EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

THE REVELATION AND THE TESTIMONY
OF JESUS CHRIST

Two great and important terms are used in the first two verses of the book of Revelation—the revelation of Jesus Christ (v. 1) and the testimony of Jesus Christ (v. 2). The revelation of Jesus Christ is Christ Himself, and the testimony of Jesus Christ refers to the church. These two expressions refer to the revealed Christ and the testifying church and comprise the entire book of Revelation. In Revelation Christ is revealed, and the church is testifying the revealed Christ. This testified Christ is actually the revealed Christ.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

In the book of Revelation we first see Jesus Christ—the revelation of Jesus Christ and then the testimony of Jesus Christ. We see Him who is and who was and who is coming and the seven Spirits who are before His throne. We see Jesus Christ again as the Witness; the Firstborn; the Ruler; the Redeemer; the One who made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; and the One who will come. Also, in Revelation 1 we see the Son of Man in the midst of all the lampstands as the High Priest in His priestly garments. The “garment reaching to the feet” (v. 13) is the priestly robe (Exo. 28:33-35). This One in the midst of the lampstands has seven eyes like a flame of fire, a sharp two-edged sword proceeding out of His mouth, seven stars in His right hand, and two feet like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace. This One is also seen as the Lord God, the Almighty, the Alpha, and the Omega.

We must remember that the book of Revelation is primarily a revelation of Jesus Christ. He is the One who is and who was and who is coming, and He is the seven Spirits. He is the Witness, the Firstborn, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the Redeemer, the coming One, the Alpha, the Omega, the Lord God, the Almighty, the Son of Man, and the High Priest. This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, and this Jesus Christ is the all-inclusive, excellent, marvelous, mysterious, and wonderful One. He is marvelous in the fact that He surprises us to the uttermost. He is also mysterious in that we cannot fully understand or comprehend Him. He is Wonderful! This is our Savior; this is our God. Have you ever considered that your Savior, Jesus Christ, is so much? God’s New Testament economy is focused on a person who is all-inclusive, excellent, marvelous, mysterious, and wonderful. The revelation of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation is all-inclusive.

The Testimony of Jesus Christ—the Church

Revelation 1:2 reveals the testimony of Jesus Christ, which is the church. The word witness refers to the person, but the word testimony refers to what the person bears, his work, his doing. For example, a witness is a person in a court of law who gives his testimony. The testimony refers to his doing. The Lord Jesus was God’s faithful Witness, and He testified God to produce the church. The producing of the church is His testimony. In other words, the Witness refers to Himself, and His testimony refers to the church. Jesus was the Witness, and what came out of Him was the church as the testimony. This church is revealed in nine aspects: the lampstands (vv. 11-12, 20), the great multitude of the redeemed (7:9-17), the bright woman with her man-child (12:1-17), the harvest with its firstfruits (14:4, 14-16), the overcomers on the sea of glass (15:2-4), the bride ready for marriage (19:7-9), the army of the Lamb (17:14; 19:14, 19), the co-kings of Christ in the millennium (20:4-6), and the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth (21:1-3). In no other book of the Bible are these nine items so clearly revealed, and these are the aspects of the church as the testimony of Jesus.

The Son of Man as the Priest

In Revelation 1:13-18 the Son of Man is walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. As the Priest, He is dressing the lamps in the Holy Place and searching and infusing the churches, the lampstands. This One is the all-inclusive, excellent, marvelous, mysterious, and wonderful One. This One has seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God. His eyes are like a flame of fire for searching and infusing (v. 14). In the economical Trinity in Revelation, the second of the Godhead is the seven Spirits and becomes the seven eyes of the third in the Trinity. Do you consider your eyes as one person and yourself as another person? All of us realize that the eyes are of the person. The seven Spirits who are out from the eternal One are also of the Redeemer because the seven Spirits are the seven eyes of the Lamb, the Redeemer. This again is a strong point to show that this wonderful One is all-inclusive. He is the Redeemer, but the seven Spirits are His eyes. He includes the Spirit.

This One also includes the Father, the One who is and who was and who is coming. Revelation 1:4 and 8 indicate that the Father is the Alpha and the Omega, and the One who is and who was and who is coming. Revelation 22:12 and 13 show that the Lord Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega. These portions of the Word prove that the Son includes the Father. Also, Revelation 1:18 tells us that the Lord Jesus is the living One and that He lives forever and ever. This is the eternal One. This wonderful One in Revelation is the Son of Man in chapter 1 and the Son of God in chapter 2. He includes the seven Spirits and the Father, and He is the eternal One, the Almighty, the Alpha, the Omega, the First, the Last, the Beginning, and the End. He is all-inclusive.

OUR EXPERIENCE AND HIS PRESENT REVELATION

We all need to enter into the depths of the book of Revelation so that we might realize that whatever we experience, enjoy, and realize of our Lord Jesus Christ is also our experience, enjoyment, and realization of the Triune God. He is revealed to such a great extent, and we must experience and enjoy Him to such an extent. Our enjoyment then becomes His testimony, and this living testimony is the present revelation of Jesus Christ. First, He is revealed, then we enjoy Him and become His testimony, and eventually our testimony becomes His present revelation. He is now revealed in our experience of Him as a testimony to Him. He is revealed as the all-inclusive, excellent, marvelous, mysterious, and wonderful One. We need to experience and enjoy such a Christ in so many details in order that our experience can become not only His testimony but also His present revelation.