Col 2:2 That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,
Col 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.
Eph 3:4 By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
Eph 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 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.
Rev 21:9 And 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.
Rev 21:10 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 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.
I. The central vision of God’s economy is the experience of Christ as life for the producing and building up of the church as the Body of Christ—Acts 26:19; Eph. 3:10; 1 Tim. 1:4; Col. 3:4; Eph. 1:22-23:
Acts 26:19 Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
Eph 3:10 In order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church,
1 Tim 1:4 Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.
Col 3:4 When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory.
Eph 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
A. We need to see a vision of the central matter in the Lord’s recovery today, the vision in Paul’s completing ministry—vv. 17-18a; Acts 26:19; Col. 1:25-26:
Eph 1:17 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,
Eph 1:18a The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, …
Acts 26:19 Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
Col 1:25 Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship of God, which was given to me for you, to complete the word of God,
Col 1:26 The mystery which has been hidden from the ages and from the generations but now has been manifested to His saints;
1. The central vision of Paul’s completing ministry is God in us as our contents, Christ as the mystery of God, and the church as the mystery of Christ—Rom. 9:23-24; 2 Cor. 4:7; Col. 2:2; Eph. 3:4.
Rom 9:23 In order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He had before prepared unto glory,
Rom 9:24 Even us, whom He has also called, not only from among the Jews but also from among the Gentiles?
Col 2:2 That their hearts may be comforted, they being knit together in love and unto all the riches of the full assurance of understanding, unto the full knowledge of the mystery of God, Christ,
Eph 3:4 By which, in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ,
2. The center of the Lord’s recovery is Christ and the church: Christ as the embodiment of God—the mystery of God—and the church as the expression of Christ—the mystery of Christ—Col. 2:9; Eph. 3:19b; 1 Tim. 3:15-16.
Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
Eph 3:19b that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.
1 Tim 3:15 But if I delay, I write that you may know how one ought to conduct himself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and base of the truth.
1 Tim 3:16 And confessedly, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was manifested in the flesh, / Justified in the Spirit, / Seen by angels, / Preached among the nations, / Believed on in the world, / Taken up in glory.
B. The governing vision of the Bible is the Triune God working Himself into His chosen and redeemed people in order to saturate their entire being with the Divine Trinity for the producing and building up of the church as the Body of Christ, consummating in the New Jerusalem—Eph. 4:4-6; Rev. 21:2, 9-10.
Eph 4:4 One Body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling;
Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism;
Eph 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Rev 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.
Rev 21:9 And 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.
Rev 21:10 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,
II. The high peak of the divine revelation is that God became man so that man may become God in life and nature but not in the Godhead to produce and build up the organic Body of Christ for the fulfillment of God’s economy to close this age and bring Christ back to set up His kingdom—John 1:12-14; 1 John 3:1-2; Rom. 8:3; 12:4-5; Rev. 11:15:
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name,
John 1:13 Who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.
1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are. Because of this the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is.
Rom 8:3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,
Rom 12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
Rom 12:5 So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel trumpeted; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
A. God’s economy is His intention to dispense Himself in His Divine Trinity into His chosen and redeemed people to be their life and nature so that they may be the same as He is for His corporate expression—1 Tim. 1:4; Eph. 1:3-23.
1 Tim 1:4 Nor to give heed to myths and unending genealogies, which produce questionings rather than God’s economy, which is in faith.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,
Eph 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
Eph 1:5 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in the Beloved;
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace,
Eph 1:8 Which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence,
Eph 1:9 Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself,
Eph 1:10 Unto the economy of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him;
Eph 1:11 In whom also we were designated as an inheritance, having been predestinated according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will,
Eph 1:12 That we would be to the praise of His glory who have first hoped in Christ,
Eph 1:13 In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
Eph 1:14 Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.
Eph 1:15 Therefore I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and your love to all the saints,
Eph 1:16 Do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
Eph 1:17 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,
Eph 1:18 The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength,
Eph 1:20 Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies,
Eph 1:21 Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come;
Eph 1:22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all.
B. God’s economy is that God became man to make us God in life, nature, and expression so that we may have a God-man living and become the Body of Christ—Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; 8:4, 14, 29; 12:4-5.
Rom 8:3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,
Rom 1:3 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Rom 1:4 Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;
Rom 8:4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;
Rom 12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
Rom 12:5 So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
C. God redeemed us for the purpose of making us God in life and nature so that He can have the Body of Christ, which consummates in the New Jerusalem as God’s enlargement and expression for eternity—Eph. 1:7; 4:16; Rev. 21:2.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace,
Eph 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
Rev 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.
D. It is only by God’s becoming man to make man God that the Body of Christ can be produced and built up; this is the high peak of the divine revelation given to us by God—Rom. 8:3; 1:3-4; 8:14, 16, 29; 12:4-5.
Rom 8:3 For that which the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin and concerning sin, condemned sin in the flesh,
Rom 1:3 Concerning His Son, who came out of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Rom 1:4 Who was designated the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness out of the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord;
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;
Rom 12:4 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
Rom 12:5 So we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
III. The New Jerusalem is the consummation of the central vision of God’s economy and of the high peak of the divine revelation—Rev. 21:2, 9-11:
Rev 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.
Rev 21:9 And 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.
Rev 21:10 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 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.
A. The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of the Bible, involves God becoming man and man becoming God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead—v. 2; 3:12:
Rev 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.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
1. In Christ God has become man to make man God in His life and in His nature so that the redeeming God and the redeemed man can be mingled, constituted, together to be one entity—the New Jerusalem—21:3, 22.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a loud voice out of the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will tabernacle with them, and they will be His peoples, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.
Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
2. Eventually, the triune, eternal God becomes the New Jerusalem incorporated with all of us, and we also become the New Jerusalem through the process of God’s organic salvation—Rom. 5:10; Rev. 3:12.
Rom 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
B. The New Jerusalem is the corporate God-man—the enlargement, expansion, and expression of God—the corporate God—Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10-12; Rev. 4:3; 21:10-11:
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;
Heb 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Heb 2:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers,
Heb 2:12 Saying, “I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the church I will sing hymns of praise to You.”
Rev 4:3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance, and there was a rainbow around the throne like an emerald in appearance.
Rev 21:10 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 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.
1. The New Jerusalem is a composition of divinity and humanity blended and mingled together as one entity; all the components have the same life, nature, and constitution and thus are a corporate person—vv. 2, 10-21.
Rev 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.
Rev 21:10 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 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.
Rev 21:12 It had a great and high wall and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel:
Rev 21:13 On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev 21:15 And he who spoke with me had a golden reed as a measure that he might measure the city and its gates and its wall.
Rev 21:16 And the city lies square, and its length is as great as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed to a length of twelve thousand stadia; the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
Rev 21:17 And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
Rev 21:18 And the building work of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
Rev 21:19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone: the first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
Rev 21:20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.
Rev 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was, respectively, of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
2. The New Jerusalem is the expansion and expression of the processed and consummated Triune God with His chosen, redeemed, regenerated, sanctified, renewed, transformed, built-up, conformed, and glorified people—vv. 10-11.
Rev 21:10 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 21:11 Having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, as clear as crystal.
3. The New Jerusalem is God’s enlargement and expansion, God’s expression in eternity, which is the corporate God—Gen. 1:1; John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rev. 22:17.
Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and reality.
1 Cor 15:45 …the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely.
C. The New Jerusalem is the real and consummate Shulammite—a corporate Shulammite, including all of God’s chosen and redeemed people—S. S. 6:13; Rev. 21:2, 9-10; 22:17:
S S 6:13 Return, return, O Shulammite; / Return, return, that we may gaze at you. / Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, / As upon the dance of two camps?
Rev 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.
Rev 21:9 And 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.
Rev 21:10 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 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely.
1. The wonderful Shulammite, the duplication of Solomon, is the greatest and ultimate figure of the New Jerusalem as the counterpart of Christ—S. S. 6:13; Rev. 21:2, 9-10.
S S 6:13 Return, return, O Shulammite; / Return, return, that we may gaze at you. / Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, / As upon the dance of two camps?
Rev 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.
Rev 21:9 And 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.
Rev 21:10 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,
2. As Solomon’s counterpart, the Shulammite became the same as Solomon in life, nature, and image, as Eve to Adam—Gen. 2:20-23:
Gen 2:20 And the man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of heaven and to every animal of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper as his counterpart.
Gen 2:21 And Jehovah God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place.
Gen 2:22 And Jehovah God built the rib, which He had taken from the man, into a woman and brought her to the man.
Gen 2:23 And the man said, This time this is bone of my bones / And flesh of my flesh; / This one shall be called Woman / Because out of Man this one was taken.
a. This signifies that the lover of Christ becomes the same as He is in life, nature, and image to match Him for their marriage—2 Cor. 3:18; Rom. 8:29; Rev. 19:7; 21:2.
2 Cor 3:18 But we all with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting like a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord Spirit.
Rom 8:29 Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers;
Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.
Rev 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.
b. The many lovers of Christ eventually will become duplications of God in life and in nature but not in the Godhead; this is the fulfillment of God becoming man so that man may become God, which is the high peak of the divine revelation.
3. The wife of Christ and Christ will be joined together to be the New Jerusalem for God’s expression; this is the consummated Shulammite—22:17.
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! And let him who is thirsty come; let him who wills take the water of life freely.
D. The New Jerusalem is the universal golden lampstand, the ultimate consummation of the lampstands in the Scriptures—1:12, 20; 21:18b, 23-24a; Exo. 25:31-37; 1 Kings 7:49; Zech. 4:2:
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Rev 21:18b …and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Rev 21:24a And the nations will walk by its light;…
Exo 25:31 And you shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand with its base and its shaft shall be made of beaten work; its cups, its calyxes, and its blossom buds shall be of one piece with it.
Exo 25:32 And there shall be six branches going out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand out of one of its sides, and three branches of the lampstand out of its other side;
Exo 25:33 Three cups made like almond blossoms in one branch, a calyx and a blossom bud; and three cups made like almond blossoms in the other branch, a calyx and a blossom bud-so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
Exo 25:34 And there shall be on the lampstand four cups made like almond blossoms, its calyxes and its blossom buds;
Exo 25:35 And a calyx under two branches of one piece with it, and a calyx under two branches of one piece with it, and a calyx under two branches of one piece with it, for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
Exo 25:36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it one beaten work of pure gold.
Exo 25:37 And you shall make its lamps, seven; and set up its lamps to give light to the area in front of it.
1 Kings 7:49 And the lampstands of pure gold, five on the right and five on the left, before the innermost sanctuary; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold;
Zech 4:2 And he said to me, What do you see? And I said, I see that there is a lampstand all of gold, with its bowl on top of it and its seven lamps upon it, with seven pipes for each of the lamps on top of it;
1. The churches as golden lampstands will be consummated in the New Jerusalem, the aggregate of all the lampstands—Rev. 1:20; 21:18b, 23.
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Rev 21:18b …and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
2. The New Jerusalem, a mountain of gold, is the universal golden lampstand holding the Lamb as the lamp shining out God as the light—vv. 18, 23; 22:1, 5.
Rev 21:18 And the building work of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Rev 22:1 And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.
Rev 22:5 And night will be no more; and they have no need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine upon them; and they will reign forever and ever.
3. The New Jerusalem, the aggregate of all the lampstands, the totality of today’s lampstands, is a consummate, universal golden lampstand to shine forth God’s glory in the new heaven and new earth for eternity—21:24.
Rev 21:24 And the nations will walk by its light; and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.
4. The golden lampstand signifies the Triune God embodied and expressed, and the more we experience the aspects of the Triune God depicted in the lampstand, the more we will be in reality the golden lampstand as the embodiment and expression of the Triune God and thus become the New Jerusalem as the universal golden lampstand—1:12, 20; 21:18.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Rev 21:18 And the building work of its wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
IV. In His ministry in the stage of intensification, Christ as the sevenfold intensified Spirit produces the overcomers, who return to the orthodoxy of the church, overcome the degradation of the church, build up the Body of Christ, and consummate the New Jerusalem—1:4; 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21:
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
Rev 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and to him I will give a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will be clothed thus, in white garments, and I shall by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
A. Because of the degradation of the church, Christ as the life-giving Spirit has been intensified sevenfold to become the seven Spirits—the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit—to produce the overcomers—1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 3:13.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Rev 4:5 And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Rev 5:6 And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
B. In overcoming the degradation of the churches, the overcomers return to the orthodoxy of the church and overcome satanic Judaism, demonic Catholicism, and dead and Christless Protestantism—2:9-10, 24-28; 3:1-5, 20-21.
Rev 2:9 I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich) and the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10 Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev 2:24 But I say to you-the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they Say-I put no other burden upon you;
Rev 2:25 Nevertheless what you have hold fast until I come.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 2:27 And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father;
Rev 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.
Rev 3:1 And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead.
Rev 3:2 Become watchful and establish the things which remain, which were about to die; for I have found none of your works completed before My God.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and keep it and repent. If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you.
Rev 3:4 But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white because they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will be clothed thus, in white garments, and I shall by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.
Rev 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
C. The overcomers overcome anything that is against Christ or that replaces Christ—1 John 2:18, 22; Phil. 3:7-11.
1 John 2:18 Young children, it is the last hour; and even as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come; whereby we know that it is the last hour.
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.
Phil 3:7 But what things were gains to me, these I have counted as loss on account of Christ.
Phil 3:8 But moreover I also count all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ
Phil 3:9 And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is out of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is out of God and based on faith,
Phil 3:10 To know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
Phil 3:11 If perhaps I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.
D. The overcomers are for the building up of the Body of Christ to consummate the New Jerusalem—Eph. 4:12, 16; Rev. 2:7b; 3:12, 21:
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints unto the work of the ministry, unto the building up of the Body of Christ,
Eph 4:16 Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love.
Rev 2:7b …to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
1. Without the overcomers the Body of Christ cannot be built up, and unless the Body of Christ is built up, Christ cannot come back for His bride—19:7-9.
Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.
Rev 19:8 And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.
Rev 19:9 And he said to me, Write, Blessed are they who are called to the marriage dinner of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true words of God.
2. The building up of the Body of Christ is by the overcomers produced by Christ as the sevenfold intensified life-giving Spirit—1:4; 4:5; 5:6; 3:1, 12.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Rev 4:5 And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Rev 5:6 And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Rev 3:1 And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
3. The building up of the Body of Christ by the overcomers in this age is for the initial consummation of the New Jerusalem in the kingdom age and eventually for the full consummation of the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth—2:7; 3:12; 21:2.
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 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.
E. “I will write upon him [the overcomer] the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name”—3:12b:
Rev 3:12b …I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
1. That the name of God, the name of the New Jerusalem, and the name of the Lord are written on the overcomer indicates that what God is, the nature of the New Jerusalem, and the person of the Lord have all been wrought into the overcomer.
2. The mentioning of the New Jerusalem as a prize to the overcomer indicates that this promise will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom; the New Jerusalem in the millennium will be a prize only to the overcomers.
REVELATION 1—3
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,
Rev 1:2 Who testified the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even all that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things written in it, for the time is near.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood
Rev 1:6 And made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.
Rev 1:7 Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the land will mourn over Him. Yes, amen.
Rev 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.
Rev 1:9 I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Rev 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14 And His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 And His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Rev 1:16 And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun shines in its power.
Rev 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead; and He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear; I am the First and the Last
Rev 1:18 And the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Rev 1:19 Write therefore the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which are about to take place after these things.
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Rev 2:1 To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
Rev 2:2 I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you cannot bear evil men; and you have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false;
Rev 2:3 And you have endurance and have borne all things because of My name and have not grown weary.
Rev 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works; but if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.
Rev 2:6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
Rev 2:8 And to the messenger of the church in Smyrna write: These things says the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again:
Rev 2:9 I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich) and the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10 Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:12 And to the messenger of the church in Pergamos write: These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
Rev 2:13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against you, that you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol sacrifices and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15 In the same way you also have some who hold in like manner the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Rev 2:16 Repent therefore; but if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of My mouth.
Rev 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and to him I will give a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.
Rev 2:18 And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze:
Rev 2:19 I know your works and love and faith and service and your endurance and that your last works are more than the first.
Rev 2:20 But I have something against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, she who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads My slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices.
Rev 2:21 And I gave her time that she might repent, and she is not willing to repent of her fornication.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her, into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works;
Rev 2:23 And her children I will kill with death; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the inward parts and the hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your works.
Rev 2:24 But I say to you—the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they say—I put no other burden upon you;
Rev 2:25 Nevertheless what you have hold fast until I come.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 2:27 And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father;
Rev 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.
Rev 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:1 And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead.
Rev 3:2 Become watchful and establish the things which remain, which were about to die; for I have found none of your works completed before My God.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and keep it and repent. If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you.
Rev 3:4 But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white because they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will be clothed thus, in white garments, and I shall by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev 3:6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:7 And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens:
Rev 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.
Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, those who call themselves Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will cause them to come and fall prostrate before your feet and to know that I have loved you.
Rev 3:10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.
Rev 3:11 I come quickly; hold fast what you have that no one take your crown.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:14 And to the messenger of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
Rev 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of My mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because you say, I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love I rebuke and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.
Rev 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
Rev 3:22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
