Revelation 21:11 also says that New Jerusalem has the glory of God. Both inside and outside, New Jerusalem is filled with glory. Glory is everywhere. Glory is the manifestation of God. When God is manifested, that is glory. Because God is fully manifested in this city, it has the glory of God. Hence, in New Jerusalem we have regeneration, a holy walk, transformation, building, the appearance of God, and the full manifestation of God. All these aspects of New Jerusalem should be in the church today. In the church we should have the pearl gates of regeneration, the holy walk on the golden street, transformation, building, the appearance of God, and the manifestation of God.
In New Jerusalem we have the number twelve (Rev. 21:12, 14, 16, 21; 22:2). Twelve here is composed of three times four. We know this by the fact that there are three gates on each of the four sides of the city (Rev. 21:13). The number three signifies the Triune God, and the number four signifies the creature. Hence, the number twelve, composed of three times four, signifies the mingling of the Triune God with man. The entire New Jerusalem is a mingling of God with man. This tells us that the church is a matter of the mingling of the Triune God with man.
In the foregoing messages we have pointed out that the church is the constitution of Christ into human beings. This means that the church is the mingling of the Triune God with man. In the church life today we are being mingled with God. What a picture we have in Revelation 21 and 22 of the mingling of God with man! This picture is better than thousands of words.
But there is still more to be seen of New Jerusalem. In this city there is the reign, the kingship, of God (Rev. 22:1, 5). In New Jerusalem all the redeemed, regenerated, transformed, and built-up ones, those who bear the appearance of God with the glory of God, will reign as kings. This characteristic must also be found in the church today. If we are a proper church, we shall reign. A number of times we have told the Lord that we do not agree with certain events taking place in the political sphere. In our prayers we said, “Lord, we don’t agree with this.” By praying in such a way, we reign over the situation. The church in Stuttgart must reign, telling the Lord about those things that the church does not agree with.
In Revelation 21:24 we are told that the nations will walk by the light of the New Jerusalem. In eternity, all the unsaved yet restored nations will walk in the light of New Jerusalem. If the church today is strong and shining, the heathen will also walk under our light.
New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of the Bible. It is the consummation of the kernel of the Bible, Christ and the church. In all these messages, we have seen the kernel of the Bible. Although we may not know all the small streets, lanes, and alleys, we do know this main street. After reading these messages, we cannot say that we do not know this main street. Rather, we must shout, “Hallelujah, I know the main street! I don’t know so many details, but I do know the kernel of the Bible. I know the highway from the church to New Jerusalem!” We are walking, even driving, on this highway today. In all these messages we have seen this highway from Genesis through the tabernacle, the temple, the rebuilt temple, the church, and the New Jerusalem. This is the kernel of the Bible. Now we are in the church life, walking the church way toward New Jerusalem. Here we have the Triune God, the redeeming and life-dispensing God. Here we have life, light, regeneration, the holy walk, transformation, building, the appearance of God, the manifestation of God, and the divine reign. It is no wonder that the heathen are walking in the light of the church. Hallelujah! This is the church life today and the New Jerusalem in eternity.