Message Three—The New Jerusalem Being A Sign and A Figure
Rev. 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John.
21:2 And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The New Jerusalem Being the Consummation of All the Items in the Bible
The New Jerusalem is not only the conclusion to the entire Bible but also the consummation of all the items in the Bible. The Triune God, His economy, Christ’s redemption, God’s salvation, the believers, the church, and the kingdom all consummate in this one item—the New Jerusalem. It is imperative that we see that the New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of all the subjects, the items, the matters, the persons, and the things recorded in the holy writings. As the consummation, it is an exceedingly great item.
From the entire divine revelation of the Bible we must infer logically that the New Jerusalem surely could never be a physical, lodging place. We must be impressed that the New Jerusalem is the consummation of all the divine items in the Bible. Although this consummation only occupies a little over one chapter in the Bible, it comprises every basic, intrinsic, essential, and genuine item in the entire divine revelation. We must see this.
The New Jerusalem Being A Sign
First, we must realize that the first verse of the book of Revelation tells us how this book was written: “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must swiftly take place; and He made it known by signs” (1:1). This verse tells us that the Lord Jesus made this God-given revelation known to us by signs. It would help us to circle, color, or underline the word signs in this verse. The Lord Jesus made this revelation known to us by signs. The word signs is the key word to interpret the entire book of Revelation. Revelation is a book of signs. Every number in the book of Revelation is a sign. Seven is a sign, four is a sign, twelve is a sign, and ten is a sign. The lampstands (1:11-13, 20) are signs. The Lamb who was slain (5:6) is a sign. The Lion (v. 5) is a sign. The seven stars (1:16, 20) are signs. In 4:3 the One who was sitting on the throne looks like jasper. Jasper is also a sign. In Revelation 12:1 the universal woman crowned with twelve stars, clothed with the sun, and standing on the moon is a great sign. Could such a wonderful woman be merely a single, individualistic female? It is not logical to interpret it in this way. Also in Revelation 12 is a great red dragon (v. 3). This is also a sign, as well as the man-child (v. 5). Then in the next chapter, chapter 13, we see the beast coming out of the Mediterranean Sea (vv. 1-2). That beast signifies the coming Caesar of the coming Roman Empire. It is a sign of a man (v. 18). The harvest in Revelation 14:15 is also a sign, signifying God’s living people. The firstfruits in verse 4 are a sign, which signifies the living overcomers among God’s living people. The number one hundred forty-four thousand is also a sign (v. 1). The glassy sea in 15:2 is another sign. Then in chapter 17 we see a great harlot (v. 1), Babylon the Great (v. 5). This surely will not be a physical city of Babylon, which is today’s Baghdad in Iraq. The great Babylon, the mystery, is a sign in Revelation 17. In chapter 19 we see a bride, the wife of the Lamb, who is clothed with righteousness (vv. 7-8). Do you believe that when the Lord Jesus comes back He will marry a literal woman, a single female? To interpret the signs in the Bible in this way is seriously wrong. I hope that we can see all the signs in this book. What is the last sign, then, of this book of signs? The last sign of this book, which is made known to us mainly by signs, is the New Jerusalem.
We have seen that the book of Revelation was written in the way of signs. If you say that the last sign, the New Jerusalem, is a physical, real city, then what about the lampstands as the first sign in this book? Are the seven stars in chapter 1 real stars? And what about the Lamb? Do you believe that Christ as the Lamb of God is an actual lamb with four legs and a little tail? Is the Lion of the tribe of Judah a real lion like one at the zoo? It is not logical to interpret these signs in the book of Revelation in this way. The New Jerusalem is a sign. It is not a genuine, real, physical city. The great Babylon is also a sign of the false church. The great Babylon and the New Jerusalem are two signs at the end of the book of Revelation. One city is a sign of the false church, and the other city, the holy city, signifies the ultimate consummation of the pure church. The great Babylon is called the great harlot. The New Jerusalem is called the wife of the Lamb. Since Revelation is a book written with signs, the New Jerusalem could not be an exception; it must be a sign. (CWWL, 1984, vol. 2, “Elders’ Training, Book 2: The Vision of the Lord’s Recovery,” ch. 5)
The New Jerusalem Being A Figure, Signifying an Organic Constitution
The New Jerusalem is a city, but this city is not literally physical. It is a sign, a figure, signifying an organic constitution. It is not something organized but something constituted organically. The holy city is a constitution in life of the processed Triune God mingled with His regenerated, transformed, and glorified tripartite elect. (CWWL, 1994-1997, vol. 3, “The Application of the Interpretation of the New Jerusalem to the Seeking Believers,” msg. 1)
The New Jerusalem Signifying the Aggregate of the Result of God’s Work
of the New Creation in All the Dispensations within the Old Creation
The New Jerusalem is a sign of the aggregate of the result of God’s work of the new creation in all the dispensations within the old creation. There are four dispensations: the dispensation of the patriarchs, the dispensation of the law, the dispensation of grace, and the dispensation of righteousness.
In the Dispensation of the Patriarchs, God obtained the chosen patriarchs to be the first part of the new race in His new creation, signified by the crown of twelve stars worn on the head of the universal woman in Revelation 12, for the building of the New Jerusalem as God’s expression in eternity future.
In the Dispensation of the Law, God obtained a group of people who are signified by the moon under the feet of the universal woman in Revelation 12, as the second part of the new race of the new creation, to constitute the New Jerusalem as God’s eternal expression in the new heaven and new earth.
In the Dispensation of Grace, God obtains all those who believe in Christ in the new testament as the third part and the majority of the new race in God’s new creation, signified by the sun with which the universal woman in Revelation 12 is clothed, for the accomplishment of the constitution of the New Jerusalem to be God’s ultimate and full expression in eternity.
In the dispensation of the kingdom, which is the dispensation of righteousness, God will cause the immature believers in the dispensation of grace to mature in life, and He will cause the repentant Israelites, …to become constituents of the new race in His new creation. …The people of the new race will be the constituents of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth in eternity. (Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 257)
