Introduction

Hello, everyone. Let us now bring our study of the Book of Revelation to a conclusion. Having finished Revelation, my heart is still very heavy. Why? The reason is simple. To overcome is both easy and difficult. Where is it easy? If you trust in God, you will overcome. Where is it difficult? Once you love the world, you simply slide over to that side.

Yet loving the world seems to make life easier for the moment. That is why people say, “He who has no thought for the future will soon have troubles at hand.” What does Revelation reveal? It reveals the end of human history. It tells you in advance what the last days will be like.

Some believe it; some do not. I once met a university professor. The sentence he resented most was this: “Believe in Jesus and receive eternal life; do not believe, and go to hell.” He said, “If I am to go to hell, then I will go.”

Why did he say that? He had never been there. He did not know what hell was like. If he had really been there, would he still want to go? Certainly not. Why? Because once he had seen it, he would know how miserable it was. The problem is that people do not know the future.

This is not difficult to understand. Suppose the Japanese army captured a man in 1943 or 1944. He surrendered and became a traitor. If he had known that Japan would surrender in 1945, and that traitors would be executed, would he still have surrendered? No. But he did not know the future. Once a man does not know what lies ahead, it becomes a tragedy.

Many people are like gamblers placing a bet. They think, “Should I surrender and become a traitor, or should I refuse and lose my head?” Then, snap, they toss a coin. If it lands on heads, they will not surrender. If it lands on tails, they will. It lands on tails, and so they surrender. Later, it becomes a joke.

What kind of joke? In 1945, he joined the puppet army and had just passed probation. Then Japan surrendered. China began arresting traitors. He was arrested, tried, and executed.

How unlucky can a man be? The first unlucky thing was joining the Japanese puppet army in 1945. The second was joining the Kuomintang in 1948. Why? Because he did not know the future. Brothers and sisters, if you knew the future, what would you do? I tell you, the saddest thing in life is to see only what is before your eyes.

I can give you many examples. Some people go to university without considering the future. What should they study? Nanotechnology, perhaps. Nanotechnology sounds good. It is such a great technology. Or physics. Then they graduate and look for work, only to find that there are no jobs in nanotechnology—only songs like Mice Love Rice. What then?

If you knew that you would have no job after graduation, would you still go? This is where many people are foolish. They go to university and end up becoming useless. Is that good? Not at all. If we do not know the future, we may walk on and on until we end in tragedy.

There are many such examples. Some people lie flat. They say something rather interesting: “Persistence may not lead to success, but lying flat will certainly make life easy.” Yes, it is easy now. But when the time comes, it will not be easy. You cannot be comfortable for a lifetime. You have merely pushed your pain further down the road. In the end, you see yourself as useless, and others see you as useless too.

Brothers and sisters, make a decision now. Make decisions that will affect your future. Can you take this sentence in: “Not knowing the future is a tragedy”? I feel deeply about this. People do not know the future, and they do not want to know it. They simply follow their feelings. They walk on, join the puppet army in 1945, join the Kuomintang in 1948, and end in misery.

Do you know? This is how the world works. Whether you like it or not, the world will not move according to your feelings. The world has its own laws of development. Therefore, as we conclude Revelation, you need to know the future. If you do not know the future, then we shall see who laughs last.

Brothers and sisters, we are now living in a very critical generation. Why? Because all the prophecies recorded in Revelation are about to be fulfilled. Yet some do not believe.

At such a time, will you choose to join Satan and join the world, or will you join God? If you join God, you risk your life. If you join the world, you risk God’s judgment. Therefore, at this moment, we must make a judgment about the future. Will you choose to believe, or not believe?

Theme One of Revelation: The Revelation of the Overcoming Church

Having read Revelation, I must tell you this: the Bible does not say much about those who are saved but do not overcome. Some people talk about being saved or not being saved. But Revelation does not speak of being saved or not being saved. It speaks of overcoming and not overcoming. Does the Bible mention people who are saved but do not overcome? Certainly there are such people, but I do not know the answer.

Take university admission as an example. If you reach the cut-off score, you get in. If you do not, you do not get in. That is clear. What does it show? It shows that people must strive toward that goal. Therefore, building an overcoming church is the central theme of Revelation.

Why? Because Revelation does not tell us what happens to those who are saved but do not overcome. It is not true that you will get into university merely because you take the examination. Neither is it true that you will get in merely because you work hard. You must get it right. Faith in the Lord is the same. It is not the case that once you have accepted Jesus Christ, you automatically overcome. There is no such thing. Revelation does not say much about being saved without overcoming. But one conclusion is certain: those who overcome will share glory with the Lord Jesus.

How, then, do we overcome? We overcome through building an overcoming church. Revelation therefore rejects the logic of individual spiritual cultivation. If you want to cultivate yourself properly, Taoism may be good. Buddhism may be good. You may even retreat into the mountains to burn charcoal or refine elixirs.

But Christianity does not work this way. Christianity has only the overcoming church. What is this overcoming church? The destiny of the overcoming church is to follow Jesus Christ. Listen carefully:

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11)

It is as simple as that. If you cherish your own life, you will certainly be captured. If your mind is filled with nothing but the petty matter of staying alive, you will have a hard time. So sometimes, as I reflect on the past years, you must consider this carefully: should you even fight this battle? If the system of logic within me is a worldly system, and then I come to believe in the Lord, am I not simply asking for trouble? That is deadly.

This has had a great impact on me. Looking back on the past years, I found that some people had all kinds of problems during prayer and deliverance. They prayed today and prayed tomorrow. They went through all kinds of struggles. They were exhausted, and I was exhausted too. Then later, it was good. They stopped praying. They stopped fighting. Everything became fine.

If we are filled with a worldly system of logic, yet still want to overcome, that battle will be cruel. Whom do you belong to? You say you belong to Jesus, but perhaps you do not. In your heart, you belong to the old devil. If you belong to the old devil, yet still want to believe in the Lord and fight spiritual battles, then you want the benefits of both sides.

Later, I often said, let us not fight then. It is so painful and so tiring. Try doing nothing. Do not pray. Do not fight. Just love the world properly and belong to the world properly. Then there will be no trouble for us. Is that not so?

Later, I discovered something that may give you hope. I still keep in touch with some brothers and sisters who left the church. Once, I invited a brother for a meal. He was living quite well. Do not think that people can live well only in Chinese Mingding Doctrine. No. Those who belong to the world can live very well too. They have cars and houses. Their children study Chinese classics. They have “an acre of land, two oxen, a wife, children, and a warm bed.” They are living well. Then they wonder, why fight any battle at all? Just love the world properly.

But at some point in the future, no one can say for sure. You do not have to believe what I say, because no one has travelled into the new heaven and new earth of Revelation. Overcoming is meant for whom? It is meant for those who belong to God. If you have no hope in this world, and your hope is in heaven; if you have come to understand, as I have, that this world is really not very interesting, then let us seek a more meaningful way to live: the way of building an overcoming church.

Therefore, those who belong to God must cleanse the filth and uncleanness within themselves. The Spirit of God will also work in you. Otherwise, if your heart is full of demons and worldly things, while outwardly you claim to belong to God, it will be very difficult.

So when our small-group pastors encounter this situation, do not rush into spiritual warfare. Let the person love the world properly. Perhaps that too is a path. They belonged to that side in the first place. Do not force them to stay. You cannot keep them by force.

What happens to those who do not overcome? I do not know. But the outcome for those who overcome is certain: they will receive the glory and reward of overcoming. Yet if you want to overcome, you must do this: “They did not love their lives to the death.” Who can do that? Those who can are called overcomers. Is that not so?

In fact, I find that many people do not have this logic in their minds—the logic of belonging to God. They do not have many symptoms requiring deliverance either. But if someone has very intense deliverance symptoms, I think it may be better for him to love the world properly. You may ask, “Teacher, why do you say this?” Because it avoids a great deal of trouble. If you do not know whether you belong to God or to the world, with one foot on God’s side and one foot on the world’s side, will you not be torn apart by five horses? In fact, being torn apart by two horses is already enough.

Theme Two of Revelation: The End of Those Who Follow the Lamb and Those Who Follow the Beast

Revelation describes this outcome very clearly. As for the end of those who follow the world, it has not yet arrived. For now, they muddle through one day at a time and enjoy one comfortable day at a time. Then let them not concern themselves with the end of those who belong to the world.

But for those of us who want very much to know the end of those who belong to God and the end of those who overcome, to follow the Lamb is to imitate the death of Jesus Christ. To follow the beast is to follow the world—to cherish this world and cherish one’s own life. It is very simple.

If you want to live well in this world, I tell you, you do not need to believe in the Lord. After you believe in the Lord, many things will not go so well. That is what Revelation says. Look:

The brothers overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives to the death. (Revelation 12:11)

Last Sunday, I spoke to you about Abel. Abel was killed by Cain. What kind of thing was that? Do not say that you cannot understand it. When I had just become a believer, I could not understand it either.

Abel believed so properly. How could Cain kill him? Yet from beginning to end, the Bible does not place much importance on the things of this world, on whether one lives or dies. But we are different. We care very much about staying alive.

If you care too much about staying alive, you will end up in misery. In the past, many people among us returned to the world and became like fish in water. They prospered and rose quickly. As for the end of all things, whether it has anything to do with us, they do not know.

But we who love God must know. For in the future, the end of all things will come. Revelation shows us the end of those who follow the beast, and how God will afflict them.

The Overall Structure of Revelation

The first major section is Revelation chapter 1. It tells us that God is a God of revelation. He has told us how human history began and how it will end, so that we may understand clearly what human history is like. God is a God of revelation. We must understand this matter properly.

The second major section is Revelation chapters 2 to 3. It speaks of the overcoming church. God connects human history with the church. From the first coming of Jesus Christ until today, the overcoming church is in fact the body of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Revelation chapters 2 to 3 speak of how the overcoming church should be. It says nothing about those who do not overcome. In my own words, let them go. This is how important overcoming is.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches! (Revelation 2:7)

Do not be like the children’s song: “Two tigers, one without ears, one without eyes.” This song is rather spiritual. It is saying that if you are a tiger without ears and without eyes, how can you overcome? It is very difficult. So read Revelation chapters 2 to 3 carefully. They speak of the overcoming church.

The third major section is Revelation chapters 4 to 5. It speaks of being an overcoming Lamb. Why an overcoming Lamb? Because the Lamb and the church are deeply united. As the Lamb overcomes, so must the church overcome.

The Lamb offered Himself and died on the cross. The church must do the same. If you do not want to take this path, if you do not want to offer your body, then you might as well love the world properly. At least you will avoid much trouble.

Therefore, small-group pastors, when you experience warfare in ministry, examine carefully the value system within you. If we truly belong to the world, then let us love the world properly. Some brothers and sisters do not want to walk the way of the Lamb. Why should they? What they care about is merely eating, drinking, and staying alive. Is believing in the Lord not then simply asking for trouble?

Faith in the Lord is for those who overcome, for those who want to overcome the devil in this world. Only the overcoming Lamb can open history. Only the overcoming church can run forward on the path of the overcoming Lamb, advancing the course of human history together with the Lord Jesus.

Human history is about to reach its end. Anyone with common sense knows that humanity has prepared many atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs for itself. Once someone goes mad and a nuclear power presses the button, it is all over. Then everyone can go and “play.”

The fourth major section is Revelation chapter 6. It speaks of the seven seals. What happens when the first seal is opened? What happens when the second is opened? What happens when the third is opened? It is terribly cruel. We are now close to the opening of the seventh seal.

The fifth major section is Revelation chapter 7. It speaks of God preparing His people. Before the seventh seal is opened, God prepares His people. As long as they are an overcoming people, God will spare them from the disasters that follow.

The sixth major section is Revelation chapters 8 to 10. It speaks of the seven trumpets. These are disasters prepared for the world. God’s people are also in the midst of these disasters, but they are not affected by them because they bear God’s seal.

If you join the world, it is like joining the puppet army in 1945 and joining the Kuomintang in 1948. That is roughly the rhythm. Do not wait until the Lord Jesus appears, only to discover that you chose wrongly: “I joined the puppet army. I became a traitor.” Then the Lord Jesus catches you and throws you into the furnace to burn. This is God preparing His people. It is not that you prepare yourself to overcome. God prepares you to overcome.

Let me go through the major sections of Revelation once more. The first: God is a God of revelation. The second: the overcoming church. The third: the overcoming Lamb. The fourth: the seven seals, as human history begins to move forward. The fifth: God prepares His people. The sixth: the seven trumpets, the disasters prepared by God. Greater disasters are yet to come.

The seventh major section is Revelation chapter 11. It says that when the seventh trumpet sounds, the church is raptured. If we are among those raptured, that is good. What Revelation speaks of afterward will have nothing to do with us. We will be in heaven with Jesus, watching the show. Some will be blown up like large dough balls, some like twisted fritters; this one will be roasted, that one will be roasted. It will be quite a spectacle. How many people will be raptured? I do not know. But if you ask me, I think there should be quite a number of overcomers.

The eighth major section is Revelation chapters 12 to 13. It speaks of the path of overcoming for brothers and sisters who are not raptured. At that time, the beast will rule on earth. You may think you have joined the right side, but you are rejoicing too early, because you do not know that there are still more than three years ahead.

For those who are not raptured, this tells you that those who overcome and are raptured are like this: by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, they do not love their lives to the death. It is as simple as that.

If your hope is in this world, then do not seek to overcome. To enter the urn peacefully is more comfortable than fighting a battle. That is the path of overcoming under the rule of the beast for those who are not raptured. Things like receiving the mark of 666—we should not even talk about them. Let them stamp 666 if they wish. It has nothing to do with us. At that time, if you do not obey the antichrist, there will be nothing but martyrdom.

The ninth major section is Revelation chapter 14. It speaks of the end of following God and the end of following the beast. By then, the outcome will be known. Why? Because God will begin to pour out the seven bowls. The seven bowls are God’s great wrath. At that time, you will know there is no more opportunity. God is a righteous God. I tell you, God is exceedingly righteous.

Of course, the people on earth will curse God: “You bastard, how can You treat us like this?” But God will say to His people in heaven, “Yes, this is how they should be treated.” If not treated this way, how else should they be treated?

The key is that we know this beforehand. Do we have a heart of reverence? If we still think that loving the world is nothing serious, that is very dangerous. God’s righteousness is revealed here. If people love the world, God will certainly judge them according to the world they love.

The tenth major section, Revelation chapters 15 to 16, speaks of God’s righteousness. The eleventh major section, Revelation chapters 17 to 20, speaks of God’s judgment upon the world. The twelfth major section, Revelation chapters 21 to 22, speaks of the new heaven and the new earth. The end of all things, and God’s judgment upon the world, will be terrible.

These are the twelve major sections of Revelation. Once your mind has this thread and this framework, you will not be so confused.

Brothers and sisters, we must be careful about what is inside us. Yesterday, I shared with a sister who was summarising her victories over the past period. As she went through her summary, I heard that something seemed to be missing. What was missing was the word of God.

Many people live like this: “Pray for me quickly! My foot is oozing pus—pray for me quickly! I have a boil on my head—pray for me quickly! My waist hurts, my buttocks hurt, my knees hurt, my neck hurts, my stomach hurts, my teeth hurt!” Why do they not examine where they have violated the word of God?

Of course, God may give grace through prayer. But if you still follow your own system of logic, and pray merely because you do not want pain, then I think the matter is still uncertain. Are we really speaking God’s word? What do we truly care about?

I ministered to a brother who shared with me very sincerely. He wanted to overcome, and I knew it. He said that when his wife cooked, sometimes she made too much. They could not finish it, so she put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Then he complained and began giving bad reviews.

I thought to myself, your wife cooks for you. Why are you giving bad reviews? I said, “Do not complain. It is only some leftovers. Is she not afraid that you may not have enough to eat?” When I said this, he replied, “That is true.” But are our minds not often occupied with such petty matters?

In my heart, I often feel an inexplicable sorrow. Or, to put it another way, I have a deep hope: that all brothers and sisters will become overcomers. We live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, not by pursuing these trivial matters.

When your family and all those around you are like this, is overcoming not rather difficult? Therefore, brothers and sisters, press on. If you do not stand at the height of God’s throne while living in this world, you will see everything as a blur and become utterly confused, while the winds and clouds keep changing.

The Two Main Lines of Revelation

The first main line is the end of God’s people, the people who overcome. Their end is to be with God, to reign with God, and to govern this world with Him. These are God’s overcoming people.

We still have many faults. Sometimes I am most struck by human ignorance. Once people become ignorant, they sacrifice the greater for the lesser. They cannot distinguish what is primary from what is secondary, nor what is urgent from what is unimportant, because they lack knowledge. Those who belong to God must see from God’s height. If we stand at the height of this world, I think it will be difficult.

The second kind of people are those who belong to the world. Their end is quite miserable. If you ask me whether I will take that path, I will not. How good it is to have God while living in this world. It is not merely that having God makes life better. It is that with God, there is hope for eternal glory. As for the things of this world, I do not find them very meaningful. Once you see through them, you realise that they are all about the same.

These two main lines are the key points of Revelation. Since the things to come have already been revealed to us, then believe if you will believe, and do not believe if you will not. In fact, once a person does not believe, life may seem quite good. But for how long? That depends on his fate.

We have gone through Revelation and come to know the end of all things. Some say, “Is it true?” If you ask me, I will say, “It is false. Do not believe it.” Then someone asks, “False? How do you know it is false?” I say, “I have not been there either. How would I know? Is that not so?” If you have not been there, you are simply talking blindly.

But to those of us who believe, we say, “It is true.” Someone asks, “How do you know it is true?” I say, “Because of the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, and because we do not love our lives to the death.”

What kind of mind is this? Speak like a man when you meet men, and like a ghost when you meet ghosts. When you meet those who belong to the world, everything is fine. But when you meet those who belong to God: brothers and sisters, overcome. Have a sense of urgency. Fear God. I tell you, without God, life in this world is truly difficult.

Moreover, Revelation reveals an interesting truth: the worldly demons specialise in dealing with people who love the world. You may say, “Do they not specialise in dealing with those who belong to God?” No. They cannot. Demons cannot move those who belong to God. Do you understand? Why? God made all things beautiful in their time. He made demons to do what demons are supposed to do.

Brothers and sisters, when you read Revelation again with this overall line of thought, you will find it much clearer. We have completed our study of Revelation. May all brothers and sisters become God’s overcoming people.

That is all for today’s sharing. May God bless you all!