The woman in chapter twelve is not only universal both in time and in space, but is also bright in celestial light. She stands upon the bright moon and under the bright stars and is clothed with the bright sun. She is altogether bright, not being in any darkness. Her brightness is celestial, heavenly. We, the church, as her greatest part, must be like this.
In Genesis 3, the little serpent came in through the woman. Throughout the centuries, the expositors of the Bible have said that the serpent came in through the woman because she was weaker than the man. In my early ministry I also said the same thing. But now I realize that in fulfilling God’s economy we must firstly be the female, not the male. The serpent, the subtle one, knew whom he had to poison. Today, we are not a part of Adam but a part of the universal bright woman. Satan came in to damage the female because he knew that she would be used by God to accomplish His purpose. Anyone who does not firstly consider himself as a female in the eyes of God can never fulfill God’s economy. You must firstly consider yourself as a female, saying, “Lord, I am not the man. Lord, You are the man, and I am part of the woman. Since You are the male and I am a part of the female, I must take You as my husband and my head and submit to You.”
After the serpent damaged the woman, God intervened to judge the serpent, saying, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15). Revelation 12 must be interpreted by Genesis 3. In Genesis 3:15 we have the woman, the serpent, and the seed of the woman. In Revelation 12 we have the same three things, although on a larger scale. The woman is now much greater, the serpent has become a great dragon, and the seed of the woman has also developed into the man-child. The woman in Revelation 12 began with the woman in Genesis 3:15. We need the vision to see in this universe the sign of a great universal bright woman travailing in birth to bring forth a child. In front of this woman is a dragon fighting against her and seeking to devour the child as soon as he is born. This enmity, which is first seen in Genesis 3:15, is of God; it was God who put enmity between the serpent and the woman. In the universe today just one war is raging—the war between God’s people as the woman and the serpent as the dragon. Have you seen this vision? Today, we all are the greatest part of the woman, and in front of us is a dragon.
How did the serpent in Genesis 3 become the dragon in Revelation 12? It was by eating a great deal. Through his eating the serpent has been continually increasing. Many have been feeding him, and now he is trying to devour us. But we will never be devoured by him; rather, we will give him a death blow. When the Lord cursed the serpent, He assigned him to eat dust (Gen. 3:14). As long as we are dusty, earthy, we are food for the serpent. But if we are heavenly, the serpent cannot devour us. We are not dusty or earthy; we are a part of the heavenly, bright woman.
We must see the vision that in the universe a warfare is raging between the woman and the dragon. Whoever persecutes the church is one with the dragon. Because the Catholic Church persecutes the Lord’s lovers, she is one with the dragon. In chapter seventeen, we see a beast with seven heads and ten horns, the same number of heads and horns that the dragon has (12:3; 17:3). On this beast sits a woman clothed in purple and scarlet and gilded with gold and precious stone and pearls (17:3-4). The apostate Catholic Church, being the prostitute riding on the beast, is one with the dragon in persecuting the bright woman. When the apostle Paul was Saul of Tarsus, he persecuted the church. At that time, was he a part of the moon, a part of Israel? We say strongly that he was not. Likewise, the Pharisees, although they were Jews, were not a part of the moon. The Lord Jesus called them “serpents” and the “generation of vipers” (Matt. 23:33). They were “the seed of the serpent,” as mentioned in Genesis 3:15. Along with Saul of Tarsus, they had become part of the great dragon. But praise the Lord that Saul was converted!
It does not matter whether or not you are religious, for as long as you persecute the church, you are part of the dragon or at least one with the dragon. The ancient Jews thought that they were fighting for God. But they did not realize that they were fighting together with the dragon to persecute God’s people and to damage and frustrate God’s economy. Christians today must be careful. Their attitude towards the church determines what they are and where they are. Any Christians who persecute the church are one with the dragon, taking sides with him against God’s economy. If we have this vision, we shall see that there can be no neutral ground. There are only two parties—the woman or the dragon. To which party do you belong? With which do you stand? Some so-called Christians hate the church and are eager to see it collapse. They speak lies about the church and spread rumors concerning the church. They oppose the church and do everything possible to frustrate and damage her. This is of the evil spirit of the dragon. These people are one with the dragon. If they are not a part of the dragon, they at least take sides with the dragon. You may ask, “Are they not Christians?” I would reply with this question: Were not the Pharisees the Jewish religionists? Certainly they were. They held to their Scriptures. According to their opinion, everything they did, including sentencing Christ to death, was according to their Scriptures. But what were they in actuality? They were vipers, snakes, part of the great dragon, doing things to destroy God’s economy. Until the sovereign Lord intervened as Saul was on the way to Damascus, Saul also was actively a part of the dragon. When the Lord appeared to him, knocking him to the ground, He seemed to say, “Saul, what are you doing? I, Jesus, have come to visit you.” At that time, Saul was converted and translated out of the darkness of Satan into God’s kingdom of light. At the time of his conversion, the Lord charged Saul, telling him to open people’s eyes “that they may turn from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18). By the example of Saul of Tarsus we see that whoever persecutes the church today is part of the dragon or at least one with him.
The dragon is now persecuting the church and plotting to damage it. The opposition is active in Orange County and throughout this country. The dragon is everywhere on earth, seeking to devour whatever the church would bring forth. Have you seen this revelation? It is not a small thing. We are for the Lord’s recovery. We face the attack of the dragon, but who will be victorious? Hallelujah, the dragon will be cast down, and we shall be victorious. Firstly, the dragon will be cast down from the heavens to the earth, then from the earth to the abyss, and finally from the abyss to the lake of fire. We can declare, “Satan, go to your destination in the lake of fire. Do not remain on earth any longer. The earth is for Christ, not for you. Our Christ is coming to possess the earth, and you must go. Satan, you have no choice—go to the lake of fire!”
Revelation, the last book of the Bible, unveils Satan’s destiny. Among all the important things and crucial matters in the second half of Revelation, the first is the universal bright woman in chapter twelve. We are the topmost item, the most crucial thing. Now is not the time to sleep; it is the time to fight. Wherever we are, we must say to the opposition and persecution, “Go to the lake of fire!” We are the woman, and Satan is in the lake of fire.