BEGINNING OF THE NEW ORDER

BEGINNING OF THE NEW ORDER

(John 20)

My impression is that you would distort the divine order if you make John 20 universal, or extend it beyond the church. You will bear in mind that the Lord is rejected in John, so that the Jews are called “the world” in John 15. Now is fulfilled the words (John 12: 28), “And will glorify it again”. The Lord is risen. Hence what relates specially to Himself is the beginning of the new order. The first creation finished with a man — Adam. Adam fell, and all that creation was made subject to vanity. Now the new has come and it begins with “the second man out of heaven”. Hence, I repeat, the circle of interest to His heart — the bride in its twofold aspect as heart and hands, are present to us in John 20. Mary Magdalene represents one, and the eleven the other. The finest trait of the heart is there in perfection. She gathers, as has been said, the disciples. All are there but Thomas, who represents the Jew (who looked for the Messiah as visible to the natural eye), but the Jew is at length in this hallowed circle (verses 26 - 30), which is administration for Christ here on earth; indeed as in one sense it will be during the millennium. There is no administration in the millennium, as far as I see, connected with the kingdom, save through the New Jerusalem. When Lazarus was raised you might say there was then the opening for universal display on the earth, and as to fact, our Lord’s entry into Jerusalem as King took place the next day. J.N.D. makes John 21 a millennial scene. Peter was out of the current of the Lord’s mind when he proposed to go a fishing.

^[p. 24] In conclusion, I may add that it is deeply interesting to apprehend from the word of God the portion and province of each company of His saints, if it were only to open out to us the peculiar distinctiveness of our own portion.