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Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:14b, 16b, 20; 2:28; 4:5; 10:1; 12:1; 18:1; 21:10-11, 23-24, 25b; John 1:4; 8:12; 9:5; 1 John 1:6-7; Eph. 5:13-14
The divine revelation in the Scriptures is both progressive and consistent. The last book of the Bible is the consummation of God’s revelation. All the points of God’s revelation were sown as seeds in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible. These seeds continue to grow until all these points reach the harvest of God’s revelation in the last and consummate book. The harvest of God’s revelation includes many important items. One of these is life. The Bible may even be called a book of life.
With life there is the important item of light. It is hard to say which of these is first. Does life come first and then light, or does light come first, followed by life? According to Genesis 1, light comes before life. Before God caused the things of life to come into being, He commanded the light to come forth. Then from light the things of life were brought forth. First of all, the light was very vague. Then the lowest things of life came forth. After this, more solid light was needed, so the sun, the moon, and the stars as the light-bearers were revealed. Out of this solid light, the higher animal life and even the human life were created. Then God Himself as the highest light appeared on the Sabbath day. Following this highest light, the tree of life as the highest life, the life on the highest plane, was revealed.
According to Genesis, light comes first, and then life is produced. But in the Gospel of John the order is reversed: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (1:4). According to this verse, life comes first, and then light follows. Christ is the life, and Christ is also the light. In the very beginning of the Bible, light and life are there.
By reading Genesis 1 and 2 carefully, we see that there are at least five levels of life. The lowest level of life is the vegetable life. This is life without any consciousness. The second level of life is the fish in the water and the birds in the air. These are animals, but they are not strong in life. The third level is the higher animal life, such as the dog. You can talk to a dog a little, but you cannot talk to a fish. A still higher level is the human life that bears the image of God. This life is for expressing God, so it is made in the image of God. It is not God’s life, but it has the form of God’s life. The container of anything you purchase is always in the form of the content. The human life is the container of the divine life. This divine life is seen in Genesis 2 as the tree of life. The tree of life denotes life on the highest plane, the divine life.
We were made in the image of God with the human life. Our life is much higher that the animal’s. But we still need something. We are higher, but we are not the highest. There is the potential that we can possess life on the highest plane. This highest life is presented to us as food. It is shown as the tree of life, which is good for food. Although it is the life on the highest plane, it is not far from us.
Many times I have tried to discover how high the tree of life was. Of course, the Bible does not tell us. But it could not be so high that we could not reach it. He says that He is the bread of life (John 6:35). There is a type in the Old Testament called manna (Exo. 16:15). Manna was just a small round thing, yet we know from John 6 that manna is a picture of Jesus as the bread of life. The tree of life must be very available and convenient so that we can take this life in as our food.
Yet there is the possibility that man will take the tree of knowledge instead of the tree of life. The religious concept is of the tree of knowledge, thinking that we must know all the doctrines and teachings. But the divine concept is eating the tree of life. These two concepts were in the beginning in Genesis 2. The Bible is consistent. In the beginning there is the tree of life, and in the last book the tree of life is still there. In Revelation it has been even more developed. Man fell, yet we have the blood to wash our robes that we may come again to the tree of life: “Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city” (22:14). Hallelujah! Redemption brings us back to eating. Fallen Christianity keeps us away from eating. This is why we need the Lord’s recovery. It brings us back to eating again, back to the beginning. We can come to the highest plane by eating the tree of life and taking the highest life into us.
Why is the order of life and light reversed in the Gospel of John? In God’s creation light is first and life follows. But in God’s regeneration life comes first and light follows. In the old creation light comes before life. But in God’s new creation life comes first, followed by light. This is because in God’s old creation, God did not enter into His creatures. Therefore, God sent light in an objective way to shine over the darkness so that life might be produced. However, in God’s new creation God comes into His creature. He comes into us as our life, and this life is the light of men.
When we came into the church, we did not see light first. We did not have eyes to see the spiritual reality. The “butterfly” was there, but we only saw the “cocoon.” We could not see the spirit; we could only see the flesh. This simply means that our eyes were blind to the real things.
Before we were saved, we never saw anything. Then one day we opened to the Lord Jesus and called on His name. Soon the light began to shine, and we could see all the sinful things we had done. Eventually, we said, “O Lord Jesus, forgive me!” Then we sensed heavenly peace, and the burden of our sins fell off. The tears of joy began to flow. This is life. “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” From that time we were delivered out of darkness and brought into His wonderful light. This light comes from the life within. Once Jesus gets into us, the light begins to shine. I believe we have all had this kind of experience. When we were without Christ and in darkness, we could not see our sinfulness, our wickedness. But when the Lord Jesus came into us, His life became the light. Then He began to enlighten and expose us. In one sense, it is terrifying, but in another sense, it is really wonderful. What a release, and what a cleansing!
Now we must see something more in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 1 there are many items that associate light with the Son of Man: “His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace...and His face shone as the sun shines in its power” (vv. 14b-15a, 16b). Here the Lord’s face is like the shining sun. This is light. His eyes are like flaming fire. Flaming fire not only burns; it also gives light. His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace.
Look at this wonderful person! His eyes are flaming, His face is shining, and His feet are burning. When we approach Him, we simply approach light. When He comes, He comes with light. In all the social clubs of this world, everything is in darkness. But if the church is genuine in the Lord’s recovery, Jesus is there with a face like the shining sun, with flaming eyes, and with shining bronze feet. Some may argue concerning who is the church. If we are the genuine church, Christ is here shining.
Eventually, because of His glory, the whole earth will be lightened. One day all the earth will be under the lightening of the church. In the new heaven and new earth, all the nations will walk in the light of the New Jerusalem: “The nations will walk by its light; and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it” (21:24). The New Jerusalem will not only be full of light, but even the nations around the New Jerusalem will walk in the light of the city. The city will enlighten the whole earth. This should be a picture of the church today. The church today should enlighten the earth.
Jesus said in the Gospel of John that He is the light of the world (8:12; 9:5). This is just a little seed. When we come to the book of Revelation, there is the harvest of this seed. We have already seen that His face is like the shining of the sun. In chapter 18 His glory enlightens the whole earth: “After these things I saw another Angel coming down out of heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illumined with His glory” (v. 1). Here we see the harvest. In the Gospel of John we only have the seed of Christ being the light, but in Revelation there is the harvest. In this book Christ is not only the light but also the shining sun full of glory, enlightening the whole world.
Before the Lord comes back to enlighten the whole world, He is now walking among the local churches shining over us. The church life is not only full of life but also full of light. If you still can tell a lie, I doubt if you are in the real church life. In the genuine church life we cannot lie to the brothers and sisters. Before a lie can come out of our lips, the shining of Christ causes it to vanish. Then we turn to the Lord and thank Him for His shining: “O Lord Jesus, forgive me. I was going to lie to the brothers, but Your shining saved me.” This is the church life. With our roommates, our husbands, and our wives, there is the shining light of Christ. Christ is the real light in the church life. His face is like the shining of the sun, and He has seven eyes like flaming fire. When He looks at us, we are under His shining and exposing. Even His walk among the churches is shining. He has shining feet. This exposes how dirty, sinful, and dark our walk is. Praise the Lord that He is shining today in the churches!
In the book of Revelation, not only is Christ shining, but all the messengers, His servants in the churches, and even the churches themselves are shining. The churches are the lampstands, and the messengers of the churches are shining stars: “The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (1:20). Both the stars and the lampstands are for the night. In the day we do not need the stars or the lampstands. But it is still nighttime during the church age. The day is not here until the Lord comes back.
As shining stars in the church, we do not have any light of ourselves. We are only good for reflecting the sun’s light. Hence, we must look unto Him with unveiled face that we might reflect His glory (2 Cor. 3:18). This causes us to become the shining stars.
In the Lord’s recovery today in the churches, position means nothing. What we can do and how much we can accomplish also mean nothing. It all depends upon how much we are shining and how bright we are. This is what it means to be a messenger of the Lord in the churches today. The night is so evil and dark. There is absolutely no light. But here are some shining stars in the churches. Hallelujah! Their presence in the church means very much. When they are here, everything is in light. When they are gone, the whole situation is full of darkness. This should be the real elders in the churches. Christianity has spoiled the term elder. Therefore, the Spirit in the book of Revelation does not use this word. There is only the mention of the messengers as the shining stars. If any elder in the Lord’s recovery holds the position without shining, that is a shame. It is not a matter of position; it is a matter of shining. It does not depend upon how much we can do but upon how much we shine, and we can only shine by reflecting the sun. We do not have any light in ourselves.
In the same principle, lampstands do not have any light of themselves. They are simply the stands to support the light. Most Christian teachers talk about the lampstands but little about the lamps. Yet if we have the lampstands without the lamps, we are still in darkness. It is clear that the churches are the lampstands, but what are the lamps? In chapter 1 we see the seven lampstands, and in chapter 4 we see the seven lamps. “Out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (v. 5). The seven lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven lamps are the seven Spirits. This means that the lamp is the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Some so-called churches may claim that they are the lampstand, but do they have the Spirit? If we do not have the Spirit, we are just a stand without a lamp. By itself, the lampstand cannot shine. It needs the lamp, the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Now we know how the church can shine. It is by and with the Spirit. This is why we all must turn from knowledge, teaching, regulations, and ordinances to the Spirit. When the church turns to the Spirit, the Spirit becomes the lamp that the church holds to shine over others.
In the church age the lamps are the seven Spirits, but when we arrive in the New Jerusalem, the lamp will be the Lamb: “The city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (21:23). God is the light, and the Lamb is the lamp. This means that God is in Christ, shining out over the city. Today God Himself through the Spirit is shining on the stands with all the churches. In eternity the entire New Jerusalem will be a golden lampstand. If we read Revelation 21 and 22 properly, we see that the New Jerusalem is a mountain of gold, just like a golden stand. The throne of God and the Lamb is on the top. This is God in Christ shining out as the light. Christ is the lamp, and within this lamp is God as the light. Therefore, Christ shines out God, and the city shines out Christ. Then the whole earth will walk in the light of the city.
Why is the holy city so bright and full of light? It is because this city is saturated with the water of life and nourished with the tree of life. “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” (22:1-2a). In other words, life will fill, saturate, and permeate this city. The city will be full of life so that life will be the light of men. Our God is the light, His Christ is the lamp, and we are the golden lampstands holding the lamp shining out the light. This is a corporate entity composed of the mingling of divinity with humanity. This is the Body-Christ, full of life; and this life is the light.
Now we must come to Revelation 12. The woman in this chapter describes the people of God. “A great sign was seen in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon underneath her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (v. 1). To understand this woman, I would suggest that you read The Glorious Church by Watchman Nee. In this book Brother Nee tells about four women. The first is Eve in Genesis 2. The second is the church as the counterpart of Christ in Ephesians 5. The third is the wonderful, universal woman in Revelation 12. Then, eventually, the fourth woman is the bride, the New Jerusalem, in the last two chapters in the Bible. Brother Nee points out that the woman in Revelation 12 denotes all God’s chosen people, from the patriarchs, through Israel, to the church. There are three stages. This woman is clothed with the sun. This means that her main part is covered with the sun, which signifies the church age. Under her feet is the moon. The moon signifies the age of the law. And upon her head are twelve stars. The stars signify the patriarchs. Both the patriarchs and the law are in the night. Before Jesus came, it was night. The patriarchs were the stars, and the people of Israel were the moon. Then, when Christ came, it was the dawning of the day. Therefore, the church age is clothed with the sun.
All God’s selected people as a whole are this woman. She is full of light. In the whole universe there are only three kinds of light-bearers: the sun, the moon, and the stars. All these are on or around the woman. This is God’s people. They are full of light, like the sun, moon, and stars. The church must be like this. We are not only God’s people; we are the greater part of God’s people. We are not the stars or the moon; we are the sun. This is wonderful!
The New Jerusalem shines the brightest of all, because she bears the glory of God: “He carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal” (21:10-11). The sun will still shine during the time of the New Jerusalem, but there will be no need of the sun, because of the brightness of the city: “Night will be no more; and they have no need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine upon them; and they will reign forever and ever” (22:5). Suppose the electric light is burning in our room in the morning, and then the sun begins to shine in the window. At such a time the light becomes useless because of the brighter shining of the sun. These verses do not mean that there will be no sun in the New Jerusalem, but that God will be the light, and His light will swallow up the sunshine. His light will become the light of the city so that in the city there is no night. God will shine there day and night as the greatest light. With the shining of the divine sun, there will be no moon, and there will be no night. However, outside the city there will still be day and night.
The New Jerusalem is a picture, showing us how the Body-Christ, the church life, should be full of light. We should be filled and saturated with light. Many of us have been in various denominations and free groups. When we were there, we all sensed that there was no light. We could participate in all kinds of sports and worldly entertainments and never experience any shining. Yet on Sunday we could dress properly and go to “church.” There was absolutely no light there. But one day we came to the genuine church life. From the very first meeting, there was light. The more we opened to the Lord and called on His name, the more the light shined. Day by day in the church life we are under the shining of the sevenfold intensified Spirit. The church is the lampstand holding the lamp, and the lamp has seven eyes as a flame of fire. In the churches Christ is walking and observing with His seven flaming eyes, so the churches are full of light. Everyone is exposed. Some would try to hide, but there is no place to hide. In the church there is a heavenly flashlight, shining all the time. None can escape. The more we try to hide, the more we are exposed. The wisest way is to come to the light. The heavenly flashlight is not to hurt us but to heal us. We need the shining of the light of life.
Whether we are the church or not does not depend upon what we say or what others say. It depends altogether upon the light. The light is the very presence of Christ. When He is here, who can deny the light, and who can escape the light? Praise the Lord! In the church there is no night, for Christ as the day is here! There is no need for anyone to manage or control. He is here! Where there is light, there is order. Where there is darkness, there is confusion. In the church life we are all under the control of the light, for here there is the shining of Christ. We are all under His sunshine. “Awake sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph. 5:14). Hallelujah! This is the lampstand with the proper shining of the lamp.
