Although Christ's crucifixion and His second appearing clear up the universe, the old nature of the old creation will still remain. Then there is a need of a burning through which the old heavens and old earth will become new. The new heaven and new earth are produced through a baptism, not of water but of fire (2 Pet. 3:7, 10, 12-13). The entire old heavens and old earth will be baptized into fire. The fire will renew the heavens and earth into God's divine newness, consummating in the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem with the new heaven and new earth will be the eternal completion, the consummation, of God's economy. This is the central line of the divine revelation.

We need to pray that we may enter into all these items of the central line of the divine revelation so that we can live Christ and be today's overcomers to change the age like Daniel and his three companions did. For us to be overcomers we need to know the Word. In order to know the Word properly and fully, we need the help of a proper exposition. Acts 8 tells us of an Ethiopian eunuch reading Isaiah 53. The Holy Spirit told Philip to visit him because the Holy Spirit knew that the eunuch was not understanding anything. Thus, Philip asked him, "Do you really know the things that you are reading?" (v. 30). The eunuch responded, "How could I unless someone guides me?" (v. 31). This shows that we need the proper opening and expounding of the Word in order to understand it.

Zechariah 1 presents a vision of a man as the Angel of Jehovah riding on a red horse and standing among the myrtle trees (vv. 7-17). How could we understand this without the proper exposition? I read and studied Zechariah 1 many times without understanding this vision. This vision unveils Christ as the Angel of Jehovah in His humanity. His riding on a red horse typifies Him moving swiftly in His redemption. The myrtle trees, which are shrub-like trees growing in the valley, signify the precious yet humiliated people of Israel in their captivity. Christ as the Angel of Jehovah was remaining vigorously among the captured Israel in the lowest part of the valley in their humiliation. Without the proper expounding of Zechariah 1 in this way, this chapter is very difficult to understand. The apostle Paul was a major interpreter of the Old Testament types. His book of Hebrews is an exposition of the types in Leviticus.

After the completion of the book of Revelation and beginning in the second century, the fathers of the church began to study the entire Bible. They were real scholars. They saw that God is triune, and they used this term to describe God. Throughout the centuries, many scholars have studied the Bible. Today we have inherited the best interpretations of the Bible, and we are standing on the shoulders of many who have gone before us.

In this series of messages, we want to see the central line of the divine revelation. I want to help people know the Bible not merely in letter but in revelation.