启一20　论到你所看见在我右手中的七星，和七个金灯台的奥秘，那七星就是七个召会的使者，七灯台就是七个召会。

　　　二一2　我又看见圣城新耶路撒冷由神那里从天而降，预备好了，就如新妇妆饰整齐，等候丈夫。

　　虽然神的子民是位于天上的太阳、月亮与众星，却是活在地上的禾捆（腓三20，二15），因为禾捆生长在田里。今天我们乃是活在地上的属天子民。

　　我们是神的子民。我一直因此得着鼓励、加强并造就。我对你们众人有完全的信心，我期望在新耶路撒冷看见你们众人。我喜欢有永远的眼光，而不是来自地上的眼光。我不愿照着有限的视力看事情。反之，我要用神圣的望远镜。你若说弟兄姊妹不行，这意思就是你非常短视。你若用神圣的望远镜，透过时间来看，你会看见新耶路撒冷，在那里没有别的，只有禾捆和众星。在新耶路撒冷，没有“地鼠”或“蝎子”。在那里，每样东西都满了生命和光。

　　你越在生命里成熟，越不消极地说到圣徒或召会。……有一天属天的梦来了，你的眼光就会翻转。你晓得你不敢说有关召会或圣徒消极的事。反之，你会说，“这是召会，这是神的子民。在神眼中，信徒都是禾捆。他们也是太阳、月亮与众星。”（创世记生命读经，一六九二、一六九四页）

　　Rev. 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

　　21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

　　Although God's people are positioned in heaven as the sun, the moon, and the stars, they are living on earth as sheaves (Phil. 3:20; 2:15), for sheaves grow in the field. Today we are the heavenly people living on earth.

　　We are God's people. I have been encouraged, strengthened, and edified by this. I have complete faith in you all, and I expect to see you all in the New Jerusalem. I like to have an eternal view, not the view from the earth. I do not want to view things according to my limited sight. Rather, I would use the divine telescope. If you say that the brothers and sisters are so bad, it means that you are extremely shortsighted. But if you use the divine telescope to see through time, you will behold the New Jerusalem where there is nothing but sheaves and stars. In the New Jerusalem there are no”gophers” or”scorpions.” There, everything is full of life and light.

　　The more mature in life you become, the less you will speak negatively concerning the saints or the church….One day the heavenly dream will come, and your view will be revolutionized. You will realize that you dare not say anything negative concerning the church or the saints. On the contrary, you will say,”This is the church, and this is God's people. In God's eyes the believers are all sheaves. They are also the sun, the moon, and the stars.” (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 1418-1420)

　　〔关于〕以色列人行程的站口，按照民数记三十三章一至四十九节，从奴役之地到安息之地，共有四十二个站口。……这四十二个站口的记载，并没有提到百姓的失败。我们若只有三十三章的记载，就会以为以色列人在他们的行程中完全是进取的、积极的、成功的，从一站到另一站，直至他们达到目标—安息之地。我们从一章读到三十二章，结果可能认为以色列人没有一点好的。但三十三章给我们看见，在神眼中，关于他们的记载乃是积极的。这指明在神看来，祂总是积极地看祂的子民。神看祂的子民，不是从坏的角度，乃是从好的角度。

　　什么时候你受试诱要批评某个地方召会，你需要注意这一点。到底召会是美妙的，还是可怜的，事实上不在于召会是怎样，反倒在于你是怎样。你若有消极的态度，从消极的角度来看召会，你就看不见召会中任何好的事物。你若有积极的态度，从积极的角度来看召会，你就会说召会是美妙的。关于我们当地的召会生活，我们不该感到挫折或失望，也不该灰心。我们看众召会，需要有属天的看法，并领悟所有地方召会都是要来之新耶路撒冷的一部分。

　　从我们对民数记的研读，我们要学知，如何看神的子民乃是一件严肃的事。也许在你眼中，神的子民并不很好；但神看他们是被拣选、得救赎、蒙拯救脱离堕落之辖制的人，正在享受基督，与三一神同被建造，编组成军为神争战，并被神预备好，得以据有包罗万有的基督作美地。我们若这样看神的子民，就不会对召会生活感到灰心或沮丧（民数记生命读经，二六三至二六四页）。

　　参读：民数记生命读经，第三十一篇。

　　In this message I would…like to say a word concerning the stations of the journey made by the children of Israel. According to Numbers 33:1-49, there were a total of forty-two stations, from the land of slavery to the land of rest. The record of these forty-two stations does not mention anything about the failures of the people. If we had only the record in Numbers 33, we would think that in their journey the children of Israel were altogether aggressive, positive, and successful, going from one station to another until they reached their goal—the land of rest. As a result of our reading of Numbers 1 through 33, we may have the opinion that there was nothing good with the children of Israel. But chapter 33 shows us that in the eyes of God the record regarding them is positive. This indicates that, in His view, God always considers His people in a positive way. God looks at His people not from the angle of the bad but from the angle of the good.

　　You need to be mindful of this whenever you are tempted to criticize a particular local church. Whether the church is marvelous or pitiful actually does not depend on what the church is; rather, it depends on what you are. If you have a negative attitude and view the church from a negative angle, you will not see anything good in the church. If you have a positive attitude and view the church from a positive angle, you will say that the church is marvelous. Concerning the church life in our locality, we should not be defeated or disappointed, and we should not lose heart. We need to view the churches in a heavenly way and realize that all the local churches are parts of the coming New Jerusalem.

　　From our study of the book of Numbers, we need to learn that the way we look at God's people is a serious matter. Perhaps in your eyes God's people are not very good. But God sees them as chosen, redeemed, saved from the bondage of the fall, enjoying Christ, being built up with the Triune God, formed into an army to fight for God, and prepared by God to possess the all-inclusive Christ as the good land. If we see God's people in this way, we will not lose heart or be discouraged concerning the church life. (Life-study of Numbers, pp. 234-235)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msg. 31