In Luke 15 the Lord told three parables. Verses 4 to 7 are about a shepherd, a picture of the Lord who is the real Shepherd (John 10:11). Verses 8 to 10 are about a woman with a lamp, a symbol of the Spirit, and verses 11 to 32 about a father, depicting the Father, whose son returned home. These three parables, corresponding to the three gates on each side of New Jerusalem, are for our entrance nto the city.
Luke 15 records three parables: the shepherd seeking the lost sheep, the woman seeking the lost coin, and the father waiting for his prodigal son. The Lord Jesus came as the shepherd to die on the cross to seek us and to redeem us. After Christ’s work, the Holy Spirit came as the woman to enlighten us, seeking within our hearts to bring us back. By the seeking work of the Holy Spirit, we repent and return to the Father, who gladly receives us. Then we have entered the gate. The three persons of the Godhead bring us into the very building.*
The three gates on each of the four sides of New Jerusalem represent the Triune God open to mankind in all directions. This openness is very practical in these three parables. Like the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the wayward son, we were apart from the Triune God. But He seeks us and causes us to return to Himself. This is our entrance into New Jerusalem!
* Excerpt from The Vision of God’s Building by Witness Lee, chapter 18, © LSM
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Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The New Testament of this Bible, with its outlines, is at online.recoveryversion.org; this too is © by LSM.