Will you please turn to 1 Timothy 4:8?
Exercise thyself unto godliness.
For bodily exercise is profitable for a little;
but godliness is profitable for all things,
having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come.
Will you please turn to the book of Revelation, Revelation 21. We are reading from Revelation 21:1-7.
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 thirsteth 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.
Now Revelation 22:1-5.
And He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
in the midst of the street thereof. And on this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, yielding its fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
And there shall be no curse any more: and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be therein: and His servants shall serve Him;
and they shall see His face; and His name shall be on their foreheads.
And there shall be night no more; and they need no light of lamp, neither light of sun; for the Lord God shall give them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
We want to thank Thee for another opportunity that we may gather together in Thy presence. We do realize that we are standing on holy ground, so we want to remove our shoes. We want to stand in the place of Thy bond-servants.
Lord, speak, that we may know Thy will. We want Thee to be glorified in the midst of Thy people. We ask in our precious Lord’s name. Amen.
Thank God for bringing us to the last of this session. Our brother has already told us that in the past we have been dealing with spiritual exercise and the life to come. Now, this afternoon, we would like to touch upon the New Jerusalem.
Our God is the eternal God. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says that God “made everything beautiful in its time,” and that He has put eternity in the heart of man.
So we find that when God created all things, whether it is a bird or whether it is a tree, they are beautiful in their own time. They all serve the purpose of God, and after they have served God’s purpose in their time, they pass away.
Now, I remember one day a sister came to me, and she said, “Do you think that my dog will be resurrected?” Well, brothers and sisters, the dog exists for its own time, and it has already fulfilled God’s purpose.
But we human beings are different. When God created us, He put eternity in our hearts. Man is never satisfied with just living this life, because man was created for eternity. God’s purpose for man is for eternity.
For this reason, brothers and sisters, we must live for eternity and not just for time. Otherwise, we cannot fulfill God’s purpose.
What is the purpose of God for creating man? I think, if we search the Scriptures, we can see very clearly. When you open the Bible and read the beginning of Genesis, you find that there is a marriage.
After God created Adam, God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him.” God put Adam to sleep, and out of his side God took something. From that which was taken out of Adam, He made the woman and brought her to the man.
Then Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.” And the two became one flesh.
Now, we all know that Adam and Eve are a type. This marriage on earth is only a type. The antitype is the marriage of Christ and His people.
When you turn to the last book of the Bible, you find another marriage. It is the marriage of the New Jerusalem to the Lamb of God. What God has determined in eternity past, He fulfills in eternity to come.
Of course, we know that the scene in Revelation 21 and 22 is the scene of eternity to come. We have eternity past, and we have time; and when time comes to an end, eternity to come begins.
God purposed in eternity past. God uses time to perform what He has purposed, and in eternity He shows us what He has done.
So we find that God’s purpose toward man is very simple. He wants man to be united with Him in Christ. He wants man to be His dwelling place. He wants His Son to have His companion. This is what the New Jerusalem shows us.
Man may fail, and we have seen that man has often failed. But thank God, God never fails. He may change His method from time to time, but He never changes His plan. He never changes His purpose.
What He has purposed, He will fulfill, in spite of the failure of man. God always accomplishes what He purposes, and this is what the New Jerusalem really is.
Why is it that we have this vision of the New Jerusalem? It is a vision of what God has accomplished. What He has purposed, He has fully accomplished.
Why should God show us this vision? I think this vision is given to us in order to encourage us, that it will stir up our hope, increase our faith, and encourage us to love.
You know, oftentimes when we look at ourselves, and even when we look around, probably we are depressed. We think, “Well, what will happen?” But thank God, He shows us that He has already done it. He has made all things new.
It is all of His doing. I believe what is presented before us is for our encouragement, knowing that God will always fulfill what He has purposed.
The New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven from God, adorned as a bride. She is to be married eternally with the Lamb of God. This is the eternal purpose of God.
Now, if you look at this New Jerusalem and all the descriptions there, do you think it is a physical thing? How can a city be married to the Lamb of God?
We are not trying to spiritualize the Word of God, but we believe that when you come to eternal things, it has to be more than physical and material. Material and physical things are transient. Only that which is spiritual is eternal.
Because He wants us to understand, and because we are human beings with limited understanding, He has to use physical and material things to show us the spiritual principles behind them.
The New Jerusalem is a huge city. It is called Jerusalem because Jerusalem is the city of peace. But this New Jerusalem has dimensions that are so immense.
Revelation 21:16 says:
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal.
In the original, it is twelve thousand stadia. A stadium is about seven English miles. So twelve thousand stadia means approximately eighty-four thousand miles. It is the length; it is also the breadth; and it is also the height. Now, have you ever seen a city like that?
If you travel from here to Shanghai, it is only about six thousand to seven thousand miles. But this city is so huge. It is not only the length, but the breadth and the height.
What does it represent? It shows us the immensity of God’s work. After you sum up all the works of God that He has done throughout time, you find that the result is of such immensity that it is beyond our comprehension. It is the hugeness, the greatness, and the fullness of God’s work.
You find the twelve gates bearing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles. What do these suggest to us?
They show that all the works of God in the Old Testament and in the New Testament—among Israel and among the church—have been gathered together. Whatever God has done is always there. It is eternal in nature. Nothing is lost.
So the New Jerusalem is the consummation of all the works of God throughout time. What God has done through time is for His Son, to be united with His Son for eternity. It is the union of man with God in Christ Jesus. This is the ultimate, and we find it in the last vision given in the Bible.
Now, concerning this matter of union with God, “union with God” is a term used greatly by the mystics. Their whole pursuit is to be united with God.
I think probably you have heard what Madame Guyon said. She said that we are like a drop of water, and the drop of water begins to flow and flow and flow until it reaches the ocean. Then it disappears in the ocean. It becomes united with the ocean, lost in the ocean, and part of the ocean. That is union with God.
Those mystics are always trying to reach that as their goal. Not only among Christians, you find people who want to reach that union with heaven.
But brothers and sisters, if we do not understand what the Bible says, there is a great danger there. When people talk about union with God, there are two possibilities.
One is pantheism: everything is merged together with God. There is another danger: that man becomes part of deity, the deification of man. They say that when we are united with God, we become part of God.
But brothers and sisters, the Bible shows us very clearly that even though we have the life of God in us, and even though we grow into godliness, and become partakers of the divine nature, the Bible never teaches that we men will become God.
We never enter into divinity, into the Godhead. There are only three: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is God. This is our God.
We may have His life, and we are united to God in Christ Jesus, but we are not united with God directly. Our union with God is in Christ Jesus. God is forever God.
The deification of man is a heresy. When a truth is extended beyond its measure, it becomes a heresy. So, brothers and sisters, this is something we have to be very careful about.
Thank God, it is His purpose that He unite Himself with us, and we with Him, in Christ Jesus. Our union with God is only a matter of life.
As 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”
Dear brothers and sisters, we thank God that He shows us a picture of union. It is a union of man with Christ, and in that union we experience union with God. This will be the ultimate.
I hope that we will remember this, because we find that in the past not only mystics, but even those who are really seeking the Lord, eventually fall into error when they do not see our limit. We are human beings. We are not God.
Some people say, “Is it not written in Psalm 82, ‘Ye are gods’?” Even in John 10, our Lord Jesus quoted the verse, but He explained it. He said, “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?”
That refers to the Old Testament use of the word gods for judges, because they have the Word of God. We have to know the tradition and meaning of the word. It never means that we become gods—that is, that we are deified.
But thank God, it is His will that we should be united with Christ into one, and this is for eternity. In that union, we are united with God.
Now, if you look at the vision, you find that all these things described are the result of the grace of God and our spiritual exercise.
When you read Revelation 21:15, it says:
And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
Everything is measured, and it is measured by a golden reed. Brothers and sisters, we know that gold in Scripture represents the nature of God. So the golden reed means that everything is to be measured with God’s nature.
God is like a refiner. He wants to refine us to be pure gold. He has already given His life to us, and His life is gold, but it is mixed with all kinds of material. So He has to refine us until all these other things are thrown away and we become pure gold before Him.
As 1 Peter 1 says, our faith has to be refined. This is the reason why we have to go through suffering, that we may be refined to be pure gold. God will measure everything with a golden reed.
Or, to put it another way, God will measure everything with Christ. This is what you find in the beginning of the book of Revelation. In Revelation 1, you have the revelation of Jesus Christ; and in Revelation 2 and 3, every church is measured by that vision—Christ—whether it is faithful to His testimony.
That is the measurement, brothers and sisters. The Lord is using this golden reed to measure us today. Because He sees that we are not up to measure, He has to refine us. He wants to make us pure gold.
You cannot build the house of God with hay, wood, and stubble. It has to be gold, silver, and precious stones. All these things come through pressure. It is pressure that enlarges us. It is suffering that purifies us. It is discipline that enables us to grow.
So, brothers and sisters, you find in the final vision that everything is up to measure. That is the work of God—nothing less, nothing more. It is the glorious work of God.
But when He is working, we have to respond with spiritual exercise. If we do not exercise our spirit, if we do not cooperate with the Holy Spirit in us, then we will find that all the dross is remaining in us.
But thank God, if it is not done today, it has to be done in the age to come. In eternity, all are pure gold. By the grace of God, all have arrived. It is such a great encouragement, knowing that our God will never fail.
This New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven. In Revelation 21:10-11, John says:
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
When you see the city coming down out of heaven from God, the first thing you will notice is that this city is full of the glory of God. It is like a jasper stone.
Whenever God appears, there is glory. In the Old Testament, when God appears—for instance, in Ezekiel—you see the vision of the glory of God. It is like fire.
Brothers and sisters, when you see God, for instance in Revelation 4, you find that He is like a jasper stone. This is the glory of God. It is pure; it is glorious.
Whenever man appears, you do not see glory; you see shame. But whenever God appears, it is all glory. Here you find that this New Jerusalem is full of God’s glory.
In the New Testament, what is the church supposed to be? Ephesians 1:22-23 tells us that Christ is “head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all.”
In Ephesians 5, the church is to be a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that it may be presented to Christ as His bride. Here you find that it is all glory.
Thank God, what He has purposed, He will fulfill. He will take away all our inglorious things, that He may fill us with Himself. When He fills us, we will be full of glory. It is the glory of God that comes forth out of the city.
Another thing you probably will notice is that there is only one street, and it is a golden street. The gold is transparent.
People try to figure out physically how such a huge city, with twelve gates, can have only one street. They say it has to be a spiral, going around and around until you reach the top where the throne of God is. But, brothers and sisters, the point is that we are walking on a golden street.
If you really walked on a golden street and the gold were transparent, would you feel comfortable? We have never seen gold that is so transparent.
Scripture speaks of fellowship. We have only one fellowship. We cannot have this fellowship and that fellowship—Paul’s fellowship, Peter’s fellowship, or Apollos’s fellowship. We cannot have that. Our fellowship is one: one street.
It is this highway, and we are all walking along that street. It is gold. In other words, our fellowship is in Christ. We fellowship by sharing Christ together.
Fellowship is not sharing ourselves. Fellowship is sharing Christ in us. So it is all of gold, and it is transparent.
If you walk on a street that is so transparent, it shows everything that is within you. Now, do you dare to walk on such a street? Is our fellowship so transparent? We hide ourselves.
But on that day, our fellowship is not only all of God, but it is transparent.
Another thing we can mention is that in that city there is no temple. Jerusalem is known by two things: the temple and the throne. But here, in the New Jerusalem, there is no temple.
Why? Because Revelation 21:22 says:
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof.
Brothers and sisters, the whole city is a temple, and God and the Lamb are the temple. That shows such a union.
God’s purpose is to dwell with man. But because of the failure and sin of man, He could not dwell directly with man. So in Old Testament times, you find God commanding them to build Him a tabernacle. God dwelt among His people through the tabernacle.
Thank God, when you come to the New Testament, you find that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among men. In other words, the physical temple is only a type. The real temple of God is our Lord Jesus.
You find how He enlarges Himself and includes us. So He becomes the temple of God. God is our temple, and we are His temple. God is where we worship, and we are where He dwells. There is such a union here; it is a complete unity.
But thank God, even though there is no temple because God Himself is the temple, and there is a direct relationship with God, there is still the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In other words, no matter how much we are united with Christ and united with God in Christ Jesus, we need to remember that God is on His throne. The Lamb is on His throne. We need to be obedient through eternity.
Our present obedience is just a beginning. Today we hold fast our Head, and one day we will find it fulfilled completely—that we will really bow before His throne and allow Him to work out His will in us.
Then you find, “His servants shall serve Him.” Some people will say, “In eternity, what are you going to do? Are you just playing the harp and singing praises for eternity?” Not at all.
You find that His servants shall serve Him. These servants are servant-kings. These servants are sons, and they will serve Him out of their hearts.
Our service today may be only professional. It may be just a trade. But one day, in eternity, we shall really serve God, because we shall see Him all the time. His name is upon our foreheads, and we will be His loving servants.
So, brothers and sisters, do not think that in eternity you will have nothing to do. What we are trained in today, one day we will really do: we will serve God.
Of course, there are many other things you can find in the description, but I think these things are enough. The one thing that we need to remember is that what God has purposed, He will fulfill.
So we need to look off unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Thank God, He is the God of hope, and our hope is totally in Him. He is the God of love, and He loves us to the uttermost.
May we realize why today we have to go through spiritual exercise. Spiritual exercise is the way that leads us to God. Thank God, we have hope. May the Lord encourage us.
We will have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for revealing to us the future. We thank Thee that Thou wantest to encourage us, that we may be able to have spiritual exercise and really cooperate with Thy Spirit in us.
Dear Lord, our prayer is that Thou wilt speed up that work, that the day will soon come when we shall see the consummation of all Thy work, and we shall worship and serve Thee forever and ever.