THE UPPER ROOM AND THE CITY
THE UPPER ROOM AND THE CITY
Acts 1:10 - 14; Acts 9:5,6; Acts 20:22,23
JT From these instances we may see, by the Lord’s help, how His testimony stands related to cities. The relation between the light of heaven and cities is noteworthy. You will observe that those who saw the Lord ascend, to whom the angels spoke, returned to the city. Then in Saul’s case (chapter 9) the Lord directed him to enter into the city and it should be told him there what he ought to do, and later it says that the Holy Spirit testified to him in every city.
WW Is it your thought that the Spirit would move in relation to Christ in heaven in regard to the maintenance of the truth, and therefore what is involved would operate in that city character?
JT Yes; I think the testimony of God — of heaven — should take form as present in the cities in being superior to the concentrated evil of this world. Hence the apostle Paul in writing to Titus later says that he left him in Crete so that he should set in order the things that were wanting, that there should be nothing omitted in the ordering of the house of God, and particularly that he should ordain elders in every city. He had already told him to do that (chapter 1:5), but showing the importance of it, he repeated the order. Earlier they had ordained elders in each assembly, but Titus is charged to ordain them “in every city”. Titus 1:5.
WW What would be the distinction between the two thoughts — in each assembly and in every city?
JT [p. 2] The assembly as such would be in view in the first; in the second the city is in view as a sphere in God’s mind for testimony. The great thought in eldership being rule, implies that there should be subjection. No assembly could be a vessel in the Lord’s hands for testimony in any locality save as subject; as it is said of the assembly, “subjected to the Christ”, Ephesians 5:24. Without the great principle of subjection the idea of a vessel of testimony is impossible.
JS You remarked that in the city the evil and the glory of man are more concentrated, would that be the reason why it is so important that there should be rule and eldership so that there would be an answer on the divine side to the efforts of man?
JT God possesses ways of meeting evil on its own ground; hence in Matthew, which is the great church gospel, we find evil in a combined form in twos, so God meets it in a combined way. We see this in the naming and numbering of the apostles (Matthew 10:2 - 4) and the Lord sending them out in twos. Then in chapter 18, “if two of you shall agree on the earth”, Matthew 18:19 that is, two of the assembly. Thus we see how God meets evil on its own ground; but this involves subjection in those He uses. “Ye men of Galilee”, the angels in Acts said; they were men of Galilee; I have no doubt that they are regarded not simply as Galileans, but also as subject, for their history in Galilee implied subjection. Matthew tells us that the Lord would see them there. In that meeting He maintains His rights in rule and authority, and Matthew leaves us there. There were no Galileans with such a history as these Galileans; they had had to do with Christ in an exceptional way, as Matthew presents it, after He arose. The testimony rendered to the women in Matthew is by one who is in every way marked off as a representative of heaven — an angel. His countenance was like lightning,
[p. 3] and his raiment white as snow; coming down from heaven in connection with the earthquake, he rolled away the stone from the mouth of the tomb and sat on it. The keepers became as dead men, but the women who were there were told by the angel not to fear, and he sent them to the disciples to tell them about the Lord, that they would see Him in Galilee. And then he said, “Behold, I have told you”. Matthew 28:7. Thus the link with Galilee is very marked to the end in Matthew, and what enters into it is not only the reproach attached to it but the history attached to it — their history with the Lord, involving that they were to be subject.
WW Is your thought that there would be nothing of the subject character for Christ to be able to use as material in connection with administration, apart from this exercise?
JT I think that is the way it stands; the thought is that God meets evil on its own ground, as I may say, in an organised way; that is organisation under Christ, for all is to be subject to Him.
JS “Behold, I have told you”, Matthew 28:7 the angel says, and then we read that the disciples went into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed them; I suppose that is the evidence of their subjection.
JT Quite. And the women too had gone away immediately with the message, showing that they were obedient. “As they went”, it says, Jesus Himself met them, as if to approve of their obedience, saying “All hail”, Matthew 28:9 and then He confirms the message, but sending them to His brethren, the word ‘brethren’ displacing the word ‘disciples’ which the angel had used. They are to go to Galilee, and we read they went to Galilee, that is, there is subjection.
WS “To the mountain which Jesus had appointed them”. Matthew 28:16. That would convey the thought of subjection, would it not?
JT It is on that line, showing they are truly [p. 4] obedient and subject. That is how Matthew presents the fact of resurrection. The angel suggests the key to the passage; he is a divinely accredited representative, hence he says, “Behold, I have told you”. Matthew 28:7. He is a representative of divine authority.
FW This journey in the Acts was in the other direction, from Olivet to Jerusalem, was it not?
JT It is founded on what we have been saying in regard to these men of Galilee. These heavenly speakers knew their history, and they say to them, “why stand ye gazing up into heaven?” They had had instruction already.
FW The Galilean position must precede this.
JT That is the order, so without any further word they entered into the city. “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day’s journey”. The angels said nothing about that; but these men knew what to do.
FW Does this suggest spiritual movement on their part?
JT I think it does; only they were gazing into heaven when it was not a time for sight, for the faith period had begun. The heavens were opened to Stephen, but that was a spiritual matter; these men were looking with their naked eyes into heaven. They could see nothing because a cloud had received Him out of their sight, meaning that the faith period had begun; hence the word of the angels was to regulate them. They knew what to do; it says, “then they returned”.
FW They moved by spiritual instinct apparently rather than by command as in Matthew.
JT They had already had the experience mentioned in Matthew.
Rem It says, “These gave themselves all with one accord to continual prayer”, would that suggest how they were held in the light of heaven?
[p. 5] JT I thought so. What they found in the city represented what God intends to be in cities throughout the dispensation. What they found there was well worth the most careful consideration, that is, the upper room and its occupants. The upper room and its occupants stood in relation to the city.
Ques Is the holy city coming down out of heaven a witness to God’s testimony?
JT Yes. The great thought of God is that there should be a city.
Rem So that the city is the full development of normal testimony; the full result of it.
JT It is working up to that.
PL Would you say that in the beginning of the epistle to the Corinthians the truth of the cross, and of the Spirit, and the thought of the assembly in a city are set out? Would Galilee suggest the thought of the cross — reproach — as in Matthew, and the mount of Olives in the beginning of the Acts suggest the Spirit? Would these lead to conditions with us in which we take our part in the assembly of God in a city?
JT I think so; reproach attaches to us whatever our city, known to ourselves and the Lord. The Galileans were under reproach, but then the mount of Olives suggests the power by which the dispensation is to be maintained, that is, by the Spirit.
JS In what you have brought before us they become subject men; apart from subjection there can be no thought of truly representing God in a vessel.
JT Just so. As subject we prove there is power enough in the Spirit. Olivet was near to Jerusalem; the suggestion is that the power by which things are to be maintained in the city is available.
WS How do you apply the thought of the city and the upper chamber in our conditions [p. 6] today?
JT The upper chamber is obviously not literal now but moral; it suggests moral elevation from the ordinary religious level. The latter is one of the greatest snares to us that there is — conformity to current religious customs and practices. At the end of Luke the disciples were seen daily in the temple, praising and blessing God, that is to say, it is a question of witnessing to what Christ has effected, hence praising and blessing God. But the Acts contemplates the saints, not as God’s witness to the remnant, but as the assembly, so that they acted instinctively in going to the upper room. It was suited; it says, not simply that they went to it, but that they went up to it; they knew what they were doing, and they knew that it meant exercise; they went up to it. One has to leave the level of man’s religion, of current religious customs and practices. There is a great deal of that with us in the way of a mixture of religious sentiment, but going up to the upper room involves the leaving of all that behind, and you find the persons occupying it are such as represent God and the thoughts of God. They represent what will meet effectively the power of concentrated evil in cities.
WW That is very beautiful because what marks cities in a general way is lawlessness and opposition to God, but in connection with a subdued people who have come under Christ in subjection, there would be a distinctive mark in testimony in the city.
JT When they were come into the city they lost no time evidently, they went up to the upper room.
AJHB It says, “Where were staying both Peter, and John, and James ... and Jude the brother of James”. It was not a question of going there once a week.
JT Suggesting the permanent local position of the testimony; that it is not a thing to come and go. God has set it up there, as it were, permanently for [p. 7] His own end. I believe every one should have a local setting; although these men were plainly gifted men, including Peter, they were staying there; that is the principle.
PL In Proverbs 8 “She standeth in the top of high places, by the way in the places of the paths”. Is that the thought of staying there? “She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors”. Proverbs 8:2,3.
JT She takes a stand, that implies a certain fixedness; the position is right, and it would be on this principle that she takes her stand. She takes up a certain fixed position here, and then she cried. The disciples’ education with the Lord enters into this position, and it was now showing itself, “where were staying both Peter, and John, and James ... with several women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren”. These all represent secret history with God, history in companionship with Christ, which ended in Galilee, if we go by Matthew. They were Galileans with histories, hence the position in the city is clearly defined.
Ques Why do you say Galileans with a history?
JT Because of what Matthew presents. How much happened in Galilee where most of the Lord’s mighty works were done!
WS Is that the same thing you referred to in Paul being sent by the Lord into the city, where he would be told what to do? He would be under rule in going.
JT It is the same thought carried through, with the addition that the Lord had something there at Damascus, and He knew what He had. He does not say, ‘Go to the saints’, He says, “go into the city”, for He knew what He had there. It is a very striking passage, because it really emphasises what we are remarking, that the Lord would have His [p. 8] testimony in cities.
JS Here they knew they were in that city.
JT Hence the mount of Olives is said to be a sabbath day’s journey off; it was not part of Jerusalem.
FW What do you mean by that?
JT The city has boundaries. Olivet was very near, but not in Jerusalem.
JS When Paul was told to go into the city, he would not have any special arrangements; going into the city would be the same as any other man going into a known locality.
PL So that you get the reference in Luke, “Behold, as ye enter into the city a man will meet you, carrying an earthen pitcher of water”. Luke 22:10.
JT Yes, that helps, showing what the Lord had there. He knew who the man was that should meet them, but they did not; “Behold, as ye enter into the city” was the point. The city was where the preparation was to be. They are directed by the divine commandment, by the divine word.
WW The moment Saul of Tarsus, on the way to Damascus, asked the Lord what he should do, he was directed to go into the city.
JT The Lord would have him value what was there. The work of God in him was to be linked up with what was there already; the work of God outside the city immediately links up with what was inside. The Lord knew what He had inside, hence the importance of knowing where we are, the limits of the place and being in it in upper-room conditions, that is in conditions of dependence upon God, as it says here, in prayer and supplication with the women, and with the mother of the Lord Himself, and His brethren. They were staying there. These facts recorded by the Spirit convey to us what the mind of God is in this dispensation as to cities. The idea is that He would have a permanent testimony now, not a mere transitory matter, but something fixed according [p. 9] to His will, corresponding with the light of heaven. That implies complete subjection, as in the angels doing the will of God without a question. The Son came down saying, “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God”. Hebrews 10:7. He was here absolutely for the will of God. Now this principle is to be extended throughout the whole world, especially where men are in cities; God is thus to have under His hand the means of witnessing universally in cities.
FW The principle is that the heavens rule the earth.
JT Well, it is, and that God has here in each place a reflex of heaven, a vessel answering to what is in heaven. The assembly is subjected to Christ, it says. It is the mind of God that this should mark her relation to Him.
Ques You spoke about the upper room in contrast to current religious customs. Would the wisdom that is from above be found there in contrast to what is found in the world?
JT Just so. The truth connected with the upper room began with the institution of the Lord’s supper. The Lord said to those He sent, “as ye enter into the city a man will meet you”. Luke 22:10. It was to be found out that way; for us it refers to what is moral, “a man will meet you”. That is the beginning of the upper room, and hence the position here is understood by those who were occupying it. They were staying there.
Rem When Paul came to Troas, he identified himself with what was in the upper chamber, and the Spirit of God tells us that they broke bread there.
Ques Was there anything in this movement to bring about an expression of unity in the city?
JT Subjection to Christ precedes and ensures unity; the order of 1 Corinthians 11 is subjection, “I have received of the Lord”. 1 Corinthians 11:23 The great order in [p. 10] creation is God is Head of Christ, Christ is Head of the man, and the man is head of the woman. Then in chapter 12 we have the unity of the Spirit.
Rem In regard to what follows in these particular scriptures, there was the principle of formation. They were “all of one accord” Acts 5:11; in that way there was a collective expression of what God is, that “God is one”. Galatians 3:20, 1 Timothy 2:5, James 2:19 I am sure that is important. So that as it says in the next chapter, “they were all together in one place”. Acts 2:1.
Rem Yes; and that would show distinctly that it was the power of the Holy Spirit that had brought that about, the only power that could bring it about.
JT So the Lord, in the institution of the Supper in the upper room, makes a selection as to who should be there — the twelve apostles. Where were the others? There is nothing said about them. The Lord has His own wise thought in having a permanent competent witness; no others could be as competent as the twelve. Earlier He had made, on frequent occasions, a selection from the twelve, but now He selects them all. Luke says, “and the twelve apostles with him”. Luke 22:14. They are there, so there can be no question as to their testimony, as to what was said and done on that occasion. Now in this second mention of the upper room, there are not only the eleven but several woman, and Mary the mother of Jesus and His brethren. That is a wider area or circle; then we are told the number of them — a hundred and twenty. Then in the opening of chapter 2 they were all together. It was their obligation, and it was to their credit that they were so. They were not all together at the institution of the Supper because it was a question then of the Lord’s selection; but apparently in this case the door was open to them all, and none of them were absent, which gives a suggestion as to responsibility. If the door is open [p. 11] for me to be there, why not be there, why should I be absent?
Ques I thought it was in that way that in chapter 2 they were all together, all with one accord — a marvellous thing!
JT Quite. Now today in Hove the saints are not all together, hence the great difference between the day of Pentecost and today. But then there are some, so that you go on with the ones there are, though the door is open to all. The Spirit tells us they were all together in one place.
HWS Would paying attention to what is in the place in that way be the evidence that one is regulated by the Lord?
JT Yes. You are bound, if you are in the city as representative of the ways of God, to have regard for all His people in it. The Lord says in regard of Corinth, “I have much people in this city” Acts 18:10 — note, in this one. He knew the limits of it. He knew, too, what He had in Jerusalem, and they were there waiting to be available to Him. The Lord had said to them, “tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high”. Luke 24:49. They soon began to grow; there were three thousand of them added at one time.
WW If we are not found on that line, we shall be like Nebuchadnezzar in connection with the Babylonish system, boasting that we have built. He had to learn the lesson to come into line with the movement of the light of heaven.
JT I think that heaven is brought in, not only because of its dominion over the earth, but because of its excellence, its superiority; thus we have the heavenly city coming down. We have also the Son of man coming down out of heaven as the unquestionable witness to what heaven is. And so throughout this book we have the thought of heaven; a sound out of heaven, the sheet out of heaven, and the [p. 12] light out of heaven; so it is well to give way to the thought of heaven and be in accord with its principles and its ways.
AJHB Would you say that everything that has come to light here has been in heaven first?
JT I was thinking, as has been remarked, that if the unity appeared on earth, it was not the first time unity was known in the universe; it had been in heaven long before.
Ques My thought in regard to unity is that the assembly is here on earth as an expression of what God is. In Philippians 2:2 we get the expression “joined in soul”. Philippians 2:2. Does it not all lead up to that? Three thousand all with one accord, no variation, “joined in soul”. It is a rather remarkable translation of J.N.D.
JT It is very beautiful. “Having the same love, joined in soul, thinking one thing” Philippians 2:2; one could hardly conceive of anything more expressive of unity as all to be thinking one thing.
Rem You would know what city you were of, you would be able to tell.
JT Surely; so that when Phoebe went to Rome she got a letter from Paul, and he tells them in the letter that she was a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I can understand a traveller in Rome from the East saying, ‘Oh, you come from Corinth’, but if he knew his geography he would know that Cenchrea was some miles from Corinth; and so if anyone had come from Bethany, which was fifteen furlongs from Jerusalem, you might say he comes from Jerusalem, but he does not, he comes from Bethany. The Spirit of God distinguishes between Bethany and Jerusalem, and between Cenchrea and Corinth.
HFN Do you think in that way we should distinguish between Hove and Brighton?
JT I am sure we should, the Holy Spirit does.
[p. 13] Ques Would this be in keeping with what is coming in in the coming day, as we get in Revelation?
JT The first city we find in Scripture is built by Cain, but God does not ignore it; the second one is built by Nimrod. Babel, of course, was being built, but it is said that Nineveh was built by Nimrod, and in due course God sent His prophet to Nineveh, in spite of the fact that that city was built by Nimrod, showing that God is meeting evil on its own ground; it is organised evil. The greatest and most powerful opposition to God is organised power, but He meets it on its own ground, hence He brings in the assembly, the greatest possible organisation, as we see here in the apostles and those who were with them. We have to know what it is we have to contend with, and if an elder is ordained for a city or others with him, they have to know the area in which they are to administer. It is for them to know; if they are staying there they will know; if they belong to the place, they will know.
JS It is significant that the second scripture we read says, “it shall be told thee what thou must do”, and in the end of Matthew the angel referred to says, “Behold, I have told you”. Matthew 28:7.
JT Saul of Tarsus had to go into the city in order to be told, showing that the Lord had persons in that city that He could trust. The Lord could have told him everything that he needed to know, but He did not, because He wishes to call attention to what He had in the city. He had something there that, having formed, He loved and delighted in, and He had brought them together and He could use them. “Go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”. It was a humiliating thing for a man like Saul; in result he had to go and listen to a man like Ananias — a man who seemed to be of little or no account. The Lord was concerned that Ananias should rightly represent Him in speaking to Saul;
nevertheless He said to Saul, “go into the city, and it shall be told thee”, that is to say, I have to learn from my brethren and from the brethren in the city. You may say, I have to learn from heaven, but I have to learn from my brethren, too. In Saul’s case the Lord does not say a word about who they were in the city; His word was, “go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do”.
Ques What do you gather from the expression, “told thee what thou must do”?
JT It was imperative; there was no question about it; it shuts out independence of thought. It is very wholesome to get an imperative word like that.
HFN We have a model of subjection in the Lord Himself. He went down to Nazareth, and He was subject to His parents. It becomes us to be subject.
JT At a time, too, when He was consciously a Son, He said, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Luke 2:49.
Ques Is Ananias a sample disciple in subjection?
JT I am afraid he is a sample of most of us, because at first he made out he knew better than the Lord. I think the facts are brought out to show how much the Lord puts up with in us. Ananias thought he knew more about this man Saul than the Lord did.
Rem What I thought was so beautiful with Ananias is that the Lord only needed to call him once; He called Saul twice, but Ananias seemed to be waiting for orders.
JT The Lord said to him, “Rise up and go into the street which is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas one by name Saul, he is of Tarsus ... . Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many concerning this man, how much evil he has done to thy saints at Jerusalem”. Acts 9:11,13. That was questioning the Lord, but it only brought out how gracious the Lord is, and He will deal with us however refractory we [p. 15] may be until we become pliable in His hands. That is the idea of the twelve — capability of manipulation; they are in His hands ready to be employed. Ananias gives way to the grace, and went to find Saul.
Rem He obeyed the authority.
JT Quite; he went. The Lord has to tolerate much in us, and He has wonderful patience; if in result He can get us to go, then we learn that it is worth while.
JS It is very exercising; if the Lord tells me to do a thing I will do it; but to be told by the brethren is a test.
JT But then it is the kind of brethren who tell you; that is where the trouble is. Is it done by the brethren whom we can take it from? It is a question whether the Lord has been with them beforehand, and whether they come as being in accord with Him, so that when they tell you what to do, you have no question about it; they feel they can say like the angel, “Behold, I have told you”. Matthew 28:7. There is a sense conveyed that they represent the Lord, they are like the Lord. The Lord makes His own selections in His service, and He selects persons who are great enough for the service. Now when I say this, I mean that a person great enough for service will be small enough to serve; it is only a great person who can become truly small. The Lord may humble me, but to be humble myself is another matter. It is in the sense of my own greatness in the calling of God that I can be little, and humble myself, so as to be fit for service. So the Lord selected His own man here in Ananias; He knew all about him; and in due course Ananias went, and he called Saul a brother. He began with that, and thus would gain his confidence. It is not that anyone can do this, for it is a question of being representative of Christ, and if one is so, the brethren will listen, and if they do not, it is a serious matter for them.
[p. 16] Rem Ananias speaks of the disciples in Jerusalem as “thy saints”. Acts 9:13.
JT Quite. If one is serving the saints, the principle of service is that you are sent, and the Lord says, “He who receives whomsoever I shall send receives me; and he that receives me receives him who has sent me”. John 13:20. Hence it is a serious matter to serve formally, because I am taking the position of representing Christ. That is what comes out in John 13:20, I am representing the Lord. If I am really doing that, and my message is not received, then it is, as I have said, a serious matter.
Ques Do you not think that the spirit in which Ananias said, “Saul, brother”, Acts 9:17 shows that he was in accord with the Lord?
JT Quite. The Lord saw to that, He was beforehand with Ananias.
Ques Would you say that it is the heavenly influence that brings about subjection, as with Ananias and with Saul?
JT Yes; Paul says, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision”. Acts 26:19. If God is working with him, he will recognise that power comes out of heaven.
FW I suppose Ananias would be marked by the characteristic features of Galilee and of Olivet morally.
JT I am sure he would.
FW That is the kind of brother or man we should listen to.
Ques In saying “a certain disciple”, would you gather from that that the Lord in that way raised up Ananias for the special object He had before Him? It must have been a great exercise to Ananias to be told to go and seek out Saul of Tarsus, knowing all that he did about him; he must have gone through great exercise, showing how the Lord takes up one who is so in His hands and in His mind that he is able to meet [p. 17] the situation.
JT Then another thing comes out here, the Lord knew the street in Damascus in which Saul was. You might say, What does the street matter? It mattered much here; the Lord knew the street. He knows the names of the streets of the cities in which His people reside. These things are not put down for nothing; Ananias was told to go to a certain house in a certain street.
Rem I remember you saying on a previous occasion, if only we are in the Lord’s hands, we cannot say what He will do with one man; so here with Ananias.
JT Saul would never forget this. He would never forget that Ananias had this advantage over him.
PL This question of the city is important in Matthew. It says of the Lord having left Nazareth, that He went again and came to His own city; chapter 9:1. You were saying it was important to know where we belong to as having a place there.
JT Quite. Now you see in chapter 20 how those conditions being in view, the Holy Spirit is free in cities. He speaks in cities, which is a remarkable thing. It does not say He spoke to this saint or that saint, but Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit witnessed to him in every city, showing that the Holy Spirit had been free to speak to the apostle as he entered into these cities. There are conditions which enable the Spirit of God to speak — a very important matter! If conditions exist such as we have been indicating in the locality, then you may expect the Spirit to speak, and to get communications from Him.
Rem It is important in cities to come under the influence of heaven first.
JT Quite. Really and truly the heavenly city is being formed in this way. The walls are being formed, all that is of Christ in meeting opposition here is being used to form the city so that it will come out by and by.
[p. 18] Ques Would you say that Scripture really contains the history of two cities?
JT Yes; one representing the history and character of this world, the other the heavenly Jerusalem, representing God’s world. It is a wonderful position, that God has set up His own city amidst man’s cities.
Ques Would you say that God is using the evil of man in regard of administration in view of the contrast to be shown and testified to as of Him amongst His own?
JT It is the marvellous grace of God that there is not only preaching of the gospel but divine organisation — as I may call it, for want of a better word — the principle of which is the city in which He sets out His administrative ways here. I believe these things we have been speaking about underlie it; certain persons of authority staying in the place, committing themselves to prayer, with several women. Then the Lord shows in chapter 9 He has something there that He can trust, and He tells Saul who was to be His greatest servant, that he would be told there what to do. Think of being entrusted with such a service as that by the Lord! Then referring to certain cities, the Holy Spirit was at liberty to speak in every one “saying that bonds and tribulations await me”; it was witnessed in each of them that he should be persecuted in Jerusalem.
Ques What is the relation of the village to the city?
JT The village would be a place. In Matthew it says that the Lord went through the country, village by village, city by city. Villages are taken account of in the testimony.
HFN Have you any thought as to why the apostle emphasises the fact that the Holy Spirit witnessed to him? What is the thought of bonds and [p. 19] tribulations?
JT I suppose it was to warn the apostle what was ahead of him in Jerusalem. Undoubtedly the Spirit felt keenly for this great servant in what should befall him in Jerusalem. The Spirit warned him as to what he might expect, as if He had sympathy in it.
HFN While the administration of the heavenly city is connected with the twelve, Paul speaks about it; what would you say about that?
JT I think Paul had to do with the inner formation; it is his ministry that sets the assembly up in relation to Christ in heaven. Peter alludes to the heart-knowing God. In that connection the Holy Spirit is given to the gentiles, meaning, I think, that God was going to operate in the gentiles in a new way, and it would be in relation to their hearts, as Paul says, he “was pleased to reveal his Son in me”. Galatians 1:16. It was not so much official, although he was an apostle, but the place that Christ had acquired in his heart, as if he had got the breathings of Christ — like the mighty men of David, so near to him that they discerned what he longed for. The city is marked by the administration of the twelve in its external relation.
HFN So that the city refers to localities. Would Paul bring in the thought of family affection as in John?
JT I am sure that is right. It says, The king’s daughter is “all glorious within” Psalm 45:13 — the “within” is in the king’s palace. That would meet Paul’s line.
Ques Does the Lord hold the assembly responsible for order in everything?
JT We get the feature of responsibility in Revelation in regard to the angel of the assembly; there may be some more responsible than others.
Ques Does the Lord hold the assembly wholly responsible for what goes on?
JT I think so. The angel would represent [p. 20] the whole, for every one is responsible. The assembly was brought into position at Jerusalem.
WW Would the light of heaven coming into a given locality, a city, involve bonds and tribulation, not only in Paul but in those in connection with Paul’s ministry?
JT In Acts 20 the bonds and tribulations allude to what should befall Paul in Jerusalem. No doubt we get tribulation, as it is said, that through much tribulation we enter the kingdom of God, “and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution”. 2 Timothy 3:12. This scripture in 2 Timothy would involve Paul’s ministry.