THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Revelation
Message Five—The New Jerusalem—the Ultimate Consummation
Scripture Reading: Rev. 21:12-13, 18-21; 22:1; 21:11, 18-21, 23-25; 22:1-2, 5, 14, 19
I. The three gates on each of the four sides of the holy city signify that the Triune God is the triune entrance into the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:12-13, 21; Luke 15; John 14:2; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:3, 22:
A. That there are three gates on each side signifies that the three of the Divine Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—work together to bring people into the holy city—cf. 5:9:
1. The Son’s redeeming, the Spirit’s seeking, and the Father’s receiving are a complete entrance into the Father’s house, the church, consummating in the New Jerusalem—Luke 15; John 14:2; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:3, 22.
2. To be baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is the real entrance into the holy city—Matt. 28:19.
3. Through God the Father’s selection as the initiation, God the Spirit’s sanctification to carry out the selection of the Father, and God the Son’s redemption as the completion, we enter into the enjoyment of the Triune God, the enjoyment of the New Jerusalem—1 Pet. 1:2; Rev. 22:14.
B. Through God the Son, who is the Accomplisher, the means, and in God the Spirit, who is the Executor, the application, we have access unto God the Father, who is the Originator, the source of our enjoyment—Eph. 2:18.
C. We need to pray to the Father as the source to be strengthened through the Spirit as the means for the goal of Christ making His home in our hearts that we may be filled unto all the fullness of the Triune God, which is our complete entering into the Triune God for His full expression as the New Jerusalem—Eph. 3:14-19.
II. The three kinds of precious materials for the building of the holy city signify that the Triune God is the triune constitution of the New Jerusalem— Rev. 21:18-21:
A. Gold signifies God the Father in His holy nature as the base of God’s organic building—vv. 18, 21:
1. We need to partake of and be constituted with the holy and divine nature of God, the divine element of the New Jerusalem—Eph. 1:4; 2 Pet. 1:4.
2. We have to do everything according to the divine nature of God, taking the divine nature as our pathway, to be under the ruling of God’s golden administration—Rev. 21:21; 22:1; cf. 1 Kings 10:18:
B. Pearls signify the issue of Christ’s secretion in two aspects—His redeeming and life-releasing death and His life-dispensing resurrection—Rev. 21:21.
C. Precious stones signify the Spirit’s work to transform the redeemed and regenerated saints for the building of God’s eternal habitation that they may express God corporately in His all-permeating glory—Rev. 21:18-20:
III. The river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb signifies that the Triune God is the triune existence of the New Jerusalem—Rev. 22:1:
A. God the Father is our Creator, God the Son is our Redeemer, and God the Spirit is our Regenerator to give us a triune existence—Rev. 22:1; Gen. 2:7; John 1:29; 3:6.
B. The application of the New Jerusalem in its triune existence is described in Ephesians 4:4-6, which shows us how the Body of Christ exists with the Father, the Lord, and the Spirit as a foretaste of the existence of the New Jerusalem in eternity:
1. We are existing with God the Father as the source of the Body, allowing Him to be over us, through us, and in us—v. 6; Luke 8:15; Rom. 8:11.
2. We are existing with the Lord Christ as the element of the Body, living Him, existing by Him, through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ for His magnification in our existence—Eph. 4:5; Phil. 1:19-21a.
3. We are existing with the Spirit as the essence of the Body (Eph. 4:4)—walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25), serving by the Spirit (Phil. 3:3), drinking the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), being transformed by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18), and being strengthened and enriched by the sevenfold intensified Spirit (Rev. 4:5; 5:6) for the Body life, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem.
IV. The Triune God—the Father as the light of life, the Son as the tree of life, and the Spirit as the river of life—is the triune enjoyment of the New Jerusalem—cf. Psa. 36:8-9:
A. God as the light shines from within the Lamb as the lamp through the New Jerusalem as the diffuser—Rev. 21:23-25, 11; 22:5.
B. The enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life will be the eternal portion of all God’s redeemed— Rev. 22:14.
C. The river of water of life is the flowing out of the Triune God—the Spirit as the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God reaching His redeemed people for their enjoyment—Rev. 22:1.
V. The Triune God—the Father as the source of life, the Son as the tree of life, and the Spirit as the flow of life—is the triune living of the New Jerusalem—Rev. 22:1-2:
A. We need to live out the Father as the source of life on the throne—John 5:26.
B. We need to live out the Son as the life and life supply, the tree of life—Rev. 22:2; 2:7; John 14:6.
C. We need to live out the Spirit as the bountiful supply of the processed and consummated Triune God, the flow of life—Rev. 22:1; Phil. 1:19.
VI. The Triune God—the Father as the source of the divine riches, the Son as the embodiment of the divine riches, and the Spirit as the realization of the divine riches—is the triune expression of the New Jerusalem—Rev. 21:18-21; 22:1-2:
A. The expression of God the Father as the source of the divine riches is His communicable glory in His rich life—21:11, 21.
B. The expression of God the Son as the embodiment of the divine riches is in His person and with His work.
C. The expression of God the Spirit as the realization of the divine riches is in His all-inclusiveness as the consummation of the processed Triune God:
1. The all-inclusive Spirit as the river of water of life flows with God, with the Lamb, with the throne, with the divine nature as the divine way, and with all the unsearchable riches of Christ to saturate our entire being— Rev. 22:1-2, 17.
2. The Christian life must be a life in the Spirit, by the Spirit, and with the Spirit, issuing in the fruit of the Spirit, with all the divine attributes expressed in human virtues—Gal. 5:16, 22-23, 25.
Ministry Excerpts:
The basic numbers in New Jerusalem are the numbers twelve and one. One is the unique number. There is one God, one city, one throne, one street, one river, and one tree of life. Hence, the number one is the basic number of the church and of God’s building in His economy. This is not my concept; it is Paul’s concept in Ephesians 4:3-6, where he speaks of one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. We have just one God, one throne, one administration, one authority, one flow, one way, and one tree. If we have seen this, we shall be kept forever in this oneness.
This oneness issues from the unique God, the One who is the source of everything. The throne, the river, the street, and the tree all issue out of Him. He is the unique source of everything to produce, support, sustain, and keep the unique building of the one God.
The church is constituted of both divinity and humanity; it is one corporate entity of both God and man. This entity is both God’s dwelling and our abode, for now we abide in God, and God abides in us. The church life today is a miniature of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. We in the church can testify that we are truly one. We are one in God, one in His authority, one in His expression, one in the flow, one in the life, and one in the tree. In this oneness we abide in God, God abides in us, and thus we become His testimony.
THE HOLY CITY
In this message we shall cover the enjoyment and blessing of God’s redeemed in eternity. The first crucial item of our enjoyment in eternity will be the holy city (22:14, 19). Revelation 22:19 says, “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.” This indicates that having a part in the holy city means a great deal to us.
The holy city in which we shall participate and which we shall enjoy is God mingled with all His saints. In this one entity, the holy city, we shall not only enjoy God; we shall also enjoy God in all the saints. We shall enjoy God in one another, and we shall enjoy one another in God. I shall enjoy you in God, and you will enjoy me in God. Although this enjoyment is rather mysterious, we have a foretaste of it in the church life today, where we enjoy God in one another and one another in God. What a divine, heavenly communal life this is!
Man was created by God with the desire for a communal life. Our human nature longs for a community life. In order to fulfill this desire, people attend nightclubs and parties. However, nightclubs and parties cannot meet this need. Although people hunger and thirst for a proper communal life, they are poisoned by the clubs and parties of the world. Instead of receiving the proper drink to quench their thirst, they are poisoned. There is only one kind of party that is pure, happy, nourishing, enlightening, satisfying, and edifying, and that is the church. Day after day, we in the church life are attending a heavenly party. This party is holy, divine, and spiritual. It is the party of God mingled with man. What an enjoyment it is to attend this party!
Through my experience in the church life of nearly fifty years, I have come to know the disposition of the young people. Young people are sharp and quite demanding, and they can pierce into the hearts of their parents or of the elders in the church. All the elders are targets for the arrows of the young people. Often I have said to some of these sharp young people, “If the church and the elders are not pleasant in your eyes, why don’t you go off somewhere, to the mountains, perhaps, and live by yourselves? Then you will no longer be troubled by the church or the elders.” They replied that because they enjoy the fellowship in the church life, they would never leave the church.
Our desire for a communal life cannot be fully satisfied even by our married life or family life. You may have many brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, and other relatives, but they cannot satisfy your inward desire for a community life. This desire, a desire for the church life and a desire created by God, can be satisfied only in the church.
We Christians are like sheep flocking together. Years ago I observed some flocks of sheep in Scotland. I noticed that the sheep enjoyed flocking together. They traveled together, ate together, and lay down together. They were always together as a flock. We Christians also have such a desire, the desire for the church life.
How we enjoy God in the church life! Some may say, “God is omnipresent, and I can enjoy Him anywhere. I can enjoy Him at home or on the street. I don’t need the church life to enjoy God.” We can testify that there is no comparison between the enjoyment of God in the church and the enjoyment of God apart from the church. Yes, you may enjoy God anywhere, but not in the way we enjoy Him in the church. In the church life we are beside ourselves with the enjoyment of the Lord. The church life is a life of God mingled with man. In this wonderful mingled life, we daily enjoy God in all the dear saints, and we enjoy the dear saints in God. This enjoyment is the first aspect of our eternal portion in the holy city. The enjoyment of this city, which is a composition of God mingled with all the saints, is our eternal portion. In this holy city God and the Lamb will be our dwelling for rest (21:3). In the holy city we also enjoy God and the Lamb as our temple for serving and worshipping God (21:22).
THE TREE OF LIFE
The second item of our enjoyment in eternity is the tree of life (22:14, 19). The tree of life is nothing less than Christ, the Son of God, the redeeming Lamb, as our life supply. This tree is rich, fresh, and refreshing. We have been redeemed that we may have the right to come to the tree of life.
Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” This verse may be considered a promise for the enjoyment of the tree of life, which is Christ with all the riches of life; and the second half of verse 17 may be considered a call to take the water of life, which is the life-giving Spirit. Thus, the book of Revelation ends in a promise and a call, both of which are for eating the all-inclusive Christ and drinking Him as the life-giving Spirit.
After his creation, man was put before the tree of life (Gen. 2:8-9), indicating that he was privileged to partake of it. But due to the fall of man, the tree of life was closed to man by God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness (Gen. 3:24). Through Christ’s redemption, which has fulfilled all the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness, the way to the tree of life is opened again to believers (Heb. 10:19-20). Hence, the believers who wash their robes in the redeeming blood of Christ have the right to enjoy the tree of life as their eternal portion in the holy city, the paradise of God in eternity (2:7).
In this verse, robes symbolize the conduct of the believers. To wash our robes is to keep our conduct clean through the washing of the blood of the Lamb (7:14; 1 John 1:7). This gives us the right to participate in the tree of life and to enter into the city. To enter in by the gates into the city is to enter into the New Jerusalem as a realm of God’s eternal blessing by regeneration through the death-overcoming and life-imparting Christ. Both the tree of life and the city will be our enjoyment in eternity.
THE WATER OF LIFE
Another aspect of the enjoyment and blessing of God’s redeemed in eternity is the water of life (22:17; 21:6). The water of life is the life-giving Spirit as our eternal drink. We need both to eat and to drink. It is not so pleasant to eat without having anything to drink. Hallelujah, in eternity we shall have food, the tree of life, and drink, the life-giving Spirit! Remember, the life-giving Spirit is actually the Triune God Himself flowing Himself out to be our drink.
Although this is difficult to explain, it is easy to understand if we consider our experience. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” we receive the Spirit. But when the Spirit comes, we have the deep sense that the Father and the Son have also come. This indicates that this Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit. When He comes into us, He comes with the Son and the Father. Therefore, our eternal drink, the life-giving Spirit, is nothing less than the Triune God. What an enjoyment this is! If we devote our attention to mere doctrinal understanding, we shall miss this enjoyment. But if we care for the genuine experience in our spirit, we shall say, “Now I understand that the very drink I enjoy is the Triune God flowing into my being.”
This eternal drink is bright as crystal (22:1). In the life-giving Spirit there is nothing opaque. As we drink of this eternal Spirit, everything becomes crystal clear.
THE THRONE OF GOD AND OF THE LAMB
In eternity we shall also enjoy the throne of God and the Lamb (22:3). It is difficult to determine whether the throne of God in Revelation 21 and 22 is the throne of authority or the throne of grace. In Hebrews 4 the throne is the throne of grace, but in Revelation 4 the throne is mainly the throne of authority. At the end of the Bible, the throne is both the throne of authority and the throne of grace. We know this by the picture in chapter twenty-two. Here the throne of God and the Lamb is certainly for God’s divine administration. Thus, it is the throne of authority. However, proceeding out of the throne is not authority, but the river of water of life, with the tree of life as the life supply. This is not authority; it is grace.
NO MORE CURSE
In eternity “there shall no longer be any curse.” Instead of the curse, the throne of God and the Lamb will be our eternal portion. The curse came in through Adam’s fall (Gen. 3:17) and was dealt with by Christ’s redemption (Gal. 3:13). Since in the new heaven and new earth there will be no more fall, there will no longer be any curse.
Not many Christians understand all that the curse includes. Things such as hatred, criticism, and gossip are included in the curse. If anyone in the church in Anaheim still gossips, this means that the church is still under a small, subtle curse. If the brothers and sisters criticize one another, that also is a sign that the church is under the curse. Furthermore, if some saints are weak to the extent that they are deadened, that is a mark of the curse. For there to be no more curse means that there is no longer any gossip, hatred, criticism, weakness, or deadness. When there is no curse, everything is smooth, pleasant, strong, and living.
SERVING GOD AND THE LAMB
Revelation 22:3 also says, “His slaves shall serve Him.” To serve God and the Lamb will also be a blessing to God’s redeemed in eternity. The pronoun “Him” in this verse refers to God and the Lamb; God and the Lamb are one in eternity. It is the same with “His” in the next verse.
Although God’s redeemed will serve God and the Lamb in eternity, they will not serve Him as priests. Strictly speaking, in the new heaven and new earth there will be no priests. There will be service, but there will be no priesthood. Priestly service always includes the aspect of redemption. Because in the new heaven and the new earth there will no longer be the problem of sin, there will be no need for any redeeming work. Hence, there will be no priestly service there. Nevertheless, we shall still be the servants of God and of the Lamb, and we shall serve Him for eternity. (Life-study of Revelations, msg. 66)