239 The Revelation of Jesus Christ 21: 1-3.} To grasp the teaching of chapters twenty-one and twenty-two, these "two descendings" of the New Jerusalem must be kept differentiated. The New Jerusalem during the millennium will be filled with the glory of God, and hung as a lamp to lighten the earth below with holy light. The earthly Jerusalem, the seat of the Great King, will be lighted by beams of glory from the heavenly city. As it is written: "Arise, shine; for thy light ls come, and the glory of the Lord ls risen upon thee" (Isa. 60: 1). From 21 :11-27, we have the marvelous description of this heavenly city. What a place of incomparable beauty it must be! If the language is figurative, how much more glorious the reality must be! It is a literal city, a city that is caHed "con tinuing," as contrasted with the perishing and fleeting cities of this earth. One scarcely need comment on the significance of the stones, the gates, the colors. The materials, as a whole, are intended to convey something to our minds of what the glory and bliss of heaven wi11 be. Time does not permit us to go into all the details, but we shall take up a few of the most The New Jerusalem of John's vision had "a wall great and high ... and the building of the wall of it was of jasper." Jasper is symbolic of the glory of God. The wall speaks of protection and separation. The church now should have a wall, not of brick and mortar, but a wall of jasper, as it were. The people of God are to reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ now by lives that are pure; and in that coming day we shall do this perfectly. 3. "Twelve Gates" (21: 12, I3). prominent points and comment upon them. 2. "A Wall Great and High," (21:12}. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written upon the gates which John saw. This again is in perfect order and harmony with every other truth about the heavenly city. You will recall that Lot sat at the gate at Sodom, the place of judgment; and twelve is the number that speaks of "adminis trative completeness." The Lord, with His church, wilJ gov ern the whole earth through the twelve tribes; therefore, it is•
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