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The last two chapters of Revelation are a continuation of the first two chapters of Genesis, and many things that transpire between these four chapters are a detour. However, some things in the last two chapters of Revelation are not in the first two chapters of Genesis. These things are associated with the Lamb. The first two chapters of Genesis mainly concern Jehovah God, but the last two chapters of Revelation concern God and the Lamb (21:22-23; 22:1, 3). The Lamb refers to many matters that are not found in the first two chapters of Genesis, such as redemption for man to be justified (Rev. 5:6; 7:14). These matters are not in the first two chapters of Genesis, because sin had not yet come in. In the first two chapters of Genesis, God was pleased with the man whom He had created (1:31), and man did not need redemption or justification. Hence, it was sufficient for the creating God, Jehovah God, to have a relationship with man. However, in the last two chapters of Revelation we see not only Jehovah God but also the Lamb.
We must never consider God and the Lamb to be two separate beings. The throne of God reveals that God and the Lamb are one (5:13; 7:10, 17; 22:1, 3). There is only one throne, and this throne is of God and of the Lamb; there are not two thrones. Just as God and Jehovah are one, so also God and the Lamb are one. The name Jehovah means that the creating God has a relationship with man. However, the reference to God and the Lamb means that the creating God has a relationship with man that includes many matters related to the Lamb.
The Lamb includes the processes of Jesus Christ—from His incarnation to His becoming the Spirit. The seven Spirits in Revelation 5 are the seven eyes of the Lamb (v. 6). This means that the Spirit is related to the Lamb. Everything related to the Spirit is involved with the Lamb.
The first step of Christ is His being Jehovah God. This involves His having a relationship with man.
The second step of Christ is His incarnation to be mingled with man and His human living of thirty-three and a half years on the earth.
The third step of Christ is His death. Many things were dealt with through His death. First, He shed His blood to deal with sin, thus removing the record of sin before God (1 Pet. 2:24) and condemning sin through His being judged on the cross (Rom. 8:3). Removing the record of sin by His blood as a ransom is one thing, but condemning sin by His being judged on the cross is another. The record of sin was removed by the ransom of His precious blood, and sin was condemned by His being judged on the cross. Second, His death on the cross dealt with the flesh, lusts, the old man, and the self (Gal. 5:24; Rom. 6:6). These four are inseparable. Third, His death on the cross dealt with Satan (Heb. 2:14). Fourth, Christ’s death on the cross dealt with the world (John 12:31; 16:11). Fifth, through His death on the cross He tasted death on our behalf and dealt with death (Heb. 2:9). His death on the cross dealt with these items for us—sin, the record of sin, the flesh, lusts, the old man, the self, Satan, the world, and death.
The fourth step of Christ is His resurrection from the dead. On the negative side, through His resurrection the Lord was freed from the realm of death, thus overcoming death and swallowing up death. On the positive side, through His resurrection the Lord entered fully into God in His humanity. This resurrection is linked to ascension. When the Lord resurrected, He ascended to the heavens and entered into the heavenly realm as both God and man.
The last step of Christ is His becoming the life-giving Spirit and descending. The Spirit entering into man (John 20:22) is the indwelling of the Spirit. The Spirit descending upon man is the outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:2-4, 17).
These steps are included in the title the Lamb. Before man fell in the garden of Eden, sin had not come in, man did not have a record of sin before God, Satan had not entered into man, man had not become flesh, the world was not yet, and there was no death. Man did not have these negative problems; instead, there was one positive need—for God to be mingled with man. In Genesis 3 sin entered into man, man gained a record of sin before God, Satan entered into man, man became flesh, and death entered the world. These negative problems came into being.
If man had eaten of the tree of life and not of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man would have received God, and God’s desire would have been accomplished. Created man did not need forgiveness of sins or justification, because there was neither sin nor condemnation. However, after the fall in Genesis 3 man must first be forgiven and justified by the blood of the Lamb in order to receive God, contact God, and enjoy God. Therefore, when the prodigal son returned home, his father first told the slaves to put the best robe on his son and then to prepare the fattened calf for them to eat (Luke 15:22-23). Before man fell, he did not need to put on the robe of righteousness. He needed only to eat, drink, and enjoy God as life. There was no need of forgiveness or justification. But today any sinner who wants to eat, drink, and enjoy God, to touch God as life, must first be forgiven of his sins, justified, and then clothed with the robe of righteousness. Man can eat and be merry with God only after he is clothed with the robe of righteousness. We do not need to deal with the problems of sin, the record of sin, Satan, the flesh, the world, or death, because God became flesh, was crucified, and resurrected from the dead in order to deal with them.
The tree of life in Genesis 2 refers to Jehovah God, but the tree of life in Revelation 22 refers to God and the Lamb. In the first two chapters of Genesis God had not yet become flesh, been crucified, resurrected, or entered into man in order to bring man into God. In the last two chapters of Revelation God had already become flesh, died on the cross, and dealt with every negative problem. Furthermore, He had resurrected from the dead and become the life-giving Spirit in order to enter into man and be mingled with man. Therefore, God at the end of the Bible is different from God at the beginning of the Bible. At the beginning of the Bible He is Jehovah God, and at the end of the Bible He is God and the Lamb.
If man had eaten of the tree of life before the fall, what he enjoyed would not have had the elements for dealing with sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, and death, because these were not yet a problem to man. At that time man needed only to be mingled with God as one for the accomplishing of God’s eternal intention. The elements within God in the garden of Eden are different from the elements within Him today. God has been incarnated to become a man and crucified to deal with sin, the record of sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, and death. He has also resurrected and walked out from the realm of death. Furthermore, not only has He entered into heaven, but He has also brought humanity into heaven, into God. God became flesh, died, resurrected, and became the life-giving Spirit. This is the God whom we receive today. All these elements have been compounded into the Spirit to deal with all our problems. Ever since the fall, man has been complicated with the negative problems of sin, the record of sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, and death. God had to deal with these problems on our behalf in order to accomplish His heart’s desire in us. Today the Spirit possesses the necessary elements to deal with these problems.
We have many problems, but we do not need to struggle in order to deal with them. We do not need to deal with sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, or death, because the elements that deal with these problems are in God. Whether we desire to overcome sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, or death or to do God’s will, we do not need to do anything but enjoy God. When we take God in, the many elements within Him will deal with our problems on the negative side and accomplish His eternal intention on the positive side. His eternal intention is that we would have His image to express Him, be subject to Him in order to exercise His dominion, and be His counterpart to be joined to Him.
Man does not need to do anything. On the negative side, we do not need to deal with sin, the record of sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, and death, and on the positive side, we do not need to struggle in order to accomplish God’s intention. Our only need is to eat, drink, and enjoy God. If Adam had eaten of the tree of life in the garden of Eden, God would have operated in Adam and accomplished His eternal heart’s desire. Similarly, if we eat, drink, and enjoy God, He will operate in us to overcome sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, and death on the negative side. He will also accomplish His eternal intention; we will have His image, exercise His dominion, and be joined to Him on the positive side.
There is no need for man to work. Everything has been accomplished by God’s coming to be man’s food. Man did not need to do anything before the fall, nor does he need to do anything after the fall. In order to accomplish God’s heart’s desire before the fall, man needed God to enter into him, to supply him with the divine elements, and thus accomplish God’s desire through him. After the fall man still needs God to be his life and life supply in order to deal with the problems of sin, the record of sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, and death and in order to accomplish God’s heart’s desire, because God possesses the elements to deal with man’s problems and to accomplish His intention. Every problem requires man to receive the divine elements by eating, drinking, and enjoying God.
For example, when we are healthy, our need is to eat healthy food. But when we are sick or weak, certain elements need to be added to our food. Some elements kill germs; other elements supply more nutrients. We do not need to kill germs, or make nutrients; our only need is to eat. The food that we eat will operate within us to deal with the germs and supply us with nutrients.
There are two significances to God’s giving Himself to man as food. If created man wanted to do God’s will and accomplish God’s intention, he did not need to do anything but take God as food. Then the elements within God would be the supply within man to accomplish God’s intention. Fallen man may have the desire to accomplish God’s intention, but he has various problems. We do not need to deal with these problems ourselves, but we need to eat God by taking Him as our food. God now has more elements. Within Him are the elements that can deal with our problems and supply our needs.
Both in dealing with the negative problems and in accomplishing God’s eternal intention, there is no need for man to work. There is no place for human effort. Everything is dealt with by God’s entering into us as food. If we see this vision, we will stop our doing, hate our doing, and condemn our doing. Furthermore, we will worship God, saying, “I am an enjoyer. I enjoy God and the Lamb, and I am enjoying God as the Lamb.”
We need to see the vision of God coming to be our food. On the positive side, we need Him as food to supply us with nutrients. On the negative side, we need Him as food to deal with our problems. The elements within Him are sufficient to meet the positive need and the negative need. Whatever our need may be, God has the elements to supply our need. He also has the elements to deal with any problem. In the garden of Eden He did not have as many elements as He has today; He was merely Jehovah God. Now He is God and the Lamb; He became flesh, passed through death and resurrection, became the life-giving Spirit to enter into man, and brought man into God. These steps are now in the Spirit. Hence, when we contact, absorb, receive, eat, and drink the Spirit, we enjoy Him, and the elements within Him deal with our problems and meet our needs.
If a sister continually prays about dealing with sins, she will not be able to deal with sins. She may continually pray to overcome death, but the more she prays, the deader she will be. She may continually pray about dealing with the world, but the more she prays, the more she will be conquered by the world. Such prayers are ineffective. If she eats, drinks, and enjoys the Lord, He will enter deeper into her to be her supply, and spontaneously her sins and the world will be dealt with, and her death will be changed into life. She will not need to do anything. She may be determined to do God’s will and to accomplish His intention, but the more she prays and is determined, the worse her situation becomes. If instead of struggling, she absorbs God more, eats Him more, and drinks Him more, she will give Him more opportunities to enter into her. Then she will spontaneously live out His will. This is not a matter of our working or doing but of God being our food. Our only need is to eat and drink Him.
In John 6:57 the Lord said, “As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” For the past two thousand years not many believers have understood this word. This thought is completely different from the natural human concept. If we understand this thought, our natural concepts will disappear. We do not need to determine, struggle, or beseech. We need to see that God has come to be our food for us to enjoy. We have only one need, which is to eat, drink, and enjoy Him.
The first two chapters of Genesis should have been connected directly to the last two chapters of Revelation. But as a result of the fall of man, the Bible makes a detour in Genesis 3 that continues through Revelation 20. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, representing Satan, came in during this detour. Satan came in to tempt man. As a result of the fall, sin entered, man gained a record of sin before God, man became flesh, and death entered into the world. Satan, sin, the record of sin, the flesh, the world, and death have been working to frustrate God and man. Man went astray in Genesis 3. The struggles between God and Satan are in this detour, which is the result of man eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is not until Revelation 20, when Satan is cast first into the abyss (vv. 2-3) and then into the lake of fire (v. 10) and when death, the last enemy brought in by Satan, is cast into the lake of fire (v. 14), that the tree of knowledge is completely dealt with. The detour is the issue of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This tree came in in Genesis 3 and was dealt with in Revelation 20.
We no longer need to follow the detour today, for the Lord has opened the way to the tree of life. However, the condition of most Christians is that they are still in the detour. If we do not have a revelation of the tree of life, we will exhort people saying, “Brother, you need to be watchful. Sister, you should be subject to your husband. We must deal with the flesh, accept the breaking, and accept the cross. We need to be like Madame Guyon.” Such exhortations are in the detour of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Even Madame Guyon was in this detour. She pursued the Lord and was built up, but eventually God still had to strip everything away. When she was stripped by God, she could say, “I am as nothing, and rejoice to be / Emptied, and lost, and swallowed up in Thee” (Hymns, #546). There is no need for a redundant step. It is better to not build than to build up and then tear down. God stripped her of everything and left only Himself. Therefore, she said that she was lost in Him. However, these words do not hit the mark. Man is not lost in God but mingled with God. By God’s mercy Madame Guyon touched this reality, but she did not have sufficient light and did not know the confirming word in the Scriptures.
A person who takes the detour must eventually come out. The detour is about doing things. The Lord has enlightened us to see that we do not need to take this detour. The Lord said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall by no means hunger, and he who believes into Me shall by no means ever thirst” (John 6:35). He also said, “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (15:5). These verses reveal that there is no need to stay in the detour. We need only to eat and drink the Lord: “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (6:57). How I wish I could repeat these verses until every believer sees that man needs nothing but to eat and enjoy the Lord. A. B. Simpson said that everything is in Christ and that Christ is everything (Hymns, #513). Healing is Christ, power is Christ, and patience is Christ; everything is Christ. But his words did not yet hit the mark and are not very clear. No one has ever told people, “God needs man to eat Him; man needs to eat God.” Only this word hits the mark and is clear.
The picture at the beginning of the Bible shows that God has been manifested as food. After man was created, he was put in front of the tree of life, which is the embodiment of God. The fruit of the tree of life as man’s food signifies that God came in the form of food to be man’s life. However, when God became flesh and lived on the earth, those around Him were filled with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Hence, they only asked what they should do and how they should work (John 6:28). But the Lord Jesus said that He came to be food: He is the bread which came down out of heaven for man to eat (vv. 51, 55, 57-58).
The parables that the Lord Jesus spoke concerning salvation are centered on eating. For example, in Matthew 22 the Lord Jesus spoke of a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son and sent his slaves to call people to eat, saying, “My oxen and my fatted cattle have been slain, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding feast” (v. 4). A person goes to such a feast to eat, not to do something. In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the father of the prodigal son said, “Bring the fattened calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry” (v. 23). Before the Lord was crucified, He took bread and blessed it, and He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And He took a cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is My blood of the covenant” (Matt. 26:26-28). This indicates that all the Lord’s teachings are centered on His being food for man to eat and drink. Hence, He said, “So he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me” (John 6:57).
In addition, Peter says that we can taste that the Lord is good (1 Pet. 2:3). On the day of Pentecost the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, but others saw them as being full of new wine (Acts 2:13). Such filling with the Holy Spirit can be considered as drinking; it is a matter of eating and drinking. Paul says, “Do not be drunk with wine...but be filled in spirit” (Eph. 5:18). In other words, we should no longer drink wine but should instead drink the Spirit. We should not be drunk with wine, but we should be filled with the Spirit. There is no concept of doing or working in these verses. There is no human effort; instead, there is only eating and drinking.
If we do not take God as food and enjoy Him as our life, we will leave the tree of life, for even a little mixture will turn us to the detour. The way of the detour is complicated. This way has everything—good, bad, right, wrong, the things of God, and the things of Satan. We must see that we do not need to take the detour. We must be people who eat, drink, and enjoy God. This is the straight way. We do not need to think of the problems of sin, the record of sin, the flesh, the world, Satan, or death. We need only to enjoy God. When He is in us, He will deal with all the problems for us. This is the principle of Romans 8: the law of the Spirit of life frees us from the law of sin and of death (v. 2). This law in us is responsible for everything.
The tree of life does not depend on our spiritual cultivation, morning watch, or anything else; it depends on our enjoying God, absorbing Him, eating Him, and drinking Him. The Lord Jesus went through the detour on our behalf to become the life-giving Spirit. Now He contains all the elements that meet our needs. We need only to enjoy Him, appropriate Him, eat Him, drink Him, and live by trusting in Him. Then the problems will be dealt with, and God’s intention will be fulfilled.
