We have seen that the woman in Rev. 12 is not an individual woman, but a collective, universal woman symbolizing the totality of God’s people. In Gen. 3:15 the woman was local and individual; the seed, Christ, was also individual; and the serpent was a small snake. All three, the woman, the seed, and the serpent, were individual and on a small scale. But in Revelation 12 the woman is universal and collective, symbolizing all of God’s people: the patriarchs represented by the twelve stars; Israel represented by the moon; and the church, the New Testament believers, represented by the sun. In Revelation 12 the serpent has become a dragon. While the serpent creeps on earth, the dragon flies through the air. Now Satan not only moves on the earth, but is also exceedingly active in the air. The seed in this chapter is not just the individual Christ but is a corporate entity, the corporate Christ, including Christ as the Head and all His overcoming believers as the Body. Hence, the three items found in Genesis 3:15 are seen in a highly developed form in Revelation 12. In this message we need to consider the man-child and the rest of the woman’s seed.
Verse 2 says that the woman was with child, and verse 5 says that “she brought forth a son, a man-child.” The child here, being a man-child, signifies the stronger part of God’s people. Although in verse 2 this child was in the woman, the Word does not call him a baby, but a man-child. By reading and praying over this portion of the Word, we realize that man-child here does not indicate a baby. Rather, it indicates the stronger part within the woman. The woman represents the totality of God’s people. But throughout all generations there have been some stronger ones among God’s people. These are considered in the Bible as a collective unit fighting the battle for God and bringing God’s kingdom down to earth.
History proves that not everyone among God’s people is a strong one. No, only a minority of God’s people are strong ones. This was true during the time of the patriarchs. Do you not believe that during Noah’s time there were others who belonged to God besides Noah? I believe that God had hundreds of people. Noah, however, was a strong one. During the time of Israel, there were hundreds of thousands who belonged to God, but only a few of them were strong. For example, Elijah and Jeremiah were strong ones. Undoubtedly, the majority of God’s people were genuine, but they were not strong. We find the same thing in the New Testament. Although there were thousands of Christians in the early days, not that many were truly strong. Even at present there are thousands, even millions, of Christians, but not many are strong. I encourage you all to be strong.
We should not only be part of the woman, but also part of the man-child. In the Bible woman signifies the weaker one, and man signifies the stronger one (1 Pet. 3:7). The man-child, the stronger part, is within the woman, the weaker part. Although the woman is bright and universal, she is not altogether strong. Only a part within her is strong. This is true in the local churches, even here in Anaheim. Not all those in Anaheim are strong ones. Rather, I believe that in Anaheim there are more weak ones than strong ones. How about your locality? Everywhere the strong ones are few, and the weak ones are many.
There is a proverb that says that if we do not have quantity, we can never have quality. Quality comes out of quantity. Suppose God had a hundred thousand people. If one per cent of this number were strong ones, then there would be one thousand strong ones. Firstly, we have quantity, then quality. God’s way is always wise. Firstly, He gains the quantity. He calls many, but chooses few. As Matthew 22:14 says, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”
Although we all have come into the Lord’s recovery, we should not say that everyone in the recovery will be an overcomer. We have no warrant for saying this. We can only say that those in the recovery have a greater possibility of being overcomers. Whether or not you will be an overcomer depends upon you; it depends upon how much you share of God’s grace. How much you share of God’s grace will determine whether or not you will be a strong one among God’s people in the Lord’s recovery. I thank the Lord that we all are part of the woman, but I dare not say that we all are also part of the man-child. We must look to the Lord that we may be enriched, strengthened, and become more solid so that we might grow from the woman into her stronger part. But no matter how strong you become, do not prematurely separate yourself from the woman. If you do that, you will have a miscarriage. Be careful not to be “too strong.” If you are too strong, you will come out of the woman too soon. Stay in the woman as part of the man-child until the time of delivery has come.
How can we be the man-child? If you would be part of the man-child, you must eat more, grow more, and become stronger. To put it into practical terms, you must pray more, spend more time with the Lord, eat more of the Word, experience the Lord more, grow in life more, and have more dealings with the negative things. If others would gossip, you would not gossip. If others would not pray, you would pray more. Although you should not be separate from the woman, you should be somewhat different from others. The woman is too general. Those who are part of the man-child are somewhat particular. Many of the dear ones in the Lord’s recovery are indifferent. They have little appetite and do not like to eat very much. But if you would be in the man-child, you should not be indifferent. You must be particular, sober, and serious. You must have a good appetite and have a personal, direct moment by moment dealing with the Lord. If you are like this, then it is possible that you will be the stronger part in the Lord’s recovery, the stronger part within the woman. Whether or not you will be in the man-child depends upon how you react to God’s desire, God’s move, and God’s eternal economy. If, day and night, you cannot go on until you have given yourself wholly and thoroughly to God’s economy, then it is likely that you are a part of the man-child.
Not only the Lord’s economy but even His recovery today depends upon the stronger ones, not upon the indifferent ones. There might be thousands in the Lord’s recovery, but not all are strong ones. Praise the Lord for the strong ones. The Lord’s recovery today absolutely depends upon them. Not all those in the Lord’s recovery in the United States are strong. Some say, “Oh, I love the Lord’s recovery, but I just can’t make it.” Such a one means business and loves the Lord’s recovery, but he is not absolute. Thank the Lord for the honest and faithful ones. They are absolute, saying, “This is it! I will be absolutely for it. I don’t like to be neutral.” We should be either cold or boiling hot, but not lukewarm. If we are lukewarm, we are only good for being vomited out of the Lord’s mouth (3:16).
Firstly, the Lord’s economy is with His people represented by the woman. But the Lord’s economy cannot be carried out merely by the woman. There is the need of the strong ones. This is always the principle. We must be absolute and strong. If we would take this way, we would take it absolutely. But if we would not take it, then we would forget about it. We must not only be part of the woman, but also part of the man-child within the woman. It is not adequate simply to be in the Lord’s recovery. We have to be among that part in the Lord’s recovery which is strong. Whatever tests and trials may come, we would stand against them. You are all familiar with Brother Watchman Nee. He was imprisoned for over twenty years. During that long trial, he was daily tempted to fail. But praise the Lord that for more than twenty years he stood without changing. He was truly among the stronger part. Do not excuse yourself. Rather, you should say to yourself, “Poor self, get away. I have no heart for you and I don’t care for you. I care for the Lord and for His testimony and recovery.” We all must be absolute and strong.
If you are absolute, and strong, your appetite will be enlarged. Some think that the three messages put out each week by the ministry station are too much to digest. When I was young, I could have taken in thirty messages a week. How easy it is to take in just three messages a week. We only need to read six pages a day. However, if you do not have any appetite, even a small piece of candy would be too much for you to take in. How much we eat depends upon our hunger. Do you have a big appetite? If you do, you would like to devour the whole Bible. Three messages a week are not too much. Even three messages a day would not be excessive. Many of you have time to gossip, but you do not have time to read a few pages of the life-study messages. Are you in the man-child? If you are, then you will be hungry. Mothers know that if a child does not have a good appetite, he will not grow and be strong. If you do not eat, you cannot grow, and if you do not grow, you will not be strong. The Lord’s recovery depends upon the hungry ones. Whether or not you are part of the man-child depends upon how hungry and thirsty you are. If you are truly thirsty, you will hate gossip and nonsensical talk. You will say, “I am here to be trained, strengthened, nourished, and built up. I have neither the heart nor the time for gossip. I have no appetite for idle conversation.” If you are like this, it is a proof that with you there is the possibility of being part of the man-child. We are here for the Lord’s recovery and for nothing else. Remember that the Lord’s recovery is the practicality of His economy today. His economy can only be carried out by the man-child.
It is difficult for most Christians to understand Revelation 12. Many cannot understand who the woman is and who the rest of her seed are. You cannot apprehend this according to your natural mind. The woman is composed of all her seed. If she had one thousand children, these one thousand, put together, would equal the woman. Do not consider the woman as being separate from all her children. The woman, the mother, is her children, and the children are the woman.
This chapter is not just for the future, for it began in Genesis 3:15. Abel was a seed of the woman. As a seed of the woman, he was part of the woman and was persecuted by his brother Cain, who was part of the serpent. The serpent who damaged Eve in Genesis 3 subtly crept into Cain in Genesis 4, making him a part of the serpent. It was not Cain who murdered his brother, but, according to John 8:44, it was Satan, the serpent, who murdered Abel. In Genesis 4 we have the woman represented by Abel and the serpent represented by Cain. As we continue on through the Old Testament, we see that Elijah and Jeremiah were part of the woman and that those who opposed them were part of the serpent. The Lord Jesus certainly was the seed of the woman. In front of Him stood the seed of the serpent, the “generation of vipers” (Matt. 23:33), the Pharisees. All those who opposed the Lord Jesus were part of the serpent. When the apostle Paul was Saul of Tarsus, persecuting the church and laying it waste, he was part of the serpent. But the Lord called him, and Saul became part of the woman. All the synagogues of Satan (2:9) were also part of the dragon. At the time of the New Testament, the serpent had become a great dragon. All the Jewish synagogues had become one with the serpent in persecuting the woman.
This has continued throughout all the centuries until the present time. Today, in one sense, we are the woman, but, in another sense, some of us are the man-child. Directly in front of us is the dragon. Even as I am speaking, I can see the dragon before me. Do not be afraid of him, for we have One who is stronger than he (1 John 4:4). The dragon may send forth the waters, but God will use the earth to swallow them (12:15-16). The first one to be part of the man-child was Abel. All the martyrs are also part of the man-child. As we shall see, all the dead overcoming saints are included in the man-child.
The period of the woman’s pregnancy is not nine months; rather, it is approximately six thousand years. It will last from the death of Abel until the time of the great tribulation when Satan will be one with Antichrist to persecute the believers left on earth during the great tribulation. Those Christians who will refuse to worship the image of Antichrist will be the later overcomers mentioned in Revelation 15. From the time of Abel until Revelation 15 will be about six thousand years. This is the period of the woman’s pregnancy with the man-child.
In front of the woman who is about to bear the man-child stands a serpent who has become a dragon. This subtle one has been constantly fighting to damage God’s people throughout the centuries. He has used every means to accomplish this, including both Judaism and Catholicism. In his history of martyrs, Foxe says that the Roman Catholic Church has killed more saints than the Roman Empire did. If you go to Spain, you will not have the same liberty to speak as we have in this country. If you speak out, you will probably be persecuted by the religious people. Although they would persecute you for the sake of preserving their religion, they would not realize that they are part of the great dragon. Today, this war of persecution is raging. Sometimes I am asked why we have so much opposition and why we do not receive a good name. As long as we are standing for the testimony of Jesus, there will be opposition. Satan never sleeps. Day and night, he is working to oppose and damage the Lord’s testimony. But praise the Lord that His recovery is here! The real woman is here, and within her there is the man-child.
Do not think that Revelation 12 is merely for the future. No, it began in Genesis 3:15 and has been continuing ever since. In Galatians 4:29 Paul says that those who are fleshly persecute those who are spiritual. The fleshly are one with the dragon, and the spiritual are those in the woman with the man-child. In this age and on this earth, the woman is here. Within her, there is the stronger part, the man-child. This is the reason that we experience so much opposition and fighting. This opposition is a sign that we are the woman, for if we were not the woman with the strong man-child within her, there would be no opposition. Praise the Lord for this opposition! It is an indication that we are the woman with the man-child within her.
The man-child consists of the resurrected overcomers. That the man-child “was about to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod” (v. 5) indicates that the man-child consists of the overcomers as mentioned in 2:26-27. These overcomers are those who have already died.
Verse 5 says that the woman “brought forth” the man-child. “Brought forth” here signifies resurrection, as in Acts 13:33-34. The man-child is composed of the overcoming saints who have died and who have been resurrected. This is proved by the words unto death in verse 11. The Lord Jesus was brought forth in resurrection to be the Firstborn Son of God. To Him that was a birth. Acts 13:33 and 34, a quotation of Psalm 2:7, reveal that when He was resurrected, He was begotten as the Firstborn Son of God. Prior to that, He was the Only Begotten Son of God with divinity, but through His resurrection He was begotten as the Firstborn Son of God with both divinity and humanity. All the overcomers who die will be part of the man-child. By resurrection, the man-child will come into full existence. Abel, the apostles, and so many martyrs and deceased overcomers are waiting for the time of resurrection. The resurrection of all the dead overcoming saints will be the delivery of the man-child. Hence, the man-child is composed of all the overcoming saints who die before the time of this resurrection. If you are an overcomer today and live until the Lord comes back, you will not be a part of the man-child. Instead, you may be among the firstfruit mentioned in chapter fourteen. But if you are an overcomer and die before the Lord comes back, you will be resurrected to be part of the man-child. Therefore, the man-child does not represent the overcomers who live until the Lord comes back, but represents all the dead overcomers who will be resurrected immediately before the Lord comes back. This resurrection will be their delivery as the man-child.
The man-child brought forth in verse 5 is composed of the “brothers” in verse 10 who have been opposed and accused by Satan, the enemy of God. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by loving not their soul life even unto death (v. 11).
“Unto death” (v. 11) surely indicates martyrdom. A number of the brothers of whom the man-child is composed were martyred for the Lord’s testimony. This proves that the man-child brought forth by the woman will be the dead overcoming saints resurrected.
We have seen that war is raging between the dragon and the woman. The woman, however, does not fight the battle. The battle is fought by the man-child. Today, the war is between the dragon and the Lord’s recovery. But, the battle is being fought by the strong ones, by the man-child. The brothers who constitute the man-child fight Satan and eventually overcome him. They overcome Satan by three things: by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by loving not their soul life even unto death.
The blood of the Lamb, which is for our redemption, answers before God all the accusations of the Devil against us and gives us the victory over him. We need to apply this blood whenever we sense the accusation of the Devil. If you wage war against Satan, the accuser will constantly condemn you. Many of us can testify that when we were indifferent, there were no accusations. But when we woke up and began to war against Satan, then the accusations came. Satan said, “Look at yourself — you are not very good. You are not right with your wife or with your brothers.” Some of these accusations are accurate, but others are falsehoods fabricated by the accuser. Day after day we need the blood, not only to cleanse us but also to cover us. We not only have the redeeming blood, but also the prevailing, overcoming blood. If you have done wrong, you need to clear it, but do not take the accusations of the enemy. Whenever you wake up and take your standing against the dragon as a stronger part of the woman, the dragon will immediately accuse you in your conscience. Do not listen to those accusations. Rather, you must say, “Lord, cover my conscience, thoughts, and realizations with Your prevailing blood. Your blood defeats the enemy.” You need to make your conscience strong under the covering blood. The brothers overcame the accuser by the blood of the Lamb.
According to our experience, when we turned to the Lord for His purpose, the accusations came immediately. But we did not know that those accusations came from the enemy. We thought that it was the working of our conscience being enlightened. Satan, the serpent, is the subtle one. He always does things in a subtle manner, pretending to be something that he is not. Satan often pretends to be us. When we were indifferent toward God’s purpose, we had no trouble with this. But once we had turned to the Lord for His purpose, it seemed that our conscience was continually working to tell us of the things in which we were wrong. That was not you — it was Satan. How can we prove that it was Satan? If your conscience is truly working under the light of God, then once you confess and apply the blood, that condemnation will cease and you will have genuine peace. If this is your experience, then the condemnation is from your enlightened conscience working within you. But many of us can testify that after we confessed and applied the blood, the so-called condemnation lingered on. This is not the condemnation of our conscience, but the accusation of the Devil. Condemnation comes from God, but accusation comes from the accuser. Any apparent condemnation that does not stop after we have confessed and applied the blood must be of the Devil. Once we realize this, we should tell Satan, “Stop! I will not confess anymore. This is not me; it is you. Devil, this is not God’s enlightenment — it is your accusation. I am not perfect, but you must realize that I am under the blood of the Lamb, and the blood is my perfection. Don’t you realize that I am under the blood? I am one of the brothers who overcome you, not because of my perfections, but by the blood of my Redeemer.”
None of us knows how much the blood implies. Only God knows this. The Devil also knows more of what the blood implies than we do. In the early years of our ministry we had experience in casting out demons. During that time, we did a great deal of gospel preaching in China and often we had to conquer cases of demon possession. Many times as we were praying to cast out the demon, sharp accusations came against us. The demon said, “Will you pray to cast me out? Don’t you remember that last night you lost your temper with your wife? Now you want to cast me out?” Immediately, our praying conscience was weakened and our praying mouth was shut. Instead of praying, we declared, “Yes, last night I lost my temper with my wife. But, demon, don’t you know that now I am under the blood?” When you mention the blood, the demons will be defeated. The demons know more about the power of the blood than we do. A number of times, demon-possessed females took scissors and, as we were praying, threatened to cut us with them. Then we declared, “We are under the blood. Demons, you must realize that your king and leader, Satan, the Devil, has been crucified and that you and he have been judged.” Whenever you say this, the demon-possessed person will relax. Through experience we have come to see the power and authority of the blood of the Lamb. We must always apply the blood, telling the Devil that although we are not perfect, we are under the perfect blood. It is not your perfection that silences the demons — it is the blood. None of us has a complete perfection. Rather, our perfection is punctured. Do not trust in your perfection and do not fight the battle by your perfection. Even now as I am ministering, I do not minister by my perfection. I have come here to minister by the blood. Hallelujah, the blood is here! We all must see the blood and declare that we are under its covering. This blood is the prevailing blood, and it speaks and implies a great deal. Only God and, to some extent, the Devil know how much the blood implies. But whether or not we know all that the blood implies, as long as we apply it, we shall have all it implies.
They also overcame the enemy by “the word of their testimony.” This is their word testifying that the Devil has been judged by the Lord. Whenever we sense the Devil’s accusation, we should verbally testify how the Lord has already dealt with him. We must declare the Lord’s victory over him with the uttered word. We need to testify not only to men but also to the demons, saying, “Demons, you must be reminded that Satan, your king, has been defeated by my Lord Jesus Christ. You should not be here troubling me.” Along with testifying to the demons, you need to preach to Satan, saying, “Satan, don’t you know that you have been crucified on the cross? You have been judged, and your destination is the lake of fire.” This is the testimony of your verbal word. Do not simply keep these thoughts in your mind — you must utter them to Satan. Although no one may be with you in your room, Satan is there. I have preached to the demons and to Satan. That preaching was not for their repentance; it was a repellent. By spraying the heavenly poison through our verbal testimony, all the “bugs” are killed. You may not see any demons, but they are there. Some brothers have wondered how I can be so strong. The reason is that by preaching to the “bugs” I am strengthened. But my strength is not in what I am — it is in what the blood is. I am not the poison. The demons are not afraid of what I am, but they are afraid of what the blood is. We need to apply the blood.
Shortly after we moved into our new house, we were troubled by gophers. Some brothers put poison into the gopher holes, and all the troublesome gophers were exterminated. Our “poison” today is the blood of Jesus and the word of our testimony.
We need to send out the word of our testimony. At times, you may need to preach to Satan for several minutes, saying, “Satan, I was deceived by you for years. One day, my Lord came to me and said that I was redeemed at the cross. Satan, don’t you know this?” You need to speak to him like this. Many of us have never preached to Satan, but now we all must learn to do this. If you would preach prevailingly, the first person to whom you must preach is Satan. This preaching to the enemy is the word of our testimony.
Our testimony is that we were sinners but that the Lord is our Redeemer. He died on the cross for our sins, and now we have His blood. Tell this to Satan! After you have spoken to him about this, say, “Satan, you should not be here. Your destiny is firstly the abyss and then the lake of fire. But I want you to stay here awhile until I have finished my message to you. Only then will I allow you to be released.” If you preach to Satan like this, the accuser will not dare to trouble you because you trouble him. After you have finished your message, say to the enemy, “Satan, don’t come back again. If you do, I’ll give you a longer sermon.”
The brothers overcame him not only by means of the blood, but also by the word of their testimony. The blood is the fact, and the word is our preaching. The blood implies the fact that our sins have been forgiven and taken away, that we have been crucified, that Satan has been judged, and that his head has been bruised. When we apply the blood, we apply all these facts. After applying the blood, we must declare the facts to Satan. This is the way to overcome the enemy.
If you apply the blood and preach to Satan, he will be threatened. He accuses you, troubles you, and makes you of none effect. He would destroy you by his accusations. I am afraid that many dear ones are still under the destruction of the Devil’s accusations. They say, “Oh, I love the Lord, but I am not perfect. I have made so many mistakes and blunders.” The result of these accusations is to make you of no effect. Through the crippling effect of his accusations, the enemy confiscates you. But you must tell him, “Devil, my standing is not my perfection. My standing and my covering are the blood.” Anyone who is still under Satan’s accusations should preach a long sermon to him. If you do this, you will immediately be strengthened.
The brothers also overcame the enemy by not loving their soul life. Due to Adam’s fall, Satan has joined himself to man’s soul life, man’s self (Matt. 16:23-24). Hence, to overcome him we should “not love our soul life,” but rather hate it and deny it (Luke 14:26; 9:23). The overcoming believers who constitute the man-child do “not love their soul life even unto death.” Those who do not love their soul life are willing to be martyred. We must hate our self. As long as we love our soul life, we are dust, good to be food for Satan. But if we do not love our soul life, our self, there will be no dust, and Satan will be killed. When our soul life is killed, Satan is killed also. This is the way for us, as the stronger part of the woman, to overcome Satan.
If you preach to Satan, he will leave you. Then you should be prepared to say, “Satan, even if you hate me, I would die to you. I would like to lose my soul life, for when I die, I have a glorious graduation.” If you are willing to lose your soul life, Satan will have no way with you. If he bothers you, you may preach to him; if he hates you, you die to him. What then will he be able to do? He will be able to do nothing and he will quit. This is the way to overcome the enemy.
The man-child is brought forth by the suffering woman, by the suffering people of God (Rev. 12:2, 4-5). The words cried out in verse 2 signify that she was praying. “Being in travail and in pain to bring forth” signifies that throughout all generations God’s people have been suffering the travail of delivery (Isa. 26:17-18; Jer. 6:24; 13:21; 30:6; Micah 4:9-10; 5:3; Gal. 4:19) to bring forth the man-child to fight for God’s kingdom.
Verse 5 says that the man-child “was about to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod.” This is the authority of Christ (Psa. 2:9) which He gives to the overcomers (Rev. 2:26-27). The man-child, the resurrected overcomers, will exercise the authority of Christ over the nations and rule them with Christ in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 20:4, 6).
Verse 5 also says that the man-child “was caught up to God and to His throne.” To be “caught up” is to be raptured. The rapture of the man-child differs from that of the majority of the believers as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. There, the rapture of the majority of the believers will be to the air and at the last trumpet (1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16), which will be the seventh trumpet (Rev. 11:15). But here, the rapture of the man-child will be to the throne of God and before the “thousand two hundred and sixty days,” which will be the time of the great tribulation of three and a half years (forty-two months, Rev. 12:14; 13:5; 11:2), beginning from the fifth trumpet (Rev. 9:1).
The rest of the woman’s seed mentioned in verse 17 is the weaker part of the woman, which includes the Israelites who keep the commandments of God and the believers who have the testimony of Jesus. Both the Israelites and the weaker believers will be left to go through the great tribulation. They will be persecuted and attacked by the dragon.
