May we look to the Lord in prayer.
O Lord, as we wait together before Thee, our prayer is that Thou wilt speak a word to each one of us.
We know and believe that Thy Word is life and spirit to us, and how we long for Thy Word. We ask Thee that Thou wilt open our inner ear to hear, open our inner eye to see, and open our hearts to receive Thee into us.
O Lord, we do commit this time into Thy hand. What hast Thou to say to us? Thy servants are hearing.
We do desire to come into Thy presence with a worshiping spirit, because Thou art our God and our Lord, mighty to save and worthy to be praised. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
I want to say at the very beginning that our brother, Mr. Sparks, has taken my message away this morning. But he has not taken my Lord away. And thank God, He gives more of my Lord for me.
The substance of our message this evening is almost the same as you have heard this morning. So I think probably I have more liberty tonight to do a little interpretation.
Will you please turn to Revelation 12? We will read from verse 1.
And a great sign was seen in heaven: a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars;
And she was with child; and she crieth out, travailing in birth, and in pain to be delivered.
And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems.
And his tail draweth the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon standeth before the woman that is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered, he may devour her child.
And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and unto His throne.
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;
And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.
And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe for the earth and for the sea: because the devil is gone down unto you, having great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time.
That is all we will read for tonight.
Here we find in this chapter that a period of 1,260 days is mentioned. Later on, you will find it said, “a time, and times, and half a time.” In other words, what you have before you is three years and a half, or forty-two months.
Now, if this means anything to us, I think immediately we can conclude that this concerns the end of this age. It is a scene of the end time, seen immediately before the great tribulation of three years and a half.
Why do we call these three and a half years the great tribulation? Because at that time the trinity of evil is upon the earth.
In Revelation 12, you find the red dragon, who is Satan, cast out of heaven and upon the earth. Then, in Revelation 13, you find out of the sea the first beast, the Antichrist; and out of the earth the second beast, the false prophet.
So here you find the trinity of evil upon the earth. And what can you expect but the great tribulation?
If this interpretation is correct, then we are dealing with the situation of the end time, at the very end of this age, just before the great tribulation.
What you see here, first of all, is a woman in travail. This woman is clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. She is in travail, going to give birth to a child.
Our attention these evenings is upon the overcomers, so I do not think we should spend time describing this woman. If you have time, you can read our dear brother Watchman Nee’s book, The Glorious Church. There you will find that he tries to give us an interpretation of what this woman is.
Let me just take it from his book and say that this woman is the church at the end time.
She is in pain. She is in travail. This, of course, immediately brings us back to Romans 8, those verses that our brother mentioned to us this morning.
The whole creation groans together. The whole creation is in pain, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God. Especially those who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan within themselves for adoption—that is, for sonship.
Dear brothers and sisters, the whole creation is under a heavy burden. The whole creation is subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but because of Him who made it so.
After the fall of man, the whole creation entered into vanity and the bondage of corruption. Ever since that time, the whole creation has been groaning and moaning instinctively.
Even though the psalmist says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth His handiwork,” that is true. Yet, on the other hand, you find that all created things in this universe, in a sense, misrepresent God. Why? Because we find vanity and corruption everywhere.
You look at a flower, a beautiful flower. It begins to bud, it begins to open up, and at the height of its glory, the next thing you know, it fades away. Corruption.
You look at a tree. You find a tree that begins to spread out, filled with leaves—beautiful, magnificent. But then you find the leaves beginning to fall, and the tree is reduced to barrenness.
Nothing in this created world is free from the bondage of corruption. Even the hills and the mountains are there for centuries, and yet, if we have the spiritual ear to hear, we may hear them crying out, “Why are we changing here year after year, century after century? What is the meaning of our existence?”
The whole creation is groaning. The whole creation is waiting for something—for the liberty of the sons of God. How much more we who have the firstfruits of the Spirit.
There is a groaning within God’s people. There is a groaning in the church. And this groaning is an expectation for something. The Bible says, “Waiting for adoption”; in other words, waiting for the full manifestation of sonship.
We have the firstfruit of the Spirit within us. We have the life of Christ within us. And now this life within us groans for growth, for maturity, for sonship.
Anyone who has the firstfruit of the Spirit in him, anyone who has life in him, cannot but feel the growing pain of life. There is within us a groaning, desiring to grow into full maturity, to grow into sonship.
We are not content just to be little children playing around. There is a groaning within us that we may grow into responsibility, that we may grow into sympathy with God, that we may grow into the concern and interest of God. This is a groaning within us.
Within us, the Spirit is groaning for growth. And without us, you find that all the things on this earth are pressing upon us and making us groan.
But, dear brothers and sisters, sometimes when we think of the problems of this world—when we think of wars, pestilence, earthquakes, famine, and all these things on the earth—we wonder why. Why does God allow these things to happen on the earth?
Certainly God is not interested in wars. Certainly God is not interested in pestilence. Certainly it is not the will of God to make the people of the world suffer so much. Then why? Why do we have all these things around us?
The whole earth is under a heavy burden. The whole earth is under pressure. The whole earth is under tribulation, pain, and suffering—almost to a point that is unbearable. It cannot bear any more.
If we look at these things by themselves, probably some may feel that even their faith is being shaken.
But you remember our Lord Jesus in Matthew 24. When He spoke on the Mount of Olives concerning the things that are coming, the Lord Jesus said there shall be wars and rumors of wars, pestilences, famine, false prophets, and all these things shall come upon the earth. But the Lord said, “These are the beginning of travail,” the beginning of birth pains.
The whole world is in travail. Especially the church of God has been, and is, in travail. When a woman is in travail, it is true that it is very painful. She is going through the process of death. It is something to be afraid of. She trembles under the pressure.
Yet, on the other hand, such suffering is not negative. It is not in vain, because it is birth pain. After the pain, there will be joy—unspeakable joy—because a child is born.
Here, brothers and sisters, all the things that are happening in the world today are pathetic, tragic, terrible, frightening, and shattering. But if you see God’s purpose, you know that these are but the birth pains. Painful, yes, but they will bring forth something very positive for God.
After the Lord ascended and the world began to go through the birth pains, how much more we who are living near the end time. The travail, the birth pains, will increase in intensity and recurrence, because something—or Someone—is going to come forth.
The woman is in travail, going to give birth to a child.
The whole church today, the church of God today, has been under persecution, trials, and tribulations through these twenty centuries. And as we approach the end days, we find that the church is under intense suffering.
If we only see the church of God throughout the world, we may think that we can sit here very peacefully, without interruption and without fear. We can speak of the Lord and fellowship with one another. But, dear brothers and sisters, at this very hour there are many places on the earth where God’s people cannot meet together.
Even when two or three try to gather together for a little time, they are in fear and trembling lest they be found.
We do not know the sufferings of God’s people. We do not know what they have gone through. The little that we have heard makes us tremble. We wonder, how can it be that God allows such suffering, such persecution, such travail, to His own people?
But it happens, and it shall increase in intensity, in number, and in recurrence. Why? Because the church is to give birth to a child.
When this woman is in travail, you find another scene in heaven. There is a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. His tail draws the third part of the stars of heaven and casts them upon the earth. The dragon stands before the woman who is about to be delivered, that when she is delivered, he may devour the child.
Here you find the great red dragon. Red is the color of blood. He is bloodthirsty.
As our Lord Jesus says in John 8, he was a murderer from the very beginning, and he has not stood in the truth because there is no truth in him. This is the adversary of God and of man.
If you read on, you find that a full description of this dragon is given. He is not only called the red dragon; he is the old serpent. Immediately we remember the scene in the Garden of Eden, that serpent who, with his craftiness, deceived Eve into taking the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in rebellion against God.
The old serpent is Satan. He is called the Devil and Satan. He is the evil spirit, the adversary of God and of man, the deceiver of the whole world. Oh, how he deceives! And lastly, he is the accuser.
Satan accuses us before God and accuses us in our conscience, so that we may be troubled and dare not approach the throne of grace.
Here you find Satan and his kingdom, with all his power, standing before the woman, waiting to devour the child that is to come forth.
The focal point here is the child. Here is the woman going to bring forth, and there is the dragon standing before the woman, waiting to devour—not the woman, but the child that is to be brought forth.
Satan is fully aware of the significance of the child that is to come. The conflict here is over the child, the man-child.
Dear brothers and sisters, who is this man-child? Who is he that is so important in the eyes of Satan? Who is he that the woman is about to bring forth?
The travail of the woman is centered upon one thing. The meaning of all her travail is in the child that is to come forth. This is the meaning of the woman.
On the other hand, you find that the meaning of the menace, the opposition, and the assault of the enemy is also centered upon the child. The child becomes, as our brother says, a corporate person—a corporate person.
If the woman is the church at the end time, then this child cannot be the church also. The child is in the womb of the woman. The child comes out of the woman. Now, who is this child?
We find a description of this child:
And she was delivered of a son, a man-child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.
This child is destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Now, who is he?
We find the same clause appearing three times in the book of Revelation: in Revelation 12:5; in Revelation 2:26-27; and in Revelation 19:15.
And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of My Father.
There you find that it is a promise to the overcomer in the church in Thyatira. The overcomers in the church in Thyatira are to be given authority over all the nations, and they shall rule the nations with an iron rod.
Then, in Revelation 19:15:
And out of His mouth proceedeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron.
There in Revelation 19, we know that it is a description of our Lord Jesus, the Overcomer. Our Lord Jesus shall come, and with a sword out of His mouth He shall smite the enemy, and He shall rule all the nations with an iron rod.
So, you have this description in Revelation 2 used for the overcomers of the church, and in Revelation 19 used for our Lord, the Overcomer. Now, in Revelation 12:5, whom does it mean? Does it mean our Lord, or does it mean the overcomers of the church?
In the first place, the woman comes out of the man. You remember that God put Adam to sleep, and out of his side God took a rib and built a woman with it. The woman comes out of the man, and, of course, the child comes out of the woman.
So, in the first place, we cannot say that Christ comes out of the church. The church comes out of Christ.
Out of the side of Christ, out of the heart of Christ, out of the love of Christ, out of His blood and His life given, the church is born and built.
This woman cannot mean Mary, the mother of Jesus. Even though Mary is a most honored woman, and we honor her very much, we cannot say that she is clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and wearing a crown of twelve stars. This is not her description.
So you find, if the woman is the church, then the man-child cannot be Christ personally.
Secondly, this scene of birth happens just before the great tribulation—the 1,260 days. Immediately after his birth, the three and a half years of the great tribulation begin. This does not happen in the life of Christ.
Our Lord Jesus, after He was born, lived on this earth for thirty-three and a half years. It was only after He left that the prophecy in Matthew 24 began to unfold. So we cannot say that this refers to Christ.
Thirdly, after Christ was born, He was not immediately caught up to God and to the throne. If that were the case, there would be no salvation for us. After He was born, He remained on this earth for thirty-three and a half years to accomplish the work of redemption. It was only after the work of redemption was finished that He was caught up to heaven.
But this man-child, the moment he is born, is caught up to heaven.
Fourthly, this man-child is a corporate person. Why? Because, as you read on, you find:
For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night.
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
You find that everything is plural. This man-child is a corporate child, not a personal Christ, but a corporate person.
If we allow this to be some basis of interpretation—and again I will say, this is interpretation, not the substance—then we can almost say that if the woman represents the church at the end time, this child is the overcomers at the end time.
In Revelation 2 and 3, we find the overcomers of the church in the first century, because these seven churches existed in the first century. Even though the churches were in a general condition of decline, yet out of that general condition came forth overcomers. These are overcomers of the first century.
Then in Revelation 7, we find a countless crowd standing before the throne and before the Lamb. These are the overcomers throughout the twenty centuries. In each century there are overcomers. Thank God for that.
God has never been without His witnesses on this earth. No matter how the church has fallen or deviated from the original purpose of God, God has His own to maintain the testimony of Jesus throughout the twenty centuries.
That we find in Revelation 7. And now in Revelation 12, you find the overcomers at the end time, just before the return of our Lord.
This child is in the womb of the woman. In other words, you find that the overcomers are in the church. The travail of the woman is the travail of the child.
Or we may put it another way: the woman is in travail in order that a child may be born, and then she is satisfied.
You remember our brother mentioned this morning that the essence of the church is in the child—the overcomers.
What the church ought to be is expressed, substantiated, precipitated, and brought into being in that man-child.
The overcomers are not those who are entirely separated from the church. Rather, you find that the overcomers of the church represent what the church ought to be before God.
Because of that, the controversy is not over the woman at that time, but over the man-child. Satan knows better than we do.
He knows that he does not need to be bothered with the woman too much. His first interest is in the child, because he knows that the child is an instrument in God’s hand to defeat him and his kingdom.
We call this man-child the overcomers at the end time. What have they done?
From a human standpoint, the child has done nothing. The woman is in travail, but the child has not done anything. Yet the strange thing is that when he is born, he has overcome the adversary of God and of man.
Here, brothers and sisters, our thought of overcomers is usually wrapped up with what great work we have done, what striking work we have done, what spectacular things we have accomplished. Everybody can see that we have done a great thing.
But here you find that the child, from the outward standpoint, has done nothing. Not only has the child done nothing; he is unseen too.
That which is seen is minor. That which is unseen is the essence.
We like to see. We are affected by things that can be seen. Why? Because these things nourish our flesh. We thrive on such food.
But when God is doing His work, it may not be seen by anyone. It is not something to be seen, but it is something that will affect the unseen world.
The child has done nothing. We do not see him do anything. Yet the Bible says, “They overcame Satan.” They overcome.
They overcome by reason of the blood of the Lamb. They overcome not because they have their own merit to boast of. They have none.
They overcome because, out of great tribulation, they learn the preciousness of the blood of the Lamb.
They have their robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb. They are not supermen. They are not infallible. They have fallen. They have much weakness. Yet they know the value of the blood of the Lamb.
By the blood, they have boldness to enter into the throne of grace. By the blood, they can stand before the adversary and say, “Get away.”
Their boldness is based upon the blood of the Lamb, not upon themselves.
Secondly, they overcome by reason of the word of their testimony. What is their testimony?
As you read the whole book of Revelation, you find that the spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.
Very often, when we read the book of Revelation, we are so fascinated by all these events that are foretold. Every chapter is interesting and fascinating. As we enter into all these events and wonderful prophecies, we can become lost in the forest.
We are attracted by all these propositions—how this is the fulfillment of that, and how that can be so involved. But, dear brothers and sisters, this is not the purpose of the book of Revelation.
The book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The spirit of prophecy is the testimony of Jesus.
What is the testimony of Jesus? We heard this morning that the testimony of Jesus is: Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is Lord. This is the testimony of Jesus.
Jesus is His earthly name, a name that He took upon Himself in His days of humiliation. The world said, “Who is this Jesus? We do not know Him. We have never heard of Him. Who is this Jesus of Nazareth?”
God says, “Jesus is Lord.” God has made Him Christ and Lord over all things. The Jesus whom we preach is Lord of all. This is the testimony of Jesus.
Here you find a people who trust in the blood of the Lamb. They do not come to a point of spiritual superiority—in the sense of saying, “I am holier than thou.” They cannot come to a point as if they are somebodies, high up with achievements. No.
The blood of the Lamb is their place of humility. They know their place before God.
Yet, on the other hand, they testify that Jesus is Lord. To them, there is no lord but Jesus Christ. Jesus is Lord and Lord alone.
They are completely under the authority of the Lord Jesus. Their whole life is subjected to the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is not merely saying it, but their life testifies to it.
They have seen, heard, and experienced the lordship of Christ. Because they have experienced it in their life, they are not ashamed to say, “Jesus is Lord.” It becomes word; it becomes their testimony.
Sometimes we mix up timidity with humility. We think that we are humble, yet actually we are fearful.
The overcomers are not timid at all. Yet that does not mean that they are arrogant. They are bold, but humble. They are not afraid to testify that Jesus is Lord.
As we enter into conflict in our lives, we find that the conflict which comes to us actually revolves around this testimony: whether Jesus is Lord or not; whether Jesus is your Lord or not.
Sometimes you find the power of darkness pressing upon you, trying to oppress you and bring you down to the point where you think that Jesus is no longer Lord, that it is out of His control. Do you have such experience?
Very often we find that things have gotten out of our hands—not only out of our hands, but seemingly out of His hand. And when you come to that point, your whole faith shatters.
My dear brothers and sisters, when we are in such intense conflict, sometimes you have to shout, “Jesus is Lord!” And the enemy is frightened.
I do not mean to say that we should use vain repetition. It is only when you are in intense conflict, and the conflict is over this question of whether Jesus is Lord, that the word of your testimony affects the unseen world. It is a shout of faith.
And then, thirdly, they overcome because they love not their life even unto death.
Hebrews tells us that Satan, who has the power of death, holds people in his hands because throughout their life they are afraid to die.
Death is the last enemy. It is the strongest weapon of Satan. How often he threatens us with death: “If you follow the Lord, if you do not have this thing, you will die. Your soulish life will suffer. Your soul will be reduced to poverty. You will not be satisfied. You will die.”
Because Satan uses death to threaten people, we are frightened and kept under bondage. But, dear brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, you find a people here who are not afraid to die.
They love not their life even unto death. On the other hand, they are willing to die.
Our brother one day mentioned 2 Corinthians 4, the dying of Jesus: bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus may be manifested in us.
Are we willing to give up our life? The natural life must die. The natural emotional life must die.
The Word of God does not say that your emotional life should be nourished—I mean the natural one. The Word of God says it must die. It is only when it goes to death that, out of death, the resurrection life of our Lord Jesus comes forth.
I do not mean to say that you have no more emotions, but I will say that you have purer emotions, even those of our Lord.
The same thing is true with our mental life. How we are full of thoughts and opinions. How we are all counselors—not only of men, but of God. How we offer our counsel so freely without being asked.
And how we are hurt when our opinion does not carry through or is not obeyed.
Are you willing to die to your opinion? Are you willing to die to the many thought imaginations? Are you willing to die to that which you think is the most logical thing in the world?
They love not their life. He that loses his life, the Lord said, for My sake shall gain it. But, on the other hand, he that saves his life may seem to have gained, but the Lord says that he loses it. He is the loser; he is not the gainer.
Here, brothers and sisters, you find this man-child. This man-child is developing within the womb of the woman.
As there is a travail and a groaning in the Spirit, there is this life—at first a little life—but this life is going through growing pains. Through pressure, life is enlarged, and you find that life is growing into maturity.
As this life grows into maturity, it overcomes. The battle is the battle of life and death. Satan uses death as his trump card, but here you find God raising up a man-child, which is life full-grown. As life matures, Satan is defeated.
This is the work of the overcomers.
Dear brothers and sisters, may I emphasize again: our eyes are always looking to the things that can be seen. If we can sweep the nation, then we are all overcomers. If we can do great things for God, then we are overcomers.
But you do not find anything like that here. It is just this steady, silent growth of life—the life of Christ—in the church, being developed and growing through adversities and tribulations.
There is a growing understanding of the blood of the Lamb, a growing entering into the word of the testimony, and a growing giving away of life into resurrection. It is when this life is precipitated that the work is done.
It is not a work. It is the fruit of life.
As this man-child is born, he is immediately taken to God and to His throne. But remember one thing: as the man-child goes to heaven, as it were, he has to go through the air, and the air is where Satan’s base and headquarters are.
You remember when God created the earth, as we find in Genesis 1, on the second day God does not say, “It is good,” because there is the dividing of the waters. God does not say it is good. Why? Because the air is the dwelling place of evil power.
Ephesians 2:2 speaks of the ruler of the authority of the air.
This man-child is of such spiritual ascendancy that he can penetrate the enemy’s territory, go through it, up to the throne. That is victory.
We mentioned on the first night:
What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
And the son of man, that Thou visitest him?
For Thou hast made him but little lower than God,
And crownest him with glory and honor.
This is not only fulfilled in Christ, the Overcomer, but here we find it fulfilled in the overcomers in union with Christ.
These are men, a little lower than angels, and yet spiritually and morally they have such superiority that the enemy cannot hold them. They go through the air into heaven.
Because of that, there is war in the air. Michael and his angels war against Satan and his followers, and there is no more place for Satan in the air. He is cast down upon the earth.
You know what it means. This man-child is a vanguard of the Lord’s army. They prepare the return of the Lord, because the Lord shall descend from heaven into the air, and we shall all be caught up to meet Him in the air.
So the air has to be cleaned and cleared. And this is done by the man-child, by the man-child.
Dear brothers and sisters, is it a small thing that the church today is in such travail?
The church today has come to a point: either she gives birth, or she dies.
The eye of God, as well as the eye of Satan, is upon the man-child—the overcomers at the end time.
And no wonder, when the man-child is born, the cry goes out:
Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ.
Through the overcomers, the kingdom of God is brought from heaven to earth. The authority of Christ is to be publicly manifested upon the whole world.
May the Lord be gracious to us. We are living in the end days, and this is what is happening today.
Are we among those who overcome by reason of the blood of the Lamb, by reason of the word of their testimony, and because they love not their life even unto death?
Our Heavenly Father, we do pray that we may get out of interpretation and get in touch with reality.
The reality is that in the end days Thou wilt have a people to maintain the testimony of Jesus.
O Lord, our cry unto Thee is that the travail may not be in vain, that it may bring forth a man-child who will be an instrument in Thy hand to bring back the King.
O Lord, we do offer ourselves to Thee for Thy further working in our lives. We ask in the precious name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.