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Scripture Reading: Matt. 13:33, 45-46; Rev. 17:3-5; 19:7-8; 21:10-11, 18-19a; 22:1; 21:6; 22:17
In the New Testament, from the first book to the last, there are always two main things revealed. These two matters are clearly set before us in Matthew 13. One of them, on the one side, is the leaven taken by the woman and hidden in the meal (v. 33). We must see clearly that this leaven was not merely put into the meal but hidden in the meal. The meal is visible and apparent, but actually a corrupting, filthy, and defiling element is hidden within it. What is observed by our visible perception is the meal; it is more difficult to discern that leaven is hidden within it. You may say, “Look, is this not meal? Is this not good for food?” Yes, but listen, something corrupting, damaging, filthy, worldly, and sinful is hidden within it. May the Lord open our eyes, not just to see apparently but to see discernibly that which is hidden. The meal is indeed good for food; it is the very thing that God is after. No one has any problem with the meal. But we must see what is hidden within the meal. It is the leaven. Who put the leaven into the meal? Of course, it was not God, neither the church, but a woman. Who is the woman? The Roman Catholic Church, the great harlot and mother of all harlots, is the woman.
I am greatly concerned that, after speaking so much concerning religion and Babylon and linking these matters with the Christianity of today, you may say, “That is too much. Are there not many good works for the Lord in Christianity? Have there not been many who have gone to the mission fields and helped people know God? Have there not been many ministers who have helped others grow in Christ?” Yes, undoubtedly. But consider this parable spoken by the Lord Jesus. The Lord refers to meal, real meal. But we must see that within this meal, hidden to the natural sense, is a certain element called leaven inserted by an evil woman. In the entire Bible, both in the Old Testament and in the New, leaven is set forth as a corrupting, damaging, evil element. The meal is good; the meal is the thing that God is after. But within this God-blessed substance is something sown which is sinful, devilish, and evil. We all must see this. There is no argument.
We must certainly admit that in today’s Christianity there are many good works. We can even say the same for the Roman Catholic Church. But within these good works is a subtle element. Oh, the devilish subtlety in this matter! Something of the devil, something of Satan, something of the enemy, has been put into the meal in a subtle way. People today only see the meal; they are quite blind to the leaven.
Now we must see the second matter, the other side. In the same chapter, Matthew 13, we see the Lord as a merchant willing to pay any price for a certain article (vv. 45-46). What is it He is seeking? It is not the meal (which has been leavened). He is seeking a fine pearl. Can you leaven a pearl? Can you hide something within a pearl? Impossible. A pearl is something solid, something pure.
We all must see these two things, one on one side and one on the other. Have you seen them? Have you seen the leaven in the meal on one side, and the pearl which is so solid and pure on the other? These are two things: the leaven hidden in the meal is one, and the pearl of great value is another. With which are you standing? Are you one with the pearl, or are you one with the meal and the leaven? I do not believe that any among us would want to be so stupid as to take sides with the leavened meal. But in fact, some even of those who are reading this book are taking sides deeply within them with the leavened meal. They are arguing, or at least they are trying to argue, for the defense of this meal. They have not seen the evil nature of the corrupting leaven. Neither have they seen that the entire meal is permeated with the leaven. Opposed to the leavened meal on the other hand is something so solid and incorruptible — the pearl. It could never be damaged by the evil woman or even by her daughters. Where do we stand?
Now we go on from the first book of the New Testament to the last, from the beginning to the end. Here in the book of Revelation two females are clearly presented. One is that evil woman again. The same woman mentioned in Matthew 13 is now in Revelation 17. The one who took the leaven and hid it in the meal in Matthew 13 is the great harlot, the mother of all harlots, in Revelation 17. She is clothed in purple and scarlet and gilded with gold, precious stone, and pearls. Such an evil woman is gilded with all the materials of the New Jerusalem, yet she is filled with abominations. In outward appearance she looks like the New Jerusalem — this is her pretension. But in inward reality she is filled with all blasphemies, abominations, and unclean things. She is gilded with three categories of things — gold, precious stone, and pearls; but she is filled with another three categories of things — blasphemies, abominations, and unclean things.
In Christendom today two groups of things are put together by the enemy. On the one hand, there is the gold, the precious stone, and the pearls — these are the things which God is after. But on the other hand, there are the blasphemies, the abominations, and the unclean things — these are the things God detests. Christianity combines these two groups in a dreadful mixture. The subtle thing is this: Christendom has gilded itself with the materials of the New Jerusalem. We must see through the gilding to the inward reality. We need a discerning and transparent vision, not just to judge according to appearance but to see to the core. Apparently in Christendom there are gold, precious stone, and pearls, but actually there are blasphemies, abominations, and unclean things. These two categories are combined in one person, one woman, one evil female.
What is this? This is the leavened meal. Revelation 17 is the full development of Matthew 13. The consummation of the leavened meal is the great harlot and mother of all harlots. What is the source then of the gold, the precious stone, and the pearls? Undoubtedly, it is the meal. These are all constituents of the good substance, the meal. You may ask who the precious stones are in the Roman Catholic Church. Madame Guyon was certainly one, and there were many others. What is the source of the blasphemies, abominations, and unclean things? That, of course, is the leaven. We must all see that not only in the Bible but also today in this universe on this earth, there is such an evil female gilded with all the precious materials of God’s holy city, yet filled with all the unclean things of the unclean one, the devil. I say again, such a one, such an evil woman, is on this earth today. We all must be on the alert never to be involved with her. We may not be involved with her directly, but it is exceedingly easy to be involved with some of her daughters. Not only is this evil woman present on earth, but also her evil daughters. She has many daughters, some greater and some smaller. The bigger they are, the easier they are to discern; the smaller they are, the more easily you are fooled. You may be quite clear and resolute never to be involved with the Roman Catholic Church. You may also be clear never to join any of the denominations. But be careful: you may easily become involved with one of the little daughters of that great harlot. You may flirt with and eventually marry not the eldest daughter but the youngest.
But on the other side, in Revelation 19 and 21, we have another woman, the bride, the wife of the Lamb. She is clothed in fine linen, bright and clean. There is nothing mixed about her. In chapter 21 we see that this holy female, the bride, is the holy city, the New Jerusalem. That city is built up and constituted (not gilded) of gold, precious stone, and pearls. The city proper is pure gold, like clear glass. There is no mixture, and there is nothing hidden. Apparently and actually, outwardly and inwardly, in any way and in every way, it is gold. The city is pure gold, and the wall is built first with jasper, which signifies the appearance of God (4:3), and then with every precious stone. As for the gates, every gate is a pearl in itself. How marvelous! This is not a gilded article but one which has been transformed from center to circumference. This is exactly what it is — it is gold, it is precious stone, and it is pearl. Revelation 17 records the full development of the leavened meal in Matthew 13, and Revelation 21 records the full development of the pearl in Matthew 13.
These are the two signs. Never think that in Babylon there is no gold, precious stone, or pearl. Not only are there many who are saved in the denominations, but there are many precious stones there. But look at the picture: If you have seen the vision, could you take sides with Babylon the Great? Could you say that since there are so many precious stones in Babylon, you should remain there? May the Lord open His Word and open your understanding. May the Lord grant you clear and transparent discernment that you may say, “Regardless of how much gold is there, and regardless of how many precious stones and pearls are there, that is still the great Babylon, the great harlot, the mother of all the harlots.” Some dear Christians are rather simple and think that as long as other Christians are in Babylon, it is all right. You may say that it is all right, but the Lord would never agree. We must take sides with that which is solid and pure. Do not be fooled; do not be deceived; do not be cheated. You must see that there are two sides in the Bible — the mixture side and the pure side, the Babylon side and the New Jerusalem side. To continue to say, “Is that not a good work? Are there not many saved ones there?” simply proves that you have never received divine discernment. If you can say that, you have never seen what our brother John saw.
In Revelation 17 John said in effect, “I was carried away in spirit into the wilderness, where I saw that subtle female, that evil woman. Oh, she is so subtle! She stole the precious materials from the New Jerusalem with which to gild herself and cheat others. She is not for those precious things; she is for the devilish blasphemies, abominations, and unclean things.” Brothers and sisters, we all must be carried away from today’s Christendom to the wilderness and look back. Look at it from a distance; look at it from God’s viewpoint. You will see that there are undoubtedly some saved ones and even some precious stones there. But you will also see that she is filled with the names of blasphemy, abominations, and uncleanness. You will become clear by being carried away in spirit to the wilderness.
But John, our brother, was also carried away in spirit onto a great and high mountain, from which he looked down and saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, not gilded, but built up with gold, pearls, and precious stones. Which side would you take? Tell me, which side would you take?
In the great Babylon there is gold, precious stone, and pearl, but there is no flow of the living water. In the New Jerusalem, however, in the city which is built of gold, precious stones, and pearls, there is a pure river of water of life flowing out of the throne of the redeeming God. The call is sent out, “Come!” Come where? Come to the great Babylon? You cannot get the water there. “Let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely” (22:17). You must come out of Babylon; you must come to the New Jerusalem to drink. If you are in a place where you sense there is no river, no flowing, but on the contrary a dry and barren land, you must be clear that you are either in the great harlot or in one of her little daughters. The first sign that you have entered a genuine local church is that you meet something flowing, something watering, something which quenches your thirst. You may discern the situation by seeing whether or not there is a flowing river. You may see the gold, the precious stones, and the pearls in Babylon, but you can never find the flow of the living water there. There is nothing there to quench your thirsty spirit. Which is Babylon, and which is the local church? Find where the river flows — that is the local church. “He said to me...I will give to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely” (21:6). This is the sign of the local churches.
Eventually and ultimately, Christ will be manifested and expressed in the New Jerusalem as everything for eternity. He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (22:13). He is everything. As the center of the holy city, He is the Lamb on the throne with God within Him as His content (v. 1). As the expression of God, He is the lamp shining forth with the glory of God, who is the light within Him (21:23). As the presence of God, He is the temple within the holy city (v. 22), in which the saints as the priests worship and serve God. As the life supply to the entire city, He is the tree of life in the flow of the river of water of life (22:2). As the ultimate manifestation of the fullness of the Godhead, He is the reality of every part of the holy city. He will be magnified there with all His riches to the uttermost as everything in the ultimate manifestation of God’s economy. There will be no more religion, no more doctrine, no more teaching, and no more regulations, forms, and rituals. There will be no more “-isms” — no more heathenism, no more paganism, no more Catholicism, no more Protestantism, no more fundamentalism, no more Pentecostalism, no more denominationalism, and no more sectarianism. Christ will be everything. All religious things will be past; everything will be purely Christ. There will be no ground for anything religious — Christ will have all the ground. Everywhere and everything will be Christ. Christ will be the center and the circumference. Christ will be the inward content and the outward expression. Christ will be all in all! Hallelujah! May Christ be such in every local church today! Amen!
