Ⅱ
We have to realize what the Lord’s recovery is; the Lord’s recovery is to build up Zion—Rev. 14:1; Eph. 4:16; Rev. 21:2, 9-10:
A
The characteristics, the life, the blessing, and the establishment of Jerusalem come from Zion—1 Kings 8:1; Psa. 51:18; 102:21; 128:5; 135:21; Isa. 41:27; Joel 3:17.
B
In the book of Revelation what the Lord wants and what the Lord will build up is Zion, the overcomers; this is the intrinsic reality of the spiritual revelation in the holy Word of God; we surely need to be desperate to pray at any cost and to pay the cost just as the apostle Paul did—2:7, 11, 17, 26-28; 3:5, 12, 20-21; Col. 4:2; Phil. 3:8-14.
C
Our response to the Lord’s calling of the overcomers in this age is for us to be vitalized; to be vital is to be living and active in oneness with our living and acting God; God’s move on the earth for the accomplishment of His eternal economy is ultimately through the overcomers—Dan. 11:32; Heb. 3:12; 9:14; cf. Rev. 3:1.
D
The overcomers, who are typified by Zion, are the beachhead through which the Lord as the King of glory will return to possess the whole earth as His kingdom—Psa. 24:1, 3, 7-10; Dan. 2:34-35; 7:13-14; Joel 3:11; Rev. 11:15; 19:13-14.
E
There is no other way to reach the high peak of God’s eternal economy, the reality of the Body of Christ, except by praying; our becoming the overcomers as the reality of the Body of Christ to be the bride of Christ will close this age, the age of the church, and will bring Christ as the King of glory back to take, possess, and rule over this earth with His overcomers in the kingdom age—vv. 7-9; 20:4, 6; Psa. 24:7-10.
Morning Nourishment
1 Kings 8:1 ...Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes...in Jerusalem in order to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah from the city of David, which is Zion.Rev. 14:1 And I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.
Within Jerusalem, there was Mount Zion. One typifies the whole body of the church, while the other typifies the overcomers of the church... The stronghold of Jerusalem is Zion. Whenever there is something that has to do with God’s heart desire, Zion is mentioned... There is a New Jerusalem, but there never will be a new Zion, because Zion can never become old... The characteristics, the life, the blessing, and the establishment of Jerusalem come from Zion. In 1 Kings 8:1, the elders were in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the Covenant was in Zion. Psalm 51:18 says that God did good to Zion and built the walls of Jerusalem. Psalm 102:21 says that the name of the Lord was in Zion and that His praise was in Jerusalem. Psalm 128:5 says that the Lord blessed out of Zion and that the good was seen in Jerusalem. Psalm 135:21 says that the Lord dwelt at Jerusalem but that the Lord was to be blessed out of Zion. In Isaiah 41:27 the word was first announced to Zion and then preached to Jerusalem. Joel 3:17 says that when God dwelt in Zion, Jerusalem would be holy. (CWWN, vol. 11, p. 762)
Today’s Reading
Today God is looking for the one hundred and forty-four thousand amidst the defeated church, who will stand on Mount Zion (Rev. 14). God always uses a small number of believers to pass on the flow of life to the church and to revive the church. As the Lord has done once before, so these overcomers have to pour out their blood before life can flow out to others. On behalf of the church, the overcomers take the stand of victory and also suffer tribulation and despising. Thus, the overcomers of God need to give up what they consider as right. They have to pay the price and allow the cross to cut off all the old creation and deal with the gates of Hades (Matt. 16:18).Are you willing to endure heartache to gain the heart of God? Are you willing to let yourself be defeated so that the Lord can be the Victor? When your obedience is fulfilled, God will deal with all disobedience (2 Cor. 10:6). (CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 762-763)
The reality of the Body of Christ is the aggregate, the totality, of such a living by a group of God-men. This kind of a living, which is the reality of the Body of Christ, will close this age, the age of the church, and will bring Christ back to take, possess, and rule over this earth with these God-men in the kingdom age. They were perfected, completed, and consummated in the church age. So in the next age, the kingdom age, they will reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6).
Today in the church age, the God-men who were perfected and matured are Zion, the overcomers, the vital groups within the churches. But in the new heaven and new earth there will be no more Zion, only Jerusalem, because all the unqualified saints will have been qualified to be Zion. In other words, the entire New Jerusalem will become Zion... Zion is the very spot where God is, that is, the Holy of Holies. In Revelation 21 there is a sign signifying that the New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies. Its dimensions are the dimensions of a cube, twelve thousand stadia long, twelve thousand stadia wide, and twelve thousand stadia high (v. 16). That is the Holy of Holies, because the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament in both the tabernacle and the temple was a cube, equal in length, breadth, and height (Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20). (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” pp. 138-139)
Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 11, pp. 760-766; CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 1, “The Practical Points concerning Blending,” ch. 5