In Revelation 2 and 3 Christ is the Spirit who speaks to all the churches (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). At the beginning of each of the seven epistles recorded in chapters 2 and 3, it is the Lord who speaks to a certain church (2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14). But at the end of each epistle, it is the Spirit who speaks to all the churches (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). In Revelation 2 and 3 the speaking of the unlimited, life-releasing, sevenfold intensified, pneumatic Christ to the seven churches at the beginning of each epistle becomes the speaking of the sevenfold intensified, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit to all the seven churches at the end of each epistle universally. Here we see that the speaking Christ becomes the speaking Spirit, the Spirit who speaks to all the churches. This implies that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are one. Christ as the Spirit speaking to the churches is the processed Triune God. In Christ, the Triune God has been processed for our enjoyment so that we may be constituted with all that He is to become His ultimate manifestation and expression for eternity.
Christ’s speaking and the Spirit’s speaking are one speaking. Christ speaks to a particular local church, and the Spirit speaks to the universal Body. This proves that the speaking Christ is the Spirit and that He speaks in the Spirit, with the Spirit, and through the Spirit. Whatever Christ speaks, that is the speaking of the Spirit. This not only indicates that the Spirit is the Lord and the Lord is the Spirit, but it also emphasizes that in the darkness of the church’s degradation the Spirit is vitally important, as indicated by the sevenfold intensified Spirit in 1:4. The same emphasis is seen also in 14:13 and 22:17.
It is significant that the Lord is speaking as the Spirit not only to a certain church but to all the churches. The Spirit, as the eyes of the Lord, looks into the situation of all the churches (5:6), and He speaks concerning the whole situation. The Lord as the Spirit speaks to the churches without any limitation of time and space. While the church in a certain locality reads the epistle to Ephesus, the Spirit looks into the church in that locality and speaks to the ones there. The seven Spirits of God are sent forth not only to Ephesus but to the whole earth. The seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 are words spoken by the Lord Jesus, but today when we read them, the seven Spirits of God speak these words to us in our spirit for the purpose of God’s administration. The Lord’s word at the beginning is to a certain local church, but later when the people from all the ages read it, it becomes the Spirit’s speaking to all the churches. Whatever the Lord speaks is recorded in the Bible, but when we read it, the Spirit still must speak it. First, this matter proves that the Lord’s speaking is the Spirit’s speaking and that the Spirit’s speaking is the Lord’s speaking. This indicates that the Spirit is one with the Lord, and the Lord is one with the Spirit. The Lord speaks in the Spirit, through the Spirit, and with the Spirit, because the Lord is the Spirit, and the Spirit is the Lord. Furthermore, although the Lord’s word was already spoken to a certain local church, today when the churches want to hear His word, there is still the need for the Spirit to speak it. This indicates that the Spirit we have within us is the speaking Spirit.
If the Speaker were only Christ and not the speaking Spirit, He would not be able to speak words into our spirit, and His speaking would not be very subjective and touching. But as our experience testifies, if when we read these epistles, we are open in our spirit to Him the Spirit will immediately speak something of Christ into us. Because the Speaker is not the outward, objective Christ but the inward, subjective Spirit, He speaks not only in the black and white letters of the Bible but also in our spirit. Once we hear His speaking, something indelible is wrought into us, and nothing can take it away. Whenever we hear His speaking, Christ is wrought into us.
The speaking of the Spirit always turns us to the infusing of Christ. The Spirit’s speaking is Christ’s infusing. If we listen to His speaking, we will immediately be under Christ’s transfusing and infusing, and we will be immersed into Christ. Today the seven Spirits are speaking to the churches, and anyone who has an ear and listens to this speaking will be turned to Christ’s infusing. Whenever we listen to the speaking of the seven Spirits of God to the churches, we are immediately under a precious, sweet, and dear transfusing, an infusing that changes us, transforms us, makes us the proper material, and builds us into God’s building. Whatever must go to the lake of fire is burned away by the seven lamps, and now we are under the seven eyes, being infused with all that Christ is in order that we may become part of the New Jerusalem.
Because the Spirit today is speaking to the churches, we need to be in the churches in order to be rightly positioned to hear the Spirit’s speaking. Those who are not in the churches cannot hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches. Even though the believers in the churches are in a position to hear the Spirit’s speaking and thus can easily have ears to hear, not all of them will closely follow His speaking. Hence, there is the call for the overcomers. When the majority of God’s people have failed God and cannot meet His need, God calls a small group of overcomers. Whoever has an ear to hear what the Spirit speaks to the churches should first hear and then be an overcomer. Overcomers are produced by having an ear that can hear, and the ear to hear is produced through the Spirit’s speaking to the churches. The Spirit speaks to the churches. Those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches should hear, and those who hear will be overcomers.
Each epistle was written to a particular church in a certain locality, yet all the seven epistles conclude in the same way—with the Spirit speaking to all the churches. This means that each epistle was written to all the churches, and it indicates that all the churches should be the same. This is a base for all the churches to practice the one accord. There must be the one accord among all the churches. All the churches should listen to the word that the apostles have received of God, which is the teaching of the New Testament. This implies that all the churches, as the Lord’s testimony in the Spirit, should be the same.
In Revelation 1 we see many titles for the wonderful One—Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the Redeemer, the One who made us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father, the One who comes, and the Son of Man appearing as the High Priest. Yet in chapter 2 we see Christ, the all-inclusive Head, and the speaking Spirit. This means that all that Christ is in chapter 1 has been condensed into the all-inclusive Christ and the speaking Spirit in chapter 2.