The Saints’ Inheritance.
By J. N. Loughborough
"Thy garden and thy pleasant walks,
My study long have been;
Such dazzling views by human sight
Have never yet been seen." "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 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 the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from123God, 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 four square, 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 hight of it are equal." Rev. 21:9-16. We understand that this measure of the city is its entire circumference; for the announcement is made as soon as this measure is taken, that all sides are alike; length, breadth, and hight. The ancient custom of measuring cities was to begin at the corner and go entirely around, and not simply to measure one side. The measure of the city was twelve thousand furlongs. At eight furlongs to the mile, it would be fifteen hundred miles. This being the entire circumference of the city, one-fourth of it would give us the length of either side; three hundred and seventy-five miles. Truly, this is a great city. This is, indeed, the city that Abraham looked for, "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11. This is the Jerusalem which Paul says "is above," and "is free, which is the mother of us all." It is the Father’s house, in which Christ said "there are many mansions." It is the place he was going to prepare for his saints prior to his coming again to receive them to himself. John 14:1-3. Verse 17. "And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits." This we suppose to refer to the hight of the wall, for he has already given us the length and the breadth. Eighteen inches to the cubit would give the hight of the wall at two hundred and sixteen feet. Verse 18. "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass." Verses 19, 20. "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, chrysolýte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst." These twelve stones are the foundation of the wall, but the wall is of jasper, as we have already shown. JASPER. "A precious stone of various colors, as purple, cerulean, green, &c."—Greenfield. "Mostly green."—Robinson. "Of a beautiful bright green color, sometimes clouded with white, and spotted with red or yellow.—Clarke. SAPPHIRE. "A precious stone of a blue color, in various shades."—Greenfield, Robinson. "A bright gem, properly of pure blue."—Cobbin. "Perfectly transparent."—Clarke. "Of a beautiful azure, or sky-blue color, almost as transparent and glittering as a diamond."—Stuart. CHALCEDONY. "The name of a gem generally of a whitish, bluish, or smoky-green color, susceptible of a high and beautiful polish."—Greenfield. Some Greek MSS. read carbuncle instead of chalcedony. Carbuncle "is a very elegant gem of a deep red color, with an admixture of scarlet. From its bright, lively color, it had the name carbunculus, which signifies a little coal; because when held before the sun it appears like a bright burning charcoal."—Clarke. EMERALD "is one of the most beautiful of all the gems, and is a bright green color, without any other mixture."—Clarke. SARDONYX. "A precious stone, exhibiting a milk-white variety of the chalcedony, intermingled with shades or stripes of sardian or cornelian" (flesh color).—Robinson. SARDIUS. "A precious stone of blood-red, and sometimes flesh, color."—Greenfield. "CHRYSOLYTE is of a beautiful yellow color, and is so called by the ancients from its looking like a golden stone."—Cobbin. BERYL "is of a bluish green, and very brilliant."—Cobbin. "TOPAZ of the present day seems to be reckoned as yellow, but that of the ancients appears to have been green."—Stuart. CHRYSOPRASUS. "Its color is commonly apple-green, and often extremely beautiful."—Cleveland. JACINTH. "A precious stone of deep red, with a mixture of yellow. It is the same as the hyacenet, or cinnamon stone."—Clarke. AMETHYST "is a pure rock crystal, of a purplish-violet color, and of great brilliancy."—Chambers. Stuart says of these precious stones: "There is classification, therefore, in the arrangement; a mixture not dissimilar to the rainbow, with the exception that it is more complex." This forms the foundation of the wall of the city. That wall itself is bright green, spotted with red and yellow. In addition to this, it is transparent, so that it will admit the rays of different colors to pass through it, which emanate from the stones that form its foundation (for many of these stones emit light of themselves). Here is a scene of beauty, indeed; but when we contemplate, in addition to this, that the glory of God, which far outshines the sun, will cause those precious stones to sparkle and glisten, we have a wall of such splendor as is far beyond the conception of mortals. Verse 21. "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." Here is gold that is worth striving for. It is imperishable. One ounce of it would be worth more to you, dear reader, than all the gold of California. I would give more for enough of that gold to set my feet upon, than for all the treasures of earth. He that secures a standing-place on those streets will be safe. Verse 23. "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." The glory of God will so far outshine the sun that the latter will give no light in the city. This is not simply the sun as it now shines, but it is when, as the prophet says, "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold." Isa. 30:26. Again, speaking of this same time (chap. 24:23), he says, "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." This refulgent light, shining on those most precious stones, will cause them to sparkle and shine as by human sight hath never yet been seen. Verse 24. "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." This, it seems, is to be the great metropolis, or capital, of the new-earth kingdom, into which all the nations of them that are saved shall come to offer their tribute of praise. In chap. 22, we have a description of the river 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." Every month the tree will yield a fruit, and as God’s saints, "from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another," come to worship before the Lord, Isa. 66:23, they may obtain of the fruits of the tree of life. Those who obey God’s commandments, as we learn in Rev. 22:14, are to have a right to the tree of life, and enter in through the gates into the city, and participate in this glorious rest. Thus we have briefly investigated some of the many testimonies which speak of the glorious inheritance of the saints. The meek shall inherit the earth, as Christ has promised; but not till sin and the curse are removed. But, says the objector, Christ said, "Great is your reward in Heaven." True, there is a rich reward reserved for us. We are to reign with Christ in Heaven 1,000 years, but that city, with all its dazzling glory, as we have just seen from Rev. 21, is to come down and be the capital of the earth restored. But it is still urged, that, "We have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens." True, the building is eternal; but he does not say it will eternally remain there. God’s word shows that it will come down and be the tabernacle of God, when he dwells with men. Dear reader, is not the inheritance God has promised good enough? "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." But "when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality," then will God’s saints be qualified to possess an immortal inheritance. Man will stand forth perfected, beauteous in form, free from pain, the stain of sin all washed away from his heart, and and his lips shouting forth the praises of Him who has thus wrought for him. Methinks your batter feelings say, It is glorious. Yes, and the best of all is, that state will never end. "When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise,
Than when we first begun." Dear reader, do you not feel a longing desire to be a partaker of the saints’ inheritance? The Spirit calls you, there is yet room. The heavenly city, with all its charms, welcomes you to come. The way is easy, if you seek it through Christ. First. "Break off from your sins by righteousness, and turn away from your transgressions by obedience to God." Have you no hope in Christ? Speedily obtain one. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. In the very day you seek him with all the heart he will be found of you. Secondly. We must comply with the conditions on which the promise was made. Christ says, "Blessed are they that do his [the Father’s] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14. Then leave the trifles of earth. Why will you linger and die? While mercy lingers, why will you dally with the vanities of earth, and neglect the preparation for that rich inheritance which you may obtain? Are you a Christian, striving to obtain a reward with the faithful? Take courage, the kingdom will be cheap enough, though you may wade through seas of blood to obtain it. Contrast all your afflictions here with that "far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" at the end of the race. Cease your murmurings; Heaven is cheap enough. Remember, your trials here are only workmen sent to polish you, and fit you for your heavenly inheritance. "Why should I murmur or repine at hardship, grief, or loss?
They only will the gold refine, and purge away the dross." God is displeased with murmuring Christians. Look how he recompensed those who murmured in the wilderness. "Neither murmur ye as some of them also murmured." Be as consistent in the heavenly way as you are with temporal matters. Let the object of your pursuit spur you forward, and instead of murmuring at your lot, let your actions tell to all that you consider that object of greater value than worldly ease or pleasure. If some lord of earth should come to your town and advertise, saying, "Any man who will labor for me, carrying wheat, shall receive a bushel of gold for every two bushels of wheat he will carry a mile," what a crowd of people you would behold flocking to the scene of action, each anxious to get a burden to carry. Behold them loading themselves to the ground, almost, with their heavy burdens. Why, the more load I take, the more gold I shall get, and you know I can go but once. See them trying their loads, and concluding they can carry a little more. Down goes one. "Well, got too much load?" "Oh, no! I’ll get along." Not a word of complaining in that company! The gold spurs them forward. Have you ever murmured? Stop and think. An "eternal weight of glory" is to be worked out by this suffering. What? Why, your "light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working out for you an eternal weight of glory. The more afflictions, the heavier the glory. Well, I can carry a little more; for I only have to carry it a moment (compared with eternity), and Jesus says his grace is sufficient. "The road may be rough, but it cannot be long,
I’ll smooth it with hope, and I’ll cheer it with song." Are you a minister of Christ, striving to lead the flock in the way of God’s truth, and win souls to Christ? Toil on. "Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." He who has said, "Feed the flock of God," has also said, "When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." Think often of the inheritance. No aching head, no hearts saddened there by opposition of men to God’s truth. No fevered lungs, worn with incessant labor: but there those who have turned many to righteousness "shall shine as the stars forever and ever." Toil on! and may we meet on Mount Zion with the Lamb. Amen!