Brothers and sisters, when you look at the world today, when you go out into the city, and when you look at the church today, you cannot help but groan. Do you not see the groaning—tsunamis, earthquakes, and all these things? Even the whole creation is groaning, waiting to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God.
We groan over the condition of the church. We grieve over ourselves because of our weaknesses. How we cry to the Lord that something of Himself might be produced! Brothers and sisters, all these things are not in vain.
The dragon, the enemy, the devil, knows that when the man-child is born, he will be caught up to God and to His throne. That is why he waits to devour the man-child as soon as it is born. But when the man-child is born, he is caught up to God and to His throne.
They overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they love not their lives even unto death. The man-child represents the overcomers in the last days before the coming of the Lord.
When the man-child is mature and ready, hallelujah, God will take them up to the throne. They prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. They are like a welcoming party to the Lord, clearing the way for His return.
Overcomers, brothers and sisters, are no different from anybody else. We are as weak as anybody else—perhaps even weaker. But thank God for the blood of the Lamb. We believe in the power of His blood.
They overcome by the word of their testimony. We testify that Jesus is Lord, and that He really is Lord to us. There is power in that testimony. If the Lord is not truly your Lord, you may say, “Jesus is Lord,” but there is no power in your words.
But when you live a life under the lordship of Christ, when you surrender your life to the Lord and allow Him to rule over you, then when you speak, it is the word of testimony. It is not merely saying, “Jesus is Lord.” The testimony is backed up by a life.
They love not their lives even unto death. Their lives are no longer for themselves; they belong to the Lord. They are willing to deny themselves, take up the cross, and follow the Lord Jesus. Wherever the Lamb goes, they go. If He goes to Calvary, they go to Calvary. If He goes to the cross, they go to the cross.
These are the overcomers. We are not looking forward to death; we are looking forward to being raptured alive to the throne. May God help us to back up our testimony with our lives. Do we live as we say? Is our life the testimony of Jesus?
Dear Lord, we want to humble ourselves before Thee. We acknowledge that we are not what we should be. Our testimony is so weak, and at times we may even bear the opposite testimony. Forgive us, Lord. Forgive me also.
Have mercy upon us. We believe that Thy blood is sufficient. Have mercy upon us and make us overcomers for the sake of Thy testimony. In the precious name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
I would like to encourage you to return to the Lord and pray over these messages. Our time is short. In these last days, may we return to the Lord with our brothers and sisters in prayer. May the Lord allow us to enter into the reality of these words.
Before we break up into different groups, we have several announcements. If you have just arrived, please go to the service desk and register.
The brothers’ meeting this afternoon will be held at the location of the first-day meeting. The other two groups will remain unchanged. Please bring your name tag and go to the cafeteria according to the timetable in the booklet.
Please help the older brothers and sisters, especially with transportation. If you need blankets, you may obtain them from the service desk. Every room has a heater; if you do not know how to operate it, please ask your floor captain.
We will now conclude the announcements and divide into groups.
Therefore let us also, seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising shame,
and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider Him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against Himself,
that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls.
Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood,
but against the principalities, against the powers,
against the world-rulers of this darkness,
against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Wherefore take up the whole armor of God,
that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and, having done all, to stand.
I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches.
I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright, the morning star.And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And he that heareth, let him say, Come.
And he that is athirst, let him come.He Who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly.
Amen: come, Lord Jesus.
Dear Lord, as we gather this morning, our hearts are full of gratitude. We thank Thee for giving Thy body to us and for giving Thy blood to us. We thank Thee for the deep love that is behind it all.
We come before Thee in humility and gratitude. Our prayer is that Thou wouldst continue to speak to us and complete the work that Thou hast begun in us, until Thy glory is manifested. We ask in the name of our dear Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thank God He has brought us to the last session of this conference. As far as I am concerned, every time after the Lord’s table, I find it very difficult to speak, because as we come to the Lord Himself, there is nothing that we need to add.
Our theme has been the testimony of God, the testimony of Jesus Christ, and our testimony. Our brother Christian shared with us concerning the testimony of God.
The testimony of God is none other than what He testifies concerning Himself. Unless He testifies of Himself first, we cannot know Him. He is the beginning. It is by His revelation that we know Him.
His testimony is true. His testimony is eternal. His testimony never changes. His testimony stands forever.
When God redeemed the people of Israel, He gave them the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are called the testimony because, through them, God reveals what He is. He is the holy God, the unique God, the supreme One, and there is none who can stand beside Him.
The first four commandments describe Him as God. In the last six commandments, He reveals Himself as the God of righteousness. In giving the Ten Commandments to the children of Israel, God committed His testimony to His redeemed people.
On God’s side, it is His testimony. But when it reaches us, it becomes something that we need to keep in order to please God. The ark is called the ark of the testimony.
When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel made a golden calf. They said, “We need someone whom we can see—someone visible, someone tangible.” Aaron made a golden calf, and the people said, “This is our god.”
Before the law could reach them, they had already broken it. Before the testimony could reach them, they had already violated the testimony of God. Brothers and sisters, no one is able to keep the law. No one is able to maintain the testimony of God.
But thank God, He is a gracious God. He forgave them and asked Moses to go up the mountain a second time. God wrote the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone once more.
In order that the law might be kept, God commanded Moses to make an ark and to place the Ten Commandments within it. The testimony of God is something that man cannot keep. It can only be kept in Christ.
The ark typifies our Lord Jesus. The testimony of God is kept in Christ Jesus. In other words, the testimony of God is fully realized in Jesus Christ.
What is the testimony of Jesus? The testimony of Jesus is basically what Jesus testifies concerning Himself. If we testify of ourselves, our testimony is not true, because we do not fully know our own hearts. But our Lord Jesus is different.
He said that even if He bore witness of Himself, His witness was true, because He knew where He came from and where He was going. He knew that He was the Son of God. He knew that He was one with the Father. He knew that He was from the beginning, and He knew that He was going back to the Father.
The Father testified of Him. Three times the heavens were opened and a voice came from heaven:
This is My beloved Son,
in Whom I am well pleased.
The Father testified of Him, and He testified of Himself. By this testimony, we know Him.
The testimony of Jesus is what He says of Himself. He said, “I am.” He is the great I AM.
When God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Moses asked, “What is Thy name?” God answered:
I AM THAT I AM.
This is a very strange name. If someone asks you, “Who are you?” and you answer, “I am,” that is not enough. But God is the I AM because He is infinite. He is everything that we need. Whatever we need, that is what He is.
That is what our Lord Jesus is. He is the great I AM, and we can come to Him and find in Him all that we need. In the Gospel of John, we find the seven great “I AM” declarations.
The testimony of Jesus is also what He has done. In the Gospel of John, miracles are called signs. A sign points to something beyond itself. When we are seeking a place, we look for signs because they point us in the right direction.
All the miracles of our Lord Jesus are signs. They point us to the Lord Himself. They show us that He is the resurrection and the life, that He is the light of the world, and that He is everything. The signs correspond to what He says of Himself.
We have nothing to testify concerning ourselves. If we talk about ourselves, it means that we do not know ourselves.
Consider Job. When God appeared to him, Job said:
I had heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear;
but now mine eye seeth Thee:
wherefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.
Our testimony does not mean that we testify concerning ourselves. Our testimony is none other than the testimony of God and the testimony of His Christ. The testimony of God and of the Lord Jesus is entrusted to us, and that is what we need to bear witness to.
We live for that testimony. We speak for that testimony. The testimony is everything to us. In order to bear this testimony, we need the Lord to work in our lives.
The apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4 that, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we faint not. We may broaden this to say, having this testimony by the mercy of God, we faint not.
Whenever we consider the testimony of God and the testimony of Jesus, it is so tremendous that we wonder, “How can we be vessels of this testimony?” There is no way except by the mercies of God.
We must lay aside everything contrary to the testimony. We must allow the Lord to work in our lives so that we may be one with the testimony that we bear. When people hear our testimony concerning the Lord Jesus, they should be able to see that we are people under the lordship of Christ.
May the Lord help us so that our lives may be one with our testimony.
In this final session, we would like to fellowship concerning the conflict and conquest of the testimony.
This testimony is of tremendous importance. In the whole universe, there is no testimony greater than this testimony, because it testifies of God—of Who God is—and it testifies concerning our Lord Jesus.
This is the greatest testimony in the universe, and it has the greatest effect because its effect is eternal. It is not something temporary.
Because of the greatness of this testimony, there is the fiercest conflict. The conflict of the ages is over this matter of the testimony. It is not merely a matter of visible things; visible things are only outward appearances, and appearances can deceive.
Behind the scenes, in this universe, there is a conflict going on. This conflict is centered on the testimony of God and of the Lord Jesus.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. At that time, everything was harmonious.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth His handiwork.
Romans 1 tells us that what may be known of God is manifested through the things that are visible. From creation we know the eternal power and divinity of God.
When you look at the stars, the mountains, and all created things, you can see the eternal power of God. You can realize His divinity. He is different; He is divine.
In the beginning, creation was beautiful and harmonious. The angels worshipped God, probably under the leadership of the archangels. There was peace, and all creation worshipped God.
In Revelation 4, John was given a vision of the glory of God in creation. The four living creatures cried:
Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord God, the Almighty,
Who was and Who is and Who is to come.
All creation worshipped God because all things were created by His will and for His pleasure. The testimony of God was there: He was the Creator, the Maker of all things, and everything worshipped Him, acknowledging Him as God.
Unfortunately, one of the archangels, Lucifer, rebelled against the testimony of God. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 open, as it were, a window through which we may look into what happened before this present world.
There was an archangel called Lucifer, the brilliant star. Probably he was the highest created being at that time. The Bible says that he was created perfect.
He was beautiful. He was talented. God gave him great power and a high position. He was an anointed cherub over the throne of God.
But gradually unrighteousness was found in him. Pride began to rise within him. He was not satisfied with what God had given him.
In Isaiah 14, he said, “I will, I will, I will.” He wanted to be equal with God. He wanted to be God. He wanted to be worshipped.
The testimony of God was challenged for the first time. But the testimony of God stands. This archangel was cast out of heaven, and all that was under his dominion entered into judgment.
That archangel turned himself into Satan. God did not create Satan; God created an angel, but that angel turned himself into Satan.
The earth became waste and void, but the Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters. God restored the earth and created man according to His image.
Man was created to be the vessel of God’s testimony. Yet our forefathers also challenged the testimony of God.
God’s word is true. Whatever He says is true. He said that in the day Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. But Satan said, “Ye shall not surely die,” and they listened to Satan instead of listening to God.
Their bodies continued to live for many years, and they had many sons and daughters. But on the day they ate, they died spiritually. Their fellowship with God was broken.
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit. But their spirit was dead. There was no communication with God, and this was typified by their being driven out of the garden.
Since that time, the testimony of God has suffered. Yet God never gave up His testimony. Not only does creation testify that God is God; human history also testifies that God is God.
When the apostle Paul saw an altar inscribed, “To an Unknown God,” he used it to introduce the one true God. In Acts 17, Paul declared that God created the heavens and the earth and does not dwell in temples made with hands.
God gives life and breath to all. Everything comes from Him. From one blood, He made all nations, and He appointed their times and the boundaries of their habitation.
Why is China where it is? Why is America on its continent? Why do some nations last only a short time while others continue for thousands of years? It is God. He foreordained times and boundaries.
He is the One Who raises people up, and He is the One Who puts them down, because He rules. All the changes in the world and all human history are under His control. History is His story.
No matter how much men challenge God, the testimony of God remains: God is God, and He rules over all.
When our Lord Jesus came to this earth, He Himself was the testimony. Satan hated Him.
At His birth, Satan tried to kill Him through Herod. When the Lord began His ministry and went to Nazareth, His own people tried to throw Him down from a cliff. But He passed through their midst.
At Calvary, the enemy thought that he had gained the upper hand. He thought that he had finally gotten rid of Him. But before our Lord died, He cried:
It is finished.
The work was done. The enemy was cast out. The enemy was defeated.
When this testimony was entrusted to the church, the church bore it in a glorious way from the very beginning. But the enemy came in first with persecution.
The more he persecuted the church, the stronger it became and the more widely it spread. The Roman Empire persecuted the Christians repeatedly, trying to wipe them out. But the Roman Empire came to an end, while the church remained as the vessel of the testimony.
Then the enemy changed his method. He used deception. He brought in heresies and tried to corrupt the people of God.
When we come to the Dark Ages, it seems as though he had succeeded. Even the simplest truths were obscured. The Bible was withheld from the people, and people thought they had to work their way to heaven.
They were taught to accumulate merit, to pray to Mary and the saints, and to seek release from purgatory. During the time of Martin Luther, indulgences were sold. People were told that if they paid money, their sins would be forgiven and a soul would be released from purgatory.
Can you imagine? This was called Christianity. The enemy seemed to have succeeded in destroying the testimony of Jesus.
But if you read the hidden history of the church, you will find that there was never a time when God did not raise up some people for the testimony of Jesus.
Whenever the church fell, God raised up a minority who returned to the Bible, returned to Christ, and returned to the unity of the body of Christ.
Many of these believers were persecuted by the official church. Their books were destroyed, their history was hidden, and many were martyred. But gradually, much of this hidden history has been revealed.
The Novatians, the Paulicians, the Donatists, and the Waldenses all desired to return to Christ and return to the Bible. They met together in simplicity, loved one another, and yet were persecuted. Many were martyred, but they were faithful even unto death.
Throughout the centuries, the testimony of Jesus remained. It cost these believers much, but they maintained the testimony.
In the sixteenth century, the Reformers—Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jan Hus, and others—looked at the darkness of Christianity and began to rise up.
They maintained that we need an open Bible and that justification is by faith. They were persecuted because of this, but the Reformation was an attempt to return to God.
However, the Reformation did not go all the way. It was difficult for the Reformers, and they received support from political rulers. Because of this, they could not go all the way.
Martin Luther understood the universal priesthood of believers. He knew that the church is the body of Christ, composed only of true believers. He longed for a church within the church because he saw that many who were in the church were not believers.
Yet even during his time, believers could not agree with one another. Some emphasized this, and some emphasized that. They could not see the oneness of the body.
But when some came together at the Lord’s table, the Spirit of God fell upon them. The love of Christ met them and melted them into one. Out of that fellowship, some went out with professions to support themselves while preaching the gospel. Some even sold themselves as slaves in order to preach Christ to slaves.
The Puritans were persecuted and fled to this country for freedom of worship. In every age and every generation, we can find this hidden history.
Even though the testimony of God and of Jesus has been challenged, it remains. In the book of Revelation, the call to overcome comes whenever there is a falling away from the testimony of Jesus.
The Spirit speaks to the churches: “He that overcometh.” At the end of the first century, this call went forth. John himself was an overcomer. He was exiled to Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus.
The call to overcome is a call to overcome the present fallen condition and to return to the testimony of Jesus.
Every generation and every age has had overcomers who maintained the testimony of God and of Jesus.
In Revelation 6, at the opening of the fifth seal, there are souls under the altar. They were slain for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. These are the martyrs through the centuries.
When God begins a new move and is about to change the age of grace to the time of judgment, there must be people who agree with Him.
This is the age of grace. When our Lord Jesus was crucified, He said:
Father, forgive them;
for they know not what they do.
When Stephen, the first martyr, was stoned to death, he cried, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” Throughout the ages, whenever believers were martyred for the Lord, they asked God to forgive.
But God will change the age from grace to judgment. Thus, the souls under the altar cry, “Lord, when wilt Thou avenge?”
In Revelation 7, a great multitude stands before the throne, clothed in white robes and holding palm branches. They are those who have come out of great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
They are the overcomers of the ages. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes because they shed many tears on earth for the testimony of Jesus.
Throughout the ages, there have been those who maintained the testimony that Jesus is Lord—Lord of all. They paid with their lives for this testimony.
In Revelation 12, the man-child represents the overcomers in the last days. They overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they love not their lives even unto death.
In Revelation 14, the 144,000 stand with the Lamb on Mount Zion. This is not an earthly Mount Zion, but Mount Zion in heaven. The number represents fullness. God will have His overcomers.
Although the call to overcome is individual, the overcomers bear witness together as one. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes.
In Revelation 15, there are those standing on the sea of glass, singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. They are those who were martyred during the great tribulation.
In Revelation 19, there is a shout in heaven:
The marriage of the Lamb is come,
and His wife hath made herself ready.
She is given fine linen, bright and pure. Dear brothers and sisters, who is this bride? She is ready.
Usually, it is the bridegroom who waits for the bride. Our Lord is the Bridegroom, and He is waiting for His bride. But the bride has not been ready.
I believe that if the bride had been ready in the first century, the Lord would have come. But she was not ready. Twenty centuries have passed, and the Bridegroom in heaven is still waiting. How anxious He must be.
Our wedding garment has not been ready. The Holy Spirit patiently works, needle by needle, embroidering Christ into our lives. It is a slow work, but the Holy Spirit is patient.
He is embroidering Christ into our lives so that we may have our wedding garment. But thank God, the day will come when the bride has made herself ready.
The overcomers of all the ages have maintained the testimony of Jesus. They are one with Christ. They have grown into maturity. They are conformed to the nature of Christ.
How can Christ marry an immature bride? The church must be mature. It will first be mature in the overcomers.
Then there will be the marriage feast of the Lamb. What a joy! I believe that the marriage feast will last for a thousand years.
Then comes eternity. In eternity, all who belong to the Lord will become the bride of the Lamb, the holy city, New Jerusalem.
In spite of the fact that the testimony of God and the testimony of Jesus have been challenged, thank God, they always stand.
In spite of the failure of the vessel, by God’s grace the testimony will be restored to perfection. There will be a bride without blemish.
Brothers and sisters, may this be our prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.”
Come, Lord Jesus. Make us ready, that Thy heart may be satisfied. Once again, we offer ourselves to Thee. Work in us until Thou canst see Thyself not only individually, but corporately, in Thy people.
Come, Lord Jesus. In Thy precious name. Amen.