Let us now consider further some of the crucial terms found in the Gospel of John and in the book of Revelation. Firstly, in John 1:1, we have the eternal Word. The “beginning” in this verse certainly refers to eternity past, indicating that the Word is the eternal Word. As this verse makes clear, the Word was God. One day, this Word, who was God, became flesh (John 1:14). According to the theological mentality, we are accustomed to saying that the Son of God was incarnated. This, of course, is correct. However, if you read the New Testament, you will not find a word saying that the Son of God was incarnated. Although this fact is true, the New Testament does not express it this way. This is the traditional theological teaching of the incarnation. But do not misunderstand me and think that I do not believe that the incarnation was of the Son of God. I believe it at least as much as you do. I believe that the incarnation was of the Son of God. But the New Testament says that the Word, which was in the beginning, became flesh. It was not only the Son of God who became flesh; it was the very God who was incarnated. John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, said of this Word who had become flesh, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Thus, in the first half of John chapter one we have the Word, God, the flesh, and the Lamb.
In Revelation, we see that the Lamb of God is the Lion. One of the angelic elders, not a human being, introduced Christ in this way, recommending Him as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5). Revelation 5:6 says that on this Lamb there are seven eyes. The mention of the Lion refers to Genesis 49, and the word about the seven eyes points back to the book of Zechariah, which speaks of the seven eyes on the stone. Hence, the Lamb is also the stone. In other words, the Redeemer who took away the sin of the world has become the building stone, the building One.
This concept is not new. Before the Lord Jesus was crucified, He indicated to the Jewish builders that they were not only rejecting the Redeemer but also the cornerstone (Matt. 21:42). I believe that as the Lord Jesus was talking to them, He fully realized that He was the stone spoken of in Zechariah 3:9, the stone that had seven eyes and that, by being engraved, would remove the iniquity of the people in one day. He knew that He would be engraved by God to take away the iniquity of God’s people in one day so that God could have His building.
Both the Lamb and the stone, redemption and building, are connected by the seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God and the seven lamps burning before His administrating throne. Therefore, we have the Word, God, the flesh, the Lamb, the Lion, the stone, the seven eyes, the seven Spirits, and the seven lamps. Ultimately, we have the building, God’s eternal habitation, the New Jerusalem. None of these words are my interpretation; rather, they are my quotation. I am simply pointing out ten crucial terms found in the Bible: the Word, God, the flesh, the Lamb, the Lion, the stone, the seven eyes, the seven Spirits, the seven lamps, and the New Jerusalem. When we put all these terms together, like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that are scattered here and there in various books of the Bible, we really see something. If we would pray over these ten items, we would see the vision that the New Jerusalem is the consummate enlargement of God.
In the beginning was the Word, the expression, of God. One day, the very God, expressed as the Word, became flesh. This was His first step to enlarge Himself. This flesh was the Lamb of the righteous God, the God who judges and condemns sin. The Lamb took away sin to fulfill God’s righteous requirements. This was the second step of God’s enlargement. When He was crucified, He was engraved, and this engraving removed the iniquity of God’s people in one day. In addition to this, He is also the Lion, indicating that He has defeated all the enemies. As the Lion He has accomplished an absolute defeat of the enemy. He is both the redeeming Lamb and the overcoming Lion for the enlargement of God. This Lion-Lamb is now the stone. Do you know what the Lord Jesus is today? He is the stone. He is the Lamb and the Lion in order to be the stone. Having removed the iniquity and having defeated all the enemies, He is now building. This age is not the age merely of the Lamb and of the Lion; it is mainly the age of the stone. Now we can understand why, in His last visit to Jerusalem, the Lord Jesus indicated to the Jewish builders that they were rejecting not only the Lamb, the Redeemer, and the Lion, the Overcomer, but also the stone, the head cornerstone. After His death and resurrection, the age became the age of the church, which is God’s building. For the building of the church, Christ is the rock. As He Himself told Peter, “You are a stone, and on this rock I will build My church” (Matt. 16:18, lit.). After the crucifixion and the resurrection, the age became the age of the rock, the age of the stone. This is the age of building.
Christianity, having missed the mark, nearly makes this age simply an age of redemption. Some of the so-called inner life Christians have proceeded a little further and speak about the overcoming Lion. It seems that throughout the centuries no one has ever realized that this age is not merely the age of redemption and of overcoming, but mainly of the building. Christ today is the stone. We all must see that this age is the building age. Praise the Lord that He is now the Lion-Lamb-stone. His victory and His redemption both were for Him to be the stone. If He had not defeated the enemy and removed iniquity, there would have been no way for Him to accomplish God’s building work. Hallelujah, our Lord Jesus is now the Lion-Lamb-stone!
This stone has seven eyes. This is the crucial point. These seven eyes are the seven Spirits of God, and the seven Spirits of God are the seven burning, flaming lamps. What is the function of the eyes? Certainly, it is seeing. The seven eyes of Christ, however, are not for seeing things but for Him to see us, to look at us. Undoubtedly, the seven eyes of the building stone are for transfusing and infusing. Whenever He looks at us, we can understand if He is happy or unhappy. There is no need for Him to say anything. By looking at us, He transfuses all that He is into our being. Hence, the eyes are for transfusing and infusing. As we have already mentioned, the seven Spirits of God are for the imparting of life because, in the Bible, the Spirit is the Spirit of life. The seven lamps are for enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging in God’s move. This is for God’s administration. The transfusing by the eyes, the imparting of life by the Spirits of God, and the enlightening, searching, exposing, and judging by the seven lamps are all found in the book of Revelation. All this is for the New Jerusalem. Before we came into the church, we never heard anything like this. But after we were in the church, we experienced something shining in us to search out every secret of our entire life.