Morning Nourishment - Christ—the Establisher of the Kingdom and the Word of God—King of Kings and Lord of Lords
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Day 6
Verses: Matthew 24:48 says, "But if that evil slave says in his heart, My master delays." " The evil slave is a saved believer, as seen in the fact that he was appointed by the Lord (v. 45), that he called the Lord "my Master," and that he believed that the Lord was coming. Verse 49 says that the evil slave beats his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with the drunken. To beat the fellow slaves is to mistreat the fellow believers, and to eat and drink with the drunken is to keep company with worldly people, who are drunk with worldly things. (Life-study of Matthew, p. 706)
All of us should be those who are feeding the Lord's people at the proper time (Matt. 24:45) and using the Lord's talents in full (25:20, 22). On the negative side, we should not be those beating our fellow slaves (24:49). You may not do your duty to perform your service, but instead you are criticizing and sometimes even strongly opposing the brothers. You are not doing the work but beating the fellow slaves. Some of the sisters are always busy on the telephone—When they hear something bad about certain brothers, especially the elders, they become busy on the telephone—These telephone calls are all beatings.
Sometimes you may have a subtle way of praying in the prayer meeting for a saint who is in a negative situation—You pray for people, but about ten percent of your prayer is a kind of judging. This is beating. You waste your time of service in beating. Instead of doing the service, you beat the brothers, the fellow slaves. Many of the brothers can testify that they never heard me beating others by criticizing or exposing them. My only burden is to release messages. Although I have no intention of exposing anyone, many are exposed by the light in the messages I release. That is not my job but the Lord's work. We all have to stop our criticizing, judging, opposing, and murmuring as a kind of beating. We must spend our time, our energy, and our everything to do a positive service for the Lord's interest.
We should not make suggestions to others or give instructions to them. None of us is qualifiied to do this. At the time of the Acts, Peter, Paul, and the other apostles were not qualifiied by themselves to make decisions or give instructions. Then what about us We must honor the Lord. We are not the Lord or the Master, and we are not the Lord of the harvest. Only the Lord Jesus is the Lord of the harvest. He is the Master, and we must honor Him by not making decisions in ourselves—Nevertheless, we have all transgressed in this respect in the past, for a lot of decisions have been made among us. Some decisions were made by individuals, and others by groups. In certain cases some even made decisions for others. But where is the Lord When we make decisions in this way, it seems that there is no Lord among us.
It seems that we do not have the Spirit but only ourselves to depend on. We make decisions and we give instructions. Instead of doing this, we must pray, fast, and wait on the Lord. We need to honor Him. He is our Master, and we are His slaves. We should say to Him, "Lord, You are my Master. I am neither qualifiied nor do I have the position and the authority to make decisions or give orders to others. Lord, I am waiting on You. I want to know Your will and Your heart. Lord, I want to know what You want me to do and what You want my fellow workers to do. Lord, I ask You what You want the churches to do." We all must have this attitude; otherwise, we shall insult the Lord, and eventually He will give us up. (CWWL, 1977, vol. 2, "The Spirit and the Body," pp. 284-285)
Day 1
Verses: Rev. 20:1-2 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. In Revelation 20:1-4 we see that Christ is the Establisher of the kingdom. After fiighting all His enemies, Christ will establish the kingdom of God on the earth, the millennial kingdom, and reign with His overcoming believers for a thousand years. Between the rapture of the overcomers and the beginning of the millennial kingdom, many things will take place. Immediately after the rapture of the man-child, a loud voice in heaven says, "Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ" (12:10). Actually, the kingdom will not come at that time, for the three and a half years of the great tribulation are yet to come. Nevertheless, in the eyes of those who have been raptured to the heavens, the kingdom has already come. During the last three and a half years of this age, the following things will take place: the rapture of the majority of the saints; the destruction of religious Babylon, that is, the annihilation of Catholicism; the destruction of Judaism; and the fall of material Babylon. Following all this, there will be the war at Armageddon. The whole earth must be cleared up as a preparation for God's kingdom to come. At the time of Revelation 20, nearly everything has been cleared up. Only one thing remains, and that is Satan, the source of all the problems. Therefore, the first item mentioned in Revelation 20, a chapter concerning the millennium, is the binding of Satan. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4349-4350)
According to the prophecies of the Bible, the millennial kingdom is in two sections: the upper, heavenly, section and the lower, earthly, section. The upper section of the millennium is called the kingdom of the Father (Matt. 13:43), and the lower section is called the kingdom of the Son of Man (v. 41). The kingdom of the Messiah, or the Messianic kingdom, is another name for the lower section of the millennium.
In the millennial kingdom there will be three peoples. The first are the overcoming saints, including those of both the Old Testament and the New Testament. These overcoming saints will be co-kings of Christ. Christ is the highest King, and we will be His sub-kings. Therefore, the upper section is the royal portion of the millennium. The second group, found in the lower section, is the preserved and proper Jews, who will be saved at the time of the Lord's coming back.
According to Zechariah 12:10-14, these Jews will look on Him whom they have pierced, and then they will repent. These are the Jews who will be the third part who will pass through fiire and be refiined (13:9). These saved Jews will enter into the millennium as priests and will teach the nations to seek God and to know Him. Isaiah 2:2-3 will be fulfiilled at that time—The nations will learn of God through the instruction of the Jews, who will be priests. Isaiah 61:6 says, "You will be called the priests of Jehovah; People will speak of you as the ministers of our God."
Zechariah 8:23 says, "Thus says Jehovah of hosts, In those days, from all the languages of the nations, ten men will take hold, indeed, they will take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." This verse indicates that every Jew will be precious. In those days the Jews will be warmly welcomed. The third group of people in the millennial kingdom will be the "sheep" spoken of in Matthew 25. In the lower section of the millennium, called the kingdom of the Son of Man, Jesus as the seed of David will be King over the Jews and, through the Jews, over all the nations—This is the kingdom of the Son of Man and the kingdom of the Messiah. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4352-4353)
Day 2
Verses: Rev. 20:4-6 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them…This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4-6 reveals that Christ as the Establisher of the kingdom will reign with the overcoming saints. Because the overcomers bring in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Lord will reign for a thousand years, and the overcomers will also reign with Christ for a thousand years—To have the authority to judge means to have the kingdom (cf. Dan. 7:10, 18, 22). Therefore,—verse 4 in Revelation 20 indicates that the overcomers have received and are enjoying the kingdom. Verse 4 also says, "I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and of those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Those who have been "beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God" are the martyrs throughout the church age, as mentioned in 6:9. Undoubtedly, Peter, Paul, James, Stephen, and the many others slain throughout the centuries will be included in this group. These saints, martyred for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, will be resurrected to be co-kings of Christ. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4353-4354)
The overcomers become qualifiied to reign with Christ by the humanity of Jesus being worked into them. Christ who is the unique proper man dwells in our spirit as the Spirit of Jesus. Such a One with all the proper human virtues is in us to be our humanity. When we have His humanity, we will put Satan to shame and be the kingdom of God. Revelation 20:6 speaks of "the first resurrection." The Greek word translated "first" is the same word translated "best" in Luke 15:22, where the father says in relation to the returned prodigal, "Bring out quickly the best robe and put it on him."—The overcomers will enjoy this resurrection.
The first resurrection is also the "out-resurrection," that is, the extraordinary resurrection for which the apostle Paul sought (Phil. 3:11)—It is the resurrection set apart from the common resurrection, the resurrection with honor, comparable to graduation with honors. This resurrection is a resurrection of kingship as a reward to the overcomers that they may reign as co-kings with Christ in the millennial kingdom. Hence, "blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection" (Rev. 20:6).
Not only the resurrected overcomers, such as the man-child in 12:5 and the later martyrs in 15:2, but also the raptured living ones, such as the firstfruits in 14:1-5, have part in this resurrection. Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection." This must be the highest blessing—to inherit the kingdom manifested on earth and even to be the kings within it. Verse 6 also says that the overcomers—will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium (2:26-27; 12:5).
As priests they will bring man in his need to God and minister God to man, and as kings they will bring God in His authority to man and represent God to shepherd man. This is a reward to them. Through our priesthood and kingship both God and man will be fully satisfied—The overcomers will be priests to contact God and co-kings with Christ to reign over the nations in the millennium. In this realm, there will be no weakness, no sickness, no trouble, and no hardship. Christ's kingdom will be for His reigning with His overcomers. How wonderful this will be (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4355-4356, 4359)
Day 3
Verses: Rev. 19:11 …I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 14 And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, L N In Revelation 19:11-16 and 19-21, Christ is revealed as the Word of God—King of kings and Lord of lords—who returns to defeat and destroy Antichrist and the false prophet. . After His wedding feast, Christ will come as a fiighting General with His bride, the overcoming believers who are His army, to fiight Antichrist, the kings under him, and their armies at Armageddon— Under the instigation of Antichrist, man will even wage war directly against the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Antichrist, the false prophet, and the ten kings and their armies will make war against the Lamb. This war will be a fiighting of the earth against the heavens, of man against God—It is indeed astounding that man could actually declare war on God. Therefore, Christ, the Bridegroom, will come with His bride to fiight against them. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4333)
In Revelation 19:11-21 we see that the Bridegroom comes to fiight against His enemies with the help of His bride. The Bridegroom is the Commander- in-chief, and the bride is the army. This will be a honeymoon for the newlywed couple. During His honeymoon Christ will clear up the universe. Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into the lake of fiire (v. 20), and Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss (20:1-3). At that time Christ will be happy, and we, His bride, will also be happy as we enjoy a wonderful honeymoon with our Bridegroom. The war at Armageddon will remove all the obstacles to the coming millennial kingdom—In the millennial kingdom the entire universe will be the feasting room, and Christ and His bride will work together to sweep away the dirt, which will be put into the "trash can," the lake of fiire. God's sweeping in the universe began in Genesis 1.
First, God swept the dirt into the sea (v. 2); at that time the sea was the trash can in this universe. Eventually, all the dirt will be put in the ultimate trash can, the lake of fiire. In Matthew 25:41 the Lord Jesus said, "Go away from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fiire prepared for the devil and his angels." Because the "goats" followed the devil, they will be cast into the lake of fiire prepared for him and his angels.
God has prepared the lake of fiire as a "trash can" to dispose of all the trash in the universe. Antichrist, the false prophet, and their armies will be swept into the "dust pan" and then dumped into the lake of fiire. After the millennium Satan himself will join them there. After the judgment at the great white throne, all the dead unbelievers will also be cast into the lake of fiire. From that time onward, there will be no more dust. In the New Jerusalem there will be only gold, pearl, and precious stones.
The Lord's fiighting in the war at Armageddon will actually be a sweeping of the dirt into the universal trash can. Antichrist's declaration of war on Christ will give Him the perfect opportunity to sweep Antichrist away, and the bride of Christ will cooperate with Him in doing this. Instead of being cast into the lake of fiire, we will be gathered into the New Jerusalem. In order for the Lord to enjoy a pleasant honeymoon and the thousand-year kingdom, all the trash must be swept away. We should look forward to participating in this cleaning work.
How pleasant it will be Faithful and True will be a title of Christ Rev. 19:11. Christ is faithful both to God and to those who believe in Him. In His faithfulness He defeats and destroys those who oppose God and persecute the believers. He is true in carrying out God's economy and in caring for those who believe in Him. He is trustworthy, and with Him there is no falsehood. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4333-4335)
Day 4
Verses: 2 Thes. 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed (whom the Lord Jesus will slay by the breath of His mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of His coming). Christ is God's faithful and true Witness who sits on a white horse, judges in righteousness, and makes war. Christ will come back to fiight against Satan's power of unrighteousness, which today operates in the world as the mystery of lawlessness and which will issue in Antichrist, the man of lawlessness—In righteousness Christ will return to make war against the unrighteousness practiced by Antichrist and all his partners. Christ will not only judge in righteousness but also fiight in righteousness. He judges by fiighting. Even today, no wrongdoers would accept the judgments of our courts if the government had no police force to back up these judgments; judgment can be executed only by police power. When Christ comes to judge Antichrist, Antichrist will be utterly rebellious. Thus, there will be the need for Christ to fiight to subdue this rebellion and to judge these rebels in righteousness. His judging by fiighting is not only according to righteousness; it is also to maintain righteousness. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4335)
In Revelation 19 Christ, the Bridegroom as the Commander-in-chief, appears riding on a white horse. The horse of the first seal in 6:2 is also white and signifies the preaching of the gospel. Thus, both Christ and the gospel ride on a white horse. In the book of Revelation, white indicates being clean, pure, just, and approvable—Even today we are riding on this white horse. Our preaching of the gospel is clean, pure, just, and absolutely approvable by the Lord. Christ will ride on this horse as He fiights against His enemy.
According to the Bible, we should preach the gospel to lead sinners to salvation. We all need to bear fruit. Although we may admit that this is scriptural, we may not be bearing any fruit. This means that we are not on the white horse. If we are preaching the gospel, our interest on the earth is in God's kingdom. We should be those who are laboring to help people to be saved in order to build up the Body of Christ for the kingdom of God—We have no excuse for not preaching the gospel.
We must be on the white horse for the spreading of the gospel. The white horse includes not only preaching the gospel but also having home meetings, feeding the young ones, holding group meetings for perfecting, and prophesying to build up the church. If we do not preach the gospel to save sinners, feed, nourish, and cherish the young ones, gather the new ones together for a group meeting, or have the capacity and ability to prophesy for the building up of the church, we are not on the white horse—We must not stop the white horse. Christ's eyes being "a filame of fiire" Rev. 19:12 signifies His judging eyes. He will judge according to what He sees. His filaming eyes will carry out His judgment.
As the Warrior, Christ has many diadems on His head—Because He has been crowned with many kinds of glory (Heb. 2:9), He wears many diadems. As the One on the white horse, the Lord has "a name written which no one knows but Himself" Rev. 19:12. This indicates that there are certain aspects of Christ that we have not experienced and that only He Himself knows. These are secrets concerning Christ that He keeps within Himself. Even though we may experience and enjoy Him to the uttermost, there will still be aspects of Christ that will be kept secret from us; they will not be known even by His closest overcomers. This indicates that the Christ whom we experience is inexhaustible. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4335-4337)
Day 5
Verses: Revelation 19:13—indicates that the Lord Himself is the Word of God. . The Lord is clothed with a garment dipped in blood because of His fiighting at the battle of Armageddon. The garment of Christ is dipped in blood and becomes red by His treading the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God (v. 15; Isa. 63:1-3) at Armageddon (Rev. 16:14, 16), where the blood will rise up to the bridles of the horses (14:20). (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 4337)
That the Lord's name is called the Word of God means that He is the expression, the testimony, and the speaking of God—In order to know God, we need to read, study, behold, contemplate, and gaze on Christ as the Word of God. In Revelation 19, as the Word of God, Christ speaks for God by executing God's judgment upon the rebellious people. Even as the Lord fiights, He speaks for God and expresses God. The fiighting of Christ is the speaking of the Word of God. God is righteous and sovereign. He is also a God of order, and as such He cannot tolerate disorder and rebellion.
As Christ fiights against the enemy, He will speak that God is sovereign, righteous, and orderly. He will declare that God is the God over everyone and that He does not tolerate rebellion against His authority. Hence, the Warrior is the Word. His fiighting is the speaking of God's Word. The Lord's fiighting in the war at Armageddon will be a powerful speaking. It will tell Satan, Antichrist, the false prophet, and the entire universe that God is sovereign and that no one can rebel against Him. God is not a God of confusion; He is the sovereign God, a God of order who does not tolerate rebellion. The God of order will sweep away all rebellion.
The Word of God is mentioned both in the Gospel of John (1:1) and in the Revelation of John 19:13. In the Gospel of John the Word of God— speaks of redemption, light, life, and building. In the Revelation of John the Word of God speaks not only of life and building but also of fiighting. Before God can have the building He desires, He must first clean up His universe. In Revelation Christ's fiighting is also His speaking for God. As the Word of God, His fiighting proclaims to the whole universe what kind of God He is.
In the Gospel of John, the Word of God is for the impartation of life into us, but in Revelation the Word of God is for fiighting against and defeating God's enemy. In Revelation 19 the Lord Jesus who comes down out of heaven appears as a General fiighting a battle. He is riding on a white horse, and His name is called "the Word of God" (vv. 11, 13). The word of God that we speak today is the Lord Jesus—When the Lord comes,—He will fiight for His kingdom. In the warfare for the kingdom of God, Christ is the Word of God, speaking for God's purpose. In His fiighting against God's enemies for the kingdom, Christ is God's speaking.
As the Son of God, the Lord Jesus not only spoke the word of God, but He Himself was even called the Word (John 1:1, 14; Rev. 19:13). God spoke in His Son and not merely through Him. Wherever the Son was, there the Word was also. Furthermore, when the Son spoke, God spoke in the Son's speaking. On the day of Pentecost Christ came down as the all-inclusive Spirit upon His disciples to make them members of His Body—Now, just as my whole body speaks whenever I speak, so the Body of Christ speaks whenever Christ speaks as the Head—All the members of the Body can speak the word of God. (Life-study of Colossians, p. 558)