The Bible is not a book of religion, philosophy, or something invented by the human mentality, but it is God’s revelation of the divine life. The Bible, of course, covers many things but its focus and very central thought is the divine life. Our human life is a mystery and the divine life is even more abstract and mysterious. No human words in human language can fully utter the mystery of this divine life. Therefore, God exercised His wisdom to reveal such a mystery concerning His divine life by many allegories.
Many Bible students and teachers are insistent upon not using too many allegories. Paul, however, in Galatians 4 said that Sarah and Hagar and each of their sons were an allegory. Sarah and Hagar represented two covenants (vv. 22-24). Without Paul’s writing in Galatians 4 none of us would dream that these two women were an allegory of the two covenants. Paul, though, received this revelation probably with the realization that it would be hard for us to understand the two covenants in such a marvelous way without the allegory of these two women. Also, the Lord Jesus and the other apostles pointed out items in the Old Testament which were allegories to reveal the unutterable revelations of the divine life. The greatest allegory in the Bible is in its last two chapters, and this allegory is the ultimate consummation of the divine revelation—the New Jerusalem. Throughout the centuries, the New Jerusalem has been a puzzle to all the students and teachers of the Bible. However, in the last thirty years by the Lord’s mercy, this puzzle has been brought into a fuller light. In order for us to receive a vision of the holy city we need to be uplifted to a “high mountain” that we may see God’s dwelling place for the fulfilling of His eternal purpose (Rev. 21:10).
In this one allegory it is possible for one to see nearly every single divine point revealed in the Bible. If we know the Bible, we can see that the most central and most mysterious point in it is the divine Trinity. The main and basic structure of this allegory of the New Jerusalem is the divine Trinity. It is not possible to understand the structure of this allegory unless you enter into the entire Bible to see all the points revealed concerning the divine Trinity. The divine Trinity is the most basic and chief attribute of God’s divine Person. Love, light, and life are a few of the many attributes of God’s divine Person, but the most basic attribute of God is the Trinity. It is easier to explain what love, light, and grace are as attributes of God, but it is really hard for anyone to define what the divine Trinity is. The divine Trinity is the greatest and the basic attribute of God.
The first divine title revealed in the Bible implies God in His Trinity. The word for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim which is plural in number. Then in Genesis 1:26, God refers to Himself as “Us.” In the Bible there is one God, but this one God is the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the Trinity. By studying the sixty-six books of the Bible, we can conclude that the divine Trinity is for His dispensing. As the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, He dispenses Himself into His chosen people, and this dispensing is the main operation, the main goal, of God’s being triune. The divine Trinity is for the divine dispensing, and this dispensing consummates in the New Jerusalem.
In the New Jerusalem there are three gates on four sides and the New Jerusalem is constructed with three basic elements—gold, pearls, and precious stones. The reason why the number three is so prevalent in the New Jerusalem is that this number represents the divine Trinity. In this chapter and in the remaining chapters we will see that every aspect of the New Jerusalem is triune. Without such an allegory, it would be impossible to understand such a divine mystery of God dispensing Himself to consummate in a wonderful, divine building—the New Jerusalem.