Will you please turn to the book of Revelation?
Revelation 1:1-3:
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants the things which must shortly come to pass;
and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John;
who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein:
for the time is at hand.
Then will you please turn to Revelation 2:7.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
And this, “to him that overcometh,” is repeated seven times.
Finally, 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.
May we have a short word of prayer.
Lord, we do want to thank Thee for the privilege of being invited to Thy table. What can we say? Thou hast loved us to the uttermost. Thou hast given Thyself so totally to us.
Lord, we thank Thee for the greatness of Thy redemption. We thank Thee for the privilege of knowing Thee. We thank Thee for the privilege of being together again.
We commit this time into Thy hands and trust Thy Holy Spirit to do His work for the glory of God. In Thy precious name we pray. Amen.
The book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Not only the last book in the Bible—it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, the whole Bible is a revelation of Jesus Christ.
And there is a special blessing given in that book for those who read and for those who hear.
This morning, brothers and sisters, I would like to share with you on the word that has been repeated seven times to each church. There is this word: “To him that overcometh.”
The apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus. He was in his older age, the only remaining one of the twelve original apostles.
He was serving the Lord in the churches in Asia Minor, but in his old age, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus, he was exiled to the island of Patmos.
It was a small island. Maybe there was mining there, and he was exiled there to work in a mine.
But on the Lord’s Day, he found himself free. So I suppose he must have been sitting on a rock, looking towards Asia Minor. Because on a good day, you can see the outline of the coast of Asia Minor.
I suppose he must have been thinking of the churches in Asia Minor that he served before he was exiled. And while he was looking and perhaps meditating, he heard a voice behind him like a trumpet.
So he turned back to see that voice, and he saw what we call the Patmos vision. He saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands walked One like the Son of Man.
This was the vision he saw on Patmos Island. He saw seven golden lampstands, and these seven golden lampstands are explained to us in the Bible: they represent the seven churches in Asia Minor.
Now, of course, we know there were more than seven churches in Asia Minor at that time. For instance, Colossae was not there. Hierapolis was not there. But God purposely chose seven churches in Asia Minor.
Of course, we know they were actual churches in Asia Minor at that time, and these were their conditions during the end of the first century. But Revelation, being a book of prophecy, I believe we can safely say these seven churches also represent the churches throughout the centuries.
And, brothers and sisters, we are living at the end of the time. This is the beginning of the twenty-first century. How much nearer must be the coming of the Lord?
And to each church, whether its condition was good or whether its condition was bad, there is the same calling: the call to overcome.
To each church, our Lord Jesus gave a revelation of Himself. It is as if He gave His revelation and committed that revelation to that particular church.
We know that our Lord Jesus is the fullness of the Godhead. We cannot fathom how full He is. He is the fullness of grace, fullness of love, fullness of faith, fullness of everything.
But to each of the churches, He reveals a part of Himself. It is as if He tells us that He is the fullness of God. There is no church on earth that can contain all His fullness.
Each may be able to testify to a part of that fullness of Christ. And when only you put all together, you begin to see the fullness of Christ.
Whether the church has failed or whether the church is successful, the last call is the same: the call to overcome. So, brothers and sisters, we believe this is the last call of God to His church: the call to overcome.
If the seven churches in Asia, in Revelation 2 and 3, stand for the churches of God towards the end of the first century, then century after century, we find the same call remains.
If you go through the book of Revelation, you will find that in chapters 2 and 3 there is the call to overcome. It represents the call to God’s churches during the end of the first century.
But when you come to Revelation 7, the latter part of chapter 7, you find there were countless people clothed in white, and they were praising God. We think they represent the overcomers in the churches throughout the centuries.
But when you come to Revelation 12, we have a man-child, and we believe that represents the overcomers towards the end of the age.
And as you look on, you will find overcomers even during the great tribulation, because there were people martyred for God, and they will be overcomers.
So, dear brothers and sisters, when you come to Revelation 19, you find the marriage of the Lamb. We believe the bride is composed of the overcomers of the ages.
Until you come to Revelation 21 and 22: the New Jerusalem, the great consummation of all the works of God in the Old Testament time and the New Testament time. Nothing is lost.
So this is what we find in the book of Revelation. We believe that we today, who are living near the coming of our blessed Lord, have received the same call: the call to overcome.
God has a purpose, and that is the reason why He created. He loved His Son so much that He wants to give His Son everything. He wants to make His Son the heir of all things.
You know the words: that everything will show forth the glory of His Son. But you also know, because He is the One who knows the end from the beginning, He knows there will be problems and trouble, not only with the angels but also with man.
So that is why His Son offered Himself to be the Lamb. The Bible tells us He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Even though our Lord Jesus, as the Lamb, was crucified on the cross in the first century, yet you find in God’s mind He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That is the love of God.
So, brothers and sisters, today we are called to be overcomers. Now, what do you mean by overcomers?
Overcomers are those who are able to respond to God’s call. You are put in a situation, and in whatever situation you may be, God calls you to overcome.
To overcome your surroundings, your circumstances, all the things that will happen in your life, the temptations with which the enemy tries to tempt you, and the world—God wants you to overcome all these things.
And overcome for Christ, that you may bring all things in your life to the feet of Jesus; that everything in your life will stand out for Christ, not for yourself, but for Christ.
So the call is urgent, brothers and sisters. We are living in this time. I feel we are living in a very important time.
The Lord is coming. It can happen at any time—any time, suddenly, all over the world, some people will disappear.
But who are those who will disappear? Those who overcome. Those who will be received to heaven to be the ones to welcome our Lord Jesus into this world.
So as we read the book of Revelation, we find in Revelation 12 there is a great vision. And this great vision is the time that we are now in.
In the great vision, he saw a woman, and the woman clothed with the sun. This is the woman of the ages.
She is clothed with the sun. And who can the sun be except Christ? So, in other words, this woman is related to Christ.
And then you find the moon under her feet. The moon represents the law. She is related to the dispensation of the law too.
And then upon her head, a crown of twelve stars. That represents the patriarchal time—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and so forth. So, in other words, this is a woman of the ages.
But at that time, she represents the church at the verge of the coming of the Lord. And she was with child, travailing in birth.
Now that is one great vision. And then another vision: he saw a dragon. And I suppose we all know the dragon represents Satan, the enemy.
Now, the dragon was before the woman. If the dragon represents Satan, you know the church has been his enemy, because the church is used by God to bring the end to come.
The church is called by God to defeat God’s enemy. We often say, for God to destroy Satan is very easy. He just says a word, and it shall be done. But that does not give glory to God.
So God uses man, a little lower than the angels, to defeat His enemy and His plan.
So the church has been an enemy of Satan ever since. But strangely, you find the dragon was before that woman, but he did not seem to care about the woman. He was waiting for the child to be born.
Now, why is it so? Because the church, in a sense, has lost her testimony. The church is almost like in the hand of the enemy.
The church is not able to defeat the enemy, and was defeated by the enemy. So he did not seem to care about the church in the last days.
But he knew one thing. He knew that the child that was to be born would be his death. So his interest was over that child to be born.
He waited there for the child to be born, wanting to swallow the child. Now, if he could do that, he would postpone his days longer, or even forever.
Now, who is that child? People who study the Bible give us different interpretations, but I would like to share with you just what I believe may be the most correct one.
Some people say the child represents Christ. It cannot be, because this child, when he was born, was immediately raptured to heaven.
But our Lord Jesus, when He was on earth, after He was born, was not immediately raptured back to heaven. He lived on earth thirty-three years. So we think it cannot be Christ.
Now, if it is not Christ, then who will the child be? By reading Revelation 12, you find the child is a collective term.
In other words, the child is not just one person. The child represents one kind of people. Because when you reach 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 the child is a collective term. It represents the overcomers at the last time before the coming of the Lord.
Again and again, we will say, we are living in that time. So, dear brothers and sisters, this is a very important time.
The Lord is coming. It depends on when the child is born. The last group—I would not say the last, but almost a large group of overcomers—must be born before the coming of the Lord.
Because as soon as the child was born, he was raptured to heaven. Now why? What happened after he was raptured to heaven?
It is as if heaven is waiting for the child. Everything seems to be waiting until the child is born and raptured. The dragon is not able to touch the child, for the child has been raptured to heaven.
Now, we all know by the Bible that the first heaven—that is, the air surrounding us—is the headquarters of Satan and the fallen angels.
But this child, because he has overcome, can go through the air and touch heaven. This child represents the overcomers at our time.
Brothers and sisters, do you want to be among that number? Are you ready for it?
This child is able to go through Satan’s headquarters and reach heaven. That represents that they have overcome.
Our lives are important, brothers and sisters. Sometimes some people say, “As long as my two feet will be within the door of heaven, I am satisfied.” But will God be satisfied?
He can only be satisfied if He can see us going through the air, reaching heaven, to be the welcoming party for the coming of the Lord. Is it not wonderful?
When the child is raptured to the throne, immediately you find something happens. There was war in the air.
Michael and his angels will fight against Satan and his angels, and Satan will be thrown down from heaven upon the earth. In other words, the air will be cleared.
Now why? Because we know, at the coming of the Lord, the first step, He will come from the throne to the air. So that is why the air has to be cleared.
And then the Lord, with the overcomers of the last age, will come from heaven to the air, and there will be great rejoicing in the heavens.
But what happens on earth? If Satan is thrown upon the earth, and also, from the Bible we know, the Antichrist and the false prophet will appear—so with the three, all of evil upon the earth—what can you expect but the great tribulation?
So this is where we find the three-and-a-half-year great tribulation.
Brothers and sisters, those who live in the last age, Christians who are not overcomers, have to pass through the great tribulation.
The object of Satan at that time will be the Christians who are still on the earth and the Jews. With the Jews, it is Jacob’s trouble.
But God has already put His seal upon some of them, and He will keep them. The remaining Christians do have to go through the great tribulation.
I believe, brothers and sisters, you do not want to be among them. But so far as God is concerned, God is giving His people another chance.
For in the great tribulation, there will be overcomers coming out of it. There will be some who are faithful to the Lord, who will be beheaded for the testimony of Jesus.
And these will be overcomers through the great tribulation, and they will sit on the throne and reign with Christ. So you see the love of God.
We may miss the chance, but He will give us another opportunity. He wants all of us to be overcomers.
And then, after the great tribulation, you find the rapture of the remaining church. Those who have died in Christ Jesus will be raised from the dead.
And those who are still living through that time—if you read carefully 1 Thessalonians 4, you will find it says, “those who are still living on the earth.” It shows that there are those who are no longer living there; they have been raptured alive already.
So those who have died through the ages—the overcomers and the overcome—will all be awakened, all be resurrected. And those who are still living upon this earth after the great tribulation will be raptured together.
But where? Not to the throne, but to the air. And that is where the whole church will be.
And during that period, what happens on the earth? There are no more Christians there.
That is where the Bible tells us the seven bowls of the wrath of God will be upon this earth.
And what happens in the air? That is where we find the judgment seat of Christ.
Brothers and sisters, thank God, we who believe in the Lord Jesus will not be judged at the great white throne judgment.
When God sets up His great white throne, He will judge according to what everyone has done upon this earth. But, brothers and sisters, it is a judicial judgment. It is a judgment of eternal life or eternal death.
But those whose names are in the book of life will not be there, will not be judged. Christ has been judged for us on Calvary’s cross, and He has delivered us from the great judicial judgment of eternal life or eternal death.
So we thank God that we will not be judged anymore at the great white throne. But that does not mean we as Christians will not be judged. We will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ.
I believe you have to have some understanding of the custom of the East. Because in this country we have small families, but in the East, in the old days, we had big families.
I came from a big family: four generations living under one roof.
Not only my grandfather and my grandmother—my uncles, my father’s family—we all lived in that one house. You were married and came back and dwelt together. Big family. That was what you find in the Bible background.
I went through a big family. I knew the blessing as well as the curse.
You know, my grandparents took care of everything. My grandfather paid for everything. He paid for all our school things. He paid for all our weddings. He paid for all our food.
And my grandmother took care of the whole family—our food, our eating, everything. So people living in such a big house had nothing to do. And if you have nothing to do, what will happen? Gossiping.
That is a big family. But, brothers and sisters, God loves a big family. He wants us to be with Him.
So there will be the judgment seat of Christ. It is not a judgment of life or death. It is a judgment of reward or punishment—a family judgment.
Only family members can attend that meeting. The head of the family would sit on a lifted place called the bema.
And the whole family would gather in that room. The head of the family would declare, among his sons or grandsons, who had brought glory to the family. They would be praised and rewarded.
But those who had brought the family under a curse, they would be punished—not eternal death, but they would be disciplined.
Brothers and sisters, we do not like discipline, especially in our time. We want to be ourselves. We want to be free.
But basically, discipline is necessary. It is good for developing a good character.
So those who have brought disgrace to the family of God will be disciplined. They will not participate during the time of the millennium, that thousand years.
But only those who are faithful to the Lord, they will rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years.
Brothers and sisters, this is what we find in the Scripture before us. So, hopefully, on the one hand, we will be attracted by what the Lord has promised to us, that we will be faithful to Him and be among the rank of the overcomers.
I hope that when that day comes, every one of us here will disappear. None will be left.
But if any should be left, woe to you. Thank God, you have another chance. So you see the love of God.
Brothers and sisters, my last word to you in this conference is this: Be ready.
Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for Thy boundless love towards us. How can we rebel against that love?
Lord, I pray that every one of us here this morning will yield to Thy great love and enable all that Thou hast hoped for us and prepared for us.
May every one of us here be ready. Lord, we want to glorify Thee, as we have expressed ourselves at the Lord’s table.
Lord, I pray that everyone here this morning will give themselves to Thee, allowing Thee to work out Thy full salvation in all of us.
Lord, it is our blessed hope that we may see Thee face to face before the great tribulation shall come upon this earth.
May Thy peace be with all the brothers and sisters. We pray in Thy precious name.