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Scripture Reading: Rev. 21:12-13, 21a; Eph. 2:18; Luke 15:4, 8, 20; Matt. 8:11; Gal. 3:24; Rev. 5:9; Luke 15:7; Heb. 1:14
Prayer: Lord, how we worship You for Your New Testament economy. Lord, we thank You for the revelation conveyed in Your written Word. How we thank You that You have opened up this Word to us in these last days. Lord, we even thank You for all the churches with so many seeking saints to be Your audience. Lord, this is the best oracle for You to speak Your word. We are waiting on You. We thank You for Your cleansing blood that cleanses all of us all the time and has brought us into Yourself. Lord, grant us Your rich anointing. Visit everyone, Lord. We bring all the needs to You. Lord, give us the instant word that meets our need. Grant us a word to everybody that all our need might be fully met by Yourself. Lord, do anoint us. O Lord Jesus — glorify the Father that the Father may glorify You. Lord, give us the understanding. Remove all the veils. Lord, take away all the covering. Give us liberty, freedom, and the full release that we may have the insight to look into Your Word and to get into its depths. Lord, have mercy upon us that we all may receive new grace. Lord, we need You in a new way, in a refreshing way, and in every way. Defeat the enemy and shame him. Grant Your rich blessing upon everyone who is seeking You. Lord, we trust in You. How we love Your dear name, and in this name we look unto You. Amen.
In this chapter we will focus our attention on the gates of the New Jerusalem. In order to enter into the full significance of the New Jerusalem we need to be unveiled to see the meaning of the three gates on the four sides of the holy city. To see the significance of the gates we need an adequate understanding of nearly the entire Bible. We have seen that in the first verse of the first chapter of the Bible, the first divine title for God is Elohim, and according to Hebrew, Elohim is a noun in plural number. Also, in Genesis 1:26 God said, “Let Us make man in Our image.” In this verse the plural pronoun Us is ascribed to the unique God. This implies that the Triune God, from eternity past, is triune in order to bring His created man into Himself. Actually, triune does not mean “three in one” but “three-one.” God is one yet three, and He is three yet still one. He is the three-one God, the Triune God. Verse 26 of Genesis 1 is actually a direct continuation of verse 1, as far as we human beings are concerned. The Triune God, Elohim, had a conference with Himself to make man in His own image with the purpose that one day He would bring this man into Himself. At the conclusion of the Bible we see that the Triune God Himself is the very entrance for man to enter into Him.
In the New Testament the Triune God is our entrance into Himself. Luke 15 unveils the love of the Triune God toward sinners by the parable of a good shepherd (vv. 1-7), by the parable of a seeking woman (vv. 8-10), and by the parable of a loving father (vv. 11-32). The shepherd refers to the Son who came to seek the fallen sinners, the woman refers to the Holy Spirit who is searching the sinners within themselves, and the Father receives the repenting and returned sinner as a certain man receives his prodigal son. In these three parables we see the Trinity — the Son as the seeking shepherd, the Spirit as the searching woman, and the Father as the loving and receiving father.
In these three parables the sinner is illustrated as a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a prodigal son who gives up the father and the rich inheritance in the father’s house. Eventually, the sheep was brought back, the coin was found, and the prodigal son was brought back to the father and to the father’s house to enjoy a feast. This is the entrance into the kingdom of God, which consummates in the New Jerusalem. These three parables portray a complete triune entrance. It is one entrance but in three steps. If the Son had never come to die on the cross, there would be no basis for us to enter into the kingdom of God. By dying on the cross, He laid the foundation to open up the gates. Following the Son’s redemption, the Spirit came, not to find us outwardly but to search us inwardly. The Son died on the cross to find us outwardly, but the Spirit came to seek us by searching within our being. All of us who have been regenerated have had this experience. Due to the Spirit’s inner searching, we repented and came to our senses. We realized that we were foolish to be a prodigal son eating the husks. Through the searching of the Spirit, we woke up and repented and came back to the Father. Based upon the Son’s redemption and through the Spirit’s searching, the Father was ready to receive us back into His house to enjoy Him and to enjoy His rich inheritance. This is our triune entrance.
Without such an allegory of a city at the end of the Bible with three gates on each of its four sides, it would be difficult to understand and to see the triune entrance. Ephesians 2:18 covers all three aspects of the triune entrance. This verse says, “Through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.” We were sinners who were far away from the Father, far away from the commonwealth of Israel, far away from God’s interest, far away from the kingdom of God, and far away from the ultimate consummation of God’s economy, the New Jerusalem. But, Hallelujah! The Son came to be our channel, and through this channel we get into the Spirit, and the Spirit brings us unto the Father. We may also say that through Christ we have access in one Spirit into the Father. We do not only come unto the Father, but we also come into Him. Through the Son as a channel and by the Spirit as a sphere, we have been brought not only unto the Father but also into the Father. The three persons of the Godhead are the three gates that form one complete entrance.
First Peter 1:1-2 tells us that we have been chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” The foreknowledge of God the Father was exercised in eternity past. The span of this entrance began from eternity past. Then in time the Spirit came to sanctify us, and the Spirit’s sanctification is based upon the Father’s choosing. The Spirit came to us based upon the Father’s selection of us. Our obedience unto faith in Christ resulted from the Spirit’s sanctifying work. We may have been very busy in many other things, but the Spirit sanctified and separated us. This sanctifying and separating work resulted in our receiving the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ, and we were redeemed. In 1 Peter 1:1-2 we see the Father’s choosing, the Spirit’s sanctifying, and the sprinkling of the Son’s blood. Again, we see that God is triune in one entrance to bring us into God, into God’s interest, into the kingdom of God, and into the economy of God, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The Bible reveals that the Triune God is our triune entrance.
The twelve gates as the entrance of the New Jerusalem are on four sides of the earth (Rev. 21:13), signifying that the entrance of the New Jerusalem is toward all the inhabited earth (Matt. 8:11). It is available to all the peoples on the earth (Rev. 5:9).
In our fellowship concerning the gates of the New Jerusalem, we will use the words entrance and entry. Entrance will be used to denote the gates, and entry will be used to denote the entering in. We need to consider how we entered into the kingdom of God in our experience. When we heard the preaching of the gospel, the Spirit worked within us. We then believed in Jesus Christ and were touched by the Spirit to call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God who became incarnated to be our Redeemer. Eventually, we reached the Father and were brought into the Father. This is the triune entry.
No one can enter into God without the inspiration of the Spirit and without the redemption of the Son. In order to enter into the Father, there is the need of the Spirit and the Son. We entered into the Father through the Son as a channel and in the Spirit as a sphere. In the ultimate consummation of the entire revelation of the sixty-six books of the Bible, there is an allegory, a picture, showing us how to enter into God through three gates. We enter into God through the triune entrance. The Son is the channel, the Spirit is the sphere, and the Father is the very destination. Now we are in the Father, in His kingdom, in His interest, and in the church. Eventually, we will be in the New Jerusalem.
In the New Jerusalem there are the twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles; twelve gates, which are twelve pearls with the names of the twelve tribes; and twelve fruits of the tree of life. Spacewise, the city proper is twelve thousand stadia — one thousand times twelve — in three dimensions, and its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, which is twelve times twelve. Timewise, in the new heaven and new earth there are twelve months yearly, twelve hours daily, and twelve hours nightly. Twelve is the number of the New Jerusalem.
There are three gates on each of the four sides of the holy city. Three multiplied by four is twelve; therefore, there are a total of twelve gates on four sides. The number four refers to God’s creation. In Revelation 4:6 we see that the four living creatures represent all other living creatures (cf. Ezek. 1:5-14). Four refers to us as God’s creatures, and three refers to the Triune God. The number twelve in the New Jerusalem is not arrived at by an addition but by multiplication. Multiplication is a blending, or a mingling. The number twelve is mingled, or blended, by three times four. This means that the entire New Jerusalem is a blending, a mingling, of the Triune God with us human beings. God is mingled with His creature man in His eternal administration in the New Jerusalem.
Twelve is the number of absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s administration. In the Old Testament, God administrated His government through the twelve tribes. The twelve tribes were for God’s administration. In the New Testament the twelve apostles’ preaching was for the producing of the churches, and the churches are God’s government for God’s administration. Thus, both the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New Testament are for God’s governmental administration. The number twelve indicates God’s governmental administration, and the entire New Jerusalem will be the consummation of God’s administration. This is why the center of the New Jerusalem is God’s throne, which is mainly for God’s governmental administration.
This administration has twelve gates. The gates are for communication, coming in and going out. Hence, “twelve gates” indicate that the communication in the New Jerusalem is absolutely perfect and eternally complete for God’s administration.
The twelve gates are twelve pearls (Rev. 21:21a), signifying that the entrance is the produce of christ in his redemptive and secreting work. we have seen that the produce of christ’s all-inclusive death and all-inclusive resurrection is the pearls. the produce of such a christ becomes the very communication of the city, and this communication constitutes an entrance and fellowship that we may enjoy all the riches of the triune god in every way. this is our marvelous portion even today. today we are the pearls, and we are the gates. praise the lord for the triune gates and the triune entrance, which are the communication of god’s administrative business.
Also, the twelve gates are inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (v. 12), who were the representatives of the law of the Old Testament, signifying the requirement of the law at the entrance into the kingdom of God. The gates bear the names of the twelve tribes. Because the twelve tribes in the Old Testament were for God’s administration, this indicates that the twelve gates are for God’s administration. Also, the twelve tribes are representatives of the Old Testament law. Therefore, the names of the twelve tribes inscribed on the twelve gates indicate that the law is watching over the twelve gates. With the law there is nothing that supplies or nourishes. The law only requires something of us. The law is watching over the gates. If a sinner is to come into the holy city, the requirement of the law must be fulfilled. The law is the gate watcher, or the guard at the gate, to ensure that you have fulfilled its requirement. As you are “walking through the gate” and you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the law says that you are okay. As long as you are in Jesus Christ, every part of the requirement of the law is fulfilled, and you are okay. You can now get into the holy city.
Without such a picture I do not think that any of us would imagine that when we called on the name of the Lord Jesus, the law was watching over us. This picture shows, though, that we entered through the gates with the names of the representatives of the law inscribed on them. This means that when we entered into the gates, the law was satisfied, since the requirement of the law had been fully fulfilled. When we came to the triune entrance, we had a “free ticket” because Christ paid the price for us, and the guard at the gate (the law) honors Christ.
In addition, we must realize that the law is not only a watcher at the gate but also the child-conductor of the entry (Gal. 3:24). The law is not only at the gate, but the law also brings all God’s chosen people to the gate. If the law could speak to a chosen one, it would say, “I will bring you to the gate, and I will meet you there.” The law was not given for us to keep, but the law was given to conduct us to Christ. The law is the conductor to bring you to the gate; the law is also the guard to “okay” your entry.
Furthermore, we see twelve angels at the twelve gates (Rev. 21:12), signifying that the angels watch over the entry into the New Jerusalem (Luke 15:7, 10; Heb. 1:14). Each gate not only bears one of the names of the twelve tribes but also has an angel. The law requires, and the angel watches. The angels are spectators. The entire realm of God’s New Testament economy is actually “a big show.” To enter into this show you need a free ticket, and in this show there are spectators. These spectators are the angels. If you do not confess the name of Christ, you cannot get a free ticket. However, if you call on the name of the Lord Jesus, you get a free ticket into the holy city, and the angelic spectators will rejoice and welcome you in. One angel at the gate actually represents the entire angelic realm. In Luke 15:10 the Lord Jesus said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner repenting.” When we believed in the Lord Jesus, when we repented and called on His precious name, we probably did not realize that there was a myriad of angels in heaven “clapping their hands” and rejoicing.
It was not a small thing for us to enter into the realm of God’s interest on this earth. The Triune God — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit — the twelve tribes, the law, and all the angels were involved in our entrance into the kingdom of God. Our entrance began from eternity past since God exercised His foreknowledge to choose us. Without such a picture, none of us would realize that our entering into God’s interest involved so much. Our entering into the New Jerusalem involved God the Father in eternity, God the Son coming to die on the cross for us to accomplish redemption, and also God the Spirit reaching us and searching within us in order to sanctify us and bring us unto the obedience of Christ. Our entrance into the holy city furthermore involved the law and the entire angelic realm. If we have this view, our realization of our all-inclusive salvation will be strengthened. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are in this salvation, the law works for this salvation, and the angels are expecting something to happen in this salvation.
The Triune God, the twelve tribes, the law, and all the angels were working together for our entering into the New Jerusalem. We all have to say, “Praise the Lord” for our all-inclusive salvation. We may not have rejoiced that much when we were saved because we did not see the vision concerning all that the Triune God went through to be our entrance. We all need to celebrate our birth in Christ. According to the vision that the Lord has shown us in this chapter, I would say, “Happy birthday to you.” Rejoice in the salvation of God, which involves the Triune God, the twelve tribes, the law, and all the angels.
