The holiness of the new Jerusalem
The holy city, the new Jerusalem, is the law of God evolved into utter, radiant holiness. The holiness of God will be breathed into the Church as the eternities roll by. The consciousness of sin will have been lost in past ages as far as the Wife of the Lamb is concerned.
The Lake of Fire will glow as hot as ever. A sulphurous stench will surround it. By contrast, surrounding the city of God will be walls and gates of breathtaking beauty and size.
The holy city, the Wife of the Lamb, is not only legally free from sin (claiming the righteousness of Christ as a covering) but also is militantly righteous in nature. She is a conqueror of evil tendencies, having been created so by the Holy Spirit of God.
The Wife of the Lamb is not an innocent Eve ready to be deceived by every liar who comes along. The Wife of the Lamb is protected on every side by the inwrought holiness of Christ that resists fear, unbelief, murder, lust, occult practices, idolatry, and lying.
The new Jerusalem is the city of truth. Sin can never enter there. This is the meaning of the wall and gates. The Scripture places extraordinary emphasis on the wall and gates of the new Jerusalem:
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. (Revelation 21:12-15)
Remember that walls and gates in the history of Jerusalem have to do with defence against the enemy. The wall of the city is "great and high." There is no way of getting through it or over it. Whoever would enter the city has to do so through one of the twelve gates.
An angel is stationed at each gate. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on the gates. The names of the twelve Jewish Apostles of the Lamb are inscribed in the twelve foundations of the wall of the city (Revelation 21:12-14). God’s intentions toward the nation of Israel never change.
God measures the city, the gates, and the wall with a "golden reed," signifying that each of these three parts will be judged by His Divine standard (which now has become the standard also of the saints). The dimensions must be precise because this is the new Jerusalem, the Temple of God, the Bride of the Lamb. Only perfection is accepted here. Not only must the city be perfect in each detail but the defences of the city must be perfect as well. No unclean spirit shall ever be allowed entrance into the holy city.
In the Scriptures the number twelve represents the completeness of God’s family. One hundred forty-four cubits, twelve times twelve, is the measurement of the wall. This indicates that the defence of the city is complete in every respect. The full number of the holy remnant, the victorious saints who protect the city of Jerusalem, have been brought to the fullness of the stature of Christ.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. (Revelation 21:18-20)
The foundations of the wall of the new Jerusalem are spectacular in beauty. The precious stones reveal the diverse personalities of God’s conquering saints who have been made perfect through the work of the Holy Spirit.
The defence of the city against uncleanness is founded solidly on Christ formed in God’s saints, the result of long years of patient obedience as the Holy Spirit led them through one test and then another.
God’s faithful saints will shine as the stars forever, having been made glorious in holiness. There yet will come an end to their crucifixion, the process of dying and living that they now are experiencing. They will be rewarded abundantly by seeing what God has created in them.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. (Revelation 21:21)
Pearls are formed by an oyster’s response to a grain of sand or other foreign matter that has entered its shell. A pearl is built up from carbonate of lime secretions and layers of animal membrane. Pearls are made by living creatures.
Gold is an element, a mineral dug from the earth. In the Scriptures, gold represents God’s Glory. Gold is given from God, it is not produced by living creatures as are pearls.
Natural gold must be refined in order to remove impurities. Spiritual gold also must be refined in man so all that is not of God may be removed from the personality. This is not the case with pearls. Gold is refined but pearls are polished.
We Christians know from experience that our cross has caused the Nature of Christ to be formed in us as we have laboured patiently in the Lord. If we accept our problems and work through them in faith and patience, looking always to Christ for help each day, a "pearl" is formed in us.
A Christian who journeyed through the world without tribulation, who had no cross to bring him constantly to prayer, would never have a pearl to bring to the Lord. He still would be the old fleshly self. Such a personality could never be trusted to prevent the entrance of evil into his own life or into the city of God.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (II Corinthians 4:17)
Our light affliction, which the Lord in His goodness sends our way under carefully controlled conditions, creates in us a pearl that is an exceedingly surpassing glory—an eternal glory.
How wise God is to station at the entrance to His Glory those who have been subjected to the sufferings of Christ and who are part of the Divine Substance and resurrection Life of the Lord Jesus! They will not be moved throughout the ages (just as they are not moved now) by any factor other than the will of Christ, when someone seeks entrance into the Presence and blessings of God.
Let us pause here a moment for explanation. By this time, the reader may be confused as to whether there is a literal city or whether the new Jerusalem is only a description of the saints, the Church of Christ.
There is a real city, a new Jerusalem, we believe. The virtues and characteristics of the saints are incorporated in the city. Every city on the earth reflects the personalities of the inhabitants of the city. This especially is true in the case of the new Jerusalem.
The twenty-first chapter of the Book of Revelation refers to the new Jerusalem as the "bride, the Lamb’s wife." We understand therefore that whatever else the city may be, it is the Lamb’s Wife, the Body of Christ, the Christian Church, the eternal Temple of God.
God is not concerned with real estate, such as a city constructed from gold and jewels. God’s joy is in the righteousness, holiness, and obedience of His people. These are the important elements of the Kingdom of God.
We may be impressed with gold, emerald, jasper, topaz, amethyst. God most assuredly is not. From God’s point of view, one person who has gone through the purifying fire with Him and has come forth in the image of His Son, Christ, is worth much more than the mineral wealth of the entire universe.
If the Lord God remains unimpressed with mineral wealth or with a beautiful city or with fifteen hundred beautiful cities, but is impressed only with the quality of His saints, why should the Holy Spirit devote a chapter of the Scripture to a discussion of precious stones and gold?
God cares nothing at all about gold and precious stones and He desires that His children care nothing at all about gold and precious stones. Our life does not consist in the abundance of things we possess.
Why is such emphasis placed on ornamented foundations of a wall, and gates of tremendous monetary value and dazzling material beauty when these things are as nothing in the sight of God and His saints? Many of the faithful have turned their back on the wealth of the world so they may gain the true gold and precious stones of the Spirit of God.
The answer is this: apart from any material reality of the new Jerusalem, the description of the holy city with its emphasized walls and gates is a portrayal of the Church of Christ when it has attained the fullness of the Divine redemption and reconciliation.
Let us go further: the holy city also is a picture of each Christian brought to maturity in Christ. So perfect is the working of the Lord God that each mature Christian summarizes in himself the principal attributes of the Church of Christ.
Let us examine a few passages that point toward the spiritual quality of the treasures of the holy city:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: (Matthew 6:20)
The treasures of which the Lord speaks have to do with favor in the sight of God—the treasures that come from knowing Him and sharing in the riches of the Kingdom of God. None of the truly important treasures of a man, such as the respect of God or the love of his family, can be purchased with money.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; (I Corinthians 3:11,12)
We desire to be of those who build gold, silver, and precious stones on the foundation Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (II Corinthians 4:7)
The "treasure" contained in our "earthen vessels" is the "light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." During the new heaven and earth reign of Christ, and also during the thousand-year Kingdom Age, the conquering saint will bear the light of God’s Glory in a glorified vessel rather than in an earthen vessel.
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (I Peter 1:7)
The gold in which we are interested (and there is a great deal of such refined gold in the holy city) is our faith in God through Christ. This gold cannot be stolen and is imperishable. It is worth infinitely more than the purest gold found in the banks of the world.
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; . . . . (Revelation 3:18) Jesus gives us wise counsel. He advises us to buy from Him a quantity of gold that has been refined until it is as transparent as glass. He urges us to invest in the holy city.
It can be seen that the gold, precious stones, and pearls in which God is interested, and in which we ought to be interested, are not the material wealth of the world.
The holy city, though it were a million miles on a side and constructed throughout of diamonds and emeralds, would be worthless and disgusting to God if it contained one gossiper, one slanderer, one liar, one murderer, one sorcerer. It is not the wealth or beauty of the city that interests God Almighty, it is the spiritual nature of the inhabitants. From the Lord’s point of view, the beauty of the new Jerusalem is not the rainbow of colour streaming from the gems set in the foundations of the wall. Rather, the beauty of the city is the beauty of holiness to the Lord. It is the holiness of the people who compose the city that ravishes the heart of the Lamb of God.
Their holiness is the reflection of His holiness. The holy city is part of the Lord Jesus just as Eve was part of Adam.
The reds, the greens, the blues, and the purples flashing from the foundations of the wall speak of the fact that the blood of Christ, resurrection life, the moral purity of Heaven, and the majesty of Christ have been created in the personalities of the saints on whom the city is founded. The perfection of this city of cities is the spiritual perfection of the people of whom the city consists.
The close identity of the city with its inhabitants is revealed in Revelation 3:12:
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
The city is the Temple of God. There is "no temple" therein for God and the Lamb are the temple of it. This means there is no separating wall, no veil between God and His people. Each of them will see the face of the Father.
Each overcomer is an integral part—a pillar—of the city. Also, the fact that the name of the city of God is written on each overcomer suggests that this is a living city. It extends to wherever the overcomer goes.
The new heaven and earth reign of Christ is the kingdom-wide expression of the maturing in us of the rule of God in Christ.
The extraordinary emphasis placed on the wall, on the twelve foundations of the wall, and on the twelve gates of the city reveals to us why God expends seemingly endless amounts of time on the perfecting of our defences against sin.
If one considers the entire Scriptures it appears that God has spoken more to us about His holiness and our sin than He has any other topic. Therefore the revelation of the new Jerusalem commences with a description of the wall, the foundations of the wall, and the gates controlling the entrances.
Also included in the revelation is a statement concerning those who will not be allowed into the city and those who will be allowed to enter the city (Revelation 21:8, 22:14).
God desires that each Christian be holy as He is holy; not just with a legal holiness borrowed from Christ but actually holy in our personality such that we think holy thoughts, speak holy words, practice holy behaviour.
It is the holy city, filled with the Holy Spirit. The citizens of the new Jerusalem are to speak holy words and act in a holy manner. We are to be holy through and through, like transparent gold.
What good would be a spectacularly beautiful city full of people who were saved by imputed (ascribed) righteousness but who could not or would not behave in a holy manner? It would be confusion, like a perfectly proportioned cathedral of mature craftsmanship and exquisite detail full of backbiters and gossipers. God would never be pleased with it.
The wall of jasper, clear as crystal, means our defences against sin have become transparently pure and as hard as rock.
The twelve foundations of the wall reveal that our holiness is based on our receiving the Person, work, and testimony of Christ as presented through His holy Apostles. Our foundation of faith is embellished with the perfections of character that the Holy Spirit has formed in us.
The gates of the city are pearls. People must enter the city of God by way of the pearl, that is, by way of the Nature of God that has been built up in the saints as they have responded in Christ to tribulation, patiently bearing their cross and submitting to crucifixion with Him.
We can never serve as a door to God’s Presence until we have shared the sufferings of Christ. The more we suffer in the Lord the easier it is for people to approach God through us, provided we respond to our suffering in the correct manner. If we respond to suffering by blaming others and becoming bitter, then our suffering has not made us a gate to the Presence of God.
In our patient endurance we possess our souls. The "pearl" of our character is produced as we draw upon the virtue of Christ in order to cope with the problems of life. The resulting Divinely impregnated strength and beauty in our personality is as hard as it is beautiful. Nothing unclean ever will get past one of God’s "pearls" and enter the holy city.
How about the pearl in your life? Is it as hard as it is beautiful? Is it growing larger and more perfectly formed each day? Or do you flee from God’s Presence, as did Jonah, every time the Lord attempts to create a pearl in your personality?
The clear gold of the city is the faith of the saints refined to clarity by fiery trials.
We are being married (united; reconciled) to the Lamb of God now. We are being created from His body and blood just as Eve was created from Adam. This creation is taking place if we are following the Lord and walking in the Holy Spirit.
If we are allowing Christ to set up His Kingdom in us today, then out from us will flow rivers of the living water of the Holy Spirit. We are becoming a tree of life from whom the people around us may receive food for their souls and healing for their bodies.
The closer we come to true spiritual maturity the more profitable we become to the people around us.
Each member of the Body of Christ is the new Jerusalem in miniature. The "pearl" of the Substance of Christ is being formed in us—a tough, polished resistance to all forms of wickedness, yet possessing Divine-human compassion and understanding. We are becoming the holy city, meaning that God’s Word, His law is becoming incarnate in us in the radiant beauty of holiness. Christ is the Word made flesh. We are flesh being made the Word.