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In the previous two chapters we have seen twenty-eight points concerning the New Jerusalem. There are still many additional points to cover.
The twenty-ninth point is that the city is a large square. Revelation 21:16 says, “The city lies square, and its length is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed to a length of twelve thousand stadia; the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” The measurement of the city is equal in three dimensions, each dimension being twelve times one thousand stadia. From the perfect squareness of the city we must learn the principle that nothing in the church life should be oblique; everything must be straight and square.
Regarding the serpent, the real symbol of Satan, nothing is straight or square; every part of him is cunning and crooked. Many times brothers in the Lord have come to us and to other Christian workers to try to teach us to be a serpent. They feel we should not be so straight, so open, and so frank but rather a little “wise.” We have replied, “You are not teaching us to be wise but to be cunning like the politicians.” In the church life we should never act like a lawyer in the law court or a diplomat in the United Nations. We are dear Christian brothers; we must be as straight as possible.
During His last week on earth, the Lord Jesus was confronted by the elders and Pharisees, the chiefs of the Jewish people. They asked the Lord who had given Him the authority to act as He did. The Lord did not answer these men immediately, but said, “I also will ask you one thing, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come, from heaven or from men?” (Matt. 21:24-25). These men reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, From heaven, He will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, From men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John as a prophet” (vv. 25-26). They held a political conference, and they decided to tell the Lord Jesus, “We do not know.” However, the Lord knew that they knew but that they would not tell the truth, so He replied, “Neither do I tell you” (v. 27). These men lied, but the Lord Jesus would not lie. They were crooked, but the Lord Jesus was straight.
The thirtieth point is that the New Jerusalem is completely transparent (Rev. 21:18, 21). This means that there is nothing opaque or hidden there. In the church life today everything must not only be pure and clean but also transparent as crystal. There must be nothing covered or hidden. There are some real lessons to learn in this area. We must be checked and straightened, purified and made transparent, by the work of the cross. Anything in us that is cunning or hidden is of the enemy, of the serpent, of darkness. We may hide some “small” matter for one, two, or even twenty days; we may even conceal something for twenty months or possibly ten years. But on the first day of the eleventh year it will come to the surface. We can never hide anything for eternity. In the church everything must be clear and transparent.
The thirty-first point is that the city is full of the glory of God because it is so straight and transparent (vv. 11, 23). Strictly speaking, the glory of God is the very content of the city, for the city is completely filled with His glory. This means that the city is a vessel to contain and express God. To illustrate this point, let us consider a common table lamp: a typical lamp has an outer covering, which is the lampshade, and within the lamp there is the fullness of light. The lamp expresses the light, and the light is the very content of the lamp and the shade. The glory of God is simply God Himself being manifested. The New Jerusalem is full of God’s glory; therefore, God is manifested in this city. The normal church life today is the same: it is full of God’s glory, manifesting and expressing God.
The thirty-second point relates to the number twelve, which is used repeatedly in the description of this city. We may use electricity to illustrate the symbolic meaning of numbers used in the New Jerusalem. It is exceedingly difficult to understand electricity; we cannot isolate a little of it and take it into our hands for study. We must instead use figures to represent certain aspects of electricity. Similarly, the numbers used in the holy city teach us much concerning the city and the church life today.
The number twelve is used at least ten times in Revelation 21 and 22. There are twelve gates with twelve angels, and these gates contain the names of the twelve tribes. Then there are twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The twelve gates are twelve pearls, and the twelve foundations are twelve precious stones. The city itself is in three dimensions, and each dimension is of twelve thousand stadia. The measurement of the city wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, which is twelve times twelve. In addition to this, the tree of life bears twelve kinds of fruits within the city.
There are many ways by which the number twelve can be composed, but according to the record of these two chapters, it is composed of three times four or four times three. How do we know this? It is because there are three gates on each of the four sides of the city. Remember, three is the number of the Triune God, and four is the number of the creatures or creation. In the early chapters of Revelation the number seven is frequently used: there are seven churches, seven lampstands, seven stars, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. This number is composed either of three plus four or four plus three. The book of Revelation begins with the number seven and ends with the number twelve. At the beginning there are four living creatures plus the Triune God. But at the end everything issues from multiplication. Addition signifies an adding together, whereas multiplication signifies a mingling together. First, we as creatures have God added to us; then from the time of regeneration God is multiplied within us. We must be mingled with God. The entire city of the New Jerusalem is a mingling of man with God—this is why the whole city is represented by the number twelve. The church life begins with the number seven and matures to the number twelve. This is a process. The church must begin with the divine nature being added to the human nature; then each person must be mingled with God. Seven must become twelve; this is the way that the church life must proceed. The maturity of the church life is the very mingling of God with man. Whatever I do in the church must involve the mingling of God with myself. Before doing anything, I must check, “Am I doing this only by myself, or am I doing this by the mingling of God with me?” The number four by itself is not good, and six is worse. We must at least equal seven, which is man plus God, or eight, which is resurrection. Then we will be in the reality of number twelve. All our work must be in the mingling of God with us.
The thirty-third point concerns the foundation of the city, which we shall consider in six aspects. Ephesians 2:20 says that the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. But in the New Jerusalem there are no prophets. We must realize that at the time of the letter to the Ephesians some things were still not fulfilled; hence, prophecy was required. But when the New Jerusalem descends out of heaven, everything will be completed. There will no longer be a need for prophets who foretell the things of God. Therefore, we should not place too much importance on such prophets. On the other hand, all the apostles abide forever, for on the twelve foundations of the city are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Rev. 21:14). The apostles will abide through eternity because they represent six things.
First, the apostles signify that this new city, which is the building of God and the testimony of Jesus, is not of man but of God (Gal. 1:10-12). None of the apostles are of man; all are of God. This is the real testimony, and we must apply this principle to ourselves. In the church life everything must be of God; there must not be anything of man. The foundation of the church life must only be of God. If there is any human element, sooner or later that will be a weak point and will be heavily attacked by the enemy. Such an element cannot withstand the enemy’s attack. If we initiate anything which is of man rather than completely of God, the foundation will not be strong. In every city we must allow the church life to be initiated only of God, not of ourselves.
Second, the apostles are also the real witnesses of God’s mercy. When we consider the twelve foundations, we must recognize the mercy of God. What is the difference between mercy and grace? Suppose that there are two brothers who love each other in the Lord. One day the first brother purchases a fine Bible and presents it to the second. This is an act of grace. Let us consider now a second instance in which the second brother is not so lovable; let us suppose that he is a poor and dirty beggar. Such a person is not worthy of love, yet the first brother loves him and gives him a gift. This is an act of mercy. Mercy is more far-reaching than grace. God is not only a God of grace but also a God of mercy. If there were some worthiness about us, we would qualify for God’s grace. But we are in a more pitiful state than a poor and dirty beggar. Praise God that His mercy is so far-reaching that it has reached poor sinners like us!
Now look closely at the twelve foundation stones. Every time that I have studied the four Gospels, I have always said, “Poor, pitiful Peter!” Yet Peter was chosen and used by the Lord. He was adorned and equipped by mercy, and his name is on one of the foundations of the city. After the adornment of God’s mercy, Peter became qualified for God’s grace. If we are humble, we will realize how truly pitiful we are before the Lord and how worthless in His eyes. We need His mercy. But after we receive His mercy, we can praise Him and tell Him that now we qualify for His grace. Why is this? It has nothing to do with our qualifications; it is all the Lord’s mercy.
Consider the twelve apostles. Peter was a poor fisherman (Matt. 4:18-19), and Matthew was a tax gatherer (9:9; Luke 5:27). In those days people spit whenever a tax gatherer was mentioned. These men collected taxes for Caesar and the Roman Empire, not for the temple of God. They were despised and hated by their own countrymen; they were pitiful people. Yet one of them became an apostle and eventually one of the twelve foundations of the glorious city of God. What a mercy! These twelve foundation stones will eternally declare God’s mercy. We must know the mercy of God!
Third, the twelve foundation stones are also a witness of God’s grace. Most Christians today conceive of grace as something given to us by God. But God’s grace is nothing less than God Himself. God gives Himself to us as our enjoyment to meet all our needs. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says that it is no longer he but Christ who lives within him. Again, he declares, “Yet not I but the grace of God” (1 Cor. 15:10). By putting these two verses together, we see that grace is nothing less than Christ Himself. Grace is God in Christ as my strength, my power, my enjoyment. These poor fishermen and a publican could become so important as parts of the foundation of the holy city, not only because of God’s mercy but also because of God’s grace.
Fourth, it is also through God’s faithfulness that the apostles have become the city’s foundation stones. In the Scriptures the rainbow is a sign of God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness encircles His throne. In the holy city the foundation is not laid block by block, but layer upon layer, and each of the twelve layers is a different kind of precious stone. Every layer displays a special color. According to an expert who has studied this matter thoroughly, the layer upon layer of precious stones which compose the foundation of the city show forth the colors of the rainbow. This proves that the faithfulness of God is the very foundation of the city. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all looked for “the city which has the foundations” (Heb. 11:10). They looked for such a city because that city is built upon the faithfulness of God. Psalm 89:2 says that the faithfulness of God is established in the heavens themselves. Strictly speaking, the twelve stones alone do not compose the foundations of this holy city; rather, the faithfulness of God bestowed upon the twelve stones makes up the foundations. The apostles themselves are not sufficient to constitute the foundation. I would not have any trust in Peter and Matthew by themselves. But I realize that the faithfulness of God is with them, and I trust the faithfulness of God upon them. These twelve layers of precious stones as the foundation have the appearance of a rainbow, eternally declaring God’s faithfulness.
Fifth, the precious stones speak of God’s work of transformation. Every precious stone comes from common elements. Medical research has shown that humans are basically a composition of dust. Our body consists of certain amounts of salt, copper, iron, sulphur, and other elements of this earth. How then did Peter, John, and the ten other apostles become such precious stones? It was by the work of transformation.
There are three kinds of precious materials in God’s building: gold, pearl, and precious stone. Gold requires no transformation, for it is an element in its original state as created by God. A precious stone, however, is a compound of several elements which have been pressed together under intense heat. It is not an entity in its original state; it requires a work of full transformation. The other material in God’s building, pearl, also needs some work of transformation. Pearl, as we have seen, clearly signifies regeneration; thus, it constitutes the entrance, the gates, to the city. By regeneration we enter the sphere of the kingdom of God. But once we are in, we need to press on to the goal. By regeneration we receive the divine nature. From that time onward we need to be pressed and burned, but do not be frightened. We all appreciate Peter, John, and the other disciples, but most of us little realize how much pressure they experienced. They are no more pieces of clay but precious stones. They have been transformed through intense heat and pressure. Read the histories of Peter and John; see the sufferings through which they passed. They were pressed and burned until they became strong and precious. Consider Peter and John on the day of Pentecost. At that time they were no longer pieces of clay; they had become pieces of stone, so strong and precious.
For the church life today we need God’s life, God’s divine nature of gold. We also need the pearl of regeneration of life by Christ’s death and resurrection. Eventually, we must become precious stones through the transformation work of the Spirit. All the members of Christ’s Body must be transformed so that God may have the foundation and the wall of His city.
Sixth, the twelve foundations of the city are composed of twelve kinds of precious stones (Rev. 21:19-20). This signifies oneness in variety. Not one stone is the same: Peter is one color, and John is another. Altogether there are twelve colors seen in the apostles—a real variety. Yet there is also oneness in this variety. The “Peter” and “John” of today never seem to be one, and this is the real problem. John does his work, and Peter does his. There is a variety but no oneness. So many gifted brothers today do not agree to be one. Even brothers who are supposed to be working together are not one. Each one tries to convince the other to be the same as himself. Suppose that I am a stone of green jasper and you are a red sardius. The problem is that I will try to convince you to be green, and you will attempt to make me red. If I fail to convert you, then I will have nothing to do with you. This is pitiful. Can we respect someone else whose ministry is totally different from ours? We must. We must hate narrow-mindedness and the urge to convince and convert others to be like ourselves. Never forget that Peter is Peter and John is John. The Lord Jesus is very great and wonderful. He needs many different persons to express Himself; one individual Christian is not sufficient. It is a real mercy to be one of the stones and yet be different from others. There is no need to convince others to be the same as we are.
The thirty-fourth point concerns the Lord Jesus as He is portrayed in the New Jerusalem. He is manifested in at least four items. First, He is the Lamb (22:1). Even in eternity the Lord Jesus will always be remembered as the Lamb who died for our redemption, who shed His blood for us, and who gave Himself as the very food of life to satisfy us. Second, this Lamb is also the lamp, in whom God is the light (21:23; 22:5). The lamp is the vessel of God, containing God and expressing God. God has embodied Himself in Christ, and this Christ as the embodiment of God is the center of the entire city. Even so, the church today must have Christ with God embodied in Him as the center. Third, this very Christ is the tree of life (v. 2), the source of all life supply. In the church life we must have Christ as the Lamb, the lamp, and the tree of life. Fourth, Christ is even the temple of the city (21:22).
The thirty-fifth point concerns the temple. Historically speaking, there was a temple in the ancient city of Jerusalem, but in the New Jerusalem there is no temple (v. 22), for God Himself and Christ are the temple. We may ask, then, since God and Christ are the temple, are They the Dwellers within the city or are They the dwelling place? The answer is, They are both. They are the temple, where the serving ones will dwell and serve. A temple is a place where those who serve God dwell. We have already seen how the dwellers are the dwelling place, and the dwelling place consists of the dwellers. If we would dwell in the church today, we must be built into it, we must become a part of it. This is very subjective. The dwellers are also the dwelling place. If we are not built into the New Jerusalem, we will never get into that city. But here is something more. God is the very God whom we serve, but He is also the temple where we serve. That means that we serve God in God. These thoughts are exceedingly deep. Where are you serving God today? Are you in a material building, an organization, or are you in God and Christ as the temple? We must serve God in God; we must serve Christ in Christ. God Himself and Christ Himself are the temple in which we serve God and Christ.
The thirty-sixth point is that the holy city is also the dwelling place of God (v. 3). God and Christ dwell in this city. On one hand, They are the temple in which we dwell, and on the other hand, They are also the Dwellers within the city. This means that the New Jerusalem is a mutual habitation. God dwells in us, and we dwell in God. The church today is a habitation where God may dwell (Eph. 2:22), and God is the home where we may dwell (Psa. 90:1). This is not a new concept. Christ said in John 15, “Abide in me and I in you” (v. 4). He is saying in essence, “I am your abode, and you are My abode.” Thus, together with God we become a mutual habitation. How profound this is! To God we are the city, and to us God and Christ are the temple. We have the presence of God and Christ as the temple to us. We are not simply before God’s presence and Christ’s presence; we are in God’s presence and Christ’s presence. The presence of God and Christ becomes a dwelling place for us. If we would serve God and Christ in the church, we must be surrounded by God and Christ and covered by God and Christ. We must serve God and Christ in God and Christ. How much we need Him! He is the One whom we serve, and He is even the temple in which we serve. Do you realize and experience God and Christ in such a way? Do you serve God and Christ in such a way? This is intensely subjective.
Human logic argues that such a mutual habitation is absurd. Some may ask, “Who then is within, and who is without? If God and Christ are within us, how can they ever be outside of us? If God and Christ are in us, we can never dwell in God and Christ.” The best logician can never comprehend this. But consider, the air is within us, and the air is also outside of us. The air is in me, and I am in the air. If the air were not in me, I would soon expire. And if I were not in the air, I could never breathe. It is not difficult to believe this subjective fact.
God and Christ are in you, and you are in God and Christ. Praise Him! We may experience this as a reality in our life. One day, in the new heaven and new earth, we will realize this in the fullest way. We will see how much God and Christ are to us. He dwells in us, and we dwell in Him, so we will enjoy His presence to the uttermost.
This brings us to the thirty-seventh point. The reason that the holy city is without a temple is that the whole city is the temple. And since the city is square and equal in three dimensions, the whole city is not only the temple but the Holy of Holies. During the time of Noah and Abraham, the small tent and altar had very little shape. There was no outer court, Holy Place, or Holy of Holies. When God and the two angels visited Abraham, they stayed with him outside the tent (Gen. 18). Then during the time of Moses there was the tabernacle with an altar, a building with more shape. The Holy of Holies in this tabernacle was in three equal dimensions. Later the temple of Solomon was built in the same pattern as the tabernacle, with the dimensions all enlarged. These second and third stages of God’s building had more form. Finally, the New Jerusalem, as the ultimate stage of God’s building, has just one part: everything is swallowed up by the Holy of Holies. There is no longer an outer court or a Holy Place. Neither is there a need for the temple, for the whole city is the temple, and every part of the city has been translated into the Holy of Holies. This is one reason that the city is called the holy city. Such a city is the ultimate manifestation of God’s building.
The thirty-eighth point is simply that by the time of the New Jerusalem, God is everything to us. Through all the stages of God’s building, God finally becomes everything to us in the holy city.
The thirty-ninth point is that the name of God is written upon the foreheads of all His seeking ones. God’s name on our forehead signifies that we belong to God and, even more, that we are one with God. God’s name is our name, for we are one with Him. When a woman marries, she takes the name of her husband. She is called by his name. Hence, God’s name written on our forehead proves and even declares that we belong to God and that we are one with God. These points are exceedingly deep and meaningful.
The fortieth point concerning the holy city is that we will see God’s face. This is unspeakably wonderful! We will see His face day by day forever. Perhaps the best illustration is that of a little babe. Nothing can satisfy a little child like his mother’s face. To him, that is everything. One day we shall see God’s face, in Him, in His presence, and with His name.
The forty-first point is that in that city we shall serve God as priests. In eternity we will have nothing to do but to serve God.
The forty-second point is that we shall reign as kings over the nations. We will be the priests of God, and we will be the kings of the people. We will have a God to serve and a people to rule. Have you ever realized the status that you will have in the New Jerusalem?
The forty-third and final point is that the holy city will be the light of the nations. All the nations will walk in the light of the New Jerusalem, for this city will be the unique, universal lampstand. As the lampstand, it will hold Christ as the lamp, with God in Christ as the light. God shines through Christ and through the city, and all the nations around will walk in the light of the city.
In conclusion, we must remember that this ultimate consummation of God’s building is a full picture of today’s church life. If we are such a miniature of the holy city, we will shine forth with God as the light. Then the unbelievers, the worldly people, will walk in our light. We will enlighten everyone around us. This is full of import. May we bring all these points to the Lord in prayer so that we may fully realize what the church life is today and so that we may cooperate with God’s eternal intention.
