Reading 3
A.J.G. We are considering the holy city to be presenting God’s work in the present dispensation, and the features that mark it must be found now in our local companies. The more we understand what God seeks to ensure in the saints, the more we will have the desire that He should find it in us now. What emerges from the verses read today is a constant allusion to God and the Lamb. We have it in verses 22 and 23, and then, in chapter 22: 1 and 3. The great glory of the assembly is in the fact that God dwells there and is known there according to the way in which He revealed Himself in Christ. He is always presented here in relation to the Lamb. We will never know God unless in Christ; but what is striking is that in the end, God and the Lamb are here. It is not their relationship that is in view here, but rather God’s relationship with man, God known in Christ. I believe that this is the end result to which God is working, so that in eternity the tabernacle of God will be with men; but this must already be known in the assembly. That is why I proposed John 14, for we find conditions such as the Father and the Son can abide with us with pleasure. The Spirit has already made His home there, so that the Father, the Son and the Spirit are there. The Lord reveals the secret of this dwelling for the purpose of a present achievement, despite what exists around us. But the secret is to show our love for Christ in keeping His commandments; it is also in the presence of the Spirit. Two conditions ensure God’s dwelling among His own: showing that we love Christ by keeping His commandments, and having the presence of the Spirit with us.
Let us first consider the Revelation. Verse 22, at which we began, seems to suggest the proximity in which God Himself is known: there is no temple there. In the past, there was a temple in Jerusalem and to approach God you had to get into the temple. But here there is no temple, as if to indicate that God is in the city itself. We have a remarkable passage in Zachariah 2, 5: “I, saith Jehovah, I will be unto her a wall of fire all round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her”; that is to say that the glory of the city is in the fact that God is there, according to the last words of Ezekiel: “Jehovah is there”.
Ques. We are used to the thought that the assembly is the temple. How then should we understand that God Himself is His temple?
A.J.G. We have the thought of the temple in 1 Corinthians 3, referring to the presence of the Spirit that sets aside all that is of man and mind of man. But this passage presents to us, it seems to me, that the glory of the city comes from the fact that God abides there. In chapter 7 of Ezekiel, verse 20, it is said: “And he set in majesty his beautiful ornament”, that is, that the temple was once the ornament and glory of Jerusalem; but now the presence of God is the glory of the assembly: God known in Christ. Therefore, natural light is excluded. It is said that the city has no need for the sun, nor the moon, to enlighten it, for the glory of God has enlightened it. So we have to appreciate God’s presence among us, God known in Christ, and we do not need any other.
Ques. Why is it said: “The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb”?
A.J.G. The title “Almighty” appears here in contrast with what marks man in his opposition to God. The power of evil against God reaches its climax in the Revelation and falls finally under judgment, and it seems that the expression “Almighty” is used in contrast with what happens. God is seen in His supremacy, above all the power of man and Satan. So the Lord God the Almighty remains there, but He is known in the Lamb, the One who suffered. The Lamb has won the saints’ affections, maintained in relation with Him, and it is in Him that God’s light shines for us. The thought that there is no temple in it indicates, I think, that the entire city benefits from the same nearness to God. In the Jerusalem of old, to reach the presence of God, one had to go up to the temple, while now God abides in the city and is known without restriction. It is important to see, I believe, that God Himself is the final thought, but always God known in Christ. It is always God and the Lamb, they are never separated. And there is also the thought that the temple was the great glory of Jerusalem; it was the ornament as is shown in Ezekiel. Now the great glory of the assembly is that God Himself abides there, God known in Christ. Then verses 24 to 27 occupy us with what the assembly will be in relation to the nations, which can obviously hardly apply to the present time. Then we have chapter 22, the river of water of life, bright as crystal, going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. This seems to accentuate the fact that God’s rights are fully recognised. The throne is there, the throne of God and of the Lamb, from which the river of water of life goes out, which is an allusion to the fresh and constant ministry of the Spirit. A river is never stagnant; that is why our meetings should never be dreary. A river always flows; it is marked by freshness. If the rights of God and Christ are fully recognised, the Spirit is not hindered, and the result is what corresponds to the river of living water, bright as crystal.
Ques. What would you say about verse 24?
A.J.G. It is an allusion to the coming day, the millennium, as we say. It is alluded to in the last chapter of Zachariah, in verse 16: “And it shall come to pass, that all that are left of the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of tabernacles”. This is, of course, an allusion to the city of Jerusalem on earth, but it is certain that there will be a close relationship between Jerusalem on earth, the city of the great King, and the heavenly city. Jerusalem on the earth in intimate relationship with the heavenly city will be the point where God will be known and all nations will have to come, for it says: “It shall be, that whoso goeth not up of the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the king, Jehovah of hosts, upon them shall be no rain”. It does seem to me, however, that these last four verses of Revelation 21 have some present application. Before sin entered this world, there was the garden that God had planted, containing all kinds of trees; in the middle was the tree of life and the river went out to water the garden. It is thus that the conditions at the end will correspond with those at the beginning. The idea of the garden is that it is especially for the pleasure of the one to whom it belongs, and that is exactly what the assembly should be, a place where Christ is cherished, according to divine thoughts.
Ques. Would you say that the essential distinction between the end and the beginning is that at the end the throne of God and the Lamb is there?
A.J.G. Yes, that is a good distinction. The entrance of sin has thrown a challenge to God’s rights, and now these rights are safeguarded. I suppose it is a matter of the influence that the city will exert, in spreading the light of God, so that righteousness will reign and love will prevail in the universe. There will be a complete change in the political situation, nations being affected by the light of God, seen in the city. The thought of the river of water of life is very important, I think, and it has its application to us now, because the scriptures say “the river of God is full of water”. The river always flows; its waters are always fresh. We should therefore make sure that what is fresh and living characterises our meetings. The river comes out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, showing that there are conditions in which the rights of God and of Christ are fully recognised. We also have Christ as the tree of life: “in the midst of the street”, the street of the city, “and of the river”, there was “the tree of life”. In this chapter, we find the same conditions as at the beginning. The Lord is ready to help us. We may be aware that we are not responding fully; we are still learning, but to discern that the divine thought is a good starting point for exercises, and the Lord will help.
Ques. Do you think that having the name written involves something characteristic, and not casual?
A.J.G. This is what must be seen by others. I am sure if we had been in the meeting with Paul or with Peter, and if we had heard them give thanks, we would not have had a doubt that they knew God. The way they expressed themselves would probably have been very simple, but it would have been clear that they knew God, and that is what the Lord seeks in the assembly. To the overcomer in Philadelphia, the Lord says, “I will write upon him the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God”. Such a person has the ability to take care of everything for God. “The name of the city of my God”, that is, the centre of the great ministration, that name is written on him.
Ques. Is there a reason why those who serve Him are called “bondmen”?
A.J.G. Yes, the gospel must make all of us bondmen to God. Maybe it is because there is not enough of this character that we do not make more progress; but chapter 6 of the Romans leads us to take that position. That is the normal result of the gospel being fully grasped in our souls, that is, we live wholly to God’s will and His interests. We have no special rights to claim personally.
Ques. In verse 3 of Chapter 22 of Revelation, we read: “His name shall be on their foreheads”. Can we put this with chapter 9 of Ezekiel where it speaks about those who have received a mark on their foreheads?
A.J.G. I think that in Ezekiel 9 you find the smallest measure of what may please God, and God does not despise it. There were those who sighed and cried because of the abominations committed, and God took this into account, the mark on them was probably the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This shows that in the final testimony God was making to Jerusalem, there were a few people crying because of conditions; but that is very different from serving God in the light of what His Name is. What we have in the passage of Revelation 22 is that His servants serve Him, performing a priestly service; it is the full thought of God’s service. It is said, “his name shall be on their foreheads”, which shows that they are intelligent about everything that the name of God involves. This should characterise God’s service now, while we have some appreciation of the glory of the Name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit.
Ques. Is there a relationship with the promise made to the overcomer in Philadelphia? “I will write upon him the name of my God”.
A.J.G. There is an obvious relationship. The overcomer in Philadelphia enters into the full understanding of blessing in the name of God, and the intelligence that marks it comes into evidence. The thanksgivings and the part that the brothers take should allow it to be seen whether the name of God is on their foreheads or not.
Rem. We need to be made intelligent as to the name of God, because there is often confusion in our minds.
Ques. Did you have a thought about the twelve fruits?
A.J.G. I suppose that is the result of feeding on the tree of life. We find what is monthly in this passage. The life of the assembly breaks down into weeks, but it seems that there is also what relates to the month, so that in recent years the Lord has encouraged us to be occupied with some things on a monthly basis: the meeting for prophetic ministry every month, and the care meeting every month. I do not think that is accidental. The Lord is introducing the character of what is monthly as well as weekly,
In John 14, the Lord gives instructions to bring about all that we are talking about, even in the conditions that currently exist. As has often been said, John’s gospel is written for the last days. So although the Lord says, “if anyone”, the truth of the assembly is always in view, although perhaps in small expression outwardly. These instructions have their application wherever conditions exist characteristically. So what is essential is to show that we love Christ by having His commandments and keeping them. He says, in verse 21: “He that has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me”. It seems to me that the scriptures draw our attention to three commandments particularly. First, there is the commandment in 2 Timothy 2: “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord withdraw from iniquity”. We cannot get anything in relation to the assembly unless that position is taken. Then, having taken it, we may consider the first epistle to the Corinthians as being “the Lord’s commandment” to regulate all our occasions of gathering. Finally, we have the commandment given in John by the Lord Himself, to love one another; this regulates our relations one with another. I believe that if these three commandments are kept, we reach conditions in the midst of which the Spirit may be at liberty, and lead us into all the truth; but if one of them is lacking, we will not get to the truth effectively.
Ques. Would there be a distinction between “keep my commandments” and “keep my word”?
A.J.G. Yes. The commandments are permanent. We will not achieve anything if we do not keep His commandments; but keeping them, we move forward together, regulated by the truth and loving one another. Then, what will ensure freshness is the word of the Lord, that is, what He may communicate at any time. It may be that He has to say tomorrow something that He has never said previously. So it is always a matter of paying attention to what the Lord may have to say.
Ques. Would you say that “his word” may be limited by the state we are in, while His commandments are absolute?
A.J.G. Yes. In Martha’s house in Bethany, Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His word. Whatever He had to say, she was listening. But at one point, Martha interrupted Him and the Lord had to say a word to Martha because of her state. This led to a break in what the Lord was saying at the time. So there is this thought of “his word”, in general, a word that Mary listened to and that made her intelligent in her understanding, and there is also the question of a word of adjustment made necessary by Martha’s state.
Ques. Does verse 21 suggest that we might have His commandments and not keep them?
A.J.G. That could happen. First of all, we must have them. If Christians do not read their Bible, they will not even know the commandments; we need to read our Bible to know them. Then, if we have read them, we are tested as to whether to keep them. It is if we keep them that the promised blessing comes upon us. I believe that if the brethren are willing to reflect, they will see that the three commandments I mentioned are of great importance. First of all, 2 Timothy 2 places us in a position where the truth of the assembly can be realised; then, the Lord’s commandment in the first epistle to the Corinthians regulates the way we come together; and finally essential commandment to love furnishes the conditions in which the truth will be known.
Rem. Is that how the throne is established in our midst?
A.J.G. Exactly. All God’s rights in love are recognised. So the Lord adds to this this thought of keeping commandments the thought of keeping His word as a proof of our love. It is a matter of always having an ear open to what the Lord is saying currently, because that is what assures freshness. In the conditions produced in this way, the Lord can say, “My Father will love him, and we”, that is to say the Father and Son, “will come to him, and make our abode with him”. The Spirit is already there and He abides there forever, so that the Father, the Son and the Spirit abide with pleasure in such conditions. This consideration brings us back actually to what we have seen in Revelation 21, where the habitation of God Himself constitutes the glory of the assembly.
Ques. What is the difference between a manifestation and abiding?
A.J.G. A manifestation is something special. The Lord comes, while the Spirit remains with us forever. The Lord comes and goes. It says in the first chapter of the Acts, that from the baptism of John until the time when He went up into heaven, He came in and out among them. We may not be able to reach that conclusion from the account of the gospels. The Lord instructed His disciples as to how to assemble, and this is a characteristic feature of the assembly, that the Lord could come in and out, come in again, and go out again. On the other hand, the Father, the Son and the Spirit can abide in conditions provided according to the line of John 14. This does not mean that the Lord cannot go in and out, but He can stay there and move at the same time. Indeed, we do not always find ourselves in our own homes; we can go out and in. That is where we live, but we have the right to come in and out as we like. I think that is also the thought in chapter 14 of John, verse 23, where conditions are prepared for God. All this depends upon the presence of the Spirit. The Lord says, in verse 16: “I will beg the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that he may be with you forever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive”. He truly occupies the place that Christ occupied among His own when He was down here; and all that the Lord was to His disciples, the Comforter is for us now. This obviously does not mean that we do not have the Lord at the same time. The Spirit intervenes during the absence of Christ to take care of all our interests, when we are seen here as engaged in the testimony of God.
Ques. Would verse 18 have an application to the times when we are together?
A.J.G. I think so, yes; it has been used in this sense. Did you think it was particularly applicable to the Lord coming to His disciples after His resurrection?
Rem. I wondered if that was the direct meaning, but I think also that it is the Lord coming to His own now, in accordance with what has been said.
A.J.G. Even if verse 18 only applied literally to the moment when the Lord came to His disciples in resurrection, we have the verses so that we can appropriate them: “I will love him and I will manifest myself to him” (v 21); and “we will come to him”.
Ques. Can we have the presence of the Lord, according to Matthew 18, without exactly having a manifestation?
A.J.G. Yes, certainly. The idea of a manifestation is that it leaves a new impression of Him on our minds. In Matthew 28, the thought is that the Lord is with us all the days in power in order to maintain God’s rights; despite the hostility that surrounds us, for the gospel of Matthew accentuates the thought of hostility and opposition against God. And the Lord assures us that He is with us all the days. Matthew 18 is the thought of support: “gathered together unto my name” specifically refers to occasions when we are gathered for the interests of the Lord, to what we call an assembly meeting, and also at the meeting for prayer. At the beginning of the recovery, this passage has been much used to encourage saints to assemble to break bread, in simple dependence on the Lord, and they felt that He supported them. But I think what is in view is an assembly meeting to maintain divine interests; the Lord is there to give His support, and, I believe that this thought is extended to a meeting for prayer.
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