HOW TO READ REVELATION
We must all see the character of today’s age. It is no more the age of religion. It is no more the age of mere quotations. It is no more the age of mere teachings or doctrines. It is no more the age of the gifts or the gifted persons. It is no more the age of the so-called elders and deacons. This is the age of the Book of Revelation. This is the age of the seven Spirits for the seven churches with the seven stars. In this book the Lord Jesus declares that He is the living One (1:18). What good is it to hold the sound and scriptural doctrines as long as you are dead? Oh, the doctrines! Oh, the teachings! Oh, the gifts! Oh, the dissension! Oh, the deadness! How much we need to give up our concepts and our dissenting thoughts! How much we need to come to the Book of Revelation and to the age of this book! The Book of Revelation is the stepping stone to the New Jerusalem. If we have never been in the reality of the Book of Revelation, we can never be in the New Jerusalem. Let us drop all the oldness and get into it. Let us just take one word—Amen—and mingle it with the words of this book. The seven churches—Amen! The seven Spirits—Amen! Seven angels—Amen! Seven stars—Amen! One city, one church—Amen! One church, one city—Amen! The church at Ephesus—Amen! The church at Smyrna—Amen! The church at Pergamos—Amen! Even if I don’t understand, I still must say Amen. Even if I don’t agree, I still must say Amen. I am not the Lord—He is the Lord! If we would do this we would be exceedingly blessed; we would be the most favored people on this earth. We would have rest and we would be so very happy. We would not care what people say—we would only care what the seven Spirits say.
I would not suggest that you burn all your books, but I beg you to put all your books aside and come to the last book of the Bible. The last book of the Bible is the last word of the Lord, and the last word of any person is the most important. The last word of the Bible is the Book of Revelation. Let us pray-read every chapter with every verse, every phrase with every word, and say Amen every time. We need not attempt to understand or analyze it. We need only say Amen to every word. I challenge you to try it and see what the result will be. I have full assurance that you will be set on fire by the sevenfold Spirit.
UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LORD
The year is not 1770 nor 1870, but 1970. The Lord is marching on. We thank the Lord for all His previous recoveries throughout the past generations—without them we could never have reached the present age. But we must be up-to-date with the Lord. We should not linger behind in some past age of the Lord’s move. Since we are in 1970, we should be in tune with the Lord’s move in 1970. May the Lord deliver us from being backward Christians. We need to be brought on and on. This month is different from last month, and today is different from yesterday. We expect that tomorrow the Lord will go on to accomplish something further. Why must we hold on to so many old things?—that is Satan’s subtle snare. We all need to be rescued by the present Jesus. What was good for yesterday may be the snare of the enemy to you today.
Let me say a word to the senior brothers and sisters. I am not so young; I know all your problems. Your problems can be summed up in three categories: 1) the doctrines you have learned, 2) the experiences through which you have passed, 3) all the things you have seen in the past. But in the Book of Revelation, I say again, there are no doctrines, there are no experiences, and there is nothing of the past. We all need to have a new start. The Apostle John in this book is absolutely new, absolutely different from the John in the Gospel and in the three Epistles. Listen to his tone in the Revelation. Why is there such a change? Because he was in the spirit and heard the voice; because he turned himself and saw something new. Oh, how we need to overcome the old doctrines, the old experiences, and all the things we have seen in the past! We need to overcome and we need to come over. Don’t say that you sympathize with the young people because they are young and must be so active. There is no need for you to sympathize with them. Sympathize with yourself! No one is so pitiful as you. Ask the Lord to have mercy on you.
The seven Spirits of God are sent forth into all the earth (5:6). The seven Spirits today are just like the air throughout the entire earth. They are not only in Los Angeles—they are everywhere. Never say that such an intensified Spirit is only good for Los Angeles. You may say that Los Angeles is Los Angeles and every church must have its own separate and distinct expression. But what is your expression? I fear that it may be the expression of deadness, the expression of your dissenting thought. Christianity is just the expression of dead religion, the expression of so many divisive things. The sevenfold intensified Spirit is sent forth into all the earth.
(Christ versus Religion, Chapter 13, by Witness Lee)
