Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank
Thee that we can gather again in the
name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus
Christ.
We do desire to give Him all the
glory and the power and the dominion and
the love and adoration of our hearts.
Our Heavenly Father, we do desire that Christ
may be exalted in our midst, may be
glorified among His own people, even tonight.
How we praise and thank Thee, O Lord,
that Thou dost love Thy church and give
Thyself for it.
How we praise and thank Thee for Thy
cares and Thy concern.
Thou dost say, I will build my church
upon this rock and the gates of Hades
shall not prevail against it.
O Lord, how we praise and we worship
Thee.
We do pray that tonight as we gather
in Thy presence, that once again Thou will
open Thy word to us and open our
hearts to Thy word, that it may not
be just something to be heard and to
be told, but it may be something brought
into our very being, our very life.
O Lord, we do desire to see Thy
reflection in Thy church, in the life of
Thy people together.
We commit this time into Thy hands.
Thou dost know that without Thee we can
do nothing, but with Thee all things are
possible.
We ask in Thy precious name.
The book of Revelation is a picture book.
I do not know if we ever reach
a time when we do not enjoy picture
books.
So far as myself is concerned, I always
like to read picture books.
And the book of Revelation is a book
of pictures.
We have seen in the past few evenings
beautiful pictures, one after another.
And God willing, tonight we will like to
see some more.
Will you please turn together to Revelation chapter
14.
This is a very rich chapter, full of
pictures, but for tonight we will limit ourselves
just to two pictures.
Revelation chapter 14 verse 1.
And I saw and behold the Lamb standing
on the Mount Zion, and with him a
hundred and forty and four thousand, having his
name and the name of his Father written
on their foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, as
the voice of many waters, and as the
voice of a great thunder.
And the voice which I heard was as
the voice of the harpers, harping with their
harps.
And they sing as it were a new
song before the throne, and before the four
living creatures and the elders.
And no man could learn the song, save
the hundred and forty and four thousand, even
they that have been purchased out of the
earth.
These are they that were not defiled with
women, for they are virgins.
These are they that follow the Lamb with
us wherever he goeth.
These were purchased from among men to be
the first fruits unto God and unto the
Lamb.
And in their mouth was found no lie,
they are without blemish.
Verse 14.
And I saw and behold a white cloud,
and on the cloud I saw one sitting
like unto a son of man, having on
his head a golden crown, and in his
hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out from the temple,
crying with a great voice to him that
sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle
and reap, for the hour to reap is
come, for the harvest of the earth is
ripe.
And he that sat on the cloud cast
his sickle upon the earth, and the earth
was reaped.
We find in these two passages two beautiful
pictures.
The first picture is the Lamb on Mount
Zion, with 144,000 gathering around him.
All sealed upon their foreheads with the name
of the Father and the name of the
Lamb.
And they sing a new song.
Then from verse 14 we find another beautiful
picture.
We find one like the son of man
sitting on a white cloud, with a sharp
sickle in his hand.
And the voice came from heaven saying the
time is ripe.
And he throws down the sickle and reap
the harvest.
I suppose we will not mix up this
144,000 with that 144,000 in chapter
7 of the book of revelation.
We know that in the book of revelation
this number is mentioned in two places.
In chapter 7 we find 144,000 being
sealed.
And here you'll find another 144,000 having
the name of the Father and of the
Lamb on their foreheads.
Now these are not the same.
If we read carefully, you have to excuse
me again for my little interpretation.
Again I will say I hope that by
the end of this hour you will forget
all the interpretations and get into the reality
of it.
So do not quarrel with me over interpretation.
This is transient.
What is important is the reality.
If we can get to the reality, you
can interpret in any way you like afterwards.
So bear with me with a little interpretation.
As you read carefully chapter 7 and chapter
14 concerning these two groups of 144,000,
you'll find there are enough differences to convince
us that they are not one group but
two different groups.
For instance, the 144,000 sealed in Revelation
chapter 7, they are sealed out of the
twelve tribes of Israel.
In other words, they are the faithful remnant
of the nation of Israel.
Whereas here in chapter 14 you'll find those
that are sealed are gathered out of the
earth.
In other words, they are gathered out of
mankind in general.
Not Israel, but mankind in general.
Those that are sealed in Revelation chapter 7,
they are sealed with the seal of the
living God.
The Lamb is not mentioned.
But here you'll find on the forehead of
this 144,000, the name of the Father
and the name of the Lamb.
And immediately you'll notice the difference.
One is the seal of the living God,
the Creator.
The other, Father.
The first group of 144,000 that are
sealed, they are sealed on earth.
Because the four winds are being held back.
Before the winds began to blow and bring
destruction to the earth.
Now these 144,000 are being sealed.
That they may be protected from hurt and
harm.
But there you'll find in Revelation chapter 14,
those who are sealed are among Zion.
I think by now we ought to know
what Mount Zion represents.
Those that are sealed in chapter 7, they
are sealed before trouble begins.
That they may be kept through the trouble.
But in Revelation chapter 14, those that are
sealed have already gone through the trouble.
They are on the other end already.
Those that are sealed in Revelation chapter 7,
we find it is in between the 6th
and the 7th seal.
But here you'll find those sealed on Mount
Zion already.
So by comparing these two places, you will
find sufficient differences to show that they are
two entirely different groups.
Now let us turn our attention to this
second group of 144,000.
In the first place, they are among Zion.
Of course we know Mount Zion here does
not mean Mount Zion literally.
That is in Jerusalem.
Because you can find those who are among
Zion when they begin to sing the voice
comes out of heaven.
In other words, this is the heavenly Mount
Zion, as our brother has been telling us
these mornings.
Mount Zion, heaven itself, the seat of authority,
the fullness of Christ.
Now dear brothers and sisters, you'll find these
144,000 have entered into the fullness.
Is it not this that God has in
mind for His own church?
In Ephesians chapter 1 it says, the church
which is the body of Christ, the fullness
of Him who fills all and in all.
It is the will of God that His
church should be filled with the fullness of
Christ.
The church is the fullness of Christ because
it has experienced Christ in all His fullness.
That's Mount Zion.
But here you'll find the 144,000 have
already arrived on Mount Zion.
They are there.
They are there in the fullness, number two.
And they have upon their head their foreheads
the name of the Father and the name
of the Lamb.
If you put a name upon your forehead,
everybody will notice it.
That is the most prominent place.
Of course we know it may carry different
meanings, but I think at least there is
one meaning here.
That is, these 144,000 with the name
of the Father and the name of the
Lamb upon their foreheads, it means one thing.
Because they have confessed the Lord while on
earth, in spite of all troubles and difficulties.
Therefore they are perfectly acknowledged by the Father
and by our Lord Jesus.
There you'll find they are being recognized by
the Father.
If you confess me before men, the Lord
said, my Father will confess you before the
holy angels.
And here you'll find these 144,000 there
they are being publicly endorsed, publicly claimed.
God said, look at these people, they are
mine.
I acknowledge them as mine.
God is not ashamed of them, but God
publicly recognized these people.
You know the prayer of Paul is that
I may not be ashamed, that the Lord
will not be ashamed of me.
That is the one passion in his heart.
Here you'll find the Lord is not ashamed
to acknowledge these people as his, as belong
to him.
Number three, they are there playing with harps
and singing a new song.
None understand, none can learn these songs, except
these 144,000.
You know a harp is a heart instrument.
When you play upon the heart, harp, it
is as if you are striking the chord
of your heart in playing a trumpet, in
playing other instrument.
You may just play it, but in playing
a harp, your heart must be involved.
In other words, it is a heart instrument.
The music that comes out of the harp
is the music of your heart.
And as they are playing on the harp,
they are singing a new song.
And the peculiar nature of this new song
is none can learn it, except these 144
,000.
Why?
If we are musical, we think we can
learn any composition, even though some composition may
be very difficult.
But if we have a musical ear, we
have music talent, certainly we can learn it.
But here you'll find a song that none
can learn, but those who have gone through
it.
Actually this is the real meaning of a
song.
It must come from the heart.
It must be the project of our heart
experience.
These 144,000 are not shallow believers.
They have gone through a lot.
And as they go through with the Lord
Jesus, they come out with a new song.
And this is how the heavenly song is
always composed.
They sing it.
Number four, they have been purchased out of
the earth.
Out of every tribe and tongue and nation
and people, God had purchased them unto.
Number five, these are they that were not
defiled with women, for they are virgins.
I do not know how you would interpret
this.
Personally, I do not think you can take
this verse literally.
Because if you do, then celibacy really has
a virtue before God.
It doesn't seem to fit in with all
the other spiritual qualifications.
So personally, I would interpret it as a
spiritual significance.
As our brother mentioned in a morning, one
morning, you remember in 2 Corinthians chapter 11,
Paul said, I'm jealous with the jealousy of
God concerning you.
Because I have presented you as chaste virgins.
I have expounds you to Christ.
And I'm fearful lest anyone be deceived by
the serpent.
As the serpent has deceived Eve, that anyone
may be beguiled and be led away from
the simplicity which is in Christ.
Now we know that as we believe in
the Lord Jesus, we are all as virgins
espoused to Christ.
One day he will return.
And this is the day of that marriage.
But so far as now is concerned, all
believers are considered as virgins before God.
These 144,000 remain virgins.
They have not been defiled.
They have not been beguiled.
They have not been deceived from that simplicity
which is in Christ Jesus.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are living at
a time that is just full of deceptions.
Of all kinds.
And all these deceptions have only one purpose.
To lead us away from the simplicity.
We are getting more and more complicated.
We are getting more and more mysterious.
There is a lacking of that simplicity towards
Christ.
That singleness.
That life relationship with the Lord.
Not being led away by many thoughts and
imaginations.
As strongholds.
As our thought.
Is it true that God does not allow
you to eat any of the fruit of
thought?
How often we are being beguiled by many
thoughts, imaginations.
And these will lead us away from that
simplicity towards Christ.
We are easily defiled by many things.
But these 144,000, they are as virgins.
They have not been defiled.
They have been faithful to the Lord.
They do not listen to many voices.
They hold on to the simplicity that is
in Christ.
Then he says, these are they that follow
the Lamb with us wherever he goes.
I like this phrase very much.
They follow the Lamb with us wherever he
goes.
Do we follow the Lamb?
Do we follow the Lamb wherever he goes?
Do you know where he goes?
He goes the way of the cross.
This is where he goes.
And you'll find 144,000, they follow the
Lamb with us wherever he goes.
They do not follow the Lord and choose
their direction.
And choose their way.
This is not following the Lamb.
They follow the Lamb by letting the Lamb
lead the way.
And we find invariably it will be the
way of the cross.
It is a way that means the denying
of stuff.
The taking up of our cross daily and
following.
It means not only taking up the cross,
but being crucified, done away with.
You know it is very easy to say
this.
I will follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes.
And then you'll find he goes to unexpected
places.
And immediately we say, Lord, we do not
expect you will go there.
Or go that far.
But here you'll find 144,000, they are
completely committed to the Lamb.
No matter where the Lamb goes, there they
go.
They follow.
These are purchased from among men to be
the first fruits unto God and unto the
Lamb.
We'll leave that.
We'll come back to it.
And in their mouth was found no lie.
We know that Satan is a liar.
And he is the father of all lies.
The whole world lies under a big lie.
How he twists the truth.
How he deceives with lies.
And in contrast, you'll find 144,000 in
their mouth, there can be found no lie.
You may think that to have no lie
in your mouth is a small thing.
As you compare with the others, they follow
the Lamb wheresoever he goes.
Now that's something.
But no lie is found in their mouth.
What significance is that?
It seems to be a small thing.
But when you look into your own lies
of your heart, your mouth, the
opposite of lie is truth.
And truth is reality.
Out of their mouth there was found no
lie.
In other words, they are faithful and true
witnesses of God and of his Christ.
They speak what they have seen and heard
and experienced.
They speak the truth in love.
They do not try to say one thing
and mean another thing.
They do not try to remain pleasers.
They speak the truth in love.
In other words, they are real.
They are real.
Real even in their speech.
You know, it is very difficult to find
a real man on this earth.
The whole world is a lie.
The whole system is a lie.
And we are living in that system.
The older we grow, the cleverer we become.
And to put it in another way, we
know how to pretend.
We know how to cover up.
We know how to maneuver.
We know how to be diplomatic.
Say one thing and mean another thing.
Or say lots of words and mean nothing.
We become very clever.
And you know, in the whole world, in
society, this is what it is.
You cannot afford to be real.
If you become real, you are a fool.
It is very difficult to meet a real
person.
But you know, before God, this is a
very important thing.
Unless we are real, we cannot be spiritual.
And to be real in your mouth is
the consummation of realness.
So here you find a hundred and forty
-four thousand.
They are very real.
They do not live in falsehood, in pretension.
They are very real people.
And they become real and true witnesses.
And then it says, they are without blamish.
Who is without blamish?
Our Lord Jesus.
You remember in Hebrews chapter nine it says
that He offers Himself by the eternal Spirit
to God as a sacrifice without.
He is the one who has no blamish.
Nothing to be blamed.
Perfect.
A sacrifice perfect.
One morning, you heard our brother say, this
is perfect.
Wonderful.
But here you find a hundred and forty
-four thousand are proclaimed by God as without.
This is the will of God.
You read Ephesians chapter one verse four, and
you'll find, even as He chose us in
Him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blamish before
Him in love.
God has chosen us before the foundation of
the world.
That, in other words, this is the purpose.
That we should be holy and without blamish
before Him.
No blamish.
No spot.
No wrinkle.
Nor of any such thing.
But without blamish before God.
How can we be without blamish before God?
And you notice the little phrase, in, in,
in.
We will be presented before God as holy
and without blamish in love.
It is love that covers many things.
It is love that makes us holy and
without blamish.
Then you'll find in Ephesians chapter five, the
Lord Jesus also loved the church and gave
Himself up for it, that He might sanctify
it, having cleansed it by the washing of
water with the Word, that He might present
the church to Himself a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
but that it should be holy and without
blamish.
How can we be without blamish?
It all begins and ends with His love.
He loved the church and gave Himself for
it.
He washed us with the washing of the
water with the Word.
In other words, you'll find His life within
us is like the water that washes us
together with the Word of God.
We are being washed daily, daily, until we
are considered as holy and without blamish before
Him.
It is like a sacrifice.
Then it can be sacrificed.
Now having seen all these descriptions of the
hundred and forty-four thousand, now we wonder
who they are.
They are such a wonderful people, so privileged.
Now who they are?
Who are they?
I do not pretend to know who they
are.
I can only say this.
In Revelation chapter seven we find countless crowds
standing before the throne and before the Lamb.
We say this represents the overcomers of the
church throughout the twenty centuries.
Now you'll find coming to the very consummation
as if God has taken out all the
countless crowds, a special group, to be the,
of the overcomers.
In other words, I wonder if this represents
the elite of the overcomers.
You know even among the overcomers there are
degrees.
Some may rule ten cities and some five
cities.
This star, the glory of this star is
different from the glory of that star.
I wonder, I am just wondering, wondering aloud,
whether this hundred and forty-four thousand represent
the full spot of God concerning the overcomers
of the church.
A hundred and forty-four thousand.
Whether they mean the exact number, literally, or
they just give a round number to show
the multiples of twelve, I do not know.
I only know that the Lord seems to
pick out a round number of people and
show us that which answers fully to himself.
As you read these descriptions of the hundred
and forty-four thousand, you'll find that they
answer fully to Christ.
They stand with the Lamb, they are one
with the Lamb, they go wherever the Lamb
goes, they are joined to the Lamb as
one.
The Lamb character characterizes them.
And dear brothers and sisters, you know, this
is what the overcomer means.
The full spot of God concerning the overcomers.
Let's hurry on.
Here you'll find a description.
They are to be first fruits unto God
and unto the Lamb.
Who are these hundred and forty-four thousand?
The first fruits.
First fruits.
Does that give us some idea?
You remember in Exodus chapter twenty-three, verse
nineteen, it says, the first of the first
fruits of the Lamb shall be
presented to the house of Jehovah thy God.
If you turn to Leviticus chapter twenty-three,
you'll find the same thing.
God told Moses to tell the people that
after they have entered into the land and
they began to have harvest, they must bring
the first fruit, a seed of the first
fruit, to the house to the priest.
To be presented to God before they can
eat any of the produce.
That they may be accepted.
Oh, you know, if you read Deuteronomy chapter
twenty-six, you'll find when they present the
first fruit to God, it is a very
touching scene.
Probably it will help us to just read
it.
And thou shalt come unto the priest that
shalt be in those days, and say unto
him, I profess this day unto Jehovah my
God, that I am come unto the land
which Jehovah sware unto our fathers to give
us.
And the priest shalt take the basket out
of their hand, and set it down before
the altar of Jehovah thy God, and thou
shalt answer and say before Jehovah thy God,
Assyrian, ready to perish was my father.
And he went down into Egypt, and sojourned
there, few in number, and he became there
a nation, great, mighty, and populous.
And the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and
afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage,
and we cried unto Jehovah, the God of
our fathers, and Jehovah heard our voice, and
saw our affliction, our toll, and our oppression.
And Jehovah brought us forth out of Egypt
with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched
arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs
and wonders, and he hath brought us into
this place, and hath given us this land,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
And now behold, I have brought the first
of the fruit of the ground, which thou,
O Jehovah, hast given me, and thou shalt
set it down before Jehovah thy God, and
worship before Jehovah thy God, and thou shalt
rejoice in all the good which Jehovah thy
God has given unto thee, and unto thy
house, thou and the Levites, and the sojourners
that is in the midst of thee.
It is a very, very touching scene.
As the Israelites brought their first fruit to
God, they prayed, our Father was a
Syrian, sojourning Egypt, almost perished, but
God has brought us out of bondage, and
has brought us into this promised land, and
here is the produce.
We acknowledge that it is given to us
by God, and now we give it back,
and there they worship.
This is the meaning of the first fruit.
If we know anything about agriculture, you know
that when you cultivate a field, say a
field of wheat, usually you will find in
this field a patch of wheat being ripened
first.
Somehow this little portion seems to be able
to absorb more sunshine, more nutrition.
They are ripe before the rest of the
wheat.
They dried up first.
They are loosened from the earth first.
This is the first fruit of the field,
and usually the first fruits are the best.
But the Israelites do not eat the first
fruit.
When they gather up the first fruit, they
bring it to God, and offer it to
God, and say, Lord, this is yours.
That is the first fruit.
Dear brothers and sisters, here you will find
the overcomers of the church as the first
fruits in the church.
The church is like a field of wheat.
All children of God, born from above, there
is no difference in the life that each
has possessed.
The difference is only in the difference of
ripening.
And those that ripens first are the best.
Not a difference of kind, only a difference
of degree.
So here you will find the first fruit.
Who are the overcomers?
The overcomers, in one sense, are no different
from the rest of the children of God.
The life which they receive is the same
life that the others receive.
They share the same life.
They are in the same field.
But somehow, they dry up first.
They get yellow first.
They get teal up first.
Well, you may interpret it in different ways.
You may say the sun represents the sun
of righteousness, our Lord Jesus.
Somehow, they receive more grace.
Not that God is partial, but somehow, they
receive more grace.
They get yellow first.
Or you may say the sun represents the
tribulation of this world.
Just like this virgin in the song of
Solomon.
Do not look down upon me because I
am black.
The sun has scorched me.
Maybe through tribulations, I don't know.
But somehow, you will find some in the
church, whether they go through tribulation or whether
they enjoy, somehow, receive more of the grace
of Christ.
Anyway, you will find they are ready first.
They are ripened first.
They are loosened.
You know, when a wheat is ripe, the
root barely touches the soil.
You just lift it and you harvest it.
In other words, you will find that they
are in the world and yet, not all.
Just barely, and it's dried.
But they are ripened before God.
The first fruits are the best.
But do you think that the best is
to be enjoyed by yourself?
No.
The best is to be presented to God
in the temple.
It is for God.
Dear brothers and sisters, probably we have a
natural concept concerning overcomers.
Maybe our concept is, if I be an
overcomer, then there will be great enjoyment for
you.
Well, it is true.
The Lord said, come into the joy of
the Lord.
That's true.
But basically, to be an overcomer is not
to enjoy yourself.
To be an overcomer is to let God
enjoy you.
That's the meaning of an overcomer.
To go through all these tribulations.
To follow the Lamb in the way of
the cross.
To be strictly disciplined by the Spirit of
God.
Do you think that you endure these things
because one day you will have great enjoyment?
You will.
But this is not the motive behind it.
The motive behind an overcomer is that I
may be a sacrifice and an offering to
God.
No sacrifice can be offered if there is
any blemish.
But here you will find they are without
blemish.
For what purpose?
That they may stand up and say, look
how perfect I am.
That they may be offered on the altar.
Burned and consumed and disappeared.
Are you willing to be an overcomer?
There is not much for you.
But there is much for God.
This is the meaning of overcomers.
Do not have a mercenary and bargaining spirit
when you come to this matter of overcomers.
I know it because it is unique.
I know sometimes there is a bargaining spirit.
Just like Peter said, what will we have?
We have given up everything for you, now
what will we have?
The Lord said, yes, you will have a
hundredfold with persecution and life eternal in the
age to come.
That is a bargaining spirit.
That is not the right spirit of an
overcomer.
The right spirit of an overcomer is that
we may be for God, for His satisfaction
and for His enjoyment.
If we are consumed and disappeared, thank God
if He is satisfied.
Nothing is for Him.
You know, the first fruit guarantees the coming
of the harvest.
If you do not have the first fruit
you will never have a harvest.
That is for sure.
But when a farmer gathers the first fruit,
he knows for sure that the harvest, it
guarantees the harvest.
What is the function of the overcomers?
The function of the overcomers is that because
they are matured, they bring the church into
maturity.
Many years ago I was puzzled by Ephesians
chapter 4.
I do not know if you are puzzled
by it or not.
Here in Ephesians chapter 4 it says, Till
we all attain unto the unity of the
faith and of the knowledge of the Son
of God, unto a full grown man, unto
the measure of the statue of the fullness
of Christ, that we may be no longer
children tossed to and fro and carried about
with every wing of doctrine by the fleet
of men in craftiness after the vows of
error, but speaking the truth in love, may
grow up in all things unto Him who
is the head, even Christ, and so on.
In other words, I was puzzled for a
long time.
How can the church ever arrive at this
place?
How can the church of God ever come
to that unity of the faith and of
the knowledge of the Son of God?
Unto that full grown man, the fullness of
the statue of Christ, how can the church
ever come to that?
The more I look at the conditions of
the church around me, the more I look
into myself, the more I am disappointed.
I was reduced to despair.
I said, it can never.
As if the closer the return of the
Lord seems to be, the farther away the
church is from that maturity.
I don't understand.
I don't understand how this can ever be
fulfilled.
If the return of the bridegroom wastes the
maturity of the bride, she will never return.
The bride never matures.
An old baby.
I do not know if you have the
same problem.
Until one day, I thanked the Lord for
our brother Watchman.
He explained it to me.
I am satisfied.
I don't know if you would be satisfied,
but I am satisfied with that.
He began to explain to me, he said,
brother, this arriving at the fullness of Christ
is to be accomplished in the church.
When the overcomers of the church have reached
that maturity as a man child is born,
God considers the whole church is ready for
Him.
I don't know if you agree, but I
am satisfied.
The Lord seems to comfort me.
When you have the first fruit, then the
harvest is secure.
The work of the overcomers is not for
themselves.
The overcomers are for the whole church.
Do not think that we are overcomers.
Leave the church behind.
We are overcomers.
We are to enjoy.
Not so.
The very maturing of the overcomers is for
the maturity.
For dear
brothers and sisters, this is the first picture.
The first fruit.
And then you will find in the latter
part of this chapter, the harvest comes.
The harvest.
The apostle John saw another vision.
And he saw the Son of Man sitting
on a white cloud.
Not on Mount Zion, but on a white
cloud.
With a golden crown on His head.
He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords.
And in His hand, a sharp sickle.
But He waits.
Until another angel coming out from the temple
and saying, now the time is ready, throws
down the sickle and harvests the harvest.
The Lord Jesus said, no one knows the
time but the Father.
When the Father says the time is right,
the sickle is cast on the earth and
the harvest is harvested.
You remember in the book of Acts chapter
1, the Lord Jesus led His disciples to
the Mount of Ascension.
And after He had spoken to them, He
was taken up.
They were all looking at Him.
He was taken up.
And then a cloud.
But they were still looking.
And two men in white appeared and said,
men of Galilee, why are you looking this
way?
The one who has been taken up, he
shall return in like manner.
When the Lord was taken up, you find
it was in two parts.
The first part from the mount up to
the cloud, He could be seen, visible.
And then He was taken away by the
cloud up to heaven, unseen, invisible.
In like manner, He shall come back.
He shall come back first from the throne
to the cloud, invisible.
Then He shall come from the cloud to
the earth, seen by everyone.
The Lamb on Mount Zion is now the
Son of Man sitting on a white cloud,
waiting to harvest.
And you know what that harvest is?
In 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, the Lord shall
descend into the clouds.
And with an assembling voice, with the shout
of the archangels, with the trumpet, sound of
the trumpet, all who are dead in Christ
shall rise.
And all those who live and remain shall
be called into the air to meet the
Lord in the air.
And they shall be with the Lord forever.
Let this be used.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are looking forward
to the return of our Lord.
But in His return, you'll find He must
have His first fruit.
And He must have it harvested.
When the Israelites harvest it, they enjoy the
harvest themselves.
Whether you want to be the first fruit
for God's satisfaction and enjoyment, or whether you
want to be in the harvest for your
own satisfaction and enjoyment, it's up to you.
But here you'll find in this chapter, the
first fruits and the harvest, the overcomers and
the church.
They are one.
And they shall be the bride.
Our Heavenly Father, Thou art looking for the
first fruits to secure the harvest.
Oh, our hearts do go out to Thee
and cry that Thou mayst have the first
fruit.
We confess that our fathers, all as Syrians,
ready to perish, sojourned in Egypt, under bondage
and affliction.
But Thou has brought us out into the
promised land.
And we do desire to offer the first
fruits back to Thee.
We acknowledge that this belongs to Thee.
Thou shalt be satisfied.
Oh Lord, we ask Thee to fill our
hearts with this desire, that we may worship
Thee, bring the first fruits, and lay it
at Thy feet.
We ask in the precious name of our
Lord Jesus.