Revelation 21:9 refers to the New Jerusalem as the wife of the Lamb, indicating that Christ is the Husband of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2). The New Jerusalem comes out of the Lamb, who has accomplished an eternal redemption, and returns to Him to be one with Him, as Eve came out of Adam and returned to Adam to be one with him.
Revelation 21:22 says, “And I saw no temple in it, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” There is no temple in the New Jerusalem; the Lord God the Almighty and Christ the Lamb are its temple. This temple, according to the original text, does not refer to the entire temple including the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies; rather, it refers to the inner temple, the Holy of Holies. This inner temple is the almighty God and Christ as the Lamb, signifying that God and Christ Themselves will be the place in which we serve God in the new heaven and new earth. The holy city as the tabernacle of God (Rev. 21:3) is for God to dwell in, and God and the Lamb as the temple are for us to dwell in (cf. Psa. 27:4; 92:13). In the new heaven and new earth, the holy city New Jerusalem will be a mutual dwelling place for both God and man for eternity.
Revelation 21:23 says, “And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” The glory of God illuminating the city indicates that God is the light shining in the holy city. The Lamb as the lamp shines with God as the light to illumine the city with the glory of God, and through the city He shines over the nations around it (Rev. 21:24). In the millennium the light of the sun and the moon will be intensified (Isa. 30:26). The sun and the moon will be in the new heaven and new earth, but they will not be needed in the New Jerusalem, for God, the divine light, will shine much more brightly, far above the natural light of the sun and moon. In eternity future, God as the transcendent light will shine over the entire city through the Lamb-Christ, and He will also shine out of the holy city over the nations, the citizens on the new earth. Thus, the nations will walk in the shining of the holy city.
Revelation 22:1 says, “...a river of water of life...proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” God and the Lamb are one, because God is the light and the Lamb is the lamp; the light is in the lamp, and the two are one. God and the Lamb are just one—the redeeming God. The throne of God and the Lamb is the throne of the redeeming God, the throne of the Lamb-Christ. The river of water of life in the holy city flows as a spiral through the entire city. This indicates that the throne, out from which flows the river of water of life, is the center of the holy city; the redeeming God who sits on the throne is the Lamb-Christ, who of course will be the center of the holy city. The temple is for God’s expression; the throne is for God’s administration. God’s throne of administration is in the temple of His expression. This indicates that in the coming eternity the Lamb-Christ will be God’s Administrator in the center of the New Jerusalem, that God’s expression may extend to the circumference of the holy city.
In the preceding text we have seen that there is a river of water of life flowing as a spiral through the entire city. On this side and on that side of the river is the tree of life, signifying Christ as life, producing twelve fruits for the supply and satisfaction of the entire city (Rev. 22:2)—all the redeemed ones throughout all generations. This portrays how the processed Triune God—God, the Lamb, and the Spirit, symbolized by the water of life—dispenses Himself as the immeasurable One, embodied in the all-inclusive Christ, to His redeemed under His headship to be their supply and satisfaction unto eternity. Furthermore, the leaves of the tree of life, which tree signifies Christ, will be for the healing of the restored nations, who will be God’s people forever on the new earth (Rev. 22:2), to enable them to live forever.
The items discussed briefly above present a general sketch to show us that in eternity future the all-inclusive, glorious Christ as the embodiment of the divine Trinity is incomparably glorious and full of the abundant life to the uttermost in the various aspects of His manifestation as our eternal, immeasurable supply and enjoyment. He is worthy to receive our eternal appreciation and worship!