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Additional Quotes about the Local Church by Witness Lee and Watchman Nee
The following passage from Witness Lee’s Life-Study of
Revelation focuses on the Lord’s speaking to the church in Smyrna:
The Lord said that those who call themselves Jews and
are not are “a synagogue of Satan.” This term, “a synagogue of Satan,” is a
terrible term. A synagogue was a place where the Jews worshipped God mainly by
studying their Scriptures, the Old Testament. However, due to their
stubbornness in clinging to their traditional, religious concepts, they became
one with Satan in opposing God’s way of life to fulfill His purpose. The
synagogue was under the manipulating, maneuvering hand of Satan, for he was
the power at the back of the synagogues at that time. The synagogues
persecuted the Lord Jesus (Matt. 12:9-14; Luke 4:28-29; John 9:22), the
Apostles (Acts 6:9; 13:43, 45-46, 50; 14:1-2, 19; 17:1, 5-6), and the churches
(Rev. 3:9). Therefore, the Lord called them the “synagogue of Satan.” Even
when He was on earth, He considered the synagogues to be of Satan, as implied
in Matthew 12:25-29 and John 8:44. Apparently they were worshipping God;
actually they were opposing God. They persecuted and killed God’s true
worshippers, yet they considered themselves to be offering service to God
(John 16:2). When the Lord was on earth, the Jews could not deal with Him
directly because at that time they did not have the right to kill the Lord
Jesus by stoning Him. Instead, they utilized the Roman government to sentence
Him to death and to crucify Him. In the same principle, the Jewish synagogues
stirred up the Roman government to persecute the suffering church. Through all
the centuries since then, religious people have followed in their steps,
persecuting the genuine seekers and followers of the Lord in spirit and life
while still considering themselves to be defending the interest of God.
Religion always utilizes politics to damage the church. Religion has no power
to cause physical damage to the Lord’s lovers, but it does use politics and
the government to damage the church….
In verse 10 the Lord says, “Do not fear what you are
about to suffer. Behold, the Devil is about to cast some of you into prison
that you may be tried.” Verse 9 mentions Satan and verse 10 mentions the
Devil. Satan in Greek means adversary. He is not only the enemy of God from
without, but also His adversary from within. The Greek word diabolos,
translated Devil, means accuser, slanderer (12:9-10). The Devil, who is Satan,
the adversary of God, accuses us before God and slanders us before men. The
persecution suffered by the church began from the religious synagogue of the
Jews instigated by Satan, the adversary. It was consummated by the Roman
government used by the Devil, the slanderer, to put the saints into prison.
The imprisonment of the suffering church was a cooperation of devilish
politics with satanic religion.
In verse 10 the Lord also said that they would have
tribulation ten days. Ten is a number for fullness, such as the ten
commandments, which express God’s demand in full, and the tithes of the
offerings, which show that ten parts constitute the full offering. Ten days in
the Bible signify a period of time which is full, yet short (Gen. 24:55; Jer.
42:7; Dan. 1:12-13). Hence, it signifies that the tribulation of the suffering
church was full, yet short. However long the persecution may seem to us, in
the eyes of God it is short. It is not a thousand days or even a hundred days
but just ten days. Praise the Lord! This suffering is only a temporary
suffering.
As a sign, these ten days indicate prophetically the
ten periods of persecution which the church suffered under the Roman emperors,
beginning with Caesar Nero in the second half of the first century and ending
with Constantine the Great in the first part of the fourth century. However
severe the persecutions instigated by the Devil, Satan, through the Roman
Caesars, who did their utmost to destroy and eliminate the church, they were
unable to subdue and terminate her. History demonstrates that the church of
the living Christ “Who became dead and lived again” withstood the persecutions
victoriously and multiplied flourishingly by the indestructible resurrection
life.
In verse 10 the Lord also said, “Be faithful unto
death, and I will give you the crown of life.” In this epistle we see some
indications that resurrection life is in the church. When the Lord revealed
His qualifications in verse 6, saying that He became dead and lived again, He
was indicating that His resurrection life is in the church. The Lord seemed to
be saying, “I, the One who is the Resurrection, am living in you. Because you
have resurrection life in you, there is no reason or excuse for you to fail.
You need not be defeated by persecution. Rather, you must suffer this
persecution victoriously by My resurrection life.” Because of this
resurrection life, the church is able to suffer tribulation even unto death.
The church is always qualified to be a marvelous, victorious, and glorious
martyr. We all are qualified to be victorious martyrs because we have
resurrection life within us.
Even the Lord’s word in this epistle to the suffering
church is the speaking of the Spirit to all the churches. This indicates that
all the churches may experience the same suffering. Actually, in all the
churches there have been some saints who have undergone the same kind of
persecution. They all have had to listen to the speaking of the Spirit to this
suffering church. Through the Spirit’s speaking again and again, the word of
the Lord in this epistle has been for all the saints who have suffered
persecution for the Lord’s sake throughout the generations.
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