The book of Revelation firstly reveals Christ, and secondly the testimony of Jesus. In other words, this book is concerned with Christ and the church. In Revelation, Christ and the church are revealed in a unique and particular way. In the last message we pointed out that many aspects of Christ which are not found in other books in the Bible are unveiled in Revelation. The same is true with the church. The book of Revelation unfolds the church in a very particular way. In this message we shall present a summary of the aspects of the church found in Revelation, while in later messages we shall cover the details.
Firstly, in Revelation the churches are unveiled as being the lampstands (Rev. 1:11-20). In no other New Testament book is this term used with respect to the church. In other books we are told that the church is the gathering of God’s chosen ones, that it is the Body of Christ, and that it is the house of God. But apart from Revelation, we are not told that the church is the lampstand. As the lampstands, the churches shine in the darkness. The word lampstand enables us to understand much about the church and its function. The church is not the lamp; it is the lampstand, the stand which holds the lamp. Without the lamp, the lampstand is vain and means nothing. But the lampstand holds the shining lamp. As we saw in the preceding message, God is the light and the Lamb is the lamp (Rev. 21:23). Thus, Christ is the lamp, and the church is the lampstand holding the lamp. God is in Christ and Christ as the lamp is held by the stand to shine out God’s glory. This is the testimony of the church.
As the local churches, the lampstands are golden in nature. In typology, gold signifies divinity, the divine nature of God. All the local churches are divine in nature; they are constituted with the divine nature of God. To say this is absolutely scriptural, for the book of Revelation says that the local churches are golden lampstands (1:20). These stands are not built of clay, wood, or any inferior substance; they are constructed out of pure gold. This means that all the local churches must be divine. Without divinity, there can be no church. Although the church is composed of humanity with divinity, humanity should not be the basic nature of the local churches. The basic nature of the local churches must be divinity, God’s divine nature. By these two simple words — golden lampstands — we realize a great deal about the church: that the church is something shining with Christ and that it is constituted with the divine nature.
The lampstands shine in the darkness. If there were no darkness, there would be no need for the shining of the light of the lamp. The shining of the lamp is quite particular. In order for the lamp to shine, it must have oil burning within it. If the oil burns within the lamp, the light will shine out through all the darkness. This is the function of the church. The function of the church is not simply to preach or to teach doctrine. In the dark night of this age, the church must shine out the very glory of God. This is the testimony of the church.
All the lampstands are identical with one another. Many Christians, having taken in a mistaken concept, desire to be different from other Christians. When I came to this country fourteen years ago, I met some dear Christians who were troubled because the local churches were all the same. They told me that they would try their best to be different. This is not right. Everyone has a head, two shoulders, two arms, two hands, and ten fingers, and every human head has seven holes: two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, and a mouth. It is ridiculous to say, “I don’t want to have the same appearance as others. In order to be different, I would like to have five holes in my head.” How ridiculous this is! Those who claim that every local church should be unique base their concept upon the differences among the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Some have said, “Look! All the seven churches are different.” In the early years, when I was very young, I was influenced by this concept and I taught the same thing. But one day the light dawned upon me and I saw that all the differences in the local churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are negative, not positive. Ephesus lost her first love — negative; Pergamos is worldly — negative; Thyatira is demonic — negative; and Laodicea became lukewarm — negative. On the positive side, however, all the local churches are identical, because they all are seven golden lampstands. If you could place all the seven lampstands on a table before you, unless you numbered or labeled them, you would be unable to tell them apart. All the seven lampstands are the same.
Nevertheless, since 1962, some voices in this country have declared loudly that they will never be like the church in Los Angeles. Where are those voices today? They have faded away, and all the peculiar concepts they advocated have failed. I am not saying that all must follow the church in Los Angeles. But if Los Angeles has seven “holes,” then it would be ridiculous for others to insist upon having five “holes.” On the positive side, all the local churches must be identical. On the negative side, however, they are different. If the church in Los Angeles would worship idols, then we must refuse to follow them. In matters such as this, we must be different. But it is wrong to say that, on the positive side, the local churches should not be the same. We should not try to make ourselves peculiar or different — this is pride. One day the Lord showed me that the four sides of the New Jerusalem are exactly the same. Each side of the wall is built with the same material — jasper. It is not that one side is built with jasper and the other sides with brass. No, all four sides are the same. Likewise, universally, all the churches must be the same. They need not be the same in organization, but they must be identical in appearance. For example, the churches in New Zealand should be the same as the churches in Japan. Because we all are one church, all the churches on earth should be universally the same. Locally, we are the churches; universally, we are the church. This is the testimony of Jesus.
In Rev. 7:9-17 we see the testimony of Jesus as the great multitude. According to the record of chapter seven, this great multitude is the whole Body of God’s redeemed ones, having been redeemed “out of every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues” (7:9). All of them have passed through tribulation. This indicates that at no time nor at any place is there a church which has not passed through tribulation. The world always persecutes the churches (John 16:33). Wherever the church is, there will always be a certain amount of persecution. That the whole Body of the redeemed ones will pass through tribulation is indicated by 7:14, which says, “These are those who come out of the great tribulation.” This great multitude has come out of tribulation in a victorious way, for they all hold palm branches which signify their victory over tribulation (7:9). Eventually, in eternity, they will be overshadowed by God with His tabernacle. As 7:15 says, “He who sits upon the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them.” This is the destiny of God’s redeemed ones. How wonderful! Furthermore, they will also be shepherded by the Lamb at the springs of waters of life for eternity (7:17).
Revelation 7:9-17 does not portray a particular group of believers. Rather, it presents a general record of the whole Body of God’s redeemed ones and their state in eternity. In eternity, their state will be that of enjoying God’s overshadowing and Christ’s shepherding. This is our destiny. This portion of the Word reveals that while Christ is executing God’s judgment upon mankind, He will take care of God’s redeemed ones. All God’s redeemed ones eventually will be raptured to the throne of God and will stand there enjoying God’s overshadowing and the Lamb’s shepherding.
In Rev. 12:1-17 we see another symbol of the church: the woman with the man-child. The church is not only the lampstand and the great redeemed multitude; it is also the greater part of the woman with the man-child. No human mind would ever conceive of the church in this way. The woman in this chapter represents the whole Body of God’s people, and the man-child represents the stronger part of God’s people. As there is the man-child within the woman, so among God’s people there is a stronger part. This woman, who is bright with the sun, the moon, and twelve stars (12:1) and who is persecuted by Satan, the great red dragon, represents God’s people throughout all the generations. In every generation, a portion of God’s people has always been persecuted by Satan. Nevertheless, during the three and a half years of the great tribulation she will be protected by God from the attack of the serpent.
As we have seen, the man-child is the stronger part of the people of God. Among the people of God, even among us in the Lord’s recovery today, there is the stronger part. This stronger part will be raptured to the throne of God before the great tribulation. In other words, the woman will be left on earth to pass through the tribulation, but the stronger part, the man-child, will be raptured to the throne of God before the tribulation. Why will the man-child be raptured prior to the tribulation? Because God needs the man-child to fight Satan in the heavens and to cast him down. Although God has many angels who will fight against Satan, the final victory over the enemy will not be gained by the angels but by the man-child. God needs the man-child. God will shame Satan by using the very man Satan corrupted to defeat him. God may say, “Satan, you have corrupted the man I created. But I have got a man-child out of this corrupted man to defeat you. And he will not mainly defeat you on earth but in heaven.” The man-child will fight through and up, fighting up to the throne to cast Satan down from the heavens to the earth. This is a part of the testimony of Jesus. Although Jesus has defeated Satan on the cross, there is still the need for the church to execute His victory over the enemy. Because so many members of the Body have failed in this matter, only the stronger part of the Body, the man-child, will execute Christ’s victory over Satan. The man-child will be raptured to the heavens to accomplish this job.
The rapture is not merely for our blessing. We should not just say, “How good it is for me to be raptured to the heavens!” We must realize that God has a need for us to be raptured — we must be raptured to heaven that we might fight against the enemy. If when you hear this you say, “I don’t want to go there and be involved in a war,” this means that you are not qualified to be raptured before the tribulation. If you do not go to heaven to meet Satan and cast him down, then he will come down to the earth to meet you and overcome you. We must be the man-child. I earnestly desire to be a part of the man-child. I am not satisfied simply to be a part of the woman. I want to be included in that stronger part. This also is an aspect of the testimony of Jesus.
Now we come to the firstfruits and the harvest (14:1-5, 14-16). The church is not only the lampstand shining and the man-child fighting, but also a field growing a crop which must ripen and become mature. Any crop which is still green is too tender to be harvested. But once the crop has ripened in the field, it will be harvested immediately.
That part of the crop which ripens first is called the firstfruits. The firstfruits will be raptured to Zion in the heavens before the great tribulation. As 14:4 points out, the firstfruits are those who “follow the Lamb wherever He may go.” Being the firstfruits, they are raptured to the house of God in Zion as the fresh enjoyment to God. This is for God’s satisfaction. According to the type in the Old Testament, the firstfruits of the ripened harvest were not taken to the barn but into the temple of God (Exo. 23:19). This indicates that all the early overcomers will be taken up to the house of God in heaven for God’s enjoyment. The rapture is not mainly for our enjoyment but for God’s enjoyment. The rapture is for defeating the enemy and for satisfying God. We must not only be today’s lampstands but also today’s man-child to fight against God’s enemy and today’s firstfruits to satisfy God’s desire.
Following the firstfruits, in chapter fourteen, we have the harvest. Verse 15 says, “Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” The harvest will be reaped near the end of the great tribulation. It will be raptured to the air where Christ will be on the cloud. Why will the harvest be left to pass through the great tribulation? Because green, unripened fields need strong sunshine in order to ripen. In a sense, the great tribulation will be the strong sunshine which will ripen all the saints who will not be ready before the tribulation. To put it simply, if today you do not give up the world and live for Christ, Christ will leave you on earth to pass through the great tribulation. At that time, you will surely give up the world and realize that the best way to live is to live for Christ. All the children of God must do this; otherwise, they could never ripen. If you do not believe my word, I ask you to wait. Perhaps you feel that the world is too lovely to give up. If so, the Lord may say, “Since you love the world so much, I will leave you with the world and let you find out whether it is really lovely.” Then the Lord will shake the world, and eventually you will say, “Lord, I repent.” That repentance, however, may be rather late. Do not wait until the great tribulation comes to repent. Repent now! Sooner or later, every real Christian must repent. I have the full assurance that eventually every saved one will realize that the world is not lovely but poisonous. The more you love the world, the more you are poisoned by it. The world is at enmity with God, and we all must despise it. Sooner or later, the Lord will cause you to realize how much He hates this world. The day will come when all of us will be ripe. But do not say, “I don’t care about being ripe. As long as I’m saved, everything will be all right.” You may be able to argue against me with your strong, stubborn will, but the day will come when you will realize that you need to ripen. I advise you not to wait for the harvest. By His grace, come forward to be a part of the firstfruits.
In Rev. 15:2-4 we see the overcomers over the beast. God is sovereign. Even during the time of the great tribulation, there will be some overcomers, those whom we may call the late overcomers. These overcomers will pass through the great tribulation in which the Antichrist, the beast, will compel people to worship him as God and to worship his image in the temple of God. We expect to see the rebuilding of the temple in Israel, for this will be a sign that the Lord’s coming back is very near. The Bible prophesies that Antichrist will erect his image in the temple of God and will force people to worship it (Matt. 24:15). During that time, many Christians will overcome the beast and be killed. I advise you to be an early overcomer and to love the Lord today. Do not wait to overcome by being killed during the great tribulation.
According to chapter fifteen, the later overcomers will be raptured to stand on the glassy sea, “a sea of glass mingled with fire” (15:2), and will praise God with the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (15:3). Those on the glassy sea are those who have “the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name” (15:2). These are they who overcome the beast, his image, and the worship of the idol of the Antichrist. Revelation 20:4 and 6 indicate that some of the co-kings of Christ will be these late overcomers. I say again that I prefer to be an early overcomer, not a late one. If you are sloppy, you will be left to pass through the great tribulation. We all must look to the Lord and say, “Lord, I want to be an early overcomer.” We shall cover the details when we come to Revelation 15 in this life-study.
In Rev. 19:7-9 we see the church as the Bride. Eph. 5 reveals that the church is the Bride of Christ, but it does not reveal the Bride in such an intimate way. But in Rev. 19 we see how intimate is the church as the Bride. In this portion of the Word we see that the Bride will wear bright raiment, being clothed with bright and pure righteousness, and will be invited to the marriage feast of the Lamb (vv. 7-9). This is a very intimate matter. To God’s enemy, we must be the man-child; for God’s satisfaction, we must be the firstfruits; and for Christ, we must be the Bride. When we are eager to be the Bride, Christ will receive His satisfaction. Not only will Christ be satisfied, but we ourselves will be glad. Revelation 19:7 says, “Let us rejoice and exult.” In principle, a bride is the most pleasant and happy person. Today, as the church, Christ’s counterpart, we are suffering and undergoing many dealings. But the day is coming when there will be no more persecutions, sufferings, or dealings. I have never seen a bride who was dealt with on her wedding day. Oh, we must be the Bride! When we have become the Bride, all the difficult dealings will be over.
The church is also the army (Rev. 19:14-19; 17:14). The part of the church which will be the man-child to fight against the enemy in the heavens will also be the army to fight with Christ against Satan on earth. After all the raptures have been completed and after the believers have been judged at the judgment seat of Christ, all the overcomers will come back to the earth with Christ as His army to fight against the Antichrist and his army. Both Christ and Antichrist will have an army. Although one army is heavenly and the other is earthly, both will fight on the earth. In other words, Antichrist will fight against Christ and His army, and Christ will fight back with His army. The false Christ will be so bold as to fight against the real Christ, but the real Christ will war against the false one. In 17:14 we see that Christ’s heavenly army will be composed of all the overcomers, those who have been called and chosen. Eventually, at the end of this war, Christ will defeat the Antichrist.
Ultimately, the testimony of Jesus will be the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-27; 22:1-5). Beginning with the lampstand and passing through the great multitude, the man-child, the firstfruits, the late overcomers, the Bride, and the army, all the saved ones will eventually be the New Jerusalem, which will be a living composition of all of God’s redeemed ones, the ultimate consummation of God’s building of His people. In and for eternity, the New Jerusalem will express God in the Lamb with the flow of the Spirit. When we come to chapters twenty-one and twenty-two, we shall see a clear picture of this ultimate consummation.
