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Kirkers Read: Staying out of the Weeds of Heresy

Ben Zornes on

  “Really wish I hadn’t got into the habit of eating food almost everyday,” said no one ever. Daily Bible reading is a habit which no one ever regrets forming. Sure there’ll be days that are crazy, or you’re traveling, or some circumstance prevents you from eating, but sooner or later, all of us circle back around to getting a meal in…in some way shape or form. Spiritually speaking, this needs to be the way you approach Scripture. If circumstances cause you to miss a day…just make sure to get back to it the next day.
    Often we think that we must have some pietistic euphoria glowing about us before we pick up the Good Book to read. It is dangerous to think you have to get in some angelic mood before reading Scripture, rather than coming to it like you come to the dinner table. You come to a meal with the underlying knowledge that you will be fed, nourished, and strengthened. During digestion you don’t go: ”Aha…I just felt those baby carrots improve my eyesight.” The nourishment from the food does its thing, often without our notice. In some sense, Scripture does the same thing through faithful reading and obedience to it. You should read intelligently and attentively. However, trust that the Holy Spirit is working in you to nourish you, convict you, and strengthen you, through the Word, often without your notice. This is all simply to say, don’t look at yourself during Bible reading, look to the Word. It is living and active and will perform what God sent it forth to do.
    On a different note, in this Bible Reading Challenge, we are bouncing between the Old and New Testament each day. This is a vital practice. All too many modern evangelicals spend all their time in the NT, to the neglect of the OT. The problem with this is that, as the Westminster Confession teaches us, “The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself.” This means that in order to properly interpret and understand the NT you must have the context of the OT. The NT is replete with OT symbols, quotes, allusions, references, etc. A further lesson here is that when you come to tricky texts it is important to try to understand them in light of what Scripture says elsewhere. This is the best way to stay out of the weeds of heresy!

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 113

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“And he shewed 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 leaves 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” (Revelation 22:1-5).

There is a pure river there, filled with the water of life, clear as crystal. This river flows from the throne of God, which is also the throne of the Lamb. Comparing this passage with the something that the Lord says in the Gospel of John, we see that this river is the Holy Spirit, flowing not only from the throne of God, but also from the hearts of all believers.

“In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified)” (John 7:37–39).

This makes good sense because the holy city Jerusalem is a symbol of that great body of believers.

This particular vision that John passes on to us draws on at least three Old Testament prophets.

“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be” (Zech. 14:8).

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the Lord, And shall water the valley of Shittim” (Joel 3:18).

In the form of the vision that Ezekiel gives us, this living water flows out of the Temple, over the threshold, and gets deeper and deeper as it goes (Eze. 47:1-5).

The tree of life lines both sides of the river, indicating that the tree of life is a kind of tree. There are multiple trees. This kind of tree is able to produce a different crop of a different kind of fruit on a monthly basis. Not only so, but the leaves of these trees are of use in healing the nations. Ezekiel had seen the same glorious reality.

“Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other” (Eze. 47:7).

“And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine” (Eze. 47:12).

As this glorious city advances toward the culmination of her blessing, which would be the final day of resurrection, we see at that point that the curse that had been laid on our world at the beginning (Gen. 3:15ff) is finally undone. There shall be “no more curse.” The reason that there is no longer any curse is because the throne of God, the throne of the Lamb, is in it. God’s servants will serve Him truly.

We see that this would appear to indicate the full number of the elect. These are the servants of God who are privileged to “see His face.” “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).

In addition to this, His name is on their forehead. This in turn helps us identify the 144,000 as a symbol of all the elect, all the saved—for this is what was said earlier about them earlier: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Rev. 14:1). And earlier than that, in chapter 7, after John had heard the number of 144,000 (Rev. 7:4), he then looked and saw a multitude that no one could count (Rev. 7:9). He heard the number, and then saw the innumerable multitude.

John then repeats what was said in the previous chapter. There is no night there—there is constant light coming from the Lord God. There is no artificial light needed there either. And the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem shall reign forever and ever.

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Kirkers Read: Shadows in Genesis, Full Glory in Matthew

Ben Zornes on

As you read Genesis, you may notice that after the fall each new character which is introduced seems to be presented to raise our hopes that this one is the seed which God promised Eve. Cain, Seth, Noah, Abram, Ishamael, Isaac, Jacob and so on. The hope is raised that each one may be the deliverer which God promised, but each time, some way or another, they are revealed to be “not the one.”

Cain seems like the obvious answer to God’s promise, but turns out to be quite the opposite. Noah is like a new Adam, but in the end we see that though he was a righteous man, he was only a symbol of the true deliverer God had promised. On it goes, with either our hopes being disappointed by the sin of the man, or by God’s revelation that His promised Messiah would come through the seed of the elected person.

A very simple blessing of reading the OT and NT simultaneously is that as you read the stories of the patriarchs, you are reading the Gospel of He Who was indeed God’s Promised One. Matthew presents Jesus as the long-awaited King, and then shows how those to whom the promise of God’s kingdom had come reject the King He had sent to deliver them.

Finally, a big picture encouragement regarding reading the Scriptures. As the Westminster Confession teaches, the Scriptures make a “full discovery” of the “only way of man’s salvation (Chapter I.5).” This provides abundant evidence that it is in fact God’s Word. However, the only means of full persuasion of the Bible’s authority is a something the Holy Spirit gives. In essence, we don’t run a mental investigation and at the end go, “Well, logically I’ve concluded this is God’s Word.” This puts man in judgement over the Word of God. Rather, after the Holy Spirit miraculously vivifies our heart, we are given assurance that God has proclaimed salvation to us through His Word. The Bible isn’t an academic text, it is tidings of salvation for those who have ears to hear. Ears that have been miraculously opened by God’s Holy Spirit.

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 112

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“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 honour 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 honour of the nations into it. 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” (Revelation 21:22-27).

Remember that the New Jerusalem is the Christian Church. This new city contains no temple because the Father and Son are the Temple, and the entire city is the body of the Son. The Christian Church is the Holy of Holies, and so the city is the Temple. No sun is necessary, and no moon, because it is lit by the glory of God. As the Israelites had the Shekinah glory to accompany them by night and day, so also the saints of God have the glory of God that lightens their way. The Lamb Himself is the light of the city—“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Lamb is the light of the city, and the nations that are saved shall walk in the light provided by Him. The kings of the earth—distinct from the city—bring their glory and honor into the city. In other words, the nations of men do homage to the church. The city is unthreatened, with the gates never shut. The gates are not shut during the day, and it is always day, never night. John then repeats the fact that the glory and honor of the nations is brought into the church. Nothing enters the church that would defiled her—no one who does abominable things, or who fashions a lie. The only ones who enter are those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life, meaning the elect.

Throughout this passage, John is riffing off the Isaianic vision. The New Jerusalem is illuminated by the glory of God alone (v. 23). And Isaiah says this: “The sun shall be no more thy light by day; Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory” (Is. 60:19).

This city shall be a light of the world; the nations of men will stream to it. The nations of the saved will walk in the light provided by the city. And Isaiah says this same thing: “And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Is. 60:3).

The kings of the earth bring their glory and honor to her; the nations of men bring their honor and glory to the city of God. And Isaiah says the same thing. “And their kings shall minister unto thee . . .” (Is. 60:10). “And that their kings may be brought . . .” (Is. 60:11) “The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee . . .” (Is. 60:13).

The gates of the New Jerusalem shall not be shut during the day, and it is always day. This is basically what Isaiah foretold: “Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night . . .” (Is. 60:11).

John repeats himself when he says that the Gentile nations will bring their glory to the church. Isaiah repeats the point as well. “Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; Because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee” (Is. 60:5).

No one is permitted to track in anything that defiles. No sin will be scraped off on the golden streets. Isaiah had a vision for this kind of holiness as well. “Thy people also shall be all righteous: They shall inherit the land for ever, The branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified” (Is. 60:21). Note it well. The people will all be righteous.

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, And the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And gross darkness the people: But the Lord shall arise upon thee, And his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, And kings to the brightness of thy rising” (Is. 60:1–3).

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Grace & Peace: Revelation 111

Douglas Wilson on

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11).

“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 shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed 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 east 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 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. 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, chrysolite; 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” (Revelation 21:9-21).

The New Jerusalem descending from Heaven to earth is a glorious vision of the Christian church. But before considering the details of the symbolism, we should reinforce the point that it is symbolism. The city is described as being a perfect cube — with each side being 1200 stadia, which calculated into a modern measurement is about 1500 miles. If this were to be taken as a literal city, if it landed, its base could cover over half of the United States with its eastern base covering Baltimore, and its western base barely missing Denver. Then because the city is as tall as it is wide, it would be sticking 1500 miles up into space, knocking a goodly number of satellites out of the sky. On top of that, in each 1500 miles stretch along the base, there are three gates, 12 in all. Each gate is made out of a single pearl. The gates are enormous, and each one is fashioned from one pearl. If literal, then God apparently has an oceanic planet somewhere with some giant oysters. We are better off looking for the meaning that these symbols bring to us.

One other thing should be mentioned briefly. Many of our popular tropes for Heaven come from this passage (pearly gates, streets of gold), but John is revealing the nature of the Church to us, not the nature of Heaven. This is not a symbol of the afterlife, but rather a symbol for the bride of Christ.

There is a strong juxtaposition between this virgin bride and the great harlot. In both places, John is taken in the Spirit to a particular place to be shown a woman. In both places, an angel prefaces it with come, I will show you. In this vision, John is carried in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, where he is shown the bride. Earlier in Revelation (17:1), he is taken in the Spirit into the wilderness (17:3), to be shown the judgment of the harlot. We are given to understand that both women are beautiful, but one in a pure way and the other in a corrupt and decadent way. The New Zion is beautiful for situation (Ps. 48:2). The angel who shows John this glorious vision was one of the angels who had poured out one of the bowls full of wrath—indicating that God’s purposes of wrath and mercy are ultimately one.

Both are priest’s daughters, but this New Zion is a worthy daughter. The old Jerusalem is burned with fire because she played the whore in her father’s house.

“And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire” (Rev. 17:16).

“And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire” (Lev. 21:9).

The bridal dress for the New Jerusalem is the Shekinah Glory. She is described as “having the glory of God” (v. 11). In a sense, all of church history should be understood as us yearning for that dress, yearning to be adorned with that glory (Rom. 2:7; Rom. 5:2; Rom. 8:18; Col. 1:27, and many others).

Remember that Paul teaches us elsewhere that the Christian church is built on the cornerstone of Christ Jesus, and on the foundation stones of the apostles and prophets (Eph. 2:20). We have the same image here in the description of this great city. There are twelve gates, and each gate has the name of one of Israel’s tribes inscribed (v. 12). There are twelve foundation stones, and on them were the names of the twelves apostles (v. 14). There was an angel at each gate, and each angel is associated with a particular tribe. This lends support to the idea that the angel of the churches in the early chapters were human messengers, human “angels.”

“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: And the Lord hearkened, and heard it, And a book of remembrance was written before him For them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, In that day when I make up my jewels; And I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him” (Mal. 3:16–17).

The city has great walls, walls that are 144 cubits tall. These walls are the walls called Salvation, and they run all the way around the base of this towering skyscraper of a city.

“Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, Wasting nor destruction within thy borders; But thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise” (Isaiah 60:18).

The gates are called Praise, which is the meaning of the name of the tribe of Judah. Judah is the tribe through whom the Christ came, and so we should understand Judah as representing all Israel, which is why John mentions that each tribe is associated with a gate.

The foundation stones that are the apostles are not limestone or granite. They are represented by means of an array of precious stones. We are not told which apostle goes with which precious stone, but there appears to be a meaning in how John arranges it. Predicting the church, the prophet Isaiah says this:

“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones” (Isaiah 54:11–12).

Isaiah’s gemstones and those are Revelation vary, but John appears to have a point to the order he presents them. These are the precious stones associated with the signs of the zodiac—but John lists them in reverse order.

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