Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God;
He, whose word cannot be broken,
formed thee for His own abode.
On the Rock of Ages founded, what can shake thy sure repose?
With salvation’s wall surrounded,
thou may’st smile at all thy foes.
See, the streams of living waters, springing from eternal love,
Well supply thy sons and daughters,
and all fear of want remove;
Who can faint, while such a river
ever flows their thirst to assuage?
Grace which, like the Lord, the Giver,
never fails from age to age.
Saviour, if of Zion’s city I, through grace a member am,
Let the world deride or pity, I will glory in Thy name;
Fading is the worldling’s pleasure,
all his boasted pomp and show;
Solid joys and lasting treasure none but Zion’s children know.
John Newton, 1725 – 1807. Sung to the tune Austria
“The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” (Rev.21:14)
“And he [the angel] measured the wall, 144 cubits, the measure of a man, that is, an angelic man. And the construction of the wall was jasper . . . . . The foundations of the city walls were adorned with every precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifthsardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprasus, the eleventh hyacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.” (Rev.21:17-20)
The superstructure of the wall was of jasper, but the foundations were adorned with gems. The 12 apostles’ names were written into the foundation, and this reminds us of Eph.2:19-20, where Paul tells the Gentile Christians, “You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Capstone.”
Leaving aside the Gates for the moment, we must ask ourselves what these walls represent. First of all, it cannot be denied that the walls of a City are an integral part of the City itself, and therefore whatever interpretation was placed on the City, pertains also to the Walls. Hence, the Walls are believers, and these believers have been assigned a special job. They protect the City. Walls have always been built to protect Cities. When interpreting the meaning of this we must therefore ask ourselves how these believers operate in order to protect the City.
Let’s turn to Acts 20, to see what Paul had to say to the Ephesian elders on his final departure from their city. “I know that after my departure, fierce wolves will enter in among you, not sparing the flock, and from among your own selves will arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30) TheEphesian Church was subject to this kind of invasion, as indeed all churches have been subject throughout the last 2,000 years. Satan ensures that his own people get in among God’s elect in order to destroy faith, and upset the interaction of fellowship between members. Notice the words “enter in.”
The difference between this and what we read in Rev.21 is that Satan’s emissaries are incapable of entering the Holy City. Having recognised that, we now ask ourselves, in what way are the powers of darkness excluded from the City? First of all, we have to understand that the “Wall Christians” are in their resurrection bodies, and therefore they have abilities we do not possess at present. They are able to see through the masks that human beings place over themselves, and recognise the state of men’s hearts. We are reminded that our Lord had this ability when He came to minister in this world. “Many believed on Him when they saw the signs which He did, but Jesus did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man, for He Himself knew what was in man.” (John 2:23-24)
In the second place we are led to investigate the meaning of the precious stones in the foundation. From a geological point of view gemstones are created in the earth by the action of pressure and heat. Under these circumstances chemical compounds change their nature and are beautified. Take for example the diamond. We know that diamonds are basically carbon, which is black, like soot, lampblack or charcoal. But under extreme pressure and intense heat the carbon is transformed into a crystalline lattice structure that is transparent and extremely hard. What a picture of the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life, transforming man from his black sinful state into something beautiful to behold. The twelve apostles were all subjected to intense pressures during the days of their ministry, even though we have little historical evidence for this from the N.T. The statement in Rev.21 is sufficient to verify this fact. And throughout the last 2,000 years there have been numerous others who have also been through fires and pressures of refinement. Of all such are the Walls composed, and they become fires themselves to protect God’s ‘Building’.
The Prophet Zechariah was shown the truth of this, 400 years before Christ. “I beheld a man with a measuring line in his hand, and I said ‘Where are you going?’ He said to me, ‘To measure Jerusalem, to determine its length and breadth.’ And the angel who talked to me came forward, and another angel came to meet him, and said to him, ‘Run and say to that young man, Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of men and cattle in it. For I will be to her a wall of fire round about, says the Lord, and I will be the glory within her.'” (Zech.2:1-5) No walls here!! But in fact there is a wall, and it is a wall of fire. This gives us the further truth about the Walls of the Holy City. Holy Fire is burning all the time, as a result of the resurrected sons of God who maintain internal security.
The third point is found in Rev.21:27. “Nothing unclean shall enter it [the City] nor anyone who practises abomination or falsehood.” The “Wall Christians” are able to determine whether those who seek to enter the City are clean or unclean. They act in a similar way to the authorities within nations who determine the right of entry of immigrants, and grant Visas. But whereas human authorities sometimes get it wrong, allowing in criminals masquerading as bona fide individuals, and shutting out those who are in fact without taint, the “Wall Christians” never make that sort of mistake. They are able to use the Spirit’s gift of discernment to a degree beyond anything currently experienced.
In the Millennial Kingdom conditions on earth will be very different to today. The knowledge of God will be universal, and as Isaiah prophesied, “In the last days the Mountain of the Lord’s House shall be established in the highest of the Mountains, and shall be raised above the hills, and all nations shall flow towards it. and many people shall say, ‘Come, let us go up to the Mountain of the Lord, to the House of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us His ways.” (Isa.2:1-3) And again, “When Thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isa.26:9) This will be the evangelistic task of the people of the Holy City throughout the Kingdom Rule. However, not everyone will profit from this exercise, as Isaiah goes on to say, “But if favour is shown to the wicked, he will not learn righteousness. In the land of uprightness he will deal perversely and not perceive the majesty of the Lord.” (26:10) Hence the sorting out process that is needed. All those who “pass the immigration tests” are allowed into the City, but the rest are kept at bay.
What does it mean to enter the City? Stripping away the figures of speech it means that the resurrected sons of God will teach all those who are allowed fellowship with them, and they will benefit from instruction, and sooner or later will bow their knee to Jesus as Saviour and Lord. As a result the Lord will obtain that mighty harvest that He has prepared from all nations. That which has not been possible during these earlier times will be more than accomplished in the Millennium. See Isaiah 60:17-18. “I will make peace your Overseers, and righteousness yourTaskmasters. Violence shall no more be heard in your land, devastation or destruction within your borders, and you shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”
This last statement brings us to consider the City Gates.
“The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl. . . . And its gates shall never be shut by day, and there shall be no night there.” (Rev.21:21,25)
We have seen the influence of pressure and fire on God’s sons to bring forth precious gems. Now we are introduced to another purifying factor in the lives of God’s overcomers. Pearls are made in oysters. If a grain of sand is introduced within the oyster’s shell it sets up irritation. The oyster is unable to eject the sand grain. However, it has the ability to turn the irritation into a thing of great beauty and worth, a pearl. It does so by coating the sand grain with “mother of pearl”, a smooth substance that reduces the tearing destructive tendency of the sand upon its tender flesh, so that in time the foreign body has become a beautiful pearl.
See how exactly this operated in the life of the Apostle Paul. “To keep me from being too elated by the abundance of revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given me, a messenger [lit. an angel] of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it should leave me, but He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ I will all the more gladly boast of my weaknesses that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Cor.12:7-9) The example of Scripture has been the undergirding of the saints throughout all ages, when oppressed by Satan, and as a result the Lord has obtained many precious pearls.
He Himself said, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that He had and bought it.” (Matt.13:45) How wonderful is God’s love to us that He should have sought His Bride, and paid such a terrible price to obtain her. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her . . . that He might present the Church to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle.” (Eph.5:25-27)
Yes, all of these, whether tested in the pressures and fires, or whether having nursed irritations, have come forth with beauty in the Lord’s eyes, and have been placed in position in the Walls as gemstones, and in the Gates of the City as pearls, that they may “distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve Him.” (Mal.3:18)
Listen, all of you people,
Come and take a few lessons from me;
Get yourselves prepared for Judgement Day. Hallelujah, lujah!
When you hear the trumpet blast,
then you know you’re home at last.
Open up them pearly gates for me. Why don’t you
Chorus: Open up them pearly gates,
Open up them pearly gates,
Open up them pearly gates for me? Hallelujah, lujah!
When you hear the trumpet blast,
Then you know you’re home at last.
Open up them pearly gates for me, for me.
Listen, all of you people, Now’s time to start believin’;
You’re gonna meet your Maker some sweet day.
Hallelujah, lujah!
When you hear the trumpet blast,
Then you know you’re home at last.
All you gambling sinners, Now’s time to start believin’;
You’re gonna meet your Maker some sweet day.
Hallelujah, lujah!
When you hear the trumpet clear, Gonna say goodbye to fear.
(Trad. Arranged by the Seekers, 1965)