Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Six
Christ, the Eternal King, Coming to Possess the Earth and the Finishing of the Mystery of God
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 11:15 And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
I. Revelation 11:15-18 and 12:10 indicate that we may experience and enjoy Christ as the eternal King: (Monday)
A. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever”; here the Lord’s reigning forever and ever is the Lord’s reigning in the millennial kingdom and in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—11:15b; 22:5.
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B. In the New Jerusalem, God will be fully unveiled in His person as the eternal King and in His government as His eternal, unshakable kingdom; both of which are the unshakable foundation of His dealing with His people—Lam. 5:19; Heb. 12:28; Rev. 22:3. (Tuesday)
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II. In Revelation 10:1-7 we have a clear vision of Christ coming to take possession of the earth: (Wednesday)
A. In this chapter Christ is “another strong Angel” (v. 1), like the One in 7:2; 8:3; and 18:1—10:1.
B. Christ is “clothed with a cloud”; to be “on the cloud” is to come openly, whereas to be “clothed with a cloud” is to come secretly; even at the time of Revelation 10, Christ’s coming is still secret—v. 1b.
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C. “His face was like the sun”; near the time of His coming to the people on the earth openly, Christ will be like the sun, not like the morning star, which appears before the darkest time, prior to dawn, to those who love Him and wait for Him—v. 1d. (Thursday)
D. “He placed His right foot on the sea and the left on the land”; Christ’s placing His feet on the sea and on the land is His treading on them, and to tread on them is to take possession of them; this indicates that Christ is coming down to take possession of the earth; only He is worthy to open the scroll of God’s economy, and only He is qualified to possess the earth—v. 2b; Deut. 11:24; Josh. 1:3; Psa. 8:6-8.
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III. “The mystery of God is finished”—Rev. 10:7b: (Friday)
A. In the dispensation from Christ to the millennial kingdom—the church age, the age of grace—everything is a mystery; the incarnation of Christ, as the beginning of the dispensation of mystery, is a mystery; through the incarnation of Christ, the infinite God was brought into a finite man; the entire God, not God the Son only, was incarnated; hence, Christ in incarnation is the entire God manifested in the flesh—1 Tim. 3:16.
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B. Christ is the mystery of God; as the mystery of God, Christ is the embodiment, definition, and explanation of God; in Christ dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; that is, the fullness of the Triune God dwells in Christ in a bodily form—Col. 2:2, 9. (Saturday)
C. The church is the mystery of Christ; this mystery is God’s economy, which is to dispense Christ, as the embodiment of God, into God’s chosen people in order to produce a Body to be the increase of God’s embodiment in Christ, that God may have a corporate expression—Eph. 3:4-6.
D. At the trumpeting of the seventh trumpet, all these mysteries will be completed; therefore, the mystery of God will be finished—Rev. 10:7; 1 Cor. 15:51-52.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever—Rev. 11:15.
But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel when he is about to trumpet, then the mystery of God is finished, as He has announced the good news to His own slaves the prophets—Rev. 10:7.
Word of Appetizer
When will Christ, the eternal King, come to possess the earth and complete the mystery of God?
In Revelation 10:1-7, we can clearly see that Christ is coming to possess the earth.
Revelation 11:15…indicates that after God has judged the earth, the earth will be taken over by God and returned to God, so that Christ will reign in His kingdom on this earth forever and ever…. The Lord will reign in the millennium and in the new heaven and new earth forever and ever.
From [Revelation 10:7] we see that the mystery of God is completed at the time of the voice of the seventh trumpet…. When the seventh angel sounds his trumpet, the mystery of God will be finished.
Spiritual Burden
The age from Christ to the millennium—the age of the church, the age of grace—is altogether a mystery; when the seventh trumpet sounds, all these mysteries will be brought to completion; thus, the mystery of God is finished.
Christ is a mystery; the church as the Body of Christ expressing Christ is the mystery of Christ. This mystery is God’s economy, which is to dispense Christ, the embodiment of God, into God’s chosen people to produce a Body as the increase of the embodiment of God in Christ for God to have a corporate expression.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Revelation 11:15-18 and 12:10 indicate that we can experience and enjoy Christ as the eternal King.
In Revelation 10:1-7, we can clearly see that Christ is coming to possess the earth.
“The mystery of God is finished.”
The Experience of Life
Lam. 3:22-23 It is of Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, for His compassions do not fail; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.
To reign forever and ever is the ultimate blessing of God’s redeemed people in eternity. This reigning is what we enjoy now through the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness.
In the New Jerusalem, God will be fully revealed in His person and in His administration, which are the unshakable foundations of God’s dealing with us. At that time, we will see God Himself, the eternal King, and His eternal, unshakable kingdom.
Practice and Application
We need to remember that we are members of the royal family, kings in a royal family; even when we eat in a restaurant, we should remember that we are kings eating there. We are kings with a heavenly birth. Therefore, we should never sell our royal status. If we view ourselves as kings, we will not act rashly, speak casually, or behave despicably. We can even preach the gospel with this perspective. We can tell people that we are kings. Then we can begin to preach the gospel, saying, “The Bible tells me that since I am a child of God, I am a king.” There are many ways to preach the gospel, and we need this kind of vital gospel preaching.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 Living the life of Christ is calm, tranquil, peaceful, and quiet (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that the first aspect of the expression of living the life of Christ is forbearance.)
T2 Living Christ means forbearance but without anxiety (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that forbearance is the totality of a proper Christian life.)
Day 2
T1 The Greek word for forbearance means not only being content with less than what we are due but also having sweet reasonableness (Phil. 4:5-6).
(Please illustrate that forbearance is all-inclusive because it contains all Christian virtues.)
T2 Forbearance is the Christ we actually experience (Phil. 1:21, 4:5).
(Please illustrate that all our failures and frustrations in the Christian life are due to our lack of forbearance.)
Day 3
T1 A forbearing person is one who always fits in, whose behavior is always suitable (Phil. 1:19-20).
(Please illustrate that forbearance also includes peace, meekness, and tenderness.)
T2 The human life of the Lord Jesus was full of forbearance (Phil. 1:19-20).
(Please illustrate that using the example of how the Lord Jesus spoke to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus illustrates that the Lord’s life is the best explanation of forbearance.)
Day 4
T1 Prayer is general, having worship and fellowship as its essence; petition is special, being for particular needs. (Phil. 4:6-7).
(Please illustrate that when we pray and make petitions, both should be accompanied by thanks to the Lord.)
T2 Believing that our environment is appointed by God (Phil. 4:6-7).
(Please illustrate that if we want to live a life free of anxiety, we must realize that all our experiences, whether good or bad, are appointed by God.)
Day 5
T1 Six aspects that regulate the life of living Christ (Phil. 4:8-9).
(Please illustrate that out of many Christian virtues, what six did Paul select as the regulating aspects?)
T2 All human virtues are created by God (Phil. 4:8-9).
(Please illustrate that our human virtues are created vessels to contain divine virtues, just as a glove is made in the image of a hand to contain a hand.)
Day 6
T1 When we teach people how to do things, we mainly teach them the secret (Phil. 4:11-13).
(Please illustrate that Paul not only learned the secret; he had been initiated and learned certain basic principles.)
T2 The basic principles of church life are entirely different from the basic principles of the world (Phil. 4:11-13).
(Please illustrate that what are the basic principles of the church—the Body of Christ?)
