In this vision the whole land of Canaan is divided into three portions. The northern portion is for seven tribes (vv. 1-7), the southern portion is for five tribes (vv. 23-28), and the middle portion, the holy portion, is a heave offering to God (vv. 8-20). The middle portion, the holy heave offering, is a square of twenty-five thousand reeds (v. 20) and is divided into three strips: one part for the priests and the temple (vv. 8-12), one part for the Levites (vv. 13-14), and one part for the city with all its workers (vv. 15-20). The remainder of the land on the west and on the east of the middle portion is assigned to the king, the royal family (v. 21).

The picture portrayed by the allotment of the land shows that, in the restoration, from Dan in the north (v. 1) to Gad in the south (v. 27), all the Israelites will enjoy Christ, but their nearness to Christ will not be the same. The nearness of the tribes to Christ is determined by their importance. The most important are the priests, who are the closest to Christ and who maintain the fellowship between the people and the Lord. The Levites, who maintain a service to the Lord, are next in nearness to the Lord. Then the workers for the city, who maintain God’s government, are the third closest to the Lord. In addition, there is the royal family with the king and the kingship.

The fellowship of the priests, the service of the Levites, the work to maintain God’s government, and the kingship all come out of the riches of the land. According to spiritual significance, this means that in the church all the fellowship, service, work, government, royalty, lordship, and kingship come out of the enjoyment of the riches of Christ. The more we enjoy Christ, the closer we are to Him, and the closer we are to Him, the more important we are in His purpose. The most important are the priests and the kings. According to the New Testament revelation, all the New Testament believers should exercise to be priests and kings (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10; 20:6; 22:3-5).

The sanctuary, the temple, is God’s house for His rest, and the city (v. 15) is God’s kingdom for His authority. Both typify the church as God’s house and God’s kingdom (1 Tim. 3:15; Rom. 14:17), which will consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2-3, 22; 22:3, 5).

The city here with twelve gates, on which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, must be Jerusalem (cf. Rev. 21:12-13). This city will be the dwelling place of the restored Israel with God in the earthly part of the millennium. As such, it typifies the overcomers in the church and the overcoming saints of the Old Testament, who will be the New Jerusalem as the mutual abode of God and the overcomers in the heavenly part of the millennium (see note Rev. 3:12^3d), which is the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.

The history of Israel is a full type of the history of the church. The history of Israel began with Israel’s corporate experience of the passover during the exodus from Egypt (Exo. 12) and will continue until the Lord’s second coming, at which time Israel will be restored and will build the earthly Jerusalem with the twelve gates. The history of the church also began with the Passover, which is the Christ who has been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7), and will go on until the millennium, in which the overcoming saints will be the heavenly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem, with its twelve gates. After the one thousand years the heavenly Jerusalem will be enlarged to become the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth. She will include all the redeemed ones from both Israel and the church to be the expression of God and the mutual dwelling place of God and His redeemed in eternity future. See note Dan. 12:1^3d.

That the number of gates is twelve (vv. 31-34), composed of three times four, signifies that God’s holy city, the New Jerusalem, is the mingling of the Triune God (three) with His creature man (four). The number twelve also signifies absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s administration. This indicates that the New Jerusalem is not only the eternal mingling of divinity with humanity but also a perfect government that comes out of this mingling. This city will exercise full authority for God’s complete administration in eternity (Rev. 22:1, 3, 5).

At the end of this book God obtains a holy temple (chs. 40—44) and a holy city in the Holy Land (chs. 47—48). God dwells in the temple, and He dwells also in the city. In the temple God has fellowship with His people, and in the city God reigns among His people. This indicates that in the temple and the city God has come down from heaven to live with man. The temple and the city typify the church in the present age as the center for the fellowship with God and for the reigning of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17; Heb. 12:22-23). In the church as the temple and the city, which is in Christ as the good land, God has His expression, and God and His people enjoy one another mutually and have mutual satisfaction. The church as God’s temple and God’s city will ultimately consummate in the New Jerusalem for eternity (Rev. 21:2-3, 22).