THE BRIDE OF THE LAMB

In the light of other scriptures the identity of New Jerusalem is made certain. She is “as a bride.” Farther along, John writes: “One of the seven angels . . . spoke with me and said: ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ So he carried me away in the power of the spirit to a great and lofty mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God and having the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious stone, as a jasper stone shining crystal-clear.”—Rev. 21:9-11.

New Jerusalem is the bride of whom? The Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who shed his blood sacrificially for mankind. (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6, 12; 7:14; 12:11; 21:14) What is her identity? She is composed of the members of the Christian congregation. The congregation on earth was likened to “a chaste virgin” to be presented to the Christ. (2 Cor. 11:2) Again, the apostle Paul likens the Christian congregation to a wife, with Christ as her Husband and Head.—Eph. 5:23-25, 32.

Furthermore, Christ himself addresses the congregation at Revelation 3:12, promising the faithful conqueror that he would have written upon him “the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which descends out of heaven from my God, and that new name of mine.” A wife takes her husband’s name. Therefore those seen standing with the Lamb upon Mount Zion, numbering 144,000, having the Lamb’s name and that of his Father written in their foreheads, are evidently the same group, the bride.—Rev. 14:1.

HEAVENLY, NOT EARTHLY

New Jerusalem is heavenly, not earthly, for it comes down “out of heaven from God.” (Rev. 21:10) The members of this bride class when on earth are told that their “citizenship exists in the heavens” and that their hope is to receive “an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance.” “It is reserved in the heavens for you,” says the apostle Peter. (Phil. 3:20; 1 Pet. 1:4) And since earthly Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel, the location of “Jehovah’s throne” upon which the kings of the line of David sat (1 Chron. 29:23), the New Jerusalem would be the heavenly capital “city” or organization in which God and his King Jesus Christ dwell and reign.—Rev. 21:22.

In 537 B.C.E., Jehovah created “new heavens and a new earth” when the Jewish remnant was restored to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile. (Isa. 65:17) Evidently the governorship of Zerubbabel (a descendant of David) aided by High Priest Joshua, at the city of Jerusalem, constituted the “new heavens” then. (Hag. 1:1, 14; see HEAVEN [New heavens and new earth].) So the New Jerusalem, with Christ on his throne in this symbolic city, constitutes the “new heaven” that rules over the “new earth,” human society on earth.

That the New Jerusalem is indeed a heavenly city is further supported by the vision of her that John beheld. Only a symbolic city could have the dimensions and splendor of New Jerusalem. Its base was foursquare, about 345 English miles (555 kilometers or 375 Roman miles) on each side, or about 1,380 miles (2,220 kilometers or 1,500 Roman miles) completely around, that is, twelve thousand furlongs. Being a cube, the city was also as high as it was long and wide. No man-made city could ever reach that far into “outer space.” Round about was a wall 144 cubits, or 210 feet (64 meters), high. The wall, itself constructed of jasper, in turn rested on twelve foundation stones, precious stones of great beauty—jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, hyacinth and amethyst. On these twelve foundation stones were engraved the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The city proper within these beautiful walls was no less glorious, for it was described as “pure gold like clear glass,” having a broad way of “pure gold, as transparent glass.”

A PURE, BENEFICIAL RULE

Entrance into the New Jerusalem through its magnificent walls was by means of twelve gates, three on a side, each made of a huge pearl. Although these gates were never closed, “anything not sacred and anyone that carries on a disgusting thing and a lie will in no way enter into it; only those written in the Lamb’s scroll of life will.” A holy and sacred city indeed, yet there was no visible temple of worship, for “Jehovah God the Almighty is its temple.” And there was “no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God lighted it up.” Its rulership over the nations will be beneficial to them, for “the nations will walk by means of its light.”—Rev. 21:12-27.

NEWLY CONVERTED MAN

See REPENTANCE (Conversion—A Turning Back).

NEWT

[Heb., l^eta·ʼahʹ].

The Latin Vulgate translation applies this Hebrew word to the “newt.” It is a small salamander or tailed amphibian, resembling a lizard but scaleless and covered with a soft, moist, thin skin. It is related to the frog and is listed among the unclean creatures of the Mosaic law. (Lev. 11:29, 30) The banded newt of Asia Minor and Syria is distinguished by a black band along each side of its body. Born in the water, it lives on land for two or three years after losing its gills, then returns to the water to live out the remainder of its life.

NEZIAH

(Ne·ziʹah) [preeminent].

Forefather of a group of Nethinim who returned with Zerubbabel after the Babylonian exile, 537 B.C.E.—Ezra 2:1, 2, 43, 54; Neh. 7:46, 56.

NEZIB

(Neʹzib) [pillar, garrison].

A Judean site in the Shephelah. (Josh. 15:20, 33, 43) It is usually identified with Khirbet Beit Nesiz, some seven miles (11 kilometers) NW of Hebron.

NIBHAZ

(Nibʹhaz).

A deity worshiped by the Avvites, whom the king of Assyria settled in the territory of Samaria following the deportation of the Israelites after the fall of the ten-tribe kingdom. (2 Ki. 17:24-31) Aside from the brief Scriptural reference to Nibhaz, nothing can be said with certainty about the nature or form of this god.

NIBSHAN

(Nibʹshan) [perhaps, light soil].

A city in the Judean wilderness. (Josh. 15:20, 61, 62) The exact location of Nibshan is unknown. But it is tentatively identified with Khirbet el-Marqari, located on a level ridge some eleven miles (18 kilometers) SE of Jerusalem.

NICANOR

(Ni·caʹnor) [conqueror].

One of the seven men “full of spirit and wisdom” approved by the apostles to look after the daily distribution in the early Jerusalem congregation.—Acts 6:1-6.

NICODEMUS

(Nic·o·deʹmus) [conqueror of the people].

A Pharisee and a teacher of Israel, a ruler of the Jews (that is, a member of the Sanhedrin) who is mentioned only in John’s Gospel. Nicodemus was impressed with the signs that Jesus performed in Jerusalem at Passover time of 30 C.E. Consequently, he visited Jesus one night, and confessed that Jesus must have come from God. (Probably out of fear of the Jews he chose the cover of darkness for this first visit.) It was to Nicodemus that Jesus spoke of being “born again” in order to see the kingdom of God, of no man having ascended to heaven, about God’s love as being shown by sending the Son to earth, and the need to exercise faith.—John 2:23; 3:1-21.

About two and a half years later, following the Festival of Booths, the Pharisees sent officers to lay hold of Jesus. On the officers’ return empty-handed, the Pharisees belittled them for making a report favorable to Jesus, whereupon Nicodemus spoke up, saying: “Our law does not judge a man unless first it has heard from him and come to know what he is doing, does it?” For this the others ridiculed him. (John 7:45-52) After Jesus’ death, Nicodemus came along with Joseph of Arimathea, that fearful disciple, bringing a hundred-pound roll of myrrh and aloes, an expensive offering, with which to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. (19:38-40) There is no Scriptural evidence for or against the traditions that say Nicodemus later became a disciple, was cast out of the Sanhedrin and Jerusalem, died a martyr’s death, and so forth.

NICOLAUS

(Nic·o·laʹus) [conqueror of the people].

1. One of the seven qualified men whom the congregation recommended to the apostles for appointment as food distributors to ensure just and fair treatment among the early Jerusalem congregation following Pentecost, 33 C.E. Nicolaus is the only one of the seven called “a proselyte of Antioch,” which suggests that he may have been the only non-Jew of the group, the Greek names of the others being common even among natural Jews.—Acts 6:1-6.

2. The “sect of Nicolaus” (or Nicolaitans) is condemned in two of the seven letters to the congregations in chapters two and three of Revelation. For hating “the deeds of the sect of Nicolaus,” which Christ Jesus himself also hates, the “angel” of the Ephesus congregation was commended. (Rev. 2:1, 6) In the congregation at Pergamum, however, there were some “holding fast the teaching of the sect of Nicolaus,” from which they were urged to turn away and repent.—Rev. 2:12, 15, 16.

Aside from what is here written in Revelation about the sect of Nicolaus, nothing else is known of it, either of its practices and teachings, which are condemned, or of its origin and development. The connective “so” immediately following the reference to the immoral and idolatrous course the Israelites pursued due to the “teaching of Balaam” (Rev. 2:14, 15) might indicate some similarity, but the meaning of the two names is not enough alike to say they are the same sect, as has been suggested; Revelation at the same time makes a distinction between the two. There is no reason to connect the sect with Nicolaus the Antiochian Christian (No. 1 above) just because he is the only person of that name in the Bible, as has also been done by some of the early church writers. Nor is it warranted to say that some apostatized sect took his name to give weight to their wrongdoing. Nicolaus was more probably a Biblically unidentified individual after whom the ungodly movement was named.

NICOPOLIS

(Ni·copʹo·lis) [city of victory].

A city where the apostle Paul decided to spend the winter during one of his trips and to which he urged Titus to come. (Titus 3:12) The note at the end of Paul’s letter to Titus in the Authorized Version indicating it to have been written “from Nicopolis of Macedonia” is not found in the oldest manuscripts. Evidently Paul did not write his letter from Nicopolis, since Titus 3:12 implies that he was not yet there but had merely decided to winter there.

Of the various ancient cities named Nicopolis, the Nicopolis of Epirus located on a peninsula in northwestern Greece seems to fit the Biblical reference best. Being a prominent city, it would have been a good place for Paul to declare the good news, and it was conveniently situated for both Paul (apparently then in Macedonia) and Titus (in Crete). It may be that Paul was arrested in Nicopolis and then taken to Rome for his final imprisonment and execution.

Octavian (Augustus) founded Nicopolis to memorialize his naval victory (of 31 B.C.E.) over Antony and Cleopatra at nearby Actium. The Actian games instituted by him in honor of the god Apollo also served to commemorate this event. The city itself occupied the site of the Roman encampment and, where his tent had been, Octavian built a temple to the god Neptune. Most of the city’s public edifices, according to the historian Josephus, were erected through the interest and financial aid of Herod the Great.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVI, chap. V, par. 3.

NIGER

(Niʹger) [black].

The Latin surname given to Symeon, one of the “prophets and teachers” of the congregation of Antioch, Syria.—Acts 13:1.

NIGHT

[Heb., laʹyil or layʹlah; Gr., nyx].

The period of darkness from sunset to sunrise was designated by Jehovah God as “Night.” (Gen. 1:5, 14) Between sunset and the actual darkness there is a short period of evening twilight when the stars begin to be seen. This time was called neʹsheph by the Hebrews and evidently is the time meant by the expression “between the two evenings” found at Exodus 12:6. (Prov. 7:9) Similarly, at the end of the night’s darkness there is a morning twilight leading to the dawn and this was expressed by the same Hebrew word. Thus, the writer at Psalm 119:147 says: “I have been up early in the morning twilight.”

HEBREW DIVISION

The Hebrews divided the night into watches. “When I have remembered you upon my lounge, during the night watches I meditate on you.” (Ps. 63:6) Since Judges 7:19 speaks of a “middle night watch,” it seems evident there were three of them in early times. It appears that each watch covered one-third of the time between sundown and sunrise, or about four hours each, depending on the time of the year. The first watch would thus run from about 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. The “middle night watch” would begin about 10 p.m. and run until about 2 a.m. This was a strategic time for Gideon to make his surprise attack on the Midianite camp. The third watch was called the “morning watch,” lasting from about 2 a.m. till sunrise. It was during this morning watch that Jehovah caused the pursuing Egyptian armies to begin to experience grave difficulties in their attempted passage through the Red Sea.—Ex. 14:24-28; see also 1 Samuel 11:11.

ROMAN DIVISION

At least by the time of the Roman domination, the Jews adopted the Greek and Roman practice of four nocturnal watches. Jesus evidently referred to these four divisions when he said: “Therefore keep on the watch, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether late in the day or at midnight or at cock-crowing or early in the morning.” (Mark 13:35) The “late in the day” watch ran from sunset till the third hour, or about 9 p.m. The second watch, called “the midnight,” began with the third hour and ended at midnight. (Luke 12:38) The “cock-crowing” covered from midnight till the ninth hour, or about 3 a.m. It was probably during this time that the first or even both of the cockcrowings mentioned at Mark 14:30 occurred. (See COCKCROW.) Finally, from the ninth hour until sunrise was the fourth or “early in the morning” watch.—Matt. 14:25; Mark 6:48.

On one occasion mention is made of a specific hour of the twelve hours that make up the nighttime. Acts 23:23 tells us that it was at the “third hour,” or about 9 p.m., that the military commander ordered the troops to take Paul from Jerusalem on his way to Caesarea.

Whereas the Jews began the new day at sunset, according to Roman custom midnight was the fixed point for ending and beginning the day. This avoided the problem resulting from the lengthening and shortening of the daylight hours due to the seasons (as occurred when starting the day at sunset) and allowed for their dividing the day into two equal twelve-hour periods at all times of the year. This is the practice in most nations today.

Among the Greeks and Romans night was deified and called the daughter of Chaos. She was regarded