(First meeting of the 2024 year-end conference)
The judgment begins now
Revelation 1:1 speaks of the things which must shortly take place. Are we simply passively waiting for them to occur, or are we preparing? Revelation 19:7 says that the Lamb’s wife has made herself ready. If there is an exam coming up, no student will be sitting around simply waiting. Today, everyone is so happy about the upcoming wedding feast, but nobody is preparing. Yet how we live—the righteous acts of the saints—is the decisive factor. Paul wrote that we should pursue holiness. 2 Corinthians 7:1 goes a step further and says that we are perfecting holiness in the fear of God, because there is a judgment seat of Christ. “Knowing the terror of the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:11): We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and will have to give an account of how we lived. Today, we strive to live in a manner that is well pleasing to God. For us, the judgment begins now (1 Pet. 4:17). If we are judged by Him today, we will be happy to see the Judge in that day. But if we wait until that day and do not repent today, it will be too late and we will have to repay.
The Lord is not going to surprise us by appearing suddenly without warning. We need time to prepare. God told Noah well in advance so that Noah could get ready by building the ark. Again, seven days before the first raindrop fell, He told Noah to gather all the animals into the ark—otherwise Noah would not have managed before the rain came. And then the door was shut. This phrase reminds us of the virgins in Matthew 25. Those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding—and then the door was shut (Matt. 25:10). Today, the Lord is telling us well in advance that we should prepare. Revelation 1:1 says that these things must shortly take place. Whether you care or not, they will certainly come to pass.
If the Lord had told his disciples that He would not return for another 2,000 years, they might not have even written anything concerning His second coming. When they asked Him when He would return, He answered: I do not know—only the Father knows. If He had told them otherwise, they would have gone back to their fishing and even bought a bigger fishing boat! But today, His coming is at hand.
The word of God and the testimony of Christ
John bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ. Many Christians only know the word of God, yet they have no testimony. Yet God was manifested—not in the knowledge, doctrine, or teaching, but in the flesh. Jesus lived on this earth expressing the glory of God. Do we have the testimony of Jesus? If we only have the word of God and not the testimony of Christ, it is comparable to seeing with just one eye, or walking with just one leg. We will certainly soon fall! Our Christian walk will not be steadfast, and we will have our own testimony, which is not good enough. John bore witness to these two inseparable things.
Reading, hearing, and keeping the word
Revelation 1:3 says, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy.” But the verse does not stop there: “and keep those things which are written in it, for the time is near.” All three items are important. If we read so many books yet do not read the Book of books, we will miss everything. We will be misled by many people and will believe everything people say, such as the claim that we share a common ancestor with the apes. But through God’s word, we will have the discernment to know what is true, because His word is living and powerful and sharp. Peter did not have the faith that the Lord could speak just one word and it would come to pass. That is why he was surprised when the fig tree withered immediately after the Lord cursed it (Matt. 21:19). The Lord knew that Peter lacked this faith; thus He told Peter, “Have the faith of God, …” It is not just about having faith in God, but the faith of God. This equally precious faith has been given to us by God (2 Pet. 1:1).
If we meditate on the word and chew on it, we will also have the strength to keep it. Revelation 1:3 says not only to read but also to hear the word. How shall they hear without a preacher (Rom. 10:14)? What we hear often leaves a deeper impression than what we read. This is because we are created in a very special way. We have a built-in tape recorder, as we notice when a melody get stuck in our head. And what we hear will also eventually come out of us. That is why we often speak a lot of nonsense if we fill ourselves with junk (cf. Matt. 15:11).
Keeping the best love for the Lord
Daniel is very similar to the apostle John. Both men were called the beloved. John was the beloved apostle, and Daniel was also the beloved of the Lord (Dan. 10:11,19). That is why they were shown the prophesies (Dan. 9:24). There is something that surpasses knowledge, and it is the love of Christ (Eph. 3:19). Do not treasure knowledge so much. Love is the most important aspect of our relationship with God. “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word” (John 14:23).
This love for God is the same love we share for the brothers and sisters. We refer to one another as saints, but the apostles called the saints “beloved.” This shows that they truly loved the saints. Paul juxtaposed knowledge and love: one puffs up, the other builds up (1 Cor. 8:1). Love is the greatest commandment of all (Matt. 22:36-40). The church in Ephesus had many good things. They had knowledge and works, and yet they left their first and best love (Rev. 2:1-4).
The final question Christ asked Peter was neither “How much do you know Me?” nor “How much of what I spoke do you remember?”, but “Do you love Me?” He even asked him three times. How many times do we confess from our heart, “Lord, I love You”? “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). If we have such a love for one another in the church, there will be no more problems!
The 70 weeks
In Daniel 9, the Lord gave us a wonderful mystery concerning 70 weeks. These 70 weeks are separated out into 7 + 62 + 1 and are set by God in order to fulfill His plan concerning Israel. The first seven weeks showed that it it would take 49 years (since each week corresponds to seven years) to rebuild the city of Jerusalem at the time of Nehemiah. And so it happened: The first part the wall was rebuilt during troublesome times. Then, after the city had been rebuilt, there were 62 weeks (equaling 434 years) until Messiah was cut off—not for Himself, but for our sake. He was crucified in order to accomplish redemption. Daniel 9:24 says that this would mark an end of sin and bring in righteousness. After Messiah was cut off, “the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” (v.26). This refers to Titus, the prince from Rome, who indeed came and destroyed, fulfilling the prophesy in Luke 21:24. Not just the temple but also Jerusalem was destroyed. Even the entire nation of Israel was erased from the map for nearly 1,900 years! Jerusalem was trodden underfoot until the times of the nations were fulfilled (Luke 21:24). It was not until 1948 that the nation of Israel was restored. This was truly a miracle. No other nation can reappear 2,000 years after ceasing to exist!
The final week referred to in Daniel 9:27 has not yet taken place. The reason is that the new covenant was implemented between the 69th and 70th week. The Lord said, “I will make a new covenant with My people” (Jer. 31:31)—because the old covenant did not work. The 69th to the 70th weeks have spanned this age of the new covenant. This new covenant age is now coming to an end. It started with the times of the nations, with Babylon (the golden head in the image which Daniel saw in Daniel 2). It will end with the feet of the image, which represent democracy since they comprise iron mixed with clay.
The significance of the number 7 in the Bible
The 70 weeks consisting of 7 years each show that God’s timing is very precise. His work is always related to the number 7 (many times as the result of 6 + 1). He created the world in six days, and man at the very end, on the sixth day. That is why six is the number of man. On the seventh day, He rested. In Revelation 2-3, although there were certainly many more churches at the time, He separated out just seven churches. Seven seals are described in Revelation. The first six seals are detailed in Revelation 6, and the seventh seal initiates the seven trumpets (Rev. 8:1-6). Again, the seventh trumpet leads into the seven bowls (Rev. 11:15-19; 15:5-8). The Sabbath year occurs after every six years, and the Year of Jubilee after seven Sabbath years (Lev. 25). The millennial kingdom lasts 1,000 years because it is the culmination of 6,000 years. Thus God’s glorious plan with mankind is fulfilled in 7,000 years: 2,000 years from Adam until Abraham; 2,000 years from Abraham to Christ’s first coming; 2,000 years from His crucifixion until today, plus the 1,000 years of the upcoming millennial kingdom.