THE HOLY SPIRIT

^[p. 413] THE HOLY SPIRIT

Revelation 1: 9, 10; Revelation 2: 7; Revelation 22: 16, 17

JT The brethren will no doubt be ready for a comparison of the truth of the Holy Spirit as seen in the earliest chapters of the Bible, with that set forth in the end of the Bible. We are in the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. The Lord as having gone into heaven received the Spirit of the Father and shed Him forth, as we are told in Acts 2; so that He is here and gives character to the dispensation. This is one of the greatest subjects that the Bible affords, for the Spirit Himself is a divine Person and so has part in the Deity; and it is essential that we as christians should know this and read the Bible with His help. The first chapter of the Bible says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, not interfering or taking on any divine service so far as we know, but hovering or brooding over the face of the waters, as if a condition had arisen that required His attention. That is all we get there; and then in chapter 6: 3 Jehovah says, “My Spirit shall not always plead with Man”, which would mean that He had been pleading with men, not in any punitive way, but evidently to affect them as to the truth, for the light of God had been commanded. God had said, “Let there be light”, and there was light, and the Holy Spirit would operate in the light. The word was that He would not always plead with man, but that man’s days would be one hundred and twenty years; meaning that God would continue in patience with him during all those years.

The book of Revelation was written by John. The revelation is said to have been given to Christ “Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to shew to his bondmen what must shortly take place;

^[p. 414] and he signified it, sending by his angel, to his bondman John, who testified the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, all things that he saw. Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things written in it; for the time is near”, Revelation 1: 1 - 3. John was thus taken on by the Lord to write this book, and he tells us that he was the bondman of the Lord Jesus, and that he “testified the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, all things that he saw”. Then he begins to tell us in verse 9 that he, our “brother and fellow-partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and patience, in Jesus, was in the island called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus. I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”, he says, so that this verse brings us to what is in mind, that John as writing this book is seen as becoming in the Spirit on the Lord’s day. Thus we are here in the same position as in Genesis, that there is a condition requiring attention, only that in Genesis the condition was chaotic and the Spirit was hovering over it. Now there is again a condition that requires the attention of the Spirit, but here it is directed to the service of John. So that what is before us is the service of the Holy Spirit, and how it enters into the book of Revelation: firstly in this passage read; then in verse 7 of the next chapter where He is speaking to the assemblies: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”; and then in the last chapter, where the Spirit is seen in unison with the assembly-not the assemblies now but the assembly itself, the whole assembly, viewed as the bride-and “the Spirit and the bride say, Come”. It seems to me that the brethren will be helped by looking into these sections, especially having in mind the Spirit as linked with the bride in chapter 22.

CFE You mentioned that in Genesis 6 God said, “My Spirit shall not always plead with Man”. ^[p. 415] Was He looking forward to the end of the dispensation?

JT He was thinking of the service of the Holy Spirit in striving or pleading with Man. That would be given up presently because the deluge would come in, but God waited in patience on men and entreated them through Noah; the pleading no doubt would be largely through Noah.

AR Does the book of Revelation show a chaotic condition in the church?

JT There is a chaotic condition, although not such as is contemplated in Genesis 1, because the churches, seven in number, are viewed as more or less in an orderly relation, externally at least. Thus the Lord begins with Ephesus and speaks to her about certain things, and then to Smyrna and Pergamos and on to the end of the seven assemblies. There is something commendable in almost every one of them; but the point now for us to see is how graciously the Spirit is ready to serve us even though there may be conditions that are reprehensible; and then finally that He is saying with the bride-not simply with the church or the assembly-but with the bride, “Come”. He is influencing the bride; He and the bride are saying the same thing; they say to the Lord Jesus, “Come”, as He announces Himself as “The root and ^[p. 428] offspring of David, the bright and morning star”.

WFK It says that John “became in the Spirit”. Was that a state?

JT Yes; he was not always in that state. He was normally, I suppose, in the christian condition in which we are to walk in the Spirit and live by the Spirit; but this was special when he says, “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”; it was in view of obtaining the revelation.

ANW What view should we have of the Spirit in the time between Genesis 1 and Acts 2, having in mind His hovering in Genesis and His descent in Acts 2? How should we view Him in the interim?

JT ^[p. 416] We cannot just say that He had come down in Genesis in the same sense that He came down at Pentecost. He came down from heaven at Pentecost to indwell the assembly and to carry on the service of the glad tidings, and to supply all that is needed by the assembly. He is here still. Perhaps you will enlarge a little on what you have in your mind.

ANW I only wondered if everything that was effected subjectively between those two times was done by the Spirit’s operations. I have the thought of what was subjective in mind.

JT You would go fully with the remark that the incoming or the coming down of the Spirit at Pentecost was not just what we have in Genesis, nor what is subsequent to Genesis, until He came on Jesus. He came on Jesus in the form of a dove, we are told; but at Pentecost He came with the form of cloven tongues as of fire which sat on each of the saints that were there; and indwelt them. He thus took up His residence in the assembly-for they constituted the assembly-which was a unique matter. It had never been true before that He should indwell. It was true of course when He came on Jesus; He dwelt in Jesus, but not in others. No others joined in the possession of the Spirit until redemption was accomplished, and Pentecost contemplates the accomplishment of redemption. The Lord, having gone into heaven has sent down the Spirit and the Spirit has come to indwell the assembly, and He still indwells the assembly. Therefore the point for us today is as to what we understand by His indwelling and what He is doing.

RWS Does the fulness of the thought involve christianity? It alludes in the Old Testament Scriptures to an Angel of Jehovah. Would that be the Lord Jesus? But that also awaited the fulness of His coming in in the incarnation.

JT The Angel of Jehovah, we are told, accompanied ^[p. 417] the people to lead them into Canaan; but that would not be the Lord as become incarnate, but an angel.

Ques Would you say that in Genesis 1 and 6 God was intimating that this divine Person, the Holy Spirit, would be the One who would carry on things?

JT That is right; God is intimating that, but He is not yet announced as come in. In the gospel He is announced as coming in, the Lord Jesus Himself saying that He would send the Comforter. He said this before He died. He calls Him “another Comforter” and said He would abide with the saints for ever; and that is the unique position now. He is abiding with us and dwelling in us. And so this wonderful grace that is seen in the passages referred to in Revelation is for us to consider: the character of His dwelling and the service He is rendering.

TEH It says in connection with Cornelius’ house that as many as heard the word received the Spirit. How do we get help as to the hearing of the word?

JT There we see the action of the Spirit Himself, “The Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were hearing the word”, Acts 10: 44. The word ‘fell’ is used; it is the same word that is used when the Father fell on the prodigal’s neck and kissed him. So that the Spirit is ready and available for us now on the principle of hearing the word. Cornelius invited Peter to his house and called his friends together, and Peter opened his mouth and preached the gospel to them; and while he was preaching the gospel to Cornelius and his company the Holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the word. That was the position.

RD What was effected in the disciples in John 20:22 when it says, “And having said this, he breathed into them, and says to them, Receive the Holy Spirit”?

JT That has to be compared with what we have already alluded to in Acts 2. The Spirit in Acts 2 ^[p. 418] came down-not in the form of a dove-but with the form of cloven tongues as of fire and sat on each of them. It is an action distinct from that in John 20 where it is said the Lord breathed into them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. Something would have happened when the Lord breathed into them, but we cannot just say that they were sealed as they were in Acts 2.

Ques Is the Spirit especially connected with prophecy in this book, as well as with the assembly? The book is called “the prophecy” (verse 3); John was a prophet in that sense.

JT Quite so. Of course it is the same John who wrote the gospel; and our brother has just called attention to the fact that John the evangelist tells us that the Lord breathed into the disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”. So you rightly say that the book of Revelation is connected with prophecy; it is prophetic ministry.

CN In Genesis 1 and 6 the Spirit is seen passively. Having Acts 2 in mind, does what we are reading in Revelation show that since redemption is accomplished He has taken up an active position among the saints?

JT He has; that is a very helpful thing to have before us. It is important thus to understand that we can only have the Spirit on the ground of redemption. The Lord Jesus had Him personally; He came on Him personally, not on the ground of redemption but because of what He was in His own Person. But He comes to us on the ground of redemption, the accomplished redemption of our Lord Jesus Christ. But He was in Genesis 1 and 6 feelingly. He is called the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of God is God Himself; but the word ‘Spirit’ being used points to the subjective feeling. The Spirit felt the thing; the water engulfed the earth and He felt ^[p. 419] the condition.

RWS As to verse 10, “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”, would John not then be full of joy? But subsequently there were assembly sorrows to be recognised. Would he be reflecting the hovering of the Spirit as to conditions in the assembly?

JT I think it is the same Spirit of feeling as in the hovering or brooding over the face of the waters. The condition there was not what was primal; something had happened. Possibly the devil had acted, but the Spirit of God does not say who was the actor, only that there was something that the Spirit felt; and the same would be true in this chapter in Revelation, that He would feel the conditions, first in the seven assemblies, and then in the general state of the world which, if we have time, we should look into, beginning with chapter 4. I think it is right to think of Him in relation to His feelings. If things go wrong in any gathering, the Spirit feels it and would bring about conditions of self-judgment.

Ques Does Romans 8 help? “The Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered” (verse 26).

JT That is what we are saying, how feeling He is. He makes intercession for the saints according to God.

JS So that we should take up things feelingly with one another.

JT Just so. The passage read in chapter 2 is one out of seven similar ones which refer to the Spirit speaking to the assemblies: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”; whereas chapter 1 is the state in which John was on the Lord’s day: “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”. It was the state in which he became in the sense of the possession of the Spirit.

EAL “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”. The ear there is characteristic of the believer, is it ^[p. 420] not?

JT Just so, he is appealed to; so that there is an appeal to every one of us now as to whether we have an ear for these things. Some of us may not have.

CFE Is this hearing in view of the formation of the saints?

JT It would be in view of formation, but I think in view of instruction too, because this book has instruction in mind.

AR The Spirit is not operating in relation to any special section; it is for all the assemblies.

JT Just so, the seven are mentioned. They are said to be in Asia, which is not the continent of Asia exactly, but the province of Asia not far from the European border. The Spirit of God sees well to connect these seven assemblies with that section.

TEH In connection with the speaking and hearing what the Spirit says, should I not be conscious that the person who is speaking is in the Spirit?

JT Of course if one is speaking in an authoritative way, he should himself be conscious that he has the Spirit. In this meeting any brother is free to speak, but we cannot just assume that because he speaks he is conscious that he has the Spirit.

Ques Is there a link between Stephen in Acts 7, being filled with the Holy Spirit and John here becoming in the Spirit?

JT There is; and it is also important to remember that the fact that we have part in a meeting like this is not a proof that we have the Spirit. Simon Magus, for instance, spoken of in Acts 8, professed to be converted and followed with Philip, but Peter found that he was not converted at all. I only refer to that because it is just as well that we should make inquiry as to whether we all have the Spirit. We should all be conscious that we have the Spirit.

ANW At one point the apostle says, “I think that I also have God’s Spirit”. Would he put it that way in order that results might show that he ^[p. 421] had?

JT I do not think the apostle Paul implied in any sense that he did not have the Holy Spirit. He only applied that remark to the matter that he was dealing with, because it was a question of his experience as a spiritual man. What he was saying was not one of the Lord’s commandments. That statement in 1 Corinthians 7 is most remarkable. The subject is marriage, and the apostle Paul distinguishes between the Lord’s commandment and his own experience as a christian.

TEH Is it also remarkable that that section should have been put into the canon of Scripture?

JT It is right to use that word ‘canon’, because it might be questioned whether the actual remarks of Paul himself were scriptural; whereas the truth is that he is speaking as inspired of God, and as an experienced christian too; and he is telling us that he has no commandment about what he is saying at this particular point, but that as an experienced man he has confidence that what he is saying is right.

FHL He says elsewhere, without any doubt, that “we have the mind of Christ”.

JT Just so, he says that expressly, which is characteristic of a christian. But that expression, we have “the mind of Christ”, refers to the thinking faculty, not simply that we know something about a certain thing but we have the faculty of thinking as Christ does. That is a very important thing to keep in mind.

GF Is there any difference between being indwelt by the Holy Spirit and sealed by the Holy Spirit?

JT There is a slight difference. The phraseology is: “Now he that ... has anointed us, is God, who also has sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts”, 2 Corinthians 1: 21, 22. So that there are three things there. One is that I am anointed; a believer who has the Spirit may be viewed as anointed,

^[p. 422] which is an external idea. As he is speaking or preaching he has power. But then the sealing is that God owns Him, the seal signifies ownership. The presence of the Holy Spirit is a mark in us that God owns us, very precious too. And then finally He has given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. First I am anointed, then sealed, and then I have the earnest of the Spirit in my heart.

DAP Would the Spirit bring to bear on us a special ministry in every dispensation from Genesis right through to Revelation?

JT I would think that, only that when you consider the present dispensation it is the dispensation of the Spirit. That is, it is a dispensation that is marked by the presence of the Spirit. There were earlier dispensations, but these were not marked by the presence of the Spirit; there is that distinction to be maintained. This is the only dispensation that can be regarded as the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; it is the indwelling of the Spirit that marks His present service.

FNW Is His present service marked by a peculiar fulness in relation to the Father and the Son in the economy, what They are above? Your allusion to Acts 2 seemed remarkable, that the Lord received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, bringing in the full thought of the economy.

JT Very good; hence the word in John 15 that the Spirit proceeds “from with the Father” as coming into the saints.

RWS The Spirit is hindering as to wickedness and as to the nations, but as to the saints it is just the opposite; He welcomes us, as with John here becoming “in the Spirit”.

JT Just so. The work is positive, building us up in the knowledge of Christ and of God, the knowledge of the Spirit Himself and of the Father, building us ^[p. 423] up in the knowledge that we belong to the assembly. The formation of the assembly is a great thing.

Ques In John 7 where it says the Spirit “was not yet”, do you understand that to refer to the assembly or to the individual or to both?

JT It is a remarkable word, “not yet”; the assembly too was not yet. Jesus was not yet glorified. The word ‘yet’ means that the Spirit had not at that time taken up the position in the dispensation that was intended. The word ‘yet’ has its answer now; it is true this very day in this room. The Spirit is here in this room consequent on the glorification of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is available because Jesus has been glorified.

TEH Would you mind helping us as to praying in the Spirit? “But ye, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, awaiting the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life”, Jude 20, 21. How does that help us in relation to the assembly?

JT Your point is praying in the Holy Spirit. John says here, “I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day”. The word ‘in’ is a preposition of power, and John was conscious of the moment when he became “in the Spirit”. He was conscious of the presence of the power of the Spirit in his feelings and in his ministry.

AP How do you distinguish between being in the Spirit, and the believer’s body being the temple of the Spirit?

JT It is the power involved in the present action of the Spirit.

JS So that John was conscious of that power as being the vessel of the Spirit to develop what the Lord had in His mind.

JT Just so. He became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day. It was not his ordinary state, or the ^[p. 424] ordinary state of a christian; it was a special matter because the Lord intended to impart to him what this book contains. He intended to tell him how to write it, and all that depended on his becoming in the Spirit; so that he became in an ecstasy. He was governed by the indwelling Spirit in the full sense, his mind and affections were controlled for the moment by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Ques In chapter 5 he weeps because there was no one to open the book. Do you view him as moving in the Spirit there?

JT I think the whole position in the book contemplates a state of abstraction in which he is governed by the Spirit of God in his mind and feelings and affections. So that as under the control of the Holy Spirit he can write what we may call Holy Scripture. The book of Revelation is Holy Scripture, and it is written by John.

ANW In chapter 4 when told to come up to heaven he says, “Immediately I became in the Spirit”, confirming what you say, that he was in power in that way to take account of and record what he saw and heard.

SCM It says, “No one can say, Lord Jesus, unless in the power of the Holy Spirit”, 1 Corinthians 12: 3. What would you say about that?

JT That is the test in 1 Corinthians, because the Corinthians were very much exposed to their natural mind and to the devil getting in; and so Paul says, “I give you ... to know”, meaning that he gives them a test by which they should know that they have the Spirit, “that no one can say, Lord Jesus, unless in the power of the Holy Spirit”. That is the test. You might say, Well, he could use the words, an unconverted man could use the words. But the apostle does not mean that; he means that a man, speaking feelingly and under the influence of the Spirit, says, “Lord Jesus”.

RWS Would the Spirit’s feelings as to apostasy be reflected in the meeting for prayer, and the result of His formation in the saints be seen in the service of God in the assembly?

JT Just so. We speak much about the service of God, and of course that usually refers to worship, or our speaking to God in praise. Now we are speaking to one another, but still, it is God’s service to some extent, and it is in the Spirit. There is room for the Spirit at such a time, and no doubt we are conscious of it now, that something has been said that has helped us.

RWS That is enlarging. My thought was rather limited, as to reflecting, in the meeting for prayer, feelings as to public conditions, which would be more on the negative side; and yet the result of the Spirit’s formation in us would issue in greater service to God in the morning meeting.

JT I would go with that fully; so that our prayer meeting becomes the vehicle to convey our feelings as to publicly broken conditions; and as we humble ourselves the Spirit of God helps us, and at our next meeting for worship we have more power. I would say that is the great advantage of the prayer meeting.

Ques In relation to what you were saying about the Spirit’s help, I think we need help in this area that the Spirit may be given room in our ministry meetings and readings to throw light on local conditions. The Spirit’s words to the seven assemblies bring to light conditions in the localities. Do our ministry meetings and reading meetings serve to that end, to bring things to light?

JT What we are having this afternoon ought to serve us in that way, because it is a question of the Spirit: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies”. What you say, of ^[p. 426] course, would cover all that the Spirit may be saying to us.

CAM In John 16 the Lord in speaking of the Spirit coming in says that “he will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”. Would you open that up a little?

JT It would mean that the advent of the Spirit historically at Pentecost, and what followed and what is going on still, imply that a certain demonstration takes place. Certain demonstrations have taken place and are still taking place: for instance, Pentecost brought out the remarkable demonstration when three thousand persons at one time spoke to the apostle Peter and to the other eleven apostles and said, “What shall we do, brethren?”. They were profoundly affected by the Spirit of God. That was a positive demonstration effected by the Holy Spirit through Peter’s preaching at that time, and it has gone on more or less ever since. The power and the presence of the Holy Spirit is a demonstration of what can be seen if we have eyes to see or ears to hear.

Ques Is the Spirit related in any way to tribulation? I thought of it in relation to Paul and John. We were speaking of Paul’s tribulation and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

JT Yes, it would work out in us: “Tribulation works endurance; and endurance, experience; and experience, hope”, Romans 5: 3, 4. And that is because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which would bring us to the last verse read in Revelation 22: 16. The Lord says, “I Jesus”; He is addressing Himself to His saints, He addresses Himself to them in a personal sense. It is not simply that He is the Saviour, but He is personally Jesus, and known to us as such, and He says, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star”. And then ^[p. 427] comes the answer to that appeal, for you might say the Lord is appealing to us to draw out something from us; and that something is in what follows “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come”. The Lord by His personal address brings out the word, ‘Come’ from the Holy Spirit and from the bride.

WFK When does that take place, the Spirit and the bride together saying, “Come”?

JT I think it is still future. When it arrives the Lord will assert Himself in some sense, and the whole assembly will be affected; the Spirit will be affected too, but the whole assembly viewed as the bride will be affected.

JS Does this show the great formative work of the Spirit of God in the assembly?

JT Just so. How our hearts should be moved at a time like this to think that the matter is imminent, that at any moment the Lord may address Himself in this personal sense-”I Jesus”! It is a personal address.

FNW This revelation seems to originate with God. In chapter 2 the Spirit speaks to the assemblies, but here it is, “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies”. In my mind I was linking with Genesis 24 where, in type, the Father is seen moving and the Spirit is seen serving, but Isaac is the final thought reached.

JT Just so. If you follow up the thought of Genesis 24 Isaac is finally seen meeting with Rebecca. Earlier Abraham had spoken to his servant and given him a commission, but later on the thought of Abraham is dropped and it is Isaac who is prominent. Hence it is Christ and the assembly as here in our verse. The word ‘assemblies’ embraces the whole: “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify these things to you in the assemblies”; but now the Lord is going to speak about the bride, and that is where Isaac and Rebecca would come in. The Lord says, “I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star”. The root and offspring of David has to do with the earth; that is what David stands for. Christ is David’s Son and He is therefore the King; but He is also the root of David, showing that He is a divine Person. That is as far as the first part of the verse goes; then David’s part is finished. But He is also “the bright and morning star”. That is no question of David, but of the coming glory and the advent of Christ Himself as He arises with healing in His wings.

JS Appealing to bridal affections?

JT Quite so; so that it goes on to say, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”. That is more in answer to His presentation as the bright and morning star.

AR Does the close of chapter 22 view the assembly on earth? In chapter 21 she is seen coming down out of heaven.

JT Yes, what is here in our actual conditions today. It is the voice of Christ and His appeal will bring about this wonderful change. The Spirit and the bride will say, “Come”. That will synchronise with the rapture: as the saints call for the Lord, He comes.

Ques “All who love his appearing”; would that synchronise with Paul’s thought and John’s? It is really a love matter here.

JT I would say that. It is an appeal by the Lord. The Spirit’s response is first, which is striking; it means the Spirit takes charge of everything subjectively and then the bride comes in in His power.

WWM Would you say something about the earnest of the Spirit? Would that be the enjoyment of a sample of what we are to reach?

JT That is a good word, a sample. The earnest is the thing itself, only in a sample. It is a smaller idea, but the thing is there nevertheless. The earnest of the Spirit is what He is to us now.

RWS You synchronised the idea of “Come” with the rapture. Would the bright and morning star synchronise with the appearing?

JT I would think so, because the adornment comes in there in chapter 21: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea exists no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (verses 1, 2). This is the new order of things, a new heaven and a new earth. We are led into the eternal state in chapter 21 but chapter 22 is hardly that, though the Lord is making way for it. He is about to enter on the eternal state of things and the bride comes according to chapter 21 as adorned for Him. She is not seen as adorned here; what is said of her here is that she says, “Come”. She is ready for Him.

AR In that sense there is something here that suggests the bride, bridal affections for Christ.

JT Quite so. It is not a bride, it is the bride; the article being placed before it makes it very expressive. “The Spirit and the bride say, Come”; that is to say, there is only one Spirit and only one bride and they both say, Come.

AR She corresponds with what is in chapter 21.

JT What it says in chapter 21 is a description of her, she is prepared “as a bride adorned for her husband”: it is simply a description of her. “I saw the holy city”-notice it is the city that is the prime thought-”I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”. She is new Jerusalem in chapter 21 and she is only likened to a bride because she is prepared; the city is described in the sense that she is prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

HAS What was in the mind of John the baptist when he said, “He that has the bride is the bridegroom”?

JT He does not tell us. That is a very important point to bring up. John does not go so far as to say who she is. The Bridegroom has the bride, but where she is he does not say. She is not in evidence but He has her; she is His property, as it were; she belongs to Him.

FHL Would the work of the Spirit as bringing about in the bride a response to the “I Jesus” be a confirmation of John 15: 26? There it says, “The Spirit of truth who goes forth from with the Father, he shall bear witness concerning me”. Would this be the thought of confirmation?

JT Just so. I think we ought all to be clear about this matter of the bride as in chapter 22. In that chapter the term ‘bride’ has the article: there is only one. The term ‘Spirit’ has the article too there is only One. Each is distinguished in that peculiar way. Chapter 21 is new Jerusalem; there she is described “as a bride adorned for her husband”, so that we have two thoughts there; that chapter deals with the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, and the new order of things, the new heavens and the new earth. But in the verses we have read in chapter 22 we are dealing with the old heavens and the old earth, and the present situation just as we are in it today; only there is someone who knows who the bride is and someone who knows who the Spirit is. There is only one bride and only one Spirit and they both say, “Come”, to the Lord Jesus. They want to leave this scene. They want Him to come into His rights and they are making much of Him; they think everything of Him.