Then in the last book of the Bible, the Lord says, “I am...the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever” (Rev. 1:17-18). “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life (2:7). What He means is that He is the tree of life. In John 6:57 He says, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” It is a matter of eating, not of knowing. It is a matter of life, not of knowledge.
Therefore, in this last book we have all these terms: tree of life, crown of life, book of life, water of life, and waters of life. The tree of life is for us to eat, the water of life is for us to drink, and the crown of life is for us to wear. We must take something into us as life, we must put something upon us as life, and we must be recorded in the book of life. Life, life, life, life! It is life, not knowledge. We must learn how to eat of life, how to drink of life, and how to wear life.
The good Christians are the eating and drinking ones, not the knowing ones. Christianity always tells people that they must know this and they must know that. Brothers must know that they are to love their wives. Sisters must know that they have to submit to their husbands. Christianity always tells people to know, know, know. There are so many “dos,” and so many “don’ts.” Everyone must know what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is bad. But “to know” is a matter of knowledge and belongs to another tree. There are two trees: one is the tree of life, and the other is the tree of knowledge (Gen. 2:9). The “knowing” in Christianity belongs to the tree of knowledge.
What we need is not to know but to eat and drink. “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life” (Rev. 2:7). “Let him who is thirsty come...take the water of life freely” (22:17). We must eat and drink.
“He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street” (v. 1). This means that out of the redeeming God, the Lamb-God, proceeds the river of life, and on either side of the river grows the tree of life. We have the river of life for us to drink and the tree of life for us to eat. If anyone comes and tells you that you have to know, know, know, you must realize that he is one who is sent from the tree of knowledge, not from the tree of life. But if someone tells you that we all need to eat and drink of Christ, we must say, “Hallelujah, this one comes from the New Jerusalem!”
Are you an eating and drinking Christian or a knowing Christian? If we will eat and drink, eventually we will have something to wear as a crown. Our glory must not be in knowledge, but in life. Life is our glory; life is our boast. Is Christ knowledge? No, He is life! We are boasting in life. Life is our crown; life is our glory!
If you meet a brother with a long face, be sure that he has a clear mind, and in the clear mind is an abundance of knowledge. But if you meet a brother with a broad face, saying—“O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!”—be sure that he is one who is enjoying the Lord. He is full of Christ, and because of this, he is full of joy. You may say that he is foolish, but he is joyful.
I like to see all the brothers and sisters with a broad face, smiling all the time and saying, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!” They may not know anything, but they do enjoy Christ.
Are you full of joy, or are you full of knowledge? We must not be full of knowledge, but full of Christ who is our life and joy. Praise the Lord! Revelation is a book of life, because it affords us the tree of life, the water of life, the crown of life, and the book of life.
When we are joyful and rejoicing, the Lord Jesus is glorified, and the enemy is put to shame. For years I have been afraid of any Christian with a long face. Whenever I meet this kind of Christian, I am fearful. While I am talking to him, he is so cold, with a long face and turning eyes. Is this a proper and normal Christian? I must say that this is an abnormal and dead Christian. When people talk to us, we must say, “O Lord, Amen, Hallelujah!”
What we need today is not knowledge. I know that this may cause some to be offended, but I cannot help it. I must tell the people of the Lord that they do not need knowledge. What they need is life, and life is nothing less than Christ Himself. This is all we need. We do not need knowledge, and we do not need religion. Christianity is a religion of teachings. No other religion has so many books as Christianity. It is really a religion of teachings, with knowledge as the central matter.
In Revelation, strictly speaking, there is not much teaching. It is a book of life. There is the tree of life, the water of life, the crown of life, and the book of life. Everything must be a matter of life.
When I first came to this country, some asked me concerning absolute grace. Another asked me about eternal security. Others asked me if I was a Calvinist or an Arminian. Do you know how I answered? I said, “I have Christ, so I have something more than absolute grace. I do not care for absolute grace; I only care for Christ. Christ is the best security. Nothing is as secure as Christ.” Christianity has many teachings about certain doctrines, such as justification by faith, sanctification, and holiness. But where is holiness, where is sanctification, and where is justification by faith? Everything is in Christ. If we enjoy Christ, we have justification. If we enjoy Christ, we have the day-by-day sanctification. If we are enjoying Christ and taking Him as everything to us, we are really holy. We may not know the term holiness, but we have the reality, because Christ is our holiness.
It is good not to know. Before Adam and Eve took of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they were innocent. They did not know anything. One saint said that to know something sinful is sin. I do not know this or that, but I do know that Christ must be our everything. When I enjoy Christ, I simply do not know anything. I am just joyful and rejoicing. What we all need is Christ, not Christianity. We need life, not knowledge. We all need a change. We not only must take the way of the local church, but we need a change. Otherwise, we will bring all the Babylonian things into the local church, such as the knowledge and teachings from our background. This will do much damage.
The age has been turned. In the book of Revelation, the third person of the Godhead becomes not only the second but also the sevenfold intensified Spirit. We need life, and life is in Christ, and Christ is in the Spirit. The Spirit today is the seven Spirits—the sevenfold intensified Spirit.