No. 4.-THE RESTTHAT REMAINETH FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
(Heb. 4.)
BY "the rest that remaineth for the people of God," I venture to submit, is meant God's rest in the finished new creation—the rest upon which God will enter when he shall have accomplished fully his wonderful announcement: "Behold, I make all things new."
To participate with Him in that rest, is to "enter into the rest that remaineth for the people of God." The people of God shall enter into that, His rest, and then God shall be all in all." Then shall have come THE END, in very deed. Beyond that there can be nothing. God's purposes and counsels shall then have all wrought out their latest and most wonderful results, and God's rest, the Sabbath-keeping that remaineth for the people of God, when God shall be all in all, shall be their perfect and eternal consummation.
Any idea of the rest, then, that comes short of that rest, is an idea that, to some extent at least, comes short of the rest that remaineth for the people of God. Not until that period will the people of God, in the full and proper sense of the expression, have entered into His rest.
It is quite true, indeed, that “we which have believed do enter into rest; " that is, we are even now entering into it. Yet our entrance shall not be completed until we enter, after the final judgment, into the new heavens and now earth, into the post-millennial and eternal state. We are entering indeed already; that is, we have entered therein partly in some blessed and true respect even now, and shortly we shall enter in a far higher sense; but in the full and proper sense, we repeat it, our entrance will not take place till the remote period we have pointed out.
For there are stages, so to speak, by which we enter into that rest, and there are, it may be said, day's works in the accomplishing of the new creation. Just as at the first, in the accomplishment of the first and now ruined creation, there were successive day's works done, and consequent rests, or stages of rest, reached as the result of each day's work—for as God looked upon the work of each, " he saw that it was good"—so in the new creation there may be said to be successive acts done, and successive stages of rest arrived at. Yet, properly and fully, "God rested" only "on the seventh day;” not until that day, and the completion of the first creation. Nor, in like manner, will He rest again the second time, nor consequently shall we enter into His rest, in the full and proper sense of that expression, till the last day's work of the new creation shall be finished. Then, and not till then, will God again and indeed "rest upon the seventh day," or rather, upon the eighth day, the last great day of all.
1.—Let us endeavor to look a little at some of the further details of this stupendous work, and then, 2., at the rest that shall ensue. May we be guided rightly, and profited, and humbled greatly in the research!
And, first, as to the meaning of the term "rest," when applied to, and spoken of, God. It was not, certainly, because God was fatigued that He "rested the seventh day." The Most High, assuredly, fainteth not, neither is wearied. In what sense, then, was He said to rest? Was it not, we may consequently ask, in this sense that He then entered upon, as it were, a season of very high delight, of very full and holy satisfaction? He beheld the works that He had made, He beheld them all, He surveyed them all searchingly, and throughout all their " fearfully and wonderfully made parts and proportions; and He said: " Behold, they are very good." Was not this the expression of the next, where with He rested on the seventh day? "Behold, it is very good!” Meet and comprehensive setting forth of holy and exalted rest, of full delight and perfect approbation!
2. But man's sin almost immediately broke in upon and interrupted this rest. The creation thereupon fell into a state of ruin.
Could the eye of the Creator rest upon it any longer? Could He behold it still, and still say: "Behold, it is very good?" Indeed, He could not. His rest was thenceforth at an end. What would be the result? What, in fact, did ensue?
3. God began to unfold His purpose, then, that there should be a new creation; and He at once commenced, as it were, the requisite preparatory labors. He began creation work afresh. He began to work anew. Is there not something like this thought conveyed to us in those words, which were spoken by our Lord unto the Jews—words called forth by their mistaken notions as to that first rest—the seventh-day rest, "Father worketh hitherto, and I work?" They were quite in the dark as to the true position of that question. With the mind and thoughts of God respecting it, consequently, they had no sympathy. Moses only was read by them, and the veil was upon their heart. That God's eye looked(not backward to the completion of an old creation that sin had subsequently ruined and despoiled, but) forward to a new creation, and to a future Sabbath, when none of the evils that had come upon the first creation should any longer have existence—that this was truly how the question now stood, was a thing quite unthought of as yet by them. But, so it was: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." God was working, rather than resting, now. A Jew, under the law of bondage, that schoolmaster to him, teaching him chiefly the story of ruin and condemnation, might fitly and properly enough keep Jewish Sabbaths, for with the ruined, old creation he had most to do; but the Father and the Son were now occupied with other thoughts, and in other ways. They were working in order to bring about a new creation, and neither of them could keep a Sabbath till that wondrous work should be accomplished. There might indeed be some rest attained to; assuredly: there would be a measure of true satisfaction experienced, as "each successive act of new-creating work was done—but the rest would commence, properly and fully speaking, only when the whole should be accomplished. Till that consummation it should still be said: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."
4. Hence, let us remark here, the changing of the day of worship and of rest from the seventh day to the Lord's day. Christ was risen. He was risen as the Head of a new creation. The primitive Church knew this, and knew its union with Him, thus risen. Nothing but the thought of a new creation could lead it to observe a day of rest. The Church's rest-day (so far as it knew one at all) commemorated new creation. Resurrection pointed to an eighth-day rest; to a future, not a by-gone, rest; to “the rest that remaineth for the people of God."
5. As to the order of events in this work of new creation, might not one remark as to it, that, viewed in contrast with the order of events of the first creation, it is on the whole an inverted order?
The man, in the first instance, was not created until the sixth and last of the days of creation-labor. His creation was the last and crowning act of the creation. But in the new creation, the work begins with man. And how fitting that it should! For where began the awful progress of the work of ruin? In the soul of man.
The Almighty had, last of all, breathed into him the breath of life, and then man became a living soul. The ruin began just there. Man's soul was lifted up with proud desires, and fell away from intercourse with God: man's soul morally died. Just here then commences, and most rightly so, the work of restoration of palingenesis. The work, however, shall be extended to man's body, and ultimately to the whole creation—to the world itself. But the creating a new heavens and new earth will, in this case, be the last and crowning act. And thus, as we have said, the order of the new world is the inverse of the old.
II.—Let us now glance at some of the successive stages of this new creation, by which the rest that remaineth for the people of God will be ushered in.
And, first, surely we may say that one grand act towards it was done when “God gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
By this act was provided the person who was to be the HEAD of the new creation. His birth was on this wise: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, [the virgin,] and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Behold this Holy
One! It is the Lord from heaven, in the body which had been prepared for Him. And though all that could be said of the first man was, that he was a living soul, it is declared of this Holy One that He is a quickening and life-giving Spirit. In such hands, the new creation will be secured from the possibility of any such catastrophe as that which befell the old one. The Lord from heaven is found in fashion as a man, and an indissoluble link will thus bind the new creation in the full and eternal security of its great Creator.
What a day's work this! A man without sin! yea more, God manifested in flesh! Twice did the Father speak from heaven directly, and express the complacency wherewith He rested in Jesus. “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," was the testimony when the Lord had been baptized. (Matt. 3: 17.) And again: " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him," was the testimony when He was transfigured. (Matt. 17:55While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5).)
2. The resurrection of Jesus seems to come in as properly the next step towards a new creation. It had behoved Him to suffer death. There was a hindrance in the way of any deliverance of fallen, ruined man, and an equal hindrance to any deliverance of the fallen and ruined creation. There must be death by grace, for there had been sin. There must be the shedding of blood, or there could be no remission of the penalty of sin, i.e. subjection to vanity and ruin. The resurrection follows, as God's answer to the value of His blood and death, as a thing most certain: "For it was not possible that He should be holden of death." See, then, the risen Head of the new creation! There can now be no further hindrance to the wondrous work. There may be suspense. Even the purposes of mercy and longsuffering may require delay; but THE NEW CREATION may be regarded as even finished thenceforth. "Before God," whom we have believed, it was so, for He “calleth things that are not," seeing that such things certainly shall be, “as though they were." Yet, as to actual fact, they are done only by successive operations, or courses of operation. But here, in the resurrection of Jesus, we see a proof and pledge that, not man's soul only shall be quickened in the now creation, but man's vile and mortal body also. For Jesus rose, “the first-fruits of them that slept." There will, therefore, be after fruits; there will follow a harvest of resurrection, or new creation, bodies. Jesus arose the "first-begotten from the dead," the " first-born" from the dead " of every creature," the " first-born among many brethren," the bodies of all of whom, (as well as their souls) shall ultimately be thus born again in resurrection, and created anew, and "fashioned like unto his glorious body." Doubtless, the Father rested, with increased reality of actual accomplishment, when Jesus had thus risen and ascended, and sat down at His own right hand. Now too, doubtless, in a very full and proper sense, did the Lord Jesus Himself enter into His Father's rest. For in a true and very important sense He had finished the work which had been given Him to do. And having finished his work, He entered into His rest. "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own work as God did from his." So Jesus, having suffered, “entered into His rest," "entered into his glory," His "glorious rest." Stupendous day's work this! Let us seek rest even in the simple contemplation of it. Let us meditate upon this " exceeding greatness of his (God's) mighty power," this " working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead, and set Him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come; " when he "put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all." (Eph. 1:19-2319And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. (Ephesians 1:19‑23).)
3. We may now see how it is that "we who have believed do enter," or are entering, "into rest." Jesus hath entered into rest, as we have seen; let us now see how we are made to participate in new creation and new creation rest. Let us see too how the word is even yet true: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." Behold the labor of the blessed Jesus, as seen in Matt. 11:28, 29: " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." To learn of Jesus, then, and to become meek and lowly in heart, is to find rest unto our souls. To all who come unto Jesus will He give rest, yea, the true commencement of the rest that remaineth for the people of God. For the rest here offered is rest in Christ Jesus. "And if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature;" he is the subject of a new creation. The root and foundation of the " meekness and lowliness of heart," which accompany the taking on us Christ's yoke, are found only in one that is thus a new creature. There must be, in order to such rest, a new nature, a new heart. Here, then, we see how fallen man is first brought into participation, incipient participation, of the rest that remaineth for the people of God. He is made partaker of the new life of the future period; “he tastes “at least this one " of the powers of the world to come," if we may so apply a phrase which relates to external things. His soul is created anew already. He is already risen from the dead, as to his spirit. Thus it was declared by Jesus: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." (John 5:2525Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25).) Here, then, is seen another wondrous stage in the progress of making all things new. The living Head we have beheld already. Here we see the living members. There was life in the risen Head indeed for any upon whom death had past; but the multitude “would not come unto Him, that they might have life." But to all who should believe in Him, that life, which was in Him for all, would be actually imparted. And, assuredly, this portion of the work of new creation would bring with it, and to all the subjects of it, a true degree of blessed rest. Yea, “the Lord of peace “would give to such " peace always by all means." And the Lord Jesus would impart His peace to them. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you." (John 14:2727Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27).) Yea, the more they should "learn of Jesus," the more deep and I rue should be their rest. The more they become "meek and lowly in heart," the more sweet and perpetual would be their enjoyment of peace. True indeed it is, then, that “we which have believed are entering into rest." We have entered, we are entering, we shall ultimately enter, into His rest.
4. There is a further step towards the rest, which must not be overlooked, but which is, or will be, nevertheless limited to a portion only of the people of God: namely, "to die in the Lord, and to rest from their labors," to "sleep in Jesus." The next grand prominent step consequent on the new creation of souls is the new creation, or resurrection of bodies. But, in the interval, the saints, whose warfare is accomplished, do “depart to be with Christ." And the day's work of their life being ended, each one, as he becomes “absent from the body and present with the Lord," enters into rest. There had been previously rest to their consciences in the precious blood of Christ, rest from condemnation and fear that lath torment. They had had also found rest unto their souls through the “meek and lowly mind “imparted from their Head. But now they "rest from their labors" too. Yea, the burden of the earthly house of their tabernacle weighs them down no more, for the earthly house of that tabernacle is dissolved. Above all, they are “present with the Lord," where there is fullness of joy, and where there are pleasures for evermore. And blessed indeed, truly blessed, are all those “dead who die in the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them." And as to all these the word is surely fulfilled: "He that hath entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
But yet this is by no means fully and properly "the rest that remaineth for the people of God." It may be termed indeed rather a resting-place for a season, on the way to that ultimate and eternal rest. There will be truly the nature of the future rest, and inconceivable enjoyment. But yet the rest itself is not perfected and consummated. The place of the ultimate rest is not yet created, for it will be the new heavens and new earth. Heaven, the heaven where the Lord Jesus now is, is not the permanent abode of the people of God. The new heavens and new earth will, after the final judgment, receive the people of God. Of this, however, more further on.
5.The first resurrection is the next stage of new creation that demands our notice. And this is indeed a day's work! When the Lord had greatly surprised the Jews, by his declaration as to the hour of raising souls from death in sin, he added: " Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." They need not marvel at the thought of the quickening of dead souls, for the hour should come in which all the dead bodies that were moldering in the dust, or that over should be moldering there, should be quickened too. Both those hours, however, are evidently dispensations. In the latter hour, or dispensation, there should be two resurrections, which, it is elsewhere declared, shall be one thousand years apart. The first one, we further learn from several most plain scriptures, shall take place at the coming of the Lord. Blessed result this of the resurrection of the new creation's glorious Head! The Lord had risen as Head previously; now the members also are raised—raised in power, in glory, in honor, immortal, spiritual, incorruptible. Let us read the passage, some of the words of which we have now repeated: “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: it is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: it is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the imago of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Cor. 15:42-5842So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. 46Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. 47The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. 48As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 49And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 50Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 51Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:42‑58).) This is new creation indeed!
And let us also read a single sentence from the Epistle to the Philippians: (chap. 3:20, 21) "For our conversation is in heaven, from whence we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able to subdue even all things unto himself."
Amazing work of new creation this! There will surely be additional rest attained to, as the result of it. " Seeing," says the apostle Paul, "it is a righteous thing with God to recompense.... to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven.... when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to he admired in all them that believe." (2 Thess. 1:6, 7, 106Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (2 Thessalonians 1:6‑7)
10When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Thessalonians 1:10).)
But will the new creation, even then, be still incomplete, and the rest that remaineth for the people of God still be, even after that resurrection, a thing future, and only attained in part? We must again reply, that there must be a new heavens and new earth made. Until then the new creation, therefore, cannot be complete.
6. But a period of delay must now be contemplated. The new heavens and new earth, we have seen already, will not be formed till after the final judgment. The final judgment cannot yet take place. The purposes of God's love, and the results of the Redeemer's work, are not by any means exhausted yet. There must still ensue such a work of quickening souls, of creating souls anew, as never yet had been accomplished. There must be a whole millennium of world-wide salvation. The Lord Jesus must see of the travail of His soul, so as to be satisfied. Think of this marvelous prediction. The Savior himself shall be satisfied. By the knowledge of Himself, so many shall be justified that He Himself shall be "satisfied." Blessed, glorious thought! But all this multitude must enter, with us, into the rest.
Meantime, where shall the Lord, and those who rose to meet Him at His coming, have their abode? and what shall be their occupation? They shall administer the righteous government of those happy nations which, in universal peace, shall cover the face of the whole earth. And their place of residence, specially, shall be the “Father’s house,"—the " house," perhaps we may be allowed to say "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."
May we not, then, regard the "millennium” the reign of Jesus, and the "kingdom of heaven" or” of God," when considered with reference to the rest, somewhat in the following point of view? The whole is, as it were, a special intervention, made during time, on God's part, through His Son, our Lord and Savior, in order to the most complete and rapid, and successful preparation of a multitude of saved, now-created people; a people destined for the new heavens and new earth, throughout eternity; a multitude so vast that even the Redeemer Himself shall be satisfied as to the travail of His soul? The millennium thus will be a state of the earth and of government for its population, specially devised to secure and maintain the universal prevalence of that knowledge of Jehovah and His glory, which is eternal life to all those who attain it. The millennium, therefore, is itself a momentous period of the new-creating work. The Head of the new creation indeed, though still working, will rest gloriously then; and His Bride shall rest gloriously with Him. But, down upon the earth, behold the unexampled progress of the work! For thus saith the prophet:
“The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.... And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious."
The earth itself, in order to its increased fitness as a theatre for the display of the blessedness and righteousness of Messiah's sway, will undergo a mighty change; a change so great, that it is even called "a new creation." We believe indeed (and yet as to this we desire not to speak too positively) that a distinction should ever be remembered between this change, wrought upon the earth at the commencement of the millennium, which is called (we believe, by a strong but apt and expressive figure) a "creating of new heavens and new earth," and that far greater change, which will take place only after the end of the millennium, at the period of the final judgment, and which will be truly and literally the " creating of new heavens and a new earth." The pre-millennial change will be truly great and blessed. The earth shall yield her increase then. All feeding of animals upon animals shall be caused of God to cease. Human life also shall be greatly extended to its prediluvial length, it would seem, at least. In a word, the earth shall be so far altered, that even its mortal inhabitants shall dwell in great enjoyment and blessedness upon it. But yet the grand rest of God is not even then fully attained to. Death, though slow and infrequent in its approach, still is undestroyed. Man is still born in sin; and many things still tell the tale of a creation that has been, and even yet is, partially under vanity. The new earth, and the new earth alone, will know nothing of all these former things.
Yet, even the millennial earth shall know what rest is. There shall be a seventh-day rest, as well as an eighth-day rest; though the eighth and last is the great day, the greatest of the whole.
The millennium, then, we may repeat it, is itself a vast PREPARATION DAY for the last, great and eternal Sabbath, or rest that remaineth for the people of God.
7. And now, let us look directly on to the consummation, to the last act of new-creating work. Behold the place of the saints' everlasting rest!
"And I saw a now heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, now Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the cast three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as largo as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 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. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in nowise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. 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. 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 loaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 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 be 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 for ever and ever." (Rev. 21:1-5;9-27; 22:1-5.)
We have now come to the contemplation of the great scene of all. Let us pray for some gracious measure of ability to gaze thereon for good. Oh! may we be lifted up above our worldly and groveling desires and inclinations by it; and may our weary souls find rest, in looking forward to that future rest!
But, where shall we begin our poor endeavors to survey the sphere of such a rest? O Christian, bethink thee! What most attracts thee! Seest thou that light? “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." Dear brethren, is not this the prominent, absorbing feature of the revelation now before us? We have said that the rest that remaineth for the people of God consists in the joy, the delight, the satisfaction that then shall be their portion. It is true, indeed, that there will be rest in their perfect exemption from death, from sorrow, from crying, from pain, and from all those “former things" which shall have passed away. And all this will be sweet indeed. But the positive joy, delight, and satisfaction of being in His presence, "with whom there is fullness of joy," and at His right hand "where there are pleasures for evermore;” this after all, the substance of that endless rest.
And how astonishingly is the glory of God and of the Lamb set forth in this place? All else seems nearly lost, and swallowed up by the bright shining of that glory. Other things are indeed described. There was seen a now heaven and a new earth. Into that new earth, the holy city, New Jerusalem, was seen descending out of heaven from God. The dimensions of the city, and its walls, its foundations, its gates, its streets, and its glorious river, with the surrounding scenery, are all described. But still there is are presentation, diffused throughout the whole, which shows the city, and even the now heaven and new earth themselves, as nearly lost, and swallowed up, and as shorn, as it were, of all their own distinctive glories, by reason of the glory that excelleth. The whole scene is one universal blaze of the excelling glory. Let us look at some of the details of this representation.
And, first " I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple of it. 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." This glorious light is set forth as like unto jasper. The jasper stone has been said to be of all hues and shades of bright and beautiful colors; of all the colors of the rainbow. Yet the whole was clear as crystal. "Having the glory of God: and her light like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." (Verse 11.) This was the character of the light of the city. But the Lord God and the Lamb were that light. And thus (chap. 4:3) we are expressly told, “He that sat upon the throne was to look upon like a jasper." Then, secondly, we are told, (verse 18,) "The building of the wall was of jasper." This wall was great and high, and encompassed the city round about; yet it was of jasper. The light from the face of the Lord God Almighty and of the Lamb not only pervaded the atmosphere of the city, but fell upon its vast and towering walls, and they were transformed, and became of jasper. And, thirdly, in verse 24, we find that this jasper light was instead of, as it were, both sun and moon, to the nations of the whole new earth: “And the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it." And again: "They need no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever." Gaze on this scene of light and glory.
“By faith we already behold
That heavenly Jerusalem near;
Her walls are of jasper and gold,
As crystal her buildings are clear.
Immovably founded by grace,
She stands as she ever hath stood,
And brightly her Builder displays,
And flames with the glory of God.
No need of the sun in that day,
That never is followed by night,
Where Jesus' beauties display
A pure and a permanent light.
The Lamb is their light and their sun,
And, lo, by reflection they shine;
With Jesus ineffably one,
And bright in effulgence divine."
Let it be remembered that this glory was that of “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb." It was the glory of all the attributes and perfections of God. His almighty power was specially seen in the new creation, now fully completed; and his Lordship over it absolutely, universally, and perfectly recognized. But there was a glory even yet more glorious, the glory of MS GRACE, as seen in His only-begotten Son, who is presented all through this scene, emphatically and distinctively, as "the Lamb;" yea, in one case, as "the Lamb that is slain." The atonement is still brightly seen. The victim is present—as having been such—still. The thought of His precious blood will enter into the very essence of God's endless rest. Oh! blessed theme! Let us hearken to its celebration.
“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever." (Rev. 5:11-1411And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. 13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:11‑14).)
But we may descend to some other particulars connected with this glorious rest.
And we would first remark, that the holy city, New Jerusalem, is represented to us here as taking its postmillennial and eternal position. At least, we venture to submit that such is the case. We know that a difference of thought exists as to it.
The city is manifestly the Church, not the place in which the Church dwells, but the Church itself. “Come hither, and I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he shelved use that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending from God, out of heaven." But whither was the city then descending? Does it not seem pretty clear that the descent then seen was precisely the same that had been mentioned briefly in one of the previous verses of the same chapter? In verses one to four, we have a new earth, and the holy city mentioned as seen descending thereinto. The writer then passes on, and fills up the account of the general scope of the vision, which is closed by the expressive declaration, "It is done." Some brief invitation and warning follows, and then the important matter of the city and its relationships is taken up afresh, and displayed more in detail, in a supplementary vision, given for the purpose. (Compare verses 2 and 10,)
This holy city, we venture to suggest, had its position during the millennium in heaven. But now, it descends into the new earth. It is seen (verse 2) “coming down from God out of heaven." And again in verse 10, it is seen "descending out of heaven from God." Till the creation of this postmillennial earth, it had been, as would thus appear, "in heaven." And does not John 14:2, 3,2In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:2‑3) confirm this thought much? "IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE, are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." The Father's house would then seem plainly to be the place of abode of the Lord and the Church—of the bride and the Bridegroom—during the millennium. After that season shall have closed, the new earth receives them.
It may be readily admitted, indeed, that there is much elsewhere spoken of the millennial state of the present earth, which resembles some portions of this account of the final one. And doubtless there will be a blessed and glorious connection between the heavenly places and the earthly places, and between the heavenly people (the Bridegroom and the bride—the reigning Lord and His reigning Church) and the earthly people, (the nations reigned over,) during that happy period. The description here given of the glory of the city, too, will be true of it even during its millennial state. But we do believe somewhat confidently, that, not only what we have in verses one to five of this twenty-first chapter of the Revelation belongs to the postmillennial period, but that the whole of the succeeding vision, also commencing with verse nine of this same chapter, is to be referred to the same period. "The nations of them which are saved," we think, are to be regarded as being the nations saved during the millennium, and who shall walk, during eternity, in the new earth, in the light of the even then excelling glory of the Lamb and the Lamb's wife. In which case, (we may remark in passing,) it would seem almost certain that, even throughout eternity, the elected, and yet suffering, sorrowing Church of the present dispensation, will have granted to it, as its portion in union with its Head and Husband, a distinctive and excelling glory. This, however, we shall know hereafter.
It need perhaps scarcely be pointed out, that in the new heaven and earths here spoken of, (verses 1-4,) “there shall be no more death." But let us add, that there seems the very same intimation given as to both the city and the nations in the succeeding vision."In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which had twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the heaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse." (Chap. 22:2, 3.) We suggest on this, that the presence of the tree of life, and that for the nations, must prove the vision of which this verse is a descriptive portion, to be a vision, not of the millennial, but of the postmillennial state. The tree of life given to the nations would seem clearly to intimate that those nations are immortal. The expression, "for the healing of the nations," has been regarded, however, as favoring an opposite conclusion. Yet, when it is known that the original word in that case, θεραπείν, properly signifies a state of health, rather than a state of transition from disease to health, the apparent objection is at once removed. For the meaning may consequently be "for the preservation of the health of the nations;” that is, for the preserving and securing of their immortality.
On the whole, then, I regard the whole of those two visions, occupying as they do the concluding portion of the book, and forming the conclusion of the Scriptures too, as descriptive of the final and eternal state, and as setting forth very amply "the rest that remaineth for the people of God." The millennium is seen in the previous chapter. These succeeding and concluding chapters are devoted, I believe, to the everlasting period. And indeed there is no question by any one, so far as I know, as to the application of the first portion of these chapters. Verses 1 to 8 of the twenty-first chapter are generally referred to the final period. And as to the succeeding vision, commencing, as we have soon, with verse 9 of the same chapter, I hope to be allowed that expression of opinion which has been now given.
Let us now glance at the scene as a whole. The final judgment has taken place. All the dead have been raised, and death itself, and even hales (the place of disembodied spirits) exists no longer. The first heaven and the first earth have passed away; and that so truly, that "there is found no more place for them." But a new heaven and a new earth have been created, and the thing next presented in the vision, is the descent into them of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the bride, the Lamb's wife. The apostle then hastens to tell us of a loud voice that he heard from heaven. This arrests the course of his description of what he saw. There is a voice speaking from heaven, and he must at once listen to what is said, and record it. This record occupies to the end of verse 8. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Let us ponder well this announcement, the great features of it specially. “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." This is indeed a scene of rest. But immediately that the voice from heaven has ceased, an angel (one of the seven which had the seven vials, and of whom one had come previously, see chap. 17:1, to show and describe the great whore) comes to afford a closer and fuller view of the holy city, which the apostle already saw descending from God out of heaven. He is then carried away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain. We have already partially considered what he saw. The sight was utterly beyond all human conception. The dimensions of the city should not be overlooked. Of course the city seen is but a type. But, what a type! The size is mentioned, doubtless, that we may learn something of its magnificence and vast extent. It was twelve thousand furlongs square; that is, fifteen hundred miles square. This was a spectacle larger in extent than the whole area of Great Britain. We repeat it, that, of course, this measurement relates only to the symbolic city which the prophet saw. But, how grand such a conception! And how truly marvelous then that glorious church which this amazing type set forth! Imagine, if you can, such a vision from the lofty top of an exceeding great mountain, remembering that the whole scene was resplendent with dazzling and transparent jasper light! We must not delay to notice further the foundations, nor the gates, nor the streets, nor the river, nor the ever-green and ever-fruitful trees. The throne of God and of the Lamb was in the midst of all. The Church of the first-born surrounded it, and reflected far and wide the light and glory of Him that sat thereon. And, far as the limits of that finished new creation stretched, the nations of them that were saved walked, and rejoiced, and rested in its brightness.
Let us add the words of Paul respecting the same period and state: “Then consent the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that. God may be all in all." (1 Cor. 15:24-2824Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:24‑28).) This completes the picture of the rest that remaineth for the people of God: God is all in all. Perfect and endless rest is summed up in these short words. Grace, and truths, and glory, are consummated therein. The Father, and the only-begotten of the Father, and the people of God of all the dispensations, dwell together in a new created universe, in common, untold, unimaginable, never-ending joy: GOD IS ALL IN ALL.
Into this rest we which have believed are entering. We have found rest to our souls already in Christ Jesus; and ever as each one, during this period of delay as to His return, finishes his day's work here, and departs to be absent from the body and present with the Lord, does he " rest from his labors, and his works do follow him." Meanwhile, all those who understand the Scriptures, do look for and hasten the coming of the day when these vile bodies, which even when returned to dust may themselves be said to "rest in hope," shall be created anew, and, fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, shall share in His glorious millennial rest. Then after that cometh the end. And then the last stage of our journey towards our rest being completed, and the new creation finished, we shall, in the full, proper import of the expression, “enter into the rest that remaineth for the people of God."
Let us, in conclusion, turn to the exhortation given us, with special reference to this rest, by Paul, in Hebrews 4.
Here the truth, that there does remain such a rest, is proved, and urged as a motive to obedience and godly fear. It is proved thus. There was a rest promised to Israel in the wilderness. The rest then promised could not but be future. It was not the rest spoken of in a certain place—the seventh-day rest—for that was past. For, “though the works were finished from the foundation of the world," and the rest, spoken of as the result of that finishing of those works, took place immediately thereupon; yet, "in this place again," so long afterwards, we find a rest preached, as yet to come. And yet again, long after even this, “He limiteth a certain day, saying in David, (in the ninety-fifth Psalm of David,) Today, after so long a time, as it is said, To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." The rest was still future even in David's day. It was not, therefore, the earthly rest in Canaan either. "For if Joshua had given them rest, then would not he (the Holy Ghost, by David) have spoken of another day." No! the rest alluded to was neither the resting on the seventh day, nor yet the earthly rest in the earthly Canaan. It was future—it was a "remaining rest," even in David's day. Plainly, then, it was still future." There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." This was the grand conclusion. May we have grace to hearken to the solemn and seasonable exhortation: "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it." “Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief."
And now, unto Him that is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy, unto Him be glory in the Church, throughout eternal ages!
T. S.