About This Issue of The Ministry
In this issue of The Ministry, we continue to see that what the Bible reveals is not the improvement of our behavior but the salvation of God. Man’s salvation is God Himself; that is, God saves us not only by His power and His work but also by coming into us to be our salvation. Since God as our salvation comes to us freely by grace, we should not bring anything to Him except an empty heart. If we come to God, we should put ourselves aside, contact Him, let Him do everything according to the law of the Spirit of life, and give thanks and offer praises to Him. Then, as a result, we become one with Him, and what we live out will be something not of ourselves but of God’s nature.
We have also included the first six messages of the Crystallization-study of Revelation held in the winter of 1999 in Long Beach, California. Message One covers two crystals: the temple with the ark and the principle of the man-child. The temple with the ark governs what is unveiled in Revelation 12—22 and relates to God’s expression through His building. The principle of the man-child is that God will choose a group of overcomers who will attain to His purpose and fulfill His demand. Message Two indicates strongly that the book of Revelation is a book on the overcomers, the man-child, God’s dispensational instrument to bring Christ’s kingdom to the earth. Message Three, concerning the firstfruits, the harvest, and the late overcomers, gives a complete view of the coming rapture. To be raptured is to be taken into the Lord’s presence; in order to be taken into the Lord’s presence, we must be in His presence today. Message Four unveils the source and essence of Babylon the Great—religious and material, and Message Five reveals the principle of Babylon. Message Six presents the marriage of the Lamb as the issue of the completion of God’s New Testament economy.
Last of all, we include reports concerning the Lord’s continuing move through the radio broadcast in London, England and a recent conference in Stockholm, Sweden.