Life of Separation — Stephen Kaung

John's Vision in Revelation 1

This is the last book of the New Testament, the book of Revelation, chapter 1. Write this 9 to the end of the chapter. This is a very precious work of the Lord. Read it slowly. And after this, we will hand the meeting to Brother Stephen Tong.

The book of Revelation, chapter 1, verse 9. I, John, wrote your brother a compliment in tribulations in the kingdom and places of Jesus Christ, on the island that is called Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I, John, wrote your brother a compliment in tribulations in the kingdom and places of Jesus Christ, on the island that is called Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit, and the Lord said, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a thumper, saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last.

And what you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, in Tushit, Manna, Takoma, Teotihuacan, Tzadik, Teotihuacan, and Laodicea. What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, in Tushit, Manna, Takoma, Teotihuacan, Teotihuacan, and Laodicea.

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. In the midst of the seven lampstands, one, as a son of man, saw his drumming down to the sea, and he jutted about the shed of the golden lampstand.

His head and his hair were white like wood, as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His teeth were like fine brass, as his spine was firm, and his voice the sound of many waters. He had in his right hand seven swords, out of his mouth ran a sharp two-inch sword, and his countenance was like the sun shining in his face.

When I saw him, I smiled at his face as he did, but he laid his right hand on me and said, say to me, do not be afraid, I am the first and the last. I am he who lives, who is dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.

Amen. And I have the keys of freedom and of life. I am he who lives, who is dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, the things which will take place after this.

Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, the things which will take place after this. Verse twenty. The next key of the seven stars is to restore to my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands.

The seven stars are the ranges of the seven cities, and the seven lampstands to restore are the seven cities. When you see the seven stars in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

At this time, let us listen to his words. Now, let us listen to what he has to say. Let us first make a prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for giving us another opportunity that we may meet together in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

We want to thank Thee for Thy precious Word. Now we look to Thy Holy Spirit to quicken Thy Word to our heart, that we may not only read Thy Word, but we may hear Thy Word. We do submit ourselves to Thee.

And we trust Thy Holy Spirit to do the work. And it is all for the glory of God the Father. We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen. It is written in the Book of Hebrews,. Yet once, not only the earth was shaken, but the earth and the heavens will be shaken.

That which is created will all be shaken away. Only that which cannot be shaken will remain. Now brothers and sisters, we are living in a day of great shaking. We find that everything that is created is being shaken.

All that belongs to the old creation will be shaken off. Only that which is of the new creation, only that which is of Christ, that will remain forever. So when we are living in such a day of shaking, it is very essential for us to have the heavenly vision.

The Heavenly Vision Given to Peter

Because without that heavenly vision, we will not be able to distinguish what is of the old creation and what is of the new creation. We will not be able to see what can be shaken and what cannot be shaken.

And without that heavenly vision, we will not be able to let go that which can be shaken. Lay hold upon that which cannot be shaken. And without that heavenly vision, we will not have the strength to press on towards the goal.

It is therefore of extreme importance that we catch that heavenly vision. And also be obedient to it. So that is the burden that we have during these few evenings. We talk about the vision given to the apostle Peter.

And we also share about the vision given to Paul. And this evening we would like to share together on the vision given to John the apostle. Now even though we find that there are three different visions given to three different apostles, and yet we see that the vision is one.

Because all these visions are parts and stages of the same heavenly vision. Peter laid the foundation. And Paul builds upon that foundation. And John brings it to consummation. So brothers and sisters, I do look to the Lord that we all will catch the vision given to Peter that we may see by revelation from the Heavenly Father that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

And by confessing Him as such we become living souls. And our Lord Jesus says On this rock I will build my church. And the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Then we find in the following chapter of Matthew that is Matthew chapter 17 how our Lord brought Peter, John and James to the Mount of Transfiguration.

And there Peter was given a vision of the Kingdom of God. Because the Kingdom of God is that Christ is the King. And our responsibility is there to see everything. In the Kingdom of God our Lord Jesus is supreme.

Moses and Elijah are not his equal. It is the will of God that we see no one but Jesus only. That is the Kingdom of God. Brothers and sisters, do we see our Lord Jesus as the Supreme God? Have we submitted ourselves to Him completely?

Are we here just to see a thing? And do we see no one but Jesus only? It is that vision of the Kingdom that builds the Church. And it is with the building of the Church that the Kingdom is dropped from Heaven upon this earth.

And then finally we find the Lord continues to reveal to Peter that the Church in its initial state is just like a white sheet. It is tied on four corners. And it descended out of Heaven upon the earth.

And in that white sheet are all kinds of projects and preaching things and vows of the earth. And the word of God to Peter was fly, kill and eat. In other words, Peter was given a vision of what is included in the Church of God.

Salvation is from the Jews. But salvation is not just for the Jews. That position of the Father has to be broken. Because salvation comes also upon the Gentiles. Before God, both the Jews and the Gentiles are unclean.

But what God has claimed, let no man say it is unclean. And eating in the Scripture means fellowship. In the Church of God, we receive all who have been received by the Lord Jesus. Our fellowship is with all God's people.

And this is the vision given to people. And we will say this lays the foundation of the heavenly vision. So may we all see this vision. But that is not the whole. Therefore you find the Lord apprehended another man.

Paul's Vision of the Universal Man

He apprehended Saul, the Pharisee. He appeared to him on the road to Damascus. And there Paul taught the heavenly vision. In the heavenly vision he saw a universal man. The head is in heaven. Represented by the Risen Lord.

And the body covers all the earth. Includes all who are believers, the followers of our Lord Jesus. Jesus is Lord. He is Lord over all. And He has a purpose for everyone. We are like ox and the yoke. And we are to kill the ground to do the work of our Heavenly Father.

We need to yield ourselves completely to Him and to His will. So you find Saul said Lord who are you? Lord what shall I be? Seeing the vision Saul capitulated to the Lord himself. So here you find he saw the universal man.

And yet you find the vision continue into the city of Damascus. And there he met a little man. A man by the name of Ananias. And through Ananias his eyes were opened. And he was filled with the Holy Spirit.

He was received into the fellowship of the church local. So brothers and sisters. This is the vision that Saul saw. How is the universal church built? The universal church is built through the building of its local.

This is the way that the Lord will build His church. You remember before our Lord went to the cross. He said I will build my church upon this rock. That is to say He is going to build the church. And this is the church universal.

It includes all God's people. From the first one who believes in the Lord Jesus. To the last one who believes in the Lord Jesus. Everywhere upon this globe. They are all included in this church that the Lord will build.

But how does He build the church? You find He builds first in Jerusalem. And then He continues on to build to Antioch. And He continues to build the church in Africa. And continues to build the church in Rome.

And He continues to build the church through ages and generations in many different localities. And by the building of the church local. He builds the church universal. So brothers and sisters. Here you find spiritual things are very practical.

The church is not a theory. It is not just an ideal. You find that the church can be lived out. And it is lived out through those brothers and sisters. Maybe small men and women. And yet by self-seeking with one another.

Identifying with one another. Being one in Christ Jesus. And love one another. Call one another brothers and sisters. And that is the way that the church is built. Now this is the heavenly vision given to Paul.

And thank God to the end. Paul can testify. I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. May this be our testament. But this is not the end yet. We find that vision is continual. With that vision given to John the Apostle.

John on Patmos and the Vision of the Seven Lampstands

The scripture we read in the beginning. That is Revelation chapter 1. From verse 1 to... from verse 9 to verse 20. We call this vision the Paschal Vision. Why is it so? Because John the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos.

We know that the Apostle John was among the first who followed the Lord Jesus. We know that the Apostle John was among the first who followed the Lord Jesus. We remember in John chapter 1. When John the Apostle said, look at the Lamb of God.

Two of his disciples left him and followed Jesus. Two of his disciples left him and followed Jesus. They stayed with Jesus that night. And one of them was John. And he did not name that disciple. He named the other one Andrew.

But we know that the other one is Andrew. We know that the other one is John himself. So John was among the first who followed the Lord Jesus. And he was one who was closest to the Lord. And he was the one who lived the longest among the top apostles.

After Paul and Peter were martyred. After Paul and Peter were martyred. We find that evidently John moved from Jerusalem to Ephesus. We find that evidently John moved from Jerusalem to Ephesus. So he ministered to the churches in Asia.

So he ministered to the churches in Asia. Now the Asia is not Asia, the continent. Now the Asia is not Asia, the continent. It is Asia the Roman colony. It is Asia Minor. And in Asia Minor there were a number of churches there.

So in Asia Minor there were a number of churches there. And John, he ministered to these churches while he was a Satan King. Episode but during the reign of Emperor Domitian he was arrested and exiled to Tecmos now Tecmos was a barren rocky island it was in the Egyptian agency and most likely he was exiled there to do a slave labor he would work in the mine there he was exiled for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus now if we read it within the context probably the word of God there referred to the Old Testament and he referred to Moses and the prophet that is the word of God at that time and the word of God prophesied about the coming Messiah you know our Lord Jesus after his resurrection he explained to the disciples from Moses and the prophet and the song because all things spoke of him so that composed the word of God and the testimony of Jesus and the testimony of Jesus referred to that our Lord Jesus has come upon this earth and he had accomplished the work of salvation.

He is Lord over all things. Now you find the apostle John he preached the word of God and he testified about Jesus. You find all the early apostles did that they will quote the Old Testament and they will use the word of the Old Testament to prove to the people that Jesus is the Messiah.

They preached Jesus Christ and him crucified. And because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus John was exiled to the island of Patna and he labored there in the mine. Now most likely on the Lord's day he was free from labor.

And if we can visualize it we can imagine when he had that free time you can imagine what he will do. Probably he will sit on a rock and we will look across the Asian sea. He will look across the Asian sea.

He will look across the Asian sea to the continent there because in clear day you can see the outline of the land across the sea. And where the seven churches of Asia were located. You know his heart was still with God's people there because before he was exiled he ministered to his church.

He took care of the sheep there. But now he was on an island he could no longer cater the flock but his heart was still with them. So he must be looking across the sea. And he was thinking about the churches in Asia.

He didn't know what happened to these people who will take care of them what were their conditions now and as he was thinking about these people suddenly he heard a voice a loud voice like a trumpet voice.

And when he heard that voice he turned back to look at the voice. You know brothers and sisters he was looking across the sea. He was looking at the seven churches in Asia. He was looking at them with his physical eyes.

He was thinking of them with his mind. He was thinking of them in his heart. But the voice came from behind so he turned back. In other words he was not looking at the physical conditions of the land.

He was not thinking of the physical state of the churches in Asia. He was not thinking of the physical state of the churches in Asia. The voice turned him back and showed him a vision. It is a heavenly vision.

The Church as Seven Golden Lampstands

Now what did he see as he turned back he saw seven golden lamps. And in the midst of the seven golden lamps there was one like the sun of man standing there. Now this is the cosmos vision. The seven golden lamps is explained to us because the bible tells us the mystery of the golden lamps is the seven churches in Asia.

So we do not need to try to find out what the golden lamps represent. The golden lamps represent the churches in Asia. There were seven churches in Asia. Now as a matter of fact during that time there were more than seven churches in Asia.

Because we find there is a church that collapses. There is a church in Piraeus. And so you find actually there were more than seven churches in Asia. But the holy spirit took out these seven churches.

Because these seven churches represent the churches throughout Asia. Now every church is represented by a lampshade. The church in Ephesus. Now Ephesus is a city in Asia. There in that city there is the church of God.

And in that church we have all God's people there. But the church in Ephesus on earth represented the heaven before God as a golden lampshade. Now you have a church in Smyrna and yet before God it is represented by another golden lampshade.

And these seven churches in Asia in the sight of God they are seven golden lampshades. No matter what are the conditions of the seven churches in Asia before God they are represented by seven golden lampshades.

Now we remember when Moses built the tabernacle you remember God commanded him to build the tabernacle and to build everything according to the pattern of the map. And one of the vessels in the tabernacle is a golden lampshade.

Now if you read Exodus chapter 25 or Exodus 37 you find how this golden lampshade was built. But in the tabernacle you find there is only one golden lampshade with seven branches. Because it speaks of the unity.

You know seven is a perfect number. And these seven form one lampshade. So it speaks of the unity. But here you find there are seven separate lampshades. Why? Because here it speaks of responsibility.

Every church is directly responsible to the Lord. What is the church? Before God the church is a lampshade. Now remember the church is not the light. The church is a light holder. Because Christ is the light.

He said I am the light of the world. But that light is being held up by the church. So remember the church is not the end. The church is a means to an end. The church is a vessel. It is a vessel that holds the light.

God permits Christ Jesus the testimony of Jesus to the church. And it is the responsibility of the church to hold the testimony of Jesus. It is very interesting because when you notice all the different furniture in the tabernacle you find that most of the furniture are made of wood and overlaid with gold.

You know in the holy of all you have the ark. Ark is made of wood but it is overlaid inside and outside with pure gold. But the mercy seat is of pure gold. There is no wood in that mercy seat. Now when you come to the holy place you find the golden altar of incense and it is also made of wood but overlaid with gold.

And you come to the golden table of silver it is also made of wood but overlaid with gold. And yet you find it is very interesting because that land stand is made of pure gold. There is no wood in it.

Now you know wood in the scripture represents human nature. Gold represents the nature of God. Now we will say if the land stand is of the church and then it should be made of wood. Because the church is composed of people like you and me and thank God overlaid with gold.

Now we will think that is what the church is. Now when you ask a person what is the church? Now those who are ignorant oh they will say well on the second corner of the square there is the church and in other words it points to a building.

So people say now we go to church. Now what do you mean by go to church? You go to a building that is where the church meets. And so we know that that is not the church. The building with stone or with wood or whatever is not the church.

And I think we know better the church is not an organization. And we know that we know that the church is an organism. We know that the church is an organism and it is composed of believers not just people gather together but people who believe in the Lord Jesus.

And they gather together. Now that is the church. Because the word church in greek.

Because God called us people out.

And they gather together in the name of the Lord Jesus. Now we find out this is the church. So in other words the church is composed of people. Like we are tonight then it should be wood because we are all wood.

And then you overlay the gold that should be the lampshade. But strange to say we find in typology. And we find that is reality in the eyes of God the church is a golden lampshade. There is no wood in it.

Now what does it mean? It means that in the church all that is of the old creation all that belongs to Adam all that belongs to the flesh all that originally we were all these will be dealt with by the cross cast off by the cross and what remains is Christ and Christ alone.

So it is golden it is pure gold there is no wood in it. Unfortunately today we find in the church man, man, man man's idea man's opinion man's way man's method everything is just man that is wood. But in the sight of God what the church really is is none other but Christ himself.

That is the reason why in 1 Corinthians 12. 1 Corinthians 12 it says the body is one but there are many members even though the members are many but the body is one. Now notice what the Holy Spirit says so also is the Christ.

Now we will say so also is the church because the church is one body with many members. And yet the Holy Spirit says so also is the church that is the Christ. Because the church is Christ himself it is a function of Christ.

It is Christ in you, Christ in me that forms the church. So if you will forgive me I will give you a simple formula. You know spiritual things can never be put into a formula. Because if you put it into the formula it becomes mechanical for the sake of explanation.

Now let me try to explain it. You forget the formula but you remain the explanation.

On this earth.

Christ in the Church and the Cross of Self

Suppose in Singapore there are only 3 believers one is Peter one is Paul and one is John. Now suppose in Singapore there are only 3 believers. Now what is the church in Singapore. Well the church in Singapore is made up of Peter, Paul and John.

Now these men are holy men. These men are apostles. They are the queen of believers. Now surely if the church is composed of these 3 men now that church will be a glorious church. They will have no problem whatsoever.

But is that true? You will find Peter. He always likes to be the first. And you remember John when our Lord Jesus was going to Jerusalem all the disciples thought that the Lord was going to be crowned king.

And you will find John and James. They asked their mother to come and ask for them. They want to sit on the right and the left of the Lord Jesus. And the other 10 disciples were indignant about it. Because everyone wants to have the top place.

You know John he is called a son of thunder. And when the thunder strikes it is terrifying. So you find Paul again is a very strong willed person. And you will find that he even opposed Peter at the face.

He wouldn't compromise in any way. Now if these 3 men from the church everyone wants to be the top and you will find the church will be broken into 3 churches. You have the kids in church. You have the Paul in church.

You have the John in church. Brothers and sisters you find what is the church. The church is the Christ in Peter plus the Christ in Paul plus the Christ in John equal to the church. Is that correct? No because that will mean the lampstand will be made of wood overlaid with gold.

You will find the man is still there but fortunately overlaid with gold. So what will be the formula? The formula will be this. The Christ in Peter minus Peter plus the Christ in Paul minus Paul plus the Christ in John minus John.

Now it equals to the Christ. So brothers and sisters before the Lord the church is a golden lampstand. In the church there is nothing but Christ himself. All that is man is crossed out by the cross. Only that which is Christ remains.

It is a golden lampstand. You know the light. You do not put the light under the bush. You do not put the light under the couch. You do not put the light in a secret place. You do not put the light in a secret place that you find in Matthew, Mark and Luke.

You know bushel, what is bushel? Do you know what is under the couch? Under the bushel. Under the bushel you measure the wheat or the grain with a bushel. It means that the light cannot be put under the bushel.

Because the bushel will cover the light. Now brothers and sisters how Christ the light is covered by bushel today the anxieties of this life what shall we eat, what shall we drink, what shall we do clothes with.

This is like a bushel. And it covers the light because we are seeking after the things of this life. Therefore the light of Christ is hidden. And what do you mean by the couch? The couch is a place where you lie down and relax.

In other words, if we seek for the meaning of life then you will find the light of Christ is being hidden. Now you do not put the light in a secret place. You have to put the light on the lampstand. And the church is the lampstand.

The Lampstand, Resurrection, and the Church's Testimony

Now if you will allow me to describe more you know if you go back to Exodus chapter 25 you know how is this lampstand built. It is built of one talent of pure gold. In other words, it is built of one piece of gold.

Because that piece of gold represents our Lord Jesus represents the divine light. And out of that piece of gold the lampstand is built. Now how is it built? You will find that it is piece of work. You know you do not melt the gold.

You pour it into a mold. Then you can reproduce it everywhere. No, you will find that the church is not built that way. You will find it is the one piece of gold that is beaten, beaten, beaten, beaten.

We do not know how many beaten beats that gold will suffer. Until finally a beautiful form of a lampstand appears. So brothers and sisters you will find that even though the Christ in us and the Christ in you will build up the church not only our old man, ourselves need to be beaten away.

Now this we understand. You know our own opinion our own feeling our own practice our own wisdom our own strength. Now all these things have to be beaten away. This we understand. But even the life of Christ in each one of us also needs to be beaten.

Now it is killed gold. Why should the killed gold be beaten? It is not for the sake of beating off the refugees. It is to be beaten into a form. Brothers and sisters how we need to go through things together.

You know in the church there will be problems. Now you cannot find a church that has no problems. Now thank God for problems. Because when there are problems then we will go through it together. We all like the gold that is being beaten into form.

And finally the lampstand comes into being. So it is a beating work. And you find it is exquisite it is beautiful. You find that there is the base there is the pen there is the sun. If you read 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 now what is the church?

The house of God is the church of the living God. The house of God is the church of the living God. It is the base and pillar of the truth. So here you find the church has a base and it has a source. The church is the base and the pillar of the truth.

And then you find there are seven branches. And the branches are made of cups, knobs and flowers. The cup is like an almond. The cup is like an almond. If you read verses 16 and 17 so the main thing is that the cup is the source of my inheritance.

And it is shaped like an almond because the almond flower is the first flower that comes out after winter. So it speaks of resurrection. So you find the church is filled with the resurrection light of the Lord Jesus.

And then upon the cup there is a knob and the knob is the concentration of light. And then out of the knob comes out a flower. It is the beauty of the life of Christ. There you find the fruit of the Holy Spirit as you find in Galatians chapter 5.

So what is the church? The church is a golden lamp stand and it is full of the light of Christ. It manifests the beauty of Christ. It holds up Christ as the light of the world. That is what the church is before God.

Christ as the Center and High Priest of the Churches

Now when you look at the church on earth today now even when you look at the seven churches in Asia you read chapter 2 and chapter 3 of Revelation you find that most of the churches need to repent. The conditions are not very good.

That is the condition you find in the churches on earth. And yet the churches before God it is a glorious church. Now what is, what measures the success and the failure of the church on earth? You know people today measure the success or the failure of the church by the numbers.

And if you increase in great numbers then the church is successful. And if the number is small then the church fails. But brothers and sisters God measures the success and the failure of the church according to the golden lamp stand before Him.

How close you are to the golden lamp stand. How close you are to the thought of God concerning the church. How much in the church is truly Christ. That measures the success or the failure of the church on earth.

But thank God you find that there are seven golden lamp stands and at the front of the seven golden lamp stands there was one like the stand of man. Brothers and sisters the seven golden lamp stands form the background and the one like the stand of man is actually the center of the picture.

What God wants us to see is to see the center and the church is just the background, the center of the picture. The church is just the background that is a more obvious picture. When you are painting you need to paint the background.

But the painter does not focus on the background. He just paints the background that he wants you to see more prominently. So never make the church the foreground. The church is only a background it is hidden.

And it is to make Christ more manifest. So here you find he saw one like the son of man. Now why does the Bible say like son of man. We know he is the son of man as well as the son of God. But at that time when John saw the Lord he saw the Lord in a very different manner.

You know John knew the Lord very well. He even leaned upon the breast of the Lord. He knew the Lord so well and he was so close to the Lord. And yet when he saw in that catamaran he saw the Lord in a different light.

He saw the Lord as like the son of man. Why? Because he saw the risen Lord. He saw the Lord in heaven. He saw the Lord as the great high priest. You know as our Lord was risen and ascended to heaven he was anointed by God the Father and God anointed him as the high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

So here you find the risen Lord in the glory of the great high priest. When our Lord was on earth he was the apostle sent by God. But now he is in heaven he is the anointed great high priest of victory.

Brothers and sisters what is our Lord doing today? You find that he is walking among the seven churches. He is like the high priest who is handing the lanterns. He is looking after the light of the seven golden lanterns.

If he sees that the light is getting dim then he will pour more oil into it. Pour more oil. So here you find he was attending the lantern trying to restore the testimony of Jesus in these churches. Because by the description of the son of God we know that he is there as the great high priest.

Because his garment reached to the ground. You know that is the garment of the high priest. And garment speaks of righteousness. He is full of righteousness. He is the righteous one. He is our advocate before the father.

And then you find he has a golden girdle across his breast. You know you usually girdle across your waist because in the orient you find people wear flowing garments. So when you want to work you girdle it up.

But here you find it is a golden girdle across his breast. Breast speaks of love and sympathy. He is full of divine love and sympathy for us. He never gives us up. And you find his hair is white as wool.

It speaks of wisdom. He is full of wisdom and you find his eyes like a flame of fire. He is full of discernment and people look at the appearance. But he looks into our very hearts. And he speaks like fine brass is burning in a furnace.

He speaks of judgment. He is full of judgment. What he sees he judges. And his voice is the voice of many waters. He speaks of full of power and in his right hand seven stars. In other words he holds the message of the church is responsible and right hand speaks of support.