We have seen that the turning of the earth to the Lord is based upon Christ's church-producing suffering. Now we need to see that this turning of the earth to the Lord is through Zion, that is, through the church. The church today is Zion. We should not think that what we are doing in the Lord's recovery is a small thing. In the sight of God, the work in His recovery is very significant.
The church was produced through Christ's death, and then the church existed on earth for a while. However, the church has been devastated, destroyed. We today must be those who are afflicted because of the church's degradation. We should be afflicted to such an extent that we are fainting. As such afflicted ones, we should present our complaint to God, saying, "Lord, where is Your Zion? Where is Your holy city? We can see the great Babylon everywhere, but where is the church?"
Israel is a type of the church. In the upcoming messages on Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, we will see that these books are a record of the history of God's elect. From our point of view this record is unpleasant, even a tragedy. From God's point of view, however, this record is pleasant because even among the devastated elect of God, there was still something on earth for God, and as long as God can have something for Himself on earth, He is satisfied. The principle is the same with the church today. The proper church life has been fully devastated, and everywhere we can see Babylon the Great. But God still has something on earth for Himself. This is the Lord's recovery.
Even though the record of the history of Israel in Joshua, Judges, and Ruth is disappointing, there was nevertheless a line that was for God. God still had a line. For a while, at the time of the judges, this line consisted of only two persons—Boaz, a Jew, and Ruth, a Moabitess. After they were married, they became the unique line to bring in Christ. According to the genealogy in Matthew 1, Boaz begot David's grandfather of Ruth. Thus, although Israel, God's elect, had been defeated, there was still a line that could bring forth Christ. Today, in spite of the degradation and devastation of the church, God still has a line that is for Christ, and for this we should worship Him.
Zion is the center of the city Jerusalem (Psa. 102:16, 21), typifying the church as the center of God's kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). In Matthew 16:18 and 19 the words church and kingdom are used interchangeably. This indicates that the church is the kingdom and that the kingdom is the church.