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The New Jerusalem revealed in the last two chapters of the book of Revelation is not only the conclusion of the book itself and of the New Testament; it is also the conclusion of the whole Bible. In the sixty-six books of the Bible, all the records of plain words, prophecies, and types in the Old Testament, beginning from God’s creation, progressing through Satan’s rebellion, man’s fall, God’s promise of redemption to fallen man, God’s dealings with the Patriarchs, God’s calling of His chosen people, their redemption, their being formed into a nation, their failure, and their recovery, and concluding with their looking to and waiting for Christ; and all the records of plain words, prophecies, and signs in the New Testament, beginning from John the Baptist and the ministry of the Lord Jesus, progressing through the Lord Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and ministry after His ascension, the work of the apostles, the calling, salvation, and maturity of the believers, the establishment and building up of the church, the Lord Jesus’ second coming and the things that He will do in His second coming, the establishment of the millennial kingdom, the termination of Satan and his followers, including demons and human beings, and the passing away of the old heaven and the old earth, and concluding with the coming of the new heaven and new earth, are consummated in the New Jerusalem. She is the goal of God’s eternal economy and the crystallization of God’s work throughout the ages.
The New Jerusalem is the conclusion not only of the whole Bible, but also of the entire divine revelation. The entire divine revelation recorded in the Old and New Testaments, whether expressed or implied, consummates in the New Jerusalem, which is the greatest and highest divine sign in the New Testament, and the one richest in meaning. She is the heart’s delight of the loving God; she is also the meaning of life of God’s beloved in eternity. This shows the important position of the New Jerusalem in the Bible and her profound contents in the divine revelation. We must not interpret this noble revelation in God’s Word according to our natural view or religious superstition.
God’s work in the universe is of two categories: the old creation and the new creation. Whereas the sphere of His work of the old creation was the old heaven and old earth of His original creation (Gen. 1:1); the sphere of His work of the new creation is the new heaven and new earth (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1), which are the original God-created old heaven and old earth renewed through the burning of God’s judging fire. At the center of the sphere of His work of the new creation is the New Jerusalem, the crystallized product and masterpiece of His new creation. Since the fall of man, God has used four different dispensations—the dispensation of the Patriarchs, the dispensation of law, the dispensation of grace, and the dispensation of righteousness—to carry out the work of the new creation in man, who is of the Satan-ruined and God-judged old creation, by the Spirit and life of Himself as the Triune God who has been processed through incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension; by His heavenly ministry after His ascension; and by what He will accomplish in His second coming. The result of such a work is the New Jerusalem.
The dispensation of the Patriarchs extended from the creation of Adam to the giving of the law by Moses (Rom. 5:14a). In this dispensation, God first placed the created, innocent man under His direct government (Gen. 2:9, 16); then He placed the fallen man, the function of whose conscience (Rom. 2:15) had been activated by the knowledge of good and evil, under the government of his own conscience, that man might seek His grace according to His ordained way of redemption (Gen. 4:4) and enjoy His riches by calling on the name of Jehovah (Gen. 4:26). He then further subjected the repeatedly falling men under human government (Gen. 9:6), which was vested with God’s authority, for their preservation and existence, that He might have the opportunity to grant them His visitations. Finally, He gave the promise of grace to men, who had fallen to the uttermost and had been called by Him, and led them to look to the coming Christ in whom all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3b; 22:18).
The dispensation of law extended from the giving of the law by Moses to the first coming of Christ (John 1:17). In this dispensation God used His law to deal with man by exposing man’s sin and weakness (Rom. 5:20a; 3:20b; 8:3a), that man might be led to Christ (Gal. 3:24).
The dispensation of grace includes the period from Christ’s first coming to Christ’s second coming. In this dispensation God uses grace (John 1:14, 16; 1 Cor. 15:10) to work the fallen sinners into Christ (1 Cor. 1:30) and to work Christ into them (Gal. 1:16a; 2:20b; Col. 1:27b), thus producing the church (Eph. 1:22-23).
The dispensation of righteousness (the dispensation of the kingdom) will begin at Christ’s second coming and continue until the end of the millennium. In this dispensation God will use the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens to reward, according to His righteousness (2 Tim. 4:8), the perfected righteous ones, the overcoming saints, of the Old Testament (Heb. 12:23; 11:39-40), and the overcoming believers in Christ of the New Testament (Matt. 24:45-47; 25:21, 23), and He will also perfect the immature New Testament believers in Christ (Matt. 24:48-51; 25:26-30). Although the dispensation of righteousness will be times of restoration of all things (Acts 3:21; Matt. 19:28), it will not be a dispensation in the new heaven and new earth when all God’s work of the new creation will be finished. Rather, it will still be a dispensation in the old creation, during which God will still be working in His chosen and redeemed ones. There will still be sinners who die accursed (Isa. 65:20), and the nations as the peoples on the earth will still have the rebellious fallen nature of the old creation, such that at the end of the millennium their corrupted and old created nature will reappear to rebel against God (Rev. 20:7-9). Hence, according to His righteousness and for His righteousness’ sake, God will use the last dispensation of the old creation to discipline and perfect the believers who neglect His grace and are unwilling to be faithful on the way of His grace. God’s disciplining and perfecting work will cause those who would not seek maturity in life before, to have maturity in life, and will qualify them to enter into the new heaven and new earth to be the constituents of the New Jerusalem; thus, they will be able to share together with the earlier mature believers the enjoyment of the blessing of God’s eternal life in its ultimate consummation in eternity.
At the end of the dispensation of grace, God will insert a short period, from the beginning of the great tribulation to the end of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), to carry out His work of restoration in the remaining nations. During the great tribulation, Antichrist will lead the nations on the earth in rebellion against God and persecute God’s people. On the one hand, God will smite and destroy Antichrist and the nations who follow him; on the other hand, He will carry out His work of restoration in a group of people of the nations, that they may become His people in the earthly section of the millennial kingdom.
During the great tribulation, when Antichrist will persecute the people of Israel and the Christians, God will send an angel to mid-heaven to announce the eternal gospel to those settled on the earth, telling them to fear God, that is, not to follow Antichrist in persecuting the aforementioned two kinds of God’s people, and to worship God who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea, that is, not to worship the image of Antichrist (Rev. 14:6-7; 13:14-15). Through the eternal gospel God will gain a group of righteous people, the sheep justified by Christ in Matthew 25:31-40. (See point III.B.2 in Lesson Twenty-three and point IV.E in this lesson.) They will be saved, but they will not be regenerated in the spirit to have God’s life. They will merely be restored in their created natural life and be brought back to the original state of God’s creation.
In the old creation, according to the arrangement of His economy, God uses the aforementioned four dispensations to carry out His work of the new creation in the man of the old creation, and He further uses a short period of insertion to carry out His work of restoration in the remaining nations through His eternal gospel. These two kinds of work produce the following results:
The first result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation is the producing of His chosen, called, and redeemed saints, including all the saved ones in the Old Testament and in the New Testament (Heb. 12:23; Rev. 5:9b).
The second result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation is the obtaining of a group of overcomers from among the redeemed. They will be the ones who are perfected and have reached the maturity in God’s life (Heb. 11:39-40; Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21).
God’s work of the new creation in the old creation produces a third result, that is, the perfected and matured overcomers of both the Old and New Testaments constituting the New Jerusalem in the millennium (Rev. 2:7), which is the heavenly section of the millennial kingdom, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the age of the millennium (Matt. 13:43). Both the Old and New Testament overcomers will be there to enjoy God’s eternal life as a feast (Matt. 8:11; 19:29) and to reign as kings (Rev. 20:4-6).
At Christ’s second coming all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:26) and be the priests in the earthly section of the millennial kingdom to teach the people of the nations to serve God (Zech. 8:20-23). They should be the twelve tribes of Israelites who will be sealed by the angels, as recorded in Revelation 7:1-8. They are saved through God’s pouring out of the Holy Spirit and by their calling upon the Lord’s name (Zech. 12:10; Acts 2:18-21). According to the new covenant which God has covenanted with them, they receive the law of life, a new heart, a new spirit, and God’s Spirit (Jer. 31:31, 33; Ezek. 36:26-27). Hence, they are regenerated and saved just like the New Testament believers. However, because they are saved after the church has been raptured, they are not included in the church and thus cannot join the overcomers of both the Old and New Testaments to enter into the millennial kingdom, the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens, to reign as kings, but can only enter the earthly section of the millennial kingdom to serve as priests. At the end of the millennial kingdom, they will be able to join all the redeemed people of God of both the Old and New Testaments to enter into the New Jerusalem and be included in all the redeemed people of Israel (Rev. 21:12). This is the fourth result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation.
In the short period of insertion God will gain a group of God-fearing righteous ones who will be restored (see point III in this lesson) to be the citizens in the millennial kingdom (Matt. 25:34). This is the first result of God’s work of restoration in the old creation.
The believers who have been called and redeemed, but who cannot enter into the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens in the millennium to participate in the New Jerusalem of the millennial kingdom, will also become mature in God’s life after they have been disciplined and perfected by God during the millennium, the period of reward and punishment (Matt. 24:48-51; 25:26-30). This is the fifth result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation.
At the end of the millennium, among the nations who are restored to be the peoples in the millennial kingdom, Gog and Magog will be deceived by the Devil to rebel against God. This will be mankind’s last rebellion against God, at the end of which the rebellious ones will be devoured by fire from heaven (Rev. 20:7-10). After this last purging of mankind, the remaining ones among them will be transferred to the new earth of the new heaven and new earth to be God’s peoples in eternity (Rev. 21:3, 24). This is the second result of God’s work of restoration in the old creation.
Satan (Rev. 20:10) with the demons who are his followers (Rev. 20:13a) and all the unbelieving sinners throughout the generations, those who reject God and would not accept God’s way of redemption (Rev. 19:20; Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:11-15; 21:8), will be judged and cast into the lake of fire to suffer the punishment of eternal fire. Thus, God will terminate the old heaven and old earth and all the creatures who rebel against God. This is a result of God’s clearing up of the old creation, after He finishes both His work of the new creation and of restoration in the old creation. The new heaven and new earth thus become the universe with the New Jerusalem as its center (Rev. 21:1-2).
The saints who are perfected in the period of reward and punishment during the millennium, and the Israelites who are restored to be the priests in the millennial kingdom, will join the overcomers, who have ripened earlier, to constitute the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1-2). This is the final result of God’s work of the new creation in the old creation.
The new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1; Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:10-13) with the New Jerusalem as the center will be the new universe which God will renew out of the old heaven and old earth. Although the heaven and earth which were created by God have become old because of Satan’s corruption, God’s purpose in creating the heaven and earth could not be stopped. On the one hand, God will exercise His almighty power to judge the Satan-corrupted old heaven and old earth, and on the other hand, He will renew the judged old heaven and old earth into the new heaven and new earth; thus, the old heaven and old earth will be rid of their oldness and be renewed into a new universe suitable for God’s use to accomplish His eternal purpose and in which He might express Himself eternally and fully.
After the coming out of the new heaven and new earth, the holy city, New Jerusalem, will descend to the new earth (Rev. 21:1-2), indicating that the dwelling place of God and His redeemed will not be in heaven but on the new earth. Furthermore, the restored nations, whose rebellious nature will have been completely purged, will become the nations on the new earth around the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:24). In the new universe, the new heaven and new earth, God’s focus is on the new earth with the New Jerusalem as the center.
The New Jerusalem cannot be a physical city, as commonly believed by Christians, for the following reasons:
First, the New Jerusalem is the crystallized product of God’s work in the old creation throughout the generations. If this crystallized product is merely a physical city, it would seem to be too low and would not have any spiritual value.
Second, the New Jerusalem is the consummation of the entire divine revelation in the Bible. If it is merely a physical city, it would make the divine revelation of mystery not so mysterious after all.
Third, the revelation of the entire book of Revelation is mainly made known to us by signs (Rev. 1:1) symbolizing the important persons and things, such as the golden lampstands in 1:12, signifying the churches bearing the shining testimony of Jesus Christ; the stars in 1:16, signifying the bright and shining messengers of the churches; the mysterious Babylon the Great in 17:5, signifying the religious Rome; and the bride in 19:7, signifying the overcoming saints as the spouse of Christ. Hence, the New Jerusalem also should be a sign signifying the dwelling place of God and man in eternity.
After God finished the creation of all things and man, He used different ways in the different dispensations in the old heaven and old earth to carry out His work in the man of the old creation by choosing, redeeming, renewing, transforming, and glorifying them; thus, He perfects them according to His desire and builds them up to be His eternal habitation, which is the New Jerusalem of His heart’s desire. This is the crystallized product and masterpiece of God’s work of the new creation throughout the generations.
The New Jerusalem is a composition of all the redeemed and perfected saints in both the Old and New Testaments throughout the generations.
The names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel are inscribed on the gates of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:12). This indicates that the Old Testament saints are the components of the New Jerusalem. Gates as the entrance into the city indicate that the Old Testament is the child-conductor who will lead the believers to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The Old Testament history of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel leads us into the New Jerusalem through the pearl gates, which signify Christ who has died and resurrected.
The names of the twelve apostles are on the foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:14). This indicates that the New Testament believers are also the constituents of the New Jerusalem. All the New Testament saints who have been led into Christ are being built upon the foundation of the apostles (Eph. 2:20), that is, being built upon the revelation which the apostles received for the building of the church, to become the wall of the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:2 and 9 clearly tell us that the New Jerusalem is the bride, the wife of the Lamb. In the whole Bible God repeatedly likens His chosen people to a spouse (Isa. 54:6; Jer. 3:1; Ezek. 16:8; Hosea 2:19; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31-32) for His satisfaction in love. As the wife of Christ, the New Jerusalem comes out of Christ to be His spouse, just as Eve came out of Adam and became his counterpart (Gen. 2:21-24). The bride is mainly for the wedding day, while the wife is for the entire married life. The New Jerusalem will first be the bride of Christ in the millennium for one thousand years as one day (2 Pet. 3:8), and then His wife in the new heaven and new earth for eternity. The bride in the millennium will include only the overcoming saints (Rev. 3:12; 19:7-9), but the wife in the new heaven and new earth will include all the redeemed and regenerated sons of God (Rev. 21:7).
The New Jerusalem as the tabernacle of God (Rev. 21:3) indicates that all the redeemed and perfected ones will become God’s eternal dwelling place. In both the Old and New Testaments God likens His chosen people to a dwelling place (Exo. 29:45-46; Num. 5:3; Ezek. 43:7, 9; Psa. 68:18; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; 1 Tim. 3:15). The spouse is for God’s satisfaction in love, and the dwelling place is for His rest in expression. The New Jerusalem is God’s dwelling place among men (His peoples on the new earth—Rev. 21:3) for Him to be expressed for eternity.
The New Jerusalem is a mountain of gold (Rev. 21:18). In typology gold signifies the divine nature. Therefore, this city as God’s dwelling place is absolutely composed of God’s divine nature. The New Jerusalem itself comes out of God’s divine nature.
The twelve gates of the New Jerusalem are twelve pearls; each one of the gates is, respectively, of one pearl (Rev. 21:21). Pearl signifies Christ passing through death and secreting His resurrection life in resurrection that His believers may have the life of God and enter into the New Jerusalem to be God’s dwelling place.
The wall of the New Jerusalem is built with jasper (Rev. 21:18). Jasper is a transformed precious stone (1 Cor. 3:12) that bears the appearance of God (Rev. 4:3) to express God. Hence, the jasper wall signifies that the New Jerusalem, as the corporate expression of God in eternity, bears the appearance of God. The believers were created clay (Gen. 2:7), but they have been regenerated and have the very element of God, and they are being transformed into precious stones—jasper—as the expression of God’s appearance.
The New Jerusalem is a city which has the foundations (Heb. 11:10). The wall of the city has twelve foundations which are adorned with every precious stone (Rev. 21:14, 19-20). The first layer of the wall’s foundation, like the wall, is built with jasper. This indicates that the main material in the building of the holy city is jasper, which signifies God expressed in His glory (Rev. 21:11). Twelve different kinds of precious stones signify the unsearchable riches of Christ in different aspects (Eph. 3:8) for a full expression of all the riches of God’s glory.
There is no temple in the New Jerusalem, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb (Rev. 21:22). The Greek word for temple here denotes the inner temple, the Holy of Holies, signifying that God and the Lamb Themselves will be the place in which we serve God. The holy city as the tabernacle of God is for God to dwell in, and God and the Lamb as the temple are for us to dwell in. In eternity we will not dwell in a material city; we will dwell in the Triune God. We are God’s tabernacle, and He is our temple; He dwells in us, and we dwell in Him. In the new heaven and new earth, the New Jerusalem will be a mutual dwelling place for God and man for eternity.
In the New Jerusalem there is no need of the sun nor of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumines it, and its lamp is the Lamb (Rev. 21:23). God is the light of the holy city, and the Lamb is the lamp; God is the content of the lamp, and the Lamb is the light-bearer. This indicates that, as the light of the holy city, God in Christ shines with His glory to illumine the city. Since such a divine light will illumine the holy city, it has no need of any natural light (Rev. 22:5). Although the sun and the moon will be in the new heaven and new earth, the dwelling place for both God and us will be much brighter than either of them, even subduing their brightness. Hence, in the New Jerusalem there will be no night. Outside the city there will still be the distinction between day and night, but within the city there will be no such distinction. There will be no night within the city because we shall have God Himself as the eternal, unchanging light.
Revelation 22:1 shows us that in the center of the New Jerusalem there is the throne of God and of the Lamb. The throne is for God’s administration and the exercise of His authority. Sitting on the throne are God and the Lamb. One throne for both God and the Lamb indicates that God and the Lamb are inseparable. God is in Christ sitting on His throne. This is comparable to what is indicated in Revelation 21:23: that God as the light is in Christ as the lamp, and They are one. “God and the Lamb” indicates that in eternity God is the Lamb-God, the redeeming God. The ruling One in eternity is the redeeming God. His ruling in eternity is based upon the redemption which He has accomplished in Christ. The throne of His administration and ruling in eternity is the center of the dwelling place for both Him and His redeemed. Everything in the holy city is put in subjection under His throne.
In the New Jerusalem there is a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of the street to supply the whole city (Rev. 22:1).
The street of the New Jerusalem is pure gold (Rev. 21:21). The river of water of life flowing in the middle of the street signifies the divine life flowing in the divine nature becoming the unique way in the holy city for the saints to walk in. In the holy city the saints live and walk in God’s nature.
The river of water of life is a symbol of the processed Triune God in Christ as the life-giving Spirit (John 7:38-39; 1 Cor. 15:45) flowing out Himself to saturate His redeemed people, the constituents of the New Jerusalem. In eternity all the redeemed people will drink the water of life as their eternal portion (Rev. 21:6; 22:17b).
On this side and on that side of the river is the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month (Rev. 22:2). 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 the supply of the entire city. The tree of life signifies Christ as the life supply of the saints. In the millennial kingdom the overcoming believers will enjoy Christ as the tree of life as their reward (Rev. 2:7); in the New Jerusalem all God’s redeemed will enjoy Christ as the tree of life as their eternal portion (Rev. 22:14, 19).
The supply of the New Jerusalem is the river of water of life which proceeds out of the throne of the Triune God, with the tree of life growing on the two sides of the river; the light of life also illuminates the entire city. In eternity God’s redeemed will drink of the water of the river of life, eat of the fruit of the tree of life, and walk in the light of life. The light of life signifies the Father (1 John 1:5); the tree of life, the Son; and the water of life, the Spirit (John 7:39). The Triune God becomes the life and enjoyment of His redeemed. He is their content, and they are His expression; they dwell in Him, and He dwells in them. This is the divine mingling of the Triune God with the redeemed, transformed, and glorified tripartite man. This mingling is the mutual dwelling for the redeeming God and His redeemed as His corporate expression in eternity. Thus God accomplishes His eternal plan, His eternal economy. “Three,” signifying God, multiplied by “four,” signifying the creatures, produces “twelve,” a particular number signifying the New Jerusalem. This indicates that the New Jerusalem is the divine mingling (“twelve”) of the Triune God (“three”) with the created man (“four”).
All those who have been redeemed and perfected and have matured in God’s life will be the kings in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:5) to reign over the nations as the people (Rev. 21:24). As the regenerated ones, they will eat the fruit of the tree of life in eternity; that is, they will enjoy Christ as their life supply for eternity.
The restored and purged nations will be the people on the new earth around the New Jerusalem to be under the rule of the kings in the city. As the merely restored ones, they will be maintained to live in eternity by the healing of the leaves of the tree of life (Rev. 22:2). In the Bible, leaves are a symbol of man’s deeds (Gen. 3:7). The leaves of the tree of life symbolize the deeds of Christ. The nations around the holy city are healed by the leaves of the tree of life, taking the deeds of Christ as their leading and regulation outwardly, that they may live the human life for eternity.
The Bible is a record and a revelation of God’s two great works, the first being God’s work of the old creation, and the second, God’s work of the new creation. God’s work of the old creation is a preparation for His work of the new creation. It is His work of the new creation that will accomplish His divine and eternal economy. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of His two great works; it is the masterpiece of His divine work and the crystallized product of His works of the old creation and the new creation. The New Jerusalem is mysterious, divine, glorious, and holy. Its revelation is the conclusion and consummation of the whole Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments. Hence, it is here that this volume of the Truth Lessonsalso draws to a conclusion.
The New Jerusalem revealed in the last two chapters of the New Testament is the conclusion of the whole Bible, as well as of the New Testament; it is also the consummation of the entire divine revelation. God’s work in the universe is of two categories, the old creation and the new creation. The sphere of His work of the old creation was the old heaven and old earth; the sphere of His work of the new creation is the new heaven and new earth, which are the original God-created old heaven and old earth renewed through the burning of God’s judging fire. Since the completion of the creation of the old heaven and old earth and everything therein, and since the fall of man, God has used four different dispensations—the dispensation of the Patriarchs, the dispensation of law, the dispensation of grace, and the dispensation of righteousness—to carry out the work of the new creation in man, who is of the Satan-ruined and God-judged old creation, by the Spirit and life of Himself as the Triune God who has been processed through incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension; by His heavenly ministry after His ascension; and by what He will accomplish in His second coming. God first used the dispensation of the Patriarchs to lead the created and fallen sinners to look to the coming Christ in whom all the families on earth would be blessed. Because they did not know their own weakness and wickedness, God further used the dispensation of law to expose their condition that they might be led to Christ. Following this, He uses the dispensation of grace to work the fallen sinners into Christ and to work Christ into them, thus producing the church. Finally, He will use the dispensation of righteousness to reward the perfected Old Testament saints and the overcoming New Testament believers in Christ; He will also perfect the immature New Testament believers in Christ that they may arrive at the maturity in His life. At the end of the dispensation of grace, He will use a short period of insertion to carry out His work of restoration in the remaining nations through His eternal gospel, that He may gain a group of righteous ones. His work of the new creation through the different dispensations in the old creation and His work of restoration in the short inserted period will have the following results: (1) all the redeemed people of the Old Testament and New Testament will be produced; (2) among the redeemed, a group of overcomers who are perfected and have arrived at the maturity in God’s life will be obtained; (3) the overcomers will be constituted the New Jerusalem in the millennial kingdom and become the kings in the heavenly part of the millennium; (4) all Israel will be saved and serve as priests in the earthly part of the millennium; (5) at the end of the dispensation of grace, the remainder of the nations will be restored as the citizens in the earthly part of the millennium; (6) the redeemed but immature believers, who are unable to participate in the New Jerusalem of the millennium, will be perfected and become mature in God’s life; (7) the nations, having been restored as the people in the millennium, will be purged and be brought into the new earth of the new heaven and new earth as God’s people for eternity; (8) as a secondary result, all the creatures who rebel against God will be terminated and cast into the lake of fire; and (9) all the Old Testament and New Testament saints who have been redeemed and perfected and have reached the maturity in God’s life will be constituted the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. After God completes all His work, the new heaven and new earth will be brought in, with the ultimately consummated New Jerusalem as the center. The New Jerusalem is the crystallized product and masterpiece of God’s work in the old creation throughout the generations. It is not a physical city. Rather, it is a composition of all God’s redeemed believers throughout the ages to be the bride of Christ and the mutual dwelling place of God and His redeemed for eternity. It is also a divine and glorious organism, a mingling of the processed Triune God in the elements of His divine Trinity—the Father’s nature, the Son’s life which has passed through death and resurrection, and the Spirit’s regenerating and transforming element—with His redeemed and transformed tripartite man. The all-inclusive and unlimited Triune God, who is a constituent of such a mingling, is its temple, light, lamp, and the life saturation and supply, that it may be His full and consummated expression in eternity to express His unlimited Self from the center to the circumference fully, completely, and eternally!
(This lesson may be divided into two sections and taught in two sessions on the same day.)
