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The Intrinsic Significance of the Name New Jerusalem and the Dimensions of the Holy City

The intrinsic significance of the name New Jerusalem 
applies to our living out and working out the New Jerusalem.

The holy city is “new”:

The New Jerusalem, the holy city, 
is created in Christ 
as the new creation with the divine element:

So then if anyone is in Christ, 
he is a new creation. 

The old things have passed away; 
behold, they have become new.
(2 Cor. 5:17)

The Bible reveals to us two creations
—the old creation and the new creation; 
the old creation does not have the divine life and nature, 
but the new creation, 
constituted of the believers,
who are born again of God, 
does.

Hence, the believers are a new creation, 
not according to the old nature of the flesh 
but according to the new nature of the divine life.
The old creation 
is our old man in Adam,
our natural being by birth, 
without God’s life and the divine nature; 
the new creation 
is the new man in Christ, 
our being that is regenerated by the Spirit, 
having God’s life and the divine nature wrought into it, 
having Christ as its constituent, 
and having become a new constitution.

Only God is “new”; 
the old creation is old 
because it does not have God’s element, 
but the new creation is new 
because it has God as its element:

Our new heart and new spirit 
are something of God; 
for our mind to be renewed 
means that God has been wrought into our mind.
Everything that is designated new in the New Testament 
indicates that God has been wrought into these items 
(such as the new wine, the new wineskins, the new garment, and the new testament).
God is revealed in the New Testament, 
and the New Testament conveys God to us; 
God is newness, and newness is God.

Second Corinthians 5:17 says, 
“If anyone is in Christ, 
he is a new creation. 

The old things have passed away; 
behold, they have become new”:

To say that all things have become new 
means that they have become divine.
Furthermore, to say that all things have become new 
means that all things have become God 
since God is new 
and since God is newness.

Every day 
we need to have 
a new beginning of life, an “Abib” (Exo. 13:4), 
and we need to be saved from staleness 
to walk in newness of life and serve in newness of spirit.

Those who are sanctified by taking Christ as their Substitute (Exo. 13:2), 
who have a new beginning of life, 
and who eliminate all exposed sin (vv. 6-7) 
will have a daily living 
that is worthy of being a memorial, an eternal remembrance.

The New Jerusalem as a new creation 
has God in Christ, 
possessing the divine life and the divine nature:

In the New Jerusalem 
there are the river of water of life and the tree of life; 
besides the divine life 
the New Jerusalem does not display any other kind of life:

Daily we need to drink of the one Spirit as the river of water of life 
and eat Christ as the tree of life.
Daily we need to give the preeminence to the inner flow of life (Ezek. 47:1-2) 
and live in the principle of dependence, the principle of the tree of life.

Also, the city itself and the street of the New Jerusalem 
are pure gold, like transparent glass; 
in typology 
gold signifies the divine nature:

God is Spirit, the nature of God’s person; 
daily we need to enjoy God’s person 
by exercising our spirit.

God is love, the nature of God’s essence, 
and God is light, the nature of God’s expression; 
daily we need to enjoy God as love and light 
by remaining in the fellowship, the flow, of the divine life.

The New Jerusalem is constituted with Christ
as the new man
 with the divine nature and the divine life:

Not only is there no natural person in the new man, 
but also there is no possibility, no room, for any natural person; 
in the new man there is only room for Christ.

Christ is all the members of the new man, 
and He is in all the members; 
He is everything in the new man; 
actually, He is the new man, His Body.

Because we have been born of Christ and constituted with Christ, 
we can say that we are Christ (in life and in nature); 
how much we live Christ 
depends upon how much of Christ has been constituted into our being.

The title Jerusalem 
is composed of two Hebrew words—
Jeru means “foundation,” 
and Salem means “peace”; 
thus, Jerusalem means “the foundation of peace”:

In the New Testament 
there are two titles
—the God of peace and the peace of God; 
both of these titles 
indicate that God Himself is our peace.

Ephesians 2:14 says 
that Christ Himself is our peace; 
He is the arbitrating peace of the new man.

The Lord Jesus told us, 
“Peace I leave with you; 
My peace I give to you; 

not as the world gives 
do I give to you. 
Do not let your heart be troubled, 
neither let it be afraid”.

Our Lord also said, 
“These things I have spoken to you 
that in Me you may have peace. 
In the world you have affliction, 
but take courage; 
I have overcome the world”.

Since the Lord has given us His peace 
and left us His peace, 
today we should live in His peace.

Jerusalem is the Triune God 
to be our peace, to be our safety; 

the whole New Jerusalem 
will be an entity of peace.
The New Jerusalem 
will be solidly grounded and safeguarded 
in the Triune God as peace and safety, 
and we will enjoy the Triune God as peace forever.

The dimensions of the holy city 
apply to our living out and working out the New Jerusalem:

The city has three gates 
on each of the four sides :

The east side, at the front, toward the glory of the sunrise, ranks first; 
the north side, at the top, ranks second; 
the south side, at the bottom, ranks third; 
and the west side, at the rear, ranks fourth.

The gates on the four sides face the four directions of the earth, 
signifying that the entrance into the holy city is available 
to all the peoples on earth 

(cf. the four heads of the river in Genesis 2:10-14).

That there are three gates on each side 
signifies that the three of the Divine Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—
work together to bring people into the holy city; 

this is indicated in the three parables in Luke 15 
and implied in the Lord’s word in Matthew 28:19; 
to be baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 
is the real entrance into the holy city.

Matt. 28:19
Go therefore 
and disciple all the nations, 
baptizing them into the name 
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

The three gates indicate 
that the Triune God has come
to reach us 
and bring us into His eternal economy.

That there are three gates on each of the four sides, 
three times four being twelve, 
also implies that the Triune God is mingled with man, the creature 
(the number four signifying the creature).

The length, breadth, and height of the New Jerusalem are equal; 
it is twelve thousand stadia in each dimension :
According to its measurements, 
the New Jerusalem is a cube; 
the dimensions of the Holy of Holies, 
both in the tabernacle and in the temple, 
were equal in length, breadth, and height; 
the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle 
was a cube measuring ten cubits in each dimension, 
and the Holy of Holies in the temple 
was a cube of twenty cubits in each dimension 
(signifying that our experience of Christ in the church 
must be balanced, like that of a cube
).

That the length, breadth, and height of the New Jerusalem are equal 
signifies that the entire New Jerusalem will be the Holy of Holies.

In the New Jerusalem 
all God’s redeemed ones 
will serve and worship God, 
will see and touch God’s presence, 
and will live and dwell in God’s presence for eternity:

In our Christian life and church life, 
we must hold on to this principle: 
God’s presence is the criterion for every matter; 

regardless of what we do, 
we must pay attention to 
whether or not we have God’s presence.

We should aspire to be like Moses and Paul, 
ones who had God’s presence to a full extent 
for God’s building, God’s corporate expression.

 

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7 replies on “The Intrinsic Significance of the Name New Jerusalem and the Dimensions of the Holy City”

Prophecy note, 27 July 2014
According to its measurements,
New Jerusalem is a cube.
The entire New Jerusalem
is the Holy of Holies
enlarged to the uttermost.
In our experience
the Holy of Holies
must be continuously enlarged.

The principle of the Holy of Holies
is that man can live and walk directly
in the presence of God.

According to the Old Testament,
only the high priest was allowed
to enter into the Holy of Holies.
But the book of Hebrews
reveals that
through the redeeming blood of Christ,
the Holy of Holies is open
to all those
who believe in Him.

All the redeemed ones
may enter into the presence of God,
live there,
and remain there,
enjoying fellowship
in oneness with God.

The coming New Jerusalem
will be such a place.
Everyone in it
will see God, touch God,
worship God, serve God,
and even live and dwell
in the presence of God.

The church life today
must be a Holy of Holies.
The church must be a cube,
and its nature must be utterly holy.

We must hold on to this principle:
God’s presence
is the criterion for every matter.
Regardless of what we do,
we must pay attention to
whether or not
we have God’s presence.

If we touch the presence of God
in all things,
we will see
that God will be there
as the temple,
and the building of God
will be with us.

Since the Lord has given us His peace
and left us His peace,
today we should live in His peace.
Actually, the Lord Himself
is still here
as our peace.

Jerusalem is
the Triune God
to be our peace,
to be our safety.
The whole New Jerusalem
will be an entity of peace.

When we consummate
in the New Jerusalem,
we will be in peace,
that is, in the Triune God.
The New Jerusalem
will be solidly grounded
and safeguarded
in the Triune God
as peace and safety,
and we will enjoy
the Triune God
as peace forever.

In the church,
what matters
is the presence of God.
The temple
in the New Jerusalem
is God Himself.
God’s presence
is the center of the city.

Therefore, in the church
we must have the presence of God;
we must have God
as the temple.
Then we will be built up
to have the condition
of the New Jerusalem.

Day 6

Eph. 3:18
May be full of strength 
to apprehend with all the saints 
what the breadth and length and height and depth are.

When I was young,
I was troubled by the fact 
that the height of the wall [of New Jerusalem] was a hundred and forty-four cubits 
and that the height of the city was twelve thousand stadia.
Twelve thousand stadia are more than seven million feet, 
or more than one thousand three hundred sixty miles.
Another thing that troubled me about the city 
was that it has just one street.
Brother Nee pointed out 
that New Jerusalem is a mountain, 
and that the one street spirals down the mountain from the throne 
and passes by all twelve gates. 
No matter which gate we enter, 
we find ourselves on the same street. 
Because the street is a spiral, 
it is impossible for anyone to get lost in this city.

Revelation 21:16 says 
that “the city lies square.”
The fact that New Jerusalem is square 
signifies that it is perfect and complete in every way, 
absolutely straight and not in the least oblique.

The length, breadth, and height of New Jerusalem are equal; 
it is twelve thousand stadia in each dimension.
Since twelve signifies 
absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s eternal administration, 

twelve thousand signifies a thousand times this.

According to its measurements, 
New Jerusalem is a cube. 
The dimensions of the Holy of Holies, 
both in the tabernacle and in the temple, 
are equal in length, breadth, and height.
The Holy of Holies in the tabernacle 
was a cube measuring ten cubits in each dimension, 
and the Holy of Holies in the temple 
was a cube twenty cubits in each dimension. 
That the length, breadth, and height of New Jerusalem are equal 
signifies that the entire New Jerusalem is the Holy of Holies. 
Therefore, New Jerusalem
is the Holy of Holies 
enlarged to the uttermost.

In our experience 
the Holy of Holies
must be continuously enlarged. 

Firstly, we have the smaller Holy of Holies in Exodus; 
then we have the larger Holy of Holies in 1 Kings; 
and ultimately we have the largest Holy of Holies in the book of Revelation. 
Eventually, our Holy of Holies 
will be more than one thousand three hundred sixty miles 
in length, width, and height.

The principle of the Holy of Holies 
is that man can live and walk directly in the presence of God. 
According to the Old Testament, 
only the high priest was allowed to enter into the Holy of Holies. 
But the book of Hebrews reveals 
that through the redeeming blood of Christ, 
the Holy of Holies is open to all those 
who believe in Him. 

All the redeemed ones 
may enter into the presence of God, 
live there, 
and remain there, 
enjoying fellowship in oneness with God. 

The coming New Jerusalem 
will be such a place. 
Everyone in it 
will see God, touch God, worship God, serve God, 
and even live and dwell in the presence of God. 

The church life today 
must be a Holy of Holies. 
The church must be a cube, 
and its nature must be utterly holy.

We must hold on to this principle: 
God’s presence is the criterion for every matter. 

Regardless of what we do, 
we must pay attention to 
whether or not we have God’s presence. 

Do we have God’s presence 
while we are expressing our opinions? 
Do we have God’s presence 
while we are saying certain things 
or taking a certain attitude? 
Is God’s presence 
in our suggestion or proposal? 
If we touch the presence of God in all things, 
we will see 
that God will be there as the temple, 
and the building of God will be with us. 

When we argue with each other, 
we all may be for the Lord, 
and our insisting may be quite justifiable. 

However, due to our arguing 
we do not have God as the temple
—the presence of God. 
Instead, we have torn down the city.

Heb. 10:19
Having therefore, brothers, boldness
for entering the Holy of Holies
in the blood of Jesus,

Heb. 10:22
Let us come forward to the Holy of Holies
with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience
and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Exo. 33:11a
And Jehovah would speak to Moses face to face,
just as a man speaks to his companion.

Exo. 33:14
And He said,
My presence shall go with you,
and I will give you rest.

 

Day 5

Eph. 3:16-17
That He [the Father] would grant you, 
according to the riches of His glory, 
to be strengthened with power 
through His Spirit into the inner man,
That Christ may make His home 

in your hearts through faith,
that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Revelation 21:13 reveals 
that in New Jerusalem 
there are three gates on the east, 
three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. 
Thus, the city lies square, 
with three gates on each of its four sides. 
The east side at the front, toward the glory of the sunrising, ranks first; 
the north side at the top ranks second; 
the south side at the bottom ranks third; 
and the west side at the rear ranks fourth. 
The gates on the four sides 
are toward the four directions of the earth, 
signifying the availability of the entrance of the holy city 
to all the peoples on earth.

The three gates on each side 
signify that the Triune God
—Father, Son, and Spirit—
work together to bring people into the holy city. 

This is indicated in the three parables in Luke 15 
and implied in the Lord’s word in Matthew 28:19. 
The three parables in Luke 15 
concern the shepherd and the lost sheep, 
the woman and the lost coin, 
and the father and the returned prodigal son. 
The shepherd refers to the Son; 
the father, of course, to the Father; 
and the woman signifies the Spirit. 
In order for a sinner to be brought back to the Father’s house, 
there is the need of the Son, the shepherd, to bring back the lost sheep; 
there is the need of the Spirit 
to enlighten the hearts of people 
that they may repent; 
and there is the need of the Father 
to receive the returned and repentant prodigal son. 

Hence, the Triune God 
is the entrance into the New Jerusalem.

The fact that the Triune God is working
to bring people into the holy city 
is also implied in the Lord’s word in Matthew 28:19. 
To be baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Spirit 
is the entrance into the holy city. 
Thus, the Father, Son, and Spirit 
are the three gates on each side of the city. 
The three gates are not on three sides respectively; 
rather, there are three gates on each of the four sides repeatedly. 
The gates on any one of the sides
are exactly the same 
as the gates on the other three sides. 
This indicates that the Triune God is available 
to people in all four corners of the earth.

The three gates indicate 
that the Triune God has come 
to reach us 
and to bring us into His eternal economy. 

The three in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, 
have come out in God’s economy 
to reach us 
and to bring us back to His economy. 

A number of verses in the New Testament 
speak of the Triune God. 
For example, 
in Ephesians 3:14 through 17 Paul said, 
“I bow my knees unto the Father…
that He would grant you, 
according to the riches of His glory, 
to be strengthened with power 
through His Spirit into the inner man, 
that Christ may make His home in your hearts through faith.” 
In these verses 
we see the Father, the Spirit, and Christ, the Son. 
Second Corinthians 13:14 also unfolds the Triune God: 
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ 
and the love of God 
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 
be with you all.” 
In this verse 
the three of the Godhead 
are for His dispensing, 
for His going out and coming in, 
that is, for His spreading out and our entering in.

Three gates on each of the four sides, 
constituting the number twelve, 
also imply the mingling of the Triune God with man, God’s creature. 
The number four signifies the creature, 
and the number three, of course, signifies the Triune God. 
The number twelve does not denote addition but multiplication. 
Three times four indicates 
that the Triune God mingles Himself with His creature, man, 
to produce a composition, a compound.

 

Day 4

Phil. 4:7
And the peace of God,
which surpasses every man’s understanding, 
will guard your hearts and your thoughts
in Christ Jesus.

Phil. 4:9
The things
which you have also learned and received and heard and seen
in me, 
practice these things; 
and the God of peace will be with you.

Col. 3:15
And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, 
to which also you were called in one Body;
and be thankful.

The result of practicing fellowship with God in prayer 
is that we enjoy the peace of God. 
The peace of God 
is actually God as peace infused into us 
through our fellowship with Him by prayer, 

as the counterpoise to troubles and the antidote to anxiety.

The peace of Christ 
is Christ Himself. 
By this peace 
Christ has made the two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles, one new man, 
and this peace has become a part of the gospel. 
We should let this peace arbitrate in our hearts
for the Body life.

The title Jerusalem 
is composed of two Hebrew words—
Jeru means “foundation” 
and Salem means “peace.” 
Paul tells us in Hebrews 7 
that the King of Salem is the King of Peace. 
Salem is peace 
and Jeru is
something founded,
something built,
something laid as a foundation. 
Thus, Jerusalem means “the foundation of peace.” 
Jerusalem is
something grounded, founded, and safeguarded in peace. 
The Bible indicates 
that peace is God Himself. 
In the New Testament are two titles
the God of peace and the peace of God. 
Both of these titles 
indicate that God Himself is our peace. 
Also, Ephesians 2:14 indicates 
that Christ Himself is our peace. 
This peace
is God into whom we have been grounded. 
This is not an outward peace, 
but an inward peace 
in which we are safeguarded. 

In eternity we will enjoy peace forever.

Since the Lord has given us His peace 
and left us His peace, 
today we should live in His peace. 
Actually, the Lord Himself is still here as our peace. 

Jerusalem is
the Triune God 
to be our peace, to be our safety. 

The whole New Jerusalem 
will be an entity of peace. 
When we consummate in the New Jerusalem, 
we will be in peace, 
that is, in the Triune God. 

The New Jerusalem 
will be solidly grounded and safeguarded 
in the Triune God as peace and safety, 

and we will enjoy the Triune God as peace forever.

In the church 
reasoning does not matter. 
What matters
is the presence of God.

In the church 
the more you reason, 
the more God stays away from you. 

Even if your reasoning is one hundred percent correct 
and all the good reasons are on your side, 
the more you argue, 
the further away from God you will be.

Doves do not care 
whether or not your arguments are convincing. 
They care only 
whether or not you have a loud voice 
and whether or not you have a fierce look. 
You cannot deceive them. 
Therefore, it is not surprising 
that the Scriptures say 
that the doves’ eyes are the fairest. 
Through careful observation 
I have found 
that a dove’s eyes
are its keenest part.
Brothers and sisters, 
the presence of the Holy Spirit within us 
is also like this. 

The Spirit does not care about 
how right you are. 

He cares only about 
your attitude, your intention, and your condition.

The more we reason, 
the more we lose God’s presence. 

Please remember 
that the temple in the New Jerusalem 
is God Himself. 
God’s presence 
is the center of the city. 

Therefore, in the church 
we must have the presence of God; 
we must have God as the temple. 
Then we will be built up 
to have the condition of the New Jerusalem.

 

Day 3

Expressions such as God is light, God is love, and God is Spirit
denote and describe the nature of God.
Spirit denotes the nature of God’s person; 
love, the nature of God’s essence; 
and light, the nature of God’s expression.
After receiving the divine life
by believing into the Son in John’s Gospel, 
we should go on to enjoy this life 
through the fellowship of this life
in John’s Epistle. 
The entire Epistle
discloses to us 
this one thing, 
that is, the enjoyment of the divine life 
through our abiding in its fellowship.

The New Jerusalem
is constituted with Christ 
as the new man with the divine nature and the divine life. 

According to Colossians 3:11, 
the new man
is constituted with Christ 
because in the new man 
there cannot be any natural man. 
Not only is there no natural person in the new man, 
but there is no possibility, no room, for any natural person. 
In the new man 
there is only room for Christ. 
He is all the members of the new man 
and in all the members. 
He is everything in the new man. 
Actually He is the new man, His Body. 

In the new man 
He is the centrality and universality. 
In the new man 
“there cannot be Greek and Jew, 
circumcision and uncircumcision, 
barbarian, Scythian, 
slave, free man, 
but Christ is all 
and in all
”.

Although the church as the new man 
is composed with people from many different cultures and races, 
Christ is actually everything in the new man. 
This is a matter of constitution. 
Christ was born into you at your new birth, 

and from that time 
Christ is being constituted into your very being 
to transform you into Christ. 

Because a certain piece of furniture
is made with wood and constituted with wood, 
we can say
that it is wood or wooden. 
In like manner, 
because we have been born of Christ and constituted with Christ, 
we can say that we are Christ (in life and in nature). 

The Bible tells us 
that the new man, the church, cannot have the natural man 
and that what is in this new man
is just Christ, 

not Christ by Himself, in Himself, or with Himself, 
but Christ in you and with you. 
Due to the influence and restriction of today’s traditional teaching, 
we have been very much limited 
and even we do not dare to say 
that we are Christ. 

However, I hope
we would receive a heavenly vision 
to see 
that since we have been born of Christ and constituted with Christ, 
we are Christ.

We like to say
that we live Christ, 
but many times 
we dare not say this 
because we have some realization 
that we do not live Christ all the time. 
The reason why we do not live Christ 
is because we are void of Christ’s constitution. 

What we are constituted with 
is what we live. 
Some saints told me, 
“To live Christ is wonderful, 
but I forget to live Him all the time. 
When I lost my temper, 
I remembered that I should have lived Christ, 
and by then it was too late!” 
The reason why you forget to live Christ 
is because Christ has never been constituted into you that much. 
To live Christ 
does not need you to remember 
that you have to live Christ. 

If He has been so much constituted into you, 
you cannot forget to live Him. 
Our bad temper 
is “quicker than electricity.” 
If we do not have the constitution of Christ 
for us to remember 
that we need to live Christ, 
it is impossible to live Him. 
How much we live Christ 
depends upon how much Christ has been constituted into our being. 
According to our fellowship thus far, 
we can see 
that to say the New Jerusalem is a physical city prepared by God 
is absolutely absurd. 
There is no way 
to interpret the consummation of the Bible in this way. 
Because this city is new
it has been wrought with God 
and has God as its contents.

 

Day 2

We have been buried therefore with Him 
through baptism into His death, 
in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead 
through the glory of the Father, 
so also we might walk in newness of life. (Rom. 6:4)

But now we have been discharged from the law, 
having died to that 
in which we were held, 
so that we serve in newness of spirit 
and not in oldness of letter. (Rom. 7:6)

If we would be sanctified to God 
by taking Christ as our substitute, 
we need to experience the month of Abib, 
a period of time 
that signifies our whole Christian life, 
a time during which we enjoy new life. 

On this day in the month of Abib 
you are going out. (Exo. 13:4)

We have pointed out 
that the word Abib means “sprouting, budding.” 
Hence, it denotes a new beginning of life. 

In order to be sanctified to the Lord for His satisfaction, 
we need such a new beginning of life. 
We need to be a green ear of wheat 
sprouting with new life.

In this new beginning of life 
there must be no leaven.
In the Bible 
leaven signifies sinfulness or corruption. 
We need to deal with all sin 
that is exposed. 
We must not tolerate any sin 
after it has been exposed. 

To eat unleavened bread in this way 
is to have a true memorial to the Lord, a genuine remembrance. 
Those who are sanctified by having Christ as their substitute 
and who have a new beginning of life without sin 
will have a daily living 
that is worthy of being a memorial. 

If we have a proper experience of God’s salvation, 
we shall have a marvelous spiritual history. 
After our Passover, 
we shall be sanctified to the Lord 
by taking Christ as our substitute 
to live in us. 

Then we shall have a new beginning of life, 
and all exposed sin 
will be dealt with. 
Such a living will be a memorial, a remembrance. 
Every day we live this kind of life 
will be a day of memorial. 

In our Christian life 
every day should be such a memorial day. 
Any day that is not a memorial 
is a day of defeat.

I am concerned 
that many Christians will have very little to remember 

when they are in the New Jerusalem. 
But if we live with Christ as our substitute, 
have a new beginning of life, 
and deal with all exposed sin, 
we shall have a great deal to remember in eternity. 
Every day we live in this way 
is a day worth remembering. 
It is possible 
for every day of our Christian life to be a memorial. 
May the Lord save us from having to repent over wasted days, 
days in which there is no new beginning of life 
and no thorough dealing with leaven. 

After we have been saved through Christ as our Passover lamb, 
we need to take Him as our substitute 
for the beginning of a new, sinless life. 
Then we shall have many days of memorial.

The New Jerusalem as a new creation 
has God in Christ, 
possessing the divine nature and the divine life. 
We cannot have God outside of Christ. 

Also, Revelation 21 and 22 
provide us with many indications 
that the New Jerusalem possesses the divine nature and the divine life. 
In the New Jerusalem 
there are the tree of life and the river of water of life. 
Besides the divine life, 
the New Jerusalem does not display any other life. 

Also, the city itself and the street of the New Jerusalem 
are pure gold like transparent glass.
In typology 
gold signifies the divine nature. 
Thus, the New Jerusalem possesses 
the divine nature and the divine life.

The Lord Jesus charged us 
to overcome the leaving of the first love 
and to maintain the eating of Christ as the tree of life. 
If we give the preeminence to Christ in everything 
and enjoy Him as the tree of life every day, 
we will be marvelous, overcoming Christians. 

When we enjoy Christ as the tree of life, 
we have the Paradise of God;
the church life becomes paradise to you. 

Thus, our sensation and our attitude toward the church 
depend upon our situation. 
If we give the Lord the preeminence in everything 
and enjoy Him as the tree of life throughout the day, 
right away the church, 
regardless of its condition, 
becomes paradise to us.

 

Day 1

Why does the Spirit use the word “new” 
in the designation New Jerusalem? 
The Bible reveals to us two creations
—the old creation and the new creation. 
There is nothing of God’s nature 
involved with any item in the old creation. 

In other words, 
God is not in the old creation. 
In everything of the new creation, however, 
God’s divine nature is in it. 

The old man has nothing of God in it, 
but the new man is not only born of God 
but also created and constituted with God. 
None of the new items
in the New Testament 
refers to anything material or physical. 
Our new heart
is something of God. 

For our mind to be renewed 
means that God has been wrought into our mind.
Everything that is designated new in the New Testament 
indicates or implies that God has been wrought into these items. 
If you do not have God, 
you do not have a new heart. 

The new wineskins, the new wine, the new garment, and the New Testament all 
are designated new 
because God is in them. 

The Old Testament was something of the dead letters, 
but the New Testament has God in it. 
The New Testament
is altogether something of God. 

It is a testament 
not only of life 
but of God. 

God is revealed in the New Testament, 
and the New Testament conveys God to us.

By this principle 
we can see 
that the old Jerusalem was a physical city. 
In its constituents 
there was nothing of God’s nature. 
However, the New Jerusalem, just like the new man, 
has God
wrought into it. 

It is new 
because God has been added in. 
Anything that is without God
is old, 
but anything in which God is added
is new. 

A piece of furniture is old 
because it does not have God, 
but as a believer you are new 
because you have God
wrought into you. 

Those who have not believed in the Lord Jesus
are old 
because they do not have God. 
God is newness, and newness is God. 
Oldness is 
the old creation, the old I, the old you. 
When you have God, however, 
you have the newness. 
You become new, 
and you become newness. 

All the new items in the New Testament 
such as the new heart, the new mind, the new man, and the new creation 
are new 
because God has been wrought into these items.

Also, the New Jerusalem
is created in Christ 
as the new creation
with the divine element.
Some may think 
that the new creation
refers to us believers 
and not the New Jerusalem. 
To say this, though, 
indicates that we do not have the sight 
to see
that the New Jerusalem is a living composition 
of all of God’s redeemed people, 
including the New Testament believers and the Old Testament saints. 

All the redeemed ones composed together 
are a new creation in Christ, 
and this new creation has the divine element. 

The divine element has been wrought into the new creation. 
Second Corinthians 5:17 says, 
“If anyone is in Christ, 
he is a new creation. 
The old things have passed away; 
behold, they have become new.” 
It would be helpful 
if we could spend some time 
to pray-read this verse. 

To say that all things have become new 
means that they have become divine. 
Furthermore, to say that all things have become new 
means that all things have become God 
since God is new 
and since God is newness.

The old creation 
does not have the divine life and nature, 
but the new creation, 
constituted of the believers, 
who are born again of God, 
does. 

Hence, the believers are a new creation, 
not according to the old nature of the flesh 
but according to the new nature of the divine life.

 

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