We will read from Revelation 12:1.
And a great sign was seen in heaven:
a woman clothed 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 cried, 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 cast them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman that was about to be delivered,
that, when she was delivered, he might devour her child.
And she brought forth a man child, who is to shepherd 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 out, the old serpent,
he that is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world;
he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out 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 out, 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.
May we look to the Lord in prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do want to come to Thee once again to worship Thee, to tell Thee how much we appreciate what Thou hast done for us in giving us even Thine own beloved Son and the Holy Spirit.
Our Father, as we come to Thee this morning, we are confident that we are accepted in the Beloved. We are confident that in Thy presence there is fullness of joy and life forevermore. So we just come to Thee to receive more life from Thee, more light from Thee, that we may be really transformed and may really respond to whatever Thou hast called us to.
To Thee be all the praise and glory, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
We mentioned at the very beginning that the wisest of men, Solomon, said, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose.” It takes a wise man’s heart to know the time and the manner—in other words, to know when and what to do.
As we look into the Old Testament, we find how these men and women of God in the old days knew their time, discerned the purpose of God, and acted with faith, so that God’s purpose was able to be fulfilled in their lives. And they had witness borne to them by God that God was pleased with them.
Then, of course, when we come to the New Testament, we find that the whole life of our Lord Jesus was governed by one thing, and that is His hour. Our Lord Jesus not only had the knowledge of the hour, but He was ever conscious of that hour.
Throughout His life, you find how He moved according to that hour. He was never ahead of it; He was never behind it. He was always on time; He was always in that hour.
The purpose of that hour, of course, we know, was that He might gather unto Himself a people out of every tribe, every tongue, every nation, and every people—a people to be His body and, eventually, His own bride. For that purpose, He gave His own life. This is our Lord Jesus.
We do not have time to go into the lives of the apostles, but if you read the New Testament, you find that the apostles of the first century knew the time, knew God’s purpose, and their manner was acceptable to God.
Yesterday morning, we mentioned this matter of, “Watchman, what of the night?” We know that with the coming of our Lord Jesus, we actually entered into the last days.
The phrase the last days, or the end of days, is a Hebrew expression. It means the ending of the period of law and the introduction of Messiah. The end days, the last days, introduce the days of the Messiah.
So we know that these last days actually began with the first coming of Christ, and they will end at the second coming of Christ. In between these two comings, we have these last days.
These days, on the one hand, are evil days—perilous days, difficult days, days that are very hard. But on the other hand, these are also days of hope, days of great expectation.
Brothers and sisters, if at the beginning of the first century people had already entered into the last days, then we who live at the end of two thousand years have no doubt that we are living at the very end of these last days. This is the time in which we are living.
Yesterday morning, we mentioned that there are certain signs which show us that we are actually at the end of the last days. Of course, one of the signs is the fig tree.
We mentioned yesterday that the fig tree is a symbol of the Jewish nation. You find that the fig tree began to put forth tender branches and began to produce leaves. The Lord Jesus said, when you see these things, you know that summer is near. When you see these things, you know that it is at the door—very near at the door.
Once Frederick the Great, in the presence of many atheists and unbelievers, asked his general, Zieten, “Can you give us a good argument about Christianity which is short and convincing?”
This general was not only noted for his courage and bravery, but he was also a man of God. So he answered and said, “The Jews, Your Majesty.” When he said that, there was silence in the congregation.
So we know that the Jews are a definite sign to us, especially when we see the restoration of the nation of Israel in 1948.
When we see that fig tree which was cursed and withered from the root for two thousand years now beginning to bring forth tender branches and leaves, we know that the summer is near.
As we mentioned yesterday, when it begins to have leaves, our Lord Jesus expects there to be tiny figs. In other words, with the restoration of the nation of Israel, it will not be as it was before, when there were no figs. There will be figs that our Lord Jesus will find in that nation.
Of course, when the summer comes, there will be a crop. According to Romans 11, we find that one day all Israel shall be saved, because God is ever faithful to His promise and always keeps His covenant with Abraham.
That is one of the sure signs that we are living at the very end.
There is another sign that we mentioned yesterday, and that is that the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The times of the Gentiles mean that the Gentiles will have dominion in history, especially over the Jewish people.
The times of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon. If you go back into God’s ways of dealing with the world, you find that in the beginning God raised the nation of Israel. With that nation, He gave dominion over the world into this small nation. He made that nation the center of all nations.
But unfortunately, because of their disobedience, the nation of Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity. Starting from that time, the times of the Gentiles commenced.
In world history, you find that it is no longer Israel that is in the limelight; it is Gentile power. It begins with Nebuchadnezzar, the golden head that he saw in the vision of the image.
Throughout the centuries, from the Babylonian Empire—which is the golden head, as you see in Daniel 2—you have the Medo-Persian Empire, which is the silver breast; then the belly, which is the Greek Empire; and after the Greek Empire, the iron legs, which are the Roman Empire.
According to that vision which Nebuchadnezzar saw, it seems as if, during the times of the Gentiles, there will be only four great empires: the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, and the Roman Empire.
You find the two legs there, and these two legs represent the Roman Empire. But in history, we know that the Roman Empire was divided into two: the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire.
The Western Roman Empire actually came to its end in A.D. 476, when the barbarians came and overcame it. But the Eastern Roman Empire continued until 1453, and then it also came to an end.
Students of prophecy were puzzled by this matter. Why? Because the two legs, on the one hand, should be long if you see the image of a person, and on the other hand, these two legs should be of equal length. But in history, the Eastern Roman Empire seemed to continue longer than the Western Roman Empire.
Now, I do not know whether you will accept this theory, but some people began to see that, in secular history, even though in outward appearance the Roman Empire came to an end—both the Eastern and the Western at different times—if you see the spirit of that empire, you find that it continued on.
In European history, you find the Holy Roman Empire, and the thought of the restoration of that empire was always there. In Germany, you had the Kaiser; in the Roman Empire, you had Caesar. The title of Caesar became Kaiser in the German Empire.
On the other hand, with the Russian Empire you had the Tsar. Actually, the Tsar and the Kaiser were simply variations of Caesar. In history, the aspiration of the German Empire and the Russian Empire was always the restoration of the glory of the Roman Empire.
It was not until the end of the First World War that these titles came to an end. You know what happened in 1917. At the end of the First World War, neither the Kaiser nor the Tsar existed. At that time, the Tsar and the Kaiser came to an end.
So some would interpret that image to mean that the two legs finally came to an end in 1917. After that, you have the feet, made partly of iron and partly of clay.
If you know history, you find how true it is. Iron represents something very strong, and clay represents something weak. These two things do not mix, and yet they come together.
On the one hand, you have democracy, which is like the clay—the people, and it is always weak. But on the other hand, you find strong totalitarian power. These two things do not mix, and yet they are together. That is what you find in the world after 1917.
We are in the stage of the feet. But the feet will end up in ten toes. So, brothers and sisters, is it not true that we are not only in the stage of the feet, but are approaching very near to the ten toes?
If you read the book of Revelation, you find that it is a federation of ten kings. We do not know how it will turn out, because in prophecy you can never be dogmatic. Some people have one theory; other people have other theories.
Some people think that the ten toes would probably be, later on, the Common Market. When you find the Common Market beginning to have ten nations together, it was organized, according to its founder, with the vision not only of an economic federation but actually of a political federation.
So students of prophecy began to watch to see whether, in the domain of the old Roman kingdoms, there would come a federation of ten kingdoms. When you see that, you know it is very near, because after the appearing of the ten toes, according to Daniel 2, a stone not cut by hands will come and smite the toes, and the whole image will collapse.
Then you find that stone beginning to grow and fill the world. In other words, the kingdom of God has come. The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ.
The times of the Gentiles began with Babylon, and they will end. So far as God’s timetable is concerned, the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled at the time when Jerusalem will no longer be trodden under foot by the Gentiles.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are watching over this matter. From A.D. 70, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, Jerusalem had been trodden under the nations all these long years—not until 1967, after the Six-Day War.
For the first time, Jerusalem was united and under the control of the nation of Israel. They made Jerusalem the eternal and indivisible capital of that nation.
If Jerusalem remains in the hands of Israel, in spite of all the clamour of the world to take it away, then we know the times of the Gentiles actually came to an end in 1967.
When you put these things together—the times of the Gentiles fulfilled, and the world situation beginning to group together—you realize that we are really very close to the end. We are very close to the coming of the Lord.
There are other signs. If you read Luke 21, it speaks of that time. After the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, verse 25 says:
And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars;
and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the billows;
men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world:
for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
I do not pretend to know exactly what that verse means, but to me there is a phrase there which is very striking: “Distress of nations, in perplexity.”
Brothers and sisters, is there any time in world history when the nations are in such distress and perplexity as they are today?
We find that there are not only wars and rumours of wars everywhere. On July 5th, in our Richmond paper, I noticed some news from the Associated Press. It said, “War winds are blowing in many corners of the world—the dusty mountain trails of Nicaragua, the mid-Sahara, Peru’s Indian slopes, the divided house of the Palestine Liberation Organization.”
It said that at least fifteen small wars were going on, along with a score of more or lesser conflicts. Almost three hundred such wars had been fought since World War II, according to the War Atlas, a new book detailing four decades of conflict.
There are not only wars and rumours of wars everywhere, but you find that the whole economic system in the world is on the verge of collapse. Many nations have accumulated so many loans and debts. How are they going to pay for these loans?
If there should be default, even rich countries like the United States and West Germany would be pulled down into economic disaster. Whether you look at the world from the political viewpoint or from the economic viewpoint, you find a distress of nations in perplexity which we have never experienced in the history of mankind.
We are in that period. Things in the world cannot continue endlessly. There will be a time when everything will have to come to an end. Because of this, we know that we are at the very end of the very end.
Then you find men fainting through fear and expectation of what is coming upon the habitable earth. Is that not true? Today men are fainting. Men say there is no hope. They are so afraid of what is coming.
People are afraid of nuclear war, that there will be such a catastrophe that whole mankind will probably be destroyed. Scientists are those who are more concerned than anybody else. Fear—thinking of what is coming upon this world. People would rather die than live. This is the situation we find today.
But what should be our manner at such a time? It is said:
But when these things begin to come to pass,
look up, and lift up your heads;
because your redemption draweth nigh.
Oh, dear brothers and sisters, with the world there is no hope. Even though people always try to improve the world, make it better, make it a utopia, we know from the Word of God that it is going down very quickly. The end will come very shortly.
But thank God, we who belong to the Lord can look up. Lift up our heads and look up, because our redemption draweth nigh.
There are other things we could mention, but I have not begun what I want to say today yet, so we have to leave it.
Anyway, brothers and sisters, I think it is evident that we are at the end of the end time. We are almost at midnight. It is the darkest of the night. But thank God, the watchman says, “The morning cometh.” This is our blessed hope.
But there is a question. When these things are happening, can we, as believers, go through the end of the end gloriously and triumphantly? Or do we go through it defeated?
Whether, as Luke 21:36 says, can we escape these things—that is, the great tribulation that is coming—and stand before the Son of Man? Or do we have to go through and suffer under it?
This is not something automatic. To escape these things, not to be caught by these things, and to be able to stand before the Son of Man requires watchfulness and prayer.
If you do not watch and pray, it does not guarantee that you will escape the things coming upon this world—the tribulation which has never been since the history of mankind—and have the privilege of standing before the Son of Man, Who is now in heaven at the right hand of God.
This is not something automatic because you are saved, because you are redeemed. It does not mean that automatically you will be taken before these things happen and stand before the Son of Man. No.
You find two different schools of thought. One school says, “Once saved, forever saved.” Thank God for that. But because of this, they say that when the Lord comes, we will all be raptured, escape all the tribulations, stand before the Son of Man, and enter with Him into the glory of the kingdom to come.
They say that because we are saved, no matter how we behave—whether we are defeated today or overcome today—it does not matter. Since we are saved, we are saved not only to heaven but also to the kingdom of God.
If this were true, then all you need is to be saved. After you are saved, you are so safe that you can do anything you like. You can live any manner of life you like. It does not matter, because you will be caught up and enter into the kingdom of God and rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years.
It is a deception. You deceive yourself.
The Scripture makes it very clear that eternal life is a gift of God. That is true. It does not depend upon your behaviour. You cannot earn eternal life because you behave or accumulate merit.
Dear brothers and sisters, our righteousness is all as filthy rags. It cannot cover our nakedness before God. It is dirty and defiled in the sight of God. It will never do.
Eternal life is a gift of God. God gives that gift to us. You do not earn it; it is given to you if you believe in His Son.
But the kingdom of God that is to come upon this earth, when Christ shall rule over this earth for a thousand years, is not a gift. That is a reward.
Reward is something for which you must be worthy. You have to be worthy in order to receive the reward.
That is why you find in the Word of God many passages laying down conditions for God’s people. After we are saved, with eternal life in us—a new life and a new nature—we have a responsibility. We have to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
Thank God, before we were saved and before we had eternal life, we could not walk according to God. It was not in us. But with a new life in us, with Christ in us, there is the hope of glory.
If we yield our life to Him, His life within us has the power to enable us to walk in a way that pleases God. That is what God expects of every one of us. If we do that, God will reward us with the kingdom.
So that school of thought is a deception—thinking that because one is saved, therefore the kingdom is guaranteed. Not only eternity is there, but even the kingdom is there. Brothers and sisters, how can God allow you to rule if you are not under the rule of God?
If you are not under the authority of Christ today, how can Christ give you authority over your fellow man? You cannot do it. You would be a petty tyrant.
There is another school. The other school says, “Yes, if you believe in the Lord Jesus, you are saved. Now behave. If you do not behave, you will lose your salvation.”
In other words, you get your salvation as a free gift, but it is really not a free gift. It is like a mortgage. You do not have the money to pay now, but you must pay later. If you are not able to pay later, then everything will be confiscated.
So, they say, even though you are saved now, you must behave. If you do not behave, you will lose eternity. Not only will you fail to enter into the kingdom of God, but you will lose eternity. You cannot go to heaven.
That is another school of thought. Of course, in that school there is truth in it, but the problem is that it is not the whole truth. Here you find a mixing of reward with gift.
In the Word of God, there is a very clear line of thought concerning gift and reward. A gift is something given to you freely. You do not earn it, you cannot pay it back, and you are not required to pay it back. If you try to pay it back, it simply means you do not know what grace is.
On the other hand, there is a reward. Reward is something for which you have to be worthy. Now, in the life of us, it is true that even if you seem to be worthy, actually it is not by yourself; it is by the life of Christ in you.
Actually, He does it, but you cooperate. You let Him do it. You respond to the grace of God, and because you respond to the grace of God and allow Him to do it in you, therefore He says, “I will reward you.” Now, that is reward.
Eternity is the free gift of God, but the kingdom is a reward.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us remember that we live at the very end of the last days. Very soon we shall all appear before Christ.
If you read the New Testament, you find that in the heart of Paul he was ever conscious of the day of Christ. He said that one day, when the day of Christ shall come, we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
As we appear at the judgment seat of Christ, oh, that I may not be ashamed in that day; that I may not be found wanting; that I may hear the voice saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
At the end of the last days, when Christ shall return, there is a day of Christ. The day of Christ in the Scripture means that those who belong to the Lord shall all gather and appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
Do not think that because you have escaped the judgment of the great white throne—which is a judicial judgment, a judgment of eternal life and eternal death—there will be no judgment for you.
By believing in the Lord Jesus, our Lord Jesus was judged for you on Calvary’s cross. Therefore, you who believe in Him have passed out of death into life. You shall not be judged at the great white throne to decide whether you will have eternal life or go into eternal death. Thank God, that has been settled.
But do not think there will be no judgment. The Scripture speaks very clearly that those who are of the household of God, in the day of Christ, shall all appear before His judgment seat.
It is not a throne; it is a seat. A throne speaks of judicial judgment—life and death. The seat speaks of family judgment.
One day all the members of the family of God will be gathered before Christ, and there He will judge us according to our works—1 Corinthians 3 and many other places.
Some will be rewarded, and some will suffer loss. But it is not eternal loss. You lose the glory of the kingdom of God, even though you still will enter into heaven in eternity.
It is a matter of great importance for us who live at the end of these last days. The conflict is severe, and because the conflict is so severe, it shows that there is tremendous value in it.
If there is no value in it, there will be no conflict. The greater the conflict, the greater the value. God puts great value in these last days.
To borrow from Bible history, you remember David. David was king in Hebron, but he was only king over Judah. He was not yet king over all Israel.
On the other side, the ten tribes were under the sons of Saul. At that time there were two kingdoms: David was on the throne in Hebron over Judah and Benjamin, while the descendant of Saul was king over the ten tribes of Israel. These two kingdoms were in constant conflict.
Thank God, you find that the house of David became stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul became weaker and weaker. During those years, what does the Bible say in 1 Chronicles 12?
You find that men equipped for military service came to Hebron to help David transfer the kingdom from Saul to David.
The day was coming when the kingdom of Saul would become the kingdom of David. When that time was coming, worthy people equipped for military service came to David. They had military power. Why did they come to David? They came to help transfer the kingdom from the sons of Saul to David.
Among them were people from Issachar. These men had understanding of the times. They knew what they ought to do, and they were heads over their brethren. They came to David to help him transfer the kingdom.
Brothers and sisters, is it not true that we are at that particular juncture? The kingdom of this world is getting weaker and weaker. In outward appearance it may not look like it, but in spiritual reality the kingdom of this world is getting weaker and weaker, and the kingdom of God is getting stronger and stronger.
The day is coming when the kingdom of this world shall become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. But during the transitional period, God is looking for men and women who have understanding of the times.
Brothers and sisters, do we understand our time? Do we know what we ought to do? Do we remain in the kingdom of Saul, or do we come out?
The people of Issachar belonged to the kingdom of Saul, but they stepped out. They knew the time, they knew the purpose, they had that understanding, and they knew what they ought to do. So they came over to David to help him transfer the kingdom.
Today, at the end of these last days, that is what God is looking for. God is looking for men and women who have understanding of the hour and know what we ought to do—that we may come over to David, One greater than David, and be used of Him to transfer the kingdom from the world, from Satan, to Christ.
These are the overcomers among believers. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to go to Revelation 12.
In Revelation 12, the apostle John saw in a vision a great sign in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. Being with child, she cried, travailing in birth and in pain to be delivered.
Of course, we know that the woman represents the church. In the Bible, you have a series of women representing the church in different stages.
You have the first woman in Genesis 2, Eve. Eve came out of Adam in order to be united to Adam. So she is a type of the church that comes out of Christ and is united to Christ. That is the origin of the church.
Then, again, you find in Ephesians 5 that the union of husband and wife speaks to us of a greater mystery—the mystery of Christ and His church.
For the love of His church, He gave His life for her. Not only did He give His life for her, but He so loved the church that He sanctified her, purifying her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present the church to Himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy and without blemish.
That represents the church as she has come into being out of the side of Christ. Out of Calvary, the church began to be brought forth. Throughout the centuries, oh, how Christ has loved His church. How He continues to wash her and purify her with His life and His Word, as the church grows up into a glorious church for Himself.
Then you find the third woman in Revelation 12. This woman represents the church again, but she represents the church at the end time. This is a picture of the church in our days.
If you look into Revelation 21 and 22, you find the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the wife, the bride of the Lamb. That is a picture of the church in eternity, united with Christ in eternity.
But in Revelation 12, this woman represents the church at the end—the church in our days.
She has great credentials. She is clothed with the sun, and we know that the sun represents Christ. She is clothed with Christ.
The moon is under her feet. The moon is a type of the law. The law is under her. She is not under the law, but the law is under her.
Upon her head are the twelve stars. Some people say they represent the twelve patriarchs, the twelve tribes, the sons of Jacob. Some say they represent the twelve apostles. I do not know which is the correct interpretation.
But we find that this woman is related to the age of the patriarchs and connected with the time of the law, while essentially she is in the time of grace. Why? Because she is clothed with the sun.
With such glorious credentials given to her, surely she should be able to fulfil her mission by bearing the testimony of Jesus on earth. She should be able to overcome the world, overcome Satan the enemy, bring in the will of God upon this earth, and be used of God to bring in the kingdom of God and transfer the kingdom to Christ.
As a matter of fact, so far as God’s grace is concerned, that is what she ought to be. Our Lord Jesus is the Overcomer.
You remember in the Gospel of John, He said:
In the world ye have tribulation:
but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.
Again, in Revelation 3, God’s promise to the overcomers in Laodicea is that if you overcome, you shall sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame.
Dear brothers and sisters, our Lord Jesus is the Overcomer. He overcame the ruler of this world. While He was living, He said, “He hath nothing in Me.” He could find no foothold in Him.
Our Lord Jesus overcame the enemy completely in His life. Then in His death, He gained the greatest victory. In His death, He robbed death of its power. He took captive all principalities and authorities. He crushed the head of the serpent. He made a public show of His enemies.
Our Lord Jesus has overcome, and His victory is final. Because He is the Overcomer and is the Head of the body, His church, therefore the church ought to overcome.
If you read 1 John 5, you find that this is what it says:
For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world:
and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.
And who is he that overcometh the world,
but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Brothers and sisters, we who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, we who have faith in Him, overcome the world. The church ought to be an overcomer. Our Head is the Overcomer; therefore, the body ought to overcome.
We are to mop up the enemy. We are not going to fight the decisive battle. The decisive battle has already been fought, and it has been won by Christ.
The enemy has already been routed and defeated. But here and there some of them are still hiding. It is for the church to mop up all these enemies hiding here and there.
It is not for us to fear. Fear is their portion. We are to mop up. We are to complete the victory. We are to bring the victory of Christ over all things, and then the ground will be clear for our King to come back.
This is the work of the church. But unfortunately, you find that the church in the end days has lost her power.
You go to the words here and find that woman. What was she doing there? She was in pain. She was in travail.
Being with child, she cried, travailing in birth and in pain to be delivered. How do we know that she had failed? Because you find the red dragon, the old serpent, Satan, the devil, standing before her.
Satan did not attack her, but stood before her waiting for the man child who was to be born. Satan had more knowledge. He knew that this woman herself did not matter.
She was supposed to be God’s instrument to defeat the enemy and bring in God’s kingdom, but the enemy knew that she had lost her power. So the enemy just stood there.
To devour her would be of no use. She was too lean; there was no meat to satisfy his hunger. But he knew that this woman was pregnant. There was a child in her womb, and that child would mean his end.
Therefore, he was waiting there to devour the child that was to come forth.
We mentioned that the whole creation is groaning. You can hear the whole creation groaning. Why? They are waiting to be set free. They are waiting to be delivered from vanity.
Man put them into vanity. They cannot help it, and they do not like it. They are groaning for the day of the manifestation of the sons of God, that they may be freed.
But it is more than that. The church is groaning.
The church is groaning not only because of the outward pressure put upon her, but because of all the failures, the defeats, the heresies, the corruptions, human hands, and human thoughts. All these things wear her down.
The church is groaning. But thank God, God can use this kind of situation to bring forth a man child who will accomplish God’s purpose. That is the wonder of God.
Brothers and sisters, in the end time, in the days in which we are living, if you look at the church in general, what do you see?
Failure. Defeat. Death. Worldliness. Formalism. Institutionalism. A loss of the power of witnessing.
But thank God, even though the church is in such a situation, she is pregnant. The church is crying through pain, but a child is in the making.
That child is destined to shepherd the nations with a rod of iron. Brothers and sisters, we are living in this time. The purpose of God is to bring in His kingdom, bring back the King, and cause the marriage feast to begin.
At this time, what God is looking for is that man child—the overcomers.
We know the man child is collective. Why? Because as you read on, you find that they have overcome Satan. “They have overcome Satan” is collective.
At our time, because of the failure of the church, God is looking for overcomers in the church.
Who are the overcomers? The overcomers are not people who are separated from the church and form a little club. No.
The overcomers are members of the church, of the body of Christ. They are in the church, and yet they are different from other members of the body of Christ in that they are overcomers instead of being overcome.
In the body of Christ, all who believe in the Lord Jesus are in the body of Christ; they form the church. But, unfortunately, you find many defeated believers in the church.
They ought not to be defeated. There is no reason why they should be, because Christ is their life, and His life is a victorious life. But we find that most are defeated.
Thank God, there will be those who are a remnant. You find that they are those who overcome by the grace of God.
When I say the church, I do not mean man-made organizations. I mean the church according to the Word of God—the body of Christ.
The overcomers are in the church, and yet they are different. Not in the sense that they are super; only in the sense that they are normal.
God is not looking for super-Christians. God is looking for normal Christians. Most of us are abnormal, subnormal, and that is the reason why He is calling for overcomers.
Overcomers are simply those who are normal—normal in the sense that they respond to what Christ has given to them.
What is the measure of these overcomers? Our God is a living God, and He deals with us all in a living way.
God does not set out a rigid, fixed standard and say, “If you reach that standard, you are an overcomer; if you do not reach it, you are overcome.” You find nowhere in the Bible such a standard.
As a matter of fact, we as Christians all try to set up a standard, but it is your standard, not His standard. If you reach your standard, you are proud; if you do not reach it, you are depressed. It does not work either way.
In the Bible, God does not set up a fixed standard for overcomers. The overcomers are measured by the revelation of Jesus Christ given to them.
To whom He has given more, He requires more. To whom He has given less, He requires less. If you walk in the light that He has given to you, as He is in the light—the full light—you have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses you from all sin.
The overcomers in the church in Ephesus must overcome the loss of first love. The overcomers in the church in Laodicea must overcome lukewarmness. You find it is all different according to the revelation of Jesus Christ that has been given to you.
He has charged you to be faithful to that revelation, and His grace is there to support you.
It is true that you may have to come out of Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the house of God. But there may be exceptions. Daniel remained in Babylon. Mordecai and Esther remained in Babylon, but they were also overcomers.
Of course, if you are in a better environment, it will help you to overcome; it is easier. If you are in a wrong environment, it makes it much more difficult. That is true.
But thank God, according to the measure of the revelation of Jesus Christ given to you, it will be shown whether you are an overcomer or whether you are overcome.
If you think you are an overcomer, I am afraid you are already overcome.
The overcomers in the last days are those who are to bear the testimony of Jesus for the whole church.
They do not do it for themselves. They do it on behalf of the whole church. The call to overcome is personal and individual. No one can answer that call for you. You have to answer that call.
That is why you find in Revelation 2 and 3, to the seven churches, at the end of every letter He says, “He that overcometh.” The call to overcome is a personal call.
The call has gone out from the first century up to our time. God is calling for overcomers. Why? Because the church has failed.
You are to step up to bear the burden for the whole church. It is costly. You will not only be attacked by the enemy, but you will even be attacked by brothers and sisters in the church.
Because you are different, they may look at you and feel condemned. Therefore they accuse you in order to appease their conscience.
But are you willing to bear the cost—not for your own sake, but for the sake of transferring the kingdom of this world to become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ?
What is the secret to overcome? You find here that they have overcome because of the blood of the Lamb.
That shows that these overcomers are not perfect. If they were perfect, they would not need the blood anymore.
I have met people like that, people of such perfection. Because they are people of such perfection, you find that the result is that they fall away completely.
Do not be deceived. We are not perfect. There is only One Who is perfect: Christ Jesus our Lord. He is perfect; we are not.
But thank God, even though we are not perfect, we have the blood of the Lamb. In other words, we are cleansed; we are guilt-free through the blood of our Lord Jesus.
The blood of our Lord Jesus not only cleanses us from our past, but if we fall, we do not wallow in our failure. We look up, repent, and ask for forgiveness. The blood of Jesus cleanses us continuously and keeps our robes white.
Dear brothers and sisters, that is the secret of an overcomer. Many people have been defeated, and they just lie there and will not get up because they say, “If we get up, we will fall again. So it is better just to lie there; we will not fall again.”
But they do not know the power of the blood of the Lamb.
The nearer you are to God, the more you appreciate the blood of the Lord Jesus.
They overcome because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony. You have the words: they have a testimony.
What is a testimony? A testimony is something that they have seen, heard, and experienced. What is their testimony? Their testimony is, “Jesus is Lord.”
They are able to speak the word, and when they speak the word, Satan trembles.
If you do not have that testimony, you may say the word, but he will jump upon you. You remember the story in Acts 19. When the power of God was manifested in Ephesus, some Jewish exorcists—the seven sons of Sceva—heard that there was a very good way of casting out demons.
So they began to cast out demons in the name of the Lord Jesus. They did not know the Lord Jesus. They said, “In the name of Jesus whom Paul preacheth, we command you to come out.”
The demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” Then he jumped upon them and overcame them.
It is not in the word alone. You have to back up the word with your life.
These overcomers have the testimony that Jesus is really Lord over their lives. That is why, when they declare that Jesus is Lord, Satan flees.
They loved not their lives even unto death—their soul life. They are willing to lay down their life for Christ and for His gospel.
When Satan finds such people, he shakes his head. What can he do with them? They overcome the enemy.
They are destined to rule and reign with Christ in the millennial age. They will shepherd the nations with a rod of iron.
This is mentioned three times in the book of Revelation. In Revelation 2, it is a promise to the overcomer in the church in Thyatira. Again, in Revelation 19, it refers to Christ, Who will come and shepherd the nations with a rod of iron. But here, it refers to the overcomers.
As Christ, during the millennium, will rule the nations with a rod of iron, He will rule the nations with righteousness. Those who overcome today will rule and reign with Him, using the same rod: righteousness.
When that man child is born, that is the fullness of the company of overcomers.
There will be a fullness of the Gentiles. There will be a fullness of those who are saved, and there will be a fullness of the overcomers. I do not think that fullness refers to numbers; it refers to quality.
When there is a fullness of overcomers—that is, when there is enough spiritual strength being exercised and manifested—then you find that the child is born.
As soon as the child is born, he is raptured, taken to the throne. The dragon waited there in vain.
Immediately after that, there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels came and made war with Satan and his followers. Satan and his followers were completely defeated, and Satan was cast down from the air to the earth.
Brothers and sisters, do you realize that the war in heaven is based upon the battle won on earth?
These overcomers have applied the victory of Christ in their lives, over their lives, and over the situations around them. They have so defeated the enemy and so weakened the enemy that, when they are born and raptured into heaven, they pass through the air.
What is the air? The air is the headquarters of the enemy. If you can go through the headquarters of the enemy, it means the enemy has really been defeated.
So they prepare the way for the coming of Christ. On the basis of their victory, Michael and his angels cast Satan and his followers to this earth. The air is clear for Christ to come from the throne to the air.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are living in a very difficult time. But do you know that we are living in the most exciting and promising time?
The conflict is great, but the glory is great.
This is the very end of the ending. The purpose of God is to bring in the kingdom and bring back the King. The manner is our response to the call to overcome.
Dear brothers and sisters, these certainly are not days in which we can play Christianity. These are very serious days.
We have to respond to the call. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.”
Let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we are living in this time. Lord, we thank Thee for the privilege of coming to Thee and transferring the kingdom from the world to Thee.
Oh, our Father, how we praise and thank Thee for this high privilege. We only ask that Thou wilt open our eyes to know the time and know what we ought to do.
That by Thy grace we may answer the call to overcome; that we may join Thee, being Thy rank; that we may live these short last days for Thee and for Thy kingdom.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.