Without such an allegory of a city at the end of the Bible with three gates on each of its four sides, it would be difficult to understand and to see the triune entrance. Ephesians 2:18 covers all three aspects of the triune entrance. This verse says, “For through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father.” We were sinners who were far away from the Father, far away from the commonwealth of Israel, far away from God’s interest, far away from the kingdom of God, and far away from the ultimate consummation of God’s economy, the New Jerusalem. But, hallelujah! The Son came to be our channel and through this channel we get into the Spirit, and the Spirit brings us unto the Father. We may also say that through Christ we have access in one Spirit into the Father. We do not only come unto the Father but we also come into Him. Through the Son as a channel and by the Spirit as a sphere we have been brought not only unto the Father but also into the Father. The three persons of the Godhead are the three gates which form one complete entrance.
First Peter 1:1-2 tells us that we have been chosen “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” The foreknowledge of God the Father was exercised in eternity past. The span of this entrance began from eternity past. Then in time the Spirit came to sanctify us, and the Spirit’s sanctification is based upon the Father’s choosing. The Spirit came to you based upon the Father’s selection of you. Your obedience unto faith in Christ resulted from the Spirit’s sanctifying work. You may have been very busy in many other things, but the Spirit sanctified and separated you. This sanctifying and separating work resulted in our receiving the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ and we were redeemed. In 1 Peter 1:1-2 we see the Father’s choosing, the Spirit’s sanctifying, and the sprinkling of the Son’s blood. Again we see that God is triune in one entrance to bring us into God, into God’s interest, into the kingdom of God, and into the economy of God, which will consummate in the New Jerusalem. The Bible reveals that the Triune God is our Triune entrance.
The twelve gates as the entrance of the New Jerusalem are on four sides of the earth (Rev. 21:13), signifying that the entrance of the New Jerusalem is toward all the inhabited earth (Matt. 8:11). It is available to all the peoples on the earth (Rev. 5:9).
In our fellowship concerning the gates of the New Jerusalem we will use the words entrance and entry. Entrance will be used to denote the gates and entry will be used to denote the entering in. We need to consider how we entered into the kingdom of God in our experience. When we heard the preaching of the gospel the Spirit worked within us. We then believed in Jesus Christ and were touched by the Spirit to call on the name of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God who became incarnated to be our Redeemer. Eventually we reached the Father and were brought into the Father. This is the triune entry.
No one can enter into God without the inspiration of the Spirit and without the redemption of the Son. In order to enter into the Father there is the need of the Spirit and the Son. We entered into the Father through the Son as a channel and in the Spirit as a sphere. In the ultimate consummation of the entire revelation of the sixty-six books of the Bible there is an allegory, a picture, showing us how to enter into God through three gates. We enter into God through the triune entrance. The Son is the channel, the Spirit is the sphere, and the Father is the very destination. Now we are in the Father, in His kingdom, in His interest, and in the church. Eventually we will be in the New Jerusalem.
In the New Jerusalem are the twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles, twelve gates which are twelve pearls with the names of the twelve tribes, and twelve fruits of the tree of life. Spacewise the city proper is twelve thousand stadia, one thousand times twelve, in three dimensions, and its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, which is twelve times twelve. Timewise, in the new heaven and new earth, there are twelve months yearly, twelve hours daily, and twelve hours nightly. Twelve is the number of the New Jerusalem.
There are three gates on each of the four sides of the holy city. Three multiplied by four is twelve; therefore, there are a total of twelve gates on four sides. The number four refers to God’s creation. In Revelation 4:6 we see that the four living creatures represent all other living creatures (cf. Ezek. 1:5-14). Four refers to us as God’s creatures and three refers to the Triune God. The number twelve in the New Jerusalem is not arrived at by an addition but by multiplication. Multiplication is a blending or a mingling. The number twelve is mingled or blended by three times four. This means that the entire New Jerusalem is a blending, a mingling, of the Triune God with us human beings. God is mingled with His creature man in His eternal administration in the New Jerusalem.
Twelve is the number of absolute perfection and eternal completion in God’s administration. In the Old Testament, God administrated His government through the twelve tribes. The twelve tribes were for God’s administration. In the New Testament the twelve apostles’ preaching was for the producing of the churches, and the churches are God’s government for God’s administration. Thus, both the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New Testament are for God’s governmental administration. The number twelve indicates God’s governmental administration and the entire New Jerusalem will be the consummation of God’s administration. This is why the center of the New Jerusalem is God’s throne, which is mainly for God’s governmental administration.
This administration has twelve gates. The gates are for communication, coming in and going out. Hence, “twelve gates” indicate that the communication in the New Jerusalem is absolutely perfect and eternally complete for God’s administration.