Message Four—The New Jerusalem—the Eternal Bethel

THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE

The New Jerusalem
Message Four—The New Jerusalem—the Eternal Bethel

Scripture Reading: Gen. 28:10-22; John 1:51; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:3, 22

I. Jacob’s dream was a dream of God’s goal, a dream of Bethel, a dream of the house of God, which is the church today and which will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the eternal dwelling place of God and His redeemed elect—Gen. 28:10-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:3, 22:

A. God had a dream, and that dream was to have the New Jerusalem, a built up city, as the consummation of His economy—Rev. 21:2.

B. Our dream is to become the New Jerusalem as the consummation of God’s economy—vv. 9-10.

C. The principle of a dream is that in it something impossible happens to us—cf. Luke 1:37; 18:27; Job 42:2; Psa. 126:1; Jer. 32:27:

1. Every spiritual vision is a dream; every spiritual experience is a dream.

2. Most heavenly visions come in times of suffering, when we are cut off from what is of man and put our trust in what is of God—cf. Gen. 28:10-11.

3. The center of every spiritual dream is Christ as the ladder, the One who brings heaven to earth and joins earth to heaven—John 1:51.

D. Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28 is the most crucial word in the revelation of God—cf. Gen. 28:10-12a.

II. Christ, in His being the heavenly ladder at Bethel, speaks to us how God desires to have a house on the earth constituted with His redeemed and transformed elect, that He may bring heaven to earth and join earth to heaven, to make the two as one for eternity—John 1:51; Gen. 28:10-22:

A. In His humanity Christ became a joining ladder, to join heaven (God) and earth (man) into one—Gen. 28:12-17; John 1:1, 51:

1. By His coming through incarnation the Lord Jesus brought God into man—John 1:14.

2. By His going through death and resurrection the Lord Jesus brought man into God—John 14:6, 20.

B. The building of God, the house of God, is the mutual abode of God and man; God’s home is man and man’s home is God—Isa. 66:1-2; 1 Cor. 3:16; Psa. 90:1; John 15:5; 14:23:

1. The main principle of the building of God is that God is brought into us and we are brought into God.

2. God became man through incarnation (bringing heaven to earth), and man becomes God through transformation (joining earth to heaven):

a. God’s referring to Himself as the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac implies that He would also become the God of Jacob—Gen. 28:13.

b. The God of Abraham is the God of justification, the God of Isaac is the God of grace, and the God of Jacob is the God of transformation through the discipline of the transforming Spirit—Rom. 8:28-29; 12:2.

c. Eventually, the God of Jacob became the God of Israel, the God of the transformed Jacob—Gen. 33:20; Exo. 5:1; Gal. 6:16.

C. In eternity future the New Jerusalem will be standing in the whole universe as something uplifted toward the heavens upon which the angelic family will ascend and descend to bring heaven to earth and join earth to heaven for the divine traffic, the divine fellowship, between God and man—2 Cor. 13:14.

D. God’s economy will consummate in such a ladder, a city, and this city is an incorporation of God in man and man in God—Rev. 21:3, 22.

E. Whenever we turn to our spirit, we sense Christ bringing God (heaven) to us and joining us to God (heaven); thus, Christ as the heavenly ladder is the stairway to bring God to us and join us to God—John 14:6; Eph. 2:22:

1. Since today our spirit is the place of God’s habitation, it is now the gate of heaven, where Christ is the ladder that joins us, the people on earth, to heaven, and brings heaven to us—Eph. 2:22; 2 Tim. 4:22; cf. Acts 7:55-56.

2. Whenever we turn to our spirit, we enter through the gate of heaven and touch the throne of grace in heaven through Christ as the heavenly ladder—Heb. 4:16.

F. As the duplication of Christ, we are a heavenly ladder bringing heaven to earth and joining earth to heaven, moving with God in the unshakable power of the Spirit—cf. S. S. 3:6:

1. When we minister Christ to sinners, they will appreciate Christ and receive Christ; this is to bring heaven to the earth—Rom. 15:16.

2. When we help them to grow, we are joining them to heaven—Col. 1:28-29.

III. In the account of Jacob’s dream, the stone, the pillar, the house of God, and the oil are outstanding items—Gen. 28:11, 17, 18, 19, 22:

A. The stone symbolizes Christ as the foundation stone, the topstone, and the cornerstone for God’s building, His spiritual house—Isa. 28:16; Zech. 4:7; Acts 4:10-12.

B. It also symbolizes the transformed man, who has been constituted with Christ as the transforming element to be the material for the building of God’s house, which is the church consummating in the New Jerusalem—Gen. 2:12; Matt. 16:18; John 1:42; 1 Cor. 3:12; 1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 21:11, 18-20.

C. Jacob used a stone for a pillow, signifying that the divine element of Christ constituted into our being through our experience of Him becomes a pillow for our rest, the solid support within us—cf. Matt. 11:28.

D. After awaking from his dream, Jacob set up the pillow-stone as a pillar, signifying that the Christ whom we have experienced and on whom we rest becomes the material and the support for God’s building, God’s house—1 Kings 7:17, 21; Gal. 2:9; Rev. 3:12.

E. Eventually, Jacob poured oil, a symbol of the Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God reaching man, on the pillar, and it became Bethel, the house of God—Exo. 30:23-30; Luke 4:18; Gen. 28:17, 19, 22.

F. Today in the church life we are in the reality of Bethel, in the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream with the heavenly ladder, the stone, the pillar, God’s house, and the oil; this will consummate in the New Jerusalem as the eternal Bethel, the eternal house of God—1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:3, 22:

1. The house of God is constituted of God and man united, mingled, and incorporated together as one—John 14:23; 1 John 4:15-16; cf. Acts 17:24.

2. In God’s house God expresses Himself in humanity and both God and man find mutual and eternal satisfaction and rest—Psa. 132:13-14.

Ministry Excerpts:

GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE

In the previous message we saw that God told Jacob to go up to Bethel (Gen. 35:1). Ultimately, the New Jerusalem will be the eternal Bethel. Jacob never built anything, but his descendants firstly built the tabernacle and then the temple. The book of Revelation says that the New Jerusalem is God’s tabernacle and that there God Himself and the Lamb are the temple (Rev. 21:22). This is Bethel. God’s eternal purpose is to have this dwelling place, and He is working on it today. Even during Jacob’s lifetime God was working on Jacob for His dwelling place, for Bethel. We must be enlightened by and fully saturated with the thought that in this universe God is doing only one thing—building His eternal habitation. He is not interested in anything else. Creation and salvation are both for this purpose. Whatever blessings He has bestowed upon us are also for this purpose.

A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

We need to have a bird’s-eye view of God’s building as it is unfolded in the Bible. The Bible is a large book containing thousands of items. If we do not have a bird’s-eye view, we can easily get lost. We need to see the major points in the Bible. After working with the race of Adam, God came in to have a new start by calling out Abraham to be the father of another race, the called race. God was no longer working with the created race but with the called race. Abraham was followed by Isaac and Jacob. If we do not have the bird’s-eye view, we shall neither understand God’s purpose in calling Abraham nor His purpose with Isaac or with Jacob, the supplanter. As Jacob was fleeing from his brother Esau, he had a dream (28:10-22). After waking from that dream, he spoke some words which were a wonderful prophecy. Jacob called the name of the place Bethel and even set up the stone that he had used for a pillow to become a pillar. Hence, Bethel was not merely a place but also a pillar with oil poured upon it. This is the greatest prophecy in the Bible because it governs the entire Bible. After uttering this prophecy, Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house”(28:20-22). God was faithful and brought him back safely. However, Jacob did not fulfill his vow. Rather, he settled down in two places, firstly in Succoth and secondly in Shechem. Eventually, a turmoil arose, and Jacob lost his safety and peace. At that precise moment, God intervened and spoke to him, saying, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there” (35:1). Jacob did not have the actual Bethel during his lifetime. He never saw the house of God. It was not until Moses brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and erected the tabernacle that Bethel was realized among the children of Israel. Later, the tabernacle was replaced by the temple prepared by David and built by Solomon. At that time, Bethel was established on earth.

Prior to the building of the tabernacle, however, there was the house of Israel, which was nearly the equivalent of the house of God, for in the name Israel the name God appears. The last two letters of the word Israel—el—are a Hebrew word for God. When Israel was multiplied into the house of Israel, it is implied that this house was a house for God. Therefore, the house of Israel was the house of God. The only difference was that the house of Israel was not as definitely formed as the tabernacle or the temple. Nevertheless, as long as Jacob’s family had become the house of Israel, in the eyes of God it was equal to the house of God. Eventually, among the house of Israel, there was the tabernacle and, following that, the temple, both of which were symbols of the house of Israel as God’s dwelling place. This is a history of Bethel. Later, the temple was destroyed by the Babylonian army, and the children of Israel were held in captivity seventy years. Then a decree was issued to rebuild the temple (Ezra 1:1-3). Hence, from the beginning of the Old Testament until the end, we have just a few main things: Jacob, his house, the tabernacle, the temple, and the rebuilding of the temple. This is a bird’s-eye view of the Old Testament.

A BIRD’s-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

All these main points in the Old Testament are merely types. Because of this, there was the need for the Lord Jesus to come as the reality. When He came in His incarnation, He set up a tabernacle for God and tabernacled among us (John 1:14). In John chapter two He revealed to the Jews that He was not only the tabernacle but also God’s temple (2:18-21). Thus, when He was on earth, He was both the tabernacle and the temple. When Peter, the leading apostle, was first brought to the Lord, the Lord changed his name from Simon to Cephas, which means a stone (John 1:42). In John 1:51, the Lord Jesus said to Nathanael, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This word indicates that the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream rested upon His building the house of God.

After approximately three years with His disciples, He brought them out of the religious realm and atmosphere to the border of the so-called holy land, and there He asked. them this question: “Whom do you say that I am?” (Matt.16:15). After Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” the Lord said, “I also say to you that you are a stone, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:16, 18, Gk.). The Lord revealed that He was the rock and that Peter was a stone. This word must have made a deep impression upon Peter, for some time later he rebuked the Jewish builders, and seemed to say, “You Jewish builders crucified Him on the cross, fully rejecting the building stone. But God has raised Him up and has made Him the head of the corner.” In 1 Corinthians 3:11 Paul says that the church is built upon Christ as the foundation, and in his first Epistle Peter says that all who come to the Lord will be living stones built together into a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:4-5). This is Bethel, the house of God. Ultimately, this Bethel will be enlarged to consummate in the New Jerusalem. On the one hand, the New Jerusalem will be the tabernacle of God among men; on the other hand, there God Himself and the Lamb will be the temple. This is the bird’s-eye view of God’s building.

THE MAIN STREET

In looking at any map we must find the main streets. This matter of the building is the main street in the Bible. Throughout the centuries, thousands of Christian books have been written, but most of them have missed the main street. Instead, they concentrate upon the minor streets. Holiness, sinless perfection, spirituality, tongues, and healing are some of these minor streets. All those who concentrate on these things will miss the mark, which is Bethel, the house of God. In Deuteronomy 12:5 and 6, God seemed to be saying, “You must not offer your burnt offerings and tithes at the place of your choice. You must go to the place I have chosen for My name and for My habitation.” Today, this place is the church, for in the New Testament we see that the church is the place God has chosen for the Lord’s name and for His habitation. Many famous Christian teachers have said that two or three gathering together in the name of the Lord Jesus are the church. They say this because they are blind and do not see the vision of the main street. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 77)

The Bible begins with God’s creation and ends with God’s habitation. We all need to be impressed with these two words—creation and habitation. The consummation of the Bible is God’s eternal dwelling place. If we would know the Bible, we must keep these two things, God’s creation and His habitation, firmly in mind. We have seen that the book of Genesis contains nearly all the seeds of the truths concerning God’s economy. Perhaps the last seed in this book is the seed of Bethel, God’s habitation. Not only at the conclusion of the Bible, but even in the latter part of Genesis, we have the consummate end of God’s economy—Bethel, God’s dwelling place. The word Bethel means the house of God, or the temple of God, the dwelling place of God.

Following Jacob, we have the house of Israel. The house of Israel was actually the house of God. After the exodus from Egypt, there was among the house of Israel the building of the tabernacle, and following the tabernacle, there was the building of the temple. Hence, the Old Testament is a record of eight great men, from Adam through Jacob, plus the tabernacle and the temple. The construction, destruction, and rebuilding of the temple bring us to the end of the Old Testament. What do we have in the New Testament? Again, we have two main things: the tabernacle, which was Jesus (John 1:14), and the temple, which is the church (1 Cor. 3:16). The consummation of the church as the temple is the New Jerusalem. One meaningful and simple way of memorizing the Bible is to remember the eight great men from Adam through Jacob, the tabernacle and the temple as the types in the Old Testament, and the tabernacle and the temple as the reality in the New Testament, the ultimate issue of which is the New Jerusalem. These thirteen items cover the entire Bible. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 78)

Prior to chapter thirty-five, God was called the God of a certain person, for example, the God of Abraham or the God of Isaac. He was the God of individual persons. But in 35:7 we have “El-Beth-el,” the God of the house of God. He is no longer simply the God of individuals; He is now the God of a corporate body, the house of God. Many Christians only experience God as their individual God. Not many have the experience of God as the God of the house of God. How much experience do you have of God as the God of a corporate body? We all must experience God in such a way that He is not only God to us individually, but also the God of the house of God.

There is a great difference between the two. In Genesis 35 we see a crucial and radical turn. However, not many children of God appreciate this. They read this chapter again and again without recognizing the radical turn contained in it. Before this chapter, God was the God of individuals. He was the God of Abel, the God of Enosh, the God of Enoch, the God of Noah, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac. But here He is no longer just the God of individuals, but El-Bethel, the God of the house of God. In Hebrew, “El” means God. In the title El-Bethel this Hebrew word for God is used twice, at both the beginning and the ending of this title. In a sense, the God of the house of God is double. We all can testify that the God we experience in the church life is much richer and sweeter than the God we experience in our individual life. This is why we like to spend more time in the church life.

GOD’S BLESSING

There is also a progression in God’s blessing. In the vision in Bethel (28:13-15), in Padan-aram, and in Shechem (31:3; 35:1), Jacob was not given God’s blessing. God did bless Jacob in Peniel, but there He did not bless him solidly (32:29). Jacob was not given God’s substantial blessing because he was not yet in the place where God intended him to be. At Peniel, we are told that God blessed Jacob, but we are not told in what way He blessed him. However, in chapter thirty-five, at Bethel, the blessing is very solid. There, God blessed Jacob, saying, “I am God, all-sufficient: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land” (vv. 11-12, Heb.). These are the solid items of God’s blessing in Bethel. (Life-study of Genesis, msg. 80)