Now we come to the last section of the divine revelation, the revelation concerning the church. It is difficult to know the church because Satan, the subtle enemy, is not willing for Christians to see what the real church is.
The church as the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13) is universally one (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4-6). Christ as the unique Head has one unique Body which is constituted with all His genuine believers.
The universal church as the Body of Christ is expressed through the local churches. The local churches, as the expressions of the one Body of Christ (Rev. 1:12, 20), are locally one (Acts 8:1; 13:1; Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2). Revelation 1:4 says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia.” Asia was a province of the ancient Roman Empire in which were the seven cities mentioned in 1:11. The seven churches were in those seven cities respectively, not all in one city. This book does not deal with the one universal church but with the local churches in many cities. The church is firstly revealed as universal in Matthew 16:18 and then as local in Matthew 18:17. In Acts the church was practiced in the way of local churches, such as the church at Jerusalem (8:1), the church at Antioch (13:1), the church at Ephesus (20:17), and the churches in the provinces of Syria and Cilicia (15:41). Except for a few written to some individuals, all the Epistles were written to the local churches. Not one was written to the universal church. Without the local churches there is no practicality and actuality of the universal church. The universal church is realized in the local churches. Knowing the church universally must be consummated in knowing the church locally. It is a great advance for us to know and practice the local churches. Concerning the church, the book of Revelation is in the advanced stage, for it is written to local churches. If we would know this book, we must advance from the understanding of the universal church to the realization and practice of the local churches. Only those who are in the local churches are rightly positioned with the right angle and the proper perspective to see the visions in this book.
In 1:11 the voice said to John, “What you see write in a book and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamos, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” This verse is composed in a very important way. In this verse we see that the sending of this book “to the seven churches” equals the sending of it to the seven cities. This shows clearly that the practice of the church life in the early days was that of one church for one city, one city with one church. In no city was there more than one church. This is the local church, local city-wise, not street-wise or area-wise. The jurisdiction of a local church should cover the whole city in which the church is; it should not be greater or lesser than the boundary of the city. All the believers within that boundary should constitute the one unique local church within that city. Hence, one church equals one city, and one city equals one church. This is what we call the local churches.
Revelation 1:4 speaks of “the seven churches.” Seven is the number for completion in God’s operation, such as seven days for God’s creation (Gen. 1:31—2:3), seven seals (5:5), seven trumpets (8:2), and seven bowls (15:7) for God’s move on the earth. Hence, the seven churches are for God’s move in completion.
The church needs to have its expression. If we talk about the church without having the expression of the church, our talk is entirely theoretical; it is not practical. For the church to be real and practical, there is the need of the local churches. If you do not have the local churches, you do not have the church. Likewise, if you do not have the members, you do not have the Body. If you do not have the local church, you cannot have the universal church, for the universal church is composed of all the local churches just as the human body is composed of its many members. To have only the universal church is to be in a Vanity Fair. But we do have the local churches in practicality. If we are asked where the church is, we can point to the churches in Anaheim, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, and many other places.
Some Christian friends have argued with me, saying, “Why do you say that you are the church and that we are not the church?” Sometimes I have replied, “If you say that you are the church, please show that you are the church. Show me where the church is.” Some have responded by saying that they have sent out many missionaries. Deep within, they know that they are not the church. The fact is the fact. If you are the church, then why do you not call yourself the church? You know what you are. Do not pretend or presume to be what you are not. Since I am a man, I must designate myself as a man. What else can I do? In 1963 I was asked to speak at a certain place in Missouri. At the end of the meeting, the host stood up and, in a nice, humble, polite way, said, “Brother Lee, please tell us why you call yourselves the church in Los Angeles.” I replied, “Brother, if we don’t call ourselves the church, then what should we call ourselves? We simply are the church. This is not only the truth but also the fact.” We are what we are. Although we might pretend or presume to be something else, that is not what we truly are. Before the Lord’s recovery came to the United States, no Christians said that they were the church in Los Angeles. Therefore, when we came to Los Angeles, we had to call ourselves the church in Los Angeles.
Revelation 1:20 says, “The mystery of the seven stars which you have seen on My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are seven churches.” When John saw the seven stars in the right hand of Christ and the seven golden lampstands in the midst of which was Christ, it was a mystery to him. He did not realize the significance of the seven heavenly stars and the seven golden lampstands. Hence, the Lord unveiled the mystery to him, saying that “the seven stars are messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are seven churches.” The significance of this was not only a mystery to John, but also to believers today. All believers need the unveiling of this mystery to see the churches and their messengers.
The churches, signified by the golden lampstands, are “the testimony of Jesus” (1:2, 9) in the divine nature, shining in the dark night locally, yet collectively. The churches should be of the divine nature—golden. They should be the stands, even the lampstands, that bear the lamp with the oil (Christ as the life-giving Spirit), shining in the darkness respectively and collectively. They are individual lampstands locally, yet at the same time they are a group, a collection, of lampstands universally. They are not only shining locally, but also bearing universally the same testimony both to the localities and to the universe. They are of the same nature and in the same shape. They bear the same lamp for the same purpose and are fully identified with one another, not having any individual distinctiveness. The differences of the local churches recorded in chapters two and three are all of a negative nature, not of a positive nature. Negatively, in their failures, they are different and separate one from another; but positively, in their nature, shape, and purpose, they are absolutely identical and connected one to another. It is easy for believers to see the universal church, but it is difficult for them to see the churches. The revelation of the local churches is the Lord’s ultimate unveiling concerning the church. It has been given here in the last book of the divine Word. To fully know the church, believers must follow the Lord from the Gospels through the Epistles to the book of Revelation until they are enabled to see the local churches as unveiled here. In Revelation the first vision is concerning the churches. The churches with Christ as their center are the focus in the divine administration for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose.
If there were no local churches, I could not bear to go on living. I would rather die. Suppose there were no local churches. What would we do? We would have no goal, no aim, and no purpose, and our Christian life would be meaningless. The local churches are the goal, the aim, and the meaning of our Christian life. As you are enjoying the local church life, you may not appreciate it very much. But if the churches were taken away, then you would realize that you have been stripped of every blessing. Without the church life, we cannot live, for we would lose the goal and meaning of being a Christian today.
I hope that we all, especially the young people, will see that the destination of God’s revelation is the local churches. God’s revelation continued progressively, only stopping when He had reached the local churches. The local churches are God’s destination. God has brought His revelation into the local churches. This is the reason that the churches are full of revelation, light, and truth. Outside the churches there is the shortage of light, revelation, and food. But the churches are full of revelation because they are the destination of God’s revelation. Thus, all the riches of the divine revelation are here.
If you would see this, then you would realize that we are not over-zealous for the church. Our spirit testifies to this. Whenever we do not testify of the local churches, our spirit abates. Whenever we try to be wise and not arouse opposition against us by avoiding discussion of the church, we are immediately deadened within. But when we boldly speak of the local church, we are stirred up, our spirit is living and burning, and we feel like shouting, crying, and even thundering. I realize that it is better not to offend people. However, when I try not to offend people, I offend the Lord. But when I strongly tell people that the local churches are the Lord’s destination, I sense that the Lord is with me. According to the whole Bible, the Son of Man, Christ, is walking in the midst of the local churches. If you are seeking Christ, then you must come to the local churches. The Son of Man is moving among the churches and caring for them. If you would participate in this caring, you must be in the local churches. Our burden today is to bring God’s people to His goal, and our purpose is to help the saints to reach God’s destination.
Before we came into the local churches, we were wanderers. We never had the sense that we had come home or that we had reached our destination. But the day we came into the local churches, we realized that we had come home. After wandering for years, we knew that we had finally reached our destination. When we first came into the local church life, something deep within said, “This is the place,” and we knew that we were home. Because we have arrived at our destination, we do not need to travel anymore. So many seeking Christians today are travelers; they travel from one denomination or group to another. But the day we came into the church life, our wanderings ceased. The local churches are what God desires today. This is the last station of His revelation. Our need is simply to live the local church life. Our testimony is that we are not an organization—we are the local expressions of the Body of Christ.