Will you please turn to the book of Revelation, Chapter 21? Revelation 21.
We will read from Verse 1 through Verse 7.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His peoples, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God:
And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.
And He that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true.
And He said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.
Revelation 22:20:
He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.
Lord, as we come to the last session of the ministry of Thy Word, we do acknowledge Thee as the end, even as Thou art the beginning. We commit this time into Thy hands and ask again that Thou wilt open our eyes, that we may see what Thy servant John saw.
We pray that our hearts may really be touched by Thee and drawn to Thee, that we may cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus.” In the name of our Lord Jesus, Amen.
This is the last session of the ministry of God’s Word. Throughout the week, by the grace of God, we have shared on this matter of pressing on to fullness.
First of all, we must see the fullness of Christ. Having seen His fullness, we are called to enter into it.
We have gone through the whole New Testament: the fullness of Christ in the Gospels, in the Book of Acts, in the Epistles, and in the Book of Revelation. Now we come to the end of the last book of the Bible.
In other words, here we see the consummation of all things. We see the fullness of Christ manifested in all things.
Even before the foundation of the world, in eternity past, God made a will according to His good pleasure. He wants His Son to have the first place in all things. That is to say, He wants all things to manifest the glory of His Beloved.
He wants a fullness of Himself, which is in His Son, to fill all things. God made this will according to His good pleasure.
Then He began to work in time. Even though we find that during that period called time it seems as if His plan was frustrated from time to time, we do thank God that He continues to work until one day His will will be fully realized.
In the fullness of time, God sent His Beloved Son into the world.
When His Son was crucified on the cross, before He gave up His spirit to the Father, He shouted with a loud shout, “It is finished.”
That is to say, the work of redemption is finished. He has laid a foundation for the restoration of all things. He has reconciled all things by the blood of the cross to His fullness.
After that, it is the development of that which has been laid. Now, when you come to Revelation 21, you find that God declares, “Behold, I make all things new. It is done.”
The words it is done actually mean that they are fulfilled.
There you find that the Apostle John saw the old heaven and the old earth had passed away. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. He saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven upon the new earth.
This city, New Jerusalem, is the manifestation of the fullness of Christ in a corporate way.
This morning, we want to see that vision—the vision that the Apostle John saw almost two thousand years ago.
You know, when John saw the New Jerusalem, the tabernacle of God coming to men, what did he do?
It was so good, so tremendous, that he fell down and worshipped the messenger, because the news was so good.
Of course, the angel said, “No, do not do that. We are fellow servants. Worship God.”
In the Book of Revelation, it is very interesting to notice the reaction of John. Sometimes you find John weeping. Then you find him doing what appears to be a most foolish thing.
John knew the law so well. He knew God so well. Yet somehow, when he saw that vision of New Jerusalem, it touched his heart so much that he forgot himself and worshipped the angel. He was forbidden to do that.
Now, you must understand the feeling of John at that moment. If you understand his feelings, probably you will not blame him.
Brothers and sisters, do we have the same reaction? If we see New Jerusalem, if we see what God has done, we will really be beside ourselves. We will not know what to do.
And we will really worship God. What a God we have! What He has done for us!
The holy city, the New Jerusalem, is the corporate expression of the fullness of Christ. Truly, it is that Body which is filled with the fullness of Christ.
Now, in order to know this New Jerusalem, probably it will be good for us to know what Jerusalem is.
I think we are all familiar with the name Jerusalem. It is a city—a city of peace. It is a city on earth where God put His name.
It is a city in which there is the throne of David. It is a city in which there is the temple of Solomon. In other words, in the city God dwells; in the city He rules; in the city He is served and worshipped.
The people of God will go to that city. As the psalmist says, the twelve tribes will go up to that city as a testimony—a testimony of the oneness of God’s people. Out of that city the law goes forth, and all the nations will come and bring their tribute to it.
This is Jerusalem on earth.
The first mention of Jerusalem is found in Genesis 14. When Abraham defeated the four kings and rescued Lot, as he came back from victory he was met by a king, Melchizedek, king of Salem.
It is really a very strange thing. There you find the land of Canaan, where the seven tribes of the Canaanites lived. We know that the Canaanites represent the evil forces in this world, and they occupied that land.
But in the midst of the seven tribes of the Canaanites, you find there was a city, the city of Salem, the city of peace. There was a king in the city, Melchizedek, the king of righteousness. He came to meet Abraham. He gave Abraham bread and wine, and he blessed Abraham.
Brothers and sisters, that is the first mention of Salem, the city of Salem—Jerusalem.
Later on, you find that this city was occupied by the Jebusites. In 2 Samuel, when David became king, the first thing he did was to go and take Jerusalem out of the hands of the Jebusites and make it his capital.
Why? Because evidently, by revelation, he knew that this was the place where God had chosen to put His name. So he set his throne there, and then Solomon, his son, built the temple there.
After the nation of Israel was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, Jerusalem remained as the capital of the southern kingdom for about five hundred years. Then it was destroyed by the Babylonian army, and the people of God were taken into Babylonian captivity.
Even though it is the city of peace, we find that this city knew more turmoil, confusion, and war than perhaps any other city in the world. This city has been occupied by many nations.
But in Isaiah 2, we find that at the end of the days, the mountain of God’s house will be lifted up, and all nations will flow into it. Brothers and sisters, this is Jerusalem.
But even this Jerusalem will pass away, because when the old earth passes away, Jerusalem on earth also will pass away.
What God is really after is what Jerusalem on earth represents. What God really is after is that New Jerusalem. In other words, all that Jerusalem represents will be fully realized in New Jerusalem.
That New Jerusalem is not a place; it is heavenly. It descends from heaven upon the new earth. This New Jerusalem is not physical; it is spiritual.
Can you imagine a city as a wife? Surely this tells us that what God desires to show us is spiritual principle and spiritual reality, not a literal city.
New Jerusalem is a city, but it is not a literal city. How can a city become a wife? Yet we find that all the characteristics and spiritual principles are manifested in this New Jerusalem.
Just as when we say that our Lord Jesus is the Lamb of God: He is a Lamb, but is He literally a lamb? Of course not. He is the Lamb of God because He has the spirit and character of the lamb.
It is the same with the holy city, the New Jerusalem. It is the final corporate expression of the fullness of Christ.
The foundation that Christ has laid on Calvary’s cross, and that God has built upon, is finalized in that city.
As a matter of fact, even Abraham looked forward to this city. You remember Hebrews 11. Abraham was a pilgrim, a stranger, sojourning in the promised land. The Bible says that if he had wanted to return to his own home in Ur of the Chaldees, he could have done so.
But he was looking forward to a city with foundations, built by God Himself. Brothers and sisters, all the saints in Old Testament times and all the saints in New Testament times are looking forward to that city, the holy city, the New Jerusalem, which God has built.
It will be the fullness of Christ in a corporate way.
First of all, this New Jerusalem is a city. A city speaks to us of unity.
A city is a unit, an aggregate of people—many, but one. Many people, but they live together as one unit, under one government, under one rule, under one administration. This is what a city is.
I have to intrude into my brother’s territory, because he did it last night.
If you use Ephesians 4 as the key, you know there is a goal before us. The goal is until we all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God.
Here you are. This New Jerusalem is a city. It is the unity of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God.
It is made of many people, yet they are one. They are one under one government, and that government is upon the shoulder of our Lord Jesus.
There He is the Head. He is the Lord—unchallenged, fully submitted to. One day this will become a reality.
This is not only a city; this is a bride, the Lamb’s wife.
When you think of a wife, it tells us of union. It tells us of growth. It tells us of love.
As our brother mentioned last night, you cannot have a wife who is a baby. She has to be full-grown.
We are the Body of Christ today, and how our Lord Jesus loves His Body. No one hates his own body. Our Lord Jesus loves His Body.
He sanctifies it and purifies it with the washing of water by the Word, in order to present that Body to Himself: a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, holy and without blemish.
Brothers and sisters, this Body is growing into maturity, unto a full-grown man. When it has become a full-grown man, then our Lord will return and take her to be His bride.
There will be that eternal union, and there will be that everlasting love.
Again, you find that this city is not only the Lamb’s wife; it is also the tabernacle of God among men.
Brothers and sisters, it is the eternal purpose of God, the eternal wish of God, to dwell among His own. He created man in His own image and gave him the capacity to receive God into him, that God might dwell in him and among men.
After He redeemed the children of Israel out of Egypt, He revealed to this redeemed people His purpose in delivering them. God did not deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt merely so that they might be free to do anything they wanted to do.
God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt for a very specific reason. He revealed that reason when He took them to Mount Sinai. There He revealed to them that He wanted to dwell among them.
So He asked them to build a tabernacle for Him, that He might dwell among His people.
Later, David, who loved God very much and knew God’s heart, desired to build a permanent house for God. God was pleased, and his son Solomon built a temple.
When the tabernacle was erected, the glory of God came and filled the tabernacle. When the temple was built, the glory of God again came and filled that temple. In other words, God took up His abode among His people.
That has been God’s desire throughout the ages.
But the temple was destroyed. The Son of God came into this world. He was the real temple of God. The glory of God rested upon Him.
We beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father.
But that glory was veiled, because He came in the flesh. The glory was there within, but it was veiled. People did not see it. Only those with spiritual eyes could see it.
Throughout His life on earth, only once did that glory break out. It was on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But did the glory of God ever depart from that temple? It did.
When our Lord Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” the glory departed. There was darkness upon the earth.
Because God’s Beloved Son was made a sin offering for the world.
But thank God. Now our Lord Jesus is crowned with glory and honor. He has returned to His glory.
He poured down His Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and glory filled the spiritual temple.
Brothers and sisters, on the Day of Pentecost we see one hundred and twenty people. They were baptized in one Spirit into one Body, and the glory of God in the Spirit filled that Body.
But unfortunately, we find how the church has failed. Yet thank God, that day is coming when He shall have His tabernacle. The glory will fill that tabernacle, and it will never depart.
God will dwell. Amen. God’s purpose will be fulfilled.
An angel said to John, “Do you want to have a closer look at that New Jerusalem? I will show you.”
So that angel took him in the Spirit to a high mountain, and he saw that city full of glory. It had the shining of the glory of God.
What is glory?
Many people have tried to explain it. Many people have tried to define it. But, brothers and sisters, whatever definition we may try, in a sense it confines and limits what glory is.
Glory is undefinable. What is glory? Glory is what God is.
Glory is the sum total of the character of God. Glory is His presence and His satisfaction.
Here you find this city shining with the glory of God. It is a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.
This city is so transparent that the glory of God can shine through it without distortion, without hindrance. To put it another way, it is full of glory—full of God, and nothing else.
As John looked at this city, he found that its shining was like a most precious stone, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
We first read of the jasper stone in Revelation 4. When John was taken in spirit to heaven, he saw a throne and One sitting upon the throne. The appearance of the One upon the throne was like jasper and sardius.
So jasper here represents the character and nature of God. The shining is like a most precious stone, a crystal-like jasper stone.
In other words, this city has taken up the nature and character of God. It is crystal-like. It shines through without any interruption. It is all of God and nothing else.
Then John saw this city. Actually, this city was a cube, because the length, the breadth, and the height were equal.
The angel measured it with a golden reed. The measure of its length, breadth, and height was twelve thousand stadia, approximately fifteen hundred miles.
Can you think of a city fifteen hundred miles long, fifteen hundred miles wide, and fifteen hundred miles high? It would be from New York to Miami—and not only in length and breadth, but in height as well.
It is a multiple of twelve. Twelve in Scripture speaks of governmental perfection. Here you find perfect measurement, up to the full measure, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The wall was one hundred and forty-four cubits, roughly two hundred feet. Again, a multiple of twelve—perfect. You find that this whole city is perfect.
We will be like Him, as He is, by the grace of God. Grace will do that.
The wall is made of jasper. We have mentioned already that jasper represents the nature and character of God.
What is a wall? You see, a wall in Scripture is very important. The problem in the beginning of human history is the problem of a wall.
There was a garden, but there was no wall. Actually, God wanted Adam to be that wall. But Adam failed. So the enemy crept in, tempted man, and there was no wall.
A wall is separation. A wall is protection. A wall encloses all that is within it and excludes all that is without it.
A wall is very important in Scripture. In the recovery of Jerusalem, the wall had to be built up. Even though the temple was rebuilt, without a wall it was unfinished.
But here you find the finished product: the wall. The wall is one hundred and forty-four cubits. We have never seen a wall that high. It is a perfect separation.
That wall is made of jasper. In other words, it is the very life of God that makes the separation. The full life of God brings full separation.
We know that separation is another word for holiness. This is a holy city.
This is a city that is separated from all that is not of God, and it includes all that is of God, well protected.
Brothers and sisters, what is holiness? We are supposed to be a holy nation, a holy people. We are supposed to be separated from the world and from anything that is not of God.
But how are we separated? Are we separated by keeping rules and regulations? No. We are separated by the life of God.
The reason God’s people are not as holy, not as separated, as we should be is not because we do not have enough rules and regulations. It is because we are lacking in life.
As we grow in life—in the life of God in Christ Jesus—brothers and sisters, it naturally separates us from all that is not of God. It separates us from the world, from ourselves, from self, from sin, from the enemy, from anything that is not of God.
It keeps us in all that is of God. Here you find holiness completed.
In Ephesians 1, God says that He wants us to be holy and without blemish before Him in love. Here you find holiness. This is a holy city.
There are twelve foundations with twelve precious stones, bearing the names of the twelve apostles.
Brothers and sisters, we all know that this city with foundations, which God built, has in one sense only one foundation. The Apostle Paul tells us that there is no other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Himself declared, “I will build My church upon this rock; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” In other words, He is the Rock. He is the foundation of that holy city, New Jerusalem.
Yet Scripture says that there are twelve foundations of twelve precious stones. Even in Ephesians 2, you find that the apostles and prophets are the foundations of that habitation of God. Is there any contradiction? No.
Why? These twelve precious stones are all distinct and different. One represents Peter, one represents John, one represents James. They are all different.
There is still individuality. You can recognize the different stones. They are not just one stone or one kind of precious stone; they are different precious stones. They have different colors and different brilliance.
Yet, brothers and sisters, even though there are all these differences, they are simply the varieties of Christ in each of them.
In other words, the apostles do not have their own teachings. The teaching of the apostles is none other than the teaching of Christ. The apostles have no other fellowship than the fellowship of Christ.
It is through the prophets and apostles that Christ is made known to us. That is why we find the foundations described as the foundations of the prophets and apostles. But in actuality, it is Christ.
Outwardly, you see Peter. Actually, it is Christ in Peter.
The gates are made of pearls. Paul speaks of the work of the Holy Spirit—how the Holy Spirit works very patiently in us in order to bring us to Christ.
The gates bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, because salvation comes from the Jews.
You have the shining of the glory of God. You have the foundation of the work of Christ Jesus. You have the gates of pearl, signifying the operation of the Holy Spirit.
In other words, here you find that the Triune God has done the work and produced this holy city, New Jerusalem.
Look a little closer, and you find that the city is made of gold.
You remember, in the temple—the house that Solomon built—he overlaid the house with gold. But here you find that the whole city is gold. It is not merely overlaid with gold. It is pure gold. It is transparent gold. We have never seen such gold.
Gold again represents the nature of God. You find that this whole city is built with God’s own nature. There is nothing of wood or straw. It is all of God.
Again, it is transparent.
There is only one street there. People try to figure out, with that huge city and twelve gates, how it can be that there is only one street.
Some people come up with the idea of a spiral that goes around and around until you reach the top, where the throne of God and of the Lamb is.
But anyway, you find there is only one street, and the street is of gold. We often sing the song that we will walk on the street of gold. I do not know whether you really like it, because the gold is transparent.
A street in Scripture speaks of fellowship. You walk on the street. You go and come on the street. It speaks of fellowship.
Here you find the fellowship of all the saints. We have only one fellowship—one street.
Today you have many byways. But in New Jerusalem there are no byways, only one street. Today you find this fellowship and that fellowship. You find that we want fellowship with these people, but we do not want fellowship with those people.
But in that day, you will find there is only one fellowship. It is the fellowship of God’s Son. It is fellowship in the Spirit. It is fellowship in the light—one fellowship.
All fellowship leads to the throne, and all comes from the throne.
You know, brothers and sisters, what is fellowship? Oftentimes we think gossip is fellowship. It does not lead us to the throne, neither does it come forth from the throne.
Through fellowship, we are led to God, to Christ. Fellowship comes from God, from Christ. We fellowship Christ, and the more we fellowship, the more we draw nigh to that throne.
That fellowship is really open fellowship. There is no hiding, because the gold is transparent.
Everything in you is visible. Every thought is visible. Every word is heard. There is no hiding. It is open fellowship.
Brothers and sisters, how we long for that day. Today, when we fellowship with one another, somehow we try to cover something. We have to. There is still not that open fellowship—no hiding, transparent to one another.
Wonderful, when that day comes.
Strangely, there is not only one street; there is only one river. There is a river of life that flows out from the throne of God, and this river goes through the whole city.
I do not know whether that river is in the midst of the street.
Then you find the tree of life—just one tree. But that one tree covers the whole city, on this side and on that side of the river.
That tree produces twelve fruits, one in each season.
Of course, we know that the river of life signifies the Holy Spirit. Here you find the Holy Spirit, the fullness of the Spirit, flowing through the whole city.
It produces the fruit of life according to season, according to need. There is no lack.
The center of that city is the throne—the throne of God and of the Lamb.
All who are in that city are kings. They have the name of God upon their foreheads, and they serve God.
Brothers and sisters, this is a picture of eternity to come. This is a picture of the time when God’s will is fully realized.
This is a picture of all the fullness of Christ manifested in a corporate way.
This is what God is doing. This is what the Spirit of God is working in each one of us, until we arrive, until God has what He wants, until the Son has His bride.
Brothers and sisters, is it a dream?
No. It is real.
With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. He is doing it. He will do it. He who calls us is faithful; He will perform it.
Brothers and sisters, when we are given such a vision of what eventually, finally, God will possess, is our heart stirred just as John’s was?
Are we really attracted by what we see?
Are we now willing to give up everything for that?
Are we willing to cooperate with the Holy Spirit? Are we willing to deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him?
Because this is the goal. This is what, by the grace of God, we will arrive at—for God and for ourselves.
Brothers and sisters, this ought to lead us to worship. What a God we have!
How good and precious are all His thoughts toward us—what He has done for us in Christ Jesus, and what He is laboring patiently by His Spirit to do with us even now.
May we always have that vision before us, and may we be a worshipping people. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, our God, we worship Thee.
What Thou hast willed is beyond our thinking, beyond our comprehension. But we know that Thou hast purposed in Thy Beloved Son such a tremendous, glorious purpose.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee! The day is coming when the glory of God shall fill the universe, when the fullness of Christ shall fill all things.
Praise and thank God that Thou hast called us with such a high calling. Oh, our cry unto Thee is, “May that day come. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Amen.