Scripture Reading: Num. 2:2; Rev. 21:12, 21a; 22:14

DAY 1 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 2 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 3 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 4 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 5 Outline　MorningRevival

DAY 6 Outline　MorningRevival

«　WEEK 2　DAY 1　»

　　Num. 2:1-2 Then Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, The children of Israel shall encamp each by his own standard with the ensigns of their fathers' households; they shall encamp facing the Tent of Meeting on every side.

　　The second point of the formation of the Israelites into an army is that they encamped in array. Being numbered was for encamping in array, by which the Israelites became an army.

　　This portion of the Word, [Numbers 2:2], has a deep implication. First, we need to see that in the matter of encamping in array, there was no human choice. For example,...if [an] Israelite was born of the tribe of Judah, he was not allowed to encamp by the standard of the tribe of Naphtali, even if he disliked Judah. Each tribe had one standard (one large flag). Whichever tribe an Israelite was born of, he had to encamp by the standard of that tribe; he was not allowed to have his own choice. The spiritual significance of this type is that in the coordination in the church, the believers are not allowed to have their own choice; their coordination must come absolutely out of God's ordination and arrangement. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," p. 75)

　　Numbers 2:2 goes on to say, "They shall encamp facing the Tent of Meeting on every side." Although the children of Israel encamped by their own standard, there was only one center. There were twelve standards among the Israelites, but there was only one central goal. All the standards were for maintaining the testimony of God; none of the standards was for its own tribe. They did not raise their own flags individually; instead, they encamped facing toward and around the Tent of Meeting. They took the Tent of Meeting, the testimony of God, as their center.

　　In Numbers the tabernacle has two names: the Tent of Meeting (1:1; 4:23) and the Tabernacle of the Testimony (1:50, 53; 10:11). The Tent of Meeting emphasizes that the tabernacle was the place where God met with His people, whereas the Tabernacle of the Testimony emphasizes that the Ark of the Testimony was the center of the tabernacle.

　　Leviticus speaks mainly of the Tent of Meeting, because the emphasis of this book is not the testimony of God but how man comes before God to have fellowship with Him, serve Him, and live a holy life. Numbers emphasizes the matter of God's testimony. The testimony of God refers to the two tablets in the Ark of the Testimony. The Ark of the Testimony was the center of the tabernacle; therefore, the tabernacle was called the Tabernacle of the Testimony. The Tabernacle of the Testimony was the center of the universe and was the testimony of God on earth. This testimony on earth needed to be safeguarded. When the Tabernacle of the Testimony was erected in the wilderness, it could easily have been destroyed without a strong army surrounding and protecting it. In order for the Tabernacle of the Testimony of God to stand on the earth and be maintained, the children of Israel needed to be formed into an army, encamping around it and protecting it. In this way the tabernacle was safeguarded so that God's testimony in the universe could be maintained on the earth.

　　The church is not only the Tent of Meeting but also the Tabernacle of the Testimony. On the one hand, there is a spiritual army that takes the tabernacle as the center to fight for God in order to maintain His testimony; on the other hand, there is a service for the testimony, which is the center of all the services. Today the church has a twofold responsibility: fighting and maintaining God's testimony. The former is for the latter. Thus, all the local churches should engage in spiritual warfare and be a testimony for God. Spiritual warfare means that when the church is being attacked by Satan, there are those in the church who are mature in life and who know Satan's attack and take up the work of prayer before God. They fight against the spiritual forces of evil spoken of in Ephesians 6:10-20. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," pp. 75-76, 65-66, 74-75)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," ch. 2

«　WEEK 2　DAY 2　»

　　Num. 2:3 And those who encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their companies; and the leader of the children of Judah...

　　9 All who were numbered of the camp of Judah: one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their companies. They shall set out first.

　　The Israelites encamped facing the Tent of Meeting in four directions: the east, the south, the west, and the north. This means that the testimony of God faced all sides. There were three camps in each of the four sides. The numbers in such an encampment have a particular significance. Three denotes the Triune God, and four denotes the created man. Three times four signifies God in His Trinity being mingled with the created man as one. Three times four equals twelve, which also denotes eternity and completion as well as administration and government. Thus, according to the numbers in the Israelites' encamping in array, their formation signifies God in His Trinity being mingled with the created man, forming a unit of eternal and perfect government. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," p. 76)

　　On the east side, toward the sunrising, was the standard of the camp of Judah...; these were to set out first (Num. 2:3-9). On the south side was the standard of the camp of Reuben...; these were to set out second (vv. 10-16). On the west side was the standard of the camp of Ephraim...; these were to set out third (vv. 18-24). On the north side was the standard of the camp of Dan...; these were to set out last (vv. 25-31).

　　The sequence of the four camps was not according to birth but according to spiritual condition. Although Reuben was the firstborn (Gen. 29:31-32), because he committed fornication he lost the birthright (Gen. 49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1-2). Judah was born fourth (Gen. 29:31-35), but he set out first because he was an overcoming lion among the twelve brothers (Gen. 49:8-9), typifying Christ as the overcoming fighter, the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5), the One who defeated God's enemy. Ephraim, the son of Joseph, was third because of Joseph. Among the camps, Dan was the last. Dan was also the worst, for he was a "serpent" (Gen 49:17), and he was the first to rebel against God's kingdom and set up a second worship center (1 Kings 12:26-30).

　　Four camps of three armies each yields the number twelve. This number, composed of three multiplied by four, signifies the Triune God (three) mingled with His creatures (four), forming a unit of eternal and perfect government. The number twelve is the number of God's perfect and complete government. The twelve apostles, for example, are for God's government.

　　In the midst of the camps was the Tent of Meeting, with the camp of the Levites, which was to set out in the middle of the four camps (Num. 2:17). The Levites were encamped around the tabernacle on three sides...[3:23, 29, 35], leaving the east side for Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's two sons (3:38).

　　The more we consider the picture of the children of Israel encamping in array around the tabernacle, the more we must adore God for His plan, His sovereignty, and His creating ability. By God's creating ability, Jacob had twelve sons, each of whom became a tribe. One tribe, Levi, was set aside to become the priests (Levites), but Joseph's two sons filled the gap. Levi begot three sons, who occupied three sides of the tabernacle, leaving one side for Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons.

　　Although there are many pictures in the Old Testament, few Christians know how to apply them to what is recorded in the New Testament. If we read Revelation 21 and 22 carefully, we will find in these chapters certain reminders referring us to the Old Testament. Without the pictures in the Old Testament, it is difficult to understand the revelation concerning the New Jerusalem given in the New Testament. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 20-22)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msg. 3

«　WEEK 2　DAY 3　»

　　Rev. 21:12-13 It had a great and high wall and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel: on the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.

　　The New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 has four sides and each side has three gates. The total number of gates on the four sides of the New Jerusalem is twelve, and on the twelve gates are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (vv. 12-13). According to verses 2 and 3, the New Jerusalem is the tabernacle of God. The Israelites' encamping in Numbers 2 was around God's tabernacle; this picture corresponds to the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21. Just as the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 has four sides, so also the encamping in Numbers 2 had four sides. The New Jerusalem has three gates on each side, on which are the names of three tribes; similarly, the twelve tribes of Israel encamping in Numbers 2 had three tribes on each side. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," p. 76)

　　The encamping in Numbers 2 is not a coincidence but a picture of the scene in eternity. God's purpose in the universe is to be mingled with man in His Trinity to become a unit of government. This unit of government can fight for His testimony. When the twelve tribes were encamped, they were like a city. The walls of the four sides of the New Jerusalem are the safeguard of the city. The twelve camps of the army encamped in array in Numbers correspond to the walls of the New Jerusalem. Likewise, the coordination in the church is for safeguarding God's testimony. The administration of each local church should be "three times four," which equals "twelve," for the divine administration in a locality. This administration is an army that fights for God and maintains God's testimony. (CWWL, 1960, vol. 1, "Synopsis of Numbers," pp. 76-77)

　　In Matthew 13 there are negative things—the tares, the leaven, and the big tree—among the precious things. God in His economy does not care for these but for the wheat (the plant life), which will be transformed in nature to become gold, pearls, and precious stones (minerals). All these precious things will consummate in the New Jerusalem.

　　The children of Israel encamping in array typifies God's redeemed people being consummated in the New Jerusalem. According to our observation and the outward appearance of the situation of the church today, there does not seem to be any encamping in array....Of course, God's formed army does not include the tares; only the genuine believers in Christ throughout the generations are counted. All these believers, after being saved, sanctified, renewed, transformed, and conformed to the image of Christ, will be glorified. In this glorification will be seen the reality of the New Jerusalem as the consummation of God's work, in His New Testament economy, of the new creation in the old creation.

　　Eventually, God's work of the new creation will consummate in one entity—the New Jerusalem. There we will see God's redeemed people camping in array. Today, however, the situation among the children of God is a mess that causes us to mourn and weep. But we believe that out of this weeping there will be a jubilee. First, there will be a jubilee on a smaller scale during the millennium. Then there will be a jubilee on a full scale for eternity in the new heaven and new earth.

　　The entire Bible...shows us one thing—God's economy. God's economy is, first, to work out the old creation. Then out of the old creation, God uses four dispensations to bring forth the new creation. Today, this new creation consummates in the church; in the millennium it will consummate in the New Jerusalem on a smaller scale; and in the new heaven and new earth it will consummate in the New Jerusalem on a full scale. The consummation of the picture of God's economy revealed in the Bible is the New Jerusalem. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 18, 17-18)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msg. 3

«　WEEK 2　DAY 4　»

　　Rev. 21:12 It had a great and high wall and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels...

　　Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.

　　The wall is for separation and protection. New Jerusalem will be absolutely separated unto God and will fully protect the interests of God. Its wall will be great and high. Today all believers need such a great and high wall for their separation and protection. (Rev. 21:12, footnote 1)

　　In God's eternal economy, angels are ministering spirits (Heb. 1:14). They serve those who inherit salvation and who participate in the eternal blessing of the New Jerusalem, the center of the new heaven and new earth. They will be the gatekeepers of our possession, while we will be the enjoyers of the rich inheritance in God's eternal economy. (Rev. 21:12, footnote 3)

　　Israel here [in Revelation 21:12] represents the law of the Old Testament, indicating that the law is represented at the gates of the New Jerusalem. The law watches and observes to insure that all the communications, the comings in and goings out, of the holy city meet the law's requirements. That the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed on the twelve gates signifies that the twelve tribes of Israel are the entrance into the holy city; as such, they lead people, through the preaching of the gospel, into the riches of the Triune God to enjoy the supply in the city. (Rev. 21:12, footnote 4)

　　The twelve gates are inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 21:12), who were the representatives of the law of the Old Testament, signifying the requirement of the law at the entrance into the kingdom of God....[This indicates] that the law is watching over the twelve gates. With the law there is nothing that supplies or nourishes. The law only requires something of us. The law is watching over the gates. If a sinner is to come into the holy city, the requirement of the law must be fulfilled. The law is the gate watcher, or the guard at the gate, to ensure that you have fulfilled its requirement. As you are "walking through the gate" and you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the law says that you are okay. As long as you are in Jesus Christ, every part of the requirement of the law is fulfilled, and you are okay. You can now get into the holy city....When we came to the triune entrance, we had a "free ticket" because Christ paid the price for us, and the guard at the gate (the law) honors Christ.

　　The law is not only a watcher at the gate but also the child-conductor of the entry (Gal. 3:24)....The law was not given for us to keep, but the law was given to conduct us to Christ. The law is the conductor to bring you to the gate; the law is also the guard to "okay" your entry.

　　Furthermore, we see twelve angels at the twelve gates (Rev. 21:12), signifying that the angels watch over the entry into the New Jerusalem (Luke 15:7, 10; Heb. 1:14). Each gate not only bears one of the names of the twelve tribes but also has an angel. The law requires, and the angel watches. The angels are spectators. The entire realm of God's New Testament economy is actually "a big show." To enter into this show you need a free ticket, and in this show there are spectators. These spectators are the angels. If you do not confess the name of Christ, you cannot get a free ticket. However, if you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, you get a free ticket into the holy city, and the angelic spectators will rejoice and welcome you in. One angel at the gate actually represents the entire angelic realm. In Luke 15:10 the Lord Jesus said, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting." When we believed in the Lord Jesus, when we repented and called on His precious name, we probably did not realize that there was a myriad of angels in heaven "clapping their hands" and rejoicing. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, "God's New Testament Economy," pp. 438-439)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, "God's New Testament Economy," chs. 34-35

«　WEEK 2　DAY 5　»

　　Rev. 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was, respectively, of one pearl...

　　Isa. 53:5 But He was wounded because of our transgressions; He was crushed because of our iniquities; the chastening for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we have been healed.

　　We want to see the significance of the pearls in the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:21 tells us that the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are twelve pearls. A pearl is not created or manufactured but produced by an oyster. A pearl is something produced organically just as a piece of fruit is not something manufactured or created but is the produce of an organic tree....Pearls are produced by oysters in the waters of death. When the oyster is wounded by a particle of sand, a little rock, it secretes its life-juice around the sand and makes it a precious pearl.

　　In this allegory we need to see the illustration of Christ's death. The oyster depicts Christ as the living One coming into the death waters, being wounded by us, and secreting His life over us to make us precious pearls for the building of God's eternal habitation and expression. That the twelve gates of the holy city are twelve pearls signifies that regeneration through the death-overcoming and life-secreting Christ is the entrance into the city. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, "God's New Testament Economy," pp. 416-417)

　　Each gate of the holy city is one pearl, signifying that the entrance to the city is unique and is once for all; that is, we can enter the city only through the once-for-all regeneration accomplished by Christ's overcoming death and life-imparting resurrection. (Rev. 21:21, footnote 2)

　　The oyster's wound is an inward wound caused by a little rock. This rock can remain in this wound or, we may say, in this death. In like manner, we can remain in Christ's death....Every moment we need to stay in the all-inclusive death of Christ. The reason we lose our temper is because we move out of the death of Christ....Where can you get the victory over sin, over your temperament, over the world, and over Satan? There is victory only in the death of Christ.

　　Day by day I enjoy the secretion of Christ's resurrection life. A kind of secretion is around me all the time because I am always imprisoned in His death. Where death is, resurrection is. Resurrection works in death and through death. This resurrection is the secretion of the life-sap of the resurrected Christ around your entire being in the way that oysters produce pearls.

　　As we stay in the Lord's death and enjoy His life-secreting resurrection, there is a further entering into the New Jerusalem. Our experience of the Lord's death and resurrection becomes our entry into the New Jerusalem.

　　I hope that...all of us would pray, "Lord, imprison me and keep me always in Your death. I do not want to leave Your death but to make Your death my sweet and wonderful dwelling place. Lord, I want to stay with You in Your death." His death is the place where He has the position to secrete Himself around you, and this is the only place where you can enjoy and experience His resurrection life as a kind of life-sap secreting itself around your being, making you a wonderful piece of pearl. We need to see that the pearls signify the believers produced of Christ in His redemptive work with His secreting life for the entry into God's building.

　　First Peter 1:1-2 tells us that we have been chosen "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."...In 1 Peter 1:1-2 we see the Father's choosing, the Spirit's sanctifying, and the sprinkling of the Son's blood....[Here] we see that God is triune in one entrance to bring us into God, into God's interest, into the kingdom of God, and into the economy of God, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The Bible reveals that the Triune God is our triune entrance. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, "God's New Testament Economy," pp. 417-420, 435-436)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 3, "God's New Testament Economy," ch. 33

«　WEEK 2　DAY 6　»

　　Phil. 3:10 To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.

　　1:19 For I know that for me this will turn out to salvation through your petition and the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

　　Pearls signify the issue of Christ's secretion in two aspects: His redeeming and life-releasing death and His life-dispensing resurrection. Without God's revelation we can never realize that the death of Christ secretes, dispenses, to produce the gates of the city. The twelve gates are the issue of Christ's secretion also in His life-dispensing resurrection. He resurrected to be the life-giving Spirit to dispense the divine life into the believers (1 Cor. 15:45b)....Both Christ's death and resurrection have an issue, a secretion.

　　Both kinds of secretion (dispensing) require the seeking believers' daily experience of the death of Christ subjectively by the power of Christ's resurrection that they may be conformed to the death of Christ (Phil. 3:10). We have to put not just Christ's death itself but the secretion of His death into our daily experience subjectively. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, "The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem to the Seeking Believers," pp. 218-219)

　　We have to put this application of the subjective death of Christ into our daily experience. We can experience His death only by the power of the resurrection of Christ.

　　We have been crucified, but how can we keep ourselves on the cross all the time? No human beings can do it except those who know the power of the resurrection of Christ; they have the capacity, the ability, to practice this. By the power of the resurrection of Christ, we have the ability and the power to keep our pitiful self on the cross.

　　The believers also should seek the daily experience of the resurrection of Christ subjectively by the bountiful supply of the Spirit (the reality of resurrection) of Jesus Christ that they may be conformed to the image of the firstborn Son of God (Phil. 1:19; Rom. 8:29).

　　Christ's death can be experienced by us only through Christ's resurrection, and Christ's resurrection can be real to us only by the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has become the life-giving Spirit, and He is within us. When we turn to our spirit, we meet Christ as the life-giving Spirit, who is the very reality of Christ's resurrection. It is by this Spirit that we experience Christ's resurrection. To experience Christ's resurrection is to contact the life-giving Spirit.

　　In order to apply this we have to remain in our spirit all the time to meet Christ as the Spirit, who is the reality of His resurrection. Then we have the power to remain on the cross. The application of the gates of the city is first to remain on the cross by the power of Christ's resurrection. Second, we have to apply Christ as the life-giving Spirit living in our spirit. We have to touch Him all the time. This is why the Bible tells us to pray unceasingly (1 Thes. 5:17). It is only through prayer that we can touch Christ in our spirit as the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit who is the reality of His resurrection.

　　When we practice the death of Christ, we will be conformed to His death, having the image of a dead person on the cross. When we touch the Spirit, we touch Christ in His resurrection, and this will conform us to the image of the glory of the firstborn Son of God. His death applied to us will conform us to the mold of His death, and His Spirit in us will conform us into the glory of His image, the image of the firstborn Son of God. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, "The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem to the Seeking Believers," pp. 219-221)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, "The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem to the Seeking Believers," ch. 2