The believers may overcome the degradation of the church by the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God. Revelation 1:4 speaks of “the seven Spirits who are before His throne,” and 3:1, of “the seven Spirits of God.” The seven Spirits are undoubtedly the Spirit of God, because they are ranked among the Triune God in Revelation 1:4 and 5. As seven is the number of completion in God’s operation, so the seven Spirits-the sevenfold intensified Spirit-must be for God’s move on earth. In substance and existence God’s Spirit is one; in the intensified function and work of God’s operation God’s Spirit is sevenfold. At the time the book of Revelation was written, the church had become degraded. Therefore, the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God was needed for God’s move and work.
In 1:4 and 5 the seven Spirits of God are listed in the second place instead of the third. This reveals the importance of the intensified function of the sevenfold Spirit of God. This point is confirmed by the repeated emphasis on the Spirit’s speaking (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; 22:17). At the opening of the other Epistles, only the Father and the Son are mentioned, from whom grace and peace are given to the receivers. However, in Revelation 1:4 and 5 the Spirit also is included, from whom grace and peace are imparted to the churches. This further signifies the crucial need of the sevenfold intensified Spirit for God’s move to counteract the degradation of the church. If we would be overcomers in the church, we need the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God.
The believers may be overcomers also through eating Christ as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast (Rev. 2:7b, 17b; 3:20b). In the Bible the tree of life refers to Christ as the embodiment of all the riches of God (Col. 2:9) for our food (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). In Revelation 2:7b the tree of life refers to the crucified and resurrected Christ who is in the church today. To eat of the tree of life, that is, to enjoy Christ as our life supply, should be the primary matter in the church life. The content of the church life depends on the enjoyment of Christ. The more we enjoy Him, the richer the content will be.
In Revelation 2:17b the Lord speaks of the hidden manna. This refers to the eating of manna by the children of Israel in the wilderness (Exo. 16:14-16, 31). Manna is a type of Christ as the heavenly food enabling God’s people to go His way. The open manna was for the enjoyment of the Lord’s people in a public way; the hidden manna, signifying the hidden Christ, is a special portion reserved for His overcoming seekers who overcome the degradation of the worldly church. While the church goes the way of the world, these overcomers come forward to abide in the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, where they enjoy the hidden Christ as a special portion for their daily supply.
In Revelation 3:20 the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” The Greek word translated “dine” literally means to take the principal meal of the day at evening. To dine is not merely to eat one food but the riches of a meal. This may refer to the eating of the rich produce of the good land of Canaan by the children of Israel (Josh. 5:10-12).
The Lord’s word in 2:7b, 17b; and 3:20 indicates that He desires to recover the eating by God’s people of the proper food, as ordained by God and typified by the tree of life, the manna, and the produce of the good land, all of which are types of the various aspects of Christ as food to us. The degradation of the church distracts God’s people from the eating of Christ as their food to the teaching of doctrines for knowledge. But in Revelation 2 and 3 the Lord comes to recover the proper eating of Himself as our food supply. We must eat Him not only as the tree of life and the hidden manna but also as a meal full of His riches. Through eating Christ as the tree of life, the hidden manna, and the feast, we shall be overcomers.
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