THE LIVING CREATURES TRANSMITTING
THE THRONE TO THE EARTH
The living creatures are still on this earth, but through them the throne in the heavens is transmitted to the earth. With them and through them, the heavens with the throne are opened up to the earth. The throne in the heavens becomes one with the earth. This is like the transmission of electricity. Electricity is in the generator at the plant far from the city, but it is transmitted to us by the electrical lines. The living creatures are the heavenly electrical lines. It is through them and by them and with them that the heavenly throne is transmitted to the earth. Wherever they are, there is the throne. Wherever they go, the throne follows them. Sometimes you may go to a dear saint who is gentle, mild, and meek, yet in his presence you have the sensation that something is weighty and powerful and is ruling over the situation. You may be a very loose and sloppy person, but when you get into his presence something rules over you. What is that? That is the throne. Or you may say that is the Lord’s presence. Whether you call it the Lord’s presence or the throne, it is the transmission of the heavenly throne to this earth through that dear saint. You may also visit a local church where the saints are gentle, nice, and happy, yet you sense something weighty and powerful, something of authority, something ruling over everything. What is that? That, too, is the throne.
AUTHORITY NOT BEING HUMAN AND NATURAL
In the church we should not speak of authority in a human, natural way. In the church there is no human authority. The authority in the church is the throne above the clear sky. Suppose the leading brothers or the elders in a local church are not under a clear sky, yet they would exercise authority based upon their position. That does not work. They may speak something, but there will be no weight, no ruling, because there is no throne in the clear sky. But if the elders in a local church are day and night under a clear sky, having a conscience that is pure and void of offense under the heavenly throne, with them there will be the authority. There will be no need for them to claim authority over the saints.
If you must claim authority over the saints, it means you have lost your authority. If you need to claim to have authority, it means you have no authority. When you are living under a clear sky with a throne above it, you do not need to claim to have authority, but the authority is simply there. Never try to bring people under your authority. That does not work. That is a hierarchy. That is an organization. Do not try to rule over the saints. Rather, bow down and humble yourself. Get yourself under a clear sky. It is shameful for someone to claim to be the authority in the local church. There is no such thing! In the church there is no human authority. The Lord Jesus said that whoever among you would like to be great must serve the others (Matt. 23:11). This is the way to have authority. The authority is not mine nor yours nor others’. The authority is only the throne above a clear sky. I can assure you that if we are under a clear sky with a throne above it, no opposition and no persecution can shake us or defeat us.
If the heaven above us is clear and the throne is with us, we will have the authority and we will have the weight. The words out of one brother’s mouth may have power and the same words out of another brother’s mouth may have nothing. Why? Because one is under the clear sky with the throne but the other is under the clouds. It is easy to learn to repeat others’ words, to quote others’ words. But the words out of our mouth must have some weight. It all depends upon our being under a clear sky. It depends upon being subject to the throne. This is the proper church life and this is the proper Christian life. I must repeat to all the dear ones who bear responsibility: Never exercise your authority. You do not have authority. None of us has any authority; the authority is the throne. When the people of Israel rebelled against Moses, he never exercised his authority. Moses and Aaron simply bowed down and called upon the highest authority. Then the Lord Himself came to vindicate (Num. 20:2-8). It is a big mistake to exercise authority over others in the local church. Nothing is more shameful than this. To exercise authority over the saints is shameful. It is not glorious; it is shameful. The authority is not you and not me; the authority is the Man upon the throne. We must have the Man on the throne in our clear sky. We need a clear sky with a heavenly throne. Today the Lord needs such a church life.
The Lord needs such a group of coordinated living creatures. While they are standing or walking on the earth, the heavens are opened to the earth. Through them the heavenly throne is transmitted to earth. This is the church life. Don’t take a human way to exercise any kind of authority. Even if people come to you trying to recognize you as a kind of authority you must refuse it. You must tell them you are not that kind of authority. Authority does not mean that. The proper authority means a throne above a clear sky. It is not a human matter of organization and hierarchy. We must have a clear sky. It is shameful for us to intend that others should listen to us. It is shameful to have power among the saints. It is shameful to be the authority among the saints. We always consider Paul to be a great apostle, but he considered himself as less than the least of the saints (Eph. 3:8). His very name means "little." Paul would say, "You give me too great a title. I am not worthy of that."
(The Visions of Ezekiel, Chapter 8, by Witness Lee)
