We Come into Resurrection for New Jerusalem
New Jerusalem, the focus of Revelation 22–22, is the consummation of the Bible. Even apparently insignificant things point toward New Jerusalem. An example is the Lord’s answer in Matthew 22 to the Sadducees, who condemned the Lord and denied the resurrection.
Verse 29-30 say, “Jesus answered and said to them, You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
The wall [of New Jerusalem] is also measured according to “the measure of a man, that is, of an angel” (21:17). It is in resurrection that man will be like the angels (Matt. 22:30). Hence, the measure of a man, that is, of an angel signifies that the wall of the city is not natural but in resurrection. The entire wall is something transformed and built up in resurrection. In this sense, all of us in the church life should be like angels. In our natural life we are not like angels, but in resurrection we are.*
The Lord Jesus is “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) and today He is “Christ our life” (Col. 3:4). Apart from Him we have no possibility to be in resurrection. But the more He is formed in us (Gal. 4:19) and the more He makes His home in our hearts (Eph. 3:17), the more New Jerusalem is established in us.
* From chapter 36, Witness Lee, God’s New Testament Economy, published by Living Stream Ministry, © Witness Lee, 1986.
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Posted by Don on March 27, 2023
