Search
We have seen that the book of Revelation is a book of the sevenfold intensified Spirit, a book of the local churches, a book of Christ, a book of life, and also a book of praise. Now we must see that this book is eventually a book of victory.
Revelation 5:4-5 tells us that the apostle John wept: “I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or look into it. And one of the elders said to me, Do not weep; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so that He may open the scroll and its seven seals.” Why did John weep? It was because in the whole universe—heaven, earth, under the earth, and in the sea—there was no one worthy to open the secret of God’s economy. No one was worthy; so he wept. But one of the elders came and told him not to weep, because there was One who was worthy, and that was Christ. There is no need to weep when you have Christ. Without Christ everyone in the entire universe must weep. Without Christ the whole universe is empty, and without Christ no one is worthy. But, Hallelujah! today we have Christ! So we do not need to weep. Christ is now the Lion: He is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has prevailed, and He has won the victory. So this book is a book of victory. We do not need to weep; we have to shout! We must rejoice and praise because we have such a Christ. He is the Lion that has prevailed. He has won the victory. So we all must say, “Victory, victory, Hallelujah!”
“The seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever” (11:15). Do not believe the present situations. Everything on this earth is a lie and a falsehood. Do not believe that it is real. We must tell Satan that this is a lie. The wars in the world today are lies. The troubles in the schools are lies. All things are lies. We have seen that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord. Hallelujah! Amen!
In my travels many people have told me how disappointing the situation is in the world. But do we need to be disappointed? No! We must shout, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord!” We have seen the victory. Some victories have been won in the past, some victories are being won at the present, and some victories will be won in the future. Some are gained in the past, some are being gained now, and some will be gained in the future. But whether they were gained, are now being gained, or will be gained, it is all the same in the eyes of God. With God there is no time. Everything has come to pass. Hallelujah, it has come to pass! The Bible does not say that it will come to pass or that it must come to pass, but that it “has come to pass” (Rev. 21:6). Praise the Lord!
Then in Revelation 12:9-11 we see that the accuser, Satan, has been cast down. “The great dragon was cast down, the ancient serpent, he who is called the Devil and Satan, he who deceives the whole inhabited earth; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.” These verses do not say that Satan should be cast down, but that he has been cast down. Do you believe this? Hallelujah! It has come to pass! Then the salvation, the kingdom, the glory, and the power are the Lord’s. Verse 11 does not say that the brothers will overcome. No, they overcame. There is no need for us to overcome. This is not overcoming in the future. The brothers overcame the accuser because of the blood of the Lamb. Is the blood of the Lamb to be shed? No, the blood of the Lamb has already been shed two thousand years ago.
They overcame him because of the word of their testimony. There is no need for us to do anything but declare the word of our testimony. We can tell Satan, “Look, we have the word in Revelation 12:9-11; let us read it to you. This is the word of our testimony.” There is no need for us to strive. We must realize that Satan has already been overcome. The blood of the Lamb has been shed; the victory has been won for us already. Someday I would like to hear a young brother stand up in the meeting and say, “Satan, listen to me, read Revelation 12:9-11. If you will not read it, let me read it to you: ‘They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb.’ This is the word of my testimony.”
There is one more thing in these verses. “They loved not their soul-life even unto death.” As long as we love our soul-life, the victory is gone. But as long as we do not love our soul-life, the victory is won. We must love not the soul-life. When we lose our soul-life, Satan loses the ground. If we love not the soul-life, he loses the battle. The brothers overcame Satan by the blood, by the word of their testimony, and by loving not their soul-life. Victory, victory, Hallelujah!
“Another angel, a second one, followed, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great, who has made all the nations drink of the wine of the fury of her fornication!” (14:8). The great Babylon is fallen. We do not care for Christianity, we do not care for Christendom, we do not care for the Roman Catholic Church, and we do not care for all the denominations, because the Bible says that the great Babylon is fallen. This is a declaration. Christianity is fallen, Christendom is fallen, Catholicism is fallen, and all the denominations are fallen. Hallelujah!
“After these things I heard as it were a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah! The salvation and the glory and the power are of our God. For true and righteous are His judgments; for He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and He avenged the blood of His slaves at her hand. And a second time they said, Hallelujah! And her smoke goes up forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who sits upon the throne, saying, Amen, Hallelujah! And a voice came out from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all His slaves and those who fear Him, the small and the great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (19:1-6).
Babylon has been judged, so all the servants of the Lord must say Amen, Hallelujah! I like these words. First, there is Amen, and then Hallelujah. After we began to use the four words, O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah, I thought that perhaps we had put these words in the wrong order. But later I found that this is the order in the Bible—Amen, Hallelujah! But Amen, Hallelujah for what? It is for the judgment of Christendom, the judgment of the great Babylon. Do not believe the present situation. It is a lie. Sooner or later, we will see it fall, and in the eyes of God it is fallen already. Do not believe the present situation of today’s Christendom. It is all a lie, and in the eyes of God it is already judged. We have to say Amen, Hallelujah!
We should not pray, “O Lord, the war; Lord, the riots; Lord, the distresses; Lord, how prevailing is Catholicism; Lord, O Lord, do something Lord.” No! Then what do we need to say? Amen, Hallelujah! Revelation 19:7 says, “Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” There is no need for us to pray. We can just shout and praise. If we pray in a poor way, Satan will clap his hands. But the Lord would say, “I have done everything already. It is done. What are you praying like that for? Didn’t I tell you that Babylon is fallen? Do you need to pray in such a poor way? No! All you have to do is rejoice and praise.” So we must say, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!”
Revelation 20:10 says that the devil was not only cast out of heaven but cast into the lake of fire. “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where also the beast and the false prophet were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Where is Satan? Have you seen it? We must say that Brother John saw it, and I see it too! Satan was cast into the lake of fire. Not only Satan but also “death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire” (v. 14). The devil, death, and Hades, these three awful things, all were cast into the lake of fire. So we must say Amen, Hallelujah! Do we need to pray? No, we must praise and rejoice because we have seen the victory.
After all the negative things, in Revelation 21:2 we see the positive things. “I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” John saw the holy city, the bride prepared and adorned as a bride for her husband. Have you seen this? I do not care for today’s situation of the local churches. Sometimes many bad reports come, but I do not care because I have Revelation 21:2. Oh, the bride, the adornment, and the preparation! In the eyes of God one thousand years are just as one day. Be patient. In the eyes of God everything is ready. John saw the holy city.
“He said to me, They have come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely” (v. 6). When the Lord Jesus was dying on the cross, He said, “It is finished.” That is redemption. But now on the throne He says, “They have come to pass.” This is the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose. As to redemption, it is finished. As to God’s eternal purpose, it has come to pass. Do we need to pray? No! Then what must we do? Praise the Lord!
Do we need to say that the church is so miserable and so muddy? Do we have to ask, beg, and wait on the Lord? No, we must rejoice and shout and praise Him. How many books do you have in your Bible? Do you have sixty-six books? Then have you read the last one? On the cross it was written, “It is finished,” but in Revelation it is also written, “They have come to pass.” Hallelujah! They have come to pass! For our salvation, it is finished, and for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose, it has come to pass! So we all must praise Him. This is why Revelation is a book of praise. It is a book of praise because it is a book of victory.
Finally, the Lord Jesus testifies in Revelation 22:20, Yes, I come quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” The Lord says, “I come quickly.” What then should we say? “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” This is Revelation. Christ has accomplished everything; He has won the victory. The church is prepared, and all the negative things have been done away. The earth is judged, Babylon is fallen, Satan is cast into the lake of fire, and even death and Hades are also put into the lake of fire. They have come to pass! All that is left is the new heaven and the new earth with the New Jerusalem. Praise the Lord! Have you seen it?
In the eyes of God everything has been accomplished. Then how can we participate in all of this? If we are going to participate and partake of all these things, we must realize the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Teachings and doctrines can never help us to partake. Religion and Christianity cannot help us to participate. Only the sevenfold intensified Spirit can work this out for us. At the very outset, this book speaks of the seven Spirits of God before His throne. This is the first means by which we can participate in all these victories. This is why we are so happy. Do not think that we do not have any problems. We do, but we do not care for all the problems. We are so happy because we realize the seven Spirits of God. This is the first thing.
Then the second is the local churches. If we are going to participate in all these victories, we must be in the local churches. The local churches are the places, the locations, and the means for us to realize all the victories of Christ and the church. There is no other place. I was in the denominations for years, and I never knew this book. I was taught so much about this book, but I never knew this book. This book was never opened to me because I was not on the right standing. But one day I came into the local church. Then this last book of the Bible became so transparently clear to me. It is by the seven Spirits, and it is in the local churches.
The third thing we must see to participate in all these things is the different Christ. In all these chapters, have you seen the different Christ? What is the difference? He is the burning One with seven eyes, and He is the Lion. In chapter 7 He is the other Angel who puts the seal of God upon God’s people. In chapter 8 He is another Angel, who puts the incense into the prayers of the saints. Then in chapter 10 He is the strong Angel who comes down from heaven to take possession of the sea and the land. In chapter 14 He is the One like the Son of Man sitting on the cloud with the sickle to reap the harvest. In chapter 18 He is the Angel with great authority, illuminating the earth and crying strongly, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great!” Besides all the other aspects we have seen in the previous chapters, there are also these five aspects in chapters 7, 8, 10, 14, and 18. Christ is such a Christ. In the book of Revelation, He is not a small Christ, a gentle Christ, a kind Christ, a patient Christ, or a suffering Christ. He is a different Christ.
In Christianity there are many messages about Christ being so patient, so suffering, and so silent. But the last book of the Bible tells us about a different Christ. He is no longer patient and suffering. Eventually, in chapter 19 He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. In Revelation Christ is so different, so bold, so fierce, so burning, and so living. We are not in the Epistles today. Today we are in the book of Revelation. We need to know this different Christ, this other Angel: Oh, the seven Spirits; oh, the local churches; and oh, the different Christ!
Then the fourth thing that we must see in order to participate is life. We all must know life. Revelation is a book of life. Do not pay attention to the forms, the regulations, the teachings, the doctrines, Christianity, and religion. No, we must pay our full attention to life. If we are in the seven Spirits, if we are in the local churches, and if we experience the different Christ, we will be so much in life. Day and night, morning and evening, all the time we will be praising and shouting for joy. Then we will have the victory. We will participate in all the victories by means of the seven Spirits, the local churches, the different Christ, life, and praising.
Praise the Lord that He has led us to and stationed us in the local churches! Here we experience life through the sevenfold intensified Spirit and stand on the proper, unique ground of oneness for the unique expression of the Lord’s Body. We share a different Christ. This is why we are beside ourselves. We just cannot help it. We must be so, because this Christ is so different, and the life is so abundant in the local churches. There is nothing left for us to do but praise Him and enjoy His victory.
Today, if you were to ask me how to be victorious, I would tell you that there is no need for you to try to be victorious. Just say from deep within, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” and you will be so victorious. Just praise the Lord and realize that today is the day of the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Then you must be in the local church. You must realize that Christ is so living, so bold, and so burning within you as your life. “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!”
Why do we say “O Lord”? It is because when we say “O Lord,” we touch the sevenfold Spirit. We say “Amen” to what? We say “Amen” to the sevenfold Spirit, “Amen” to the local churches, and “Amen” to the Christ so bold, so fierce, so burning, and so living. “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, the sevenfold Spirit! O Lord, the local churches! O Lord, the Christ so bold, so living, so burning, and so rich!” We are simply victorious this way. There is no need of trying or doing anything. Just say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” Just praise the Lord, and you will be victorious.
If you praise Him in this way for five or ten minutes, you will be over all and strengthened in your spirit. Why? It is because you contact the living Lord. It is not a religion, Christianity, a lot of doctrines, or a set of teachings, forms, or regulations. No. It is the living Christ, the present Christ, the instant Christ, and the up-to-date Christ.
It is simply by realizing the sevenfold Spirit, being in the local churches, and realizing that Christ is your life. Then start to praise: “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah! O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” Then everything will be under your feet, and you will enjoy the victory found in the book of Revelation.
