The basic numbers in New Jerusalem are the numbers twelve and one. One is the unique number. There is one God, one city, one throne, one street, one river, and one tree of life. Hence, the number one is the basic number of the church and of God’s building in His economy. This is not my concept; it is Paul’s concept in Ephesians 4:3-6, where he speaks of one Body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father. We have just one God, one throne, one administration, one authority, one flow, one way, and one tree. If we have seen this, we shall be kept forever in this oneness.
This oneness issues from the unique God, the One who is the source of everything. The throne, the river, the street, and the tree all issue out of Him. He is the unique source of everything to produce, support, sustain, and keep the unique building of the one God.
The situation of today’s Christianity is vastly different from this. Christianity is filled with confusion and division. There are thousands of divisions in today’s Christianity. No one knows how many divisions have taken place in the so-called free groups. In the free groups nearly everybody claims to be something. How we thank the Lord that He has opened our eyes and shown us His unique way! We have nothing other than the unique God on the unique throne with the unique flow with the unique life supply. Therefore, we have one testimony and we are in one church.
The church is constituted of both divinity and humanity; it is one corporate entity of both God and man. This entity is both God’s dwelling and our abode, for now we abide in God, and God abides in us. The church life today is a miniature of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth. We in the church can testify that we are truly one. We are one in God, one in His authority, one in His expression, one in the flow, one in the life, and one in the tree. In this oneness we abide in God, God abides in us, and thus we become His testimony.
In this message we shall cover the enjoyment and blessing of God’s redeemed in eternity. The first crucial item of our enjoyment in eternity will be the holy city (Rev. 22:14, 19). Revelation 22:19 says, “And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.” This indicates that having a part in the holy city means a great deal to us.
The holy city in which we shall participate and which we shall enjoy is God mingled with all His saints. In this one entity, the holy city, we shall not only enjoy God; we shall also enjoy God in all the saints. We shall enjoy God in one another, and we shall enjoy one another in God. I shall enjoy you in God, and you will enjoy me in God. Although this enjoyment is rather mysterious, we have a foretaste of it in the church life today, where we enjoy God in one another and one another in God. What a divine, heavenly communal life this is!
Man was created by God with the desire for a communal life. Our human nature longs for a community life. In order to fulfill this desire, people attend nightclubs and parties. However, nightclubs and parties cannot meet this need. Although people hunger and thirst for a proper communal life, they are poisoned by the clubs and parties of the world. Instead of receiving the proper drink to quench their thirst, they are poisoned. There is only one kind of party that is pure, happy, nourishing, enlightening, satisfying, and edifying, and that is the church. Day after day, we in the church life are attending a heavenly party. This party is holy, divine, and spiritual. It is the party of God mingled with man. What an enjoyment it is to attend this party!
Through my experience in the church life of nearly fifty years, I have come to know the disposition of the young people. Young people are sharp and quite demanding, and they can pierce into the hearts of their parents or of the elders in the church. All the elders are targets for the arrows of the young people. Often I have said to some of these sharp young people, “If the church and the elders are not pleasant in your eyes, why don’t you go off somewhere, to the mountains, perhaps, and live by yourselves? Then you will no longer be troubled by the church or the elders.” They replied that because they enjoy the fellowship in the church life, they would never leave the church.
Our desire for a communal life cannot be fully satisfied even by our married life or family life. You may have many brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces, nephews, and other relatives, but they cannot satisfy your inward desire for a community life. This desire, a desire for the church life and a desire created by God, can be satisfied only in the church.
We Christians are like sheep flocking together. Years ago I observed some flocks of sheep in Scotland. I noticed that the sheep enjoyed flocking together. They traveled together, ate together, and lay down together. They were always together as a flock. We Christians also have such a desire, the desire for the church life.
How we enjoy God in the church life! Some may say, “God is omnipresent, and I can enjoy Him anywhere. I can enjoy Him at home or on the street. I don’t need the church life to enjoy God.” We can testify that there is no comparison between the enjoyment of God in the church and the enjoyment of God apart from the church. Yes, you may enjoy God anywhere, but not in the way we enjoy Him in the church. In the church life we are beside ourselves with the enjoyment of the Lord. The church life is a life of God mingled with man. In this wonderful mingled life, we daily enjoy God in all the dear saints, and we enjoy the dear saints in God. This enjoyment is the first aspect of our eternal portion in the holy city. The enjoyment of this city, which is a composition of God mingled with all the saints, is our eternal portion. In this holy city God and the Lamb will be our dwelling for rest (21:3). In the holy city we also enjoy God and the Lamb as our temple for serving and worshipping God (21:22).
The second item of our enjoyment in eternity is the tree of life (22:14, 19). The tree of life is nothing less than Christ, the Son of God, the redeeming Lamb, as our life supply. This tree is rich, fresh, and refreshing. We have been redeemed that we may have the right to come to the tree of life.
Revelation 22:14 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” This verse may be considered a promise for the enjoyment of the tree of life, which is Christ with all the riches of life; and the second half of verse 17 may be considered a call to take the water of life, which is the life-giving Spirit. Thus, the book of Revelation ends in a promise and a call, both of which are for eating the all-inclusive Christ and drinking Him as the life-giving Spirit.
After his creation, man was put before the tree of life (Gen. 2:8-9), indicating that he was privileged to partake of it. But due to the fall of man, the tree of life was closed to man by God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness (Gen. 3:24). Through Christ’s redemption, which has fulfilled all the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness, the way to the tree of life is opened again to believers (Heb. 10:19-20). Hence, the believers who wash their robes in the redeeming blood of Christ have the right to enjoy the tree of life as their eternal portion in the holy city, the paradise of God in eternity (2:7).
In this verse, robes symbolize the conduct of the believers. To wash our robes is to keep our conduct clean through the washing of the blood of the Lamb (7:14; 1 John 1:7). This gives us the right to participate in the tree of life and to enter into the city. To enter in by the gates into the city is to enter into the New Jerusalem as a realm of God’s eternal blessing by regeneration through the death-overcoming and life-imparting Christ. Both the tree of life and the city will be our enjoyment in eternity.
Another aspect of the enjoyment and blessing of God’s redeemed in eternity is the water of life (22:17; 21:6). The water of life is the life-giving Spirit as our eternal drink. We need both to eat and to drink. It is not so pleasant to eat without having anything to drink. Hallelujah, in eternity we shall have food, the tree of life, and drink, the life-giving Spirit! Remember, the life-giving Spirit is actually the Triune God Himself flowing Himself out to be our drink.
Because many Christians hold a mistaken concept derived from traditional teachings, they think that the Spirit is separate from the Son and the Father. To them, the Spirit is merely the Spirit. But John 15:26 says, “But when the Comforter comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of reality who proceeds from the Father, He will testify concerning Me.” The sense of the Greek preposition translated “from” is “from with.” The Spirit of reality is sent by the Son not only from the Father, but also with the Father. Hence, the Comforter comes from the Father and with the Father. The Father is the source. When the Spirit comes from the source, He does not leave the source; the source comes with Him. The Spirit comes from the Father, and the Father comes with the Spirit. This Spirit, sent by the Son and coming with the Father, testifies concerning the Son. Therefore, His testimony concerning the Son is a matter of the Triune God.
Although this is difficult to explain, it is easy to understand if we consider our experience. When we call, “O Lord Jesus,” we receive the Spirit. But when the Spirit comes, we have the deep sense that the Father and the Son have also come. This indicates that this Spirit is the all-inclusive Spirit. When He comes into us, He comes with the Son and the Father. Therefore, our eternal drink, the life-giving Spirit, is nothing less than the Triune God. What an enjoyment this is! If we devote our attention to mere doctrinal understanding, we shall miss this enjoyment. But if we care for the genuine experience in our spirit, we shall say, “Now I understand that the very drink I enjoy is the Triune God flowing into my being.”
This eternal drink is bright as crystal (22:1). In the life-giving Spirit there is nothing opaque. As we drink of this eternal Spirit, everything becomes crystal clear.
In eternity we shall also enjoy the throne of God and the Lamb (22:3). It is difficult to determine whether the throne of God in Revelation 21 and 22 is the throne of authority or the throne of grace. In Hebrews 4 the throne is the throne of grace, but in Revelation 4 the throne is mainly the throne of authority. At the end of the Bible, the throne is both the throne of authority and the throne of grace. We know this by the picture in chapter twenty-two. Here the throne of God and the Lamb is certainly for God’s divine administration. Thus, it is the throne of authority. However, proceeding out of the throne is not authority, but the river of water of life, with the tree of life as the life supply. This is not authority; it is grace.
We should never separate authority from grace or grace from authority. Grace and authority are one. If we have grace, we are under authority, and if we are under authority, we are surely partaking of grace. Although it is true that, as Christians, we need to reign, we should not reign by authority. Rather, we should reign through the flow of life. The elders should not exercise their eldership by means of authority. The eldership, that is, the representation of the headship, must be exercised through the flow of life. Although the throne is the throne of authority, the throne of headship, out of the throne flows the river of water of life. When you look at the throne, you see authority and headship. But when you look at the river, you see the water of life and the tree of life. This indicates that proper eldership is not the exercise of authority over others; it is the flowing of life into them. We are reigning, but we do not reign by authority; we reign through the flowing of the inner life.
Today the Lord Jesus does not reign merely with authority. He is reigning in the church, among the churches, and over all the churches through the flowing of His life as grace. The more we partake of His life, the more authority we have. The ones whom you respect in the church life are those who are mature in life. However, no one who assumes authority will be respected. Deep in the spirits of the saints there is no respect for that kind of eldership. Life is the very expression of authority. Instead of assuming authority, we need to live out Christ. The very Christ whom we live out will be our authority over others. We shall enjoy this kind of authority for eternity. The throne, the source of the life supply with the divine authority, will be our eternal enjoyment.
In eternity “there shall no longer be any curse.” Instead of the curse, the throne of God and the Lamb will be our eternal portion. The curse came in through Adam’s fall (Gen. 3:17) and was dealt with by Christ’s redemption (Gal. 3:13). Since in the new heaven and new earth there will be no more fall, there will no longer be any curse.
Not many Christians understand all that the curse includes. Things such as hatred, criticism, and gossip are included in the curse. If anyone in the church in Anaheim still gossips, this means that the church is still under a small, subtle curse. If the brothers and sisters criticize one another, that also is a sign that the church is under the curse. Furthermore, if some saints are weak to the extent that they are deadened, that is a mark of the curse. For there to be no more curse means that there is no longer any gossip, hatred, criticism, weakness, or deadness. When there is no curse, everything is smooth, pleasant, strong, and living.
I do not like to be present in any home where a husband is exchanging words with his wife. Whenever I overhear such an argument, I flee because I do not want to share in the curse. I do not want to see the curse, touch the curse, or be under the curse. If I witnessed such an argument, it would be difficult to forget the impression it made on me. Each time I saw that brother and sister I would be reminded of their quarrel. A number of times, as I was approaching the home of a brother and sister, I overheard an argument between them. Immediately, I turned away and did not come back until everything had become silent. Then I knocked on the door and was greeted with a pleasant, “Praise the Lord! Amen!” This is wonderful. I certainly enjoy being with a husband and wife who are praising the Lord. I would like the impression made by their praises to linger with me forever.
Have you ever realized how much the curse includes? Have you ever thought that “no more curse” includes no more exchange of words? When there is no curse, everything is smooth, pleasant, living, bright, pure, and perfect. When we are in New Jerusalem, we shall participate in this great blessing. However, we all long to be able to say that in the church life today there is no longer any curse. May this be the situation in all the local churches.
Revelation 22:3 also says, “His slaves shall serve Him.” To serve God and the Lamb will also be a blessing to God’s redeemed in eternity. The pronoun “Him” in this verse refers to God and the Lamb; God and the Lamb are one in eternity. It is the same with “His” in the next verse.
Although God’s redeemed will serve God and the Lamb in eternity, they will not serve Him as priests. Strictly speaking, in the new heaven and new earth there will be no priests. There will be service, but there will be no priesthood. Priestly service always includes the aspect of redemption. Because in the new heaven and the new earth there will no longer be the problem of sin, there will be no need for any redeeming work. Hence, there will be no priestly service there. Nevertheless, we shall still be the servants of God and of the Lamb, and we shall serve Him for eternity.
Verse 4 says, “And they shall see His face.” This also is a blessing to God’s redeemed in eternity. The “His” in this verse refers to both God and the Lamb. Seeing His face means seeing the face of God and the Lamb.
God’s redeemed will have the name of God and the Lamb on their forehead (v. 4). This is still another blessing of God’s redeemed in eternity. We shall not have two names; we shall have just one name, the name of God and the Lamb. This is similar to Matthew 28:19, which speaks of being baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In eternity both God and the Lamb will have one name. Because we belong to Him, this name will be written on our foreheads forever. Not only shall we belong to Him; we shall also be one with Him.
Verse 5 says, “And night shall be no more; and they have no need of the light of a lamp and the light of the sun, for the Lord God shall illumine them.” Being illumined by the Lord God is another blessing to God’s redeemed in eternity. We shall have no need of a lamp, the light made by man, nor of the sun, the light created by God. God Himself will shine upon us, and we shall live under His illumination.
Verse 5 also says, “And they shall reign forever and ever.” To reign forever will be the final blessing to God’s redeemed in eternity. These are the blessings we shall enjoy for eternity in the new heaven and the new earth.
