EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

B. The Resurrected Overcomers
throughout All Generations

The man-child consists of the resurrected overcomers. That the man-child “was about to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod” (v. 5) indicates that the man-child consists of the overcomers as mentioned in 2:26-27. These overcomers are those who have already died.

1. “Brought Forth”

Verse 5 says that the woman “brought forth” the man-child. “Brought forth” here signifies resurrection, as in Acts 13:33-34. The man-child is composed of the overcoming saints who have died and who have been resurrected. This is proved by the words unto death in verse 11. The Lord Jesus was brought forth in resurrection to be the Firstborn Son of God. To Him that was a birth. Acts 13:33 and 34, a quotation of Psalm 2:7, reveal that when He was resurrected, He was begotten as the Firstborn Son of God. Prior to that, He was the Only Begotten Son of God with divinity, but through His resurrection He was begotten as the Firstborn Son of God with both divinity and humanity. All the overcomers who die will be part of the man-child. By resurrection, the man-child will come into full existence. Abel, the apostles, and so many martyrs and deceased overcomers are waiting for the time of resurrection. The resurrection of all the dead overcoming saints will be the delivery of the man-child. Hence, the man-child is composed of all the overcoming saints who die before the time of this resurrection. If you are an overcomer today and live until the Lord comes back, you will not be a part of the man-child. Instead, you may be among the firstfruit mentioned in chapter fourteen. But if you are an overcomer and die before the Lord comes back, you will be resurrected to be part of the man-child. Therefore, the man-child does not represent the overcomers who live until the Lord comes back, but represents all the dead overcomers who will be resurrected immediately before the Lord comes back. This resurrection will be their delivery as the man-child.

2. Composed of the “Brothers”

The man-child brought forth in verse 5 is composed of the “brothers” in verse 10 who have been opposed and accused by Satan, the enemy of God. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by loving not their soul life even unto death (v. 11).

3. Unto Death

“Unto death” (v. 11) surely indicates martyrdom. A number of the brothers of whom the man-child is composed were martyred for the Lord’s testimony. This proves that the man-child brought forth by the woman will be the dead overcoming saints resurrected.

4. Overcoming the Devil, Satan

We have seen that war is raging between the dragon and the woman. The woman, however, does not fight the battle. The battle is fought by the man-child. Today, the war is between the dragon and the Lord’s recovery. But, the battle is being fought by the strong ones, by the man-child. The brothers who constitute the man-child fight Satan and eventually overcome him. They overcome Satan by three things: by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by loving not their soul life even unto death.

a. By the Blood of the Lamb

The blood of the Lamb, which is for our redemption, answers before God all the accusations of the Devil against us and gives us the victory over him. We need to apply this blood whenever we sense the accusation of the Devil. If you wage war against Satan, the accuser will constantly condemn you. Many of us can testify that when we were indifferent, there were no accusations. But when we woke up and began to war against Satan, then the accusations came. Satan said, “Look at yourself—you are not very good. You are not right with your wife or with your brothers.” Some of these accusations are accurate, but others are falsehoods fabricated by the accuser. Day after day we need the blood, not only to cleanse us but also to cover us. We not only have the redeeming blood, but also the prevailing, overcoming blood. If you have done wrong, you need to clear it, but do not take the accusations of the enemy. Whenever you wake up and take your standing against the dragon as a stronger part of the woman, the dragon will immediately accuse you in your conscience. Do not listen to those accusations. Rather, you must say, “Lord, cover my conscience, thoughts, and realizations with Your prevailing blood. Your blood defeats the enemy.” You need to make your conscience strong under the covering blood. The brothers overcame the accuser by the blood of the Lamb.

According to our experience, when we turned to the Lord for His purpose, the accusations came immediately. But we did not know that those accusations came from the enemy. We thought that it was the working of our conscience being enlightened. Satan, the serpent, is the subtle one. He always does things in a subtle manner, pretending to be something that he is not. Satan often pretends to be us. When we were indifferent toward God’s purpose, we had no trouble with this. But once we had turned to the Lord for His purpose, it seemed that our conscience was continually working to tell us of the things in which we were wrong. That was not you—it was Satan. How can we prove that it was Satan? If your conscience is truly working under the light of God, then once you confess and apply the blood, that condemnation will cease and you will have genuine peace. If this is your experience, then the condemnation is from your enlightened conscience working within you. But many of us can testify that after we confessed and applied the blood, the so-called condemnation lingered on. This is not the condemnation of our conscience, but the accusation of the Devil. Condemnation comes from God, but accusation comes from the accuser. Any apparent condemnation that does not stop after we have confessed and applied the blood must be of the Devil. Once we realize this, we should tell Satan, “Stop! I will not confess anymore. This is not me; it is you. Devil, this is not God’s enlightenment—it is your accusation. I am not perfect, but you must realize that I am under the blood of the Lamb, and the blood is my perfection. Don’t you realize that I am under the blood? I am one of the brothers who overcome you, not because of my perfections, but by the blood of my Redeemer.”

None of us knows how much the blood implies. Only God knows this. The Devil also knows more of what the blood implies than we do. In the early years of our ministry we had experience in casting out demons. During that time, we did a great deal of gospel preaching in China and often we had to conquer cases of demon possession. Many times as we were praying to cast out the demon, sharp accusations came against us. The demon said, “Will you pray to cast me out? Don’t you remember that last night you lost your temper with your wife? Now you want to cast me out?” Immediately, our praying conscience was weakened and our praying mouth was shut. Instead of praying, we declared, “Yes, last night I lost my temper with my wife. But, demon, don’t you know that now I am under the blood?” When you mention the blood, the demons will be defeated. The demons know more about the power of the blood than we do. A number of times, demon-possessed females took scissors and, as we were praying, threatened to cut us with them. Then we declared, “We are under the blood. Demons, you must realize that your king and leader, Satan, the Devil, has been crucified and that you and he have been judged.” Whenever you say this, the demon-possessed person will relax. Through experience we have come to see the power and authority of the blood of the Lamb. We must always apply the blood, telling the Devil that although we are not perfect, we are under the perfect blood. It is not your perfection that silences the demons—it is the blood. None of us has a complete perfection. Rather, our perfection is punctured. Do not trust in your perfection and do not fight the battle by your perfection. Even now as I am ministering, I do not minister by my perfection. I have come here to minister by the blood. Hallelujah, the blood is here! We all must see the blood and declare that we are under its covering. This blood is the prevailing blood, and it speaks and implies a great deal. Only God and, to some extent, the Devil know how much the blood implies. But whether or not we know all that the blood implies, as long as we apply it, we shall have all it implies.