Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (4)
Message Eight
The Man-child, the War in Heaven, and the Overcoming Saints
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture reading:
Rev. 12:11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.
I. “She brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne”—Rev. 12:5: (Monday)
A. Brought forth here signifies resurrection, as in Acts 13:33-34; the man-child is composed of the overcoming saints who have died and been resurrected—Acts 13:33-34; Rev. 12:11.
B. The rapture of the man-child differs from that of the majority of the believers, which is mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:17; here, the man-child is raptured to the throne of God, and before the one thousand two hundred and sixty days, which is the time of the great tribulation of three and a half years, beginning from the sixth seal, before the fifth trumpet—1 Thes. 4:17; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thes. 4:16; Rev. 11:15; 9:1.
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II. “There was war in heaven”; immediately after the man-child is raptured to heaven, Michael and his angels begin to war against Satan—12:7a: (Tuesday, Wednesday)
A. This indicates that the man-child, the stronger part of God’s people, is always engaged in fighting God’s enemy, Satan; heaven is waiting for them to arrive that a war may be waged to cast Satan out of heaven—vv. 7-9.
B. Satan, the enemy of God, was judged by the Lord Jesus on the cross; after that, the overcoming believers are needed for the carrying out of that judgment, for the executing of that sentence; the war waged by the overcoming believers against Satan is actually the executing of the Lord’s judgment upon him—John 12:31; 16:11; Rev. 12:7-9.
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III. “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death”—vv. 10-11: (Thursday)
A. They overcame him because 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 precious blood—1 John 1:7, 9; Matt. 26:28; cf. Heb. 10:29; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Acts 20:28.
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B. They overcame him because of the word of their testimony; the overcomers must frequently proclaim the victory of Christ, testifying that the devil has been judged by the Lord—1 John 3:8; Heb. 2:14; cf. 2 Chron. 20:20-22. (Friday)
C. We must proclaim to Satan and his demons that Jesus is Lord, that the Lord is victorious, and that Satan has been crushed under His feet—Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Cor. 12:3b; Gen. 3:15; John 14:30b; Rom. 16:20.
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D. They loved not their soul-life even unto death; due to Adam’s fall, Satan joined himself to man’s soul-life—man’s self; to overcome him we must not love our soul-life; rather, we must hate it and deny it—Matt. 16:23-24; Luke 14:26; 9:23. (Saturday)
E. We must be self-sacrificing persons, a drink offering, allowing Christ as the heavenly wine to fill us and cause us to become wine to God; the drink offering typifies not only Christ Himself, but also Christ who saturates us with Himself as the heavenly wine until He and we become one to be poured out for God’s enjoyment and satisfaction and for God’s building—Phil. 2:17; 2 Tim. 4:6; Judg. 9:13; Exo. 29:40-41; Matt. 9:17.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
And she brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne—Rev. 12:5.
And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death—vv. 10-11.
Word of Appetizer
What is the man-child? Why does the war begin immediately after the man-child is caught up to the throne? Why does the man-child not actually fight, but Michael and his angels fight with Satan?
The man-child is composed of the overcoming saints who have died and have been resurrected. This is proved by the words “they loved not their soul-life even unto death” in Revelation 12:11. The man-child in Revelation 12 symbolizes the stronger part of God’s people.
The man-child is the executor. An executor does not need to lift a hand but only needs to give an order. When we, the executors, give the order, the angels who serve us will fight for us. The overcoming believers’ fighting against Satan is actually the execution of the Lord’s judgment upon Satan.
Spiritual Burden
Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him [the Devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
She brought forth a son, a man-child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
There was war in heaven.
Now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him [the Devil] because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death.
The Experience of Life
Satan may accuse us, but we can reply that the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin; if any apparent condemnation does not cease after we have confessed our sins and applied the blood, it must not be the enlightening of God but the accusation of Satan.
Because of Adam’s fall, Satan has been joined to man’s soul-life, that is, man’s self; to overcome Satan, we should not love our soul-life but should hate and deny it; we should have the attitude of never living by our self; we should not regard our own ability and should not trust in ourselves at all.
Practice and Application
We must constantly apply the Lord’s blood, telling the Devil that although we are not perfect, we are under the precious blood.
The overcomers must frequently declare the victory of Christ, testifying that the Devil has been judged by the Lord; we must declare to Satan and his demons that Jesus is Lord, that the Lord is victorious, and that Satan has been trampled under His feet.
We must be those who have consecrated ourselves, a drink offering, allowing Christ as the heavenly wine to fill us and make us a wine offering to God.
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?)
