The book of Revelation reveals the seven Spirits as the sevenfold intensified Spirit for the church's degradation in the dark age. Even by the end of the first century, the church had become degraded. The apostles Paul, Peter, and John all dealt with this degradation in their writings—particularly in 2 Timothy, 2 Peter, and the three Epistles of John. At the end of the first century, the degradation of the church began and has continued until today.
Throughout the past nineteen centuries, God has been carrying out His economy; on the other hand, Satan has been carrying out his chaos. We published a book on this subject entitled The Satanic Chaos in the Old Creation and the Divine Economy for the New Creation. The satanic chaos and the divine economy go together. Eventually, the satanic chaos will be done away with in the lake of fire, and the divine economy will consummate in the New Jerusalem. In the universe there are both day and night. When you see the church in the day, in a wonderful state, you should be ready to take the night. But when you are in the night, do not be disappointed. Soon the day will come. Because of the degradation in the dark age, God has intensified His Spirit sevenfold.
When the Lord was on this earth for thirty-three and a half years, He did everything by the Spirit, but the Spirit was still just one. With the early apostles at the time of Pentecost, the Spirit was also one. But in the age of Revelation, the Spirit has been intensified sevenfold. Such an intensified Spirit is for us to be vitalized, to be the overcomers in the degradation of the church. At the end of the first century, it was not easy to overcome. Today with us it is the same. In this dark age we need the sevenfold intensified Spirit. Many Christians appreciate what is recorded in the four Gospels and the Acts at Peter's time, but they should appreciate even more what we have today. Today what we experience is the sevenfold intensified Spirit. In order to be the overcomers, we need such a Spirit.
The book of Revelation is a book concerning the overcomers, and the overcomers are the martyrs. In Revelation 12 the man-child is a composition of all the overcoming martyrs beginning from Abel (v. 5). Then all the overcomers standing on the glassy sea in Revelation 15 were martyred by Antichrist during the three and a half years of the great tribulation (v. 2). The overcomers recorded in Revelation are martyrs to God. They lived as martyrs by the sevenfold Spirit.
During the Boxer Rebellion in China, there were a number of Christians who were martyred for the Lord. One brother who was a young businessman in the old capital of Peking told me a story of one young person who was martyred there. One day the Boxers were parading and shouting in the street. All the stores had closed their doors, and he was within his store observing them through a crack in the door. He saw a young girl in their midst singing and praising while being led to her execution by the Boxers. He was amazed that such a young girl would not be afraid in such a terrifying situation. He resolved to find out what made this young woman so courageous. Because of this, he was saved by the Lord and became a preacher. Later he came to my hometown and told me this story. How could such a young girl be that strong? She could be that strong only by the sevenfold intensified Spirit. In order to be today's overcoming martyrs, we need to experience this Spirit.