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Scripture Reading: Rev. 22:1; 21:16, 22-24a, 25; 22:3b, 5
I. Its throne — Rev. 22:1:
А. The throne of God and of the Lamb — the redeeming God:
1. Founded on its base to be one with its base according to God’s divine nature.
2. The source and goal of its divine administration.
3. Also the source of its divine fellowship, signified by the street with its communication, flowing with its supply.
B. As the center of its divine glory.
II. Its temple — 21:22:
А. The temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb — the redeeming God:
1. The Holy of Holies, as evidenced by its dimensions — v. 16.
2. For God’s redeemed elect to worship and serve Him — 22:3b.
3. To be the dwelling place of God’s serving elect.
B. As the house (palace) of God the Father, who is the King of kings, and His household, His many sons, His royal family, who are the co-kings with the Father to be its reign (v. 5b) and who are the priests who serve God (v. 3b); hence, they are the royal priesthood, the kingly priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).
III. Its light — Rev. 21:23-24a:
А. Its light is God as the glory and the Lamb as the lamp — the redeeming and shining God:
1. The illuminating glory of God is the light within Christ.
2. The redeeming Christ is the lamp containing the light.
3. The entire city of the New Jerusalem is the diffuser, diffusing the divine light over the nations outside the city.
B. As the unique eternal divine light in which the redeemed elect live and move within the city, needing not the natural light, the sun and the moon, created by God, nor the artificial light made by man — vv. 23, 25; 22:5a.
Prayer: Lord, we are touching the highest and greatest matter in the universe. We humbly say that we are not worthy to touch it. Lord, we take You as our refuge. We take the Lamb’s blood as our victory. We do not trust in what we do. We trust in Your mercy. We trust in Your blessing. We trust in Your presence, under Your anointing. We trust in Your Word, the living Word. We trust in Your Spirit, the all-inclusive Spirit. Be with us in this meeting. We thank You for the past three messages. We hand over this meeting into Your hand for Your blessing. Amen.
I hope that we all can see that the New Jerusalem is nothing else but God Himself wrought into us to be this structure. This structure is mainly of three parts: its base, its gates, and its wall with all the foundations. These are the three persons of the Divine Trinity. The gold as the base of the city is God the Father, the pearls as the gates of the city are God the Son, and the wall of the city is God the Spirit. The Father as the base, the Son as the gates, and the Spirit as the wall are the Triune God wrought into His chosen people to have such a structure standing in the universe marvelously and uniquely. The New Jerusalem is the Triune God, the Divine Trinity, as three basic factors, wrought into and structured together with His redeemed as the conclusion of the whole Bible. I hope that many of us in the Lord’s recovery would go around the globe telling people everywhere nothing else but the New Jerusalem. All of Christianity needs to hear this. Thank the Lord that we have seen the New Jerusalem as the unique conclusion of the entire holy Word.
In this chapter we want to see the furnishings of the New Jerusalem. If a building is completed, yet it is without furnishings, it still cannot be used. The divine building is structured with three basic parts plus furnished with three furnishings. The three furnishings of the New Jerusalem are the throne, the temple, and the lamp.
The first furnishing is the throne of the redeeming God (Rev. 22:1). Today there are kings and queens on many thrones, but the day will come when in the universe there will be a central city, and the center of that central city will be the throne of God. The Possessor of that throne will be the redeeming God, God and the Lamb. For eternity we cannot forget that He is not only our God but also our Redeemer. He has redeemed us back to Himself, and now we are centered around His throne.
The throne of God is founded on a golden base, which is God Himself. This throne is also one with the base. The throne and the base are one, one piece of gold (cf. 1 Kings 10:18).
The throne has a source, and the throne is the source; and the throne has a goal, and the throne is the goal. It is the source flowing out and the goal coming back. This is the divine traffic, and this traffic is the administration. This traffic, this administration, is signified by a golden street, which is the base itself. If I were to ask, “Do you have a throne?” you should say, “In the past I didn’t have a throne, but today I do. I am not a person without a throne in the universe. I have the throne of God and I am in His administration.”
The throne is not only the source of God’s administration but also the source of the divine fellowship. The street signifies not only the traffic of God’s administration but also the fellowship of God’s redeemed. This divine fellowship, signified by the street with its communication, flows with the divine supply. This supply is the river of water of life and the tree of life. The river is for beverage, and the tree is for food, for life supply. One is for quenching, and the other is for nourishing.
Such a throne with its administration and its fellowship is the center of the New Jerusalem’s divine glory.
Revelation 21:22 says, “I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” We need to consider why the temple is considered a furnishing of the holy city and not part of the structure itself. The structure itself is called the tabernacle of God (v. 3). The writer of Revelation tells us that he did not see the temple. Because he was used to the temple, he was looking for it, but he saw no temple. Instead, he saw that the temple was the redeeming God. Thus, the redeeming God is not only the basic factor for the structure of the New Jerusalem but also the very central furnishing. We human beings created by God need a temple. Our temple is the redeeming God as a part of the furnishings of the New Jerusalem.
Actually, the temple here refers to the Holy of Holies. This is evidenced by the measurement of the New Jerusalem, which is the same in three dimensions — length, breadth, and height (a cube — v. 16) — like the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament temple, which was the same measurement in three dimensions (1 Kings 6:20). The Holy of Holies is actually God Himself.
The temple is for God’s people to worship Him, to serve Him (Rev. 22:3b).
The holy city as the tabernacle of God is for God to dwell in, and the redeeming God as the temple is for the redeemed saints to dwell in. In the new heaven and new earth, the New Jerusalem will be a mutual dwelling place for God and man for eternity.
The temple is the house (palace) of God the Father, who is the King of kings, and of His household, His many sons, His royal family, who are the co-kings with the Father, to be its reign (v. 5b). These co-kings are also the priests who serve God (v. 3b); hence, they are the royal priesthood, the kingly priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).
Because the Dweller and His children will be kings, this temple becomes a palace. Solomon built a temple for God and also a palace for himself separately. These two were divided, separated. But now in the New Jerusalem our temple and our palace are one. God’s temple is our palace. All the folks of the same divine family live in that temple, where they worship God and live as kings, making that living place a palace. The Father is the Father-King, and the children are the children-kings. This is the reigning, ruling family, the royal family. Their dwelling place is the place not only for them to serve God but also for them to live as kings; it is a palace.
There has never been such a family on this earth. The Japanese have their emperors, the British have their kings, but there has never been a situation where all those in the family are kings. We believers in Christ, who are washed by the blood and regenerated by the Spirit, are the children of God who will eventually become kings. Our Father-King is the unique Father, but He will have millions of successors because we will all be His co-kings. Romans 5:17 says that by the abounding grace we can reign in life as a king today. The entire Bible tells us that we, the children of God, will eventually be the children-kings in the King’s house. The reign in the holy city will be not only God Himself as the Father-King but also His children as the co-kings with their Father.
We cannot live in darkness. We can live only in the light. The New Jerusalem will have a particular kind of light — the redeeming and shining God (Rev. 21:23). The redeeming God shines as the shining God. The illuminating glory of God is the light within Christ, and the redeeming Christ is the lamp containing the light. God is always contained in Christ. Christ is the unique container of God. God’s glory is the light of the city, and God is contained by Christ as the content, shining out through Christ.
Also, the entire city of the New Jerusalem is the diffuser, diffusing the divine light over the nations outside the city (v. 24a). We are the diffusers to spread the light. God has spent at least six thousand years to build up a city, and this city needs the light. Without the light, the city is in darkness. The illuminating light is God Himself in His glory contained in Christ as the lamp. This lamp is in a diffuser. Today this diffuser to spread the divine light is the Body of Christ. Eventually, the entire New Jerusalem will be the diffuser of the divine light. All the nations around the city will be under this diffusing with God as the light of glory and Christ as the containing lamp.
The light of the holy city is the unique eternal divine light in which the redeemed elect live and move within the city, needing not the natural light, the sun and the moon, created by God, nor the artificial light made by man (vv. 23, 25; 22:5a). In the universe there are only three kinds of light. First, there is the natural light, the sun and the moon, created by God. Then there is the artificial light made by man. Third, there is the real light, the genuine light, which is God Himself. Revelation tells us that in the New Jerusalem we do not need the natural light of the moon and the sun or the artificial light. This is because we have the first-class light, which is the source of all the light. This light is God, shining within Christ, diffused over all the nations.
The three furnishings of the New Jerusalem are the throne as the center, the temple as the palace to hold the many kings who will be the reign in the new heaven and new earth, and the lamp with God as the shining light in which all can live and move. Now let us consider how to apply these furnishings. First, we have to apply the throne of God with its administration to our daily life. Every day you have to realize that you are a person who is under the divine throne and who is also in the divine administration. Just remember this one thing. This is to apply the throne and the administration. If you can remember that you are a person under the divine throne and in the divine administration, this will change your daily life. With this realization you cannot be loose and uncontrolled. Dear saints, every morning you have to apply this. You should remember: “I am a God-man under the throne of God and in the administration of God. I cannot be free. I am fully ruled, governed, by the Lord.”
Also, you have to remember that you are a member of the royal family. You are one of many kings of the kingly family. Even when you are at a restaurant, you should remember that you are a king eating there. You are not just an American. You are a heavenly born king. You should never sell your royal status. If you consider that you are a king, you would not act lightly, talk loosely, or behave meanly. You can even preach the gospel with this in view. You may tell someone that you are not merely an American but a king. Then you can start your preaching of the gospel by saying, “The Bible tells me that as a child of God, I am a king.” There are many ways to preach the gospel. We need this kind of vital preaching of the gospel.
We also have God in Christ as our light. Our natural knowledge, our natural ability in understanding and realizing things, is like the light of the sun and the moon. Furthermore, we have received many “lamps” from the teachers in high schools and universities. These are the artificial “lamps.” In the church life we do not need our understanding by our natural ability or our school-taught knowledge. Instead, we have our God shining within us through His word.
Psalm 119:130 says that the entrance of God’s word gives light. Day after day we have to enter into the holy word; then we will see light. We will not be in darkness but in the light that is God Himself through His word. Therefore, we should not realize or do anything according to our natural ability or according to all the education we have received. The more degrees we have, the more artificial light we have. Here in the church life we do not need this. We have God as our unique light to apply to our life.
Today’s Christians are divided by many kinds of natural and artificial light. We must be controlled by the unique, genuine, top, first-class light. This light is our redeeming and shining God. We must apply this light to our daily walk. Many of the saints exercise their natural ability too much, even in the church life. This is why there are murmurings and reasonings in the church life. We do not need the natural and the artificial light. For the building up of the Body of Christ, we walk and live under the divine, redeeming, and shining light through the word of God.
