The twelve gates of pearl bear the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev. 21:12). This indicates that these pearls are the twelve tribes of Israel. A name always denotes the person who bears that name. Therefore, the twelve pearls must be the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve foundations of precious stones bear the names of the twelve apostles (v. 14). The twelve tribes represent the Old Testament saints, and the twelve apostles represent the New Testament saints. Although we are common believers, we are the saints. Initially, we, the saints, were pieces of clay; we were made of dust (Gen. 2:7). Eventually, through transformation by the Spirit this clay becomes precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12b; 2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Pet. 2:5). After we are saved, redeemed, and regenerated to be saints, the Spirit lives in us. Every day the indwelling Spirit works not to correct us, change us, or adjust us, but to transform us metabolically with some element, some new factor, added into our being. Every day, without our being conscious of it, the indwelling Spirit adds the new element of God into our being, and with this new element, which is divine and is even God Himself, He transforms us metabolically. For many years nearly every day I have had the feeling that the Transformer is within me. The indwelling Spirit is transforming us.

On weekends many people like to pursue pleasures for their entertainment, but the saints in the churches are happy to use the weekends to attend conferences to hear the word of God from the Lord's ministry. This is a sign of transformation. It is not necessary for me to teach the brothers that they should love their wives and should not lose their temper toward their wives. I would rather tell the brothers that God is one with them and has even become them, making them God in His divine nature and life (but not in His Godhead). We are humans, but God is making us divine. This is wonderful.

In the New Jerusalem the precious stones are we plus the Spirit. The transforming Spirit becomes one with us, His transformed ones. Therefore, the pearls are Christ and we, and the wall of precious stones is the Spirit and we. These two items, the pearls and the precious stones, indicate that the Second of the Triune God and the Third of the Triune God have made Themselves one with us. Without the Spirit it would be impossible for us as pieces of clay to become jasper, bearing the same appearance as God. But now we have the life-giving Spirit, who is actually the consummated Triune God, in us, making us one with Him. Thus, we are altogether in the organic union with the Triune God.

The New Jerusalem is a city with three elements constituted into our being to make the Triune God mingled with us, His redeemed people. On the one hand, we can say that the holy city is just the Triune God. On the other hand, we can also say that the holy city is the Triune God mingled with all His redeemed.

The earth is not our everlasting dwelling place. As God's saved ones, we are sojourners on this earth (1 Pet. 2:11). We are traveling through to reach our destination. On the one hand we can say that the Triune God is our destination, and on the other hand we can say that the holy city is our destination. This is because eventually the Triune God becomes the factors of the holy city, and we also will be made factors of the holy city. The building up of the holy city is a mingling of the Triune God in His divinity with us in our humanity. The holy city is both divine and human. It is divinely human and humanly divine. There you can meet God, and there you can meet all the redeemed, including those of the Old Testament, who bear the label of the names of the twelve tribes, and those of the New Testament, who bear the label of the names of the twelve apostles. Such a city is both God and the redeemed. This is the structure of the New Jerusalem.