After this, God caused all the living creatures that He had created to pass before Adam to see what he would call them. However, Adam could not find one that matched him (vv. 19-20). Therefore, God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, took a rib from his side, and built this rib into a woman (v. 22). Then God brought this woman to the man, and Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh" (v. 23). The woman was a proper match for Adam, and the two of them became one flesh (v. 24). God made man in one way and the woman in another way. In making man, God formed a piece of clay to be man's body, breathed the breath of life into it, and caused it to become a living soul. In making the woman, God caused the man to sleep, and from a rib out of his side He built a woman. The man was made of two materials, clay and the breath of life out of God's mouth, but the woman was built of one material, the rib from the man's side.

At the end of the Bible a wonderful city is revealed, a city of gold with twelve pearl gates and with a foundation of precious stones. In the early days of our gospel preaching we referred to this city as a heavenly mansion and encouraged people to believe in Jesus in order to flee from the lake of fire and go to this mansion. Eventually, however, we saw that this wonderful city was not a heavenly mansion. Revelation 21:10 says that John saw the holy city "coming down out of heaven from God." In that day, if we go to heaven, we will find that the "mansion" has come down to the earth. This revelation caused us to begin to see the real significance of the New Jerusalem (see Hymns, #971-985). Eventually, we saw that the end of the Bible and the beginning of the Bible reflect each other. In Genesis 2 there is a garden with a tree and a flowing river, and there are the precious materials. Moreover, there is a man who marries a bride. In Revelation 21 and 22 there are the same items, but the garden has become a city. In the beginning there was a garden, not built but natural and created by God. At the end of the Bible, however, the garden is transformed into a city. In this city also there are the tree of life and the river (Rev. 22:1-2). This city is built with gold, pearl, and precious stones, which are the same as the materials in Genesis 2. Moreover, the city itself is the bride, and the Triune God in the Lamb is the Husband (Rev. 21:9-10). They are a universal couple.

Among the great writers in church history, very few have written according to this revelation. Brother Nee helped us somewhat to see this revelation. Tersteegen, a German writer of several centuries ago, indicated that the New Jerusalem is a composition of the beloved believers, and Brother T. Austin-Sparks also indicated that the New Jerusalem is not a physical city and that whatever was there in Genesis 2, including the tree of life and the river, are symbols. He said that all these items refer to the divine things. Since the divine things are spiritual and mysterious, the human mind cannot understand them. Therefore, God used symbols to symbolize, to portray, them. It is the same with the New Jerusalem. Revelation 1:1b says, "And He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John." The Lord Jesus spoke to John with signs, not with clear words. Therefore, the book of Revelation contains many signs. The first sign is the lampstands, signifying the local churches (1:12). Another sign is the Lamb (5:6), signifying the Lord Jesus. The city in Revelation 21 and 22 is also a symbol, a sign. Therefore, there is the need to study its significance. We have studied the New Jerusalem for more than thirty years, and bit by bit we have received a revelation. We have seen that the New Jerusalem is God's heart's desire. God desires to have such a city, and we will all be in that holy city. Actually, we have been built into the city already, because the names of the twelve apostles, who are our representatives, are written on the twelve foundations (21:14). Moreover, the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are written on the twelve gates of the city (v. 12). In our view, the building of the New Jerusalem has not yet been completed, but in God's view, the building was finished even before the creation of the world. With God, there is only eternity; there is no time. Thus, most of the verbs in the book of Revelation are in the past tense. In God's eyes, everything related to the building of the New Jerusalem has been completed already.

Genesis 2 speaks of the precious material of bdellium, while Revelation 21 mentions pearl in its place (v. 21). In Genesis 2 there was no sin, so there was no need of redemption. However, after Genesis 2, sin came in. Bdellium is a fragrant resin which comes from a tree. Pearl, on the other hand, is a substance formed from the secretion of the life juice of a wounded oyster, an animal. If we did not need redemption, we would not need the animal life and its blood. We would only need the plant life to support us. Because of sin, however, we need redemption, and redemption requires the blood of the animal life.

Revelation 21:23 says of the New Jerusalem, "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." The New Jerusalem will need no natural light because our Triune God is not only our light but also our lamp. If we have light without a lamp, the light is not properly formed. We may illustrate this by electricity. Electricity produces light, but the light is in a light bulb. Without a light bulb, the electricity by itself might harm us. Christ is the lamp, and God within Him is the light. This means that the Triune God is our light, and He is properly formed in His embodiment, the Son. The principle is the same with the lampstand. The lampstand is the form, and within the lampstand there is the burning oil. Moreover, seven lamps are on one lampstand (Exo. 25:37; Zech. 4:2; Rev. 4:5) to express the light, and the lamps contain the light that the lampstand gives. Today our light is not only Christ but Christ as the lamp with God as the light.

Revelation 22:3 goes on to speak of "the throne of God and of the Lamb." God and the Lamb sit on one throne. They do not sit side by side. Rather, one is sitting within the other. God sits in the Lamb, and the Lamb sits in God. God and the Lamb coinhere; They are one. They are one light, and They are One sitting on one throne.