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Through the Lord’s death on the cross, Satan, the old serpent, was judged, cast out (John 12:31; 16:11); that judgment and sentence will ultimately be carried out and executed by the overcomers as the man-child, the corporate seed of the woman; the war waged by the overcoming believers against Satan is actually the executing of the Lord’s judgment upon him for him to eventually be cast out of heaven (Rev. 12:7-9).
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The man-child consists of the overcomers who stand on behalf of the church, take the position that the whole church should take, and do the work for the church — 2:7b, 11b, 17b, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 21; 12:5, 11:
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All of God’s people should have a part in His eternal purpose, but not all assume their rightful responsibility; therefore, God chooses a group from among them — the man-child brought forth by the woman.
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In the Bible the stronger ones among God’s people are considered a collective unit fighting the battle for God and bringing God’s kingdom down to earth — Rev. 12:5, 10-11.
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God will use the man-child to fulfill His economy and to accomplish His purpose — 1 Tim. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 1:9, 11; 3:11.
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God needs the man-child to defeat His enemy and to bring in His kingdom so that His eternal purpose might be accomplished; the Lord’s recovery is the practicality of God’s economy today, and His economy can be carried out only by the man-child — Rev. 12:10.
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The rapture of the man-child is a transaction that causes Satan to have no more position in heaven; we must be raptured to fulfill God’s need by executing His judgment upon His enemy — vv. 5, 7-10.
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Those who constitute the man-child overcome the devil (the accuser, the slanderer), who is Satan, the adversary of God, because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they love not their soul-life even unto death — vv. 10-11.
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The entire being of the man-child is saturated and permeated with the element of Christ because they are daily strengthened into their inner man so that Christ may build Himself into their hearts, they are being nourished with the unsearchable riches of Christ, and they put on Christ as the whole armor of God — Eph. 3:16-18, 8; 6:10-11.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 12:10-11 …Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.The woman [in Revelation 12] 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.
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 Revelation 12:11….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 firstfruits mentioned in Revelation 14. But if you are an overcomer and die before the Lord comes back, you will be resurrected to be part of the man-child.
The man-child brought forth in 12:5 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). (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 420, 426-427)
Today’s Reading
Although we all have come into the Lord’s recovery, we should not say that everyone in the recovery will be an overcomer….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….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…. 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….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.
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?...Whether or not you are part of the man-child depends upon how hungry and thirsty you are. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 421-423)
Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msgs. 36, 39, 45