THE REASON FOR CHANGING THE SYSTEM
Although I had dealt with the situation, I did not entirely pick up the work in Taiwan again. The reason was that the propagation abroad was very rapid, and I could not ignore the great need. However, in my heart I still cared for Taipei, so even though I could not come back once a year, I still came back at least once every two years and tried my best to urge the co-workers on, supporting them from behind and inciting them to do the work. After ten years passed, the brothers consulted with me. They said that the elders and co-workers in Taiwan had been serving for twenty years and asked me to come back to help them make some new arrangements. In response, I asked three brothers to be responsible for raising up a new generation of elders within a few years. It has been ten years since they were charged with this responsibility. I have been concerned about this matter year after year, but ten years have gone by and still nothing has happened. I felt that I could not wait any longer. Therefore, I told the three brothers that since the church needs the administration of the elders, we must perfect a group of elders, build up the administration of the church, and raise up the elders’ meeting. Because these things had not been worked out, I decided to come back to have a thorough change of the system.
Thank the Lord that when I came back in 1984, my view had already been broadened. This is due to the fact that, on the one hand, more than three hundred churches had already been raised up, and on the other hand, I had thoroughly observed the situation of the world and its changes and also observed the move and activities of some religious groups. I considered everything according to the truth and our own experience. After reviewing our ways and practices and comparing them with others’ methods, I had a clear sketch. We have been in the Lord’s recovery sixty years. Apparently we have already left the denominations, but actually the things of the denominations are still in our blood. Therefore, the old things of Christianity gradually and insidiously accumulated in us. In 1984, generally speaking, there was not much difference between us and Christianity. In our Lord’s Day meetings we had one man speaking and all the rest listening just like in Christianity. The only difference was that we had higher truths. For this reason I was determined to change the system.
THE PLAN FOR THE EVANGELIZATION OF TAIWAN
The Goal of Changing the System
We were sent by the Lord to come here to Taiwan thirty-six years ago, yet this little island of Taiwan has not been gospelized. This is really a big shame to us. Therefore, the primary goal of changing the system is the evangelization of Taiwan. For this I have designed a plan to evangelize Taiwan which will require five years and two thousand five hundred full-timers.
Our overall plan for the full-time training and our arrangement and economy concerning the full-timers are as follows: the short-term goal in changing the system in the churches is to overthrow the big meetings. In other words, instead of relying on the big meetings, we should build up the gospel, the truth, and the church life in the homes of the saints. Our situation is similar to the situation of a country or a society. The strength of a country or a society depends on the homes of the people. If all the households are strong, the society will be healthy and the country will also be powerful. Therefore, we will no longer focus on big joint-meetings. Instead, we will practice this way to the extent that even our conferences and trainings will not be carried out by relying on the big meetings but on the meetings in the homes.
Second, concerning the truths which the Lord has revealed to us, we must be able to teach them fluently and speak them thoroughly so that they will be wrought into the saints completely. Especially in the past two or three years the Lord’s revelation of the truth among us has nearly reached the peak. The whole Bible concludes with the New Jerusalem. Yet since the beginning of the history of Christianity, there have never been so many precious messages released concerning the New Jerusalem as have been released in the Lord’s recovery. God’s New Testament Economy has nineteen messages that give a thorough discussion of the New Jerusalem. Almost every item related to the New Jerusalem has been clearly explained in these nineteen messages.
The truths which the Lord has revealed among us today have nearly reached the peak. These truths, which consummate in the New Jerusalem, are crystallized in the book entitled God’s New Testament Economy. We are planning to compile all these truths into four volumes in Truth Lessons, with one level for each year and four volumes for each level. If all the saints are faithful to attend four years of the truth lessons, all these truths will be stored in them, and they will become persons filled with the truth. They will not only be people of life, life-people, but also people of truth, truth-people. This will fulfill what the apostle Paul said was God’s desire—that all men would be saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). Thus, in addition to having life and the light of life, we will have the truth and revelation. This will cause us spontaneously to become a testimony of the Lord Jesus on the earth today (Rev. 1:2).
(The Economy of God and the Mystery of the Transmission of the Divine Trinity, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee)
