The fourth group of people in the Bible is the church. The church is composed of the believers; the believers are the components of the church. Individually, they are the believers; corporately, they are the church. The first twenty-six books of the New Testament are concerned specifically with the church, that is, the believers. However, the four Gospels also contain many references to God’s chosen people, Israel. Since the four Gospels are a transitional point in the Bible, involving a shift from Israel as God’s chosen people to the church, they speak about both the church and Israel, God’s chosen people. The main object of the four Gospels is the church, even though the background is Israel, the chosen people. Concerning the church, there are five main points.
The first great thing in God’s dealing with the church is to preach the gospel. The church was produced through hearing the gospel.
A greater part of the Gospels emphasizes hearing the gospel, but there is also a part which emphasizes receiving life. At the end of the Gospels, the church has heard the gospel and received life.
In the book of Acts, the church receives the Holy Spirit.
Because the church has heard the gospel, received life, and received the Holy Spirit, she becomes the dwelling place of God, the Body of Christ. To God, the church is a dwelling place; to Christ, the church is His Body. This is revealed in the Epistles.
At the end of the Epistles, almost all of the “second” Epistles speak about the defeat and desolation of the church. Even though the church has heard the gospel, received life, received the Holy Spirit, and become the dwelling place of God and the Body of Christ, she also falls into a situation of defeat and desolation.
In the Bible there is also a fifth section concerning man. Each of the first four sections covers a single race, but the last section, Revelation, covers all of the various kinds of people together and speaks about them as a whole. Revelation shows us the outcome of all the people on the whole earth.
First Corinthians 10:32 divides the people of the world into three categories—Jews, Greeks (referring to the Gentiles), and the church. Two of these three kinds of people are descendants of Abraham. The Israelites are the descendants of Abraham in the flesh; the church (the believers) are the heavenly descendants of Abraham. Figuratively, Abraham’s descendants in the flesh, the Israelites, are like the dust of the earth, while Abraham’s heavenly descendants, the church (the believers), are like the stars of heaven. When God first made a promise to Abraham, He promised two groups of descendants. One group became His chosen people through the flesh; the other group became His chosen people through faith. In addition to these two groups of chosen people, there is still another group of people on earth; they are the Gentiles, the nations, who were left from Adam through Noah. Now let us consider these groups of people separately in Revelation.
The preceding section points out that the church became desolate; Revelation 2 and 3 speak of the Lord coming to judge the desolation of the church.
The Lord calls the overcomers out of the desolate church to meet His need, as shown in Revelation 2 and 3.
Revelation 11 and 12 show that the overcomers in the church will conquer God’s enemy and bring in the Lord’s kingdom.
Revelation 14 speaks of the rapture of the overcomers.
Revelation 20:4 says that the overcomers will reign with the Lord for a thousand years.
Revelation 21 and 22 say that all the saved ones in the church will participate in the New Jerusalem in eternity. In summary, Revelation speaks concerning the church in six events: judging its desolation, calling the overcomers, bringing in the Lord’s kingdom, being raptured, reigning with the Lord, and all the saved ones participating in the New Jerusalem in eternity.