Scripture Reading: Acts 5:31; 17:26-27; Dan. 2:31-45; Rev. 6:1-8; 4:1-2; 1:10-11; Col. 4:2; Matt. 24:3-14, 32-34
Ⅰ
We need to be in our spirit so that we can be men on earth with God’s heart, men to whom heaven can be opened to see the vision of God concerning the destiny of the world—Rev. 1:10; 4:1-2; cf. Gen. 28:12-17; Ezek. 1:1; Matt. 3:16; Acts 7:56.
Ⅱ
The world situation is the indicator of God’s move on earth—5:31; 17:26-27; Dan. 2:31-45:
Ａ
All the major events of human history have been arranged and matched by God for His move on earth; since God has a purpose to accomplish with mankind on earth, He surely has the sovereign authority to manage the situation in human history; as an example, for the spreading of His recovery and for the final stage of His recovery—the building up of the Body as the preparation of the bride—God has sovereignly prepared, preserved, and blessed the United States—Acts 17:26; 5:31; Rom. 12:4-5; Rev. 19:7.
Ｂ
The entire world situation with its “birth pangs” is for the completion of the re-formation of Israel and also for the completion of the full delivery of the universal new man—Matt. 24:32-34; Mark 13:8; Dan. 12:1-2; Rev. 12:1-2, 5.
Ｃ
The vision of the great human image in Daniel 2 is a vision of “what will happen in the last days” (v. 28); it is a prophetic illustration of the history of human government, sovereignly arranged by the Lord for the carrying out of His economy (vv. 31-35):
１
The head of gold (vv. 36-38), corresponding to the first beast in 7:3-4, signifies Nebuchadnezzar, the founder and the king of Babylon.
２
The breast and the arms of silver (2:39a), corresponding to the second beast in 7:5, signify Medo-Persia.
３
The abdomen and thighs of bronze (2:39b), corresponding to the third beast in 7:6, signify Greece, including Macedonia.
４
The legs of iron and the feet partly of iron and partly of clay (2:33), corresponding to the fourth beast in 7:7-8, signify the Roman Empire with its last ten kings (2:40-44a; 7:7-11, 19-26; Rev. 17:7-13).
５
Although the form and appearance of the Roman Empire have vanished, the culture, spirit, and essence of the Roman Empire continue to exist today; at the beginning of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21) the form and appearance of the Roman Empire will be restored under Antichrist (Dan. 7:12).
Ｄ
The ten kings with their kingdoms, typified by the ten toes of the great image in Daniel 2, will be joined together under Antichrist, who will be the last Caesar of the revived Roman Empire; all of this will transpire in Europe—Rev. 17:10-14:
１
The mystery of lawlessness is working today among the nations and in human society; this lawlessness will culminate in the man of lawlessness, Antichrist—2 Thes. 2:3-10.
２
Antichrist will be the power of Satan, the embodiment of Satan; he will persecute and destroy the people of God—both the God-fearing Jews and the Christ-believing Christians—Dan. 8:24; Rev. 12:17; 13:7.
３
Antichrist will demolish and desolate the temple of God and the city of God; he will cast truth down to the ground—Dan. 9:27; 8:12.
４
Antichrist will have sharp insight to perceive things and will speak things against the Most High—7:8, 20, 25.
５
Antichrist will wear out the saints of the Most High; we have to resist and oppose the gradual, repeated, frequent, and daily wearing-out tactics of Satan—v. 25; Matt. 24:12; Judg. 16:16; Eph. 6:11-13.
６
Satan and Antichrist want the souls of men to be the instruments for their activities in the last age—Rev. 18:11-13; 2 Tim. 3:5; cf. Zech. 12:1.
Ｅ
At His appearing as the God-cut stone, Christ with His overcomers—the corporate Christ—will strike the ten kings with Antichrist (Rev. 19:11- 21), thereby crushing the great image from the toes to the head (Dan. 2:35).
Ｆ
Before the crushing of Antichrist and the totality of human government transpires, the Lord’s recovery must spread to Europe and be rooted there; Europe, in the consummation of the fulfillment of the vision concerning the great human image in Daniel 2, is more vitally crucial than any other country or race—the crushing of the two feet of the great human image will be the crushing of the entire human government—vv. 34-35.
Ｇ
After coming to defeat Antichrist and to crush the aggregate of human government, the corporate Christ—Christ with His overcoming bride—will become a great mountain to fill the whole earth, making the whole earth God’s kingdom; this kingdom will consummate in the New Jerusalem—the ultimate and consummate step of the divine history—Rev. 20:4, 6; 21:10.
Ⅲ
The first four seals opened by the Lamb-God give us a vision of world history from Christ’s ascension to the end of this age (cf. 4:1-2; 5:1-14); they show us that immediately after His ascension (Mark 16:19-20) there has been a four-horse race continuing through the entire age of the church until Christ’s return:
Ａ
The first seal consists of a white horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of the gospel—Rev. 6:1-2:
１
The bow without an arrow signifies that Christ’s fighting for the constitution of the gospel of peace is finished and that the victory is won; a crown signifies that the gospel has been crowned with the glory of Christ—2 Cor. 4:4.
２
Went forth conquering signifies that the gospel has been going forth with Christ to conquer all kinds of opposition and attack—Rev. 6:2.
３
The overcomers who preach the gospel of the glory of Christ become the riders of the white horse—Eph. 3:8-11; Rom. 1:1; Rev. 19:11, 13-14.
Ｂ
The second seal consists of a red horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of war—6:3-4:
１
Red signifies the shedding of blood, and a great sword signifies weapons for fighting.
２
To take peace from the earth signifies that war is continuing on the earth; that men should slay one another signifies that people will fight one another—v. 4; Matt. 24:7.
Ｃ
The third seal consists of a black horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of famine—Rev. 6:5-6:
１
A balance, a scale used to weigh precious things, being used here to weigh food signifies the scarcity of food; a quart of wheat, good pay for a day’s labor, and three quarts of barley, also good pay for a day’s labor (Matt. 20:2), signify the high price of food in its scarcity.
２
Do not harm the oil and the wine (oil and wine are for man’s pleasure—Psa. 104:15—and are always in short supply and become precious in famine) signifies the presence of famine.
Ｄ
The fourth seal consists of a pale horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of death—Rev. 6:7-8:
１
Pale signifies the color of the appearance of those stricken with the plague; Hades following Death signifies that Hades receives and retains those whom death has killed.
２
Authority is given to Death and Hades over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword, famine, and death and by the beasts of the earth—cf. vv. 9-11; Luke 18:1-2, 7-8.
Ⅳ
The spreading of the truths of the Lord’s recovery will be a preparation for the Lord’s coming back to bring the recovery and restoration not only to Israel but also to the entire creation—Matt. 24:14; 28:19; 19:28; Isa. 11:9; cf. Rev. 5:6-8:
Ａ
Immediately after Christ’s ascension, these four things—the gospel, war, famine, and death—began to run like riders on four horses, and they will continue until Christ comes back—6:1-8:
１
The spreading, running, and racing of the gospel of the kingdom throughout the whole inhabited earth is the kernel of the divine history within human history—Matt. 24:14.
２
The gospel of the kingdom, signified by the white horse of the first seal in Revelation 6:1-2, will be preached in the whole earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age, the time of the great tribulation.
Ｂ
We are not preaching a partial gospel but the full gospel that encompasses everything from Matthew through Revelation—the gospel of God’s eternal economy to dispense Himself in Christ as the Spirit into His chosen ones through His judicial redemption and by His organic salvation for the building up of His Body in the local churches to consummate the New Jerusalem as His bride, His wife, for His eternal expression—1 Tim. 1:3-4; Rom. 1:1; 5:10; Rev. 1:10-11; 21:2-3, 9-11; 22:1-2.
Ｃ
Actually, the gospel includes all the divine truths; the entire New Testament is the gospel, and the New Testament as the gospel is typified by the Old Testament; thus, we may say that the gospel includes the entire Bible.
Ｄ
God’s unique purpose in this age is to have the gospel preached so that the church as the Body of Christ might be built up to consummate the New Jerusalem—Eph. 3:8-11.
Ｅ
May the Lord burden us to learn the divine truths of the gospel and to spread them everywhere for His recovery—Isa. 11:9; Dan. 11:32b-33; 2 Tim. 2:21.
Ⅴ
In the present environment of the world, we need to devote ourselves to and persevere in prayer, while discerning “the signs of the times”—Acts 6:4; Col. 4:2; Matt. 16:3; Luke 21:24-36; Matt. 24:3-14, 32-34; Rom.13:11-14:
Ａ
We need to realize that we are in the midst of “birth pangs” (Matt. 24:8, 32-34), that “the kingdom of God is near” (Luke 21:31), and thus, pray the last prayer in the Bible—“Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20); the entire Bible concludes with the desire for the Lord’s coming expressed as a prayer (cf. S. S. 8:13-14; 2 Tim. 4:8; Acts 26:16); Christ’s coming will be His presence (Gk. parousia) with His people (Matt. 24:3; Acts 26:15-16; Mark 13:8; John 14:21, 23).
Ｂ
We need to pray with the full realization of God’s view of human history by seeing that the gospel is speeded up and even maximized by war, famine, and death and by seeing that we need to gain God to the fullest extent to accomplish the goal of His divine economy—Phil. 3:8, 12-14:
１
After he rebelled against God, Satan was condemned and even sentenced by God, but in His wisdom and sovereignty, God has not yet fully executed His judgment on Satan; He still has given Satan a certain limited time to do something to meet some negative need in the fulfillment of His economy—Job 1:6-8; 2:1-6; cf. John 12:31.
２
The book of Job shows us that God, through Satan as an “ugly tool,” was tearing down Job in two ways: stripping and consuming; God’s stripping and consuming were exercised over Job to tear Job down that God might gain Job so that he might gain God more; our outer man is being consumed so that our inner man may be renewed day by day—Phil. 3:8-10; 2 Cor. 4:16-18.
３
Job’s sufferings were not God’s judgment but God’s stripping, consuming, and tearing down so that He might have a base and a way to rebuild Job with Himself, to make Job a God-man, a new man in God’s new creation—5:17; Gal. 6:15.
４
It is through His stripping, consuming, and tearing down that God dispenses Himself into those who love Him and seek after Him—Job 10:13; Eph. 3:9; cf. John 3:6; Phil. 3:3.
５
God’s purpose in dealing with His holy people is that they would be emptied of everything and receive only God as their gain; the desire of God’s heart is that we would gain Him in full as life, as the life supply, and as everything to our being, which ultimately consummates in the New Jerusalem—Rom. 8:28-29.
６
The end of the book of Job tells us that Job eventually saw God; in the New Testament sense, seeing God equals gaining God; to see God is to be transformed into the glorious image of Christ, the God- man, that we may express God in His life and represent Him in His authority—42:5-6; 2 Cor. 3:18.
７
The more we see God, know God, and love God, the more we abhor ourselves and the more we deny ourselves—Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23; 14:26.
Ｃ
According to Solomon’s prayer in 1 Kings 8:48, we always need to pray toward the Holy Land, typifying Christ as the portion allotted by God to the believers (Deut. 8:7; Col. 1:12); toward the holy city, signifying the kingdom of God in Christ (Psa. 48:1-2); and toward the holy temple, signifying God’s house, the church, on the earth (Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15):
１
Daniel prayed three times a day by opening his windows toward Jerusalem; through His faithful channels of prayer, God carries out His economy with His elect for Christ’s coming—Dan. 6:10; Acts 2:42; 6:4.
２
God will listen to our prayer when our prayer to God is toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God’s eternal economy; this means that our prayer should always be aimed at the interests of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God’s interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God’s economy.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.Dan. 2:32-33 Concerning this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its abdomen and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
The book of Revelation stresses not only the Spirit of God as the sevenfold intensified Spirit for God's intensified move, but also our human spirit as the organ for us to realize and respond to God's move. Only spirit (our spirit) can respond to Spirit (God's Spirit). This book is composed of four major visions:
(1) the vision of the churches (chs. 1—3), (2) the vision of the destiny of the world (chs. 4—16), (3) the vision of Babylon the Great (chs. 17—20), and (4) the vision of the New Jerusalem (chs. 21—22). John was in his spirit when he saw these four visions (1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10)….We too need to be in our spirit to see the visions in this book. (Rev. 1:10, footnote 1)
Today's Reading
There have been many great and recent changes in the world. It is a historical fact that the world situation has always been the indicator of the Lord's move on earth….The carrying out of His economy has much to do with the world situation.Genesis 10 gives a record of how the nations of the earth were divided after the flood (cf. v. 32). These nations were set up by ambitious persons, but they were not that prominent. One day, however, the Lord Himself established a nation, the nation of Israel. After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, Joshua brought them into the good land. Then God used David to establish the nation of Israel by defeating the enemies, by building up the city of Jerusalem, and by preparing for the building up of the temple to be God's house on earth. Later, after David's son Solomon built the temple, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came to destroy the nation of Israel.
Daniel 2 records that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, which Daniel interpreted. In that dream there was a great human image. The golden head of this image signifies Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian Empire. The breast and arms of silver signify the Medo-Persian Empire. The abdomen and thighs of bronze signify the Grecian Empire with Alexander the Great. The legs and feet of iron signify the Roman Empire. The feet of the image were partly of iron and partly of clay, signifying the nations in the period after the fall of Rome and before the second coming of Christ. This image shows the four great empires on earth with their governments. It is actually a prophetic illustration of the history of human government, sovereignly arranged by the Lord for the carrying out of His economy.
Just before the beginning of the New Testament age, Julius Caesar conquered the area of Palestine. Later, his adopted son, Augustus, became the first formal Caesar of the Roman Empire in 27 B.C. That empire was greatly used by God in the carrying out of His New Testament economy. It was under Augustus that Christ was born, and it was under the Roman Empire that Christ was crucified….Christ's birth and death took place through the means of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire was formed, that was an indicator that God was going to do something directly to accomplish His New Testament economy.
The Roman Empire also conquered the entire Mediterranean region, bringing all the nations around the Mediterranean Sea under its governmental control, and Greek became its common language. Furthermore, highways were built throughout the Roman Empire to make travel easier and safer. This was a preparation for the spreading of the gospel after Christ's death and resurrection. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," pp. 268-269)
Further Reading: Life-study of Daniel, msgs. 3-4; CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," chs. 1-3; CWWL, 1981, vol. 1, "The World Situation and God's Move," ch. 7
Morning Nourishment
Dan. 7:7-8 …And there was a fourth beast, dreadful and frightful and exceedingly strong; and it had large iron teeth;…and it had ten horns…. Then there was another horn, a small one, which came up among them…Rev. 17:12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, who…receive authority as kings for one hour with the beast.
The world situation, especially the situation in Europe, has been remodeled to fit in with the prophecies in the Bible. If we are clear about this, we will know where we are and what we should do.
The culture, spirit, and essence of the Roman Empire continue to exist, but the form and appearance of this empire have vanished. However, the form and appearance of the Roman Empire will be restored under Antichrist. (Life-study of Daniel, p. 23)
According to Revelation 17:12, ten kings will be raised up before the great tribulation in the revived Roman Empire. They will be one with Antichrist in opposing God and persecuting His people—the Jews and the believers. These ten kings are likened to the ten toes of the great image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream (Dan. 2:42). They will submit themselves and their kingdom to Antichrist (Rev. 17:17).
Western culture is composed of Hebrew religion, Greek philosophy, and Roman politics. Roman politics is carrying on Western culture, and the Bible prophesies that the Roman Empire will be revived…. All of this will transpire in Europe. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," p. 277)
Today's Reading
This little horn will have eyes like the eyes of man (Dan. 7:8, 20). Here the eyes signify insight. That the horn will have eyes like a man indicates that Antichrist will be intellectually brilliant. He will be a man full of knowledge and will possess great insight. He may both know political science and be familiar with all the up-to-date scientific knowledge. Keep this in mind as you observe the world situation and read the newspapers. Not too long from now, such a man will rise up.This little horn will also have a mouth speaking great words against the Most High (Dan. 7:8, 20, 25). He will be arrogant in utterance and speak blasphemous words against God. Antichrist will be an eloquent speaker. Even today, any candidate for political office must be both intelligent and articulate. The greater words a candidate speaks, the more likely he is to be elected. When you see a brilliant and eloquent person speaking arrogant words and blaspheming God, you must take notice—he may be Antichrist. His appearance will be so strong, so stout, so imposing, and so attractive that he will be able to subdue many simply by the power of his presence [v. 20].
Not only will Antichrist be arrogant and blasphemous, but he will also make war against the saints [v. 21]. He will persecute the God-fearing Jews and the Christ-believing Christians. Verse 25 indicates that the little horn shall "wear out the saints of the Most High." Antichrist will put the saints under his hand and gradually wear them out. How he will do this I do not know. It is more difficult to endure this wearing out than to be put to death suddenly. Do not wait to experience this yourself. Rather, pray that you might escape it. The more we see someone arising who looks like this person, the more we need to pray, "Lord, if this is the one, take me away before he comes into power. I do not want to be under his hand." (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 471-472)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1989, vol. 4, "The Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ to be the Organism of the Processed and Dispensing Triune God," ch. 2; CWWN, vol. 38, ch. 52
Morning Nourishment
2 Thes. 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed (whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of His coming).Dan. 2:34-35 …A stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image at its feet of iron and clay and crushed them….And the stone…became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
Antichrist will…be the man of sin (2 Thes. 2:3-10)…. Paul's word concerning this in 2 Thessalonians 2 must refer to the book of Daniel. Antichrist will be a lawless person. The entire world today is heading in the direction of lawlessness. Lawlessness is everywhere. Because Antichrist will be the representative of lawlessness and even its totality, the Bible calls him "the lawless one" (2 Thes. 2:8).
Because he will be so sinful and lawless, he will become "the son of perdition" (v. 3), who will perish in an extraordinary way. He will be defeated by the Lamb, seized, and thrown alive into the lake of fire. (Life-study of Revelation, p. 495)
Today's Reading
Europe, in the consummation of the fulfillment of the vision concerning the great human image in Daniel 2, is… more vitally crucial than any other country and race—the crushing of the two feet of the great human image will be the crushing of the entire human government (vv. 34-35)…. The periods of history signified by the head, the breast and the arms, the abdomen and the thighs, and the legs have been fulfilled. But the ten toes have not been fulfilled….When the Lord comes to crush human government, He will crush the feet with the ten toes. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," pp. 276-277)As the stone,…Christ was not cut out with human hands (as indicated by "without hands" in Daniel 2:34, 45); He was cut by God through His crucifixion and resurrection. Through His crucifixion He was cut by being put to death (Acts 2:23), and in His resurrection He was cut out to be, first, the cornerstone for the building up of the church and the crushing stone to destroy the totality of human government (Acts 2:24; Matt. 21:42,44b).
At His appearing as the stone cut out not by human hands, Christ will crush the great image from the toes to the head. This means that He will strike the ten kings with Antichrist. Revelation 19 speaks of the war between Christ and Antichrist. With Christ there will be His newly married bride, composed of the overcomers, and with Antichrist there will be the ten kings with their armies. This war will be a fighting of the earth against the heavens, of man against God. Christ will defeat and destroy Antichrist and the ten kings.
According to Daniel 2, this will entail the crushing of the entire human image from the toes to the head. Verses 34 and 35a say, "A stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the image at its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed all at once, and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found." This signifies the complete destruction of all human government from Nimrod to Antichrist. Human government will therefore be terminated by Christ at His appearing as the God-cut stone.
The great human image will be replaced with a great mountain, signifying the eternal kingdom of God, which will fill the whole earth (2:35b, 44a). This means that after Christ comes to crush the aggregate of human government, He will usher in the eternal kingdom of God on earth. (Life-study of Daniel, pp. 16-18)
Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msgs. 40-43; CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Up-to-Date Presentation of the God-ordained Way and the Signs concerning the Coming of Christ," ch. 7
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 6:1-2 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying like the sound of thunder, Come. And I saw, and behold, a white horse, and he who sits on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering and to conquer.The first four seals are four horses with their riders, running in a four-horse race (Rev. 6:1-8). All four riders are not real persons but personified things.
The first seal is a white horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of the gospel (vv. 1-2)…. A bow with an arrow is for fighting. But here there is a bow without an arrow. This indicates that the arrow has already been shot to destroy the enemy and that Christ's fighting for the constitution of the gospel of peace is finished and the victory is won. A crown signifies that the gospel has been crowned with the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). The gospel that we preach today has a crown, and this crown is the glory of Christ. We should not feel shameful when we preach the gospel. Rather, we should feel glorious. To preach the gospel is a glorious thing. Those who preach the gospel become the riders of the white horse.
Went forth conquering in Revelation 6:2 signifies that the gospel has been going forth with Christ to conquer all kinds of opposition and attack….We believers… must be on the white horse for the spreading of the gospel. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Prophecy of the Four 'Sevens' in the Bible," pp. 22-23)
Today's Reading
The second seal consists of a red horse and its rider, signifying the spreading of war….Red in Revelation 6:4 signifies the shedding of blood. The red horse is a symbol of the raging of war, which is altogether a matter of shedding blood.The third seal, consisting of a black horse and its rider, signifies the spreading of famine. Revelation 6:5-6 says, "When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a black horse; and he who sits on it had a balance in his hand. And I heard as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying: A choenix of wheat for a denarius and three choenixes of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine." Black here, indicating the dearth (Jer. 14:1-4), signifies the color of the visage of famished people (Lam. 4:8-9; 5:9-10). The black horse is a symbol of the spreading of famine, which causes a black visage.
The fourth seal, consisting of a pale horse and its rider, signifies the spreading of death. Revelation 6:7-8 says, "When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. And I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and he who sits upon it, his name is Death; and Hades followed with him. And authority was given to them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with famine and with death and by the beasts of the earth." Pale signifies the color of the appearance of those stricken with the plague…. Hades following death signifies that Hades receives and retains those whom death has killed…. Authority is given to Death and Hades over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword, famine, and death and by the beasts of the earth.
The running of the four-horse race began from Christ's ascension (Mark 16:19-20) and continues through the entire age of the church to Christ's coming back. Beginning with the first century, the gospel has been spreading throughout these twenty centuries. War among the human race has also been proceeding simultaneously. War has always caused famine, and famine has issued in death. All of these will continue until the end of this age. (CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Prophecy of the Four 'Sevens' in the Bible," pp. 23-26)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, "The Prophecy of the Four 'Sevens' in the Bible," chs. 1-2; Life-study of Revelation, msg. 19
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 24:14 …This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.Rev. 19:11 …I saw heaven opened, and…a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True…
13-14 …His name is called the Word of God….The armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
The gospel of the kingdom, which includes the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24), brings people not only into God's salvation but also into the kingdom of the heavens (Rev. 1:9)…[and] emphasizes the heavenly ruling of God and the authority of the Lord. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole earth for a testimony to all the nations before the end of this age. Hence, that preaching, signified by the white horse of the first seal in Revelation 6:1-2, will be a sign of the consummation of this age. (Matt. 24:14, footnote 1)
Before the crushing [in Daniel 2:34] transpires, the Lord's recovery must spread to Europe and be rooted there. The spreading of the truths of the Lord's recovery will be a preparation for the Lord's coming back to bring the recovery and restoration not only to Israel but also to the entire creation.
Of the three influential factors in today's world, the Far East and the United States have been occupied and taken by the Lord's recovery. Europe still remains as a region in which the Lord's recovery needs to be rooted and grow. I hope that we would bring this fellowship to the Lord and pray. We should tell the Lord, "Lord, these days are the consummation of the age. Lord, in these days rekindle my love toward You." (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," p. 277)
Today's Reading
God's wisdom is to make this age, the age from the ascension of Christ to His coming back, an age of gospel preaching. Everything on earth today is for the preaching of the gospel…. This is the gospel preaching age. The history of the world since the ascension of Christ is a history of gospel preaching….We are not preaching a partial gospel but a whole, complete gospel, a full gospel…. The full gospel encompasses everything from Matthew through Revelation. In these days we are preaching the full gospel, the gospel that includes the church today, the kingdom in the coming age, and the New Jerusalem in eternity. Whatever happens today, including the opposition against us, is a help to preaching the gospel. This is the vision of the first four seals….The rider on the first horse is…the preaching of the gospel of the glory of Christ…. The three other horses are helping this one horse to run the race….We are with the rider on the first horse. We have a bow without an arrow, for we are preaching the gospel of peace, a gospel in which the victory has been won, in a peaceful way. Hallelujah, this glorious preaching of the gospel is riding on throughout the earth. Praise the Lord that we are on the first horse! (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 239-240)Today there is the need of the spreading of the understood divine truths for the Lord's recovery and restoration…. If we have a burden to go to Europe, we must spend day and night to study the truths that we have published. Then we will know what the Lord's recovery is, and we will have a real burden to go to Europe to teach people. The Lord charged us in Matthew 28:19 to go and disciple the nations. The Lord's word here shows us that we should be burdened to go and teach all the nations.
Through our speaking, some will be solidly saved….May the Lord burden us to learn the divine truths and to spread them everywhere for His recovery and restoration. (CWWL, 1991-1992, vol. 1, "The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord's Move," pp. 288-289)
Further Reading: Life-study of Mark, msgs. 39-41; CWWL, 1968, vol. 1, "The Practical Expression of the Church," ch. 22
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 22:20 He who testifies these things says, Yes, I come quickly. Amen.Come, Lord Jesus!
1 Kings 8:48 …If they return to You with all their heart…and they pray to You toward their land…, the city…, and the house…built for Your name.
Dan. 6:10 …Daniel…went to his house (in his upper room he had windows open toward Jerusalem) and …he knelt…and prayed and gave thanks…
Revelation 22:20b is the apostle John's prayer and his response to the Lord's warning. It is also the last prayer in the Bible. After hearing this book, we should all pray such a prayer and have such a response—"Come, Lord Jesus!" The entire Bible concludes with the desire for the Lord's coming expressed as a prayer. (Rev. 22:20, footnote 2)
Today's Reading
Though Satan, the rebellious angels, and the demons were all judged by God, they are still moving and working today, because the judgment upon them has not yet been executed. Today, Satan can still go to God to accuse God's people (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7; Rev. 12:10). He still "walks about" on the earth "seeking someone to devour" (1 Pet. 5:8), and still works to blind the thoughts of people (2 Cor. 4:4), to deceive them by transfiguring himself into an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). We must not be ignorant of his thoughts (2 Cor. 2:11), neither give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). We must withstand him firm in the faith (1 Pet. 5:8-9). We need to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against him (Eph. 6:11-17).After Satan's rebellion, God pronounced His judgment upon him immediately. But it takes a long time to execute God's judgment. The Lord Jesus was manifested in the flesh that He might destroy the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). This was the execution of God's judgment. The Lord gave His disciples authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19). Now we, as His Body, must continue this execution, to destroy the tail of the serpent. Through the church's executing work, the devil will be cast to the earth, and his angels will be cast out with him (Rev. 12:9). He will later be bound and cast into the abyss (Rev. 20:2-3). Eventually, he will be "cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:10). Then, the execution of God's judgment upon Satan and his followers will be completed. (Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, pp. 45-46)
The book of Job shows us that God, through Satan as an ugly tool, was tearing Job down by two ways: stripping and consuming. God's stripping and consuming were exercised over Job to tear Job down that God might have a base and a way to rebuild him with God Himself that he might become a God- man. (Life-study of Job, p. 35)
First Kings 8:31-48 mentions seven conditions concerning God's listening to the prayers of His elect. In…the last condition three things are stressed (v. 48): the Holy Land, typifying Christ as the portion allotted by God to the believers…; the holy city, signifying the kingdom of God in Christ (Psa. 48:1-2); and the holy temple, signifying God's house, the church, on the earth (Eph. 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15)…. During the Babylonian captivity Daniel prayed toward the Holy Land, the holy city, and the holy temple three times a day by opening his window toward Jerusalem (Dan. 6:10). This indicates that God will listen to our prayer when our prayer to God is toward Christ, the kingdom of God, and the house of God as the goal in God's eternal economy. This means that no matter for whom we are praying, our prayers should be aimed at the interests of God, that is, at Christ and the church as God's interests on earth, for the fulfilling of God's economy. (1 Kings 8:48, footnote 1)
Further Reading: Truth Lessons—Level One, vol. 1, lsn. 4; Life-study of Job, pp. 5-6, 35, 41, 50-51, 57-59, 116-118, msgs. 30-31; Watchman Nee—a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, chs. 15-16; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, "Crystallization-study of the Epistle to the Romans," ch. 11; CWWL, 1986, vol. 2, "A Blessed Human Life," ch. 4