Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:4, 13-16; 5:11; Rev. 2:6, 9, 14-15, 20, 24; 3:7-9, 20; 17:4-5; 18:4

I. Our history is a history of being delivered from the present evil age—Gal.1:3-4; Rom. 12:2:

A. The present evil age at Paul’s time was Judaism, the prevailing Jewish religion—Gal.1:4, 13-16.

B. Today Satan uses the religion of Christianity to systematize many of the Lord’s people away from God’s will to have the organic Body of Christ—Gal.5:11

C. Religion, in Paul’s eyes according to Galatians, was an age, a section of Satan’s system. We should not be conformed to any religion—Gal.1:3-4; Rom.12:2.

II. In the Lord’s recovery in China, there were clearly and definitely four big revivals—Ezra. 9:9:

A. The first revival in China was related to the recovery of the truth concerning the assurance of salvation—Mark.16:16

1. Robert Morrison was the first Protestant missionary to China in the early 1800s, from that time until Brother Nee was caught by the Lord in 1920, the assurance of salvation had not been made clear.

2. The Lord gave Brother Nee a clear vision of the assurance of salvation—John.5:24

3. Brother Nee’s preaching issued in a revival in 1923 in his hometown, Foochow.

B. The second revival among us happened twelve years in 1935, concerning the overcoming life of Christ—Eph.1:3; 1 Sam.15:29.

1. Brother Nee and saints had a conference for one week. In that conference he ministered day after day on the overcoming life of Christ—Eph.1:3.

2. Through this prevailing conference, the saints were all revived and all on fire again.

C. The third revival among us was in 1942 and 1943, concerning the practicality of the church life.

1. The saints practiced the church life for two years according to the blueprint Brother Nee had seen. At the end of 1942 the church in Chefoo experienced a great revival.

2. The move of the Spirit was also prevailing in all the homes of the saints. The saints offered all of their possessions to the church. Every evening all kinds of offerings were given to the church.

D. The biggest, most powerful, and most prevailing revival among us through the resumption of Brother Nee’s ministry.

1. After that training from April to October in 1948, the trainees returned to their localities, and their localities were set on fire.

2. This revival spread throughout all of China. In one locality, over seven hundred people were baptized in one day.

III. The Lord’s recovery bringing us fully out of Babylon and fully back to being in the Spirit and in the Body—Rev. 18:4, 3:8:

A. According to the book of Revelation, Christendom is the great prostitute and is called “Babylon the Great, The Mother of the Prostitutes and the Abominations of the Earth”; This evil woman is seen holding “a golden cup full of abominations and the unclean things of her fornication”—Rev. 17:4-5.

1. In typology gold signifies something divine, something of God—Rev. 1:12, 21:15.

2. The golden cup is the outward appearance, but the inward reality is abominable and devilish—Rev. 17:4.

B. Even today we have not come out of Christendom in a thorough way. We still have something of Christendom within us, even unconsciously—Gal. 2:11-13.

C. We all have to realize that today the Lord is going on and on to fully recover us and bring us fully out of Christendom. The Lord desires something fully in the spirit—Rev. 18:4.

D. Our need today is to be in the Spirit and in the Body, in the Spirit and in the oneness. We should care only for being in the Spirit and in the Body—1 Cor. 6:15, 17.