We need to See the Vision of the Age and be Joined to the Ministry of the Age

In order for us today to enter into a new revival, we need to arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation, the vision of the age, through the ministry of the age. In every age there is only one ministry of the age with the vision of the age. There are many ministers, but there is only one ministry.

The Bible shows us many cases of people who loved God and served Him but did not join themselves to the minister of the age with the ministry of the age. In the Old Testament we see that Noah had the ministry of the age: he received the vision of the age from God, and he labored with his family to build the ark, doing the work of the age. There must have been many others who helped them to build the ark, but they did not see the vision of the age and therefore did not enter into the ark.

Later, David was anointed to be king, and he had the vision of the age with the ministry of the age. Jonathan, Saul’s son, was split in two: he was intimately related to his father Saul, and at the same time he saw that God was with David. Jonathan did not pay the price to join himself fully to the ministry of that age, and his end was not a pleasant one.

Elisha was a positive example in the Old Testament: he was Elijah’s servant, and he realized that God wanted to take Elijah, and so he clinged to him and stayed with him until the end.

In the New Testament we see the Lord Jesus as the One who had the vision of the age with the ministry of the age, and many Jews did not follow Him or believe in Him but stayed in the old ministry. Then the Lord raised up Peter and later Paul, and they had the ministry of the age. Even though Barnabas brought Paul into the ministry, because Barnabas did not stay with Paul – who had the ministry of the age – he is no longer found in the record of the book of Acts.

If in the Lord’s mercy we see the vision of the age we live in and join ourselves to the ministry of the age, we will enter into a new revival by arriving at the highest peak of the divine revelation, and we will be a part of the group who will end this age and bring the Lord back!

The Particular Recovery and Work that God is doing in one Age is the Ministry of that Age

In every age God is doing something particular, and we do well to see what God is doing in this age and join ourselves to the ministry of this age. In Genesis 6:16 the Lord commanded Noah to build the ark with one opening for light at the top, and the ark was to have three stories. The ark signifies Christ and the church; when we are building the ark, we are building Christ in our experience to build up the church as the corporate Christ.

The ark had three storeys – signifying the heights we need to attain to; these storeys signify the Spirit, the Son, and the Father – the Triune God. If we are going to live on the third storey, we have to be intimate with God Himself by entering into the deepest and highest intimacy with our Triune God so that He can bring us to the highest peak and tell us His mysteries, secrets, and hidden treasures.

When we are on the third storey we have the skylight, the opening, which makes us full of light; this one window in the ark signifies the one vision of the age through the one ministry of the age. Just as there was only one window into the ark, so there is one vision of the age through one ministry of the age.

In 2 Kings 2:1-15 we see that Elijah – the one with the vision of the age and the ministry of the age – was about to be taken up to God; Elisha, his servant, was following him very closely. Even though Elijah told Elisha to stay somewhere, the latter still followed him.

The sons of the prophets also knew that Elijah was about to be taken up, but they didn’t follow him; yet Elisha followed Elijah all the way to the end, and his only request was, Let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.

Wow, what a pattern and what a prayer! We need to follow closely the vision of the age in the ministry of the age, and we need to pray that a double portion of the spirit of the minister of the age would be also given to us to serve God in the ministry of the age.

To be one with the ministry of the age we need to pass through four crucial journeys, as signified by the four places Elijah went with Elisha:

1. Gilgal, the place where the people of Israel dealt with the flesh. For us to see the vision of the age we need to deal with our flesh (Gal. 5:24), and we will be one with the ministry of the age.
2. Bethel, where we give up the world and build up the house of God. We need to give up the world, turn to God absolutely, and be one with Him for the building of His house, taking God as our everything.
3. Jericho, signifying Satan; Jericho means, “cursed”. We need to learn how to deal with Satan not by our good behavior or strong spirituality but by the blood of the Lamb: Christ has already overcome Satan!
4. Jordan, signifying death. We need to pass through death by knowing the power of Christ’s resurrection (Phil. 3:10). As we know Christ and the power of His resurrection, we are conformed to His death and we experience His resurrection.

In every age God does a particular work and a particular recovery, and that work and recovery is the ministry of that age. If we would have lived in Elijah’s time we should have joined ourselves to Elijah and be under his ministry, and if we would have lived in David’s time we should have joined David to be in the ministry of the age.

After the Israelites were taken into captivity, the vessels for the recovery were raised up (Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai, etc). In every age there is the ministry of that age; the ministry of the age is different from the local ministers. Luther was a minister in his age, and so was Darby.

In every age the Lord has some special things He wants to accomplish and a particular recovery work He wants to do, and this is the ministry of that age.

Lord Jesus, cause us to see the vision of the age and to join ourselves to the ministry of the age today. We want to be in the center of Your present move. Cause us to enter into the deepest and highest intimacy with You so that You can tell us Your mysteries, Your secrets, and Your hidden treasures. Lord, bring us fully under the skylight to see a clear vision of what You are doing in this age today, and grant us the mercy and grace that we would closely follow and be intimately joined to the ministry of this age!

We need to See the Vision of the Age and be Joined to the Ministry of the Age

Jonathan, the son of Saul the king, saw something concerning God choosing David as the real king over Israel, but Jonathan was not fully one with David in his ministry; he was too much attached and intimately related to the previous ministry (Saul’s ministry).

It is the Lord’s mercy that today we would see the vision of the age, and it is His mercy that we would leave any past ministry and be joined to the ministry of the age to serve God under the vision of the age.

Today we are in the last age before the age of the kingdom begins, and the vision we have as revealed in the Bible and through the ministry of the age is complete and all-encompassing. We live in a special age and we need to seek the Lord to see the vision of this age and be joined to the ministry of this age.

In every age there is the vision of that age, and we have to serve God according to the vision of the age (see Prov. 29:18). Paul was not disobedient to the heavenly vision which governed him, controlled him, restricted him, ruled him, and directed him; he didn’t say that he wasn’t disobedient to Peter or John but to the heavenly vision – he saw the vision and was one with the vision (Acts 26:19).

May the eyes of our heart be enlightened and may we receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Christ so that we may see a clear vision of God’s economy today (Eph. 1:17; 3:9).

In order for us to serve God today, our vision must extend all the way from the first vision of Adam in Genesis to the ultimate vision of John in the book of Revelation. We need to have a clear panoramic view of the all-encompassing all-inheriting vision of the age today and serve God according to this vision.

Today in the church life in the Lord’s recovery we can be in one accord because we have only one vision: an up-to-date, all-inheriting vision, the vision of the eternal economy of God (Eph. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:3-4).

Job went through sufferings and loss without knowing why; but he knew that God has His purpose hidden in His heart (John 10:12-13). Today we have the privilege to know what’s hidden in God’s heart concerning man and what is His purpose: it is the economy of God.

Everything happens to us and to everyone because God has an economy: He wants to dispense Himself into our spirit, soul, and body, and He desires to deify our whole being with Himself. May we be those who see the vision of the age and serve in the ministry of the age so that we may be those who bring the Lord back and end this age!

Lord Jesus, have mercy on us and on many believers that we may see the vision of the age and we may fully join ourselves to the ministry of the age. Lord, grant us to see the all-inheriting up-to-date vision of the age, the vision of the eternal economy of God! May our daily living and work for God be governed by a clear vision of God’s dispensing into man to make man the same as He is in life and nature but not in the Godhead. Lord, save us from clinging to past ministries; have mercy on us and on many other believers to be under the ministry of the age in God’s economy!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ed Marks’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, The Vision of the Age, chs. 1-3 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Need for a New Revival, week 1 / msg 1, Reaching the Highest Peak of the Divine Revelation (1) – The Vision of the Age.
• All Bible verses are taken from, Holy Bible Recovery Version.
• Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
  # Oh, may a clear, controlling vision of / The Lord’s economy direct my heart, / And burn in me until my spirit’s wholly set afire! / With spirit strong and active we’ll press on / To consummate God’s goal— / New Jerusalem, Hallelujah! (Song on the vision of God’s economy)
  # Be careful lest this age would lead you from God’s heart’s desire. / For Jesus’ testimony must set all our hearts afire. / The local churches are the ark, God’s testimony true. / For this we leave the age behind and give our hearts anew. (Hymns #1268)
  # I will choose to be a living overcomer, / Be a person not ashamed to be a Jesus lover, / One who eats the tree of life, / And drinks the living water. / I will give myself to be an overcomer, / To see a heav’nly vision, / Keep my flaming spirit burning! / I give myself to You, to turn this age. (Song on being an overcomer)