All-Inclusive Christ — New Testament Reality

The New Jerusalem in Eternity

At the conclusion of the Bible we see the New Jerusalem, the consummation of God’s work of salvation throughout time. The New Jerusalem, as the ultimate sign in the book of Revelation, portrays the consummate union and mingling of God with His chosen, redeemed, regenerated, transformed and glorified people. In the New Jerusalem Christ will forever exist as the redeeming Lamb to us (Rev. 22:1). His redemption was planned in eternity past (1 Pet. 1:19-20) and accomplished once for all in time, yet for all eternity we will continue to enjoy the Lamb as a perpetual memorial of Christ’s all-inclusive redemption. We shall always remember that we were fallen and that Christ as the Lamb shed His precious blood to eternally redeem us. (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 357-358)

Christ will be the Husband in an eternal marriage life with all of His redeemed believers.

In eternity Christ will also be the Husband to His people. During His one-thousand-year wedding day [the kingdom of a thousand years which to the Lord is like one day (2 Pet. 3:8)], He will be the Bridegroom to the overcoming believers, the bride (Rev. 19:7). After that wedding day, Christ will be the Husband in an eternal marriage life with all of His redeemed believers. For eternity we will live in an intimate relationship with Him as our Husband, thus satisfying the eternal desire of His heart. (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 358-359)

In the New Jerusalem Christ, together with God, will also exist as the eternal temple (Rev. 21:22). The Bible reveals the temple as the place where God dwells and where His people worship Him. In eternity in the New Jerusalem, Christ will be the reality of the Old Testament temple as a mutual dwelling place for God and man (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 359-360).

Christ will forever be the ceaseless flowing out of God the source to supply man with all of His riches.

In addition, Christ will be the Lamp, the shining forth of God for eternity in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:23). God dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). However, Christ as the Lamp makes God as light approachable and available to man. Without the redeeming Lamb as the Lamp, God’s holy light would consume us. (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 360-361) But because of Christ’s redemption, we can are able to walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7).

Revelation 21:6 further indicates that in the New Jerusalem Christ will be the eternal spring of the water of life. This signifies that Christ will forever be the ceaseless flowing out of God the source to supply man with all of His riches. (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 361)

In the New Jerusalem Christ is also the tree of life (Rev. 22:2). As such He will eternally embody all the riches of God (Col. 2:9) as our food (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 22:14, 19). God’s original intention in Genesis was for man to eat of the tree of life. Due to the fall, however, man was barred from the tree of life. Yet through Christ’s redemption He opened the way for us to return to the tree of life to partake of all of God’s riches. Christ as the tree of life is our eternal portion. (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 362-363)

Finally in the New Jerusalem Christ will be the Shepherd to us. He is not only the Lamb, but He is also the Shepherd, eternally shepherding all of His redeemed believers to “springs of waters of life” (Rev. 7:17). This indicates that He will forever shepherd us to Himself so that we may enjoy the eternal dispensing of the Triune God into us as life and thus express Him to the fullest extent for eternity. (Witness Lee, Conclusion, 364)