The New Jerusalem
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
"One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of The Lamb." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of The Lamb."
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Ephod |
New Jerusalem |
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12 precious stones |
12 precious stones |
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Square arrangement |
Square arrangement |
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3 stones to a side x 4 sides |
3 gates to side x 4 sides |
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Each stone represent a tribe |
Each gate represents a tribe |
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Worn by the High Priest |
Around the city of God, New Jerusalem |
"The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12000 furlongs or 1500 miles ( 1342 meters ) in length, and as wide and high as it is long ( a cube like the Holy of Holies ). He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits by man's measurement, which the angel was using.
The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass."
"I did not see a Temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and The Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in The Lamb's book of life."
"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of The Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of The Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for The Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."
"The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, The God of the spirits of the Prophets, sent His angel to show His servants the things that must soon take place."... Revelation 21:1 - 22:6
1,500 miles in each direction -- a perfect cube. ...The basic building material is transparent gold, for buildings and for streets, a special kind of monochromatic splendor.
The city is surrounded by a wall that is 144 cubits. This wall is made of jasper, again a clear diamond-like substance. It has twelve foundations. The twelve foundations of the wall of the city are decorated with all manner of precious stones.
T Rev 21:19-AND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WALL OF THE CITY (this was also mentioned in Rev 21:14) WERE GARNISHED (or decorated) WITH ALL MANNER (or kinds) OF PRECIOUS STONES.
THE FIRST FOUNDATION WAS JASPER (or diamond);
THE SECOND, SAPPHIRE (blue);
THE THIRD, A CHALCEDONY (a combination of gray, blue, and yellow; or blue with stripes
THE FOURTH, AN EMERALD (green);
THE FIFTH, SARDONYX (red and white or pale blue);
THE SIXTH, SARDIUS (or carnelian) (a bright red, or amber, or honey color);
THE SEVENTH, CHRYSOLITE ( purple and green);
THE EIGHTH, BERYL (sea green or bluish green);
THE NINTH, A TOPAZ (yellowish green or golden);
THE TENTH, A CHRYSOPRASUS (apple green or mixed blue, green, and yellow);
THE ELEVENTH, A JACINTH (turquoise, or violet)
THE TWELFTH, AN AMETHYST (purple)
The wall has twelve gates, each made of pearl. And on the gates are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. At these gates stand twelve angels.
There will not be a Temple. The magnificent palace-sanctuary of the millennium will be gone, The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb will be the Temple, Revelation tells us.
Something else will be conspicuous by its absence. No sun. No moon, either. God's own glory will lighten Jerusalem, both God the Father, and God the Son. And so there will be no night as we know it. Does this all sound just a little bit austere? God. Shining powerfully, almost audibly. No night. A city made up of building blocks of gold. With transparent, shining walls.?
By this time you will have already worked side-by-side with Jesus the Messiah for 1,000 years in government service. You'll have all the feelings of love, happiness, joy that you may ever have yearned to have and share with others to live and repeat forever and ever. Affection, approval and recognition.
You'll have lots of friends there, too. All the 'nations of the saved' will be there, on the new earth, and be bringing their own glory and honor into new Jerusalem.
There will also be some rather lush and exquisite vegetation in the new city, a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal. This river runs right out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, just as the Millennial river flowed out of the sanctuary, east and west. And just as in the kingdom age, this miraculous, spiritually-enlivened river of water gives life to remarkable vegetation, the tree of life, just as was in the Garden of Eden. The tree of life gives twelve manner of fruits, and yields the fruit every month. And the leaves will be for the health or the "benefit" of the nations.
We can imagine beautiful forests and mountains in the rest of the new earth. Meadows of grass, meadows of flowers, all different kinds of flowers, animals. Fountains. Waterfalls. And other cities in the nations, each with its own personality and character. Lots of places to go and things to do.
We will rule angels, as well, meaning serving, befriending, helping them, just as they have helped us in times past.
We know God likes music. We know Jesus sang psalms. Imagine dance as well. And drama. And art. And the written word. And the spoken word. Imagine creativity. Drama. Excitement. And electricity in the air. Imagine worshipping the Father face-to-face and thanking him in person for your salvation and all your gifts and blessings. And doing it all in the most remarkable, heavenly new Jerusalem. Your home forever.
Some private time. And then after the joy and excitement of serving the Lord as part of a chorus, or part of a symphony, or a chamber group, or in some other artistic event. There will be some rest to make the excitement meaningful. Maybe walking in a meadow, or sitting under a tree all alone, some private time for some private meditation. Or time with old friends or new friends. Or other family. Or reading. Or working on your job. Whatever you like to do. Whatever you do to recreate.
A life full of knowledge. We will have full and perfect knowledge at that time perfected by the Holy Spirit. As Paul says, " . . . now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." Most importantly, we will know, firsthand, face-to-face, no longer by faith alone, just how much we're loved, each one of us, individually by God. Loved for our personalities. For our individuality. For what we are.
Nothing of Satan will be in the new Jerusalem or the new earth, or the new universe. Satan will be in hell, burning. And with him all pain, sickness, lies, murder, hatred, poverty, loss, grief, death, tears, sorrow, and crying. All these former things will be passed away. And holiness, a life of real separation unto God will result.
Joy. When you go to the left, when you go to the right. Joy of abundance. Of family, friends, people. Of wealth. Of power. Joy, spilling over, like a river. "We know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him." Eternal, sinless, deathless, victorious, loving, joyful, powerful, wealthy, creative, experiencing the absolute perfection of development.
You will be so new at that time that you'll need and have a new name! .... Do you ever want to just start over? Or did you ever feel that way? Good news. Your real life is still ahead of you.
Because after this age of grace is over, and when the kingdom age is over, you will come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, and to God himself, your Father. You'll be home. Really home.