In Revelation 3:1-2, speaking to the church in Sardis, a prefigure of the Protestant churches from the time of the Reformation, the Lord Jesus said, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead. Become watchful and establish the things which remain, which were about to die; for I have found none of your works completed before My God.” Here the Lord Jesus tells us that the Protestant churches are dead and that the things that remain in them are about to die. Today everything in Protestant Christianity is dead or is dying. This is not my word but the word of the Lord Jesus. Then, in Revelation 3:20 the Lord Jesus was knocking on the door of the church in Laodicea, indicating that He was outside the church in Laodicea. Thus, the church in Laodicea, a prefigure of the degraded Brethren assemblies as part of today’s Protestantism, is Christless. This is the actual situation of today’s Christianity. On the one hand, the Protestant churches are dead or are dying in spiritual things. On the other hand, they claim to preach Christ, but they do not have Christ actually living within them. In this sense they are Christless.
The degradation of the church today has become a tide that we, the God-men, must overcome. In the entire Christianity there is a trend of decline, a tide of degradation. According to my observation, over the past thirty years Christianity has been continually going downhill. The most sinful things have been brought into today’s Christianity. Today, because of the degraded situation, many people will not go to certain churches. In many denominations the number of Sunday-goers is decreasing. This is a sign of the tide of the church’s degradation.
The God-men also need to overcome Satan, the accuser of the brothers (Rev. 12:11a).
In Revelation 2:10b the persecuted saints in the church in Smyrna were charged by the Lord to be faithful unto death. In 12:11b the overcomers overcome Satan, the accuser, by three things: by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by not loving their soul-life even unto death. We need to overcome the love of the soul-life by sacrificing all the enjoyments, pleasures, and entertainments of the soul. Some of the saints may desire to drive an expensive car, to wear costly clothing, and to live in a magnificent house. This is the enjoyment of the soul in living luxuriously.
The reason we are not willing to go out to knock on doors to save sinners to make them members of Christ may be because we like to rest and do not like to lose our face in being rejected by people. This is the loving of the soul-life.
Very few are willing to pay the price at the cost of sacrificing themselves to take this way. This is why the Lord called this way the narrow way, in contrast to the broad way (Matt. 7:13-14). To overcome the love of the soul-life, the Lord will lead you to have many changes. He will lead you to give up the enjoyments of the soul.
At the end of this age there will be a time of great tribulation (Matt. 24:21). During this time Antichrist will rise up (Rev. 13:1), and his false prophet also will rise up (v. 11). They will persecute all the children of God (vv. 7, 15). The overcomers must overcome that persecution (15:2; 17:14).
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