9. Chapter VIII
The Eternal Purpose (1906)
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Chapter VIII
The Great Salvation
Breadth of the Great Salvation. - Salvation out of Zion. - Where is Zion? - God is Known in Her Palaces. - Miniature Zion. - The New and the Old Contrasted. - The Day of Judgment. - The Reigning Zion. - The Great Deliverer. - The Great Deliverance.
"Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!" Psa. 14:7.
"There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer." Rom. 11:26.
Salvation is the theme of the whole divine revelation, from the promise given in Eden to its culmination in the visions of the Apocalypse. The term signifies preservation, deliverance from threatened disaster; and Jehovah, our God, declares himself the Author of it, saying, "I, even I, am Jehovah and beside me there is no savior." And again Isaiah says: "The Lord Jehovah ... is become my salvation." Isa. 43:10, 11; 12:2.
Breadth of the Great Salvation.
This salvation is to be a deliverance, not of the wicked, from the disasters of which they are clearly forewarned, and from which they are assured they shall not escape; but it is to be a deliverance of the righteous from all the evils incident to the long period of probation, and necessarily permitted during that time. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all;" but "Salvation is far from the wicked, for they seek not thy statutes." Psa. 134:19; 119:155.
This salvation of Jehovah reaches fallen, but repentant man, through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. But the salvation of repentant man is not the full compass of the great salvation, for even Christ Jesus ascribes his salvation unto Jehovah, saying unto him: "Thou are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation." Compare Psa. 89:26-29; Acts 2:24-31; John 20:17; Heb. 5:7; Psa. 16:8-11. So also the whole creation is to share this salvation of God, as it is written: "For the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly [not of its own choice], but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and traveileth in pain together until now. For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God." Rom. 8:19-22.
It has already been shown that the creation of which Paul is here speaking, is nothing less than the whole creation of God, - "equivalent to all nature" - Vincent; "the word of unlimited application" - The Bible Commentary. This deliverance is to be the deliverance of worthy character - tried as gold in the fire, and thereby proven to have no corrupting alloy of sin: the deliverance of all such "from the bondage of corruption" - from the evil which Satan introduced, and which God in his far-seeing wisdom, permitted to take its wide and corrupting course, in order to make manifest the intelligent beings worthy of eternal life. It was in this sure 146
hope of God, of developing and proving such worthy heirs of his eternal bounty, that the whole creation was subjected to vanity - to the vain folly of Satan's conspiracies. In the brave resistance of that evil, loyal characters, both angelic and human, have come forth as gold tried in the fire.
It was for such as these that God built his eternal mansions, and when the trial is fully accomplished the disturbing element shall be removed forever, and the righteous shall be established in everlasting peace. This, we have seen, has been God's great object in the permission of evil during the probation period; and this sure hope will be realized in what God is pleased to call a new creation, saying, "Behold I create new heavens and a new earth." Isa. 65:17. "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke and the earth shall wax old like a garment [not the literal heavens and earth, which "abide forever," but all of that old constitution of things pertaining to the period of the universal probation], and they that dwell therein [that belong with the evil of the old order, and are proved unworthy of the everlasting life of the new heavens and earth] shall die in like manner [shall perish with the old order of things]; but my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished." Isa. 51:5,6. A new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness, shall supersede the heavens and earth that shall pass away. The establishment of this new heavens and new earth will include all the righteous element, both angelic and human, that is saved out of the old heaven and earth.
This then will be the great salvation of Jehovah which shall raise high the notes of praise in heaven and in earth; as it is written - "Sing, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains, [all dominions], for the Lord hath comforted his people and will have mercy upon his afflicted." Isa. 49:13. Thus the great salvation will be coextensive with the invasion of sin - as wide as creation - and both angels and men will rejoice in it.
This new heavens and new earth is now in process of development - in embryo - and all things, the evil as well as the good, are, under divine providence, working together to develop and bring forth this consummation. This is the travail of all creation; and the birth of that new, perfect and eternal order of things in heaven and in earth, which no alloy of sin or evil of any kind can ever disturb, will be the issue - the great salvation.
Note further that the promised deliverance is not only deliverance from every vestige of corrupting evil, but also a deliverance "into the liberty of the glory of the children of God." And what pen can portray that glory? for it is written, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor. 2:9, 10; Isa. 64:4. Even though "God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit,” our dull comprehension rises very laboriously to such altitudes of glorious vision.
Out of Zion
If we inquire, Whence cometh this salvation? we have the suggested answer of Psa. 14:7. "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion." And of Rom. 11:26 "There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, etc." Then what and where is this Zion?
In the Bible use of this name it will be observed, that Zion is God's dwelling place; and that every place that he hath chosen to set his name there and to hallow with his presence is, in some sense, his Zion. Now it is literal "Jerusalem, the city of the great King." Matt. 5:35; Deut. 12:10-14; 1 Chron. 11:1-7, margin; 2 Sam. 5:7; 6:15-17; Psa. 122. Again, it is all Israel whom he had chosen to be his people. Isa. 51:2, 3,1 6; 52:1-7; 60:1, 14, 15; Psa. 102:13, 16. Again, he chose the tribe of Judah [as] the Mount Zion which he [specially] loved. Psa. 78:68.
Then to the people of God in the Christian era, Paul says, "If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29. And Peter adds, "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation ... which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God." 1 Pet. 2:9, 10. Compare Deut. 14:2 and observe the relationship of type and anti-type in the Israel after the flesh and the Israel after the spirit, the church of the new covenant in Christ. Gal. 4:28-31. Thus if all the seed of Abraham is Zion, we have not only a literal fleshly Zion, but also a spiritual Zion, the Christian church, including all true believers in Christ, while the overcomers in it correspond to the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which God specially loves. Psa. 78:68; Rev. 3:21, 12.
Then again, and preeminently, Zion is the proper dwelling place of Jehovah, "who hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over all" [all his creation]. Psa. 103:19-22. And of this it is written, "Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined." Psa. 50:2. And again, "Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, the farthest north, the city of the great King. Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness." Psa. 48:1, 2. See Leeser. Observe here, - "Mount Zion, the farthest north" - the throne of universal dominion, which Satan rebelled against and vainly sought to grasp, saying, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation [this Mount Zion] in farthest end of the north, ... I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14:13, 14. This application of the symbol to the throne of the universal dominion does not exclude its application in a minor sense also to the literal Mount Zion which represented it on the earth.
Then again, just as all Israel in the midst of which God had set his Zion, his Jerusalem, was also called his Zion in a wider sense, including the whole dominion of the city proper, so also the wide dominion of the heavenly Zion, the whole creation, in the midst of which God hath established his dwelling place, is Zion in its widest sense. And just as there were sinners in the typical Zion, Israel (Isa. 33:14), who were really aliens and strangers to it, and a disturbing element in it, causing the righteous to mourn in Zion (Isa. 61:3), so also in the great anti-type, the whole creation, which has been invaded by sin's defiling host.
In this view of it, hear the Psalmist further (Psa. 48:3) - "God is known in her palaces for a refuge" -Where are the palaces of this great Zion? Again call to mind Jesus' words, "In my Father's house are many mansions." These, we have seen, are all the starry realms of his vast creation; and all of their intelligent hosts, Paul says, have been subjected to vanity - to the vain folly of the great enemy of God, just as Job was - (Job 1:812) "in hope": the sure hope of securing, through that fire of trial, the pure gold of righteous character, wherewith to build the new Zion in its widest sense - the new order of things to abide eternally.
During all of that time of trial by the invasion of sin God was known in all of these "palaces," these "mansions" of his creation, "for a refuge," A refuge, mark you, is protection in the midst of danger: it is not as broad a term as salvation, which implies the cutting off of the disturbing element. So while God, in his farseeing wisdom, permitted the invasion of sin in his broad Zion during a period of probation, he was known in all her palaces "for a refuge" to those righteous souls who put their trust in him, just as he is now known in the earth to the righteous in similar trial.
In this view of it we are further invited (vs. 12-14) in thought, to "walk about this Zion, and go round about her," and to "consider her palaces," just as, in preceding chapters, we have been doing; and to "tell the towers thereof," the places of refuge in every realm, for "The name of the Lord is [in all of them] a strong tower. The righteous runneth into it, and is safe." Prov. 18:10. And his dear Son has ever been the tower of defense, as it is written: "And thou, O Tower of the flock [the universal flock - the whole family of God in heaven and in earth], the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion." - the universal, "everlasting dominion which shall not pass away." Micah 4:8; Dan 7:14.
Also "mark ye well her bulwarks." Every righteous character developed and maintained among the hosts of heaven in the long period of their trial became in turn a bulwark, a defense, reared by the spirit of God against the enemy, saying in effect - "Thus far shalt thou come, but no farther, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed" - just as every righteous character developed upon earth becomes a similar bulwark here. Yes, "mark ye well her bulwarks" - the mighty hosts of God's elect angels, who, in the midst of a long subtle, severe and deceptive trial, maintained their first estate of righteousness and holiness. And then mark further that, while God was a strong tower of refuge in the midst of trial, after the trial had run its course and accomplished its purpose, he became to them the great and final bulwark of defense against the enemy, when the whole defiling host were cast out of the heavens and barred by his mighty power from ever invading those palaces again.
"Consider" all these things, "that ye may tell it to the generation following." For this God "who has wrought so wondrously, whose mighty arm of power has been made bare in the sight of all the nations of creation," is also "our God forever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death." Psa. 48:13, 14. Just as he conducted those angels who put their trust in him to the end of their trial victoriously, so will he show unto us the path of life, and finally, "he will beautify the meek with salvation." Psa. 16:11; 149:4. He is now our strong tower of defense against a very present foe, but the full coming of his great salvation means the final destruction of the wicked, and the everlasting rest, security and peace of the righteous.
Miniature Zion
While we thus see great Zion, the city of our God, both as the height of his sanctuary, and the breadth of his creation, we have also seen that every place which God hath honored to set his name there and to hallow as his dwelling place is a miniature Zion, patterned after the heavenly habitation of God, and suited to the conditions of his local dominions, whether it be the movable Tabernacle of the wilderness in the midst of a sojourning people; or Jerusalem and all Israel; or, during the Christian dispensation, Christ and his church militant. And Zion in any of these minor senses is a daughter of the heavenly Zion: hence the term - "Daughter of Zion" - so frequently applied to them.
It is out of Zion in all of these senses that salvation comes. It comes straight from the throne of God, the "Zion farthest north," for God sent his only-begotten Son from that glorious altitude to bring this salvation; and he came by way of the earthly Zion, as the Son of Abraham and of David who sat upon its throne. And he is the Head of the church, the present Zion, which is the spiritual seed of Abraham, for whose manifestation with Christ in the glory of the heavenly Zion, the whole creation waits. It comes also, as we shall see, in the labor of all creation, the wide Zion, and in the birth-pangs which shall issue in the final delivery of the new creation - the new heavens and the new earth. Rom. 8:19, 22. For in prophetic vision the description of the great salvation is that of a new heavens and a new earth, a new Jerusalem, a new Zion: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea." Rev. 21:1, 2. Observe here that the presence of the new heavens and the new earth is based upon the fact that the former heavens and earth have passed away. There is no room for the old and the new to stand together. Thus the old is fully replaced by the new, and the dimensions are equal. The former is that universal condition of things which characterizes the long period of the universal probation, and which is destined therefore to pass away when probation ends. The latter is the consummation of God's eternal purpose in that perfect universal order of things which shall endure eternally.
This relationship of old and new, however, pertains only to the dominions of Jehovah - his whole creation - and in no sense to his throne - "the heaven of heavens," the "Zion farthest north." From eternity to eternity his throne is established and needs no renewing. It is far above the heavens we are considering, and always so presented in prophetic vision. Compare also Heb. 8:1 and 7:26.
A Day of Judgment
The old order of things, which necessarily permitted the invasion of sin for the proving and testing of character, closes with a Day of Judgment, a period of a thousand years, and God has committed this judgment to his Son, whose judicial authority is also amply supported by fullness of executive power. This millennial Day of Judgment is therefore the time when every willful violator of the divine law, both angelic and human, shall be called to a final account; and in the end of it, all the wicked will be destroyed, to the relief, comfort and peace of all the righteous, and the pure gold of tried righteous character will come forth without any alloy of sin. Then "Behold the tabernacle of God with men; and he will dwell with them." Rev. 21:3, 4. So here will be his earthly Zion. And similarly in every realm of his wide dominion God will dwell with his people, and the whole creation will be his new Zion in its widest sense. Thus in the end of Christ's millennial reign of judgment the new heavens and the new earth, the new Jerusalem, the new Zion in its widest sense is born, and Christ is seen as the great Deliverer.
Until that time the great salvation is not complete: nor can it be until the wicked are all destroyed, for God regards the whole creation as unclean as long as even one sinner lives in its remotest realm - Num. 35:3134 - although since Satan and his angels were cast out of the heavens, there is no sin any where save on the earth. Matt. 6:10. It is for this clean universe, this new heavens and earth, entirely freed from all the reproach and entailments of sin, as well as from sin itself, that the whole creation waits, and travails in pain together to bring it forth.
The Reigning Zion
But where is Zion, the church of Christ? Must she yet wait for that distant consummation, the birth of the new heavens and news earth? Ah no, for she is the bride of Christ, and joint-heir with him of his kingdom and glory. She therefore belongs to the reigning Zion; and if her Lord is on the throne of his millennial kingdom, so is she (Rev. 20:4); or if he is on the throne of his universal and eternal kingdom at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, lo, she is there. Rev. 3:21; Eph. 1:17-23. We will not digress here to mark the amazing glory of her high exaltation, only wishing to note now the fact of it, and to see that the church in glory is part of the reigning Zion - the "Zion farthest north" - out of which comes the full salvation to all the righteous of the whole creation.
Do we inquire, How can these things be? Is not the church of the earth earthy? and is not her divine Head the Lord from heaven? Yes: but she is to be "changed," and made like her Lord, that she may be with him where he is and behold and share his glory. See 1 Cor. 15:51, where only the church, and not the whole world, is addressed. Also 1 John 3:2; 2 Pet. 1:4. and John 17:24.
It is manifest then that the church of Christ will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glory of her inheritance a thousand years in advance of the full deliverance of the whole creation, which is to be brought to pass through the instrumentality of these heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, in cooperation with him during his millennial reign Since she is to be changed from her present low estate into the divine likeness of her Lord, and thus equipped for the great work, she herself must of necessity be delivered first from the bondage of corruption. And so it is written - Col. 3:4 - "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."
The Earthly Zion
But again we inquire, Where is the earthly Zion - the seed of Abraham according to the flesh? Are there not promises that point to an early deliverance and a high exaltation of God's chosen people Israel?
Yes there is to be an earthly phase of the kingdom of God in which the long list of overcoming saints who lived and died prior to the first advent of Christ will have their great reward. To these Paul calls our attention in Hebrews, eleventh chapter. And to these the Psalmist prophetically refers as the virgins, the companions of the bride of Christ when the kingdom is established, saying, "With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the King's palace" - into the coming kingdom, as its earthly royalty, and as its messengers to receive the law from the heavenly Zion and to send it forth from Jerusalem. Isa. 2:2, 3.
This list of worthy ones which Paul names in part, but does not attempt to number (Heb. 11:32-38) will be the world's new aristocracy. The discipline and training of many noted characters in Israel during their age of exclusive divine favor has eminently fitted them to be the new "princes in all the earth"; for the prophet addressing Christ, says, "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." Psa. 45:16. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David were the fathers of Christ according to the flesh, but in their resurrection, Christ is their father, life-giver, and they are his children. The whole nation of Israel will again be the chief nation in all the earth, when their blindness is turned away (as it will be suddenly - Rom. 11:25-28), and when the divine discipline shall have purged away their dross and taken away all their tin. Then will God "restore their judges as at the first, and their counselors as at the beginning: afterward they shall be called The city of righteousness, the faithful city," "the city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel." See Isa. 1:25, 26; 60:14-22.
Thus the earthly Zion will be established, and, in cooperation with the heavenly Zion, as its visible agents on the earth, will carry forward the great work of the "restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:19-21. The completion of that work of restitution within the millennial day of Jesus Christ will be the full realization of the great salvation in the earth. By it the prince of this world will be completely overthrown and his kingdom -
Great Babylon will be Destroyed
No other power than the Almighty Arm of the Lord, so exercised, could thus deal with the mighty, cunning, subtle, deceptive, all-pervading and strongly entrenched power of the prince of this world, and rescue our fallen race from its deadly grip.
"In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city [the city for which Abraham looked - Heb. 11:10]; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks ... O Lord our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us, but of thee only would we make mention - of thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them and made every memorial of them to perish ... Like as a woman with child, ... so have we been in thy sight O Lord ... We have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth." But lo, "Sing O ye heavens, for the Lord hath done it." Isa. 26:1, 13-18; 44:23.
Thus also the destroyer, Satan, and all his host cast of the heavens long ago and reserved in the earth, their prison, under chains of darkness unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 6), together with all the wicked of the earth, shall finally perish, and the strong bulwarks of established righteous character, proved as gold in the fire, will be the eternal safeguards of the new Zion in its widest, its universal extent. Then will the will of God be done in earth as it is now done in heaven; and no place in God's vast creation will be polluted by sin, or will longer bear the reproach of it, for God will have a clean universe.
"Thus with violence shall that great city, Babylon [Satan's dominion in its widest sense, including both fallen angels and wicked men] be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all." Rev. 18:21. There will not be one spot in the whole creation of God - his wide Zion - reeking with the pollution of devilish hate and wickedness from which the pure holy mind of God or Christ or angels or redeemed men will turn away in horror. "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Rev. 21:27.
Zion Established
Thus when John looks through the telescope of inspired prophetic vision he sees "a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away [so making room for it], and there was no more sea" - with restless raging waves foaming out their own shame. Jude 13; Rev. 21:1.
This is his first view, a glimpse of the work accomplished, of the city, Zion, in its widest sense, established in glory and beauty and everlasting peace. No further description of what he saw is attempted. How could it be? The present language of earth is inadequate to the expression of such heights of rapture. Guided by the Word of inspiration it can better be imagined than described. Let exalted thought take the wings of the morning and tour the glittering hosts of the heavenly mansions and catch the notes of praise from angel tongues and lyres, and scent the delectable perfumes of the bloom and beauty of that paradise in every realm, and breathe the sweet spirit of peace and love and joy and praise that pervades the whole creation - Zion in its widest sense: the hush of adoring silence must be the first inspiration.
So John seems to stand before this vision of the new heavens and the new earth. The curtain drops. It rises again (vs. 2-8) and a view is presented of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, Zion, coming down to men. How can this be? It cannot be Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, in the sense of Jehovah's throne, coming down to this earthly realm; nor of his universal dominion. What then? It is the coming of the new order of things, the kingdom of God to this earthly province of his dominion. It is the earthly phase of the heavenly kingdom, a miniature Zion, being established on the earth, as there will also be similar establishments in every other realm of creation - the "new heavens."
It is "prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Compare Isa. 62:5. Those who will compose it are the ancient worthies referred to by Paul in Heb. 11 and the redeemed and glorified nation of Israel. Their preparation was that of worthy character; and having been redeemed, proved and found worthy through Christ, they come forth in the resurrection period ready - "prepared" - for their new office. They constitute the New Jerusalem on earth. And a voice from heaven announces the fact, saying, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, etc." This is his earthly dwelling place, his earthly Zion. vs. 3-8. "And all nations shall flow into it." (Isa. 2:2).
Again the curtain drops, and an angel talks with John (vs. 9-11) saying, "Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." This is not the earthly Zion of vs. 2-8, which is the "tabernacle of God with men" -vs. 3 - although this too is likened to a bride prepared for her husband, but this is the heavenly Zion, "the Lamb's wife," the church of Christ, a description of whose heavenly glory follows. And John says - "He carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain" - to the height of God's holy Mount Zion, the throne of God, where, prophetically, he not only sees Christ and his joint-heirs enthroned in glory at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, as described in the following verses, but from that exalted altitude whence alone, as we have seen, a view of the whole creation could be gained, he also sees the activities of this reigning Zion - the New Jerusalem coming down from thence - the new order of things being established in every realm of the whole creation, under the supervision of these exalted heirs of God, for which the whole creation has been waiting Rom. 8:19.
Observe, it is in spirit, in exalted mental vision, that John was thus transported; and that this transport was not for himself alone, but that thus he might show to the church militant, for her encouragement and comfort, the glory and blessedness of her "high calling." Rev. 1:1-3; Eph. 1:15-23. It is therefore to the intent that she, in spirit, may follow his leading. But to do so she must, at least mentally, withdraw to some Patmos solitude where the distracting sights and sounds of earth will not interrupt the soaring thought, led, not by human imagination, but by the spirit of God, through the word of his testimony.
"And he showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending [in its gracious activities] out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." This is "the Lamb's wife," the heavenly Jerusalem - the reigning kingdom of God and of Christ. Rev. 3:21. Here is the completed, divine royal family of the whole universe established in glory and power and beauty for the everlasting ages. Here is the Christ complete - Head and body - "the full development of him [Christ] who is filling all things with all" - with all the blessings decreed in God's eternal purpose. Eph. 1:23. Diaglott.
This is the Zion that Jehovah hath specially chosen, as David said prophetically - "For Jehovah hath chosen Zion, he hath desired it for his habitation, saying, This is my rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it." Psa. 132:13, 14; 68:16. This then is the completeness of the divine felicity, the rapture of that perfect oneness for which our Lord prayed, the reward of Jehovah himself, who has so patiently endured for ages the necessary process to reach this culmination of his loving and benevolent purpose. In the entire presentation it will be observed, the description is not that of its physical proportions, materials, arrangement etc., but of its spiritual glory: -
"The Queen in Gold of Ophir"
"And the city was pure gold like unto clear glass." Rev. 21:18, 21. "Pure gold" is here used as a symbol of the divine nature of the heavenly city; and it is worthy of note that other figures representing it also employ the same symbol, and for the same purpose. This calls to mind David's prophetic description of the bride of the King's Son: "Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir ... The King's daughter is all glorious within the Palace; her clothing is of wrought gold." Psa. 45:9,13. We are also reminded of the fact that all the furnishment of the Holy and Most Holy places in the typical tabernacle and temple were of gold. See Exodus 36:34-38; 37:1-28, which things, Paul says, are figures of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man - of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens (Heb. 8:1, 2; 9:9, 24) calling special attention to the golden furnishments within the Holy and the Most Holy, where only the priests might approach Jehovah's presence; while beyond these, in the court of the tabernacle, the furnishments are significantly of brass, symbolizing a nature there inferior to the divine. This same feature is also seen in these apartments in the temple. See 1 Kings 6:16-35.
While holiness becometh all the courts of our God, both those represented by the inner sanctuary, and those beyond it, in this particular use of the most precious of all metals in the inner sanctuary, we have a striking symbol of the most glorious of all natures there - the divine nature of the royal family within that "tabernacle in the heavens." Thus the city of gold, the Zion farthest north, the holy Jerusalem in the highest sense, is shown to be the divine city, the metropolis of all creation, the seat of the heavenly government. This is "the holy Jerusalem ... having the glory of God; and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high ... And the building of the wall of it was of jasper ... And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb ... And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones." Rev. 21:11, 12, 18, 14, 19, 20.
Thus in the use of the most precious things the earth affords, God seeks to convey to the minds of his people some idea of the glory of the final inheritance of his elect church, the bride of Christ, and joint-heir with him, of all things. Yet the most precious of earthly symbols necessarily fall immeasurably short of that glory of God which is above the earth and heavens, wherewith she is clothed.
"The glory of God": what then is it? Is it at all like the tinsel of earthly royalty - the glitter of gold, the gleam of purple and scarlet, the flash of diamonds and rubies and pearls? Ah no: these are but symbols of the divine glory of that heavenly royalty which cannot be better expressed in the language of earth.
"To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him? ... It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in ... To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and behold, who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by names" - Isa. 40:18, 22, 25, 26; also 46:5, 8, 9 - and say what is the ineffable glory of God. Can mortal tongue express it, or brush paint it, or the most sublime imagery portray it? Their baffled skill unites in one testimony - that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man" a clear conception of the glory of God which shall clothe the heavenly Jerusalem - Christ and his bride; for "it doth not yet appear what we shall be" when made like our Lord and Head, who is "the express image of the Father's person," except that there will be "an exceeding and eternal weight of glory" upon this Zion of the Holy One of Israel. "For I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her." "Over all the glory shall be a covering." Zech. 2:5; Isa. 4:5; Rev. 21:11, 23.
This glory of God, the glory of the divine nature and all that pertains to it, which is entirely beyond our present comprehension, this wall of fire, of gleaming jasper, clear as crystal, is the great and high wall enclosing this city of God, the Zion farthest north. The foundations upon which all of this glory is superimposed are next prominent in the description: what are they? Peter, likening it to a temple, says they are "living stones ... chosen of God, and precious" - the several members of the overcoming church of Christ. 1 Pet. 2:1-5. And Paul says, "Ye are ... built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth into an holy temple in the Lord. In whom ye also are builded up together for an habitation of God through the spirit." Eph. 2:20-22.
In harmony with this we find the twelve foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem bearing the names of the twelve apostles, and all other members of the overcoming church described as "all manner of precious stones" wherewith the foundations are garnished; and over all is the effulgent glory of God, the jasper wall, the wall of fire. And so the light of the city is "like unto that of a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone clear as crystal."
This is the great salvation of the elect church - the salvation of Jehovah surely, who rescued even his beloved Son, the great Head of the church, from the power of the grave; and having through him redeemed his people, with him he also freely gives them all things. Rom. 8:32. O if some of the precious living stones now undergoing the painful processes of grinding and polishing, could but understand this, how readily would they say with Paul - "These light afflictions are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."
Thus arrayed in the divine glory, Zion, this city which God hath chosen for his habitation, saying, "This is my rest forever: here will I dwell, for I have desired it," is set forth as his choicest treasure, of which it is said, "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." "Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God." Isa. 62:3, 5. "They shall be as the stones of a crown lifted up as an ensign upon his land" - True of the literal, but preeminently of the spiritual Zion. Zech. 9:6. Thus will he raise us up together in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:5-7.
And not only is the divine glory the covering wall of Zion, but the divine presence will be "the glory in the midst of her." Zech. 2:5. "And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." Rev. 21:22, 23.
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed twelve thousand furlongs. "The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal." Rev. 21:16. Thus it presents a perfect square to each of the four points of the compass (vs. 13) - a beautiful symbol of the exact and symmetrical proportions of divine justice and judgment, which thus the whole creation will view and surely recognize, saying, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13.
This presentation of the perfect square upon every side is also the proof of the solidity and permanence of this heavenly kingdom. It is in symbol a cube: it is solidly divine, all glorious within and without, transparent and radiant with the divine glory of nature and goodness and majesty and power. It is an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, "a kingdom which cannot be moved."
"And the nations of them which are saved [all the nations of the whole creation - all the holy angels and all redeemed men - all that are counted worthy of the great salvation] shall walk in the light of it." Rev. 21:24. It is for this manifestation of the sons of God as the heavenly Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, that the whole creation waits. Rom. 8:19. Its glory and its bliss are not self-centered, but ever diffusive. Godlike, its joy is ever in giving and loving and blessing, and in receiving in return the benedictions of grateful hearts.
"And the city had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was one pearl. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it." Rev. 21:12, 13, 21, 25, 26.
What have we here but another testimony in eloquent symbol of the ever benevolent purpose of our God? This glorious establishment is at once the felicity and reward of Jehovah himself, and the glory of his universal Israel. Note here Paul's expression in Eph. 1:18 - the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints. So our God regards it. Its ever open gates, three on each side and severally inscribed with the names of the tribes, are a standing invitation to the whole universal Israel of God (represented typically by the twelve tribes of literal Israel) to find welcome access - of course through their representatives in the various local phases of the kingdom in every realm of creation. Its glory is the light in which they walk: it is their "sun," and in its presence there can be no night. Its perfect lines of righteousness constitute their everlasting security, and its open gates are for their blessing.
These open gates of the heavenly Jerusalem - the Zion farthest north - call to mind our Lord's words to Nathaniel (John 1:51). "Ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending before the Son of man;" and also Jacob's prophetic dream of the ladder from earth to heaven, with the Lord above, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon it. Gen. 28:12, 13. Thus is shown the fact that there will be communication between the heavenly and the earthly phases of the kingdom of God: between the Zion farthest north and the miniature Zion, Jerusalem, on earth; for "Out of Zion [the heavenly] shall go forth the law; and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem [the earthly]." Isa. 2:3; Micah 4:2. And in like manner will the divine government be administered in every realm of creation.
"And at the gates twelve angels ." Here we are reminded of our Lord's promise to his twelve apostles -Matt. 19:28 - "When the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." And in prophetic vision John says, "I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them." Rev. 20:4; 3:21.
The thrones or places of judgment in Israel were at the gates of the city. See Deut. 16:18; 21:19; 25:7; Josh. 20:4; Ruth 4:1-12; 2 Sam. 15:2; 19:8; 1 Kings 22:10; 2 Chron. 18:9; Job 29:7-17; Prov. 22:22; 31:23; Jer. 17:19, 20; Lam. 5:14; Amos 5:10; Zech. 8:16. So the gates of the heavenly Zion are the "twelve thrones" of the "twelve tribes" of the universal Israel of God. And to these thrones of judgment the twelve apostles are severally appointed by our Lord Jesus, as he said - Luke 22:29, 30 - "I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The promise indicates the joint heirship with Christ in his heavenly kingdom to which Paul afterward refers in Rom. 8:17, and to the orderly apportionment of the service of that heavenly government of the whole creation.
Let us bear in mind that the kingdom appointed unto Christ by the Father is the everlasting kingdom (Dan. 7:14) and that the twelve apostles, and the whole overcoming church (Rev. 3:21) of which they are the foundations, are to be with him where he is (John 17:24) as joint-heirs with him of all things Rom 8:17; 1Cor 3:21-23. Thus the reference of Luke 22:29, 30 is not to the millennial kingdom on earth, but to the universal and eternal kingdom of Christ and his joint-heirs. See also 2 Pet. 1:11.
Let us bear in mind also that these thrones of judgment will be necessary in the universal dominion to all eternity, for although there will be no sin to deal with after the new order of things shall have been established, the great universal family of God will not be left then to steer its own course without the divine guidance. Divine paternal wisdom will always issue in blessed legislation from the throne of the Majesty in the heavens to every realm of his vast dominion through all of his appointed channels: - first through the glorified church under Christ Jesus its Head, and then through his local representatives, the established kings and princes in every realm, corresponding to the earthly phase of the kingdom on earth. Thus divine wisdom will always direct and overrule in all the affairs of state, in the vast universal empire, and the divine law will be the universal and eternal standard of righteousness.
While the twelve apostles are here pointed out as the presiding judges appointed by our Lord in these twelve heavenly courts, we are also shown that the whole glorified church is to be associated in the universal government, for says Paul, "Know ye not that we shall judge angels?" 1 Cor. 6:2, 3.
"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl." Not only are the twelve apostles to be the presiding judges, the kings, at the twelve entrances of the heavenly Jerusalem, but the symbolism of the gates themselves points both to their glory in the kingdom and to the process by which they were fitted for it. For just as the valued and beautiful pearl was at first an unwelcome object in the shell of the oyster, in which condition its beauty and its worth were acquired, so the church, which is in the world, but not of it, acquires her beautiful character. And what is true of the whole overcoming church is specially true of its pioneer representatives, the twelve apostles. In the severe discipline of their experience they became pearls of exceeding value in God's estimation.
The open gates of the heavenly Jerusalem also tell of the universal peace. In ancient times the gates of cities were always closed at night and at any time when danger from enemies was suspected; but when this heavenly city shall be established there will neither be night nor enemies. This kingdom will be a kingdom of light and peace and blessing to the whole family of God in heaven and in earth.
This is figuratively set forth in the vision by "the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." Rev. 22:1. This is the stream of divine favor flowing freely through Christ Jesus and his joint-heirs to the whole creation. Ezekiel also describes this river of divine grace [Ezek. 47:1-12] and shows that it widens and deepens as the years of eternity roll on. At first it is ankle-deep; later it has risen to the knees; then to the lions. Then it can no longer be forded: it is a river to swim in. Thus shall the whole creation be abundantly watered.
And on either side of this flowing stream of divine favor shall flourish the trees of life (Rev. 22:2) -every good thing required for the sustenance and happiness of the great family of God. In the earth it will mean fertile soil, abundant showers, genial sunshine, bountiful harvests, communion and fellowship with God [note Ezek. 48:35], love, joy and peace in human fellowship and worship, and every good thing that the regenerated heart of man can desire; for "there shall be no more curse." Rev. 22:3. It will be Paradise restored - "the creation delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God." Rom. 8:21 RV. Compare Gen. 2:8-10; Rev. 22:1-3; Ezek. 47:1-12; 48:35.