the blessed One, and all in it is like Him. Its name is Jerusalem, the city of
9. It is a holy city.—Its origin is heavenly, and it is perfect as its builder. Nothing that defileth shall enter; no spot or speck or shadow of evil. All is perfection there, divine perfection. 10. It is a glorious city.—The glory that fills it, and encircles it, is the glory of God. All precious stones are there; no marble nor granite such as we boast of now; all about it is gold, and pearls, and gems. Everything resplendent is there. It shines like the sun. 11. It is a blessed city.—It is truly 'the joyous city.' It is the throne of the blessed One, and all in it is like Him. Its name is Jerusalem, the city of peace. Its King's name is Solomon, the Prince of peace. There is no enemy there; no sickness, no curse, no death, no weeping, no pain, no sorrow, no change forever. They that dwell in it shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more (ch. 7:16, 17). Blessed city! City of peace, and love, and song! Fit accompaniment of the new heavens! Fit metropolis of the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness! How eagerly should we look for it! How worthy of it should we live! It has not yet arrived. Eye hath not seen it. But God points to it above, and assures us that it shall come. The right of citizenship is to be had now; and they who are to dwell in it are not angels, but men; not the unfallen, but the fallen. It is as such that we apply for the 'freedom of the city.' He who is its Builder and Maker gives it freely. He who is its Prince, whose blood has bought and opened it, gives it freely. He waits to receive applications; nay, He entreats men to apply. He announces that whosoever will only take Him at His word, and trust Him for entrance into it, shall have it. He specially proclaims to us His own sacrifice, His infinite propitiation, His divine blood-shedding on the cross, and gives us to know that whosoever will receive the testimony to this great work of atonement shall enter in through the gates into the city. It is the blood that brings us to the mercy seat; it is the blood that brings us into the city. It will be a joy to enter that joyous city. By this joy we beseech you now to make sure of your
citizenship, by making sure of your connection with the King. He who has the King has the city. It will be a sorrow to be shut out. By that sorrow we entreat you to make sure. Believing the good news, become citizens of no mean city. Then all shall be well with you forever.
LV. The Light Of The New Jerusalem [25]
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." —
Revelation 21:23.
It is the 'new Jerusalem' that these words are written; the city of glory and blessing; the city of the saints and home of the redeemed; the metropolis of creation; the city of God and of the Lamb; the habitation of the bride, the Lamb's wife; the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The passage might more truly be rendered, 'the Lamb is the lamp thereof,' or 'its lamp is the Lamb;' for lamp, not light, is the correct translation. The two clauses in this verse are meant to give us the complete idea of the illumination of the city. 'The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is its lamp.' All that sunlight-splendor is to a city, the 'glory of God' or Shekinah is; and all that lamps are to a city, publicly or privately, the Lamb is. As with us now there is the alteration of the lights of day and night, so then and in that city there is to be the alternation of the glory of God and the Lamb. There shall be no night there; and they 'need no candle (no earthly "lamp"), neither light of the sun,' for they have that which is better than both; not created nor borrowed light, but uncreated, unreflected light from the divine and eternal fountainhead. That which is written of the earthly Jerusalem is much more true of the heavenly, for the one is the image or counterpart of the other. 'The sun shall be nor more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and they God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of the mourning shall be ended' (Isaiah 60:19, 20).
The figure here carries us back to the temple and the lamp in the holy place,—the seven-branched lamp of gold which burned day and night in the sanctuary. As the Shekinah, which rested between the cherubim, enlightened 'the most holy,' and the seven-branched lamp 'the holy place,' so in that coming day, when both these places shall be one,—the veil no longer existing,—the type shall be fulfilled, when that shall come to pass which is written, 'The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light (lamp) thereof.' But the figure of our text is wider than this, and refers not to a temple merely, or a chamber in a temple; but to a city, and to every house and chamber of that city. It gives us the idea of a resplendent lamp hung in some vast hall or palace, shedding a mild and tempered light down upon some festal assembly, such as that in the father's house upon the prodigal's return, when the household were gathered together to eat and make merry. But it does more than this. It shows us a wondrous lamp, of infinite luster, suspended above a whole city, as was the pillar-cloud above the camp of Israel in the desert. This is the picture presented in these words: 'Its lamp was the Lamb.' Christ the light of the heavenly city; the crucified One the lamp,—a lamp at once human and divine. The Lamb in the midst of the throne is the lamp of the new Jerusalem. All is concentrated in Him,—all excellency, and power, and perfection, and beauty, and glory. Now at last He gets the praise, the love, the admiration that are His due. I. It is peculiar light.—There is none like it. Fed by no earthly oil, its blaze is not earthly. Yet it is truly light for men. It is divine, but it is also human. All created and all uncreated brilliance is concentrated in it. The man Christ Jesus is there. God over all is there. The Word made flesh, and that flesh truly ours,—that flesh broken and given for the life of the world, —this is the essence of the light. Christ Jesus filled with the Spirit,—the Lamb to whom pertain the seven lamps of fire,—Christ Jesus, the Lamb slain;—it is He as such that is the lamp of the holy city, possessing and giving forth all the light the city needs, yet that light softened and mellowed by His cross and grave. It is not so much as God, or as the Christ, that He is the lamp of the city, but as the Lamb.
II. It is unchanging light.—He from whom it emanates is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. Here there is no rising nor setting; no clouding nor eclipsing. It is one calm, full, clear light, from which nothing can be taken, and to which there can be nothing added; without variableness or shadow of turning. It terminates and supersedes all other lights, and itself remains forever, like the lamp of the temple which went not out by night nor by day. The lamps of the virgins who went forth to meet the Bridegroom are no more needed now; and He who in the dark ages of His own absence from earth walked in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, has now become so fully the light of His saints and of their city, that they shall fear no darkness. He Himself has become their everlasting light, and that in a larger and completer sense than when He announced Himself as the light of the world. The foolish virgins might say 'our lamps are gone out;' but of this eternal lamp there shall be no quenching, no going out. The wise virgins would find that when they entered into the marriage-hall of that Bridegroom whom they had gone forth to meet, there was no more need of their lamps; for the Bridegroom Himself would be their light for ever; a lamp that should never burn low or wax dim, but retain its brightness for evermore. III. It is festal light.—The feast is spread; the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. 'Blessed are they that are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' The light of this great feast,— the lamp of this hall and of this city,—is the Lamb. This feast-day hath not yet come; the Bridegroom is absent, and His friends are fasting, not feasting; and not only fasting, but passing through this land of deserts with just enough of light to show them the way. But when they enter the festal hall and sit down at the marriage supper, then shall they not only feed on the royal dainties, but enjoy the light of that lamp which is to gladden their festival with its soft rays,—rays which shall be altogether in harmony with the bridal feast, the bridal dress, and the bridal song. It is all-pervading light.—It is not confined to a few favored dwellings; to a palace, or a temple, or one region of the city. The whole city shall be full
of light. It shall enter every house, and room, and chamber, till each corner and crevice is illuminated, and every face made to shine with the gracious splendour, as was the face of Moses when he conversed with God, or the faces of the disciples on the transfiguration mount. The light is all pervading. It penetrates everywhere; it fills all things; it can be excluded by no hindrances; nay, the very walls, which here on earth shut out the light, there help to introduce it and to enhance its brightness. Christ is all and in all, spiritually and materially, for soul and for body. As our atmosphere finds its way everywhere, unbidden and unsought, so shall it be with this light. We shall not need to go in search of it. It shall be in every place, night and day, round the whole year. Its walls are Christ; its foundations are Christ; its cornerstone is Christ; its joy is Christ; its glory is Christ; its light is Christ. It is the light of life.—It is living light, life-giving light; not dead and inert like that of our sun, and moon, and stars, but living; instinct with life, and health, and immortality. It fills the whole man with life,—body, soul, and spirit. Where it is, death cannot enter, and the curse cannot exist. It diffuses blessing as it shines,—the blessing of undecaying health and an endless life. When enjoying summer's sunshine here, we feel as if there were health in it, life in it; much more shall we find of the true health and life in this more glorious light. The Sun of righteousness has healing in His wings, and He who is the Sun of righteousness is the lamp of the new Jerusalem. VI. It is the light of love.—For that name, 'the Lamb,' contains within it the revelation of the love of God. Where the Lamb is there is love, the love of God,—the love of the Son in coming, and the love of the Father in sending. That lamp, which is the Lamb, then must be love; its light must be the light of redeeming love. It pours its radiance through transparencies, which all speak of the cross and the blood, of Gethsemane and Golgotha, flooding the golden streets of the jasper city with an effulgence that shall speak throughout eternity of the broken body and shed blood of the Lord. Every ray shall carry us back to the cross; and the light which shall be cast by it on every object in the happy city shall partake of that crimson tinge, which shall not merely remind us of the 'Word made flesh,' but of the great
propitiation, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. From the lamp of the new Jerusalem there shall shine forth the eternal song, 'Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, to Him be glory and dominion for ever.' We have then a city for our residence hereafter; a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Yes, God is not ashamed to be called our God, for He hath prepared for us a city. The proprietor of it is the Lamb; and as the Lamb, He gives it to us for an everlasting possession. As the Lamb, He is its king and priest; and He makes us partakers of His royal priesthood in this city of the great Melchizedek. As the Lamb, its honours are His, and He shares them with us; its glories are His, and He shares them with us; its joys are His, and He shares them with us; its riches are His, and He shares them with us; its festivals are His, and He shares them with us; its light is His, and He gives it to us; its trees are His, and He gives us their shade and their fruit; its halls are His, and He brings us unto His banqueting house, where His banner over us is love; its living waters are His, and the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall lead us to the living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes. We are heirs of God, as His sons; but this is not all. We are not heirs in some inferior sense or degree, nor do we come in for some little fragment of the family estate. We are 'joint heirs with Christ,' sharing along with him all that He possesses as Son and as heir of all things; for not only do we read, 'He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son,' but, 'to him that overcometh will I give to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and am set down with my Father on His throne.' This city of the living God, of which we have been speaking, this new Jerusalem, with all its splendor, He shares with us. It is our city as well as His; ours, because His; the center and capital of our kingdom, because the center and capital of His. There Christ is all. He is not only its King,—the Son for whom the Father built the city;—but He is its joy, its glory, its lamp and light. All that makes it bright and blessed is from him. All that gladdens its citizens is from Him. Its foundations speak of Him. Its
gates proclaim Him. Its golden streets reflect Him. Its river glows with Him. Its trees tell of Him. Its dwellings are His; its palace is His; its throne is His; its beauty is His; its festivals are His; its songs and hallelujahs are His. The Lamb is everywhere. He is on the throne; He is at the head of His redeemed, leading them to living fountains of waters; He is in every dwelling and in every chamber; He is the glory over all; Prince, Shepherd, Bridegroom, lamp and sun; alpha and omega, beginning and ending, first and last. He meets you at every step; He is seen in every object; He is heard in every sound; His name is the burden of every melody; and the chorus of each Psalm and hymn is, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive blessing, and glory, and honour.' What are the attractions of that city to us? Are they the gold and gems that make up its everlasting splendor? And when we read, or hear, or sing of its glory, is it the external brilliance that dazzles? Is it its exemption from sorrow, and change, and death, and night, and darkness, and the curse? Or is it the presence, the universal presence, of the Lamb? Sentimentalism can feast itself upon the former, but only faith and love upon the latter. The question, What think ye of the new Jerusalem? Is intimately connected with the more searching one, What think ye of Christ? What is He to you? What is His cross to you? To be engrossed with the splendour of the new Jerusalem, while yet you have not tasted that the Lord is gracious, nor been begotten again unto a lively hope, will profit nothing. Your imagination is kindled or soothed with the picture of our text, 'Its lamp is the Lamb;' but what say you to His own words on earth, 'I am the light of the world?' Has that light which has enlightened millions enlightened you? He is the light of life, the true light that enlighteneth every man that cometh into the world, and all light is darkness save that which radiates from Him. What has that light been to you, or done for you? It is this present light on earth, filling the soul, that is the preparation for enjoying the light of the city; and he who walketh in darkness here, shall walk in darkness for ever.
We bid you look away from every other light and turn to this. It is the light of the cross. For the cross is light and not darkness. It is the light of love. It sheds its rays of pardon, and reconciliation, and joy into the darkest soul. These rays go out with each proclamation of the gospel; for our gospel is the gospel of the light, the gospel of the risen Sun. He who receives that gospel receives the light; and he who holds fast that gospel abides in the light, being a child of the light and of the day. He who receives it not is a child of darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
LVI. The Life River
"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb."—
Revelation 22:1.
In the first Paradise, and in connection with the first creation, we find a river,—'a river went out of Eden to water the garden' (Genesis 2:10); and in connection with the second Paradise and the new creation, we find a river also,—a river without a name,—but simply designated 'a river of life.' The earthly and the heavenly thus run parallel with each other, though the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. In connection, not merely with earthly fruitfulness and beauty, but with spiritual blessings, we have many allusions to rivers. 'The river of Thy pleasures' (Psalm 36:8); 'there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God' (Psalm 46:4); 'thou enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water' (Psalm 65:9); 'peace as a river' (Isaiah 48:18); 'the Lord shall be to us a place of broad rivers and streams' (Isaiah 33:21). The earthly river beautifies, fertilizes, refreshes, gives life, quenches thirst. All these and much more does the heavenly river do for us. In this life-river is the reality of those things of which the earthly river is the shadow. What would the first Adam's Paradise have been without the river? What would the second Adam's Paradise and city be without the river of life? But let us gaze a little on this life-river which John describes, and see its qualities and glories. Of it we may say, 'It is good for drink, and pleasant to the eyes, and a river to be desired;' for no river on earth, Nile or Jordan, can
be compared with it. It contains all that a soul needs; and it is not for angels, but for men. I. It is a river of heaven.—These two concluding chapters speak of no earthly city, no earthly Paradise, no earthly tree of life, and no earthly river. It is a stream fed from heavenly sources, filled with heavenly water, and resplendent with heavenly beauty. Everything pertaining to its origin, and course, and nature partakes of heaven. It is the river of God, conveying on its pure water all that heaven contains of blessedness. They that drink of it must drink immortality and love. 'It is the river of God.' To gaze on it, to wander by its banks, to bathe in its pure flood, to drink of its waters,—this is heaven itself. II. It is a river of grace.—It flows from the throne of the Lamb; and everything that has connection with the Lamb is necessarily of grace. The Lamb is, of all the names of Christ, that which most explicitly expresses grace, and the channel through which that grace flows to us. Name but the Lamb, and you proclaim God's love to sinners, His riches of grace towards the most worthless of human creature hood. The Lamb is the name by which Christ is most commonly spoken of in this book; and this seems to be done, in order that we may, in the midst of the terrors and the glories of which it is full, be made to feel the grace of God as it pours itself out over the dwellers in this poor earth. And this grace goes on through eternity; there is grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. There is the grace of earth, there is the grace of heaven. There is the grace of the first coming, there is the grace of the second. III. It is a river of power.—It comes from the throne,—the throne of God; and therefore possessing the properties of that throne. It communicates, it infuses power into the soul of every one that drinks, or even that walks along its banks. The power and authority of God are in it; for it issues from the fountainhead of universal owner. O mighty river of God! How mighty do they become who betake themselves to thee! Mighty river! The symbol of the Holy Ghost (John 7:37), proceeding from the
Father and the Son, from God and the Lamb,—what infusion of power may we not receive from thee here; how much more hereafter! In this wilderness much; in the glorious city, more. A river of purity.—'A pure river of water of life!' The word pure (καθαρός and καθαρίζω) almost invariably refers to priestly or sacrificial cleansing. This river then owes its purity to the same blood that makes the garments of the redeemed white; and just as the gold of the city is called pure gold, like unto clear ('pure,' καθαρώ) glass, so the river gets the like designation. A pure river! Like the Lamb from whose throne it comes, who is without blemish, and without spot! A pure river! Like the city through which it flows, into which nothing that defileth shall enter! As it pours its heavenly waters on us now, it purifies, it cleanses; and hereafter it will preserve in us eternally that purity which it began in time, as the tree of life will preserve forever the immortal life which it created here in us. Think often of this river, thou who feelest the impurity of thy soul; wander by faith along its banks even now; refresh thyself with its transparent waters; for is it not promised, I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely? The earnest of this we get just now; but the full accomplishment is reserved for the day when 'the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall lead us to the living fountains of waters' (Revelation 8:7). A river of life.—Wheresoever the river cometh it quickeneth; just as of Ezekiel's river it is said, 'the waters shall be healed, and everything shall live whither the river cometh' (Ezekiel 47:9). Each drop is life giving; it contains everlasting life, for the Spirit of life is in that river. And He from whom it comes is the Lamb, even He who said, 'I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish;' 'because I live, ye shall live also.' VI. A river of brightness.—The words 'clear as crystal' should be 'bright as crystal,'—the same word (λα•πρός) as in verse 16, 'the bright and morning star.' It is a river of splendor, divine and heavenly splendor. No earthly river, shone upon by the brightest earthly sun, can equal this. It is radiant all over, and it communicates its radiance to those who dwell upon its banks. It makes them shine as the sun. It is a river of glory; of God doth
lighten it, and the Lamb is the fountain of its splendor! O river of brightness, wilt thou not cast down on us here some of the radiance of thy pure water? River of glory and holiness, wilt thou not gladden and purify us, by causing us to behold thy beauty in some measure here, that we may be prepared for beholding that splendor in fuller measure hereafter, when the days of our shame, and sin, and mourning are ended?
LVII. The Tree With Its Twelve Harvests
"In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."— Revelation 22:2.
Faith looks into the unseen past, hope into the unseen future. The 'things hoped for' are very glorious. Eye hath not seen them, nor ear heard them; but 'God hath revealed (the name of this book is the "Revelation") them unto us by His Spirit.' That Spirit has given us (1) eyes to see; (2) objects to look upon; and (3) light to see them with. It is the glory of the new creation, and specially of the new Jerusalem, that is here described. It is not longer, as at first, Paradise alone without a city, and with only our first parents to inhabit it; nor is it Jerusalem alone without Paradise, and without a river, and without a tree of life. It is Paradise, and Jerusalem together. The city is in the garden, and the garden in the city; the tree of life springing up in fruit-bearing beauty, and the bright river flowing through the street and under the shade of the trees. Nor is this Paradise without its 'Adam,' nor this city without its Solomon. The second Adam is here, the Lord from heaven. The throne of God and of the Lamb is here. All is heavenly, yet all is earthly too; all is divine, yet all is human. There is perfection everywhere there is glory over all. It is the perfection of the material and visible, as well as of the spiritual and invisible. Creation has reached its summit,—the eternally predestined height from which it cannot fall. Into the regions of this glory we would seek to enter now. Time is going. The world passeth away. Our life is but a vapor. This is a waste, howling wilderness. Darkness and cloud are here. The ice and frost, the blast, the
storm, the earthquake are here. Night, and death, and the curse, and the grave are here. We eagerly look beyond these, and anticipate the promised perfection and blessedness of the new creation. I. The street of the city.—The word refers to the main or broad street of the city. A wide central street, in the midst of which the river flowed, is the picture here. It is the great street of a well-built city,—the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. The city is the 'heavenly Jerusalem,' the 'holy city,' of which we become citizens even now in believing, so that 'our citizenship is in heaven,' and we, 'are come to Mount Zion, the city of the living God,' realizing ourselves as already in the city, and the city as already here. That glorious city is to be the eternal center of the universe, the seat of government, and the center of social life and blessed being. We need not try to sketch the city and its street, nor to answer the question, Is all this to be real and material, or is it only spiritual? Spiritual certainly, in the sense in which our resurrection bodies are to be (1 Corinthians 15:44), but still real and material; for the gold and gems, the walls, and foundations, and gates, are evidently given to indicate something material, corresponding to all these, and which could only be represented to us by these. This 'street,' or great thoroughfare of the celestial city, suggests to us all that a similar street in any of our great cities now calls up to view. It is the place of concourse; the place of fellowship; the place of splendor; the head and heart of the city,—that city which is to be the metropolis of the universe, as the lower Jerusalem is the metropolis of earth. II. The river.—This is described in the previous verse. It is like, and yet unlike, all earthly streams. Its source is divine; its waters are bright; its flow is endless. Jordan, and Nile, and Euphrates cannot be compared to it. This magnificent river flows right through the center of the street, which is in the center of the city, dividing it into two, so that the whole city equally gets the benefit of its waters. It distributes on both sides its heavenly blessing as it pours along, carrying on its fair bosom refreshment, and gladness, and beauty. 'Wellwatered' is this city; and with store for every beneficent purpose. It is 'the river, the streams of which make glad the city
of our God' (Psalm 46:4); it is the river of peace, for on it 'shall go no galley with oars (no war-ship), neither shall gallant ship pass thereby' (Isaiah 33:21). It contains in it all physical blessings which a river can contain, and it is the symbol of all spiritual blessings. 'Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures' (Psalm 36:8). Not from any earthly source does this river flow; not even from the rock of the desert; not from the sanctuary (Ezekiel 47:1); not from the eternal hills;—but from the throne of God and of the Lamb. III. The tree of the life.—This carries us back to Paradise, with its unfallen glory. It is the 'tree of righteousness' (Isaiah 61:3); the 'plant of renown' (Ezekiel 34:29); the tree of the old creation, and the tree of the new; the living and life-giving tree. There is the earthly tree and the heavenly just as there is the earthly and the heavenly Jerusalem; the tree of the lower Paradise, and the tree of the upper Paradise; but the glory of the terrestrial is one, and the glory of the celestial is another. Here we have the celestial; and yet, when we read this chapter in connection with the fortyeighth of Ezekiel, we see that the two are connected the one with the other, —like the upper and the nether springs; like the higher and the lower stories of the great palace; like the outer and the inner courts of the great temple. This tree of life lines the river of life; extending like a fringe along its margin on both sides, between it and the street; shooting up like a long avenue of palms in the midst of the broad street, through the center of which the river flowed. A wondrous tree; or rather a forest of wondrous trees pleasant to the eye, good for fruit, and excellent for shade and fragrance, under whose shadow we shall sit down with great delight, in the day when the tabernacle of God is with men. The fruit of the tree.—It is 'good for fruit.' Take it either physically or spiritually, it is so. Take it in both ways,— referring to both body and soul, —the food of our risen life, the sustenance of our risen bodies and perfected souls, it is 'good,'—it is 'very good.' It nourishes and cherishes. It imparts and sustains the incorruptible life. It communicates its celestial properties to the whole being of the redeemed,— body, soul, and spirit. It bears twelve manner of fruits, or rather 'twelve fruits,'—i.e. harvests or
crops. Like the orange tree amongst us now, it is always blossoming, and always bearing. The revolving year is one perpetual harvest, every month producing new fruit. The description of the 'celestial' is very like that of the 'terrestrial' in Ezekiel, which runs thus: 'Behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed (cease): it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary; and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine' (Ezekiel 47:7, 12). Here then is the food of the redeemed,—eternal nourishment, suited to their redeemed being; here is perpetual spring, perpetual summer, perpetual autumn; no winter, no withering, no famine, no decay! Life for eternity, sustained by the fruit of the livegiving tree, which shall nourish all the parts and powers, mental and material, of our everlasting and incorruptible nature. The leaves of the tree.—These are for health. This lower region of earth shall be dependent on the upper region (at least during the millennial ages) for healing and for light; 'the nations of the saved shall walk in the light of it' (ch. 21:24). As the fruit is for food to the celestial dwellers, so the leaves are for healing to the terrestrial. Of Israel restored and blessed, dwelling in their renovated land, it is said: 'the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick' (Isaiah 33:24); 'for the Lord shall bind up the breach of His people, and heal the stroke of their wound' (Isaiah 30:26). But among the nations of the saved on earth there will still be sickness, and for these are provided the leaves of the healing tree. It may be also that these leaves are needful for the preservation of health, as well as for the removal of sickness; so that all earth, in that coming millennial day of great but still imperfect glory, shall need them. In any case, we see the meaning of the words, 'The leaves of the tree are for the healing (or health) of the nations.[26] All this is beyond doubt connected with the Lord Jesus Christ,—'the Lamb as it had been slain;' for as every infliction of the curse here or hereafter is connected with Him as such, so every part of present and future blessing is linked with Him. We might in this aspect say, He is the river, He is the tree,
He is the fruit, He is the healing leaf. But perhaps it is more correct to say, He is the fountainhead of all blessing in heaven and earth, in this world and in that which is to come; and these material things are the channels through which He pours out His fullness. (1.) The bright and refreshing river.—Weary man of earth, come hither. There are waters for thee, enough and to spare. All free and all accessible. 'Come ye to the waters;' 'let him that is athirst come;' 'I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely;' not merely of the 'water' or of the 'river,' but of the 'fountain,' 'the spring shut up, the fountain sealed.' (2.) The plenteous and life-giving fruit.—It is the 'bread of life;' it is better than angels' food. It is the hidden manna; the fruit of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Eat, for it is the nourishment you need; eat, for it is free and within your reach; eat, for it is living and lifegiving food. You will find it sweet to your taste. It confers immortality on the eater. He who eateth of this fruit shall live forever. (3.)The healing leaf.—We cannot say of this tree, 'Nothing but leaves;' still there are leaves in abundance, and each leaf is precious. It is like the hem of Christ's garment, through which healing came to all who touched it. It is like 'the handkerchiefs and aprons' from Paul's body that healed the sick (Acts 19:12); or like 'the shadow of Peter passing-by' (Acts 5:15) that 'over shadowed' and healed the sick of Jerusalem. These were healings for the body. In like manner there come healings for the soul. Christ is the healer of a sick world. The simplest touch in any part heals. Wilt thou be made whole? Take a leaf from the healing tree. Art thou sick again? Take another and another. Take them every hour.
LVIII. The Serving And The Reigning
"His servants shall serve Him;" "they shall reign for ever." — Revelation
22:3, 5.
Setting these two passages together, we get these two truths, that the redeemed are servants, and that they are also kings. Their eternity is to be an eternity of service, and an eternity of dominion. For both of these they have been redeemed. It is not mere deliverance from the wrath to come, but glory, honour, dominion, and power that are their portion. The new Jerusalem is to be specially the place of service and the center of dominion. I. Service.—His servants shall serve Him. They are the servants of God, and the servants of the Lamb. Once servants of self, of the world, of Satan; now servants of God. As Christ was the Father's servant, so do we become. Let us ask,— (1.) When this service begins.—It begins at conversion. For conversion is (1) a change of service, (2) a change of masters, (3) a change of motive, (4) a change of work.
(2.) How it begins.—Christ answers this: 'If any man serve me, let him follow me.' It begins by taking His yoke; by taking the cross; by denying self; or, as the apostle expresses it, by 'obeying from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered unto us.' Yes, we must be made free that we may serve. (3.) How it is carried on.—By a life of devotedness to God and His Christ; by doing His will, working His work, carrying out His plans, running His errands, looking after His interest. We are, as it were, His domestic
servants, His public servants, His agents and instruments; in all things waiting on Him and carrying out His will daily, not our own. (4.) Where it is carried on.—First here on earth, and afterwards in the new Jerusalem before the throne. It is carried on everywhere; in the closet, in the family, at the table, round the hearth, in the market, in the shop, in the field, on the highway,—everywhere. We are to be the servants always, less than the servants never; always able to say, Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? How it is to be carried on hereafter we know not. In the city and out of it; at the throne and away from it; all over space; from star to star; doing every kind of work, and going on every kind of errand; such shall be the service hereafter. (5.) How long it shall last.—For ever. It has beginning, but not an end. It is an eternal service. It is not the service of the hireling, who earnestly desireth the shadow; it is not limited by days and nights; it knows no end. Nor would any one engaged in it wish it to terminate; it is so blessed and so glorious; it wins us so many smiles from the Master; it is rewarded so bountifully; and it is itself so unspeakable joyful! Who then would not serve? Who would not engage himself to this heavenly Master? All other services are bondage, this is liberty; all others are drudgery, this is blessedness throughout. Who would not serve now? Who would not serve hereafter? The Master now waits to hire you; will you not be hired? II. The dominion.—They shall reign for ever. This is wholly future. The dominion is not now. The kingdom is not yet set up. We are indeed kings, but the crown and throne are yet in reserve. The name and the title we get just now; the reality we enter on when the Lord returns. Then we shall reign; all things shall be put under our feet as under His. (1.) Who are these reigners? They are men, not angels. They sing, 'Thou hast redeemed us.' They are from this earth of ours, not natives of heaven.
(2.) Whence came they? They came out of sin, out of weakness, and persecution, and tribulation. They once were not what they are to be forever. From the lowest pit they came, and from the miry clay. (3.) How did they become what they are? They washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. They sought and found the Lord. They obtained mercy. They were forgiven. They believed and became sons of God. (4.) What raised them to this dignity? Grace; God's free love. It was His love, His sovereign love alone, that made them what they are and shall be. They did not raise themselves, nor obtain it by inheritance, or merit, or purchase. Free love did it all; the free sovereign love of God. (5.) In what way did they reach the throne? They fought their way to it. For the crown and kingdom are to the over comers. 'To him that over cometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne.' It was through much toil and warfare that they won the crown. (6.) How extensive is this dominion to be? He that overcometh shall inherit all things. It is the universe that is to be their dominion. Heaven and earth are theirs. For they are 'heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ.'
(7.) How long is it to last? Forever. It is an everlasting dominion, a kingdom that shall not be destroyed. The throne, and crown, and glory are all eternal. How great the contrast between the present and the future! The Church few, trodden down, afflicted now,—then reigning! Now the lowest, then the uppermost! Now like Joseph in the pit, then upon the throne! What a hope! How quickening, purifying, comforting! Let us keep gazing on it. Let nothing of earth come between, nether sorrow nor joy, life nor death. It may soon be realized. Let us live as men who believe it.
LIX. The Curse Cancelled, And The Kingdom
Begun
"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: and they shall see His face; and His name shall in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever." — Revelation 22:3-5.
Here we are carried back to the third chapter of Genesis; for here we have the undoing of the evil which the first Adam and the first sin wrought on man and man's earth. Here is blessing and dominion; nearness to God, and deliverance from all evil; the kingdom of light, and the endless reign of His saints. How bright the picture! What a contrast with the scene of the sentence and the expulsion from Paradise! What a contrast with the present evil state of earth, and the present tribulation of the Church! Here is the glory to be revealed in us; the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; the ending of all the woes and wickedness that have been depicted in this book. No more room for Satan and his angels. No more place for Antichrist; or for the beast, and false prophet. No more tolerance for evil and error. No more scope for misrule and disorder; no more conflict, and darkness, and tempest. All is perfection,—the perfection of God and of the Lamb; not simply a perfect and glorious heaven, but a perfect and glorious earth. I. The removal of the curse.—Many are the curses that have lighted upon earth,—the primeval curse, with all the many curses that have flowed out of the first sin. It is true that there is no curse pronounced against the man, or the woman, or their race. That would have been inconsistent with the revelation of divine grace. It would have rendered unintelligible the love of God just announced. The curse is on the ground, and on the serpent;
and this, though not directly aimed at man, affects man and his whole race. The curse has come in like a pestilence upon earth; and man must breathe the poisoned air. All this is now reversed; the sentence is cancelled; the curse is exchanged for blessing. The cursed one is cast out of air and earth, into the bottomless pit. The atmosphere is purged. The sun scorches not by day, nor the moon by night. Thorns and thistles disappear. Fertility is restored to earth. The wolf lies down with the lamb, and the leopard with the kid; and there is nothing found to hurt nor to destroy in the holy mountain of the Lord. There is the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. II. The eternal throne.—Here is the setting up of the throne. In the King's absence all things have fallen into disorder; while the presence of a hostile claimant or usurper has intensified the evil and increased the confusion. But now the usurper has been dethroned, and the true monarch comes in. 'The throne of God and of the Lamb are in it.' The new Jerusalem has come down out of heaven from God. The great kingdom has come. It is not only the kingdom of God, but of the Lamb. He is King forever. He is the center of the universe; head of all things in heaven and earth; the second Adam, who with His redeemed bride the Church is to reign for ever and ever. This earth shall be honoured in being made the seat of His eternal throne. It is no longer to be said, 'Earth is His footstool;' but the throne is to be in it; and its rulers are to be they who claim kindred with its once cursed soil. O matchless honour conferred on earth and on it sons! O exceeding riches of grace! Where sin has abounded, grace much more abounds. III. The eternal service.—'His servants shall serve Him.' They serve him day and night in His temple' (Revelation 7:15). The word 'servant' is here the usual word (δονλος): 'Paul the servant of Jesus Christ.' For we are in one sense servants forever; that name being really one of blessedness, and honour, and liberty. But the word 'shall serve' is not the same. It is used about twenty-five times in the New Testament, and always in reference to religious service, the worship of God (Matthew 5:10; Philippians 3:3; Hebrews 9:14). There the throne and the temple are one; they who serve in the kingdom serve in the temple too. They are kings and priests unto God.
It is priestly royal service to which they are called. And as the throne and the temple are one, so are 'God and the Lamb,' whether this means 'the Father and the Son,' or 'He who is both God and the Lamb.' It is not 'their servants shall serve them;' but His servants shall serve Him. It is to this high service that the redeemed are called;—eternal service, in the city and palace and temple of God and the Lamb. IV. The eternal vision.—'They shall see His face.' They who 'saw the king's face' (Esther 1:14) were 'the first in the kingdom;' the peerage of the peerage, who stood nearest the king. It was blessedness, it was preeminence, it was honour. 'Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God' (Matthew 5:8). 'I will behold Thy face in righteousness' (Psalm 17:15). Not in a glass darkly, but face to face; not afar off, but nigh; not with cloud or veil between, but unclouded and unveiled,—they shall see the face that is most glorious to behold. 'Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty' (Isaiah 33:17). They shall be employed in that worship and service which is the most honourable of all. They shall occupy the innermost circle of the universe; for they are the redeemed from among men. And then shall that word 'brought nigh through the blood of Christ' be no figure, but an eternal and glorious reality. 'Thou settest me before Thy face forever (Psalm 41:12). V. The eternal inscription.—'His name shall be in their foreheads.' The one name of God and the Lamb shall be engraven,—not on their 'vesture or thigh,' not on the palms of their hands, but on the forehead, visible, conspicuous, glorious, never to be erased; engraved by no earthly Bezaleel, upon earthly gold or gems, but upon foreheads which have been washed in blood, and smoothed from every wrinkle and stain by the hand of Him who redeemed them for Himself. Jehovah's name, written by Himself, on our foreheads, how great the honour and the blessedness! (Revelation 3:12). VI. The eternal day.—This is stated negatively. No night, no need of lamp nor of the sun! (Isaiah 60:19). Here night alternates with day; here we must either have lamp or sunlight because of the darkness. Not so there. All
is day,— day without night; light without darkness. No night! nor any of the things that make night so dreaded and dreary; no pain, nor sickness, nor weariness, nor tossing to and from, nor danger, nor enemy, nor storm. All these have passed away with the night, out of whose bosom they came. Everlasting day! Everlasting light! Everlasting spring! VII. The eternal Sun.—'The Lord God giveth them light.' The Lord God is a Sun even here. He is in every sense to be our Sun hereafter, superseding all other suns and lights. 'The Lord shall be their everlasting light.' 'The Lamb is the lamp thereof.' The light of heaven and earth, of all things material, and all things spiritual, is to come from the face of Jehovah Himself,—the one sun of the universe, the one sun of the soul! Then shall we know, as we have never done before, the meaning of the words, 'I am the Light of the world.' 'The day shall break, and the shadows flee away.' All that we have hitherto known of light, outward or inward, material or immaterial, shall be as nothing to the effulgence of that eternal day. VIII. The eternal reign.—'They shall reign for ever and ever.' It is not merely everlasting life, but an everlasting kingdom, that is in store for us. It is dominion, and glory, and honour, such as that which belongs to Him who has redeemed us by His blood, and made us God's kings and priests. From the lowest depths we are taken to the highest heights; from the degradation of bondage to the liberty of the sons of God,— the inheritance of the saints in light. And of this kingdom there shall be no end. Christ does not deliver up the kingdom in the sense of parting with it, but in the sense of presenting it complete and glorious (1 Corinthians 15:24; Ephesians 5:27; Colossians 1:22). Ours is like Christ's, an eternal reign. A bright future is this for every one who has received the testimony of the Father to His beloved Son; for on our reception of that testimony does our right to that kingdom depend. That future is meant to tell upon our present, —and that in many ways. It is so fair a prospect that it cannot fail to influence us now.
(1.) It purifies us.—For all in it is pure and perfect. We gaze into its glorious vista, and take on its perfection and purity. Like light it transforms each object on which it rests into a brilliance like itself. (2.) It invigorates.—The prospect of an inheritance like this nerves us for conflict, and makes us invincible. It rouses us when called to the great battle of life with Satan and the world. It quickens mightily. (3.) It cheers.—A hope like this lifts us out of depression, and bids us be of good cheer. The light will soon swallow up the darkness. The time is short. The glory will be enough to make up for all. (4.) It comforts.—We need more than cheering; for sorrow sometimes covers us with so thick a cloud that we cannot see through. It crushes us, and breaks us to pieces. It smites us to the dust. Then we get a glimpse of the glory beyond, and are comforted. After all, ours is 'light affliction,' and 'but for a moment.' It will soon be swallowed up in the eternal joy. Our title to all this surpassing and eternal glory is simple the blood of the Lamb. He has bought it for His Church; and it is hers forever. The nightless day, the unsetting sun, the incorruptible life, the undefiled inheritance, the new name, the heavenly city, the everlasting kingdom,— all are hers; hers through 'the blood of the everlasting covenant.' She is to walk worthy of it here,—worthy of such a crown, such a heritage, such a city, such a Bridegroom, such a joy. 'Be holy;' 'be perfect;' 'walk worthy of the Lord.'
The entrance stands ever open, and each son of man is invited to go in. 'All things are ready.' Ye dwellers in the highways and hedges, go in. There is the marriage hall, and the marriage feast, and the loving welcome of the Master; go in. 'He that believeth' entereth in. We go in when we credit the divine record concerning the Son of God, and concerning the eternal life that there is in Him, for the dead in sin. It is not working, nor buying, nor waiting, but believing, that secures the kingdom. Believe, and enter! Believe, and be blest!