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In the book of Revelation there is something very strange. In chapter 1, the emphasis is on the churches. John wrote to the seven churches which were in Asia (v. 4). The Lord Jesus told him that what he saw, he was to write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: “to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea” (v. 11). Seven churches equal seven cities; therefore, to one church means to one city, and to one city means to one church. This is the emphasis in chapter 1.
But in chapter 2 the emphasis is changed to eating. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God” (v. 7). In the first of the seven epistles in this book, the promise is the promise of eating, and in the last one the promise is also of eating. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (3:20). Even in the middle epistle, the promise again has to do with eating. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna” (2:17). This is a special portion. It is something hidden, not like the manna in the wilderness, which was so open. Here the Lord promises the overcomers the hidden manna. So the strange thing in Revelation is this: the local churches are for eating. The more we eat, the happier we make the Lord.
Then chapter 7 tells us something of eternity. “They will not hunger anymore, neither will they thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (vv. 16-17).
Some may think that to speak about eating and drinking is too shallow. “Why not speak about something deeper?” But the Lord Jesus does not like to speak about something deeper. He wants to speak about something practical. Nothing is so practical as eating and drinking. Nothing is so practical as something that will satisfy our hunger and thirst. The Lamb will feed them, so there will be no hunger and thirst. He will guide them to springs of waters of life. There will not only be one spring, for the Lord is not that poor. There will be many springs. There will not only be one water but many waters of life. “Springs of waters of life.” It is one life with many springs and many flowing waters.
The Lord says that He will shepherd them and guide them to the springs of waters of life. Then in chapter 21 He says that they have come to pass. What has come to pass is the preparation for eating and drinking. “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). Everything is ready for eating and drinking. It has come to pass. Just come and eat, come and drink.
Then the last chapter says, “He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (vv. 1-2). Out of the throne of God and of the Lamb means out of the throne of the Lamb-God. God is now the Lamb-God. He is the redeeming God, and out of His throne proceeds the river of water of life. Now it is not just a fountain but a river. A river is proceeding out of the redeeming God, and it is bright as crystal. What is the purpose of this river? It must be for us to drink. We all must drink of the river of water of life.
On the two sides of the river grows the tree of life. The water is for drinking, and the tree of life is for eating. O brothers, we must eat Christ, and we must drink Christ! We must enjoy Christ all the time by eating the tree of life and by drinking the river of life.
Finally, Revelation 22:17 says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely.” The book of Revelation starts with the local churches, and it ends with eating and drinking.
As I mentioned previously, at the time Revelation was written, the church was degraded. This was mostly due to teachings. Even at the end of the first century, history tells us that there were many different kinds of teachings in the church. Then the church became a religion. Do you know what a religion is? A religion is something with teachings, forms, and regulations, which tells people how to worship God. It was under this kind of degradation that the book of Revelation was written. That is why there is not much teaching in this book.
What do the twenty-two chapters of Revelation teach? The book of Romans gives the complete Christian life. First Corinthians teaches so many things about the church. But what does Revelation tell us? I would say that there is hardly any teaching in this book. It mainly tells us about the local churches, which eventually become the New Jerusalem.
The New Jerusalem will be the consummation of all the local churches. In the New Jerusalem is the tree of life, and in the first epistle to the first church of this book, the promise is that of eating of the tree of life. In the local churches there is the tree of life, and in the New Jerusalem also is the tree of life. This shows us that all the local churches will eventually become the New Jerusalem.
Between the local churches and the New Jerusalem, as we have seen, is the condemned world. It is revealed in chapters 4 through 16 that the whole world will be judged. God will exercise His divine judgment upon this condemned world. There is also the mixture of Babylon, which is revealed in chapter 17. The mysterious Babylon is a mixture of the church with the world; it is less of the church and more of the world. It is the world, but there is at least something of the church in it. In a sense it is the church, but there is much of the world in it. It is a mixture.
In Genesis 1 God says that everything must be according to its kind. If you are a man, you must be man. If you are a woman, you must be a woman. If it is a horse, it must be a horse. If it is a cow, it must be a cow. It cannot be part cow and part horse. You cannot be part man and part woman. But Babylon is part church and part world. It is not according to its kind. This is today’s Christianity. This is today’s Christendom, and this Christendom has a mother which is the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church is the mother, and this mother has many daughters. I believe we all know who the daughters are.
The world will be judged, and great Babylon will be burnt. God will exercise His judgment even more upon great Babylon than on the world, because God hates the mixture. If you are the world, just be the world. If you are the church, just be the church. If you are a man, just be a man. If you are a woman, just be a woman. Do not make yourself part man and part woman. This is a monster. Christianity is a mixture, and this mixture will be wholly burnt. Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! (Rev. 18:2), and all the saints will say, “Hallelujah!” (19:1-3).
There is no doctrinal teaching in the book of Revelation, no justification by faith, no sanctification, and no redemption. It emphatically tells us about the local churches and that the consummation of these local churches will be the New Jerusalem. But in the process, there is a long story. There is the divine judgment which will be exercised upon the condemned world, and the mixture of Babylon, which is today’s Christianity, will be burnt.
“What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches” (1:11). These seven churches are not the seven churches on the streets, on the campuses, in the homes, or in the factories. They are seven churches in seven cities. The seven churches are equal to seven cities.
We may think that the Lord did not compose Revelation 1:11 very well. I do not think that any one of us would compose this verse in such a way. “What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” The Lord composed it in this way. There are seven tos. The Lord told John to send this book to the seven churches as follows: to, to, to, to, to, to, to. To what? To the local churches! He had to repeat all the names of the cities with so many tos and so many conjunctions so that we might see the local churches.
Can you have a church on your campus? If you think you can, you had better come back and see the tos of Revelation 1:11. The Lord Jesus will repeat them for you. “To the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna...” It is to the city, not to the campuses, or streets, or homes, or factories, or any denominations. It is to this city and to that city. Praise the Lord for His sevenfold repetition. This is entirely to show us that in one city there is, and should be, one church, and one church is, and should be, for one city. This is not my teaching but my quotation, and this quotation is from the spoken word of the Lord Jesus.
Where should the church be? Praise the Lord, it should be in the city! How many churches should there be in one city? It is abundantly clear that there should be only one. How many churches should many cities have? There should be one church for each city. Many cities should have many churches, but one city should have only one church. We must be clear about this matter. This is the last book in the Bible, and it is closed to so many Christians because they would not see the local churches. If we are willing to see the local churches, the whole book of Revelation will open to us because our position will be proper. Praise the Lord! When our position is proper, we can see.
“When I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands” (v. 12). It is so marvelous. When we turn, we see; we cannot say that we have not seen. I have been condemned by many people because of this matter of the local churches, but I cannot help it. I have seen. I cannot say that I have not seen. I am so burdened with the local churches because I have seen the local churches. I cannot help but be burdened, because I have seen.
We all need a turn. I am afraid that there are still some friends who are doubting. But these are not our words; these are the words spoken by the Lord. “What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” There is no word in the entire Bible as clear as this word. One local church equals one city. The size, the jurisdiction, and the boundary of the local church must equal that of the city. Revelation 1:11 is exceedingly clear.
We must be in the local churches, and the Lord’s intention in the local churches is simply for us to eat and drink. The Lord did not say that He would teach us or that He would instruct us. He said that He would give us something to eat. The local churches are a matter of eating. All the time we must be feeding on Christ. Our meeting hall is really our dining hall. Whenever we come together, we come to eat. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat.”
What is the right condition of a local church? If it is full of teaching, it is wrong. The local churches must be full of eating. Whenever we come to the meeting, we should be nourished. Then after the meeting we will say, “Praise the Lord, I am filled and I am satisfied!”
If when we leave a meeting we say that we are clear, then we know that we have been taught and not fed. The first one who was clear was Eve. After tasting the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she was made clear. Formerly, in a sense, she did not know, but then she knew. This is awful! But I am sorry to say that this is the concept of today’s Christianity. They try their best to help people to know and be more clear. But the more teaching people receive, the more fruit of the tree of knowledge they eat.
Every meeting of the local church must be full of Christ as food, and after every meeting we all must say, “Hallelujah, I am satisfied!” Though we do not know much, we are full. This is a proper local church. The local church is not a place for us to know but a place for us to eat. The local church is not a school but a dining room for heavenly eating. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life.” The very tree of life in Genesis 2 which Adam lost is now opened to us in the local churches. The Lord told John to write to the church in Ephesus that he who overcomes will be given the tree of life to eat in the local churches. It is so clear that it is in the local churches where the Lord gives us something to eat.
In the last twenty years it has always been difficult for me to give a message of mere doctrine. This does not mean that I lack doctrines to give. But there is no anointing from the Lord to give such a message. When I speak, I must say something according to the inner anointing. The only burden that I have within is to help the Lord’s children to know how to enjoy Christ by eating and drinking of Him.
We all must learn that the local churches are not places for teaching. They are places for eating. The local churches are places where the people of God can come together to eat and to drink of Christ. Christ is the tree of life, and He is also the hidden manna. Today’s Christianity only knows Christ in a public way. They do not know a hidden Christ. The hidden Christ is in the local churches. Many times others have asked why we go to meetings all the time and what we do in these meetings. When we tell them that we go to the meetings to feed upon Christ, they simply cannot understand. This is because it is something hidden. This is Christ as the hidden manna. We all have eaten of this hidden manna in the local churches. We daily enjoy something which no one understands. Even if they come to our meetings, they still cannot understand. They only say that we are beside ourselves! We are satisfied, but they cannot enjoy it. It is something hidden. Praise the Lord! It is hidden, but we enjoy it.
So many of us who have been in Christianity and are now in the local churches have found a hidden enjoyment. This is not only the tree of life but also the hidden manna. This is the real enjoyment in the local churches. It is not only the tree of life and the hidden manna but also a feast. “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Every meeting is not only a dining table but also a feast. We are not only eating, but we are also feasting on Christ.
Then when we get into eternity, the Lamb will shepherd us and guide us to springs of waters of life. It is not only one spring but springs of waters of life. Day by day we will drink of these springs. I believe we can understand this because we have enjoyed the foretaste in the local churches. The local churches should not be places for teachings. We should not care for teachings, but for eating and drinking of the Lord Jesus.
As we have seen, in the New Jerusalem there is a river of water of life flowing out of the throne of the redeeming God. In the flowing of the living water, on both sides of the river, grows the tree of life. This is for us to eat for eternity. Our duty is simply to eat and drink. We will do nothing but enjoy Christ as the living water and as the tree of life.
Praise the Lord, we have nothing to do with the world, and we have nothing to do with Babylon. Our only concern is to enjoy Christ and to feed on Him in the local churches. Here we enjoy Christ, here we minister Christ, here we eat Christ, and here we drink Christ. Hallelujah, eventually we will feast in the New Jerusalem! But today we have a real foretaste in the local churches.
