LIFE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION (4)
[p. 330] LIFE IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION (4)
Revelation 20: 4 - 6; Revelation 22:1-5; Revelation 22:14; Revelation 22:18,19
JT We barely touched yesterday on the eleventh chapter, in which we read that the witnesses of God are left as slain three days in the streets of the city, and that the spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood on their feet and were taken up into heaven; showing how the idea of life is carried through, and that witnesses of God in that day will have their part in heaven. Applied to ourselves, it would signify the power of life in us as persecuted, so that we stand on our feet. Standing on our feet would suggest balance in testimony, a thought carried through from the book of Acts, where the lame men — the one at Jerusalem, the other at Lystra — were to stand on their feet. Here they stand on their feet before being taken up; God gives victory where we may have found defeat. Undamaged by the outward defeat we stand up in testimony in the very place of it.
What will occupy us in chapter 20 is the whole company of the redeemed in their different classes, having part in the first resurrection and sitting on thrones, living and reigning with Christ for a period — also in testimony — of a thousand years. Then in chapter 22 what we will have before us is the river coming out from the throne of God, the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, and the tree of life viewed in its bearing toward the nations, and then, in verse 14, the tree of life inside, the part in which is to be dependent on washing. It will be seen, therefore, that the bearing of all these passages is very strikingly toward the scene of testimony.
CJB Would you make clear what you mean by balance in relation to the testimony?
JT It is one of the most important things, especially in young men. We are so apt to become one-sided. Balance is a great thought that enters into the whole [p. 331] scheme of the universe. The principle of balance — was brought in in connection with man, who is made to stand on two feet, instead of four like the lower creation. Man has the power of balancing, and spiritually it is so too. In testimony we have to watch that we are not extreme on any point. That is what I was thinking of.
CJB I suppose it is an indication of the energy of life.
JT It is. As soon as life leaves the body, there is no longer any standing.
W In Ezekiel that which was marked as dead, the dry bones in the valley, was found eventually standing on their feet.
JT Just so; that enters into this thought too. In chapter 7 there are a large number standing before the throne. They are all standing, not leaning on one another. Not that we may not do that, for we are to support one another, but here each is standing on his own feet. We see the principle in the little child, how difficult it is at first, but he learns to stand by himself by instinct. And so spiritually, we learn by instinct to balance ourselves, to stand on our feet.
JHT You were speaking about being extreme on some point or other. When the Lord brings out a new line of truth, there is the danger of stressing that too much and leaving other things, as has been done with the truth of the Lord’s coming. If the truth is taken in and absorbed, everything takes its proper place.
JT What is needed is manhood. Where brothers and sisters lean to one side, it is through want of balance. Manhood is marked by balance. It was the difficulty at Corinth. The whole of the two epistles is to establish a balanced state of things amongst them, and it is probably needed in every gathering in the world today.
FJF Would you say the apostle Paul was used of God to teach the nations to walk? It says of the man at Lystra that he had never [p. 332] walked.
JT I think that is right. The man in Jerusalem was lame. There is a slight difference in the wording of the two cases. In Acts 3 it says, “a certain man who was lame”. But in chapter 14 it says, “A certain man ... being lame ... who had never walked”. I suppose the man at the Beautiful Gate in Jerusalem would suggest the Jewish nation. There was some sort of hobbling there. But the gentile had never walked. Was that in your mind?
FJF Yes. Israel had in a certain sense walked with God.
JT God says He taught Ephraim to walk. For how long we do not know; the allusion is to the wilderness path, a difficult path. It shows how ready God is to teach us, for He is the first who is said to have walked, and it is said significantly of Christ that John saw Him walking. What a walk that was! The Jew no doubt walked in some sense, but the gentile never walked. At least this man had never walked, but he is to stand straight upon his feet, and Paul speaks to the Thessalonians about how they ought to walk and please God (1 Thessalonians 4: 1). For walking we need balance. Paul says to the man in Acts 14, “Rise up straight upon thy feet”. That is the full thought of balance.
It would seem that God honoured His servants, the two witnesses in chapter 11, by giving them the spirit of life. The spirit of life from God entered into them and they stood up upon their feet and were received up into heaven in the sight of their enemies. When there is difficulty amongst us, perhaps persecution, we are apt to lose balance and so rob ourselves of the glory involved in the matter. These men did not: they glorified God, standing on their feet where they had been slain. They had the victory where there was outward defeat, and then they are received up into heaven. It is a great matter for us, for anyone who does anything for the Lord is almost sure to get into some kind of persecution. He [p. 333] may become one-sided, and try to defend himself A great thing in these difficulties is balance.
In Revelation 11 we are really at the end of the testimony of God, because what follows is collateral with that chapter. In verses 15 - 17 is says, “And the seventh angel sounded his trumpet: and there were great voices in the heaven, saying, The kingdom of the world of our Lord and of his Christ is come, and he shall reign to the ages of ages. And the twenty-four elders ... worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, Lord God Almighty, He who is, and who was, that thou hast taken thy great power and hast reigned”. That is the end of the testimony; what follows in the next chapters are collateral things. The two witnesses have great distinction conferred on them; they get the victory in the way of testimony before the thing testified against is overthrown in judgment. They do not have to wait for the overthrow of the opposition, God gives them the victory before that. Their dead bodies were left three days and a half on the street of the city, and they that dwell on the earth rejoiced over them. Then there was a great voice out of heaven saying, “Come up here; and they went up to the heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them”. It is a striking correspondence with the Lord; they are honoured in that way. These witnesses represent full correspondence with Christ in their testimony, and they are honoured in the same way: they are received up in the cloud, but stand on the earth first, the people fearing.
JW Would it answer to Romans 8, “whom he has justified, these also he has glorified”? They were received up in the presence of their enemies.
JT Very good. They are justified in the presence of their enemies, and are then glorified, received up into heaven.
FJF That is like 1 Corinthians 15, “We shall be changed”. There is no word there as to the rapture. Thessalonians presents that side, the taking up.
JT [p. 334] Yes, it is the victory on earth in Corinthians. The mystery is the victory on earth — the change of the saints and the resurrection of the sleeping ones. Thessalonians gives us more than that; there it is the assembly’s place — she is received up.
CCE Is the number two literal or symbolical?
JT Symbolical, I think. The allusion is to Zechariah 4, but whilst it is future, it bears strikingly upon ourselves. It teaches us what testimony really is. “My two witnesses”, God says; that is, they are competent witnesses, answering to Elijah and to the faithful and true Witness. They are honoured, too, as Elijah was, as Christ was. It shows the fulness of God’s thoughts of His servants. It is an incentive for us, for if we bear suffering for the testimony, God will honour us where we suffer. That is as sure as possible; and He will add to that by glorifying us. There will be something additional beyond what we expect, in the way of glory.
TH That is seen in the case of Elijah. He was afraid of a woman, but God in His sympathy made provision for him, and then took him up at the end of his journey.
JT Very beautiful indeed. Jehovah’s consideration for him is seen in giving him two meals, so that he might go in the strength of that to mount Horeb where he was to meet God. When there, God says to him, as it were, Elijah, you are giving up, but I am not. That is the lesson to learn: to stand up where we suffer. God will honour us. Then God told him to anoint Hazael, and Jehu, and Elisha. That is, the testimony is to go on, and if we fail in it under suffering, God will give us to understand that it is to go on in any case, and we are missing the glory. He gives us the privilege of witnessing against the evil before overthrowing it. That is the idea. These two witnessed to it before it was overthrown. Later, in chapter 18, it says, “God has judged your judgment upon her”. How great is the power of that testimony in this city, for instance, where saints are moving [p. 335] in the light of the assembly; it involves the judgment of Babylon! No one can be truly in fellowship who has not some judgment of Babylon, because that enables one to come out of it, and God judges it according to our judgment of it.
Now in chapter 20 everything is gathered up as to those who bear testimony and who suffer. The prophet says: “I saw thrones; and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them”; that is a general statement referring to all the redeemed. Then it goes on to speak of “the souls of those beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus” — that is another set — then “and those who had not done homage to the beast nor to his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and hand; and they lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years”. The Spirit of God reminds all who are suffering in any way, that the great general result will not be left out. They share with the most distinguished of the witnesses of God, for all the redeemed are in view here. There are three sets, the first general, including, I suppose, all the Old Testament saints, then there are those slain on account of the testimony of Jesus, and then those who had not done homage to the beast and had not received his mark on their forehead and hand. They are carefully taken account of in their faithfulness, and they are there on the thrones, living and reigning with Christ a thousand years. It is still testimony; there is plenty of time to bring out what they had been.
The second set are those beheaded on account of the testimony of Jesus. It is a remarkable way of dealing with those who testify. I think the allusion is to the intelligence that God grants to His people in their testimony, but which Satan hates. They know what they are doing. This enters into the assembly primarily, because it is the place of intelligence. Now they lived and reigned with Christ. The living with Christ is the point.
[p. 336] W Living and reigning would be the answer to their faithfulness.
JT That is the way it is put here. It is what we are in the testimony that will come out in that day. It is not our eternal portion, but this ought not to be new to us, for we are said to be quickened with Him, raised with Him, made to live with Him now. So that we should know what it is. The things written in this book are intended for those who understand. There might be a feeling that those who are slain after the rapture, as we call it, miss what we have as being raptured with Christ, but this section shows that they also come in for the reigning. It is heaven’s definite forethought and consideration for them, that no one should think they are missing something.
FJF Would David’s mighty men be an example? They suffered with him and they came out in his kingdom.
JT Just so. They are mentioned at the beginning of his reign in Chronicles and at the end of his reign in Samuel. We have the suggestion that the idea of mighty men runs through the dispensation. It requires power to overcome under the beast, and God takes special notice of them: they reign with Christ a thousand years, but the living with Him is the leading thought here.
JHT The three friends of Daniel stood up in the crowd before Nebuchadnezzar’s image and refused to worship. They were thrown into the furnace, but they were with Christ.
JT Yes, they were walking in the furnace with the Son of God. Their names are mentioned about thirteen times, as if the Spirit of God loves to dwell on them. It shows how heaven regards sufferers, and especially sufferers who come out victorious. All that we have been saying is so important for young persons who would have part in the testimony; for the testimony is the point; how we go through it, and what the result will be. Let no one take your crown. Whatever happens to you in the [p. 337] testimony in the way of suffering for it, there is a crown attached to it, and you do not want to miss that. These faithful ones did not miss it.
CJB What would answer today to the mark on the forehead and the hand?
JT The forehead refers to the intelligence; that is, what is manifest. The hand refers to the power to do things. It is seen today: the great effort is to get the children in the schools, to prepare them for the world through the teaching. That will come out very distinctly under the beast. For the children will be wanted by the beast. And he wants them not only as workmen but as having intelligence, their minds are needed. Education is a great thing in these last days. Then the hand means that their power is subservient to the beast. The state is already demanding power over the children.
RSM In speaking of suffering, the apostle says, “Our light affliction ... worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”. Is that millennial?
JT It is eternal. It goes beyond the millennium, as it speaks about things unseen: “We look not at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen; for the things that are seen are for a time, but those that are not seen eternal”, 2 Corinthians 4: 18. Eternal things go beyond what is millennial.
RSM Would sufferings then have a double effect, rewarded first in the millennium and also working that exceeding weight of glory?
JT Yes, they are rewarded in the millennium, in living and reigning with Christ, but then there is the eternal thought — an eternal weight. It is a remarkable expression, and shows how substantial the glory is; it is not a mere shadow.
A In view of that reward Paul says, “I am now ready to be offered ... I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at [p. 338] that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing”, 2 Timothy 4: 7 - 8.
JT Quite so. What we shall be in that day will reflect what we have been here. It is an incentive to be faithful, whatever the little sufferings may be.
CCE In connection with what you were saying, the beast would try to capture the intelligent class as well as the working classes.
JT That seems to be so. The present time indicates that already: there is such an immense interest in schools and colleges.
FJF Why did Paul say to Timothy that he was not to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord?
JT We are so likely to be ashamed of it; do you not feel that for yourself? The point here is the testimony and how life works in relation to it. We may think much of teaching and preaching and so on, but it is a question of what God has in His saints, and how it culminates in a living state of things, reigning in life with Christ a thousand years. It adds to that that they shall be priests. The thousand years is mentioned twice: “They lived and reigned with the Christ a thousand years ... This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy he who has part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of the Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years”. The thought of living is dropped when priesthood is mentioned, because priests are essentially alive. It is still a matter of testimony here. We are said to be priests of God here, not priests to God, as in the first chapter: “priests to his God and Father”. There it is the bearing of our priesthood God-ward, but here it is priesthood in testimony man-ward. It is the great privilege we shall have, that in our testimony toward man we are priestly. There is intelligence, sympathy, and holiness in our witness. Another thought that goes with that is that the assembly grows to a holy temple in the Lord. That alludes to the same time, so that the rule will not be arbitrary, but [p. 339] according to the temple, and according to priestly feelings. It is important to keep this in view, because what will be seen in the millennium is to reflect in our testimony now.
FJF Would priestly service be seen in Simeon? He had the whole race in view in what he says about the Lord.
JT He represents the priesthood there. He blessed God, that is he is a priest God-ward. Then he speaks about Him as a light for the revelation of the gentiles and the glory of God’s people Israel. He is looking out toward the gentiles. The whole position is magnificently priestly, and Anna joining in is priestly too: she blesses God. The service is God-ward and man-ward. This book contemplates the saints as priests unto God for His service, and then as priests of God, characteristically of God, and toward man.
CJB Would you see God in the service of the priests?
JT Yes. It is a great system that will be set out in the millennium, the assembly being the centre of it. It will be a benign rule, and the saints are being formed for that now. Revelation does not give us much of what is towards God: Paul presents us to God, but John brings us out here representative of God. So in chapter 21 we have the city described, God and the Lamb being there, and in chapter 22 the river of water of life, bright as crystal, coming out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The river would mean a great influence, a benign rule, as over against the governments in the world today; it is clear as crystal and in every way beneficial.
FJF Have you any thought as to the way in which that will work out?
JT I think it is on the principle of Matthew. According to Matthew the Lord said, “Go ... make disciples of all the nations”. Make them. Here we get the full thought of that: it is a question of influence. Applying to ourselves, it is not what one says, but the influence [p. 340] that one has. Influence makes disciples, although ministry may affect men. This river is symbolical of a great influence, and it stands over against the terrible influences that some governments have today. There is nothing dark or corrupt about this river. Beautiful fruit is there, and the very leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations, showing how substantial the thing is. It is like the Spirit of God in the gospel of John. It is a substantial thing, first as a dove, then as wind, then as water, then as a Person, that is the Comforter, and lastly as a breath. It is practical and substantial, and so substantial is this sap of the tree of life that the leaves are for healing.
W All the power given to Christ is in movement now.
JT Yes. When the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost. He could be seen in those who had Him. It was noticeable. People said that they were filled with new wine, but christianity is balanced, not marked by drunkenness.
CMP Why does it say in connection with the holy city that God and the Lamb are there?
JT It is the testimony that is in mind. The Lord Jesus is honoured in the use of the word “Lamb”. Where He suffered, there He is glorified. The word “Lamb” is diminutive in Revelation; it implies that He suffered and did not defend Himself, but as having suffered, He is now honoured, and the whole universe is blessed in that He is honoured. God also is there — God involving all that the Deity is, and the Lamb bringing out the suffering side in a Man. John has a way of uniting Christ as Man with God in the Deity; he presents the Lord as Man, but the Deity is always present to the mind. If you read through John’s gospel from that point of view you will be impressed with the presence of God in Christ right through. To the woman at the well of Sychar He says, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is. She would never forget those words, who it is. So with Zacchaeus, he wanted to see Jesus, who He [p. 341] was.
CA Is the thought found in the expression, “The good will of him that dwelt in the bush”?
JT Yes, the thorn-bush was a small thing, but God was there.
FJF Would it also be seen in Nathanael’s words, “Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel”?
JT Quite so; Nathanael discerned what was there. In John’s epistle you can sometimes hardly tell from the pronouns used whether he is speaking about God as such, or about Christ. In his mind — and the words are indited by the Spirit of God — the Two are linked so intimately.
The final thought, in chapter 22: 14, is a very practical side to this subject, because it involves persons seeking fellowship. The question is whether we assume to patronise them or whether we recognise them as having a right. I am afraid that very often, in what we call reception, we fail to see that the persons have a right, as shown by what is said here: “Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have right to the tree of life, and that they should go in by the gates into the city”.
CCE We should be able to discern whether they have washed their robes.
JT It is all we have to do. If they wash they have a right.
Ques Is it not a period of exercise to let them wait?
JT Why should they wait if they have a right? To let them wait without a godly explanation is one of the most frigid practices one knows of.
CCE If they wait too long it is because of our want of discernment.
JT Yes. And thus it would be night inside! And there is to be no night there. Things should be seen as they are.
NC Lydia paid attention to the things Paul said.
JT Yes, she established her right, and Paul discerned that. There should be no want of discernment [p. 342] with us.
JRN What does washing involve? Is it not to go on all the time?
JT Yes. The word is used three times in this setting. First in chapter 1, verse 5: “To him who ... has washed us from our sins in his blood”; then in chapter 7 there is the multitude who have washed their robes and made them white — that is, they did it well. Finally, in this scripture, there is the appropriation of the death of Christ. The tense shows that it is continuous, and that is what establishes the right. One might say, I was converted two years ago, but what is he or she doing now? The point here is: Blessed are they that wash; not have washed. The allusion is to the water, not to the blood. It is a christian that is in mind, cleansing himself morally by the water.
FJF Those inside have no proprietary rights.
JT None whatever. A person who wishes to come in, if these conditions are present, has the same right as I have: “that they should go in by the gates into the city”.
JSM I suppose washing would be cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit?
JT That is right.
CA They have received the Holy Spirit.
JT It is more than that. Washing implies exercise as to what is due to God. The blood has brought peace with God, but here water is brought in. John speaks about the One who came by water and by blood. The water is put first in the epistle. The Spirit expects me to understand, and as understanding the meaning of the water I use it. There is plenty of it. Indeed there is the sea of water, not a mere laver.
Rem The ten lavers in Solomon’s temple could be carried.
JT Yes, when you go to see a person you can take one with you.
FJF How many witnesses would be necessary to allow one to come through the [p. 343] gates?
JT Two witnesses suffice for anyone who wishes to come in. The point is whether one washes. If that can be established, no one can say nay. Of course we should be most careful: doorkeepers are necessary. There were as many doorkeepers in the system that David established as there were singers, but if the right is established, let no one interfere.
FJF Would you accept the witness of two godly brothers as to the state of the person concerned?
JT Yes, and of course the person himself is a witness too. The Lord established that principle in John 8: 18, “I am one who bear witness concerning myself, and the Father who has sent me bears witness concerning me”.
NC Why does it say, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses”?
JT It is to make the thing sure. The person applying to be with us is a witness himself and two others furnish abundant testimony.
Every gate is one pearl; they are the same everywhere. No one local company should have different principles from other companies. One sometimes finds in going about, that certain things are legalised in certain places, but it should not be so. Every gate is alike.
Ques Would this cleansing involve separation from every association that is not in accordance with the Lord’s mind?
JT Yes, because the testimony of God is in view.
Ques Should the testimony of the two be to the brothers in the care meeting or to the assembly in the city?
JT To the assembly, because that is the only authority there is on earth. “Tell it to the assembly”. The brothers have no authority.
CCE The matter cannot be decided by the brothers, although they may come to a preliminary [p. 344] conclusion.
JT The Lord is very jealous about the assembly and He values it when brethren walk in the light of the assembly and bring it in. On the other hand we must be careful not to attach the name of the assembly to what is not right. The question is not simply whether a person was converted so many years ago; what about the washing? There are those who admit people to the Lord’s table without this state, and it will not do. God is not in that.
EAW If the person is kept waiting, should not a reason be given?
JT Certainly. Intelligent persons should not have any difficulty in stating a reason. It should not be a mere feeling. We are viewed as intelligent persons: the assembly is an intelligent body. The apostle says: “Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you?” Wise men should be there. The all-various wisdom of God is seen through the assembly. Why should we not know what to do?
Ques In handling an application to be received, if it is not possible to arrive at unanimity among the brothers, would it be orderly to bring the matter before the assembly?
JT The apostle speaks about “the many” as over against ‘every one’. The idea is set out in Exodus 12. It speaks there about the congregation — that is, in its members — and then about the assembly, which is a moral whole†. We cannot be held up by one or two. We ought to be able to tell whether the objection is valid or not. Patience, of course, is a great thing, but the assembly should not be held up.
CCE The power of the Lord may be so felt in the assembly that the objectors are kept quiet. One has known cases like that.
†See note in New Translation, Exodus 12: 6. ‘Congregation’ is the actual subsisting congregation composed of all its members; ‘Assembly’ more the congregation looked at as a moral whole, a corporate person before God. See also Leviticus 4: 13; Leviticus 8: [p. 345] 3.
JT Quite so. The case of Corinth shows that they were not all agreed about the matter, for it says: “This rebuke ... inflicted by the many”. It shows they were not all in it, but the rebuke was inflicted by the assembly as a moral whole.
FJF As Paul entered Damascus he found the gates open.
JT The Lord very often has to put us right. Ananias would not have allowed Paul in. He thought he knew better than the Lord! So the Lord says, Go; but He was very gracious with Ananias in putting him right. Each of us should get to the Lord and give Him full scope in these matters. Do not say, Let the brother or sister wait. God has not dealt with us like that in His dealings with us.
Rem Ananias was an adjustable man.
JT If we were all adjustable there would not be much difficulty.
As to the last scripture read, chapter 22: 19, there is the taking away the part in the tree of life. That is how it should read, not the book of life. The allusion is to mere professing persons: it is characteristic, as all such references are. Persons who would take away characteristically from what God says are not converted at all. That which they have is taken away.
Pages 346 - 494 — “The Spirit in the Corinthian Epistles”. Wellington, New Zealand. 1936 (Volume 135)