In this message we come to Revelation, which is the last book of the Bible. From the time I was saved, I loved to read the Bible, and I loved understanding the Bible even more. From my youth I began to pay attention to the book of Revelation. Later I heard many expositions on Revelation and read many books expounding this book. Some emphasized the numbers, while others emphasized the prophecies; some were historical, others were dispensational, and still others were doctrinal. However, after hearing and reading these things and after having quite a number of years of experience in the church, the Lord Himself eventually showed me that this book is not a book of prophecies, numbers, history, dispensations, or doctrines. Rather, this book is on the Spirit and the churches. In its very beginning, it says, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia:...from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne” (1:4). The seven epistles were written from the seven Spirits to the seven churches. Immediately in chapter one the seven Spirits and the seven churches are shown. Here we see that the seven churches need the seven Spirits: How they deal with things, how they have their living, how they bear the testimony, and how they go on, all depend on the seven Spirits. The seven churches need the seven Spirits, and the seven Spirits are for the seven churches.
However, if you have spent some years in Christianity, you can testify that Christianity does not touch the seven Spirits, nor does it touch the seven churches. Many there avoid speaking on the book of Revelation with the result that in Christianity today Revelation is not a revealed book but a veiled one. We thank the Lord, however, that in these years the Lord has certainly removed the veil from us. This book of the Bible has truly become a revelation; it is not covered but revealed. Over these past few years, the thing that has made me the happiest is the fact that the entire New Testament from the first page of Matthew to the last page of Revelation is as clear as crystal to us. Particularly in the last pages of Revelation is the light especially bright. The light is shining on these two points: the seven Spirits and the seven churches. Simply put, the shining brightness of this book lies with the Spirit and the churches. In chapters two and three, seven times in a row it says that he who has an ear should hear what the Spirit says to the churches. Then at the end of chapter twenty-two, it says that the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” In the beginning the Spirit is the Spirit and the seven churches are the seven churches. But at the end, the Spirit and the bride are one. The Spirit’s saying, “Come!” is the bride’s saying, “Come,” and the bride’s saying, “Come!” is the Spirit’s saying, “Come.”
There is yet another marvelous matter; that is, in Revelation we cannot find the title Holy Spirit; it is not mentioned even once. The book of Revelation speaks of either the seven Spirits or the Spirit. We cannot find the title the Holy Spirit. Due to their old concepts, the people who translated the Chinese version of the Bible did not include in their translation the word the in the term the Spirit. The Bible does not use words carelessly. In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, when it first mentions the Spirit of God, it does not say “the Holy Spirit” or “the Spirit”; it says that “the Spirit of God” was brooding upon the surface of the waters. Later there is the term the Spirit of Jehovah, but it still does not say “the Spirit” or “the Holy Spirit.” In the Old Testament there are “the Spirit of God” and “the Spirit of Jehovah,” but there is not yet “the Holy Spirit.” Some translations may use the term “Holy Spirit,” but that is an inaccurate translation. There is not yet the term “Holy Spirit” in the Old Testament. The term “Holy Spirit” is not used until the incarnation of the Lord Jesus. The “Holy Spirit” is a New Testament term to describe the Spirit of God. But eventually in the New Testament, “the Spirit” appears. “But this He said concerning the Spirit, whom those who believed into Him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet” (John 7:39). By the time of Revelation, the Spirit had been there for a long time, and furthermore, the Spirit became the sevenfold intensified Spirit. This sevenfold intensified Spirit cannot be found in Genesis, Matthew, Acts, or even the Epistles. It is in Revelation that the Spirit becomes the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Today we are neither in Genesis nor in Matthew; we are even beyond the Epistles. Today we are in Revelation in the sevenfold intensified Spirit. The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, and the life-giving Spirit are the Spirit in us.
We all know that the Spirit is especially rich and all-inclusive, with an abundantly rich supply. Ephesians 4 speaks of one Body and one Spirit, and this one Spirit is the Spirit. Impoverished Christianity has not seen that the Spirit of God is the Spirit, who is the all-inclusive Spirit. As the Spirit, He is both in us and outside of us. This Spirit is not only the Holy Spirit; He is also the Son and the Father. He is the Triune God. In this Spirit there is not only divinity but also humanity. This Spirit passed through incarnation, put on humanity, and lived on earth for thirty-three and a half years. He entered into death, and in death He solved all the negative problems and met all God’s demands. He passed through death and has with Him the effectiveness of death; He resurrected and has with Him the power and the freshness of resurrection. He is Lord, He is God, and He possesses the resurrected and uplifted humanity. He has the glory of God and the virtues of man. This One is referred to in the Bible as the Spirit. In the New Testament there are many symbols of the Spirit. For example, the Spirit is like air for us to breathe, like water for us to drink, like wind that is full of power, and like a mantle for us to put on.
We have said that this Spirit is our life with respect to the Body of Christ and our person with respect to the new man that God wants. Our regenerated spirit and the Spirit can be mingled into one spirit. This is a marvelous thing. I would like to tell you that for the Lord to obtain His Body and gain the one new man on earth today, we need to realize that this is altogether a matter in the Spirit, not in doctrines, regulations, or practices. Moreover, this Spirit today is not high above us so that He is unreachable; rather, He is in our spirit. The Spirit is in our spirit today.
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