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Jehovah said that He would bring recovery to the children of Israel—Jer. 30:17; 33:6:
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Jehovah promised to bring the city of Jerusalem recovery and healing—v. 6.
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He said that He would reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth and that He would cleanse them from all their iniquity and forgive all their iniquities, by which they had sinned against Him and transgressed against Him—vv. 6-8.
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Jehovah made the further promise that Jerusalem would be a name of gladness and a praise and a glory to Him before all the nations—v. 9.
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The return of the children of Israel from their captivity typifies the recovery of the church—Ezra 1:3-11; Neh. 2:11, 17:
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When we speak of the recovery of the church, we mean that something was there originally, that it became lost or damaged, and that now there is the need to bring that thing back to its original state—Matt. 16:18; 18:17.
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Because the church has become degraded through the many centuries of its history, it needs to be restored according to God’s original intention—1 Cor. 1:2; 12:27; Rom. 12:4-5; 16:1,4-5; Rev. 1:11; 22:16.
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For the children of Israel to be recovered meant for them to be brought back to Jerusalem from Babylon; the recovery of the church involves a return from the capturing and divisive ground signified by Babylon—Psa. 126:1-4; 133:1.
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The children of Israel went back to Jerusalem, the God-ordained unique ground, with all the vessels of the temple of God, which had been brought to Babylon—2 Chron. 36:18; Ezra 5:14; 6:5:
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Jerusalem was the center for God’s people to worship Him, and this unique center preserved the oneness of the people of God; for this reason it was necessary for God’s people in the Old Testament to be brought back to Jerusalem, the unique ground ordained by God—Deut. 12:11; 16:2; 26:2.
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These vessels, which were of silver and gold, signify the riches of Christ and the various aspects of the experience of Christ—Eph. 3:8.
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Today’s Babylon has not only captured God’s people but also robbed all the riches from God’s temple; now the Lord wants not only to call His faithful people out of Babylon and bring them back to the proper church life but also to recover all the different aspects of Christ, which have been lost—vv. 17-19; Col. 1:15-20; 2:16-17; 3:4.
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The recovery of the church is also typified by the rebuilding of the temple of God, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem—Ezra 1:3; Neh. 2:11, 17; Psa. 26:8; 36:8-9; 46:1, 5; 47:2, 6-8:
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The temple, the place of God’s presence, needed protection; the wall of the city was the defense of the temple.
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In order to understand the relationship between the house and the city in the New Testament, we need to realize that the church is the enlargement of Christ and the increase of Christ—John 3:29-30; Eph. 4:13; Col. 2:19:
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The first step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the house, composed of all the believers put together to be the increase of Christ—Eph. 2:21-22.
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The second step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the city; the church as the house must be enlarged to be the church as the city—Matt. 5:14; Rev. 3:7, 12; 21:9-10.
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The building of the church as the house and the city is the center of God’s eternal purpose—Eph. 2:21-22; 1 Tim. 3:15; Rev. 21:2-3.
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If there is no recovery of God’s people from Babylon the Great to the church life, there will be no way for Christ to carry out His second coming—1:7:
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This is the reason that the Lord, at the end time, is working to have a recovery of the church—v. 11; 3:7-10; 22:16; 1 Cor. 12:27; 1:2.
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This recovery will be a preparation and a base for Christ’s coming again—Rev. 1:7; 3:11; 19:7-9; 22:7, 12, 20.
Morning Nourishment
Ezra 1:3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him; and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and let him build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel—He is God—who is in Jerusalem.11 There were five thousand four hundred vessels of gold and silver in all. Sheshbazzar brought up all of them with those of the captivity who were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
The captivity of the children of Israel was due to their degradation. Because of their degradation, they were carried away to captivity in Babylon. The church also became degraded and eventually was brought into captivity by Babylon the Great, Christendom, which is a prostitute in the eyes of the holy God. The recovery of the church, therefore, involves a return from the capturing and divisive ground signified by Babylon.
Those who went back to Jerusalem from Babylon brought with them all the vessels of the temple of God which had been captured to Babylon (Ezra 1:5-11). These vessels, which were of silver and gold, signify the experiences of Christ and the riches of Christ….The people of God were scattered, and all the spiritual experiences were carried away. That was a shame to them and to God. Even today, some dear Christians have real experiences of Christ, but they are in Babylon….The experiences are right, but the place is wrong, for the vessels are right, but they are the vessels of the temple of God in the temple of idols. Therefore, all the vessels of silver and gold must be brought back to Jerusalem. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2451-2452)
Today’s Reading
The recovery of the church is typified in the Old Testament by the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem (Neh. 2:11, 17). After the recovery of the building of the temple, there was still the need to build up the city….The temple, the place of the Lord’s presence, needed protection. The wall of the city was the defense to the temple.Ephesians 2:19 and 1 Timothy 3:15 speak of the church as the house of God. But in the last two chapters of Revelation, there is a city, and in this city there is no temple (Rev. 21:22), because the city has become the enlargement of the temple.
In order to understand the relationship between the house and the city in the New Testament, we need to realize that the church is the enlargement of Christ and the increase of Christ. All the believers are parts of Christ and members of Christ. All these parts put together are the increase of Christ. The church, therefore, is the fullness of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23) because Christ has been increased and enlarged into so many members. The first step of the enlargement of Christ is the church as the house. The second step of this enlargement is also the church, not as the house but as the city….Eventually, the whole church becomes the city. Because the temple has become the city, Revelation 21:22 tells us that there is no temple in the city of New Jerusalem. The city is the tabernacle, the dwelling place (Rev. 21:2-3). Hence, the city is the enlargement of the temple, the development of the house, to the uttermost.
The building of the house and the city is the center of God’s eternal purpose. This building is actually the mingling of God with man. The church, therefore, is the mingling of divinity with humanity. When this mingling is enlarged and consummated to the fullest extent, that is the city.
With Christ’s second coming, if there is no recovery of the church life, that is, no return of God’s people from Babylon the Great to the church life, there will be no way for Christ to carry out His second coming. This is the reason that the Lord, at the end time, is working to have a recovery. I believe that this recovery will be a preparation and a base for Christ’s coming again. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 2453-2455)
Further Reading: Life-study of Nehemiah, msg. 1; CWWL, 1969, vol. 2, “The Recovery of God’s House and God’s City,” chs. 7-8