We thank God for the book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament and the concluding book of the entire Bible. However, this book has not been opened to many Christians in a very clear way, and very few have truly seen its significance. Generally speaking, almost everyone considers this to be a book of prophecy. Whether this is right or wrong depends on our definition of prophecy. As we saw in a previous chapter, Revelation is not merely a book of predictions of events that will transpire in the future. Rather, in the nature of prophecy, it is a full revelation of Christ that opens the covering veil to give us a clear picture of this wonderful person (1:1a). In portraying Christ, this revelation also gives us a full record of the church from the first century until the time of the coming kingdom. Christ is in the church. In order to see who Christ is and what He is, we need to see the church throughout all the centuries. Then we can see Christ in the church, with the church, and in oneness with the church. This is a further view of Christ. Many Christians have seen the view of Christ presented by the four Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles, but very few have seen Christ from the view presented in the book of Revelation.
Until around 1828, when the great teachers of the Brethren Assembly were raised up, including John Nelson Darby and others, the book of Revelation was mostly a closed book. On the one hand, these teachers opened this book in a general way, but on the other hand, they also misinterpreted certain matters. For example, Darby said that the scene around the throne in the heavens in chapter 4 takes place only after the church is raptured. He based this on the fact that John, as a representative of the church, was in the heavens in spirit (vv. 1-2). Then after the church is taken up, the tribulations follow as a judgment on the world. By moving directly from the historical churches in chapters 1 through 3 to the Lord’s coming and the taking up of the church in chapter 4, this interpretation creates a gap of many centuries, leaving the book of Revelation incomplete. In our early days, we learned some things from Revelation through the writings of the Brethren teachers, but eventually we could not hold to any misleading concepts. Gradually as the years went by, the Lord showed us something further. The book of Revelation spans a long period of time, covering, in principle, all the things from the age of the apostles in the first century to the New Jerusalem in eternity.
The book of Revelation is a revelation not merely by Christ but concerning Christ in His church and in oneness with His church. Based upon this principle, it opens with the first three chapters depicting the situation of the church in a practical and full way. Later, in chapter 12 there is a wonderful, universal, pure, holy, and bright woman (v. 1). With her there is no darkness because she is clothed with the sun, the moon is underneath her feet, and on her head is a crown of twelve stars, which are the luminaries that shine in the whole universe. This woman is in contrast to Jezebel, the evil, ugly, dirty woman in Thyatira who seduces God’s people to commit fornication and eat idol sacrifices (2:20-23). According to church history, Thyatira signifies the Roman Catholic Church. In the eyes of God, this church is Jezebel, who cheats the people who follow her. Some may ask, “Does not the Catholic Church teach people to worship God?” Yes, it does, but at the same time, it teaches people to worship idols. Over twenty-five years ago, while I was in Manila in the Philippines, I sought to know the facts about the Catholic Church, so I went to the largest cathedral there to watch and observe. Many people were worshipping idols. First, they went to a counter and bought a candle. Then they came into the cathedral, looked at all the idols, and considered to which one they should go. Most of them chose to go to the idol of the so-called “holy mother” to burn their candle, worship the idol, and pray to it. Under one idol was a notice that to come to it and pray every day would reduce a loved one’s time in purgatory. This is to teach people to worship in God’s name but in actuality to worship idols. This is evil and demonic, and it was prophesied in Revelation as Jezebel, the evil woman who teaches the Lord’s servants to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices.
We should not be disappointed with chapters 2 and 3. Rather, we should go on to chapters 4 through 11 to arrive at chapter 12, where there is a woman not with idols but full of light—the sun, the moon, and the stars. Then from chapter 12 we go on to chapter 14, where there are the firstfruits and the harvest (vv. 1-5, 14-16). A little further on, however, the evil woman comes again as the great harlot, Babylon (17:1-6). Babylon is the consummation of the evil woman, Jezebel. With this great harlot there is a mixture. The New Jerusalem is a city of gold; the entire city proper is gold in nature (21:18), but the great Babylon is only gilded with gold, having a golden cup full of abominations. In appearance the cup is gold, but it is not gold within. This is a cheating, a deceit. The great harlot is gilded with the divine things, but we should not look only at the appearance. In the eyes of God, the cup is filled with abominations. This is a picture of the Catholic Church. From the outward appearance, it is gold, but inside are abominations. The harlot is gilded not only with gold but also with precious stone and pearls (17:4). In appearance, this seems to be the same as the New Jerusalem. However, the New Jerusalem is not gilded but built with precious stones and pearls on the base of gold (21:19-21). The Catholic Church is only gilded to deceive people with a good, divine appearance, but its contents are evil and abominable.
In chapter 2 there is Jezebel, in chapter 12 there is a bright woman, in chapter 17 Jezebel becomes a great harlot, and then in chapter 19 there is the wife of Christ (v. 7). Following this is chapter 21, which shows the New Jerusalem built with precious stones and pearls inlaid in the golden mountain. This is the wonderful picture presented by the book of Revelation, and in this picture we see Christ with the church and in the church. Therefore, as the revelation concerning Christ, the book of Revelation presents the testimony of Jesus, which is the church.