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Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:1-2, 11-18, 20; 2:7; 3:12; 4:5; 5:6; 19:7-8; 22:1-2, 14, 17
God’s ultimate move was fully revealed through one apostle, Paul. He was the one who received the stewardship to complete the word of God (Col. 1:25-27), that is, to complete the revelation of God’s move.
Without Paul’s Epistles we can see God’s move in creation. We can also see His move in incarnation. The four Gospels tell us how God in the person of the Son became incarnate. They also reveal His move in crucifixion and in resurrection. To some extent they also show God’s move in ascension. The book of Acts goes on to show more: how God moved by descending upon the disciples and by setting up the churches. However, with Acts there is no completion of the revelation of God’s move.
In order to see God’s ultimate activities in relation to mankind, we must go beyond Acts to the fourteen Epistles of the apostle Paul. He clearly presents this ultimate move: the Triune God, having passed through many processes, is now working Himself into His chosen people to be their life. He is now the indwelling Spirit. This Spirit is the consummate expression, the reaching to man of the Triune God, that He may constitute His chosen people to be the sons of God with the divine life and nature and also the members of Christ organically united to Him so that God may have a family and Christ may have a Body to express Him corporately.
Does any New Testament writer other than Paul give us this revelation? Peter’s writings say nothing of this. We treasure Peter’s Epistles mainly because of his word about our being “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). Peter has written only eight chapters, five in his first Epistle and three in his second. He mentions the burning of the old creation and the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. But nowhere does he tell us that Christ lives in us. He never mentions that we are members of Christ. He does not even tell us that the church is the Body of Christ. These are not insignificant items. They are great! Since Peter does not mention them, he must not have seen them very clearly.
Paul covers all these matters not just in one or two verses but in fourteen books. He tells us not only that we have been justified and reconciled to God but also that we have been born of Him. We are His sons, possessing His life and nature. This means that we are of the same nature as God. If our children have our life and nature, are they not the same as we are? They are not we, yet they are the same as we. We are not God, yet we are the same as God in the divine life and nature. We are sons born of Him, not sons adopted by Him. Paul makes this more than clear.
He also makes clear that we are the members of Christ. He says it is of God that we are in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30). We were in Adam, but God has transferred us into Christ, not just in a positional way but in a living way. Thus, there is an organic union between us and Christ. We are His members. He is the Head; we are the Body. He and we are both Christ. The corporate Christ is not only the Head but also the Body. How could someone have a head and no body? Yet this is the Christ of many Christians. They do not even think of Christ as having a Body. Many Christians lack a direct realization that we are members of Christ. Do you have such a sense? Paul even says that our bodies are members of Christ (6:15). Not only our spirit but our body! To be one with Christ, to be His Body, is a great matter. Where did this revelation come from? No one but Paul makes this so clear. He completed the revelation of the divine Word, telling us that God’s ultimate move is to get this Body, this large family.
Unfortunately, this revelation was damaged. So after the completing ministry, God gave the mending ministry. John came in to mend. When the sisters repair a hole in an article of clothing, they make the mended part stronger than the original. This is also true to some extent of John’s ministry. Paul, for example, does not tell us of the seven Spirits. Is God’s Spirit one or seven? The Spirit is both one and seven. The mender stresses the Spirit sevenfold more than Paul. John also tells us that the seven Spirits are the eyes of the Lamb (Rev. 5:6). If the Trinity comprises three separate persons, how can the third be the eyes of the second? How could this be explained? No one can analyze the Trinity. Paul, however, first tells us that Christ in resurrection became a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Then John indicates that this life-giving Spirit is the seven Spirits. He strengthens the Spirit sevenfold. This is just one example of how the mending ministry is stronger than the completing ministry.
The Bible was completed by the end of the first century. The final books were John’s writings—the Gospel, the Epistles, and Revelation. But from that time a leakage began because the vessel became broken. It continued through the second and third centuries and on, until by the end of the sixth century the Catholic Church and the papal system were fully established.
The years from about A.D. 500 to 1500 are called the Dark Ages. All the truths in the New Testament had leaked away. The Bible itself was locked up. The common people were told that they were not in a position, nor did they have the capability, to read the Scriptures; they needed the pope and the Church to interpret it for them. For a thousand years there was darkness. Then the Reformation began, with Martin Luther boldly taking the lead.
The Reformation marks the beginning of the recovery. Do you know what book the recovery began with? It was Romans, the first book of Paul’s completing ministry. Luther, however, did not recover everything in Romans. We have since seen far more. But we do not despise him. In his time he was a person to be really appreciated. He had the boldness to declare that justification is by faith. That was the beginning of the Lord’s recovery.
Following justification by faith, one truth after another was recovered. This is the reason that many seeking Christians began to dispute with each other. Because one would see one thing and another something else, each would fight for what he had seen. Many things were recovered. But until these recent years none of the items in the verses listed at the beginning of this chapter were recovered.
From these verses we now see that the church in a locality is a lampstand and that each city has only one lampstand (Rev. 1:11-18, 20). Did you ever hear that Christ has promised to give the overcomer to eat of the tree of life (2:7)? Many Christians think that the tree of life was only in Genesis and has nothing to do with us today. Did you ever hear that you could be a pillar in God’s temple and that you could bear the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the new name of Christ (3:12)? Did you ever hear that God’s Spirit is one but has become seven (4:5)? Even we were not so clear about this before 1969. Did you ever hear that these seven Spirits who are the one Spirit of God are the eyes of the redeeming Lamb (5:6)? Did you ever hear a message that the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready (19:7-8)? Did you ever hear a message on the spiritual significance of the New Jerusalem, with the throne of God, the flowing river, and the tree of life (22:1-2)? Did you ever hear of the enjoyment of Christ as life by those who wash their robes and thus have the right to the tree of life (v. 14)? Did you ever hear that “the Spirit and the bride say” together (v. 17)? You may have heard that Christ and the church are linked together, but probably you have not heard that the Spirit and the bride are linked together.
All these items are different aspects of the Lord’s ultimate recovery. Many of them have been recovered just within these past thirty years, some of them in the United States. Yet they are all in the Bible, especially in the last book of the Bible. They simply remained there, untouched. Five hundred years ago, it was the same with justification by faith. It was there in Romans and Galatians yet not understood or touched by most of the so-called Christians. Revelation was considered mysterious; it seemed better to leave it alone.
About the same time as the Reformation, movable type was invented in Europe. I am talking about the recovery with the world situation because these two things go together. The reformers made use of the printing press to publish the truths they had seen. The Bible also could be printed instead of being copied by hand. As a result, it was spread among the people. Formerly, it had been locked up by the Catholic Church. Martin Luther unlocked it. But the Bible was not opened up much; it was read but not really understood.
It was not till 1830 or so that the great teachers among the Brethren opened up the Bible much more. They came to understand the types and prophecies and the matter of Christ’s second coming in a general way. Gradually, the prophecies in Revelation were opened up. But the Brethren ignored some matters in Revelation: they did not touch the testimony of Jesus, the lampstands, the seven Spirits, the tree of life, and the spiritual significance of the New Jerusalem. What they studied was mostly the seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls, the seven heads, and the ten horns. They were scholars, showing that many of the prophecies were historically fulfilled. The Brethren gave us many basic interpretations of the Bible.
Revelation opens with “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). Revelation is not only an objective term; it has a subjective aspect as well. It is a revelation not only by Christ but also of Him. The Revelation of Jesus Christ is like a photograph of Him.
The Jesus Christ in Revelation 1 is altogether different from the One described in the four Gospels. John in his youth had leaned upon the Lord’s bosom (John 13:23), but in his old age he was terrified by the Jesus he saw (Rev. 1:17). The Christ who is described in Revelation is even different from the Christ in Paul’s revelation. In Colossians Paul reveals a Christ who is everything—He is all-inclusive; He is all-extensive; He is the portion of the saints; He is the image of God; He is the first item of all the creatures; He is the Firstborn of resurrection; He is the reality of all the shadows. To most Christians Jesus is only meek and gentle. But in Revelation this all-inclusive, extensive Christ becomes so terrifying.
It is not a light matter that in our day and among us the Lord has recovered these things. The matter of the seven Spirits was recovered in the Erie conference in the summer of 1969. On my way to one of the meetings of the conference, I still did not know what I should speak on. As I walked toward the meeting place, the title The Seven Spirits came to me. Before that, I had no thought of speaking on that subject. After I had given the message, one of the brothers told me that of all the messages he had heard me give, this one was the most living. Afterward, I went back to Los Angeles for the conference and training. That time of training in 1969 was the high point of the Lord’s recovery in the United States. Those messages were a continuation of the subject of the seven Spirits.
In these past twenty years I have said many times that you should eat of the tree of life. In fact, the first stage of my stay in this country might be considered the tree-of-life stage. I have given several messages pointing out the correspondence between the first two chapters of the Bible and the last two chapters. Some have been caught for the Lord’s recovery by hearing a message on the two trees and on the New Jerusalem.
Before I left mainland China in 1949, these topics were not adequately mentioned. Not only has the church been recovered, but the church specifically as the lampstand has been recovered. Besides the eating of the tree of life, the building has also been recovered. The King James Version uses the word edifying instead of building; to most people to be edified means to be instructed, not to be built up. Many times I have spoken to you on the building. We have published a book called Life and Building as Portrayed in the Song of Songs; this book came from messages given in Los Angeles in 1972. Also, when we had the training on the Gospel of John, I pointed out that this Gospel deals with life and building. To my knowledge no one before us ever called attention to the matter of building in John’s Gospel.
What a privilege to be here today! Even twenty years ago we did not have so much light on the tree of life for God’s building. When we were on the mainland of China, we seldom mentioned the matter of God’s building, but since coming to the U.S.A., many messages have been given on the river of life and the tree of life in Revelation 22:1-2 for God’s building. I have spoken many times on the Bible’s concluding with a promise (v. 14) and a call (v. 17). Do not think that I speak on these matters as a hobby. No. I have a burden. What is there left to recover after the New Jerusalem with the river of life and the tree of life for God’s building? The Lord’s recovery began with Romans. It will conclude with Revelation.
What can come after these: the revelation of Jesus Christ, the testimony of Jesus, the lampstand, the eating of the tree of life, the seven Spirits, God’s building, the New Jerusalem with the river of life flowing and the tree of life growing in the river, the promise to eat, and the call to drink? Do you not realize that these are the items comprising the ultimate recovery?
Recently, some of the leading ones asked me how the churches should go on. I told them frankly that to ask for a way to go on is to ask for more religion. Every way is a religion. If Brother Lawrence’s The Practice of the Presence of God is merely a way, it is a religion. The same is true of Thomas à Kempis’s The Imitation of Christ. The attempt to imitate Christ by killing the self is asceticism; it is not really a bearing of the cross. If what Madame Guyon experienced was merely a way, it was the religion of mysticism. Among ourselves some fifty years ago we practiced reckoning. If that was merely a way, it also was a religion. In 1939 Brother Watchman Nee began to see more of the Spirit in Romans 8. After that, he said that we could not experience the death of Christ as long as we were in Romans 6; we had to be in Romans 8. It is through the Spirit, not through our reckoning. If we depend on reckoning, we simply have a reckoning religion. You may ask, What is not a religion? The life-giving Spirit! The seven Spirits!
When the children of Israel traveled through the wilderness, they had no way. They followed the cloud, the Spirit. They followed the high priest’s contact with God in the Holy of Holies. When the high priest went into the Holy of Holies to contact God, on his breast was a plate with precious stones bearing all the names of the twelve tribes. This plate was like a typewriter. Through it the priest knew what God wanted them to do; it was not by written regulations. Today if we want to know what to do, where to go, or what to say, we do not go according to some verse in the Bible but according to the Spirit. Romans 8 tells us this. The righteous requirement of the law will be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit (v. 4). And we must realize that the wonderful Christ is in our spirit.
It is not a matter of learning a way. We must come to see the vision. We must see the last recovery of the Lord. These chapters are just to unveil to you the Lord’s ultimate recovery. The Lord does not want other things. He wants nothing except to have Himself wrought into you.
In previous chapters we have covered how the Lord arranged the proper situation for the carrying out of His move. He prepared the Roman Empire for the accomplishment of redemption and for the spread of the gospel. For the Reformation He raised up Germany. For the gospel to be spread to all parts of the earth He raised up Great Britain.
For the Lord to achieve His ultimate move He also needs the proper situation. If you consider the entire world today, you would have to say that the best place for the spreading of His recovery is the United States of America. We labored on the mainland of China from 1922 to 1949. Many were gained; many churches were raised up. Then from 1949 the whole of China began to be closed to us. I was sent out, and many of my co-workers were put into prison. It was a grief and disappointment to me. Now, however, I am no longer disappointed. In fact, I am greatly encouraged.
I can see that if all the items of the recovery were only in the Chinese language, they would lie buried, unavailable to those who did not know Chinese. What is printed in Chinese is preserved, but it does not spread. The best language for the spreading of the truth is American English. Within two weeks after a message is given, it can be sent to all the six major continents in a universally understood language by printed page, by audiotapes, and by videotapes.
Through all human history there has never been such a country as the United States. How I thank the Lord for such a country where there is freedom of speech, a democratic, constitutional government, all the modern conveniences, and an abundance of resources! Forty-five years ago I was in the interior of China, traveling, preaching, and teaching the Bible. I traveled by mule wagon over poor roads. From early morning until late in the evening we were on the road, yet we covered at most thirty miles. There is no comparison between that and the way the word can be spread today throughout the whole world from the United States. Planes fly from here to any part of the globe in less than twenty-four hours. Telephone connects us with Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. Publications and cassette tapes are easily sent abroad. The recovery will spread. Sooner or later, these truths will be adopted. Just as justification by faith spread, so the truth of the tree of life will spread.
When I came to this country in 1958, there were some who were predicting the downfall of the United States. They said that the United States was following the pattern of the Roman Empire, becoming corrupt and bankrupt. I argued against them. The United States was established on a different foundation. It is the only great power in history that has not robbed other countries. It is built upon its own resources and its own people. Because of its vast riches, it has no need to rob others. After my visit here in 1958, I went on to Europe. I found that in England, Denmark, and the other northern European countries there was the expectation that communism would take over. Again I boldly argued that this would not be the case.
The oil crisis did not occur until 1973, but in 1962 I told the brothers that in the Middle East the problem would be oil. I told them that the nations would not be able to resolve this problem and that God would do something about it. This was not a prophecy; it was just a talk I had with the brothers over twenty years ago.
Almost every part of the globe is being used, and natural resources are close to an end. Can humankind last another few centuries? Is there time for the Lord to raise up another world power after the United States? I do not believe so. It seems that the United States is the last power raised up by the Lord to match His recovery.
As this ultimate move of the Lord goes forward from here, there is the need for such a powerful country to keep the world at peace and to keep the way open. Now that we have planes like the 747s, we no longer need the Roman roads that were used in the early centuries for the spread of the gospel. But these 747s need a peaceful situation for the word of the Lord’s recovery to go out. If the peace is broken, the spread will be stopped. The Lord needs a country for this. The United States, instead of robbing other countries, has been a giver. Since the end of the war in 1945, the United States has given away billions of dollars to other countries. You may be concerned that the deficit is getting bigger; however, the money that the government owes is mostly to its own people. This is like a father owing money to his sons. The account shows red, but the money being spent is in the family.
If your eyes are open, you will realize what an age and what a country you live in, what the Lord’s recovery is, and how the world situation is going on. The state of things today is for one thing—the Lord’s recovery. The world is going on for the spreading of the recovery, for the preparing of the bride, and for the lampstands to be raised up and shining in many countries. In this ultimate recovery what the Lord is regaining is not small teachings but big items, especially from the viewpoint of the central vision. This is the Lord’s ultimate recovery, and He has such a country to maintain the world situation so that His recovery may be spread.
