The Promises to Abraham
By Eugene W. Farnsworth
It is said that Abraham, "when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11: 8-10. In the record of this experience, found in Genesis, nothing is said about a city; but here it is evident that God promised to give Abraham a city with the earth. This city will be the capital of the kingdom over which Christ will reign. "When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory. . . . Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matt. 25: 31-34. The city will be the metropolis of the kingdom. Frequent Mentions of the City
The Scriptures make frequent reference to this city as the home of God's people. In the fourth chapter of Galatians a contrast is drawn between the old Jerusalem and the new. Old Jerusalem is said to be in bondage with her children; "but Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all." Gal. 4: 25, 26. She is the mother, the metropolis of the kingdom. The Saviour alluded to this when He said: "In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John 14: 2. This is that city filled with mansions which God promised Abraham and his seed, and which forms part of their inheritance. Again we read, "For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Heb. 13: 14. "But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." Heb. 12: 22. That is the city of peace—for that is the meaning of its name. There the "Prince of Peace" shall reign over those of whom it is written, "Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God." Matt. 5: 9. Isaiah exclaims concerning this city, "Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down." Isa. 33: 20. That great city is here called a "tabernacle," no doubt to convey the idea that it is a movable city. A tabernacle is a structure that can be moved, therefore a city to be moved might properly be called a tabernacle; for we read, "I will write upon him . . . the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God." Rev. 3: 12. The City Descending to Earth
There was given to the prophet a view of the city as it descends, at the end of the millennial age, when the earth has passed through its desolations. He gives this description: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 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 tears5from 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." Rev. 21: 1-4. Again the angel said to the prophet, "Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 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, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Rev. 21: 9-11. The prophet then tries to describe the city: "And the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass." Verse 18. It "lieth four-square." Verse 16. Its circumference is twelve thousand furlongs, or three hundred and seventy-five miles on each side, inclosing more space than is contained in the States of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Connecticut combined. Its wall, "great and high," is worthy of special notice. It had twelve foundations of precious stones of wondrous size, and engraved on them the names of the twelve apostles. "And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones." This must be the city Abraham saw, "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Twelve gates of pearl, each gate being one pearl, are found in the walls. "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." "And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass." "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." Another description states that "then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously." Isa. 24: 23. No Curse nor Sorrow There
In this city "there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." Rev. 22: 3. The Paradise of God, from which man was excluded, will be found in it; for we read, "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." Rev. 2: 7. No weeping eyes or breaking hearts will be found there, for God shall wipe away all tears. "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." Rev. 21: 4. "And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity." Isa. 33: 24. The Invitation to Be There
It is to this glorious city that God invites all His weeping, wandering exiles to come. The strangers, the sojourners, the pilgrims, are all included in the invitation. The true Israel of God, those who have had a new birth, a new name, and a new character, like Jacob of old, all are invited to come. In the soul-inspiring words of another, we, too, extend the invitation: Come, if you would inherit mansions where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death can never enter; if you would have a right to the Tree of Life, and pluck its immortal fruit, and eat and live; if you would drink of the water of the River of Life, that flows from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Come, if you would obtain through those glittering gates of pearl an abundant entrance into the eternal city; if you would walk its streets of transparent gold; if you would behold its glowing foundation stones; if you would see the King in His beauty on His azure throne. Come, if you would sing the jubilee song of millions, and share their joy. Come, if you would join the anthems of the redeemed with their melodious harps, and know that your exile is forever over, and this is your eternal home. Come, if you would receive a palm of victory, and know that you are forever free. Come, if you would exchange the furrows of your care-worn brow for a jeweled crown. Come, if you would see the salvation of the ransomed myriads, the glorified throng which no man can number. Come, if you would drink from the pure fountain of celestial bliss, if you would shine as the stars forever in the firmament of glory, if you would share in the unutterable rapture that fills the triumphant hosts as they behold before them unending ages of glory ever brightening and joys ever new.—"Daniel and the Revelation," page 367. Past the setting of suns stands the city Elysian,
Unrevealed save to spirits anointed and free,
Which the chosen behold as a glorified vision
In splendor unveiled by the crystalline sea,—
The clear, azure sea,—the wide-flashing sea,—
The wonderful, odorous, music-toned sea,—
That flows round the shores of the country of God,
Which only the feet of His freemen have trod. Its walls stand superb in the sunshine eternal;
Round its turrets in ether the cloud-billows curl;
Not a fair stone is stained by a shadow diurnal;
And each massive gate is a portal of pearl,—
One lustrous, great pearl,—a bewildering pearl,—
A glorious, fathomless, mystical pearl,—
That haunts me and taunts me with far-off delight,
In visions of day-tide and dreams of the night. I dream of it often when sickness and sorrow
Pass over my spirit and scourge as a rod,
And fill me with longings for some glad to-morrow,—
Some glimpse of that city whose builder is God,—
Whose founder is God,—whose maker is God,—
Where the blest reign forever and ever with God;
And then how it seems to grow nearer,—so near
That the strains of its music break low on my ear! And then, as its splendors are spread out before me,
Enchanting my senses, alluring my soul,
What billows of rapture roll o'er me and o'er me,
Till earth and its troubles from under me roll;—
Beneath me they roll,—far away from me roll,—
As distant as east from the west is their roll;—
And I seem like a child on the warm, loving breast
Of a mother who soothes it, and lulls it to rest. Shall we see it? Ah, yes! for us it was builded,—
For us its foundations were measured of old,—
For us were its turrets of ivory gilded,
Its battlements burnished with silver and gold,—
With virginal gold,—with yellow, bright gold,—
And metals more precious than silver and gold,—
For us it is waiting, who wearily roam
As aliens afar from our country and home. How often—God help us!—far from it we wander,
Our bruised feet marking the way with our blood;
Of the joys of this life growing fonder and fonder,
As if over yonder no proud city stood,—
No bright city stood,—no light city stood,—
No royalest, comeliest, white city stood,—
While we who are heirs of a kingship divine
Are content with the husks and the huts of the swine.