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Scripture Reading: S. S. 6:4b, 10b, 13
I. Becoming a terrible army — S. S. 6:4b, 10b:
А. Since the overcoming believers have become the sanctuary of God and the heavenly bodies, they also become a terrible army:
1. An army fights the battle for God’s kingdom in the degradation of God’s people to be the overcomers answering the Lord’s call — Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21.
2. A terrible army signifies that these overcomers of the Lord terrify God’s enemy, Satan, and become terrible in the eyes of God’s people.
B. With banners indicates that the overcomers are ready all the time to fight, and it is also a sign of victory.
II. Becoming the Shulammite — S. S. 6:13:
А. Shulammite is the feminine form of Solomon, indicating that now the overcomers have become the same as Christ:
1. The Shulammite was a country girl.
2. Now, as a counterpart of Solomon, she has become the same as Solomon in life, in nature, in expression, and in function for the carrying out of God’s economy.
B. This signifies that:
1. The overcomers were sinners.
2. Now, in the maturity of Christ’s life, they have become the same as Christ in life, in nature, in expression, and in function for the accomplishment of God’s eternal economy.
Ultimately, the lover becomes a terrible army with banners and the Shulammite (S. S. 6:4b, 10b, 13). At this point the lover of Christ has reached the stage of living not only in Christ’s ascension but also within the veil. The veil is the separation in God’s dwelling place, His sanctuary. God’s sanctuary is one, but it is separated by a veil. At one end is the Holy Place, and at the other end is the Holy of Holies where God Himself dwells in His Divine Trinity.
We know this because within the Ark in the Holy of Holies there were three items: the hidden manna, the budding rod, and the tablets of the law (Heb. 9:4). The hidden manna in the golden pot refers to God the Father as the divine source of all supply, and the budding rod signifies Christ as the resurrection. Among the three of the Divine Trinity, the second is the resurrection. Jesus said that He is the resurrection (John 11:25), the reality of the budding rod of Aaron. The tablets of the law refer to the Spirit of life as the inner law (Rom. 8:2). Thus, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are dwelling in the Holy of Holies. When we enter into the Holy of Holies, we enter into God and meet the Father as the source of supply, the Son as the resurrection, and the Spirit as the law of life.
As to Christ, the veil in the temple has been split in two, but as to us, God allows the veil to remain in order that we would be one with Him. The Holy of Holies is God Himself to be the overcomers’ dwelling place, so these two should be one. In the figure of the lover as the bed in the night at wartime, the overcomer is Christ’s resting place. Christ sleeps in that bed, so they two are one. Similarly, the lover as the palanquin and the Lord as the rider become one. In both figures Christ’s lover becomes the dwelling place for Christ. However, when we enter within the veil, God becomes our dwelling place and we become the dweller. These illustrations indicate that we are in union with the Triune God.
At this point the lover is described as being as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, and as terrible as an army with banners (S. S. 6:4). This indicates that when we become one with God to be God’s dwelling place, we are as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem in the eyes of God. However, to the enemy this lover, this overcomer, is as terrible as an army with banners. Banners indicate a readiness to fight and also mean that the victory is won. An army without banners must be a defeated army. When she becomes as beautiful as the moon and as clear as the sun, she is also as terrible as an army with banners (v. 10).
When she becomes the garden, she is nothing more than a garden, but when she becomes Tirzah and Jerusalem, something is built up to show God’s beauty and God’s loveliness. At that time God’s enemy trembles because this little country girl has become an army with banners. A terrible army signifies that these overcomers of the Lord terrify God’s enemy, Satan, and become terrible in the eyes of God’s people. An army fights the battle for God’s kingdom in the degradation of God’s people to be the overcomers answering the Lord’s call (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21).
After seeing such a high vision in Song of Songs, we may ask, “Who can be such persons?” In order to answer this we need an additional interpretation of 6:13b, which says, “Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, / As upon the dance of two camps?” By this time the Shulammite is like two camps, or armies, in the eyes of God. These two armies are dancing in celebration of their victory. The country girl eventually attained the status of the Shulammite. The name Shulammite is not mentioned in the beginning of Song of Songs. Only in 6:13 is her name mentioned in a very extraordinary way. In this verse the Shulammite is likened to two armies, or camps, dancing.
This phrase two armies in Hebrew is Mahanaim. This is not a common word; it is a historical name from the Old Testament in Genesis 32:2. Jacob decided to go back to his fathers’ land when he could no longer stay with his uncle Laban, to whom he had fled from his brother Esau. By that time he had four wives and many children, servants, flocks, and herds. However, his twin brother Esau was still alive. Jacob was returning with the fear that Esau still wanted to kill him. As he journeyed with his family, there were no strong ones with him. There were only feeble ones, women and children. Jacob was very frightened at the prospect of meeting Esau. On the way “the angels of God met him,” and Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he “called the name of that place Mahanaim” (vv. 1-2).
After he saw the two armies of God, Jacob did a marvelous thing. He divided his wives, children, and the rest of his possessions into two groups, or “two armies.” He thought that if his brother Esau attacked one group, the other group could escape being slaughtered. This is full of spiritual significance. These two groups are not just the singular army of God but “two armies.” This means that we are more than conquerors. It also signifies a strong testimony. God does not want “giants.” He wants only the feeble ones, the weaker ones, the women and children. They can become His armies because the fighting is not in their hands but in His hands. He needs a people who are one with Him, a people who are submissive to Him, signified by the plaited hair (S. S. 1:11), and obedient to Him with a flexible will, signified by the neck with strings of jewels (v. 10).
When we consider how to arrive at the high peak of the revelation in Song of Songs, we should not trust in ourselves. We may think that because the apostle Paul was strong, he could do it. But the apostle Paul himself says that he was less than the least among the saints (Eph. 3:8). He says, “Who is weak, and I am not weak?” (2 Cor. 11:29). All of us, like the seeker in Song of Songs, are country girls. We were not born in a palace but in the countryside. For the country girl to become the Shulammite was Solomon’s doing. Solomon attracted, charmed, and captivated her. In Romans 9:16 Paul says, “It is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.” We may think that we can run, but we cannot. It is Christ who can run. Paul also says, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20a).
Dear saints, when that day comes, all who are strong in themselves will be disqualified. Those who are counted as overcomers will be the weaker ones, the ones who wept with tears, saying, “Lord, I cannot make it. Thank You for releasing all these high-peak truths unveiling to us what we should be. We should be in the Holy of Holies, living within the veil. We should be in oneness with You. You are our dwelling place, and we are Your dweller. I want to attain to this, but I cannot do anything. I am just a little one, a feeble one.” Such weaker ones who depend on the Lord will be counted worthy to be the overcomers.
There being two armies indicates that the country girl was not alone. An army indicates the principle of the Body. Both Tirzah and Jerusalem are buildings, not single pieces of stone. All these spiritual principles are here. We should humble ourselves and admit that we are nothing. Instead of worrying, we should change our feeling to praise. We can say, “Praise You, Lord. What a joy that I cannot do anything! What a joy that You do everything and have done everything for me!” Right away we will have plaited hair and strings of jewels around our neck, that is, submission and obedience to the Lord. We will no longer be stiff-necked.
In Revelation 3:8 the Lord said that those in Philadelphia had “a little power.” He admired their absoluteness and faithfulness to do what they could. If we are too able and too full of capacity in doing things, we are finished. Today the Lord is waiting. He is still calling for overcomers. If we say, “Lord, I can’t overcome,” the Lord will say, “My child, whatever you cannot do, I will do for you. I resist the proud, but I give grace to the humble.” This is the principle of two armies (Mahanaim) dancing. Remember that these two armies were composed of Jacob’s wives and children. Eventually, none of them fought against Esau. It was God who fought Esau by changing his attitude. Genesis 32 is a history of Mahanaim. Today we are the reality of God’s armies (Mahanaim).
Shulammite is the feminine form of Solomon, indicating that now the overcomers have become the same as Christ. All the overcomers must be one with God and must be Christ. The Shulammite was a country girl. Now, as a counterpart of Solomon, she has become the same as Solomon in life, in nature, in expression, and in function for the carrying out of God’s economy. In these four things — life, nature, expression, and function — we become the same as God and Christ but not in Their Godhead. To say that we are the same as God in His Godhead is a great blasphemy, but if we say that we cannot be the same as God in life, nature, expression, and function, this is unbelief. The Bible tells us again and again that God wants to be one with us and to make us one with Him. This is God’s intention.
The phrases in Christ and in the Lord are used repeatedly in the New Testament. Paul says that we should rejoice always in the Lord (Phil. 4:4). In ourselves we cannot rejoice. We can only sigh all the time. But in the Lord we are able to do all things (v. 13). Surely, our God is more qualified than Solomon. He is able to make us the same as He is in His life, in His nature, in His expression, and in His function to carry out His economy. This signifies that the overcomers were sinners. Now, in the maturity of Christ’s life, they have become the same as Christ in life, in nature, in expression, and in function for the accomplishment of God’s eternal economy.
In the last two chapters of the Bible, a city is presented to us. This city is the consummation of the entire Bible. In this city we can find all the types, figures, and prophecies in the Old Testament and all the realities in the New Testament. This city is the aggregate of all the visions and revelations in God’s Word. Throughout the centuries we have not seen the adequate interpretation of the record of this city. Gradually, the Lord has shown it to us. The primary thing is that the almighty King, the almighty “Solomon,” wants to be one with His people, signified by a country girl. He does this not by coercing but by the personal and affectionate way of courting. Who could imagine that God wanted to contact His chosen people just like a man courting a lovely lady? This is how the Bible ends, with a couple in a marriage life — the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21). Hallelujah, we all are involved in this divine romance! We all are participating in this wonderful conclusion of the entire Holy Scriptures.
We need to remember that the romance in Song of Songs is in four stages. The first is the attracting and pursuing stage. The second is the stage of experiencing the cross, dealing with our “I,” with our self. The third stage is to live in the heavenlies to be God’s new creation in resurrection. The last stage is to live in the sanctuary with the veil dealt with all the time so that we may be one with the Triune God, who is our sanctuary, to have the top enjoyment in the Divine Trinity.
If we consider the progress of the seeker in Song of Songs, we might become discouraged, thinking that the final stages are too high for us to attain. We may think that the first stage is attainable. We can be attracted by Christ and pursue Him for satisfaction. But to experience the cross dealing with our self, the “I,” for the purpose of living a life with Christ and to live in the ascension to be God’s new creation in resurrection are experiences which may seem new to us. Even the terms are new. Eventually, we have to live in the sanctuary, which is God Himself. We need to live in the Triune God with the veil dealt with all the time so that we may have the top enjoyment of the very Triune God in whom we live as the hidden manna, the budding rod, and the tablets of the law.
In one session of fellowship that we had with Brother Watchman Nee before 1935, he told us that in all the stages of the spiritual life the principles are the same. At that time I was wondering what these principles were. For years I was following Brother Nee to find out the principles that govern all the stages of our spiritual life. Eventually, I discovered them. These governing principles are Christ’s death, Christ’s resurrection, Christ’s ascension, and our being heavenly, being divine (spiritual), and being a new creation.
Even at our regeneration, the first experience of the spiritual life, we can see all these principles. Regeneration is by the death of Christ to enter into His resurrection and ascension. This new birth makes us heavenly and divine to be God’s new creation. This is the initial stage. The highest stage is to live in God as the sanctuary with the veil dealt with all the time. In this highest stage we can see the death of Christ applied to the veil of the flesh, to crucify the flesh. With the death of Christ there is also His resurrection and ascension. In this consummate stage we also see the heavenlies, God’s divinity, and the new creation. The same principles that were in the initial stage of our spiritual life are also in the highest stage. Since the day we were regenerated, we had the things of the highest stage to live in God. When we were regenerated, Christ began to live in us, and we lived in Christ, in God. That living must be through the cross in resurrection and in ascension and is heavenly and divine for us to be a new creation.
It will help us to see this. Then we will never be disappointed. We can attain and obtain all the highest stages because all these stages, in principle, are ours already. In regeneration we are living in the Triune God, enjoying Him as our highest enjoyment. Right after regeneration, quite often we feel that we have to receive Christ’s cross to cross our self out. Upon being regenerated there is a call within us to be crossed out, telling us that we should no longer live in our old life. Instead, we should live in the heavens and in the Triune God as our dwelling place to enjoy Him.
We should not think that we are far away from attaining and obtaining the highest stages of the spiritual life. All these stages are attainable and obtainable. We can reach them and obtain them because actually in principle they are ours already. Whether I have reached the last stage or not, I am not too sure. But I am sure of one thing — I am in it, and it is mine in principle.
Hallelujah for regeneration! Regeneration brings the gene of God into us (see 1 John 3:9). The gene includes everything of our entire life. All the experiences of our whole Christian life are in this gene. The gene will grow out all these things. Our eyes, nose, ears, and all the organs of our physical body were in a gene, even before we were born of our mother. After our birth all these organs grow. It is the same with our spiritual life. In principle, all the spiritual high points are ours already because they are in the gene of God, which has been dispensed into us.
