A glorious vista stretches out before the faith of the child of God, a scene of surpassing blessedness, where God shall be all in all, when God shall tabernacle with men, with no evil occurrent, and "wherein dwelleth righteousness." Much is said about righteousness in God's holy word; but not until the eternal state, when "the former things" shall have "passed away," do we read, "wherein dwelleth righteousness." And it is this that our souls, with less or more spiritual intelligence, anticipate as we read, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness " (2 Pet. 3:13).
As taught of God, we could not crave anything short of this. A scene with the least evil present, where righteousness has to be in conflict with evil, where God is in the slightest way opposed, could not satisfy either God or those whom He has begotten to Himself. Nothing short of the glorious fulfilment of John i:29 will meet the mind of God; and when that scripture is fulfilled, and not till then, will God rest, and the redeemed of the Lord rest, in a scene where not a single element of evil is to be found, nor one thing contrary to the nature and character of God. It will be a universe of bliss, where God will be all in all, and righteousness will dwell undisturbed forever.
Thus the eyes of the saints in all ages have looked forward and onward to what is perfect and abiding; for they have had, whatever their measure of light, an instinctive feeling, born of that spiritual nature that God has given them, that He could not rest in a scene at all polluted by sin.
Adam in Eden was not set up in righteousness, but in innocence, as a responsible being, to obey his Creator, and to remain in happiness with Him as long as he obeyed. It was life, retained on the ground of obedience; or death, as the result of disobedience. Alas, we know what happened. He did what no creature should do; that is, listened to suggestions that impugned the goodness and character of God. He listened, and lusted after a place not the creature's, even as he had done who now tempted him. He disobeyed and fell, and death ensued. A ruined world was the consequence. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned " (Rom. 5:12).
If we look at the antediluvian world, we see the opposite of righteousness-man's "heart evil continually"; and in the short space of about 1606 years he had filled the scene "with corruption and violence." "All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth," and instead of righteousness dwelling, righteousness had to sweep the scene in judgment, saving only eight persons in the ark from the awful overthrow.
From Noah onward we see man corrupting his way again, and filling the earth with false gods, and bowing down to stocks and stones, deifying the creature and worshiping it instead of the Creator.
From Abraham to Moses we see failure and sin manifesting itself; and from Moses to Christ the rankest form of disobedience breaks out in the very presence of the power and goodness of Jehovah. The law given at Sinai, was the measure of creature responsibility, but the nation to whom it was given, and who undertook to keep it soon proved themselves to be a nation of transgressors, their sin culminating in the crucifixion of their long-predicted Messiah, with their consequent long night of sorrow and rejection.
If we look at the present period of grace, and the building of the Church, on man's side we see the greatest failure, the saddest breakdown, in spite of the abundance of light and privilege vouchsafed of God, until the Lord has to say, "I will spew thee out of My mouth," and then it is given up to judgment; while, of course, what is of God is taken to heaven at the coming of the Lord.
Passing over the great tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, out of which he will be saved, we dwell for a moment on the millennial reign of Christ, when Israel shall be restored, and the nations, saved from the judgment of the living nations, are enjoying the earth, with Jerusalem as the great earthly metropolis. Satan will be bound in the abyss, Christ as King will reign over all the earth, and all will go up to worship the King year by year at Jerusalem. While this is a scene of great comparative rest and blessedness, it is not yet the end that God has in view, for righteousness will reign then, not dwell. The King shall reign, in righteousness, which implies there will be existing elements still opposed to righteousness. In fact, we know there will be individual cases of rebellion (Isa. 66:24), and Zech. 14:16-19 implies that nations themselves may manifest a condition which will be met by the judgment of the Lord.
It will be a reign of righteousness, blessed in its way, but not the great end in view, for all must be subdued:" Then cometh the end, when He (Christ) 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" (i Cor. 15:24-28).
Thus the millennial kingdom gives place, when all has been subdued, to that eternal state that is to abide forever. Righteousness will dwell there, and God will be all in all. This is shown briefly in Rev. 21 :1-8. The "former things" will have passed away, and a universe of bliss will take their place, and God's eternal sabbath will have come, of which it is written, "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" (Rev. 21:3-5).
Then evil is confined in the lake of fire. Satan, and all who have followed him, "shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:which is the second death" (Rev. 20:10-15; 21:8). This is the sad and awful contrast of what we have in 21:1-6. The awful "But" of verse 8 shows the difference, in place and portion, of those who have rebelled against the authority and word of God and followed Satan, and those who have "trembled at His Word " and trusted His blessed Son, and been redeemed by His precious blood. Praise surely should fill the hearts and lips of God's people who know that they have escaped "the second death, which is the lake of fire," and through infinite mercy have gained a place in that "new heavens and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."
In that wondrous universe of bliss one object stands out before us in great prominence, viz.:"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." In 21:9, 10 we learn that this is " the Bride, the Lamb's wife." In Rev. 19 :6-9 we have all heaven celebrating the marriage of the Lamb-"for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready." In chap. 21:9-27 we have, under the figure of the city, the Bride reigning with Christ. God and the Lamb dwell there, and are the temple and light of it, and from it the earth is governed during the millennial reign of Christ It has the glory of God, and "her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." "The building of the wall of it was of jasper :and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. " " The street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." It had twelve gates and twelve foundations, and its "wall was great and high." "The glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." As another has said:
"The city was formed, in its nature, in divine righteousness and holiness – gold transparent as glass. That which was now by the Word wrought in and applied to men below was the very nature of the whole place. (Compare Eph. 4:24.) The precious stones, or varied displays of God's nature, who is light, in connection with the creature (seen in creation, Ezek. 28; in grace, in the high priest's breast-plate), now shone in permanent glory, and adorned the foundations of the city. Her gates had the moral beauty which attracted Christ in the Assembly, and in a glorious way. That on which men walked, instead of bringing danger of defilement, was itself righteous and holy; the streets, all that men came in contact with, were righteousness and holiness – gold transparent as glass.
"There was no concealment of God's glory in that which awed by its display – no temple where men approached but where they could not draw nigh when God was hidden. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb were the temple. They were approached in their own nature and glory, surrounded only by that fully displayed. Nor was there need of created light here:the glory of the divine nature lighted all, and the Lamb was the light-bearer in it."
In Rev. 21:1-5 we have the eternal state after the reign of Christ is over, when all has been subdued, when Satan and the wicked are turned out, and death and hades are cast into the lake of fire. Quoting from the same writer, we read:"But there was a new heaven and a new earth, but no more sea-no separation, nor part of the world not brought into an ordered earth before God. Here we do not find any mediatorial kingdom. The Lamb is not in the scene. God is all in all; no sorrow nor crying more; no earthly people of God distinct from the inhabiters of the earth. These are God's people, and God is with them Himself, but withal His tabernacle is with them. This is the holy city, new Jerusalem. The Assembly has her own character, is the habitation of God in a special way, when the unchanging state comes, and all is made new. God is the end, as the beginning. Him that is athirst now God will refresh with the fountain of the water of life; the over-comer shall inherit all things. The world, for the Christian, is now a great Rephidim. This is the twofold portion of his final blessedness :he shall have God for his God, and be His son. Those who feared this path-did not overcome the world and Satan, but had walked in iniquity-would have their part in the lake of fire. This closes the history of God's ways."(Synopsis:Rev. 21.)
God has indeed dealt graciously with us in first making us His " dear children," and then communicating to us the counsels of His heart. In His Word He has opened up to us all His ways in connection with the time-condition of things, and carried us beyond all this into that "unchanging state," to see our portion in that scene where "God is all in all," where "mortality shall be swallowed up of life," and "death in victory," and righteousness dwell, and the redeemed of the Lord shall, as the objects of His love, enjoy His presence forever. To His Name be eternal praise ! E. A.