thyatira prefigures the apostate Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, to overcome in the epistle to the church in Thyatira is to overcome Catholicism, to overcome the apostate Roman Catholic Church.

Overcoming Dead Protestantism

In 3:5 the Lord says to the church in Sardis, “He who overcomes, he shall be clothed in white garments, and I will by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” As a sign, the church in Sardis prefigures the protestant church from the time of the Reformation to the second coming of Christ. The reformed protestant church has been considered by many to be living, but the Lord says that she is dead (v. 1). To overcome in this epistle means to overcome the deadness of the protestant churches, that is, to overcome dead Protestantism.

Holding Fast What We Have in the Recovered Church

In 3:12 the Lord says to the church in Philadelphia, the recovered church, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.” The recovered church has already gained the crown (v. 11). However, if those in the recovered church do not hold fast what they have in the Lord’s recovery until the Lord comes back, their crown may be taken away by someone. Therefore, to overcome here means to hold fast what we have in the recovered church.

Overcoming the Lukewarmness and Pride of the Degraded Recovered Church, Buying the Needed Items and Opening the Door for the Lord to Come in

Finally, in the last of the seven epistles, the epistle to the church in Laodicea, which prefigures the degraded recovered church, the Lord says, “He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (3:21). In this epistle to overcome means to overcome the lukewarmness and pride of the degraded recovered church (vv. 16-17), to buy the needed items—gold refined by fire, white garments, and eyesalve (v. 18)—and to open the door for the Lord to come in (v. 20).

OVERCOMING THE DEGRADATION OF THE CHURCH
BY THE SEVENFOLD INTENSIFIED SPIRIT OF GOD

The believers may overcome the degradation of the church by the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God. Revelation 1:4 speaks of “the seven Spirits who are before His throne,” and 3:1, of “the seven Spirits of God.” The seven Spirits are undoubtedly the Spirit of God, because they are ranked asmong the Triune God in Revelation 1:4 and 5. As seven is the number of completion in God’s operation, so the seven Spirits—the sevenfold intensified Spirit—must be for God’s move on earth. In substance and existence God’s Spirit is one; in the intensified function and work of God’s operation God’s Spirit is sevenfold. At the time the book of Revelation was written, the church had become degraded. Therefore, the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God was needed for God’s move and work.

In 1:4 and 5 the seven Spirits of God are listed in the second place instead of the third. This reveals the importance of the intensified function of the sevenfold Spirit of God. This point is confirmed by the repeated emphasis on the Spirit’s speaking (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17). At the opening of the other Epistles, only the Father and the Son are mentioned, from whom grace and peace are given to the receivers. However, in Revelation 1:4 and 5 the Spirit also is included, from whom grace and peace are imparted to the churches. This further signifies the crucial need of the sevenfold intensified Spirit for God’s move to counteract the degradation of the church. If we would be overcomers in the church, we need the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 163)