We must have a clear view about the entire Bible. The Bible, comprised of sixty-six holy books, is the divine revelation. The New Jerusalem is the conclusion of such a great book. Also, in this great book, God’s economy, His eternal purpose, His eternal plan, is fully revealed with His divine purpose, which is the highest purpose in the universe. The New Jerusalem is the conclusion of this purpose, of this plan, of this economy.
We must also see that none of the sixty-six books of the Bible has an adequate conclusion. Genesis does not have one. This book is concluded with a dead man in a coffin, buried in Egypt (50:26). Is that a satisfactory conclusion? Then the book of Exodus concludes with something glorious, which is quite in contrast to the conclusion of Genesis—a tabernacle filled with God’s glory (40:34). Even though this conclusion is glorious, it is still not adequate. Matthew concludes with a kind of commission. The Lord charges the disciples to go to disciple the nations and baptize them into the Triune God (28:19-20). Again, this is not an adequate conclusion. The book of John concludes with the matter of fishing (21:1-14) and in the Acts we could not see an actual conclusion. The last verse of Acts says that Paul was “proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unhindered” (28:31). Only one book of the sixty-six books of the Bible, Revelation, has the conclusion of the Bible, because all of the sixty-six books are concluded with one item—the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the total conclusion of the sixty-six books, the entire, total conclusion of 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.
Based upon these few points which I have mentioned, we can realize that the New Jerusalem surely could never be a physical mansion for God’s redeemed to lodge in for eternity. It is too low to say this. This is like the conclusion of a kindergarten textbook. Surely the holy writings as the entire revelation of the great, purposeful God would not end in this way. The New Jerusalem must be the consummation of the Triune God with His economy and the consummation of the wonderful church and the marvelous kingdom. The significance of this consummation must fit all these points. 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.
In order to understand the New Jerusalem properly, I would like to present six reasons why the New Jerusalem could not be a physical mansion.
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” (Rev. 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 (5:5) 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 thirteen, 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 firstfruit in Revelation 14:4 is 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 seventeen we see a great prostitute (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 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.