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In this chapter we will share eight thoughts that are very basic to our understanding of the spiritual life and of the Scriptures.
First, the central thought of God’s intention as revealed in all the Scriptures is to have a group of people who are built together by God and filled with Himself. Such a corporate body of people will express and represent God. The Old Testament clearly reveals how God called out the children of Israel and put them together as a corporate body. Then God dwelt among them to express Himself and to accomplish something through them. Old Testament history shows how, in a sense, the Israelites did eventually become the expression and representation of God on the earth. Likewise, in the New Testament era today it is still God’s intention that every local church, wherever it is, must be built together as a corporate body and be filled with God so that it may express and represent God. The end of the Scriptures clearly reveals that there will eventually be an enlarged corporate body called the New Jerusalem. This is an immense vessel composed of all those redeemed by God throughout all ages. This vessel will be filled with God, expressing and representing God throughout eternity. This is the first basic thought of the entire Bible.
Second, both the Old and New Testaments reveal that all the redeemed people of God will eventually become a dwelling place of God. During the period of the Old Testament the people of Israel were the dwelling place of God. But strictly speaking, the material tabernacle and temples were not the real dwelling places of God. They were only symbols of the fact that the people of Israel were God’s real dwelling place. God dwelt among the Israelites (Exo. 29:45).
In the New Testament there are several passages that clearly reveal that the redeemed people of this age are the dwelling place of God (Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Pet. 2:5). Then at the end of the Scriptures we see the redeemed of both ages composed together as God’s habitation. It is evident that the New Jerusalem is such a composition, for it has twelve gates containing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and twelve foundations containing the names of the twelve apostles (Rev. 21:12, 14). These names represent all the saints of the Old and New Testament eras, and this corresponds with the thought of the entire Scriptures that all the redeemed people of God will eventually become God’s dwelling.
Third, in both the Old and New Testaments the redeemed people of God are portrayed as a bride, God’s counterpart. In Isaiah 54:5 and 62:5, Jeremiah 3:14 and 31:32, Ezekiel 16:8 and 23:5, and Hosea 2:19-20, the people of Israel are likened to a bride. The New Testament then clearly portrays the church as the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:23, 32). Finally, at the end of the Scriptures all the redeemed are composed together as the bride of Christ. This means that the New Jerusalem is the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God, and also the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9). These thoughts are not new; they are found throughout the entire Scriptures. The New Jerusalem is the conclusion of all the thoughts of the Scriptures. It can be proven that nearly every part of the New Jerusalem is something that has already been mentioned in the Scriptures, either in Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Matthew, John, or other books.
The fourth thought concerns the twelve gates surrounding the holy city. There are three gates on each of the four sides of the city. This picture in Revelation 21 is not new; the book of Numbers (ch. 2) reveals a shadow of this thought, for there we see three camps on each of the four sides of the tabernacle. Remember, each gate of the New Jerusalem bears the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Yet the picture in Numbers is still not as clear as the one in Ezekiel 48. This chapter tells of a city called Jerusalem, whose gates exactly fit the description of the gates mentioned in Revelation 21. This is not merely a coincidence. It is important to realize that these things are already mentioned previously in the Scriptures.
The fifth thought involves the matter of dispensations. I do not like to use the term dispensation, because it has been spoiled by overuse. However, it is a good term, and we do have the reality of dispensations in the Scriptures. Some say that there are seven dispensations, beginning from the creation of man to the end of the millennium. They do not include the new heaven and new earth. However, according to the revelation of the Scriptures, it is better to say that there are only four dispensations. Basically, a dispensation does not mean a certain age or period of time but the way in which God deals with people. However, when God deals with people in a certain way, it always occurs in a certain period of time.
Chapter 5 of Romans indicates that the first dispensation was from Adam to Moses (v. 14). This was the dispensation without law. During that time God did not deal with people according to law but apart from the law. Then from Moses to the arrival of John the Baptist or the first coming of Christ, there was the dispensation of law. In this dispensation God dealt with people according to His law, as clearly revealed in Romans 5. From the first coming of Christ to His second coming is the dispensation of grace and also the age of the church. During this period God deals with us by grace and according to grace. Finally, the fourth dispensation is from the second coming of Christ to the end of the millennium, a period of one thousand years. This is the dispensation of the kingdom. Thus, there is the dispensation without the law, the dispensation of law, the dispensation of grace, and the dispensation of the kingdom or of righteousness. These dispensations are closer to the literal rendering of the Scriptures than are the seven dispensations commonly referred to by many Christian teachers. The vital question is, What has God been doing and what has He been seeking to achieve in all these dispensations? We must see clearly that God has been engaged in a building work. Even up to the second coming of Christ, God’s building work will not have been thoroughly accomplished. The building will be completed, however, by the end of the millennium, when all four dispensations will have passed. That is when we will see the new heaven, the new earth, and the New Jerusalem descending out of heaven as the bride adorned and prepared for her husband. God’s building work will then be fully accomplished. His building is not completed at the time of Revelation 20. It is not until chapter 21 that we see a new heaven and a new earth with the New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of God’s building. During the millennium the holy city is still not fully completed, but at the end of the kingdom age it is fully consummated.
In simple words, the New Jerusalem is the composition of all the saints from every dispensation. The first dispensation includes Abel, Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. The second dispensation includes Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Phinehas, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah, and Malachi. The third dispensation includes Peter, James, John, Paul, and ourselves. And finally there will be some saints gathered from the time of the millennium. God has perfected a certain number of saints in each age, and He is still perfecting a large number of saints in this dispensation. Basically, He is preparing stones from all four dispensations. Even during the millennium He will perfect some. After that, all God’s redeemed ones will be brought together in one complete composition, the holy city.
The sixth thought concerning the holy city involves something of prophecy. I do not like to speak much concerning prophecy, yet there are some vital points that apply here. In all four dispensations God will have perfected some saints, whereas all unbelievers will undoubtedly perish. But at the end of the millennium there will still be a number of unbelievers existing on this earth. What will the Lord do with them? Revelation 21 reveals that even on the new earth there are the nations (vv. 24-26). The unbelievers at the end of the millennium compose these nations. This point requires much explanation. After all of God’s dealings and judgments upon this earth, there will still be a number of nations remaining. Here we must note that the saints of whom the New Jerusalem is composed are kings and priests, kings to rule the nations and priests to serve God. The saints are those who feed on the fruits of the tree of life (2:7; 22:14), and the nations exist and live by the healing of the leaves of the tree of life (v. 2). We cannot fully understand all these things now, but we will be clear in that day. We know that the tree of life symbolizes Christ, but what are the fruits and what are the leaves of this tree? We can only say that all the redeemed people in the new heaven and new earth will enjoy Christ as the fruit, and all the nations will live by the leaves of the tree of life.
Our seventh thought concerns the matter of light in the New Jerusalem. The sun and the moon exist in the new heaven and new earth, but they are not needed in the holy city. We can illustrate this by pointing out that the moon does shine in the daytime, although it can barely be seen. However, it is not needed, for the sun is far brighter. Even so, we will not need the sun or the moon in the holy city, because God is there (21:23; 22:5). The light of God is the brightest of all lights.
Nighttime will still exist in the new heaven and new earth. This means that day and night will continue. But because God is always brightly shining in the holy city, there is no need of the sun or the moon, so there will be no night there (21:25).
These points reveal the basic principle that all natural things, such as food, water, clothing, sun, and moon, are merely figures of what God is to us. All the redeemed ones enjoy God Himself; the unbelievers enjoy only the natural things. In the New Jerusalem we will have God as our sun, our light. We will not require any natural thing, for God will be everything to us. This also means that today, when we are redeemed and take God as our life, He is everything to us. We need nothing apart from God. This thought is quite deep. When we do not have God in Christ, we need many other things, but if we have God in Christ, we need nothing more. May this become clear to us.
Our eighth and final thought concerns the inhabitants of the holy city. We are not clearly told who the inhabitants are. Logically, we could say that God must be the inhabitant, since the New Jerusalem is the tabernacle of God. However, look again at John 1:14. The Word, who was God, was made flesh to tabernacle among us. This means that the tabernacle itself dwelt among us. But who was the dweller of the tabernacle mentioned in the Gospel of John? We know that Jesus was that tabernacle and that Jesus was the mingling of God with man. Hence, the dwellers of that tabernacle were God and man. That tabernacle was composed of the dwellers, and there were no dwellers in that tabernacle except those who composed it—God and man. The same principle is found in Revelation 21. In eternity those composing the New Jerusalem will be the very dwellers of that city. God will be the dweller, and the redeemed ones will be dwellers as well. All the redeemed with God Himself are the very elements of which the New Jerusalem is composed. Thus, the dwellers are the city itself.
Here then is a very practical question: of what is the church composed? The church, as we have seen, is the house of God, the mingling of God and man. But who are the dwellers within this house? It is clear: they are the very components of the house. Apart from the house itself, there are no dwellers. The dwellers are the house, and the house itself is the composition of the dwellers. Praise the Lord!
So many are not clear concerning the matter of the church. They conceive of the church as a material building in which the saints gather. They imagine the saints coming into the house as the dwellers. Likewise, many consider the New Jerusalem as something other than the saints. They believe it to be a heavenly mansion with some of the saints put into it as the dwellers. This seems quite logical; however, when we study the Scriptures deeply, we discover that the New Jerusalem is just like the church today. It is all the saints composed together as the city. We must be clear that the dwellers composed together are the very dwelling place. The dwellers dwell within themselves. We are the church, yet we dwell in the church. This means that we dwell in ourselves. This is all very subjective. God works upon us because we are the dwelling place. If we are merely the inhabitants within the dwelling, there would be no need for God to build us up. We could simply wait for the building to be completed and then enter into it to dwell there. However, the dwellers constitute the dwelling place. Thus, all Christians must be built up together wherever they are. We cannot get away from the building. If we would share in the church life, we must be built up in it. You cannot say, “I will wait until the building is accomplished; then I will go to dwell in it.” No! You can only be built into the dwelling. If you are not willing to be built into it, you will never be in it. The dweller is the very component of the building. This matter is exceedingly deep. Some even say that it is a heresy to speak of the New Jerusalem as a living composition of all the saints and to not consider it as the heavenly mansion. One day we will all be clear. Unless we are built into the New Jerusalem, we will have no share in it. This is not a matter of prophecy but of experience. Until we are built into the church, we can never have a practical share in the church life.
Christianity today is so shallow. Whoever you are, you may simply come and be a member of the “church.” In one sense, that is correct. But in actuality, until we are built into the church, we can never have the reality of the church life.
Some Christians are told that as long as they believe in the Lord Jesus, someday they will go to the New Jerusalem. In a sense, that is also correct because we may all share in the New Jerusalem by the redemption of Christ. Yet there is still another aspect. We must be built into that city. The apostle Peter was built into it, for the name of one of the precious foundation stones is Peter (Rev. 21:14). There is a principle here that is quite easily misunderstood. Some may ask, “Are you saying that the redemption of Christ is not sufficient? Do we need something in addition to the redemption of Christ?” One day we will all be there, and then we will be very clear. But that day may be too late as far as you are concerned. After redemption, we need the work of transformation (Rom. 12:2) and building (Eph. 2:22; 1 Pet. 2:5).
Let us consider a typical case of a new convert. Last week he was an unbeliever, but a few days ago he believed, and yesterday he was baptized. On one hand, as long as he has believed in the Lord Jesus, he has become a member of the church. But until the day that he is practically built into the church, he will not share the church life in experience. Beginning from the time of his regeneration, he must be transformed and built together with all the saints. Then he will have a practical share in the church life.
Why has the New Jerusalem not yet come? The Lord Jesus has ascended into heaven and has been there for nearly two thousand years, yet the New Jerusalem has not appeared. The question is, How many redeemed ones have been transformed and built into this holy city? Do we realize that in this city everything is composed of gold, pearl, and precious stones? There is no clay there. Perhaps you have been saved for ten years, but have you been fully transformed yet from a piece of clay to a precious stone? Are we really fit for the New Jerusalem? Frankly speaking, even if the Lord should put us there, we would have to say, “No, no; we do not fit here.” Do you see now that there is more required than simply the work of redemption? There must also be the work of transformation and building. Today’s church must have the work of transformation and building. The apostle Paul clearly tells us that we must be careful to build up the building of God with gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). Immediately after we are saved, we are not pure gold, pearl, silver, or precious stones. We are like an uncut diamond—just so much rock. How much transformation and building up we need! The situation today is very poor. It is too objective. People say, “Our church is wonderful. Come and join us.” No! All the dwellers of the church are the components of the church. You must be built into the church; otherwise, you can never be in the church in a practical way.
All of these eight thoughts are indeed deep, yet they are very basic. The main point is that we all must be worked upon, transformed, and built up together; then there will be the new city. All the dwellers of the New Jerusalem are the very components of which the city is built.
