THOUGHTS
ON THE NEW JERUSALEM
Reading:
Revelation 21 & 22
The next great event in God's calendar is the return in
glory of His Son Jesus Christ. It is the consummation of
that coming and the final revelation of the glory of
Christ which is shown to us in the form of this heavenly
city, "coming down from God out of heaven".
This bridal city represents the sum of God's working
through the ages. Its many symbols display the features
of His Son as they have been wrought into the people whom
He has taken out of the nations for His name, a
marvellous union of Christ and His Church which has a
timeless task of ministering life to the universe. The
nations are to walk in its light, and they are to find
the maintenance of their health from the leaves of its
tree; kings are to bring their treasure into this city,
and God's glory will provide its radiance.
John twice affirms that the city was shown to him by God
- "He showed me...". Perhaps as we humbly read
and meditate God will show us something of its
significance and importance, and by means of its symbols
give us a clearer idea of the unseen and eternal things
which we are to keep in view so that "our light
affliction" may work for us "more and more
exceedingly an eternal weight of glory" (2
Corinthians 4:17-18).
THE
STREET
The
Authorised Version makes a break between the first two
verses of Revelation 22 which is misleading. The Revised
Version indicates that the river is in the midst of the
street of this holy city. The single street is central; a
river runs down the middle of the street, and the tree of
life grows on either side of the river. Nothing is in the
plural, not even this tree, though it is found on both
sides of the river. Up to this point things have been in
the plural. Life has many ways of expressing itself, as
the many trees of Ezekiel's river show (Ezekiel 47:4). At
the end, however, everything is gathered up into an
absolute unity: one city, one street, one river and one
tree. It is a symbolic reminder that at the last all will
be summed up into a perfect oneness, the oneness of
Christ.
Such unity can only be realised in the fellowship of the
Spirit, but this is surely not only for the future but
for today. The city is being spiritually formed now, and
the work is going on now in preparation for the great
consummation which it reveals; if the Church is to be
God's metropolis with an eternal vocation at the centre
of the universe, then here and now it must learn oneness
with and in Christ. One street! This oneness, right down
at the very core of the Church, is basic to its present
witness as well as to its eternal vocation. The one
street has one river, which means that from the inner
realm of fellowship with Christ there is an outflow of
life. The city is, of course, the ultimate goal to which
the Holy Spirit is moving, but the same law holds good
for all time. Our vocation on this earth here and now is
not primarily to engage in a number of good works, but to
provide a way by which the life of Christ may flow out to
others. How can this happen finally if it is not
beginning now? How can we enthuse about ultimate unity if
we are not giving diligence here and now to keep the
unity of the Spirit?
This being the case it hardly needs to be pointed out
that the enemy's strategic movement against the purpose
of God in the Church is to keep that Church divided,
basically divided. He does not mind mere professions of
unity, nor is he unduly troubled by external illusions of
unity; but what he is set against is the deep-down
inwrought oneness which will release God's great river of
life to flow out to a needy world. "I will show thee
the bride, the Lamb's wife" were the words of
introduction which led John to see the great heavenly and
holy Jerusalem in its glorious unity. Undivided love for
Christ, as the love of the bride for her husband, is the
only sure counter to Satan's wiles, and the only basis
for real oneness.
THE
GOLDEN REED
The city
was measured with a golden reed, everything in it being
seen to conform to God's measurements. The whole idea is
divine, and it can only be measured by divine standards,
for it is to express divine purpose. Our calling in
Christ makes many demands upon us, but if we can only
view them in the light of things eternal, it will be much
easier to face them. Not that it is ever easy for our
human nature to be dealt with in accordance with this
golden rod of divine standards but we can more readily
bear the cost if we keep God's end in view. An
outstanding characteristic of the city is its absolute
clearness. This is true of its way of life, for the water
of its river is as clear as crystal. It is true of its
substance, which is of pure gold made like unto clear
glass. It is true of its light, which is described as
being "like a jasper stone, clear as crystal".
This stone is also said to be "most precious",
which suggests that such a condition of transparency is
very precious to the Lord.
It also implies that we, His people, will find it a
costly quality, one which can only be experienced as we
accept discipline under the hand of God, and are given a
spiritual education which makes us refined and
Christlike. This clearness is not merely negative, a sort
of stainless condition, but it is unshadowed and
unclouded light. God is light: Christ is the light of the
world, and the ministry of the Church is both to receive
and to transmit His light. The city is radiant with the
glory of God. What is the opposite of glory? It is
darkness, cloudiness, murkiness; it is all that realm
which is not clear, but mixed and shadowy. If you have
had to deal with a person whom you cannot trust because
of hidden elements which if not actually deceitful
somehow lack clear transparency, you will have found it
an unpleasant experience, the very opposite of glory.
When the glory of God fills everywhere, then there are no
such questions or shadows, but perfect, open confidence.
"In Him is no darkness at all..." (1 John 1:5).
This glory is ours, by grace, and must govern all our
ways.
All the portals of the city are of pearl. Pearls are a
parable of the preciousness which results from suffering,
since they are formed as a result of the agony of the
host creatures. These pearls are the only gates. There is
no other way into this city than by suffering love, for
the elect people who are to reign with Christ are those
who have first shared something of His sufferings. It is
no use our opting for a casual or easy way into
fellowship of this kind, for the love of Christ, purified
from all mixture and precious to God demands a committal
to Him for His supreme purpose to be fulfilled even
though the cost may be fiery trial or deep travail. Let
us not be deterred by the cost though, but keep our eyes
on the outcome - "having the glory of God".
This is our destiny.
THE
WALL
A further
characteristic of this embodiment of God's thought is the
fact that the city has a wall "great and high".
Much is said about this wall, with repeated mention of
its foundations, its dimensions and its strength. It
seems to depict the city's distinctiveness. It is true
that walls are often used for purposes of defence, but as
such a need could never arise with the heavenly city, we
conclude that the wall represents a demarcation of what
God wishes to be distinguished in a special way. Do you
not agree that there is much weakness in Christianity
today just by reason of a lack in distinctiveness of
testimony and life? Not that God will allow us to think
in terms of spiritual conceit or imagined superiority,
but it is important that we should not lose that sense of
definite purpose and set-apartness which should always
govern the life of His redeemed people.
The wall is beautiful; it is high; and it is strong. It
marks off in clear delineation that which has special
meaning and value to God.
ADORNED
"Coming
down from God out of heaven, adorned...". If this
city is to be the embodiment of eternal values, if it is
not a thing but a people, then something must have been
happening to shape and prepare them so that such a
condition could be possible. You will notice that the
wall of the city is adorned, and also that the adornment
of the city itself is spoken of as being suitable for a
bride. The wall is no ugly demarcation but its very
foundations are adorned with all manner of precious
stones. The costly gems are simply symbols of the
many-sided preciousness of Christ. "For you
therefore that believe is the preciousness" (1 Peter
2:7), the very preciousness of Christ Himself.
And the bride is also adorned. Her adornment is something
more than external splendour which can be put on and
taken off; her beauty consists of those inward qualities
which delight the heart of her heavenly Bridegroom.
"The king's daughter is all glorious within: her
clothing is of wrought gold" (Psalm 45:13). We are
apt to pay such attention to externalities, even in
spiritual things, but God's objective is a people whose
inner life is beautiful with the pure gold of Christ's
loveliness, for Christ is coming "to be glorified in
his saints, and to be admired in all them that
believe" (2 Thessalonians 1:10).
If these adornments come down from heaven, how did they
first get there? They are the outcome of our walk with
God here on earth. We live our lives down here, and
although we frequently get discouraged, we do enter into
new experiences of God's grace and learn more of His Son.
The Word teaches us that something is happening all the
time in relation to our life down here which is
equivalent to treasure which is going ahead of us and
waiting for us to follow. As we proceed on our way with
the Lord there are heavenly values accumulating for the
future. Did not the Lord Jesus tell us to lay up for
ourselves treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20)? So while
there is a temporal life, there are also values being
stored up in heaven, features of Christ which will adorn
His city. Our spiritual growth, our spiritual
characteristics are, as it were, going ahead of us. They
are eternal: they are not of time. And all this
preparation is going on, so we are told, "while we
look... at the things which are not seen... but
eternal".
"Adorned as a bride for her husband". What the
Lord is doing in us now as daily we learn new lessons of
grace and humility, will be manifested in that day, and
although this may bring gratification to us and joy to
others, it is primarily meant for the pleasure of Christ.
The Church's spiritual adornment is to be the reward to
our Bridegroom-Redeemer for all His patient, suffering
love.
The city descends from heaven, that is, it has been
conformed to heaven. It has not been turned out of heaven
because it is not suitable, but comes down to bring
heaven's values into the rest of God's universe. We must
measure everything down here by values which are heavenly
and eternal. This brings us back again to the golden reed
of God's standards, the reed which measures everything in
the light of God's purpose of showing the greatness of
His Son to a wondering universe by means of the Church
which is in living, loving communion with Him. This is
the end of all things. This is where the Bible closes.
And this is our vocation in Christ.
From
"Toward The Mark" May-June, 1972, Vol. 1-3