As we have seen, the testimony of Jesus is the church as the expression, testimony, and revelation of Jesus in a corporate way. In order to see Jesus, we must see Him in the church, because Jesus is expressed and revealed in the proper church life. As we have also seen, because the book of Revelation unveils Christ, in this sense it also is the testimony of Jesus (1:1-2; 19:10). In no other book is Jesus revealed as much in His corporate expression. This book presents eight aspects concerning the testimony of Jesus, in chapters 1, 7, 12, 14, 15, 19, and 21. We should all remember these seven chapters. Chapter 1 unveils the seven golden lampstands (vv. 11-13, 20) shining in the dark night, and chapter 7 shows us the multitude of the redeemed saints in eternity (vv. 9-17). Chapter 12 reveals a wonderful, universal woman with a man-child (vv. 1-5, 17), and chapter 14 reveals the firstfruits and the harvest (vv. 1-5, 14-16), which are grown on God’s field, His farm. In chapter 15 we see a group of overcomers standing on the glassy sea rejoicing, praising, and singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb (vv. 2-4). In chapter 19 there is the bride on the wedding day (vv. 7-8) and the army of Christ to defeat Antichrist (vv. 14-21), and in chapter 21 there is the New Jerusalem as the wife in eternity (vv. 1-3, 9-11, 18-19). In brief, these seven chapters reveal the lampstands, the great multitude, the woman with the man-child, the firstfruits and the harvest, the overcomers, the bride, the army, and the New Jerusalem. We should bring these eight signs to the Lord and pray-read all the related verses.
Because of the wrong concept in Christianity, most Christians consider that Revelation is too difficult for anyone to understand. For their entire life, many Christians do not get into the book of Revelation. If we still hold on to this concept, we have been drugged. May the Lord cause us to be sober. The book of Revelation is not too difficult. It simply presents the testimony of Jesus, which is the church as the corporate expression of Christ. We all know what a lampstand is. It is something that shines over us when we are in darkness. The great multitude of the redeemed in chapter 7 serve God in the heavenly temple and enjoy God’s care and the Lamb’s shepherding. The wonderful woman in chapter 12, clothed with the sun, the moon underneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars upon her head, is the totality of God’s people on earth. The church is also God’s farm to grow Christ (1 Cor. 3:9). On this farm, those who ripen earlier are considered the firstfruits, and the rest are the harvest. The overcomers on the glassy sea in Revelation 15 are those who overcome the beast and all the negative things. Then in chapter 19, the church is not a harlot but a pure and bright bride, and it is the overcoming army to fight with Christ against Antichrist and his armies. Eventually we have the New Jerusalem in chapter 21. The New Jerusalem is altogether wonderful, so we need much understanding concerning it. In brief, the church as the testimony of Jesus is the lampstands, the multitude of the redeemed, the wonderful woman with the man-child, the farm to grow the firstfruits and the harvest, the overcomers, the bride, the army, and the New Jerusalem. In this testimony, Jesus is fully expressed and revealed. Therefore, in order to know Jesus and see such a Christ, we must come to the church.
This brief summary covers the entire book of Revelation. Some may say, “These are only seven chapters. What about the others?” The other chapters simply speak of horses, locusts, scorpions, frogs, beasts, a dragon, a serpent, and a great harlot. The great Babylon is in the category of the frogs, locusts, serpent, and dragon, but the New Jerusalem is in the category of the lampstands, the wonderful woman, the farm to grow Christ, and the overcomers. All the smaller items are the background and environment of the main picture, which is Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5). Nothing can defeat this Lion, neither the serpent, nor the frogs, nor the locusts. To us, the Lion is the redeeming Lamb, but to the enemy, the Lamb is the overcoming Lion. Moreover, He is fully expressed in the lampstand, the multitude of the redeemed, the woman with the man-child, the farm, the overcomers, the bride, the army, and the New Jerusalem. Through this summary, the entire book of Revelation should be open to all of us.
The lampstands are golden, not wooden or muddy. In typology, gold signifies the divine nature of God. The church must have the divine nature of God. We have all been born of God, and we have His life and nature (John 3:15; 2 Pet. 1:4). Therefore, we do have some amount of gold within us. Now we need to forsake our muddy and wooden nature and go along with the golden nature. We only need to listen to the God who lives, works, moves, and operates in us. If we would care for the divine nature, we will be golden. Other metals rust, but gold never rusts. It always remains the same. Likewise, the divine nature does not change; it remains forever the same. We do have this divine nature within us. Therefore, we should not develop our natural talents or natural being. Rather, we should cast them away and develop the divine nature within us to have the golden lampstands.
Moreover, the church is a stand, not something flat. The church is not low; it rises up and stands. The church must rise up higher than everything else. Those who are defeated and dead lie down, but as the church we must stand as the golden lampstand. We stand not by our nature, natural being, or natural talent but by God’s divine nature. Many of our co-workers in mainland China, faithful ones with whom I worked for many years, were martyred. Recently, a co-worker who was learning under me since 1936 was martyred. The Communists demanded that people not talk about Jesus, but he protested in print that he must speak about Him. Because of this, the Communists killed him. To be sure, all these co-workers were standing as the testimony of Jesus.
We do not need a lampstand in the daytime. It is in the night that we need the lampstand to shine. The church must be golden, standing, and shining. Some people argue, “Are you the only church? Are we not the church?” Those who argue should simply check whether they are shining or darkened. When we come into a certain Christian meeting, do we see light there or is that meeting in darkness? The church shines; it is the shining lampstand. If we have been wrong with our wife, for example, when we come into the proper church, the light will shine on us. We will be exposed, our conscience will be enlightened and touched, and we will have the deep conviction that we should not be wrong in this way. If this is our experience, we can be assured that the place we are in is the church. On the other hand, if we come here again and again with no conviction that we are wrong with our wife, we are still in darkness, and the place in which we are is not the genuine church. The church is shining. Therefore, do not be careless in the church. Nothing exposes people as much as the church does. There is no need for anyone to speak frankly to us. When we simply come to the church, the light is there. The light comes from all around and embraces us, and we cannot escape it. If we try to run away, the light follows us and brings us back. Even if we do not like being exposed, we come back to be exposed again. Then we receive mercy, and grace follows. This is the experience of the church. The church is golden, the church is standing, and the church is shining. It is the golden lampstand.
In some places that claim to be the church, even the elders fight with one another. On the one hand, they say that they meet in the Lord’s name and that they are the church, but on the other hand, they fight. This is not the church; it is a place of darkness. The church is a place where not only do we not fight, but even as we are about to lose our temper, we say, “O Lord, forgive me. Lord, I am so wrong.” The church is the most exposing place. No man controls us here, but there is a King in the church. The Lord Jesus, not any of the elders, is the King. Many times the elders are very kind. They go along with us and say everything is fine. However, even if the elders say, “Fine,” Jesus may say, “No.” The elders may let us go, but Jesus would not let us go. He is the light, and He shines over us. If there is not this kind of light where we are, we should go elsewhere. We should not stay in a place where there is no light. Sometimes I have not spoken kindly with the elders, but I could go only so far in my speaking. I dared not go further, because the light shined within me. When I was about to speak too strongly, the light came, and I said, “O Lord Jesus! Cleanse me. Lord, I apply Your blood.” Likewise, if we still can fight with our husband or wife for an extended time, we are not in the church in a practical way. I do not say that no one among us fights. It is just that after fighting for only a few minutes, King Jesus shines over us and within us to cause us to repent and confess. Because of this, we can say that we are in the church as the shining golden lampstand.