Many of the divine revelations in the Bible are fulfilled in the book of Revelation, for the record in the book of Revelation is the conclusion of the entire Scriptures. The center of the entire Bible is that God wants to work Himself into man to the extent that He is fully mingled with man. In other words, He desires that His divinity would be mingled with humanity and humanity would be mingled with His divinity, so that God and man, man and God would be fully mingled as one.
Even though divinity and humanity are two entirely different natures, the work of God throughout all the generations is to work these two natures into one, that divinity may be in humanity, and humanity in divinity, to the extent that you would not be able to see God without seeing man or see man without seeing God. In the end, at the consummation of God’s work, you will be able to smell humanity when you touch divinity and taste divinity when you touch humanity, because at that time God and man, man and God will be fully mingled as one. God will then be able to say that we are the same as He is, and we also will be able to say that God is the same as we are. At that time God and man will be in complete harmony. God and we, we and God will become fully one and will be inseparable. Apart from the Godhead, we will be one hundred percent exactly the same as God (cf. 1 John 3:2).
The first mention of man in the Bible is God’s creation of man in His image (Gen. 1:26). Although man is man, he has the image of God. It is obvious from the Scriptures that in God’s heart, He wants to work in man to the point that man is exactly the same as He is. God’s work in man to make man exactly the same as He is began in Genesis. From Genesis 2 on, God has been continually working. Even after His birth, the Lord Jesus still told us, “My Father is working until now, and I also am working” (John 5:17). This shows us that this work has not yet ceased and has not yet been accomplished.
This work was not accomplished when the Lord Jesus was on the earth, and though the Holy Spirit descended almost two thousand years ago, this work is still not yet accomplished. God’s work throughout the generations will not be accomplished until the day that the holy city, New Jerusalem, is manifested. This holy city, New Jerusalem, is the issue of God’s work throughout the generations. The entire Bible reveals to us that the ultimate issue and product of God’s work will be the New Jerusalem. What is the New Jerusalem? The New Jerusalem is the totality of God’s work, the issue of God’s work throughout the ages and generations. The glory, radiance, color, and appearance of the New Jerusalem are exactly the same as God in His glory, radiance, color, and appearance.
Revelation 4 shows us a picture of the image of God. This chapter says that there is a throne set in heaven and upon the throne there is One sitting. We all know that the One on the throne is God, because the seven Spirits which come forth out of the throne are the seven Spirits of God (v. 5). Moreover, in the midst of the One sitting on the throne and the seven Spirits which come forth out of the throne, is a Lamb standing as having just been slain (5:6). Who is the Lamb standing as having just been slain? He is Christ, the Son of God. The Divine Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is expressed on and around the throne, comes forth out of the throne, and is sent forth into all the earth.
The One who is sitting on the throne is God, and God is both a consuming fire and Spirit (Heb. 12:29; John 4:24). In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu came before God, but because they violated the statute of God, fire came out and consumed them (vv. 1-2). The Bible tells us that God dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). This light, no doubt, comes out of the consuming fire. On the one hand, God comes out as Spirit, and on the other hand, He comes out as consuming fire. Hence, the seven lamps of fire that come forth out of the throne are the seven Spirits of God. Why are the seven Spirits of God seven lamps of fire before the throne? The seven Spirits are seven lamps of fire because God is a consuming fire, and what is diffused from Him must also be fire. The fire that is diffused from God is contained in lamps, so that God can approach man. If God were only the fire but not the lamps of fire, no one would dare approach Him. Thank the Lord that when He is diffused from His throne, He is lamps of fire, so that man may approach Him. The lamps of fire are God Himself. In addition, because God is Spirit, what is diffused from Him is also Spirit.