MOUNTAINS AROUND JERUSALEM (5)

^[p. 388] MOUNTAINS AROUND JERUSALEM (5)

Matthew 28:16 - 20; Revelation 21:9 - 14

JT This morning we read the early verses of chapter 24 and verse 30 of chapter 26 of this gospel. Each of these passages speaks of the mount of Olives, that is, the fifth mountain of the series under review. It was viewed as representing the Holy Spirit as coming in dispensationally, that is, to occupy the position here in the church from the outset till the end. The Lord in chapter 24 is seen sitting on the mount of Olives. Having had His attention called to the great buildings of the temple, He said to His disciples, “Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down”, (verse 2).

We viewed that as applying at the present time to the great religious buildings and systems which, from their antiquity or renown, or some other cause, have a great hold on the minds of many of the people of God. The buildings of the temple had a hold even on the minds of the disciples, so much so that they called the Lord’s attention to them. His reply was that they should be all thrown down; not a stone should remain upon another. So that the minds of the disciples would be drawn away from what was thus about to be dissolved to what should abide.

It was thought that the epistle to the Ephesians presents to us the abiding buildings — spiritual buildings: saints are builded together for an habitation of God in the Spirit. And then we saw in chapter 26 that after the Lord instituted the Supper they sang a hymn. They did it. The presence of the Spirit here implies mutual affection and mutual relations and actions among the saints; as in chapter 17 on the high mountain — representing what is in heaven — we have mutual relations also, but great personal dignity. In chapter 26 it is after they partake of the Supper that the mutual feeling down here ^[p. 389] is seen, that is, in the Spirit. “And having sung a hymn, they went out to the mount of Olives”. The mount of Olives, suggestive of the Spirit, would be that by which the singing is to be continued here.

HH I thought that the ‘singing’ was very interesting. It shews how the heart is absorbed by the suffering and love of Christ in what He has taken up for the pleasure of God and the blessing of the saints in every dispensation, as you say. Nothing but the love of Christ would take you away from ritual and buildings, and all that which is thought so much of here.

JT Nothing is calculated to touch our hearts more than the Lord’s supper. So that it brings in mutual feeling; that is, we feel things — we are impressionable. The singing, therefore, is from hearts that are impressed, and that is to be continued.

HH We feel that whatever may come before us in the way of light, nothing short of the love of Christ will give true effect to things in our hearts. Paul says, “The love of Christ constrains us”.

JT And then we are to make melody unto the Lord in our hearts, as filled with the Spirit.

EG “And having sung a hymn”, it says, “they went out to the mount of Olives”. Does that suggest that they were inside, and then went out?

JT Taking up a new position, as if it were intimated that the singing is to be sustained; but by the Spirit, not merely by precedent.

WW The mount of Olives being the region of the Spirit?

JT That is the idea. Christianity is very largely a question of precedent, as to what we do. We have commandments, but Acts is, generally, a book of precedents; shewing how things were done by the Lord first, and then by the apostles and others, so that we might follow on. But the fact that the precedent is there is not enough, we need the Spirit to follow it up. If we ^[p. 390] are to act as they did we must have the Spirit, otherwise our doings become legal or ritualistic.

WH So that we are really in the good of that which we are doing, at the time.

JT Yes; we do it in liberty as sons in the power of the Spirit.

HB Have you any idea what psalm or hymn they sang?

JT I have not; I should like to know, and I should like to have it in our hymn-book! But the Spirit of God has not been pleased to let us know. In fact, you wonder what has become of all the hymns they had. The suggestion is that the Holy Spirit being here, we are to rely on Him to give compositions; as in Psalm 45:1, “I speak of the things which I have made”. It is a question of what wealth there is at the present time, and whether that can be set poetically for singing. The Lord might help us if we took it up in that light. That is then the exercise — if the wealth exists to put it into shape. The hymn-book is not a matter of words, it is a matter of substance, or nothing. For a hymn you want spiritual substance.

I believe there is substance, I believe the Lord has given much to the brethren, but whether it can be made suitable for the service of song is the question. The suggestion in chapter 26 is that the singing began. But what thus began can be sustained only by the Spirit.

JRS When the sacrifice was offered the song began, in the old economy (2 Chronicles 29:27).

RWG You said some time ago that you must be a doorkeeper before you can be a singer.

JT Well that is the way it stands. The number of singers was exactly equal to the number of the doorkeepers (1 Chronicles 23:5).

HH The sons of Korah come in in that way; they had a great appreciation of mercy.

LES In 1 Chronicles 25 it speaks of those who ^[p. 391] were under the direction of the king for the service of song.

JT The first book of Chronicles may be regarded as the text book for singing.

Our present mountain is the final one as regards this gospel, and what is to be noted as of importance is that the eleven — not simply the disciples, but the eleven disciples — “went into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed them”. That is, there is the recognition of a broken state of things.

W.H. Why is that?

JT I think it is that the Holy Spirit acknowledged formally the breakdown in the twelve; so that there is a certain relation between them and ourselves; we are in a broken state of things. But in spite of the brokenness they went on; they were not deterred by the brokenness. Some doubted, but the Lord went on with what He had in His mind; meaning that we must go on, however broken. The Lord has appointed a place, and we must keep to that. They met Him where He appointed to meet them.

WH It says that the names of the twelve are in the foundation, in Revelation.

JT That would be the twelve apostles of the assembly. There was another apostle added. Judas would have no place in that. What I think we get in Matthew is encouragement for a broken state of things, as well as for the complete state of things; an encouragement to go on in spite of the broken state of things. So that, as we have already had before us, you have the material in one person, that is, in Peter; and you have one person walking on the water. You have three persons on the mount, that is, enough to suggest personality — the dignity of the persons. Then you have in chapter 21 at Bethphage, at the mount of Olives, an ass and a colt. The mount of Olives is brought in there to shew that the Lord being in that neighbourhood — the ass and the colt ^[p. 392] being tied there — the Lord uses them both. That is to say, Matthew would intimate that the Lord will use what is available; but He finds them in that setting. In chapter 18 you have, “two of you” and “two or three”, so that no circumstance can arise — from Matthew’s point of view — in which the church position may not be held, in some sense. You go on in spite of the brokenness. The Lord is going on.

FI Would the first five mountains speak of provision which comes in for support, so that there are bulwarks of Zion: and that being secured you are able to move out for enlargement? This chapter is going out to secure fresh material.

JT Yes; you have the centre set up and provided for. This chapter is to shew how it is to be enlarged, so that the point is to make disciples — to make them, which involves great moral power. It is a question of moral power, and commission founded on it.

Ques Would you say a little as to the position of this mountain? It is in Galilee.

JT That is in keeping with Matthew; it is over against the literal Jerusalem. In Luke the Lord tells them to remain in the city until they should be endued with power from on high. The ministry begins at Jerusalem, in Luke, because he presents grace, and grace will go where the wickedest man in the world is. The very worst persons in the world are singled out to become the subjects of grace. But Matthew would take you away from that which is recognised religiously, because he has the church in mind, and if we are to have the church we must be separate. There is no possibility of realising the assembly except as being separate; hence the meeting place is in Galilee. It is very interesting to see that the Lord appointed the meeting-place; it is very much like where God is pleased to place His name. It is in the place of reproach.

Rem In that sense the place of separation is indicated ^[p. 393] here, and then the power of God in Christ: “All power is given unto me”, the Lord says.

JT I think we do well to note the brokenness indicated in “the eleven”. You go on in spite of that. Even some of the eleven doubted, it was a weak position. That is how the Lord began; He began with a weak state of things, but He went on — He did not stop to question why they did doubt; in Mark He does, but not here. The point is, you go on, and the power of God will be with you.

FS How would that work out today — going on?

JT Whatever happens locally — you may get a broken state of things — you do not stop, you go on. If the road is clear, the thing is to go on.

WB You are happy to express fellowship with those who do go on, even if in weakness.

SL Brethren fail as well as all the rest, and the tendency is sometimes to give up. Sometimes the temptation is to say we have all failed and so we cannot go on.

JT There is nothing in that for the Lord. He expects us to go on; that is the thing. We see this in God’s answer to Elijah (1 Kings 19:15 - 18).

WHM “When they saw him, they worshipped him”. Some doubted. Even two or three in a meeting that see Him are able to worship. I think it is very encouraging.

JT Very good. It is very beautiful that “when they saw him, they worshipped him”.

JC In chapter 14 the Lord is on high in the place of priesthood; it is a question of power; so that He could come in, however weak the public position.

JT Yes; and He is there in personal dignity too; He would have them know that they are coming to where He appointed them. John would say that He comes to where we are, but in Matthew it is the dignity that belongs to the King; so that they go to Galilee:

“There shall ye see him”. John quotes the Lord as saying, “I will see you again”, (John 16:22). Galilee was a long way for them, but they went. “The eleven disciples went into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed them”.

Ques Does Galilee indicate a despised place?

JT It does; that is the setting of it in Matthew; but here there is a reflection on Jerusalem, the Lord directing His disciples away from it.

HH ‘Going on’ — is not that characteristic of this gospel too, that everything is met by the Lord in His own way, whatever the difficulty? The gospel starts with it: “God with us” — you have got that all through. You would not know exactly that Christ had gone to heaven; it supposes, in a way, that He is with the saints right to the end.

JT Yes; there is nothing said about the ascension. So that provision is made for one man walking on the water. The Lord supports him; provision is made for two, if they unite together in prayer they are heard; provision is made for two or three, in that the Lord is in the midst; and here provision is made for eleven. That is the lesson. The administrative number is broken in on, but the Lord goes on. There is no circumstance to hinder us from going on except sin in ourselves, but that has to be judged. Here it is disciples, not apostles, so that it fits in at any time.

EBG Do you mean that if I am a doubter, the best way to help me is for others to move on in the light of what they have?

JT That is good. What I find is that there is constant opposition to those on the divine path from one source or another, but the answer to that is to go on; the Lord is with those ‘on the way’.

EBG I was thinking of Elisha and the attitude of the sons of the prophets (2 Kings 2); it says of Elisha that he went on, and still went on with Elijah.

JT ^[p. 395] What you find is that the man going on, or persons going on, have influence — they are sure to have influence. The best way to help the doubters is to go on. If they cannot go on, we are sorry, but we must move as the Lord has directed.

EBG That will help far more than any agreement to whittle things down to make the path easier.

JT Yes. And then you find, as going on, you get support, and what can anybody say if God is with you, if there is divine support? That is unanswerable, because God knows better than any of us, and if He is supporting His people what can be said about it? Any opposition or neutral attitude is most serious.

WWW The disciples are not said to speak here at all; they worshipped.

JT The most effective people are often those who do not speak. You know there is one man in the Scriptures whom men came to see, and believed on Jesus on his account, and he is never said to have said anything at all, that is, Lazarus. It is never said, in Scripture, that he said anything, yet people came and believed on his account.

Ques Would you say that we have not to wait for power to go on, but we get it as we move?

JT That is right; in the moving you get the power. See how wonderfully restored Elijah was when he started out from Gilgal with Elisha, when Elisha and he took the course covering the whole testimony of God! He never says a word about going to Horeb; he would never go there again. He goes to the point to which God was moving. And the two “went on”, it says; they went over the Jordan, but they went over it in divine power. And they talked, and then Elijah went up to heaven. How very different that course was from the course he took from Beersheba to mount Horeb! That from Gilgal led up to heaven.

HH There is a great deal of difference between,

“What doest thou here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9) and “The Lord hath sent me to Bethel”, (2 Kings 2:2) and so on; the distinct sense in the soul of taking the divine way, and having a brother to go with you in it is very precious.

FI Is it the same thought here: “I am with you all the days, until the completion of the age”? It is God’s completion.

JT Yes; He looks on to the completion; He would be with them to the end.

FI I wondered whether this agrees with what you said this morning as to the Spirit continuing?

JT Exactly. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”, (Revelation 22:17). The Spirit goes right on to the end. According to this gospel, the Lord is also with us all the time.

EBG Would Elijah’s remark, “The Lord hath sent me”, be in keeping with “the mountain which Jesus had appointed them”?

JT Yes. It is very interesting to me that the Lord does not stop here to correct the doubters. He does in Mark; He goes to great pains to correct the unbelieving ones. But the point here is to go on; the thing is urgent. In Matthew it is a question of what is imperative. So that this chapter begins with the two women, and the angel saying to them, “I have told you”. That is, it is a word of authority and is to be fulfilled. As the women moved in the fulfilment of that word, the Lord met them. The principle of this chapter is imperativeness. The angel comes down and rolls away the stone, he represents the authority of heaven; there is no brooking that. So that in giving the women the message the angel says, “Behold, I have told you”. The message was for the disciples to go to Galilee; and as the women went the Lord met them; shewing how the Lord approves of persons who go on in obedience. He met them and saluted them, saying, “All hail”, and He confirms the message. And now the eleven act on that message; it was a question of appointment by the word of ^[p. 397] authority.

FI They get the increase by going on. The angel spoke of “his disciples”, the Lord said, “my brethren”. There is an increase of spiritual intelligence as the result of going on. There was movement according to instruction, and there was spiritual increase.

HH They go on in spite of the false report that you get in verses 11 - 15.

JRS The Lord meets the doubters with the word, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth”, does He not?

JT Yes. What young believers come into is already a victorious thing. That is an important matter. John says, “this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith”. What I have come into has already overcome; it has been overcoming all these centuries. And so if the Lord has all power in heaven and earth, obviously my wisdom is to join in there, that is, where the power is.

WHM These women were very willing: “they ran”. The angel had given them a message, and the Lord confirms it. He gives them the same message, and they have the joy of worshipping Him on the way.

JT Worship coming out in this chapter is striking. You feel it is befitting that those in a system that is to be influential universally should have a right conception of Christ. They should be worshippers.

WWW Do you distinguish between worship and doing homage?

JT It is the same word.

WWW Is homage to a man?

JT Well, I think that whatever was in their minds, the Lord accepted the act of worship. When John worshipped the angel (Revelation 19), the angel would not admit it; and when Cornelius worshipped Peter (Acts 10), Peter refused it. But the Lord never refused it; it was due to Him. He announces in John 9 that He is the Son of God; and the man who had been blind ^[p. 398] worshipped Him. It is the same word here, in the original, as the word ‘worship’ in John. The change of the word to ‘homage’ sometimes in the New Translation is to endeavour to convey what was in the minds of those who rendered homage to Christ — that they did not regard Him as God. But then He was God, and so never refused to be worshipped. (See preface to the New Translation of the New Testament.)

EG In connection with that, Psalm 110:3 says, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power”.

JT Well, exactly; they worship here. I think it is very important that if we are to be influential here we must be worshippers of the One who has all power in heaven and earth. One idea in this chapter is influence; disciples are to be made. For this I must have a great sense of who the Lord is — of His Person; I must be a worshipper. How can I be a true minister of Christ unless I am a worshipper of His.

MW What is the distinction between the nations being taught and disciples being enjoined or commanded?

JT The passage reads, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising them to the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined you”. The injunctions were to the disciples. That is to say, all that the Lord would enjoin them was to be communicated in their service. Teaching is rather enforcing the truth into the mind by power, so that teaching is a gift. To convey a message does not necessarily imply a gift, but to teach implies a gift.

FI What is the force of the word ‘to’: “baptising them to”? We often say, “Baptising him in the name of the Father, and of the Son”, whereas here it is “baptising them to”.

JT Well, it is to introduce the converts, or would-be disciples, into all that light and relationship. That is,

^[p. 399] it has to be worked out afterwards. The believer has to work it out — what is implied in the name of the Father, and the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit. It is God revealed. I am introduced into all that light positionally; not necessarily in the state of my soul. If Peter or any of the disciples were to preach, they would point out to the convert the advantage of coming into this. They are not proselytising to Judaism or any other eastern religion; they were introducing them into the sphere of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Rem The believer’s household, being baptised, comes into this; they come into the full light of christianity, and they are in it too, positionally.

Ques Would you use this form in the baptism of a household?

JT Yes; I should. In the Acts, “in the name of the Lord Jesus”, means that I am in the kingdom and come under His protection. I am baptised in His name.

Rem That would be a further thought.

JT It would be an additional thought; so that I should think the right way is to use both formulas, introducing the baptised person to the full position, and then placing him under the direct protection of the Lord.

EW I notice that the idea of baptism here is set in relationship with the idea of discipleship; what have you to say about that?

JT Make disciples, and in making them baptise them. It is all one process; in making them you baptise them. But the idea of making a disciple involves much, because how can I make one save in the sense that I am one — that I have influence? It is the mighty influence of the power in heaven and upon earth, wielded in the hands of Christ through these men, these disciples that He had formed — that influence was to affect the nations. So that evangelisation is not simply enlightening people, but impressing them by influence with the greatness of ^[p. 400] the thing you are in. It is not only that I am what I preach; in Matthew it is also the system I am connected with, all power in heaven and upon earth wielded there.

Ques Is the thought of influence continued in Revelation 21?

JT It will come out in the heavenly city; there never will be anything like it for influence. But the idea of personal influence, or the influence you present in service, is very interesting. Take Mary of Bethany as an illustration. There had been three distinguished believers at Bethany; one was dead, two of them remained there. One of them met the Lord — she came out to meet Him, but nobody was moved by her action. Mary, as she is told about the Lord’s presence in the place, goes as He calls her, and as she moves others move with her, and as she weeps others weep, and the Lord weeps. That is to say, it is a question of spiritual influence — how I affect people; and that is the divine thought, that every believer is to have an influence for good. The eleven disciples had such training and experience with the Lord that their influence was exceptional.

Rem They were conscious of the power of Christ on their behalf; they had the consciousness that they could be carried through, whatever the opposition.

JT As a servant of Christ you move under His directions; you go to Galilee, to His appointed place. You are not a free lance, to do as you wish. Preaching is not all; it is a question of what I am when I preach, and what I am after — how I speak to the converts. Do I go to Galilee before I preach? Do I take that long journey? I know that what I have in hand is a most important matter; it is a divine matter, and I must be equal to it. As serving One who has all power in heaven and on earth, it is a poor thing if I have not got a grain of power; the inference is that I have not gone ^[p. 401] to Galilee.

EBG Would it be right to say that you can only impress people according to God in the measure in which what you are is consistent with what you say?

JT Exactly. You hear one speak in spiritual power — that man has been to Galilee, that is, he goes to the appointed place. The eleven went, it says, and they worshipped. You go to the Lord about your ministry; what place has He in your soul? what is He to you? They worshipped Him, and He came up and spoke to them; that is, He recognises them. “Jesus coming up spoke to them”. Although some of them doubted, He spoke to them, and said, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth”.

EBG I was thinking that in these days of brokenness sometimes we have misgivings as to whether there is enough to meet all the demands upon us; the Lord would rebuke that.

JT I think it is very encouraging that He came up to them. There is not a word of rebuke here; in Luke and Mark there is, but not here. It is because He wants to convey to you that He is conscious of this power, and He is going on in it; however few or many are going on, He is going on. He says, “All power has been given me in heaven and upon earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”. What an order that was!

WHM It speaks of Haggai being the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message (Haggai 1:13). He was in it; it conveys that he was in the good of what he was uttering.

Rem Amongst the three things that go well in Proverbs 30:29,30, the lion is suggested as being one — it turns not aside for any; there is a persistent going on.

JT Well, I think that is how we see the Lord in Matthew’s gospel.

Perhaps we might finish with the view we get of the city in Revelation 21. It will be observed that, in verse 9,

“^[p. 402] one of the seven angels that had had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues” spoke to John; the same seven, one of whom shewed him the Babylonish system in the desert. So that whilst on the one hand we are shewn the Babylonish corrupting system and its end, we are shewn also the heavenly Jerusalem, the heavenly city, having the glory of God “coming down”.

HH What does that mean, “coming down out of the heaven from God”?

JT I think that what it conveys is the principle of sonship, that there is liberty. It does not fall, like Satan, it comes down; it is an action of liberty.

HH Would you say that which is displayed?

JT Yes; the underlying principle of the movement is liberty. We have just been remarking about the stateliness of certain movements, of certain creatures, such as the lion and the war-horse and the he-goat; I think in the movement here attention is called to the coming down; the city is seen coming down.

RWG Do you mean that the city moves of itself?

JT Yes; that is right; as set up in the liberty and dignity of sonship.

LES It would be in direct contrast to Babylon; Babylon is fallen.

JT I think that is the thought; she is seen in the desert. You do not need to go up to the mountain to see her; you can see all that is there from a horizontal view; but I have to be brought to a high mountain to see this. You will observe that it is not simply a high mountain, but a “great and high mountain”. It must be a mountain of great extent. There is something in the mountain itself besides elevation; John evidently was equal to such elevation and greatness.

He was taken there in the Spirit. It says, “He carried me away in the Spirit, and set me on a great and high mountain, and shewed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God”. John was accustomed to that experience. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”, he says earlier, (chapter 1:10).

EBG Does the allusion to the bride, the Lamb’s wife, convey the thought of the affections formed in sufferings?

JT I think so. The Lamb, in this book, is the Sufferer; He is seen as slain. One great thought of Paul was that the church should not be behind in the sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24); so that she is suitable to be the Lamb’s wife.

EBG Would affection lie behind all administration?

JT Yes. And what sufferings are needed to make her correspond with the Lamb! She has “twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel”. And then on the foundations the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. That is, you have angelic ministry, and the ministry set out in Israel, and in the twelve apostles; so that all dispensations, as we might say, are gathered up in this glorious assembly or city coming down. Attention is called to the movement, as shewing the grace of it. I do not suppose there is any movement except Christ’s so beautiful as are the movements of the city. It is in keeping with the walk of the Lamb. It is Paul’s church, we may say, only he had to do with the interior. There is nothing much said here about the interior, except the street. It is what she is outwardly; it is the public position here. She is in liberty; she is the free woman. How can she be free except by the spirit of sonship? and this involves Paul’s ministry. Peter did not announce sonship, nor John; I mean, the ministry of sonship comes out through Paul, only his work is not presented, save in the result of it. What must the city be inwardly, the grace of its movement being so marked!

Ques Is it the dignity of sonship in John 20:17, when Jesus says, “I ascend”?

JT That is Christ’s own sonship. But you do not get sonship applied to christians in John’s writings except once — in Revelation 21. You get children, but not sonship. It was reserved for Paul; God’s Son was revealed in him; and so it is in his ministry that you get the great truth of sonship. Hence it is the exterior in this city. John gives you the external view; he is connected with the administrative side himself.

Ques Does Paul give the interior in Ephesians 5:25, saying, “Christ also loved the church”?

JT That is all the interior side; that love is known to the church, and of course there is the corresponding effect, all of which enters into the grace and glory of her movements. It fits her also to be the vessel of the divine glory. She has the glory of God. That is very wonderful. Thus she is seen coming down. And so in verse 2 it says, “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. That is in relation to the eternal state of things. You do not get the Lamb mentioned there; it is simply the bride adorned for her Husband; that is eternal. But here it is the Lamb, because it is the millennial side — the testimony to His sufferings, and what He has as a consequence. And what a glorious wife she is! She corresponds with Him fully. She comes down from heaven and has the glory of God; she shines in beauteous clearness — “like a most precious stone, as a crystal-like jasper stone”.

Ques Would you say that is Paul’s ministry?

JT That is right; Paul puts us in heaven — the workmanship of God; John brings us down all-glorious. Then the next thing I think we may see in her is the idea of substance; that is to say, cubic measure.

GBE Why is the depth not mentioned here? In Ephesians we have the length, breadth, height, and ^[p. 405] depth.

JT Depth refers to Christ; He went down. “But that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended into the lower parts of the earth?” (Ephesians 4:9).

SL I think you said that we have to take account of these things as relating to the saints now — how the saints are formed. For instance, “A stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal”; we should take character from that now.

JT Yes. The teaching connected with precious stones is very interesting. They represent what is most precious in the creation, and therefore are symbolical of what is most precious in God’s mind. As we saw the other day, in Exodus 26, the principal men in Israel had the precious stones for the building of the tabernacle: figuring excess in spiritual wealth, and the church is not wanting in that; every precious stone is in her. It is the sum total of the work of God in all these centuries. What substance He has got! Measured every way it is the same — it is a cube. But we have to refuse in our minds the material thought, it is a question of persons, but viewed in this symbolic way. They are the workmanship of God, set in such relation in love that they are entirely at the disposal of Christ, that He can manipulate them as He pleases. It is the numeral twelve. We are so formed in love that we are entirely at the disposal of Christ. You cannot conceive of people being built up like that literally; you have to get rid of the material thought and get the spiritual. It is the idea of substance, but of a spiritual nature, and so in the hands of Christ, as individuals set in relation to each other in love, that He can manipulate them at His pleasure, and send them hither and thither.

Rem It says, “That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance”, (Proverbs 8:21).

Rem “Among whom ye shine as lights in the world”, (Philippians 2:15).

JT Exactly. The members of the assembly will ^[p. 406] shine everywhere in the universe, and move in liberty, so that they will influence all below. It is a marvellous thing that we as christians belong to this.

Ques Do these measurements refer to spiritual stature?

JT That is the idea, shewing that it comes up to the original mind of God; there is nothing wanting.

Rem I think you referred to Abigail; she came down.

JT She came down on one side, and David came down on the other side, and she met David on the plain below, and there was a perfect solution of the matter — it was in coming down. That is the principle.

HB Have you anything to say about the street?

JT It is one street. Some of us were speaking about Peter: “they went down one street”, (Acts 12:10). God would accustom us to one street; it refers to equality, I think, because if you have many streets some are likely to be select, better than others. In the heavenly city there are no social distinctions like that; we are on perfectly mutual ground. It is a wonderful street; it is transparent. It is in keeping with the “church of the first-born, which are written in heaven” (Hebrews 12:23). That is to say, the levites of God are all first-born ones, no one has any superiority over others.

Rem There is “the street which is called Straight”, (Acts 9:11).

JT I think that is another allusion to it.

EG What would you say about the high wall?

JT That is fellowship now. It is the principle of exclusion of evil. That is what ever marks the assembly normally. It will appear fully in the heavenly city.