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I. The New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth
А. The redeeming God
B. The river of water of life
C. The tree of life
II. The Spirit and the bride
At the end of the millennial kingdom Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire to burn forever. Then, Christ will sit on the great white throne to judge the dead unbelievers of all the ages. In Revelation 20, John wrote, "And I saw a great white throne and Him Who sat upon it, from Whose face earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by the things which were written in the books, according to their works....And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire" (vv. 11-12, 15).
After this judgment, the old heaven and the old earth will pass away and eternity will begin with a new heaven and a new earth (2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 21:1). By then, Christ will have eliminated every negative thing in the universe including Satan, his followers, and the world. Then the purpose of the ages will have been fulfilled. Through Christ's work, man will have been fully redeemed, transformed, glorified, and built up into the corporate expression of the Triune God. What a Christ! What an accomplishment!
In eternity, Christ will continue to rule, to feed, and to supply His people. Old things will have passed away. The new heaven and new earth will be brought in and the New Jerusalem will descend from God out of heaven. The New Jerusalem is not a physical city; rather it symbolizes what God is to His people and how His people will be fully mingled with Him. In the center of this symbolic city is the throne of God and of the Lamb, out from which flows a river of water of life.
In the New Jerusalem we will still know Christ as our redeeming God. In Revelation 22:1 we see the throne of God and of the Lamb. There is only one throne since God is in the Lamb and the Lamb is in God. This Lamb is the redeeming God. Because man fell, the creating God became a man (John 1:1, 14), and this man was called the Lamb of God (John 1:29). The creating God became the redeeming God to take away the sins of the world. Praise the Lord that we have been saved by the redeeming God! We were condemned to be in the eternal lake of fire; but instead, for eternity we shall thank the "Lamb-God" that He saved us. We shall have an eternal remembrance of His great redemption. Praise the "Lamb-God!"
Do not think that in eternity God merely sits on His throne. Out of the throne proceeds a river of water of life. By this river, God will continue to dispense Himself into us for our eternal enjoyment.
The river, as typified by the rivers in Genesis 2:10-14, Psalm 46:4, and Ezekiel 47:5-9, signifies the abundance of life in its flow. It is one river, flowing through the four directions of the holy city like the four heads of the one river in Genesis 2:10-14. This one river with its riches becomes many rivers in our experience, as indicated in John 7:38.
The water of life is a symbol of God in Christ as the Spirit flowing Himself into His redeemed people to be their life and life supply. It is typified by the water that came out of the cleft rock (Exo. 17:6; Num. 20:11) and is symbolized by the water that flowed out of the pierced side of the Lord Jesus (John 19:34). Here, this water of life becomes a river, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb to supply and saturate the entire New Jerusalem. Thus, the city is filled with the divine life to express God in His glory of life.
Revelation 22:2 says, "And on this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life." The one tree of life growing on the two sides of the river signifies that the tree of life is a vine, spreading and proceeding along the flow of the water of life for God's people to receive and enjoy. It fulfills, for eternity, what God intended from the beginning (Gen. 2:9). The tree of life was closed to man due to his fall (Gen. 3:22-24), but opened to believers by the redemption of Christ (Heb. 10:19-20). Today the enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life is the believers' common portion (John 6:35, 57). In the millennial kingdom the overcoming believers will enjoy Christ as the tree of life as their reward (Rev. 2:7). Eventually, in the new heaven and new earth, for eternity, all God's redeemed will enjoy Christ as the tree of life as their eternal portion (22:14, 19).
The tree of life is Christ as our life supply. First, Christ was the Lamb of God for our redemption (John 1:29), and then the tree of life for our life supply (John 6:35). Christ redeemed us to impart Himself into us as the life supply. He is not only the Lamb of God, but also the tree of life.
Revelation 21:9 says, "Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." Who is this Lamb? This Lamb is Christ, the Lamb-God. He is the Bridegroom of the bride (John 3:29). But notice that Revelation 22:17 says, "The Spirit and the bride say, Come!" It does not say the Lamb and the bride; it says the Spirit and the bride. These two verses together prove that Christ, the Lamb, is just the Spirit.
This Spirit is the consummation of the entire Triune God. The Spirit as the Bridegroom is the totality and the consummation of the Triune God. He is qualified to be such a husband to marry the wife, who is the consummation of all the redeemed and regenerated people of God. This is a universal couple with divinity marrying humanity.
Here are two consummations. Divinity has gone through a process — through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension — to become the Spirit, the totality, the consummation, of the Triune God to be the Bridegroom. Humanity also has gone through a process — through redemption, regeneration, and transformation — to become the consummation of God's chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and transformed people to be the bride. The consummation of the Triune God and the consummation of God's chosen, redeemed, regenerated, and transformed people become one in a universal marriage. The processed tripartite man will match the processed Triune God forever for His full expression and satisfaction.
What a destiny we have! Yet, we need not wait to enjoy Christ as the Lamb, the river, and the tree of life. Today, as we are still in the process of transformation, we can enjoy a foretaste of our eternal enjoyment. Christ's process is complete, but ours is not. We are the children of God, being transformed that we may be built up as the Body to express Christ eternally. May we go on each day in the experience and enjoyment of Christ's wonderful Person and work. Amen! Hallelujah!
