Chapter 20 The Pilgrims Enter the Celestial City

Chapter 20 The Pilgrims Enter Celestial City

Summary

We reach the end of the journey with Christian and Hopeful.  Upon entering into the Country of Beulah, “Christian with desire fell sick,” and “Hopeful also had a fit or two of the same disease.”  After being refreshed, the pilgrims sleep and then prepare to cross over the river of Death, their last enemy.  Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith (Hebrews 12:1), they arrive on the other side of the river.  At the Lord’s command the gate of glory is opened to them and they are admitted to the glorious city.  We take one last look at the awful delusion of Ignorance, whereby we may assess our own hope to find out whether it is a vain hope or a hope founded only upon our union with Christ, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

1.       As the pilgrims continue on the Way, they enter the Country of Beulah.  Beulah means “married”; the name is taken from Isaiah 62:4.  What part of the Christian’s pilgrimage do you think the country of Beulah represents?

2.       Christian and Hopeful must cross a river before they can arrive at the gate to the Celestial City.  Describe how each man crosses this river.

3.       Why are the pilgrims able to go up the mighty hill on which the city stands with ease?

4.       What type of welcome are Christian and Hopeful given as they draw near the gate?

5.       Why is Ignorance able to cross the river “without half the difficulty which the other two men met with”?

6.       What happens to Ignorance at the gate of the city? 

Application:

Christian and Hopeful enter the country of Beulah.  This land is meant to represent the sweet peace and confidence that believers should experience towards the close of their lives.  After a delightful stay in the country of Beulah the pilgrims proceed towards the Celestial City.  Two men approach and tell them that they must still meet with two more difficulties.  We learn that these difficulties are death without and unbelief within.  The unbelief within is what makes death distressing to us.

So finally the pilgrims meet their last enemy, death.  When death stares them in the face, their fears arise, but through the river they must go.  They must look only to Jesus, who has conquered death for his redeemed children and can and will overcome the fear of death in them.  Faith in Jesus and in what he has done for them supplies the solid ground they need to walk on in order to pass through the river of death.

After lifting us up to the very heights of heaver, Bunyan then brings us to a very solemn and instructive portion of the story as he shows us what becomes of Ignorance.  Vain-Hope had been Ignorance’s companion all his life and he did not desert him at death.  Ignorance had set out on his journey relying on his own presumed righteousness, and God had given him over to this evil, satanic delusion and left him to perish in this lie.  And so Ignorance, who had been instructed by Christian and Hopeful that the righteousness of Christ is the only hope for sinful man, trusts in his own works and deeds and crosses the river of death on the boat belonging to Vain-Hope.  Finally our dreamer describes the end of Ignorance, how he is bound and carried to the door in the side of the hill leading to Hell.

We must take from this the need to take stock of our lives, to look inward at our faith and verify that it is resting on Christ alone and not on our own righteousness.