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Scripture Reading: Rev. 4:2-3; 21:11-12, 14-15, 18-20
In the previous chapter we saw that the gates of the New Jerusalem are pearls. After entering the gates, the street is pure gold, and the city proper is also pure gold. Thus, the city proper and the street are one. In the middle of the street is the river of water of life, and in the river is the tree of life, which spreads its branches onto the two sides of the river and yields its fruits of life continually. We have already said that all these things are exceedingly rich in spiritual significance. They show that anyone who wants to enter this city and participate in this building must be mingled with God. Furthermore, one can enter in through the gate only after his natural being has been dealt with and resurrected in Christ. After entering the gate, one touches the pure gold, which is the nature of God. This nature of God is the building itself, and it is also the one street. In this one street there is the river of water of life, and there is also the tree of life. In other words, this street of God’s nature is filled with the supply of God’s life. Not only so, this street leads to the throne of God. Thus, after a person enters in through the pearl gate, he can reach the throne of God through the golden street. All these items have a spiritual meaning. We need to have the Triune God mingled with us, and we also need to pass through death and resurrection so that we may enter the gate to touch the things in this building. If we enter the gate in this way, we will touch God’s nature, which is the way upon which we can walk. At the same time, this way of God’s nature is filled with the supply of life, and it also leads to the throne of God. God is also the temple here, indicating that His presence is here. God also reigns here, and out of His reigning flows His life. This life is the light; thus, this city is also full of God’s light. These conditions, which we see in the final building of God, should also be the conditions of the church as the building of God today.
Another crucial point concerning the New Jerusalem is the wall. We know that for a city to be a city it must have a wall. If a city does not have a wall, it cannot be considered a city. The seven items we saw in the previous two chapters were all related to the gates of the city and the city proper. However, we have not yet mentioned the wall. Therefore, in this chapter we would like to consider the wall specifically.
Before we consider the wall, we have to mention the vision in Revelation 4. In this chapter the apostle John, who was in spirit, saw a throne set in heaven. The One sitting upon the throne was God Himself as the sovereign Lord of the universe. He who was sitting on the throne was like a jasper stone, and there was a rainbow around the throne (vv. 2-3). We recall that the rainbow did not come into existence until after the beginning of the second world. Due to the excessive wickedness of mankind, the first world created by God was destroyed with a flood, and only the eight persons of Noah’s household were left. After the flood water receded, the second world began. God told Noah that He would use the rainbow as a sign of the covenant He established with the living things of the earth, and when He would look upon the rainbow, He would not destroy the earth by flood again (Gen. 9:8-17). Thus, in Revelation 4, the fact that God appears with a rainbow around His throne implies that He is not only the God of the first world but also the God who preserves the second world. Moreover, it also implies that the reason God created the first world and preserves the second world is that He wants to build the New Jerusalem. Here you see a vision: there is a throne, the God who is on the throne is like a jasper stone in appearance, and there is a rainbow around the throne.
Now let us look at the wall of the New Jerusalem. Revelation 21 clearly says that the wall of the city is jasper (v. 18) and that the light of the city is also like a jasper stone (v. 11). Do we see this? The expression of the city is exactly the same as the expression of God. Just as the God who is on the throne is like jasper, so also the city is like jasper. God appears in the universe as jasper, and the city also appears as jasper. Thus, the appearance of this city is the appearance of God.
In addition, Revelation 21 says that the wall of the city has twelve foundations (vv. 14, 19-20). Someone once arranged the colors of the twelve precious stones of the foundation in sequence according to their names in Greek, and the result was a picture resembling a rainbow. Therefore, here we can see two very similar pictures. In the picture at the beginning of Revelation there is a throne with God sitting upon it as jasper and a rainbow around it. In the picture at the end of Revelation there is a city that also has a throne at its center. The One on the throne is also the same God. In addition, the city looks like jasper all around, and the foundations under the wall of jasper also appear like a rainbow. When you compare these two pictures, you see that in the former there is a throne, and in the latter there is also a throne. In the former the appearance is like jasper, and in the latter the appearance is also like jasper. In the former there is a rainbow around the throne, and in the latter there is also a rainbow around the throne. Thus, in principle, these two pictures are exactly the same. The transparent city is altogether the same as God on the throne in Revelation 4. However, in chapter 4 the appearance of jasper is smaller, whereas in chapter 21 the appearance of jasper has been enlarged. The appearance of jasper in chapter 4 is the expression of God in Himself, whereas the appearance of jasper in chapter 21 is the expression of God in all those who have been redeemed and built up throughout the ages.
Now let us consider the shape of the city. The city lies square, and its length and breadth both are twelve thousand stadia (Rev. 21:16). The area surrounding the city, calculated by multiplying twelve thousand by twelve thousand, is one hundred and forty-four million stadia. In the Scriptures twelve is the most perfect number. That the area surrounding the city is twelve thousand times twelve thousand means that the city is infinitely perfect. The height of this city is also twelve thousand stadia. These numbers together indicate that in this city the expression of God is limitless. It is the fullness of fullness. Previously, on the throne God was not fully expressed, but now in the city He is expressed in full.
Revelation 21 includes everything in the Scriptures; it is the crystallization of the entire Bible. The issue of God’s work in the human race for six thousand years is the New Jerusalem. All the positive things in the Scriptures are consummated in her. Therefore, what this city includes is exceedingly rich.
Simply speaking, the story of the New Jerusalem is the story of the enlargement of God in man. I believe that this statement best describes the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the enlargement and full expression of God in man. In principle, this enlargement, this full manifestation, is the same as God Himself. God’s appearance is like jasper, and the appearance of the city is also like jasper. The two are exactly alike without any difference. Eventually, the first picture in Revelation 4 is included in the second picture in Revelation 21. When the city in Revelation 21 comes into being, the throne in Revelation 4 is included in the city. Therefore, this city is the expression of God Himself.
I believe that after reading these chapters, we should be able to easily recall the story in Genesis 1. We should remember that in the beginning God created man in His image. Then at the end of Revelation we see the manifestation of the New Jerusalem as the crystallized product of God’s work throughout the ages. Everything in the city expresses God, and the entire city itself expresses the image of God. Therefore, at the end of Revelation the goal of God’s creation of man is reached. Man has completely become the expression of God and is full of the image of God. Moreover, the light of this city is like jasper, indicating that its shining is altogether the expression of the image of God. People can both touch God and see God. We should all remember that this should be the condition of a church that has been built up by God.
If a church has really been built up, it will not only have the presence of God, the throne of God, the flowing and supply of the life of God, and the shining of the light of God, it will also have the expression of God. Look at the church at the time of Pentecost. One hundred and twenty people had genuinely been built together by God and were in harmony and one accord. If you were to touch them, you would have sensed that God was with them. Among them there was an expression, which was the shining of God. They were the jasper city. Like transparent crystals, they shone forth the jasper God who was within them.
Conversely, if you go into the midst of the saints in a church that has not been built up by God, you cannot see the expression of God. Rather, what you meet or see will be either fallen people or wicked Satan. They will express man and Satan instead of God. The church in Corinth was a very obvious example of this. The apostle Paul said that the Corinthians were fleshly, that they walked according to the manner of the fashion of the world, and that there were strifes and divisions among them. Thus, what they manifested was the flesh of man. The image of God was completely covered up by them.
Furthermore, the wall of the city is altogether built with precious stones (Rev. 21:18a). This is also a matter with great spiritual significance. A precious stone is not created originally by God; rather, it is formed from something created that has passed through years of constitution by being pressed underneath the earth. If we want to be truly built up, we not only need to be broken by God, but we also need to allow God to do a constituting work in us. We need to be under God’s constituting work for many years before we can become precious stones to shine forth God’s light.
Every descendant of Adam is originally a piece of clay. God created Adam, using a piece of clay taken from the earth as material. Therefore, all of us today who have been born of Adam are also clay. However, since we have been saved with God’s life, in God’s eyes we are no longer clay but stones. Immediately after Simon Peter confessed that the Lord was the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Lord said to him, “You are Peter” (Matt. 16:16-18). Peter is a translated word that means “a stone.” Likewise, every saved person is a “Peter,” a stone, used by God for the building of this city.
However, in the New Jerusalem the materials used by God for building are not merely ordinary stones but precious stones. Hence, it is not enough that we were saved and became stones; we still need to become precious stones. This requires us to put ourselves in the hands of God so that He can do the work of constitution.
All the brothers and sisters should consider whether they are an ordinary stone or a precious stone. I believe that many of us can say, “Formerly, as a piece of clay, I was really vile. But praise and thank God! Because He has cleansed and regenerated me, now I am a piece of stone.” I believe that we all can say this by faith, but I still would like to ask, what kind of stone are you? Not all stones are the same. Are you a precious stone, or are you an ordinary stone? This time on my return trip from abroad I went to Jerusalem and its surrounding regions for a visit. The deepest impression I received is that there are stones throughout the land. There are big stones as well as small stones; everywhere there are stones. One day the driver of our car said to me, “If all the stones here could be changed into bread, we would be rich.” Therefore, mere stones are not precious.
Are you merely a stone, or are you a precious stone? This is a big question. The precious stones on the wall of the city are not only precious but also transparent. Sometimes when you meet a brother, you can sense that he is not only a stone but that he is also truly a precious stone. He is transparent within. On the contrary, there are times when you meet someone, and not only do you sense that he is not a precious stone, but you feel that he is not even like a stone. You feel that he is a lump of clay. His living is muddled, he does things loosely, he speaks freely, and nothing is solid in him.
Those who know about precious stones know that a piece of precious stone is formed through much pressure. This pressure causes a precious stone to become very solid in nature. A lump of earth is loose. If you shake it in your hand, it falls apart right away. However, it is not so with a precious stone. It will not break even if you dash it on the ground. Some brothers and sisters are really solid and strong like precious stones, but there are also some brothers and sisters who are loose like a lump of earth. When you meet them, their words flow out of them very easily. It is as if it is easier for them to speak than to do anything else. They do not know what it means to be restricted. They are not precious stones even in the smallest amount. It should be no wonder to us that they cannot participate in the building.
Experts say that precious stones are formed not only by pressure, but that during the process of formation they also need to be burned by fire. Pressure, burning, and constitution are necessary for the transformation into precious stones. In the New Jerusalem there is nothing loose; rather, it is all precious stones, and it is all pure gold. Everything has been pressed, constituted, and burned; hence, it is solid and transparent. Likewise, for the building up of the church every brother and sister must experience the work of pressure and the work of heat. Often brothers and sisters ask me, “Brother Lee, we heard that you are going to such and such a place next week, is it true?” I tell them, “I do not know. Even I myself do not yet know when I am going, how do you know?” You can tell how loose many people are by the loose situation of the spreading of rumors among the brothers and sisters. In the face of this you can only sigh and say, “In the church few people are solid; few have been pressed, burned, and constituted. Hence, few have been built up.”
Now let us look at another point. The wall not only is like God and expresses God, it is also a boundary. Everything inside this wall is the New Jerusalem, and everything outside this wall is not the New Jerusalem. In other words, everything inside this wall is God’s building, and everything outside this wall is not God’s building. Please remember that the church has a boundary. This boundary of the church comes as a result of the children of God being constituted. The more you allow God to constitute you, the more you will have the wall, the boundary, in you. The wall is not there originally; it has to be built up. This building up is God’s constituting. Therefore, the more God builds and constitutes in you, the more you have the separation, the boundary.
One time a brother said to me, “Brother Lee, someone said that among us there is a wall, that we are always separated from others.” I said, “Brother, do you consider this a strange thing? I am not afraid that others say that we have a wall; rather, I am afraid that our wall is not high enough.” Do you know how high the wall of the New Jerusalem is? The Bible says that its height is one hundred and forty-four cubits. One cubit is about one and a half feet, so one hundred and forty-four cubits is about two hundred and twenty feet high. Brothers and sisters, what the enemy hates the most is our wall. When Nehemiah returned from the captivity to rebuild the holy city, the thing that the enemy tried his utmost to destroy was the wall of the city. What a pity that today many Christians do not have a wall. The same is true even with many churches. A wall is a boundary. To have a boundary is to have a separation. If in the church a great number of the saints have been built together, there will be a high wall, and there will be a clear boundary between the church and the world. In the church it will be easy to distinguish what belongs to God from what belongs to man, what is heavenly from what is earthly, and what is of the new creation from what is of the old creation. Moreover, these things are not distinguished by teaching but by building. I believe that you understand these words. If you want God to have the building in the church, you need to see that there is a boundary here, and this boundary comes out of God’s mingling and constituting. If God is mingled with us and constituted into us, immediately, we will have a boundary for separation.
Let me use watching movies as an illustration. I know that many brothers and sisters cannot overcome in this matter. It is a topic for debate among many Christians in many places in the world. Those who are in favor would say, “What is wrong with going to the movies? There are many good films. These films not only increase our knowledge and broaden our views, but they are also full of educational significance and are helpful in building up human virtues. Therefore, watching movies is not necessarily bad.” However, we have to see that being a Christian is not simply a question of distinguishing between good and bad. Being a Christian is a question of whether or not God’s boundary is drawn in us, and this boundary is absolutely not drawn by teaching and regulation. If we post several commandments at the entrance of the meeting hall, and one of them says that we may not watch movies, this does not mean that we then have a boundary. We know that this kind of regulation is useless. Regulation cannot cause a person to be separated. But one thing is certain: after you are saved, if you allow God to do some building work in you, and if you allow the Holy Spirit to do some constituting work in you, then a wall will be built up as a separating line in you, and you will instantly see that movies are separated from you forever. Today you may argue with me by giving me many reasons, but one day when God puts a little pressure on you, and when He does a small amount of constituting work in you, squeezing you a couple of times, then from that day onward, movies will be separated from you.
Therefore, this is altogether not a question of good or bad; it is a question of nature. We must ask, “Is this of the New Jerusalem? Or is it of Babylon?” Today with some Christians the movie theater and the meeting hall are about the same. Such a Christian comes to the meeting hall in the morning and then goes to the movie theater in the afternoon. With this kind of brother or sister surely there is no wall, no boundary. You may argue, “I did not watch a bad film. I watched a film that admonishes people to honor their parents, and I felt that it was quite helpful.” There is no need, however, to argue about this. When the Holy Spirit presses and constitutes you a little within, and when He pierces you a couple of times, immediately you will have a wall, a boundary. You will know what is of the lake of fire and what is of the New Jerusalem. Everything that is of Babylon and everything that is of corruption will be kept from coming into you.
This is not only true with individual believers; it is also true with the church as a whole. On many occasions brothers and sisters try to introduce the things of the world into the church. Like the worldly people, they may think that these things are quite good. But according to the same principle, in the church it is not a question of good or bad; it is a question of nature, a question of whether or not God is in something. I would like to ask you, when you went to watch even the best movie, could you say that God was in you, that God was with you, and that He was sitting there with you? Certainly, you would not be able to say this. Not only so, frankly speaking, if you watch a movie, you will not be able to have proper prayer for at least a week. I know what I am talking about. Check with your experience. After you watch a movie, can you pray as usual? It will take at least seven days before some of the impression in you can be washed away. I am not even referring to a bad movie. If you watch a bad movie, you will not be able to wash it away for your entire life. That dirty impression will be stamped into your mind continually, and it will always reappear whenever you pray.
I repeat, this is not a question of good or bad; rather, it is a question of whether or not God is in it, a question of whether or not God is mingled in it. My brothers and sisters, may we all be those who have a wall. Both the saints individually and the church corporately must be serious to accept God’s building work so that we may have a high, solid, and transparent wall.
We still have to address the twelve foundations of the wall. We already mentioned that when the twelve layers of the foundation are drawn in their sequence according to the colors of the precious stones, they have the appearance of a rainbow. The situation of the foundation is altogether the same as that of the rainbow surrounding the throne in Revelation 4. This rainbow is the sign of God’s covenant. Therefore, for God to be expressed in the rainbow reveals that God is the covenant-keeping God, the faithful God. That the foundations of the wall have the appearance of a rainbow also reveals that this city, which is built upon the faithfulness of God, can never be destroyed. Man cannot destroy it; even God Himself cannot destroy it. God has to keep the covenant signified by the rainbow. Therefore, this city is built upon a foundation that is eternally indestructible.
The Bible says that on the foundations are the twelve names of the twelve apostles (Rev. 21:14). This indicates that the apostles are the foundations of this city. Therefore, today we have to read the biographies, the experiences of life, and the teachings of the apostles. We must take the apostles as the foundation. Whether in our personal life or in the services of the church, the wall, the boundary, cannot be according to our discernment or view. Neither can it be according to public opinion or the ideology of this age. It must be according to the lives and teachings of the apostles. They are the foundation of everything, a foundation which cannot be destroyed. Not only the enemy cannot destroy it; even the almighty God cannot destroy it.
Finally, the area of this city is twelve thousand stadia times twelve thousand stadia. The height of the wall is one hundred and forty-four cubits, which is also twelve times twelve. In the Bible twelve times twelve means the perfection of perfection, the fullness of fullness. Therefore, not only is this wall constituted with precious stones, not only does it have a foundation, and not only is it transparent, but it is also full. The Bible says that this is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (v. 17). Man is earthly, and angels are heavenly. Therefore, this means that these people who were previously earthly now have a heavenly measure. May the Lord show us that this is His building, and this is the work that He intends to carry out in the saints.
To summarize, the gates of the New Jerusalem are pearls, the street and the city proper are pure gold, the wall is jasper, and the foundations are twelve kinds of precious stones. This means that if you want to enter in through the gate to participate in this building, you need to contact the Lord who died and resurrected so that you may be regenerated to become a new creation and be mingled with God, thereby having His divine nature. Then you still need to remain in the nature of God and to live in the nature of God. Only then will you have a way to walk and the supply of life as well. Moreover, you will touch the presence of God, the throne of God, and also see the light of God. At the same time, because God is doing a work of pressure, a work of purification by fire, and a work of constituting within you, the wall of precious stones will be manifested in you. If all of us have been worked on by God, then we will be built together to become the building of God. In our midst will be God’s presence as the temple, God’s throne reigning, God’s life flowing as the supply, and God’s glory being expressed. This is God’s building. May the Lord have mercy on us so that the churches everywhere may manifest all these conditions of being built up!
