All posts tagged Revelation 21:9-11

Aspects of New Jerusalem in these verses.

From Golden Churches to the Golden City

The first lampstand described in the Bible is in Exodus 25, for the tabernacle. The second is in 1 Kings 7, for the temple. The third is in Zechariah 4, related to the rebuilding of the temple after the return from Babylon. Fourth are the seven golden lampstands in Revelation 1:12, 20. The ultimate lampstand is New Jerusalem shining eternally “with the glory of God.”

In Zech. 4 the emphasis is on the Spirit (Zech. 4:6) as seven lamps shining, these seven lamps being the seven eyes of God (Zech. 4:2, 10). The seven eyes of God are the seven Spirits of God (Rev. 5:6) for God’s intensified move. This indicates that…the lampstands in Revelation are the reproduction of the lampstand in Zechariah….The shining Spirit is the reality of the shining Christ, and the shining churches are the reproduction and expression of the shining Spirit to accomplish God’s eternal purpose that the New Jerusalem as the shining city may be consummated.*

New JerusalemIn Revelation 1:12 John tells us, “I saw seven golden lampstands.” In verse 1:20 “the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” The churches are golden because their inner reality is the divine nature, portrayed by the gold. The shortages in Revelation 2–3 are in the human element, but that does not detract from the inward divine nature.

For New Jerusalem as God’s goal to be reached, the “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God” (Rev. 4:5) burn for our purification. Eventually all the fallen human element will be in the lake of fire and God’s fully transformed and glorified people will be with Him in the golden and shining New Jerusalem.
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* This is an excerpt from footnote 3 on Revelation 1:12 in the Recovery Version Bible, published and © by Living Stream Ministry. A New Testament of this Bible, with 9000 footnotes, is a available in multiple languages for free from Bibles for America, Bibles for Canada, Bibles for Europe.

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by Don on April 24, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on April 24, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/04/24/from-golden-churches-to-the-golden-city/

New Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb

In Ephesians the church is presented as the Body of Christ, the one new man, and the wife of Christ. At the end of the Bible New Jerusalem is declared to be “the bride, the wife of the Lamb” (21:9). Although New Jerusalem is the consummation of the Body and the new man, they are not mentioned explicitly.

New JerusalemThis shows that at the end of the Bible the emphasis is love—Christ loves His people and all His people love Him. First John 4:19, “We love because He first loved us.” In 1 John 4 we love God, we love one another, and we love all people, This is possible solely because we love with Him as our love.

In Revelation 2:1-7 the Lord commended the church in Ephesus for many things but said faulted them in that “you have left your first [best] love.” We need to continually love the Lord above all, no matter how much we do for Him.

Ephesians concludes “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in incorruptibility” (6:24). While we await His appearing, let us love Him with His incorruptible love, and not leave this love like the Ephesian believers left. Then we will love Him as “the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”Come, Lord Jesus!

Photo courtesy of EUMETSAT/ESA.

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by Don on March 20, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 20, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/03/20/new-jerusalem-the-wife-of-the-lamb-2/

In Spirit to See the Lord, His Throne, and New Jerusalem

New JerusalemIn Revelation 1:10 John tells us, “I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day.” He heard a voice, turned to see the voice, saw seven golden lampstands and the Son of Man in their midst (1:10-13).

In Revelation 4:1 a heavenly voice called to John. In verse 2 he says, “Immediately I was in spirit” and he saw a throne in heaven and One sitting on the throne.

In Revelation 21:9 an angel called John to come so that he could be shown the bride, the wife of the Lamb. Then the angel carried John away in spirit and he saw holy Jerusalem with the glory of God (21:10-11).

All three times it was not only the Holy Spirit moving. It was the Holy Spirit mingled with John’s human spirit. The two spirits are united into one as 1 Corinthians 6:17 declares. Because John was experienced in living in spirit, the Spirit could move in him.

Through this he saw the Lord among the golden lampstands, the forerunner of New Jerusalem as the eternal lampstand. He also saw God on the throne and he saw New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth. It is only by being “in spirit” that we can have these heavenly visions.

May we all learn to live in spirit and all have a vision of the Lord, His throne, and the city.

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by Don on March 4, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on March 4, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/03/04/in-spirit-to-see-the-lord-his-throne-and-new-jerusalem/

The Eternal, Not Yet Seen New Jerusalem

New JerusalemThe proper, Biblical seeing of New Jerusalem depends on a heavenly, eternal viewpoint. Colossians 3:2 exhorts us to set our mind on heavenly things. 

Second Corinthians 4:18 says “we do not regard the things which are seen but the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

Verse 5:7 adds, “we walk by faith, not by appearance.” This faith is “the substantiation of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

John tells us that an angel “carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:10). John had the clear view in a spiritual vision. We should pray, Lord, carry me away in spirit to see Your city with Your view.

In Ephesians 1:17 Paul prayed “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him.” We need such wisdom and revelation in spirit, separated from our natural understanding, to grasp all that is “of Him” including New Jerusalem, the city of the Father’s glory.

Photo courtesy of NASA.

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by Don on February 7, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on February 7, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/02/07/the-eternal-not-yet-seen-new-jerusalem/

New Jerusalem Has the Appearance of God

Revelation 4:3 tells us that John saw “He who was sitting [on the throne in heaven] was like a jasper stone.” Verse 21:11 says that New Jerusalem’s “light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.”

The whole city has the appearance of God because God is constituted into the whole city. God, not any physical material, is the primary element of New Jerusalem.

“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Christ is our assurance that we will be part of New Jerusalem.

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com.

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by Don on January 19, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 19, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/01/19/new-jerusalem-has-the-appearance-of-god/

New Jerusalem is Heavenly on Earth

New Jerusalem

Revelation 21:1a-2. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth….And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

Revelation 21:10, [an angel] “showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.”

According to Revelation 21:1 the new creation has only a new heaven and a new earth. New Jerusalem comes “out of heaven”, so its position is on earth.

The city is heavenly in nature and located on earth.

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by Don on January 5, 2024  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on January 5, 2024

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2024/01/05/new-jerusalem-is-heavenly-on-earth-3-2/

Transformation into the Glory of the Lord

“He who was sitting [upon the throne in heaven] was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance” (Rev. 4:3). “Her [New Jerusalem’s] light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.” (Rev. 21:11)

The Spirit’s transforming work is with His bountiful supply of the divine element (Phil. 1:19) for the building up of God’s building (Gen. 2:12b; 1 Cor. 3:12a; 1 Pet. 2:4-5). Consummately, the transforming work of the Spirit issues in the New Jerusalem, which bears the image of God for His expression. God appears like a jasper stone in Revelation 4:3, and the New Jerusalem, having the glory of God, shines like a jasper stone (21:11)….Since jasper signifies God expressed in His communicable glory (4:3), the main function of the holy city is to express God in bearing His glory.*

New JerusalemTo express God we must be transformed into His image and radiate His glory. This is a gradual process, “from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). The glory of the Lord is the glory of New Jerusalem which shines out from the city. The Lord shines through because the city is “pure gold, like clear glass” (Rev. 21:18).

In ourselves we are dark, opaque because of sin and death (Rom. 5:12). But transformation by the Spirit changes our nature so it also changes our appearance. The apostle John assures us, “We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is” (1 John 3:2). We will be like Him and corporately as New Jerusalem we will express Him.

* From chapter 34, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

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by Don on February 20, 2023  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on February 20, 2023

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2023/02/20/transformation-into-the-glory-of-the-lord/

New Jerusalem is the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb

New JerusalemNew Jerusalem is the consummation of the Bible. Prior posts have covered three designations of this city: New Jerusalem, the holy city, and the tabernacle of God. Each post includes a quote from the book God’s New Testament Economy (see footnote).

New Jerusalem is also the bride, the wife of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. An angel said to John, “Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit…and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem” (Rev. 21:9-10).

The first wife in the whole universe was Eve. In Ezekiel 23 the children of Israel are referred to as the wife of Jehovah (vv. 1-4). In John 3 all the regenerated believers are the bride of Christ to be His increase, His enlargement (vv. 29-30). In Ephesians 5 there is the church as the wife of Christ, and in 2 Corinthians 11:2 the believers have been engaged or betrothed to Christ as their Husband. Revelation 19:7-9 unveils a universal wedding day, the marriage of the Lamb. Finally, in the last two chapters of the Bible we see the wife of the Lamb….The Bible concludes and consummates with a divine couple living a married life in eternity.

The church as the wife of Christ is neither different nor separate from New Jerusalem as the wife of the Lamb. They are the same except that the church in this age is at an earlier stage of development.

Ephesians 5:26-27 says that Christ is cleansing the church “by the washing of the water in the word, that He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.” The church in this age is gaining the glory and having all the spots and blemishes washed away to become New Jerusalem, the holy city-bride.

* From chapter 28, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The text of this Bible is at text.recoveryversion.bible; this too is © by LSM.

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by Don on December 2, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on December 2, 2022

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2022/12/02/new-jerusalem-is-the-bride-the-wife-of-the-lamb-2/

New Jerusalem is the Wonderful Consummation

in Revelation 21–22 New Jerusalem is the consummate revelation of the Bible. It sums up and displays all the positive work that the Triune God has done through all the ages.

The New Jerusalem is the consummation of every positive thing. It has nothing to do with the negative things such as Satan, the fallen angels, the demons, death, sin, darkness, the grave, Hades, or the lake of fire….On the positive side, however, the New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of God, of God’s salvation, of Christ’s redemption, of the Spirit’s transformation, and of every positive thing in the Bible.

God, the Trinity, the Lamb, the lamp, the tree of life, the living water, the throne, and the Spirit are among the many positive items composed together to make one universal, eternal, divine, spiritual, and heavenly unit.*

New JerusalemThe Triune God is now growing and working in all His people to develop and build up a corporate entity of three aspects: the dwelling place of God, the Body of Christ, and the bride of Christ.

These three all result from the Triune God as life spreading Himself in His people. New Jerusalem is the consummation of all three aspects of God’s work today. The city is God’s eternal dwelling place, the final realization of the Body of Christ, and the bride the wife of Christ (Rev. 21:9).

* From chapter 26 of Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.

Bible verses quoted in these posts are from The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003. The text of this Bible is at text.recoveryversion.bible; this too is © by LSM.

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by Don on October 5, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on October 5, 2022

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2022/10/05/new-jerusalem-is-the-wonderful-consummation/

The Unique Eternal Marriage

John tells us, “I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared New Jerusalemas a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev. 21:2)

John also records, “One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here; I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in spirit onto a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” (Rev. 21:9-10)

The bride, the wife of the Lamb, is the holy city, New Jerusalem. This is the unique eternal marriage. New Jerusalem is the holy city and it is a city in resurrection. All God’s children have grown to maturity in His resurrection life and are part of this city.

In Matthew 22 the Lord Jesus answered the Sadducees’ question about marriages in resurrection. He said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (22:30, also Mark 12:25, Luke 20:36). Since there are no human marriages in resurrection, the Lamb and New Jerusalem are the unique, eternal marriage.

Furthermore, since New Jerusalem is the wife of the Lamb, it is clear that New Jerusalem is a living city in resurrection; it is not a physical city!

Photo courtesy of Burning Well.

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by Don on September 21, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on September 21, 2022

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The Wall has God’s Image and Separates Us to Him

Revelation 21:11 tells us that New Jerusalem has “the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.” Verse 18 adds, “the building work of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.”

The brightness of the city is as jasper [21:11]. The meaning of this is that when we behold the glory of the city we are looking at God’s real image [4:3]. By knowing God’s real image, man can know the God who is sitting upon the throne.

The function of the city wall, as we have seen, is to separate that which is within the city from that which is without. The fact that this wall is made of jasper means that the separation is based upon what is seen in God’s true light….If man is not clear about God’s requirement, he will have no separation.*

New JerusalemSeparation is sanctification. We are initially sanctified by our faith in Christ (Acts 26:18). But that separation is only a change in position. Now we need to go onward, to be sanctified inwardly. First Thessalonians 5:23 declares that God will sanctify us wholly, in every part of our being. This parallels the sanctification in Ephesians 5:26.

God will completely sanctify us, with our cooperation, to constitute us into “the holy city” New Jerusalem. Lord, gain our cooperation with Your operation in us.

* From chapter 5 of The Glorious Church by Watchman Nee, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, available at www.ministrybooks.org/ and www.livingstream.com/en/the-church/8012401-glorious-church-the.html.

Photo courtesy of pixabay.com.

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by Don on June 15, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on June 15, 2022

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2022/06/15/the-wall-has-gods-image-and-separates-us-to-him/

The Light of New Jerusalem is like a Jasper Stone

After New Jerusalem comes “down out of heaven from God” (Rev. 21:10), the first description of the city is “having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal” (21:11).

Revelation 4:3 also presents a jasper stone. “He who was sitting [on the throne in heaven] was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance.”

New JerusalemThe One whom John saw sitting upon the throne was the same as jasper. In other words, the meaning of jasper is God seen, God made visible. When man stands before the throne, God will be known to him as jasper. This is how we will recognize Him when we go there, but not while we are here. What we realize today is quite obscure in many areas, but in that city the glory of God has the brightness of jasper. This means that when the New Jerusalem descends to earth we will be able to see God Himself.*

We will see God, and New Jerusalem, having a light like a jasper stone, will express God. This is the completion of God’s eternal purpose. This purpose is from eternity past and its accomplishment began in Genesis 1:26 when God created man in His image.

God intended that the created man would receive Him as life, pictured by the tree of life in Genesis 2. Man fell but Jesus Christ died to redeem us and resurrected to bring life into us. This life, by saturating our being, brings forth God’s expression unto New Jerusalem.

The Jasper Wall Expresses God.

* From chapter 5 of The Glorious Church by Watchman Nee, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, available at www.ministrybooks.org/ and www.livingstream.com/en/the-church/8012401-glorious-church-the.html.

Graphic courtesy of pixabay.com.

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by Don on May 23, 2022  •  Permalink
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Posted by Don on May 23, 2022

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2022/05/23/the-light-of-new-jerusalem-is-like-a-jasper-stone/

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