"What warning also to the wicked! The same voice that utters the promise, pronounces also the threatening. '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.' God says, 'These words are true and faithful.' They came from him who sat upon the throne, the Alpha and Omega. He has put his everlasting seal to them, and pledged his veracity to their truth." Dear reader, will you accept the word of Him who can not lie and choose to suffer affliction with the people of God until our Lord shall come to call his ransomed home? Or will you decide to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, only to be resurrected at the last great day to "shame and everlasting contempt"? There is no intimation of future salvation for the transgressor. The lake of fire still stands as the symbol of eternal destruction, and into it the fearful and unbelieving and wicked of every name are cast.

9. 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.

10. 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,

11. Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

12. 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:

13. On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

14. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large 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.

17. 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.

18. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19. 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;

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

26. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

27. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

We have here a magnificent description of the New Jerusalem, representing the home of the redeemed. The various symbols employed in its description must of course he understood as symbolical. We have no means of knowing just what our future home will be like; but that it will be a place of wondrous beauty and transcendent glory is shown by the fact that everything which is considered grand and glorious in this world is here chosen to represent the home of the redeemed. The symbols selected to describe it are objects of such priceless worth, even exceeding royal splendor, that we pause in astonishment and exclaim, "What must the reality be?" The conditions upon which entrance to this city may be obtained (ver. 27; chap. [22:14]) show clearly that our future and eternal home is the chief burden of this vision and not merely our spiritual inheritance in this world.

"In approaching Jerusalem, the traveller is not aware of its proximity, until, ascending an eminence, the glorious city bursts upon his astonished vision, when he is ready to exclaim with the Psalmist—'Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.'" Psa. 48:2. John was carried to "a great and high mountain," from which commanding point of view he was enabled to survey in all its boundless extent the surpassing glories of the New Jerusalem. Never did imagination conceive anything approaching the sublimity and grandeur of the scene here described by the pen of inspiration. It was "a great city"—how great we shall soon discover—the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

The ancient city of Jerusalem was regarded as sacred because in it God had recorded his name, and it contained his holy temple, his place of residence on earth. Thither the tribes of Israel went up to worship; "Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." So, also, this New Jerusalem was "the holy city," an antitype of the former. It is described as "having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." "The glory of God" was that visible manifestation, called the Shekinah, which Jehovah made of himself in the tabernacle of his ancient people. The following facts concerning it will give us an understanding of its signification as connected with the New Jerusalem:

"Jehovah was the accepted King and Lawgiver of his people Israel, and he had his tabernacle among them, where he abode by his presence, where he might be approached and consulted, and make communications of his will. That visible presence was 'the glory of God' or the Shekinah; and the Jews regarded it with the highest possible veneration, as the embodiment of the Deity. The sacred writers often speak of it in the same terms as of Jehovah himself. They refer to this when they speak of seeing God. 'Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel.' Ex. 24:9, 10. 'I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.' Isa. 6:1. And again in verse 5: 'For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' The spiritual essence of God can not, of course, be revealed to mortal vision, yet there was a manifestation of the Deity which was made visible to the eyes of men, and which Moses and Isaiah speak of as seeing God. It is spoken of as the presence and face of Jehovah. 'And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.' Ex. 33:14. 'And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.' Ex. 33:11."

The New Jerusalem that John saw descending from God—which denotes its heavenly origin—had "the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." It dazzled as the purest diamond. In verse 23 we are informed that it illuminated the whole city so that there was "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." In ancient times "the glory of God" filled the tabernacle, the place of his abode; but here it filled the whole city. In that tabernacle the Shekinah was the manifestation of the divine glory of Jehovah. In the New Jerusalem Jesus Christ, who is "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person," illuminates the entire city of God. Oh, halleluiah!

In olden times the cities were surrounded with walls, designed as a defense against all enemies. The more important the city, the higher and stronger were the walls built. Having walls, it was necessary also to have gates to furnish ingress and egress to the inhabitants. These gates were in charge of faithful guardians, who had authority to open and to close them according to the regulations of the city. In accordance with this idea the city of God is represented as having "a wall great and high." This wall represents the security of Zion, whose inhabitants within can rest in peace and safety. The three gates on each side represent the free and easy access into the city from every quarter. Anciently, it was customary to give names to the gates of a city, just as we now do to our streets. The gates of this holy city were named after the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, which embraced all God's ancient covenant people, and which denotes the perfection and completeness of our heavenly home as including all the spiritual Israel.

"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The twelve foundations, or rather the twelve courses of stone in the foundation, are more fully described hereafter. The names of the twelve tribes were on the gates to denote that the city was composed of God's true and complete Israel, and the names of the twelve apostles are on the foundation to denote that this contains the church which was "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." Eph. 2:20. The system of truth that they preached to the world forms the doctrinal basis of the church of God, they having received it from heaven "by inspiration of God," and their names all appear; and together they constitute one harmonious, solid foundation upon which the church shall stand forever.