Dear brothers and sisters,
This song that we have just sung was written by Watchman Nee during the Communist control of China. Under those circumstances, he wrote this song to express his innermost feeling.
He was waiting for the Lord’s return. He was still waiting, and he wondered, “How long will it be?” How long is the cry of the saints throughout the ages for His coming?
Every time I sing this song, I can hardly complete it. I do feel that it expresses the innermost feeling of our hearts: “How long?” Thank God, it cannot be long.
Let us turn to the book of Revelation. We will read Revelation 19:6-10.
And I heard as it were a voice of a great multitude,
and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah:
for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth.
Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad,
and let us give the glory unto Him:
for the marriage of the Lamb is come,
and His wife hath made herself ready.
And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure:
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
And he saith unto me, Write,
Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
And he saith unto me, These are true words of God.
And I fell down before his feet to worship him.
And he saith unto me, See thou do it not:
I am thy fellow servant,
and of thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus:
worship God:
for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Then Revelation 21:1-3:
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away;
and the sea is no more.
And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying,
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He shall dwell with them,
and they shall be His peoples,
and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Also, Revelation 21:9-10:
And there came one of the seven angels
that had the seven bowls,
who were laden with the seven last plagues;
and he spake with me, saying, Come hither,
I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
And he carried me away in the Spirit
to a mountain great and high,
and showed me the holy city Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God.
Dear Lord, it is the longing of Thy people throughout the ages, crying unto Thee, “Come, Lord Jesus.” Wilt Thou not answer our prayer and come—come quickly?
Thy people are waiting for Thee. If we are not ready, prepare us. Work in us. Do not allow us to drift along, but lay Thy hand upon us. Transform us; conform us to Thine own image, until Thou art able to come.
Lord, this is the cry of our hearts: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” We ask in Thy name. Amen.
Dear brothers and sisters, as we read the Bible, the Word of God, we find that the Bible begins with a marriage, and it also ends with a marriage. It seems as if God’s purpose for man is represented by the idea of marriage.
When God created Adam, He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.” In the right sense, Adam represents Christ.
It is God’s purpose that His only beloved Son, Christ, should have a companion, His like. We all remember how God led all the animals of the field to Adam, and Adam named every animal. But he could not find his like.
So God put him to sleep, and out of his side God took something and used that something to build a woman. Then He brought that woman to Adam. Adam said, “This is me,” and the two were united into one.
So from the very beginning of creation, God already had that thought. He does not want His Son to be alone. He wants to give His Son a help meet, His like. That is what the church is to be.
As you read the Bible towards the end, you will find marriage again being mentioned. The marriage of the Lamb is mentioned in Revelation 19, and again in Revelation 21 and 22.
Brothers and sisters, are those two mentions one or two? Would there be just one marriage? From the description, it seems to tell us very clearly that there are two: one recorded in Revelation 19, and the other in Revelation 21 and 22.
Why do we say so? Because, if you read carefully, you will find they are one thousand years apart. The first mentioning of the marriage of the Lamb occurs at the beginning of the millennium, at the closing of this age.
But the second mentioning, in Revelation 21 and 22, happens in eternity—that is, after the millennium. So, timewise, you find there are two mentions of the marriage of the Lamb.
You also find there is a difference between the composition of the wife, the bride of the Lamb.
As you read the whole book of Revelation, you will find that it is because of the failure of the church that, in Revelation 2 and 3, we find the call to overcome.
To every church the Lord says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. He that overcometh.” You know the words.
Because of the failure of the church as a whole, God calls for overcomers. Man may fail, but God never fails. So He has an emergency measure, and that is through the overcomers of the church.
He will eventually bring the whole church into that overcoming situation in eternity.
Revelation 2 and 3 occurred towards the end of the first century. We all know that, among the apostles, only John was still alive. Because of the testimony of Jesus and the Word of God, he was exiled to the island of Patmos.
There he was given a vision—a vision of the seven churches in Asia. These are the seven churches in Asia Minor that John, in his old age, served before he was exiled. So naturally, when he had opportunities, he would be thinking of these seven churches.
Then he saw a vision. He saw seven golden lampstands, and One like unto the Son of Man in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.
We know that this is a picture of the heavenly ministry of our Lord Jesus.
When He was on earth, He was our Apostle. He was One sent by God to accomplish a certain purpose: the work of redemption and salvation.
On the cross of Calvary, He said, “It is finished.” He has done it. He has laid the foundation for the building of the church.
After His ascension, He became the High Priest—not only to us individually. We thank God for that, brothers and sisters. Unless we know our Lord Jesus as our personal High Priest, we are not able to live our Christian life.
We may struggle, and we may try hard, but we always fail. But thank God, we have a High Priest. He is there, interceding for us without ceasing, and He is able to save us to the uttermost.
But thank God, He is not only our High Priest individually. At the same time, He is the High Priest of the church. He is there ministering to His church. He is there to see how much in the church is an expression of Himself.
Because of the failure of the church, He calls for overcomers. Again, we will say: overcomers of the church. They are not separated from the church. They are part of the church.
But thank God, they are those who respond to the call of God. They are those who allow the grace of God to work in their lives, to deliver them from themselves and to build up within them the stature of Christ.
So in Revelation 2 and 3, we have the overcomers of the church during the time of the end of the first century.
Then, in Revelation 7, verse 9, we read:
After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude,
which no man could number,
out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues,
standing before the throne and before the Lamb,
arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;
and they cry with a great voice, saying,
Salvation unto our God Who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.
And all the angels were standing round about the throne,
and about the elders and the four living creatures;
and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying,
Amen: blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving,
and honor, and power, and might,
be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me,
These that are arrayed in the white robes, who are they, and whence came they?
And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest.
And he said to me,
These are they that come out of the great tribulation,
and they washed their robes,
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God;
and they serve Him day and night in His temple:
and He that sitteth on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more;
neither at all shall the sun light on them, nor any heat:
for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd,
and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life:
and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Now, who are in the multitude that cannot be numbered? We know they were all clothed in white. They were washed in the blood of our Lord Jesus, and in their hands they all have palm branches. That is a symbol of victory.
In other words, these are the people who came out of the great tribulation. Now, the great tribulation here is not the three and a half years of great tribulation that we read of.
So far as the world is concerned, God’s people have always lived under great tribulation. Why? Because the enemy of God is out against those who are the Lord’s. But throughout the great tribulation, they came out victoriously through the blood of the Lamb.
For the sake of the Lord, they have hungered and thirsted. The sun fell upon them and there was burning heat. But now the Lamb is shepherding them.
This innumerable multitude represents the overcomers throughout the ages. Thank God, in every century we find there are overcomers. No matter what the condition of the church might be, God has His overcomers—those who are faithful to Him.
Then again, you find in Revelation 12 that John was given a vision.
He saw in heaven a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his heads seven diadems. His tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth.
Of course, we all know what that dragon is. The dragon is Satan. He drew away one third of the angelic hosts to follow him, and they were expelled from the third heaven.
But now they use the air that surrounds the earth as their headquarters for their work upon the earth.
This red dragon was there. Now, what was he doing? The Bible tells us:
And the dragon standeth before the woman
who is about to bring forth,
that when she is delivered,
he may devour her child.
It is very strange, because you find the dragon standing before the woman. Now, that woman represents the church throughout the centuries. Or, put it another way, the church before the coming of the Lord. Or we may put it still another way: this is the church in our time.
The church is like a woman, gloriously clothed by the grace of God. But unfortunately, she has sadly failed.
The dragon should be against that woman because the woman is supposed to be his enemy. The woman stands with God, and therefore she should be the target of the enemy.
But strangely, you find the dragon standing before the woman, yet his attention was not upon the woman. In other words, the woman could do him nothing. The woman was already in his hand, in a sense.
So his interest was no more upon that woman, but his interest was upon the womb. She was in travail.
But this is not a vain travailing. This is the travailing, the suffering, of childbirth. The woman was in travail, going to give birth to a man child.
This man child became the target of the enemy. He was waiting there for that man child to be born, and as soon as he was born, he was to devour him. Why? Because he knew this man child would mark the end of his life.
Now, who is this man child? Some people say, “Well, this man child refers to Jesus Christ.” But that cannot be so, because after our Lord Jesus was born, He was on earth for thirty-three and a half years. He was not immediately caught up to the throne.
So, who is this man child? When this child was born, immediately he was caught up to the throne of God.
In other words, this man child is a collective term. It is not just one person. It represents a group of people: those Christians who are overcomers, living at the coming of the Lord.
As soon as this man child was born, he was caught up. He was able to get through the air, which is the headquarters of Satan. That means he has overcome Satan, and he was able to arrive at the throne.
These are the overcomers at the end of this age. Brothers and sisters, if by the grace of God we are in that man child, they become the welcoming party for the return of our Lord Jesus. They prepare the way for the coming of the Lord.
As soon as the man child was taken into heaven, to the throne, then you know what happened. Michael and his angels fought with Satan and his followers, and there was no more place for Satan in the air.
He and his followers were thrown from the air to the earth. In other words, the air was cleared.
Why was the air to be cleared? We remember that when our Lord Jesus returns, He will come from the throne to the air, invisibly.
So, in other words, what we have been talking about in Matthew 24 is that this man child is none other than those who have been caught up to the throne. They are the overcomers at the coming of the Lord.
If, by the grace of God, we are in that rank, thank God for that.
You know, brothers and sisters, as we said yesterday, from the throne to the air, it is invisible. Our Lord is coming like a thief, taking that which pleases His heart. These are the overcomers at our time.
You would say this is joyful news. But, on the other hand, it is a warning. What if we are left behind? What will happen to us if we are left behind?
When Satan is thrown from the air to the earth, what will happen? This is where the great tribulation—the three and a half years—begins.
There will be great tribulation upon this earth. Why? Because Satan is on earth. What can you expect other than that?
But thank God, those who are faithful to the Lord are already gone.
During the three and a half years, you have the great tribulation on earth. So far as Christians are concerned, those who are still left on this earth will go through great tribulation.
But, you know, you would say it is still the grace of God. Why? The Lord will give them a second chance, give them another opportunity, to be faithful to the Lord.
But those who are raptured to the third heaven are those who overcome the enemy. How did they overcome? Not because they are personally better than anybody else.
The Bible tells us in Revelation 12:11:
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.
So, brothers and sisters, they overcame the enemy. How? Not by their own strength. It is by the blood of the Lamb.
They treasure the blood of the Lamb. They know that they are not perfect. They know that they need cleansing, and they trust in the blood of the Lamb to cleanse them.
Even as some people say, even the tears of your repentance need to be cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. He is so holy, and we are so unclean. But thank God, they believe in the blood of the Lamb.
I love to tell the story of Martin Luther. We all know that he was the reformer. God used him mightily.
In a dream, he saw that Satan came to him and showed him a scroll, written inside and outside, with the sins of Martin Luther written upon it.
Satan challenged Martin Luther and said, “Dare you to be the reformer? Look at yourself. These are your sins.”
Do you know what Martin Luther did? He took up a pen and wrote over it, “The blood of Jesus cleanses me from all sins.” And Satan disappeared.
So, brothers and sisters, there is nothing to be proud of. It is not because we ourselves are any better than anybody else. We need the blood of our Lord Jesus constantly.
They overcome by the blood of the Lord Jesus, and secondly, because of the word of their testimony. They have a testimony. It is the testimony of Jesus.
They have the word of testimony. In other words, they speak out; they declare it. It is not hidden. It is open.
You remember in the book of Acts, when Paul came to Ephesus, there were seven sons of a high priest. They were exorcists. In other words, they went around to cast out demons.
Because they saw how successful Paul was in casting out demons in the name of the Lord Jesus, they adopted the same way. They tried to cast out demons by saying, “We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.”
The demon said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” The demons overcame them, and they fled naked. This was known all over Ephesus.
If we want to speak the word of our testimony, it has to be true. If our life is not under the testimony of Jesus—that is, if our life does not testify that Jesus is Lord, that He is our Lord—then our word will be worthless, useless, powerless.
But you find the overcomers, because they put themselves under the rule of Christ and allow Christ to be the Head, to be all to them, when they say, “Jesus is Lord,” it is powerful.
So they overcome the enemy by the word of their testimony.
Thirdly, they do not love their soul life even unto death. They are willing to lay down their soul life for the sake of Christ.
So you find that by these things they overcome the enemy.
In Revelation 19, we already mentioned that they were able to attend the wedding of the Lamb because they had been clothed with a wedding garment.
In their individual lives, they allowed the Holy Spirit to work in their lives, to get rid of anything that is not of Christ and to let Christ be woven into their lives.
But here you find that they overcome the enemy. We not only need to overcome ourselves; we also need to overcome the enemy.
They overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they love not their lives even unto death. So, in Revelation 12, we have the overcomers at the end of the age.
When you come to Revelation 15, you find another group of overcomers.
And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous,
seven angels having seven plagues,
which are the last,
for in them is finished the wrath of God.
And I saw as it were a glassy sea mingled with fire;
and them that come off victorious from the beast,
and from his image,
and from the number of his name,
standing by the glassy sea,
having harps of God.
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God,
and the song of the Lamb, saying,
Great and marvelous are Thy works,
O Lord God, the Almighty;
righteous and true are Thy ways,
Thou King of the ages.
Who shall not fear, O Lord,
and glorify Thy name?
for Thou only art holy;
for all the nations shall come
and worship before Thee;
for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest.
These are the overcomers through the great tribulation. So thank God, even during the great tribulation, God gives His people another opportunity to overcome.
These are the overcomers who will reign with Christ for one thousand years.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we are living on the verge of a great change. It will be a change from the age of grace to the age of righteousness, because Christ shall reign upon this earth for one thousand years.
Those who are faithful to Him will reign with Christ for one thousand years.
This is what we find even before our eyes. This will happen at any moment. Nobody knows when our Lord will come back; only God knows.
But when He shall come, those who are prepared are ready. But to those who are not prepared, it will be unexpected.
After the Lord has come to the air with the overcomers, there will be the great tribulation on the earth—a tribulation that the world has never experienced before. Why? Because Satan is upon the earth.
But at the end of the great tribulation, the Bible tells us our Lord Jesus will come back with His overcomers, from the air to the Mount of Olives.
At that time, Israel and Jerusalem will be surrounded, and He will come back to deliver them. When His feet touch the Mount of Olives, the mountain will be cleaved into two parts, leaving a way for those in the city to flee.
We know there will be a last war: the war of Armageddon. Armageddon is the war of Christ and His followers against Satan and the world.
But of course, by the breath of the mouth of our Lord Jesus, the enemy will be destroyed. Satan will be bound and put into the bottomless pit for one thousand years.
There will be the judgment of the nations, as we find in Matthew 25. The nations will be gathered before Him, as He separates the sheep nations from the goat nations.
The sheep nations will go into the millennium as the people, as the nations, upon the earth. But the goat nations will be destroyed.
The Bible tells us that during the one thousand years, righteousness will rule over the old earth.
But after that one thousand years, Satan will be released temporarily. He will try to entice the nations again, and unfortunately, some of the nations will still follow him.
But then Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire. The old heaven and old earth will pass away, and the new heaven and the new earth will come. The tabernacle of God will descend upon this new earth.
So, dear brothers and sisters, when we are reviewing what the Word tells us about what is going to happen, what should be our right reaction?
Do we take these things as nothing? Are we still able to go on as usual? Or will we repent and really turn our whole heart toward the Lord, seek Him, love Him, and serve Him?
So this whole thing is now before you, dear brothers and sisters. You cannot say you have not heard. You have heard.
It is your decision now. What will you do? Trust the Lord.
May the Lord awaken each and every one of us, and by His grace may we be among those in the man child, raptured to the throne.
Dear Lord, we do bow our heads and worship. We praise and thank Thee that Thy promise is true.
Even though we may think Thou hast delayed because Thy church is not ready, Lord, Thou hast a way to overcome and to fulfill all that Thou hast promised.
So, dear Lord, we do offer ourselves to Thee afresh and say, “Lord, work in our lives until we are prepared for Thee and may be taken by Thee.”
O Lord, it is the cry of our hearts, as we said in the beginning: “Come. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.” Amen.