New Jerusalem is Spiritual, Heavenly, and Divine (1)

Revelation 21–22, the last chapters of the Bible, present New Jerusalem.

We know that the Bible contains the divine revelation; the conclusion of such a revelation, therefore, should be very high and very significant….The New Jerusalem is altogether a spiritual, heavenly, and divine sign and not something physical.*

New Jerusalem is spiritual because it is the outcome of all the work of the Spirit, especially His work in God’s people. This includes sanctifying us unto salvation (1 Peter 1:2), regeneration (John 3:6), sealing (Eph. 1:13), renewing (Tit. 3:5), dispositional sanctification (2 Thes. 2:13), and transformation (2 Cor. 3:18).

By this Spirit we are freed from the law of sin and death, fulfill all God’s righteous require-ments, have inner life and peace, and receive life in our mortal body (Rom. 8:2, 4, 6, 11). The Spirit also bountifully supplies us to magnify Christ in any situation (Phil. 1:19-20).

Further, the Spirit witnesses with our human spirit and is the motivation for our crying out Abba, Father (Rom. 8:15-16). The Spirit is the realm of the building up of God’s dwelling place, and is the domain in which we walk, live, and serve and worship God (Gal. 5:25; Rom. 1:9; John 4:24).

New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ and at the end of the Bible the Spirit and the bride speak together (Rev. 22:17).

The produce of the Spirit, who is one with the bride, must be something spiritual. The Spirit is not physical and all the moving of the Spirit through the New Testament produces a wonderful mingling of God and man which ultimately is the holy city New Jerusalem.

* From chapter 26 of Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.