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In this message we will continue to consider Christ as the Husband of the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 22:1 speaks of “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The Lamb with God is on the throne within the city. On this throne God and the Lamb will not sit beside each other; instead, God in Christ will sit on the throne. We know this because God as the light will dwell in the Lamb as the lamp (21:23). Because the light is in the lamp, these are not two entities but one entity in two aspects. Just as the light and the lamp are one unit, one entity, God and the Lamb are one entity.
We need to note that there are not two thrones, one for God and another for the Lamb, because light and the lamp can neither be separated, nor do they stand side-by-side. Rather, the light shines out from within the lamp. Therefore, God as the light is in the Lamb as the lamp and shines out through Him.
God and the Lamb sit on the one throne in the way of coinherence, in the way of being two yet one. God sits in the Lamb, and the Lamb sits in God. God and the Lamb coinhere; They are one. They are one light, and They are sitting on one throne. This means that since God is in Christ sitting on the throne, both God and Christ sit on one throne in the heavens.
Hebrews 12:2 says that Christ “sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.” From this verse we may have the impression that next to the throne of God, at His right hand, is another throne. However, in the book of Revelation we see that it is only one throne of both God and Christ. In Revelation 3:21 the Lord says that He sat with His Father on His throne. Revelation 22:3 goes on to say of the holy city, New Jerusalem, that “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.” Again, this verse does not speak of two thrones — one for God and another for the Lamb — but of the throne of God and of the Lamb. Hence, it is one throne for both. The fact that God in Christ is sitting on the throne means that God administrates the entire universe from within Christ and through Christ, just as the light shines from within the lamp and through the lamp. From this we can see that Christ is enthroned with God. God is on the throne, and this God is in the enthroned Christ, the God-man.
Revelation 22:3a says, “There will no longer be a curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it.” In the new heaven and new earth there will be no curse, because sin and death will be gone. However, there is an additional principle that where the throne of God is established, there the curse is gone. To have a curse means that we do not have the throne. If the throne of God is within us, we will have no curse.
The one throne of God and of the Lamb signifies that God and the Lamb are one — the Lamb-God, the redeeming God, God the Redeemer. In eternity the God who will sit on the throne is our redeeming God, from whose throne proceeds the river of water of life for our supply and satisfaction. This depicts how the Triune God — God, the Lamb, and the Spirit (symbolized by the water of life) — dispenses Himself into His redeemed under His headship (implied by the authority of the throne) for eternity.
The One on the throne is both the God who created and the Lamb who redeemed. Hence, we may call Him the Lamb-God. This means that He is the redeeming God. This redeeming God is on the throne of His administration so that He may dispense Himself into all His redeemed. For eternity in the New Jerusalem we will see the redeeming God, God in the Lamb.
Revelation 22:3 says, “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him.” We need to notice that the pronouns in this verse are singular, not plural. This verse says, “His slaves will serve Him”; it does not say, “Their slaves will serve Them.” The singular pronoun, which refers to both God and the Lamb, proves that God and the Lamb are one. The throne of God and of the Lamb is the throne of the redeeming God, the Lamb-God. In Genesis 1:1 we have God, but in Revelation 22:1 we have God with the Lamb. In Genesis we have the creating God, but in Revelation we have the redeeming God. Out of this redeeming God as the source flows the river of water of life. The flow of the river of water of life is the fellowship of life. This means that fellowship is the outflow of the divine life from within the redeeming God.
The One on the throne is not just God and not just the Lamb but the Lamb-God, the redeeming God. According to Revelation 4:3, God, the One on the throne, “was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance.” Jasper, which is dark green, signifies God as the God of glory in His rich life, and sardius, which is red, signifies God as the God of redemption. The fact that the appearance of God on the throne is like a jasper stone and a sardius indicates that God is no longer just God but also our Redeemer. This also corresponds with Ezekiel 1, which speaks of the glowing electrum, a mixture of gold and silver, which signifies the Lamb-God, the redeeming God. Gold signifies the nature of God, and silver signifies redemption. The electrum, composed of the elements of gold and silver, signifies the Lamb-God. This indicates that our God is not merely the divine Being; He is also the redeeming God.
Every nation has a center, which is its capital, the place where the central government is located. The New Jerusalem also has a center, which is the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:1), the throne of our redeeming God. This throne is the administrative center of the city. Since there will be the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem, God’s ruling will be among the saints.
Today there are kings and queens on many thrones, but the day will come when in the entire 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 will not 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. As the redeeming God, Christ will administrate within the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. From the throne Christ, the redeeming God, will carry out His administration, based on His redemption, in the eternal kingdom in the new heaven and new earth. Christ’s work of administrating within the New Jerusalem is for His expression through His administration.
In the first section of Revelation (1:1—11:19) the throne of God is the center, and in the second section (12:1—22:21) the temple of God is the center. At the end of the book of Revelation, the throne of God is in the temple. Thus, the throne and temple have become one.
There is a distinction between the temple and the city. The temple emphasizes a dwelling place, a habitation, whereas the city emphasizes administration. The temple is a matter of presence, whereas the city is a matter of sovereign power, authority. When the New Jerusalem appears, these two will be combined. The New Jerusalem is a city, which is of authority, and God’s tabernacle with men, which is a dwelling. Hence, in the New Jerusalem we see both God’s presence and God’s authority. Although both aspects are combined, the emphasis in the city is on authority. Hence, the center of the New Jerusalem is the throne of God and of the Lamb, with God’s sovereign power, God’s authority (v. 3).
Our God is not only the God on the throne for His administration nor only the God in the temple for His expression. He is the God on the throne in the temple for His expression through His administration. God’s throne is for His administration, and God’s temple is for His expression. The fact that the throne is in the temple means that God’s administration is for His expression. In eternity future God’s throne will be in the center of the New Jerusalem, and His expression will extend to the circumference. Therefore, our God is both the God of administration and the God of expression.
The throne in the New Jerusalem is on top of the city, the top of the golden mountain. The one street in this city eventually leads to the throne. The Lord Jesus came down to earth from His throne that He might bring God into man. This is the Triune God coming out of Himself to reach mankind. When we received Him into us, we were baptized into Him. Baptism is the real entrance into the Triune God (Matt. 28:19), and the entrance into the Triune God is the initial entrance into the New Jerusalem. Immediately after we pass through the pearl gates, we find ourselves on the golden street that leads us upward to the throne of God.
The throne of God and of the Lamb is founded on a golden base, which is God Himself. This throne is also one with the base. The throne and the base, both of which are of gold, are one (cf. 1 Kings 10:18).
The throne signifies the administration of the New Jerusalem. This means that the administration of the holy city, an organic building, is built on the base (God the Father’s nature) as its foundation. Psalm 89:14 says that righteousness is the foundation of God’s throne. This implies that the nature of God as the foundation of God’s administration refers, in this aspect, to God’s attribute of righteousness. God has a nature, and His nature is of many attributes, which include love, light, holiness, righteousness, and kindness. All these divine virtues are the attributes of God. Among all these divine attributes, the most important is righteousness. This is why we need to be saved according to God’s righteousness (Rom. 1:16-17; 3:21-22). If we are saved only according to God’s grace or according to God’s love, our salvation is not legally justified — it is not judicial. Anything that is of righteousness is judicial, legal, according to the law.
The foundation of God’s throne is not grace or love. Such a foundation would not be sure to us. God’s throne is established on righteousness as its foundation. This righteousness is the main attribute in God’s nature. In the New Jerusalem both the street and the base are gold, signifying God’s nature in the attribute of righteousness. This is the foundation of the throne of God.
The throne has a source, and the throne is the source; 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. Each one of us needs to declare, “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 of God and of the Lamb is for God’s administration. God is the One who had a purpose, made a plan in eternity past, and created all things for the fulfillment of His plan. The Lamb is the One who redeemed us, the One who has accomplished a full redemption to fulfill God’s plan. Thus, the throne of God and of the Lamb denotes that this throne is to carry out God’s plan through Christ’s redemption. Both God’s plan and Christ’s redemption are being carried out through this throne. The throne is the source from which the river of water of life flows, and it flows with the tree of life growing in it (Rev. 22:2). The throne for the accomplishment of God’s eternal purpose is to flow out God Himself so that by this flow of life His purpose could be accomplished.
God who is in us is the source of life. The throne of God and of the Lamb should be the center of our being. In the meeting we may say the throne is in us, but many times in our daily living, the throne is often neglected by us. We need to ask ourselves if we have the throne of God in us in our living. Who is our Lord, Head, and authority in our daily life? Often, even in small things, we would not let the throne rule in our heart.
The throne is the source not only of God’s administration but also 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 the 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.
The administration of the New Jerusalem, an organic building, is joined to the street, the communication of which, from the throne to the gates, signifies the execution of the administration of this organic building. In the New Jerusalem there is a street that is joined to the throne. The street is for communication. The street joined to the throne is for the governmental dealings, the administration, in the New Jerusalem.
As we have seen, Revelation 22 shows that the river of water of life proceeds out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (vv. 1-2). Hence, when God and the Lamb are enthroned in our being and are able to rule and reign in us, this life will be manifested as power that supplies us inwardly. Because the Lord desires to set up His throne within us, He cares for the authority, the ground, and the dominion within us. We must give Him the dominion. God has already made Him Lord and Christ and has given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. The entire universe is His domain. Yet it seems that we are those who do not give Him the authority. God has made Him King, but we may not honor Him as King. Instead, often in our daily living, we are our own king and do many things by ourselves. Even to this day there seems to be little room for Christ in us. Our inner being may not be Christ’s domain but our own domain. It seems that in many things we are the lord, we are in control, and we have the final word. The Lord Jesus is frustrated in us. He is the Lord who is enthroned in heaven, but He may not be enthroned in our heart.
The church is the place where God exercises His authority, and the throne of God’s Son is set up among the churches. His authority and reign should have the ground in all the saints. Although they all have God’s life, the Lord Himself, and the Lord’s throne, authority, and kingdom in them, many will not submit to the Lord’s authority, allow the Lord to be seated on the throne within them, or allow Him to establish His kingdom and obtain His domain in their being. We must realize that if this is our situation, we cannot be living and strong Christians, the power of the Lord Jesus cannot be expressed through us, and the divine life cannot be a supply to us.
The gospel saves us so that we may become the Lord’s kingdom. God regenerates us with His life so that we may have the throne of His Son in us. Satan seeks to overthrow God’s authority in the universe. He is unwilling to let God’s authority be brought to earth. In the meantime, he also usurps the earth among the worldly people so that God’s kingdom cannot come to earth and His authority cannot be exercised among men. Through His Son’s dying for man, being raised from the dead, cleansing away man’s sins with His blood, and regenerating man with His life, God brings His throne, His authority, and His kingdom into the saved ones so that they may have His authority in them and become His kingdom.
We need to apply the throne of God with its administration to our daily life. Every day we need to realize that we are persons who are under the divine throne and who are also in the divine administration. We need to remember this crucial matter; this is to apply the throne and the administration. If we can remember that we are persons under the divine throne and in the divine administration, this will change our daily life. With this realization we cannot be loose and uncontrolled. Every day we need to apply this. We 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.”
The throne of God in the center of the New Jerusalem is the unique source of the life supply. It is by His administration that God dispenses Himself into us as life, as the life supply, and as the eternal, absolute, all-inclusive grace. His dispensing of Himself into us depends upon His administration. For this reason, in the church life today there is divine authority and church government. There is a divine government in the church life today, and this government comes from the throne of God. The divine authority in the church is for God to dispense Himself into us as life, as the life supply, and as the all-sufficient grace. Only by submitting ourselves to God’s authority, God’s government, can we share in His all-sufficient grace.
The throne of grace in Hebrews 4:16 is the throne of authority in Revelation 4, which becomes in Revelation 22:1 and 2 the throne of God and of the Lamb, out of which proceeds the crystal clear river of water of life. This river flows through the whole city of New Jerusalem. Within this river grows the tree of life, revealing that the rich Christ with the living Spirit flows out of the throne of grace. Grace is the flowing river in which the tree of life grows. To the unbelievers and to the demons, the throne of God and of the Lamb is a throne merely of authority; to us, it is the throne of grace. Whenever we come to this throne, we have the sense that something is flowing to water and supply us. This is grace. We can surely drink and eat of this supply.
On the throne of grace is not only God but also the Lamb, the Redeemer. On the wonderful throne of grace, God is sitting, and at His right hand is the Redeemer, our High Priest. That the throne is not only the throne of God but the throne of God and of the Lamb means that God in the Lamb is flowing Himself out as grace for our enjoyment. We need not do anything. We simply need to come forward, open up, and receive mercy and find grace for timely help. Every day the help that comes from this grace is very timely. It is always new and exactly fits our situation and need.
God’s mercy and grace are always available to us. However, we need to receive and find them by exercising our spirit to come forward to the throne of grace. The throne of God is the throne of grace. Whenever we come to the throne of grace, the grace of God is like a river flowing to us.
Today in our spirit there is heaven, the throne of authority, and the throne of grace with God and the Lamb. When we call on the Lord, we are in our spirit, and our spirit is in the heavens with the throne of authority, the throne of grace, and the coinhering God sitting on the throne.
God’s throne is thus the source of the flowing grace. To dethrone Him, to take the throne away from Him, is to disregard the source of grace. This causes the flow of grace to cease. This is not a mere doctrine but something very experiential. Many of us can testify that whenever we fail to enthrone the Lord, we do not receive grace in our times of prayer.
In eternity we will also enjoy the throne of God and of the Lamb (v. 3). 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. The throne of God and of 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 only authority but also grace.
We should never separate authority from grace or grace from authority. Grace and authority are one. If we have grace, we are under authority, and if we are under authority, we partake of grace. Although it is true that, as Christians, we need to reign, we should not reign by authority. Rather, we should reign through the flow of life. The eldership, the representation of the headship, must be exercised through the flow of life. Although the throne is the throne of authority, the throne of headship, out of the throne flows the river of water of life. When we look at the throne, we see authority and headship. But when we look at the river, we see the water of life and the tree of life. This indicates that proper eldership is not the exercise of authority over others; it is the flowing of life into them. We are reigning, but we do not reign by authority; we reign through the flowing of the inner life.
Today the Lord Jesus does not reign merely with authority. He is reigning in the church, among the churches, and over all the churches through the flowing of His life as grace. The more we partake of His life, the more authority we have. The ones whom you respect in the church life are those who are mature in life. However, no one who assumes authority will be respected. Deep in the spirits of the saints there is no respect for that kind of eldership. Life is the expression of authority. Instead of assuming authority, we need to live out Christ. The Christ whom we live out will be our authority over others. We will enjoy this kind of authority for eternity. The throne, the source of the life supply with the divine authority, will be our eternal enjoyment.
We have experienced that when we subject ourselves to this headship, we immediately sense something full of God’s riches flowing within us. This is the flow of the Triune God as life, life supply, and everything to our being. Within us we sense such a flow, and this flow is from the throne of God and of the Lamb as the water of life.
In Revelation 22:1 we see the flow of the Divine Trinity — God, the Lamb, and the water of life (the Spirit). According to John 7:38-39, the water of life refers to the Spirit. God was the One who purposed, became the redeeming Lamb (1:14, 29), and became the life-giving, flowing Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). God flows in the water of life, the Lamb flows in the water of life, and the Spirit flows as the water of life. Thus, this is the triune flow, the flow of the Divine Trinity as the life supply.
We must realize that whenever the throne is gone, there is no source of the flow. This is why many times we have the feeling that we are dry and even dried up. There is not the flow of the living water because we do not accept or recognize the lordship, the headship, and the authority of the Triune God in the center of our being. This is why the throne is the last item revealed concerning the New Jerusalem. Without the throne, the New Jerusalem does not have a center, and without the throne, there is no flow of life. As a result, the entire New Jerusalem would be dried up and even starved to death. The water of life flows out of the throne, and the tree of life grows in the water of life and on the two sides of the river of the water of life as a vine producing timely fruits for the food of God’s redeemed for eternity. Both the water of life and the tree of life are the issue of the throne. If there were no throne in us, what would be the issue? Many Christians are dried up, starved to death, and without growth in life because the throne is neglected in their experience.
According to our daily experiences, we Christians should experience the flow of the Divine Trinity every day. Every morning after rising up, we need to say, “Lord, thank You for a new day for me to take You as my Lord. I subject myself under Your headship for the whole day. Lord, set up Your throne in my life. Set up Your throne in the center of my being. Lord, bring my whole day with my daily life under Your throne.” If we offer such a prayer to the Triune God every morning, we will have the living water flowing within us. This living water flowing in us is the flow of the Triune God. It is not a small thing that the Triune God flows in us today. He flows in us as the One who purposed, as the One who redeemed, and as the One who is the life-giving Spirit. This One is the consummation of the Triune God reaching us as the living water.
Our daily life must be a life of the New Jerusalem. In that day when we arrive at the ultimate consummation of the divine revelation, we should not be surprised, because today we are experiencing the same thing. What will be in the New Jerusalem will be an intensification and a consummation of our present experience. Today we are experiencing the throne of God and of the Lamb out of which flows the Triune God for our enjoyment.
In our Christian life the center is the throne of God and of the Lamb. We are not here living for ourselves. We are living and existing for the accomplishment of God’s purpose in order to carry out what Christ has accomplished. Therefore, we experience the One on the throne in His headship and lordship, and we submit ourselves to such an authority. In our daily life, in our family life, in our married life, in our business life, and in our church life, the center must be God’s throne. Everything should be subjected to His headship.
In our Christian experience the unique item should be the throne of the One who purposed and of the One who redeemed. Such a throne must be set up in our entire being, and this should be the center of our Christian life. This means that we would accept the God who purposed and the Christ who redeemed us as our Head, Lord, and authority. We should be willing to subject ourselves to such a headship. We adore Him as the Lord, and we take Him as our authority. We enthrone Him in our being and in our Christian life.
Within us, in the center of our being, there should be the throne of God and of the Lamb. Whenever we would take the Triune God as our Head, the divine life begins to flow in our being. We need to apply this to our daily life in every instance and in every thing. Even in our talk to the members of our family, we need to practice submitting ourselves to the inner throne. We should not look into the heavens but to the center of our entire being where there should be a throne. The throne should be prevailing in the center of our being. Then the water of life will be proceeding out of the throne to supply us and to bring to us the tree of life which nourishes us all day long.
We need to realize that what is recorded in Revelation 21 and 22 should be experienced by us today in a very personal way. Experientially, every proper and normal Christian is “a little New Jerusalem.” Whatever is ascribed to the New Jerusalem corporately should be experienced by us individually and personally. Furthermore, in each one of us there should be the throne of God and of the Lamb. We must enthrone Him in our heart and in our spirit. In other words, in the center of our being there should be the throne of God and of the Lamb.
