After the meeting, some people came to me, and I know there are more people who are thinking about something not very joyous. So I think it needs an explanation before we go on tonight.
A number of people are asking this question: What happened to the five foolish virgins?
I do not know why you are so negative. I think we should learn to be the wise virgins and forget about the foolish virgins.
As a matter of fact, you find in the Word of God very little hint is given as to what happened to the five foolish virgins. Why? Because our God is very positive. He wants us to arrive as wise virgins. It is not His intention, and it is not His desire, that anyone should fall back to the foolish virgins.
But I think an explanation is needed. I think the reason people are wondering what happened to the five foolish virgins is because they think that probably it is a matter of eternal salvation. In other words, will the five foolish virgins lose their salvation? Because the Lord, the Bridegroom, said, “I do not know you.”
Now, brothers and sisters, I think there is a basic understanding that we must have. In Scripture, you find this age, the age to come, and eternity.
We are living in this age. It is the age of grace, and we are approaching the very end of this age. But after this age comes to an end, eternity does not begin right away. Instead, you find that between this age and eternity, there is the age to come.
You remember our Lord Jesus in Matthew tells us:
He that speaks injuriously of the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven,
neither in this age, nor in the age to come.
And also, you remember in Hebrews Chapter 6, there are people who have tasted the powers of the age to come. So, after this age, there will be the age to come.
The age to come in Scripture is the millennium, a thousand years. It is a time when the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our God and of His Christ. It is the millennial kingdom. After the millennial kingdom is over, you will find eternity.
When we believe in the Lord Jesus, you remember the words:
He that hears My voice, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life.
He has passed out of judgment, out of death into life.
In other words, we who believe in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we who are redeemed by the precious blood, we who have received forgiveness of sins, and we who have received eternal life, have passed out of judgment, out of death into life.
But that does not mean that we will not be judged. You know, the problem today is that some people think because we have passed out of death into life, Christ Jesus has been judged for us on Calvary’s cross, and we have accepted Him as our Savior, therefore we shall not be judged.
Now, that is true in this sense: we will not be judged before the great white throne. One day all the dead will be raised, and all will stand before the great white throne. It is a judgment of eternal life or eternal death. It is a judicial judgment, because it is a throne.
There it will be decided whether you will have eternal life—go to heaven, if you please—or whether you will have eternal death, go to hell, to the lake of fire, the second death.
We who believe in the Lord Jesus will not stand before that great white throne to be judged, because Christ has already been judged for us. We have accepted Him as our Savior. We are saved. We can go to heaven. Eternity, eternal life, is our portion.
But that does not mean that because we have believed in the Lord Jesus, and that judgment of the great white throne is no longer for us, we will not be judged.
You will find in Scripture there is the judgment seat of Christ. In 1 Corinthians Chapter 3, the apostle Paul said he was like a wise master builder. He laid the foundation, and there can be no other foundation but Jesus Christ. Each of us will be building upon that foundation.
See how each builds upon that foundation. If you build with gold, silver, and precious stones, or if you build with wood, hay, and stubble, one day fire will appear, and the work of each will be judged.
Those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones can stand the fire; they will be rewarded. Those who cannot stand the fire will be consumed, will be burned, but they are saved—yet so as through fire.
So let us remember that at the judgment seat of Christ, it is no longer a matter of eternal life and eternal death. That has already been settled. But it will be a judgment of reward or loss.
It is called the judgment seat of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul said that we shall all appear—and he points to the believers, the Christians—we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged according to our works.
Now, it is called the judgment seat of Christ. The word “seat” in Greek is bema. You have to know a little bit of the background, because in the Orient we have large families. The Orient has a clan system.
In other words, you find a family with a grandfather, probably, as the head of the family or the clan. You have many uncles and aunts, cousins, brothers, and sisters, and they form a family, a clan. In the old days, that clan system, or family system, was very tight.
The head would be the grandfather, probably. Once in a while there would be a family gathering. The whole family would be called into a large room, and in that large room you would find a raised place, which is called a bema—a raised place in the room.
This is the place where the head of the family, the head of the clan, would sit. All the rest of the family members would gather before him in that room. Now remember: only members of the family can attend that conference. If you are not a member of the family, you cannot come to that conference, because it is a family conference.
There you find the head of the family. Probably he will commend some members of the family who have done something that brings honor and glory to the family name. Their names will be mentioned, and they will be rewarded.
Others may have done certain things that bring shame and disgrace to the family. At that time, they will be reproved, and sometimes they will be chastised. They will be disciplined.
So it is a family affair. It is not a judicial judgment; it is a family judgment.
Now, brothers and sisters, we belong to the family of God. Thank God for that. But that does not mean that because we are in the family, therefore we will never be judged.
As a matter of fact, after we become members of the family, our works—that is, our life afterward, after we are saved—will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. One day we shall all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, and there He will display His judgment to us.
Those who build with gold, silver, and precious stones: gold represents the nature of God; silver, the redemption of Christ; precious stones, the work of the Holy Spirit. If your life and your service are of God, based on the redemption of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit, then it will stand the fire.
As a matter of fact, when fire is applied to these metals or precious stones, you find they glow; they become more brilliant. And you will be rewarded.
Reward is put in Scripture in many different ways. The reward concerns the millennium, the age to come. In other words, the reward is given during the age to come, the millennial kingdom.
He that overcomes, he that has part in the first resurrection, is blessed because he shall reign with Christ for a thousand years.
In Scripture, you find various descriptions. For instance, in the parable of the ten virgins, you find the five wise virgins enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb. That is a reward.
But the five foolish virgins are kept outside the door. That is to say, they are not able to attain the marriage feast of the Lamb. They suffer loss. But it does not mean that because of this they lose their salvation. It has nothing to do with salvation.
Because salvation is the gift of God, and the gift of God knows no repentance. Our God gives salvation to us as a gift. He does not give you salvation because you deserve it. He does not give it to you because you have done something to earn it. He does not even give it to you first and then require you to pay Him back.
Because of this, you find salvation is free. We are saved by grace through faith. It is the gift of God, and the gift of God knows no repentance. It does not depend on how you behave. You do not get it because you behave, and you will not lose it because you do not behave. It is the gift of God.
But reward is dependent upon how you behave. If you live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit, then you will be rewarded with the glory of the marriage feast.
Or, if you look into the parable of the three servants, you find the two faithful servants. The master said, “You were faithful; therefore, come into the joy of the Lord.” That is another way of putting it: being rewarded with the joy of the Lord.
Now, what is the joy of the Lord? Of course, the joy of the Bridegroom is that He has His bride. That is the joy of the Lord. That is the marriage union.
The two faithful servants enter into the joy of the Lord, but the wicked servant is cast out into outer darkness, and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He suffers loss. He is not rewarded with the joy of the Lord.
He is in outer darkness. There he is weeping and gnashing his teeth. In other words, regret. He regrets that he has not been wise and faithful. He missed his opportunity.
So you find that in Scripture there are various ways of putting it, but they point to the same thing. At the judgment seat of Christ, it is a family judgment. It is not a judicial judgment. It has nothing to do with eternal life or eternal death. It is just a matter of reward or suffering loss.
After the millennium, then will come eternity. And this is what we would like to enter into tonight. But anyway, I do want to clarify this point.
If you still want to know what happened to the five foolish virgins, it is very strange, because in the Bible you find only a few things about it, and that is all. The Lord does not seem to explain it. He does not like to explain it, because that is not His wish.
But in the case of the five foolish virgins, of course, they are shut outside the door—that is, shut outside the door of the kingdom. When the kingdom of the heavens appears upon this earth, they have no part in it. They cannot reign with Christ for a thousand years.
In the case of the wicked servant, you find that he is cast into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In Matthew Chapter 24, you find another parable: a servant may be wise or foolish. It is one servant, the same servant. If he is prudent and faithful, then when the Lord comes, you find it is said:
Verily I say unto you, that He will set him over all His substance.
But for the wicked servant, who says that the Lord delays His coming, and begins to beat his fellow bondmen and eat and drink with the drunken, the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour that he does not know, and shall cut him in two.
And shall appoint his portion with the hypocrites:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
All these are descriptive. All these tell us that if we are not faithful, if we are foolish, if we are wicked, after we have received so much grace from God—if we abuse the grace of God—we will suffer loss.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, as a matter of fact, when a person in the family is rewarded by the Lord, actually it is the grace of God in him that enables him to be faithful. It is really not by himself. It is still grace, but it is grace responded to.
Dear brothers and sisters, all is grace. The grace of God is sufficient for us, and the grace of God is impartial. It is given to every one of us.
The problem is that some people respond to the grace of God. They let the grace of God perfect its work in them. With other people, they resist, abuse, or despise the grace of God, like Esau despised the birthright. Because of this, you will suffer loss.
Now, what is the loss? I should not tell you in detail, because the Bible does not give us the details. It would be speculation.
But anyway, just remember this: God wants you to be wise, to enter into the kingdom, to reign with Christ, and to be part of that bride, to satisfy the heart of our Lord. He does not want you to be foolish and wicked. And if you insist on it, there will be loss.
Let us turn to Revelation Chapter 21. We begin with verse 1.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away; and the sea exists no more.
And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Verse 9:
And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”
And he carried me away in the Spirit, and set me on a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.
Chapter 22, verse 8:
And I, John, am he that heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to do homage before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
And he saith unto me, “See thou do it not: I am thy fellow bondservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them that keep the words of this book: worship God.”
In Revelation Chapter 19, you find that when the apostle John heard a great voice saying:
Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigneth.
For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
And it was given unto her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure:
for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Here you find the apostle John heard this declaration: the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the bride, or the wife, has made herself ready.
When John heard these things, being assured that these were the true words of God, what did John do? He fell before the angel’s feet to do him homage.
In other words, when John was given the vision of the marriage of the Lamb and the wife being ready, his heart was so overwhelmed. He knew this was something our Lord Jesus was looking forward to, and it was something John himself was looking forward to.
When he saw such a vision and heard such a declaration and assurance, he was so overwhelmed with joy that he forgot himself. He began to worship the angel. He did the most foolish thing that John ever did in his whole life.
Why? Not because he did not know, but because he was overwhelmed with the news brought to him. It was just too good. Therefore he bowed down and worshiped the angel, and the angel had to gently reprove him and say, “Now, do not do it. Worship God.”
But here you find in Revelation Chapter 21 that a vision is again given to him. It is the vision of the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, and the angel says, “Now, this is the bride. The bride has adorned herself for her husband.”
When John saw that vision and heard that declaration, strangely, he did the same thing over again. He fell down and worshiped the angel. Why? Because he was just overwhelmed—just overwhelmed with joy.
Dear brothers and sisters, the question is: Are these two the same, or are these two different events?
I personally believe these refer to two different events. Why? Number one, time-wise: in Revelation Chapter 19, you find the marriage of the Lamb has come and the wife has made herself ready. This happens before the millennium.
As a matter of fact, the marriage of the Lamb commences the millennium. So, time-wise, it happens at the beginning of the millennium.
But in Revelation Chapter 21, you find the new heaven and the new earth. In other words, the old heaven and old earth have passed away. In the millennium, it is still the old heaven and the old earth.
But here you find the old heaven and old earth pass away, and then you find the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven upon the new earth. Therefore, it is after the millennium. It happens after the millennium is terminated, and this begins eternity.
So, time-wise, they refer to two different events.
As you look into their features, you find they are different. Why? Because the wife of the Lamb has made herself ready, and it is given to her the fine linen, bright and pure, which is the righteousnesses of the saints.
But when you come into the holy city, the New Jerusalem, you do not see fine linen there. Instead, you find the whole city is built of gold, pearls, and precious stones. Very different.
It is almost like going back to the Old Testament and thinking of the tabernacle that Moses built. The movable tabernacle that Moses built was made with linen—the curtains were of linen. Then Solomon, in the promised land, built the temple with massive stones and gold.
In other words, the tabernacle seems to be temporary, but the temple is permanent. The tabernacle built in the wilderness had to be carried along the journey, but the temple built in Jerusalem stayed there. It was permanent.
So you find almost a similarity there, a comparison. In Chapter 19, you find the wife clothed with fine linen, the righteousnesses of the saints—Christ being incorporated into them.
In Revelation 21, you find gold, pearls, and precious stones as the foundation of that city. It is of a more permanent nature. Why? It is eternal.
In other words, in Chapter 19, you find the wife of the Lamb, or the bride of the Lamb. But the bride of the Lamb there is represented by the overcomers of the church. To put it another way, the five wise virgins form the bride of the Lamb.
It is temporary; it is not permanent. But when you come to Revelation 21 and 22, you find the whole church is there. Not only the whole church, but all the work of God in Old Testament and New Testament times is consummated into that holy city, the New Jerusalem. Nothing of the work of God is lost.
I wonder if you begin to see this.
In Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, you find the seven churches. To every church there is a voice of the Spirit:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
And to every church there is a call for overcomers:
He that overcometh.
So far as the work of Christ is concerned, the church ought to be an overcoming church, because Christ has overcome.
Therefore, in 1 John you find:
Who is he that overcometh?
He that believeth.
The whole church, so far as the work of Christ is concerned, ought to be an overcoming church. But unfortunately, you find the church has fallen. Instead of overcoming, it is being overcome.
For this reason, you find the cry of the Spirit:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
He that overcometh.
Out of the church, God is calling for overcomers. Now, who are the overcomers of the church? The overcomers of the church are not some special elite people, not at all. The overcomers of the church are the normal Christians.
Christians have become abnormal and subnormal. For that reason, the Lord is calling for us to be normal. He that responds to the voice of the Spirit, he that maintains the testimony of Jesus, he that cooperates with the Spirit of God, and lets grace perfect its work in his life—these are overcomers.
In other words, it is not a matter of merit. It is a matter of grace—grace responded to—that we may be normal Christians. The normal is to overcome, because the church is supposed to be an overcoming church.
These overcomers form the bride of the Lamb, enter into the marriage feast, and are blessed, because they shall reign with Christ for a thousand years.
But after a thousand years is over, there will be the last rebellion. After the last rebellion, the Bible says the old heaven and old earth will be consumed with fire; they will be burned and consumed.
There will be the judgment of the great white throne. All the dead will appear before the great white throne, and they will be judged according to the books. The books are all the records—everything these people have done in their lives. They are judged according to the books.
If a name is not in the book of life, it shall be thrown into the lake of fire, the second death. Then after that, you find a beautiful vision, the ultimate: you find the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven.
Dear brothers and sisters, what is the eternal will of God? The eternal will of God is to have an eternal bride for the eternal Son.
Here you find the eternal bride has adorned herself for her husband. It is the eternal bride for the eternal Son, and that is for eternity. Now, if you think of heaven, this is heaven.
The bride of the Lamb is a city. Now, do not take it literally, because literally a city cannot be a bride. It is spiritual reality. You know, spiritual reality is more real than the literal.
In that vision, John saw the holy city. It is a city. Now, why is it a city? Because a city gives you the impression of a corporate one.
A city is composed of many people, and yet these many people who live in one city become one people. In other words, though we are many, yet we are one. We are one body—many members, but one body.
We are many, and yet we are one city. It is a corporateness; it is the oneness of those who are redeemed of the Lord. A city is a unity. A city speaks of unity. Here you find there is no division. God’s people are really one, as one city.
The prayer of our Lord Jesus is answered. In John Chapter 17, you find the burden of our Lord is that we may be one, as He and the Father are one.
I have given the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one.
I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected into one.
This is the burden of the Lord. Also, in Ephesians Chapter 4:
Until we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Here you find we all arrive—not just those overcomers have arrived—but we all have arrived at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. That is the city.
In other words, all the works of God throughout the centuries, both in Old Testament times and in New Testament times, are now being consummated into one eternal bride for the eternal Son.
As you look into the city, you find certain features. Probably the first one that will strike you is the wall.
Here you find that city which comes down from heaven has a tremendous wall. It has a wall of one hundred and forty-four cubits. We have never seen such a wall before—one hundred and forty-four cubits high.
That wall has the shining of God, having the glory of God. Its shining is like a most precious stone, as a crystal-clear jasper stone.
If you read Revelation Chapter 4, you find when John saw the One sitting on the throne, he says:
He that sat was like in appearance to a jasper stone and a sardius:
and there was a rainbow round about the throne, like in appearance to an emerald.
In other words, you find that the very material of the wall is the same as the appearance of God. The appearance of God is like jasper, and here you find this wall is like jasper, crystal-clear jasper. It has the same material as the One who sits upon the throne—a great, tremendous wall.
Of course, that brings us to the Garden of Eden. In Genesis, you find God planted a garden. It is called the Garden of Eden, the garden of pleasure. There God put man in the garden and asked him to cultivate and guard it.
But unfortunately, you find that the enemy crept in and deceived the woman, and man sinned. Because of that, man and woman were driven out of that garden, and the way to the tree of life was guarded by cherubim and a flaming sword.
Why? Because you find that garden was a beautiful garden, and yet there was no wall around it. Because there was no wall, the enemy came in.
As a matter of fact, there was supposed to be a wall. Adam and Eve were the wall, because God said, “Guard it.” You are the wall. But they did not guard it. They left the garden without a wall, so the enemy came in, and then came the tragic story of mankind.
God can build a garden. God certainly can build a wall. But this is the kind of wall that God will not build by Himself. In the good pleasure of God, there is a kind of wall that He will not build by Himself. He has to build it with man. He needs the cooperation of man.
If man does not cooperate, God will leave the garden there without a wall. But thank God, in the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the one thing that catches your eye first and really attaches your attention is a tremendous wall. Here you find the whole city is walled in.
The wall is one hundred and forty-four cubits. One hundred and forty-four cubits is a multiple of twelve. In other words, it is the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Here you find the bride has come into the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. That is the reason why it is jasper. It is the nature of God. It is God’s own character. It is the glory of God. We are being transformed and conformed to the image of God’s Son, entering into full maturity.
In Romans Chapter 8, we have a wonderful verse there:
Whom He foreknew, He also foreordained to be conformed to the image of His Son,
that He might be the firstborn among many brethren:
and whom He foreordained, them He also called:
and whom He called, them He also justified:
and whom He justified, them He also glorified.
Whom He foreknew, He predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He should be the firstborn among many brethren. Now, that is predestination.
I know the doctrine of predestination has disturbed many people, and there has been a battle through the centuries among God’s children. But I thank God for the doctrine of predestination.
Why? Because it is said, “Whom He foreknew, He predestinated.” Predestinated to what? Predestinated to be saved? Predestinated to perish? Oh, no. Predestinated to be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Now think of that. This is what predestination is. You are predestinated for one thing: that is, to be conformed to the image of God’s Son.
Oh yes, whom He foreknew, He called. Whom He called, He justified; and you are justified. Whom He justified, He glorified. Now, what is glorification? You are glorified when you are conformed to the image of God’s Son. Now, this is the purpose of God.
Once God sets His eye upon you, once He calls you, once He justifies you, He will never let you go unfinished, uncompleted. Because it is His will. He has predestinated you to be conformed to the image of Christ.
If you are not willing to be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ today, you will lose the reward. But eventually—I do not know how—but eventually, when it comes to eternity, you will find you are conformed. God has perfected His work.
Can you imagine that God begins to do something and He cannot finish it? We may fail; God cannot fail. It is true that God’s greatest problem is not Satan. God’s greatest problem is you and me. We are His greatest problem.
But not because we are such a problem that He gives up His purpose. You may give in and give up, but He never gives up. Thank God for that. This is eternal security.
We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of God’s Son, and once He puts His hand on you, He will never leave until He finishes it.
If you cooperate, it is finished early enough for you to be rewarded. If you do not cooperate, maybe in the millennium He has to finish you up.
But thank God for one thing: the eternal bride includes all who are redeemed, not only in New Testament times, but also in Old Testament times. No one is lost. Finally, God has got what He first purposed.
Yesterday, I shook you up a little bit. Today, I hope you are comforted.
What is the separation? The separation is not some rules or regulations. The separation is the life of Christ in you. That is the wall.
As the life of Christ in you begins to build up and grow up, you are more separated from anything that is not of God, and you are more included in everything that is of God.
When you reach full maturity, you will find all things are of God, and all that are not of God are outside the city. Perfect separation. It is a spiritual separation.
If this is the case in eternity, remember, it has to begin today. Today, let the Spirit of God build up that wall in you and in me. Let the life of Christ grow in you and in me.
In the measure of His life will be the measure of your being separated from anything that is not of God and included with everything that is of God. That is what the wall is.
Of course, the second thing you notice in that holy city, the New Jerusalem, is the gates.
After you see the wall, then you see the gates. You find there are twelve gates, three gates on each side. The twelve gates are twelve pearls. We have never seen such big pearls—one pearl, one gate.
Now, this is not literal, but a spiritual reality. A pearl as a gate—because pearl represents the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit will arrange our circumstances, just like an oyster. Some grain or some foreign thing may enter into the shell and begin to hurt the oyster. Then the oyster begins to produce something to cover it, and after a long period it becomes a pearl.
So pearl in Scripture represents the discipline of the Holy Spirit, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. He arranges our circumstances. He puts certain ones with you. He allows certain things to happen.
Here you find it seems as if some foreign particles have entered into your life and begun to rub against you, and you begin to suffer for it. But here you find something is being produced to cover it up, and it becomes pearl—the work of the Holy Spirit.
How do we enter into the holy city? By the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts us of our sin unto repentance. It is the Holy Spirit who convinces us of the redemptive, finished work of Christ, that we believe in Him.
It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to enter into the fullness of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit that brings us into the fullness of Christ. Gates—pearls.
But here you find the names written on the twelve gates are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Why? Because you remember in John Chapter 4, the Lord Jesus said:
Salvation is of the Jews.
In Romans Chapter 9, the apostle Paul says:
I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,
that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.
Our Lord Jesus Christ came out of the Jews. Abraham is the father of faith. He is like that olive tree. Even though the Jews, because they do not believe, have had the natural branches cut off, we who are the unnatural branches are being grafted in.
But one day, the natural branches will also be grafted back into the olive tree. So, in other words, salvation is of the Jews. God prepared salvation through the Jews.
Christ came out of the Jews. God gave covenants to the Jews, promises to the Jews, and Abraham is the father of faith. Here you find this is how we come into this holy city.
In other words, all the Old Testament saints are included in this eternal bride. This eternal bride is not just New Testament saints.
This eternal bride also includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David—all these. Because the gates have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Nothing is lost.
You know, during the kingdom time, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will come and sit at the table—that is, at the marriage feast—but they do not sit there as the bride. They sit there as friends of the Bridegroom.
But when it comes to eternity, they are part of the bride.
Of course, the third thing that you will notice here is the foundation, because the foundation is tremendous—tremendous. Twelve foundations, twelve precious stones. Every one is unique.
On the twelve stones are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lord. You come to the New Testament.
You remember in Ephesians 2:20, it is said that we are being built up together into a holy habitation for God.
We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Christ Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone.
Now remember this: it is not in conflict with what Paul says, that there is no other foundation but Jesus Christ. Of course, there is only one foundation, Jesus Christ.
But why is it that in Ephesians you find we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets? And here you find the holy city, the New Jerusalem, is built on twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles? Why?
There is no contradiction. Why? Because the revelation of Jesus Christ that we receive today comes to us through the apostles and the prophets.
So the foundations being the apostles does not mean that they are the foundation. It simply means that through them the revelation of Jesus Christ is given to us.
Every one gives us some aspect of Christ, and when you put the twelve together, you have all of Christ. The Christ that Peter shares with us, the Christ that John shares with us, the Christ that James shares with us, the Christ that the different apostles share with us.
You find they have different luster, different precious stones, but it is Christ. Christ is the foundation.
Our faith is based upon Christ—nothing but Christ. It is not a teaching. It is not doctrine. It is the living Christ revealed and confessed. That is the foundation.
So here you find all the New Testament saints are included there. Everything is consummated in that holy city.
Then, of course, you notice the city is built of gold—transparent gold. We have never seen gold that is transparent, because there is always some impurity there.
But here you find the city is built with transparent gold, like crystal. You can see through it. The street is made of gold like crystal—transparent. There is only one street. You will never get lost.
That street will lead only to one place: to the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Gold represents the nature of God. So here you find everything is of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, today, thank God there is something of God in us, but there is much more of ourselves there—much more that is not of God in us.
But thank God, the day is coming when the work of God is consummated. You will find the whole city is just pure gold, crystal-like.
A street always speaks of fellowship, because a street is the place where you walk. It speaks of fellowship. Here you find fellowship is all of God and transparent—no shadow, no shade.
You know, today when we say fellowship, oftentimes what are we hearing? What are we fellowshipping with? Is it Christ that we are fellowshipping with, or is it ourselves?
There are lots of impurities in our fellowship. When we fellowship, we are not very transparent. There is a little opacity here and there. We have to hide something. You cannot be too transparent. If you are too transparent, well, everybody will know exactly who you are. We do not like people to know.
But thank God, the day is coming when our fellowship will be without any shadow or shade. It is the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Wonderful.
There are certain things missing in that city. You find a number of things today that you cannot find in that city.
You cannot find a temple in that city. Why? Because God and the Lamb are the temple.
As our Lord Jesus said to the Samaritan woman:
Woman, the hour cometh, when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth:
for such doth the Father seek to be His worshippers.
So here you find there is no need of a temple, of a place where you are going to worship God. God Himself is the temple, and you worship Him in spirit and in truth.
There is no sun, moon, or stars to brighten that city. Why? Because the city is illuminated by God, and the Lamb is the lamp.
The glory of the Lord fills that city. There is no need of sun, moon, or stars. And there is no night.
Now today, we thank God there is night. When you come into eternity, thank God there is no night—no darkness.
There is no sorrow, no tears, no curse, no death.
Everyone in that city is a king. Why? Everyone has overcome by the grace of God. Everyone will reign with Christ for eternity, and they shall see His face. They shall reign forever.
Finally, you find in the city a river—the river of the water of life. This river runs through the whole city.
In the midst of the river, and on the two sides of the river, is the tree of life—all over the city. The tree of life bears twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month.
This is the picture of the fullness of Christ, of life in the Spirit, the fullness of the Spirit—life abundant.
This is the picture of the eternal bride wedded to the eternal Son.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we catch a vision of this, I wonder if we will be so overwhelmed that we also may do something foolish. But God says, “Worship God.” Let us worship God. Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee for Thy eternal will. We thank Thee that it is Thy will to give Thy Son a helper, a complement.
We do thank Thee that it is Thy good pleasure to choose us, to justify us, and to glorify us. We have to acknowledge that it is all of grace.
We repent because how often we resist Thy grace. We despise Thy grace. We will not allow Thee to perfect the new creation in us.
But, our Father, we just come to Thee today, seeing what Thy will is, knowing what Thou art doing. Oh, how we do desire to offer ourselves to Thee and say, “Lord, do whatever Thou wantest to do by Thy Holy Spirit to bring us to that point when Thou shalt get us as Thy eternal bride.”
To Thee be all the praise and the glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.