"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 the city had no need of the sun, neither if 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. " Revelation 21:10-11, 23-25
Additional readings: Zechariah 8:1-15, Psalm 119:89-112
The picture given in our text is that of the Holy City, the Church glorious in truth and in love to the Lord from the Lord. The striking feature of this picture is its brightness, which comes from the Lord as its light.
The glory of this natural world is from its sun, from which heat and light go forth and cause everything to live and grow. Although the sun is so necessary to our life and comfort, there are many who think little about its use to them. Yet if it should cease to rise in the morning, they would soon feel the loss of it, for it makes possible bodily life in this world.
But there is another sun, the sun of the spiritual world. This sun is the Lord, and from it comes the heat which warms our hearts and the light which enlightens our minds. Without it we could not love our parents or friends, neither could we understand anything. This sun has shone upon us ever since we were born; yet there are many who know nothing about it. All love, all goodness, all truth and enlightenment come from this sun.
The light from the spiritual sun is a real light, which illumines the understanding, and it is quite distinct from the light which illumines the sight of the body in this world. Trees and plants when they are deprived of light are pale and sickly. They grow in ugly and misshapen forms and will not produce fruits. It is love from the Lord that gives us life, and truth from Him that gives form, beauty, and glory. In heaven the angels are very beautiful, much more beautiful than any men or women in this world. It is their love of truth that gives them their beauty and their grace. But the evil in the other life have ugly and hideous faces and misshapen bodies. This is because they hate the truth. They love darkness rather than light, and are like those deformed plants on which the light does not shine.
The glory of a Church is its wisdom. In Haggai we read, "The glory of the latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts; and in this place will I give peace" (Haggai 2:9). This is a prophecy concerning the New Jerusalem, that its glory would be greater than that of the first Christian dispensation. The first Christian Church "saw through a glass darkly," and soon fell into mystery and superstition, and into the love of dominion. True knowledge of God had become lost.
The great glory of the New Church is the new truth concerning the Lord and His Word. The chief glory of any man is his idea concerning God. It determines his inmost thoughts and his ideals. Without knowledge of God the light of life goes out of the soul and men walk in darkness.
In the revelation given to the New Church the "mystery of God is finished." "We worship the one God, the Lord, the Savior, Jesus Christ," reads the creed of the New Church. This teaching is clear. God in our flesh came into the world to redeem and to save mankind. He is the First and the Last, the Almighty. All power is given unto Him in heaven and on earth. He is the Good Shepherd, a God whom we can love and trust. And the Word is equally glorious in the light of the New Jerusalem. It is a book "written within and on the back side" (Revelation 5:1). It has a spiritual as well as a literal meaning.
We are living in an "age of reason," and many believe that the Bible does not meet the demands of reason, although those who read it in a childlike state of mind, in simple belief, still get help from it as of old and feel the Lord's presence in it. Down through the ages the Bible has been regarded as the Word of God, and a large group of people has been taught in childhood to read their Bibles and thus have formed the habit of reading the Word of God. But they have outgrown childhood states and share in the rational development and intellectual freedom of this new age. One of the characteristics of this questioning age is that it is full of doubts. "All truth is relative," they say. "What is true today will be shown to be false tomorrow. There are no fixed standards."
The Word was opened and its spiritual meaning made available in order that these doubts might be met, that the light of Divine truth might illumine the mind, and that the deep secrets concerning God and the human soul might be made known. To many, for want of knowledge of the inner meaning of the Bible, it is but a dead record, and large parts of it are unintelligible. But we can now see that the Word is the fountain of intelligence and wisdom accommodated to the requirements of men and angels, and that, as the Psalmist declares, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105).
And the Church has new truths concerning life. The life that leads to heaven is a happy life, a life of activity, usefulness, and service. The life of heaven can be in its measure received by us now if we live according to the Divine precepts. A religion that leads to a sad and restricted life is not a true religion. All our daily tasks can be done joyously in love to the Lord and to the neighbor. In fact they are the means by which this love is developed in us.
And the nature of the life after death has been revealed, that there may be no more fear of death either for ourselves or for our loved ones. Through death the goal of life is attained and the crown of life received. By these truths glory is added to this life and to the life to come.
The Holy City that John saw in vision is not a material city descending out of heaven, but a city of truth in the light of which men may walk in safety and in peace. "And the nations of them that are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it."
It is for all people, for this is the covenant: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord" (Jeremiah 31:33). This promise includes all people. Then love to the Lord will reign. The principles of natural life—the kings of the earth—will serve the spiritual man and contribute to his welfare.
And "there shall be no night there." No longer will the mind be in darkness. There will be no contention about what is right and what is wrong. This is the effect of genuine knowledge of spiritual truth. Men never contend about any truth—either natural or spiritual—when they know and understand it. Knowledge settles all questions, for then there is no ground for contention.
All happiness depends upon goodness, and all goodness depends upon truth. It is written that Jerusalem will be a quiet habitation. It was the purpose of the Second Coming that truth and goodness might increase and spread to all people, bringing power to see and to overcome all those things that stand in the way of peace. By these truths the Lord is brought nearer to us and men are brought nearer to each other, for the Lord is the source of all power, of all wisdom, and of all life and blessing.
That men might not forever be blind and brutish, that they might rise to new life, new power, and new glory, that the beauty of the Lord might rest upon them, that the Divine truth might be the light and glory of their minds and the Divine love be in their hearts, the Lord opened the Scriptures.
