III.　The testimony of Jesus is the bright woman, representing the whole Body of God's redeemed, with her man-child, representing the overcomers as the stronger part of God's people—Rev. 12:1-17:

A.　The people of God who produce the overcomers (the man-child) are full of light, show-ing that God's overcoming people are light-bearers, shining through all generations— vv. 1-5; S. S. 6:10; John 8:12; Matt. 5:14; Prov. 4:18; cf. Gen. 1:16-17:

1.　Christ's faithful followers are shining and living stars, those who follow Christ as the shining and living star—Matt. 2:2-12; Micah 5:2; Dan. 12:3:

a.　The living stars follow the heavenly, living, up-to-date, and instant vision of Christ as the centrality and universality of God's economy—Acts 26:16-19.

b.　The living stars are those who bless God's people; the more we praise the Lord for God's people and speak well of them in faith, the more we put our-selves under God's blessing—Num. 24:9; Gen. 12:2-3; 22:17.

c.　The living stars take heed to the prophetic word of the Scriptures, "as to a lamp shining in a dark place," so that Christ as the morning star rises in their hearts—2 Pet. 1:19; John 6:63; Rev. 2:28.

d.　The living stars enjoy and are filled with the sevenfold intensified Spirit to make them intensely living and shining for God's building—3:1; 4:5; 5:6.

e.　The living stars are the messengers of the churches, those who enjoy and experience the pneumatic Christ as the Messenger of God and as the fresh message from God so that they can dispense the fresh and present Christ into the people of God for the testimony of Jesus—1:20; 2:1; Mal. 3:1-3.

f.　The living stars have "great resolutions in heart" and "great searchings of heart"; they are lovers of God who are like "the stars…from their courses" to fight together with God against His enemy so that they may be "like the sun / When it rises in its might"—Judg. 4:4; 5:15-16, 20, 31; Dan. 11:32; Matt. 13:43.

2.　The moon signifies the church, the wife of Christ; the church shines in the dark night of this age by reflecting the light of Christ as the sun—Phil. 2:15; S. S. 6:10.

3.　Christ is the Sun of righteousness arising with healing in His wings, healing and reconstituting us with Himself so that we may shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of our Father—Mal. 4:2; Matt. 13:43:

a.　Christ as the shining light is in the sanctuary—in our spirit and in the church; when we exercise our spirit and live in the church, God's way becomes clear to us, and we receive divine revelation and the explanation to all our problems—Psa. 77:13; 73:17.

b.　The path of the overcoming believers is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until the full day—Prov. 4:18; John 1:5.

B.　The man-child signifies the overcomers who put on Christ as the weapons of light to fight against His enemy and usher in God's kingdom—Rev. 12:5-11; Rom. 13:11-14:

1.　The way to become the man-child is for us to be strengthened into the inner man, to be empowered to experience the riches of Christ, and to be strong through putting on the armor of God by pray-reading the killing word—Eph. 3:16, 18; 6:10-11, 17-18; Rev. 1:16; 19:13-15.

2.　"They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they loved not their soul-life even unto death"—12:11.

3.　David typifies the warring Christ in the midst of sufferings, and Abigail typifies the church that is one with the warring Christ to fight for God's kingdom in the midst of sufferings—Matt. 12:3; 1 Sam. 25:42:

a.　Abigail's previous husband, Nabal (meaning fool), signifies our old man and shows how evil our old man is in forsaking Christ; Nabal despised, rejected, and opposed David at the time of his destitution—vv. 10-11, 25; Rom. 7:1-6; cf. Prov. 1:7; 13:20.

b.　When our corrupted nature, which forsakes, rejects, and despises Christ, is struck down, we become Christ's counterpart who follows him in the midst of sufferings, fighting for the kingdom of God—1 Sam. 25:36-42; Rev. 1:9.

IV.　The testimony of Jesus is the firstfruits, signifying the overcomers raptured before the great tribulation, and the harvest, signifying the majority of the believers raptured at the end of the great tribulation—14:1-5, 14-16:

A.　At His first coming to the earth, the Lord sowed Himself into His believers; all the believers since that time, who have received Him as the seed of life, have become God's farm, His crop, on the earth—Matt. 13:3-8, 24; 1 Cor. 3:9:

1.　The overcomers as the first ripe ones in God's field will be reaped (raptured) before the great tribulation as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb—Rev. 14:1-5.

2.　The majority of the believers will ripen with the help of the sufferings in the great tribulation and will be reaped at the end of the great tribulation—v. 15.

B.　The rapture is not mainly for our enjoyment but for God's enjoyment; we need to make ourselves ready to be raptured, not for our happiness but for the fulfillment of God's purpose—12:5, 7-11; 14:1, 4b; 19:7.

C.　The meaning of rapture 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—2 Cor. 2:10; 1 John 1:3.

D.　The rapture of the overcomers is for defeating the enemy and satisfying God; the Lord needs the man-child to fight against His enemy, but He needs the firstfruits even more for His satisfaction—Rev. 14:1, 4b; cf. S. S. 8:6, 13-14.

E.　The firstfruits are the earliest ones among God's crop to reach maturity—Col. 2:19; Heb. 5:14—6:1; Eph. 4:13; Phil. 3:15; cf. Luke 21:36.

F.　The firstfruits are raptured to the house of God in Zion as the fresh enjoyment to God for His satisfaction—Exo. 23:19a; Lev. 23:10.

G.　Our being raptured depends on our being mature in the divine life by our walking with God, taking Him as our center and everything, and doing everything according to His revelation and leading—Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6.

V.　The testimony of Jesus is the victorious ones standing on the glassy sea, signifying the late overcomers who will pass through the great tribulation and overcome Antichrist and the worshipping of Antichrist—Rev. 15:2-4:

A.　The late overcomers sing the song of Moses (indicating God's triumphant judgment over the enemy of His people) and the song of the Lamb (indicating Christ's redemp-tion experienced by God's people in the presence of their enemy)—v. 3a; Exo. 15:1-18.

B.　The late overcomers praise God for His works and His ways, that is, for His acts and His principles; God's ways are righteous in His principles and true in His promises, while His works are great in manifestation and wonderful in nature—Rev. 15:3b-4; Psa. 103:7; cf. 107:10-20.