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In this message we shall consider some further characteristics of New Jerusalem, namely its measurements and its wall.
Let us firstly consider the measurements of New Jerusalem. Revelation 21:15 says, “And he who spoke with me had a golden reed as a measure, that he might measure the city and its gates and its wall.” The reed is for measuring, and measuring signifies taking possession (Ezek. 40:5; Zech. 2:1-2; Rev. 11:1). Notice that the measuring instrument is a reed, not a rod. A rod signifies or implies judgment, discipline, and punishment. According to 11:1, “a reed like a rod” was used to “measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship in it.” Because a rod implies punishment (Prov. 10:13; Isa. 10:5; 11:4), a reed like a rod indicates measuring with punishment. In 21:15, however, we have the reed, but no mention of the rod. Here there is no implication of judgment, discipline, or chastisement, for in every respect New Jerusalem is complete and perfect. This city has already passed every test. The universal bright woman, whose consummation is New Jerusalem, has passed through many kinds of dealings and has been measured by many rods in each of the four dispensations. Even today the church is being measured by a rod, not by a reed. When the four dispensations are over and the new heaven and new earth have come, there will be no further need for measuring with a rod.
The fact that New Jerusalem is measured with a reed means that it is measured for possession. Suppose you intend to purchase some property. Firstly you measure it, and then you take possession of it. Women do the same thing when they purchase material in a fabric store. The amount of material they measure out is the amount of material they purchase and possess. Likewise, the New Jerusalem, which will be measured by a golden reed, will be fully possessed by the Lord in a very positive way.
Notice that the reed is a golden reed. Since gold signifies the divine nature of God, “golden” here signifies that the measuring of the city, its gates, and its wall is according to God’s divine nature. Anything that does not match the nature of God does not belong to the New Jerusalem. God cannot possess anything that does not match His nature. The whole city, with its gates and wall, can pass the measuring and testing of the nature of God; hence, it is qualified to be possessed by God.
Even today God measures the churches by the golden standard of His divine measurement. When God measures a church, He is not concerned with our intelligence, activities, or ability to speak. But He is very concerned about how much of His nature has been wrought into us. Is the divine gold the solid substance of the church? Is the church constituted with God’s divine essence? The church must be substantially divine; that is, the divine substance must be wrought into the very being of the church life. Thus, the standard of measurement is not our human nature, but God’s nature.
When we are about to express our love for one another, we must determine what kind of love is being expressed, whether it is human or divine. The same is true with respect to humility and goodness. Although we must be humble and good, we must check whether our humility and goodness are human or divine. This principle applies to every aspect of our humanity. We need to be divinely human; that is, we must have the divine nature wrought into us. Please keep in mind that God’s measurement of the church is according to the divine nature. The golden nature of God is the unique standard.
In verse 16 we have the measurements of the city proper. “And the city lies foursquare, and its length is the same as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, at twelve thousand stadia; the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.” When I was young, I was troubled by the fact that the height of the wall was a hundred and forty-four cubits and that the height of the city was twelve thousand stadia. The measurements of the city imply that the city proper is like a mountain with the height of twelve thousand stadia, whereas the wall itself from the foundation to the top is a hundred forty-four cubits. Twelve thousand stadia are more than seven million feet, or more than one thousand three hundred sixty miles.
Another thing that troubled me about the city was that it has just one street. I wondered how this one street could serve all twelve gates. According to my opinion, there should have been at least twelve streets, one for each gate. One day, during my stay with Brother Nee in Shanghai, he pointed out that New Jerusalem is a mountain, and that the one street spirals down the mountain from the throne and passes by all twelve gates. No matter which gate we enter, we find ourselves on the same street. Because the street is a spiral, it is impossible for anyone to get lost in this city. Even if you walk blindly along this street, you will never lose your way.
Verse 16 says that “the city lies foursquare.” The length is the same as its breadth. The fact that New Jerusalem is square signifies that it is perfect and complete in every way, absolutely straight and not in the least oblique.
The length, breadth, and height of New Jerusalem are equal; it is twelve thousand stadia in each dimension. Twelve thousand is one thousand times twelve. Since twelve signifies absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s eternal administration, twelve thousand signifies a thousand times this.
According to its measurements, New Jerusalem is a cube. The dimensions of the Holy of Holies, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, are equal in length, breadth, and height (Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20). The Holy of Holies in the tabernacle was a cube measuring ten cubits in each dimension, and the Holy of Holies in the temple was a cube twenty cubits in each dimension. That the length, breadth, and height of New Jerusalem are equal signifies that the entire New Jerusalem is the Holy of Holies. Therefore, New Jerusalem is the Holy of Holies enlarged to the uttermost.
In the Life-study of Hebrews we pointed out that our experience of the Holy of Holies must be constantly increasing (see message fifty-two, pp. 238-239). This means that in our experience the Holy of Holies must be continuously enlarged. Firstly, we have the smaller Holy of Holies in Exodus; then we have the larger Holy of Holies in 1 Kings; and ultimately we have the largest Holy of Holies in the book of Revelation. Eventually, our Holy of Holies will be more than one thousand three hundred sixty miles in length, width, and height.
Now we need to see what the principle of the Holy of Holies is. The principle of the Holy of Holies is that man can live and walk directly in the presence of God. According to the Old Testament, only the high priest was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies. But the book of Hebrews reveals that through the redeeming blood of Christ, the Holy of Holies is open to all those who believe in Him (Heb. 10:19-22). All the redeemed ones may enter into the presence of God, live there, and remain there, enjoying fellowship in oneness with God. The coming New Jerusalem will be such a place. Everyone in it will see God, touch God, worship God, serve God, and even live and dwell in the presence of God. The church life today must be a Holy of Holies. The church must be a cube, and its nature must be utterly holy.
Verse 17 says, “And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, a measure of a man, that is, of an angel.” A hundred and forty-four is twelve times twelve. Twelve times twelve signifies absolute perfection and eternal completion of absolute perfections and eternal completions. How perfect and complete is the wall of the holy city in God’s eternal administration! This verse says that the wall is the measure of a man, “that is, of an angel.” It is in resurrection that man will be like the angels (Matt. 22:30). Hence, “a measure of a man, that is, of an angel” signifies that the wall of the city is not natural, but in resurrection.
Verse 18 says, “And the building material of its wall was jasper.” Jasper is a transformed precious stone (1 Cor. 3:12) that bears the appearance of God. This stone is crystal clear and dark green. Revelation 4:3 says, “He who was sitting was like in appearance to a jasper stone and a sardius.” According to this verse, the appearance of God on the throne is like jasper and sardius. The dark green color of jasper signifies life in its richness. Green grass, green fields, and green mountains all testify of the richness of life. If a lawn or field is brown, we have the impression that there is no life there. But dark green signifies the richness of life. God as the One on the throne in chapter four also has the appearance of a sardius, a most precious stone in the color of red, which signifies redemption. While jasper indicates God as the God of glory in His rich life, sardius signifies God as the God of redemption. Our God today is the God of life and the God of redemption. However, when we enter into the New Jerusalem, we shall have no further need of redemption. Thus, the color of the wall of the city will be jasper, dark green, expressing life in its richness.
We have seen that the wall is a hundred and forty-four cubits high, and that this measure is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. We have pointed out that this signifies that the wall of the city is not natural, but in resurrection. This is a very important matter. Everything we say, everything we do, and everything we are in the church life today must be in resurrection. The principle of resurrection is that the natural life is killed and that the divine life rises up in its place. This is resurrection.
A number of times, as I was about to lose my temper, I exercised my spirit to crucify my natural man. Whenever I did this, I was in resurrection. We must not only practice this with our temper, but even with our love. Do not love others in a natural way. Love them in resurrection. Natural love is like honey. Instead of a “honey” love, we need a love that is in resurrection, a love that has been killed by the cross and resurrected with the divine life. There is no honey in such a love. In place of honey, there are frankincense and salt. According to Leviticus 2, the meal offering could have frankincense and salt, but not honey. The love among most Christians today is rarely the love in resurrection, which is the real love. Mostly, it is not only like honey, but also full of leaven. Although many Christians talk about love, this love may not be a love that has been dealt with by the cross and resurrected with the divine life. What we need is a resurrected love, a love which is in the divine life.
I like to see the brothers and sisters growing in life and experiencing the building, but I do not like to see any natural love. It is better to keep a distance between yourself and others. Do not wear their clothes; do not even use their Bibles. If your natural life has been dealt with, you will not want to use a Bible that belongs to someone else. Using another’s Bible does not indicate that you love him in the spirit; rather, it proves that you love him according to your natural taste. You spend so much time with that particular brother because he matches your taste. You may think that you are growing in life as you fellowship with him. Actually, because your love for him is natural, you are not growing at all. The more we love others, the greater should be the distance between ourselves and them.
In the church life, we must learn to do everything in resurrection, not in our natural life. If you are not certain whether a thing you are about to do is in resurrection, please do not do it. Pray and wait until you have the assurance that you are in resurrection. The fact that the wall of the city of New Jerusalem is measured with the measurement of a man, that is, of an angel, means not only that it is measured according to the divine nature, but also that it is according to resurrection. You must love me and I must love you, not in our natural life, but in the divine life. Never yield an inch of ground to the natural life. No matter how much you love others, keep a distance between yourself and them. If you do this, you will be kept from the natural life, and you will love others in resurrection, according to humanity, but in angelic likeness.
In 1932, the year I came into the church life, I had my first lesson in learning how to do things in resurrection, not in my natural life. There was a certain sister who always helped others, but who did not have enough money to buy a good Bible for herself. She spent her money on the needy ones, not on herself. I came to know her situation and noticed that she had to use a very old Bible. Spontaneously I was burdened to buy her a good, leather-bound Bible and to give it to her anonymously. As I went to the Lord about this, I said, “Lord, I am about to buy a Bible for this sister. Am I doing this in my natural life or in Your resurrection life?” By inquiring of the Lord in this way, I learned a great deal. Because I was not certain that I was acting according to resurrection life, I was not able to buy the Bible immediately. I waited for a period of time until I was sure that I was not acting according to my natural life, but according to Christ’s resurrection life. One day I purchased a Bible for her and gave it to her anonymously. Through receiving this gift of a Bible, her faith was confirmed, and she grew in the matter of believing the Lord. If I had given her a Bible a few weeks earlier, she would have not been helped in this regard. The very day I had the assurance that I could give her a Bible in resurrection was the exact day she needed to receive it.
