We are in the second half of John's description of the enormous eternal city that he refers to as the "New Jerusalem". Where will the New Jerusalem be located? The Bible doesn't say. To me it makes sense that it would be located where Jerusalem is now. The site of Jerusalem has had religious significance all the way back to the first book of the Bible. The Jerusalem we are familiar with is the Jerusalem that is connected with God's redemptive plan for mankind. It was in this area on Mount Moriah where Abraham intended to offer his son Isaac to the Lord in the belief that God would immediately resurrect Isaac from the dead. (See Genesis 22:1-19 along with Hebrews 11:17 while keeping in mind that God never intended for Abraham to sacrifice Isaac but that He was using this as an opportunity to increase Abraham's faith. Abraham needed his faith increased in order to become the father of a great nation and in order to increase his faith in the coming Redeemer---a faith he was then able to pass along to his descendants.)
The Lord Himself chose Jerusalem for the location of the temple. King David amassed much of the wealth and materials needed for his son Solomon to construct it. The presence of the temple made Jerusalem the religious capitol of the Jewish people.
Jerusalem is where the Son of God taught in the temple and it is where He was rejected, crucified, buried, and resurrected. It seems logical that the New Jerusalem would be located at the site of the city that is so closely connected with the Lord and with the eternal redemption we have through our faith in Him. Some scholars have suggested that the New Jerusalem is a planet that will come down and orbit the earth, since John said in our passage yesterday that he saw it "coming down out of heaven from God", and while this is an interesting theory I don't feel that it holds much merit. The Lord promised long ago that His Son would rule over the nations from the throne of David. I think this is a literal promise and that Christ will rule over the nations from a specific location in a world that has been restored and made perfect. The restoration of the earth is a promise that is literally coming true here in Revelation and I feel that all these other promises regarding the eternal kingdom are to be understood as taking place on the earth.
I can't help longing for the day Isaiah foresaw when he said of the holy government of Christ: "For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) We have a presidential election coming up next year and debates are already taking place among the candidates who are running for the nominations of their political parties. I rarely watch the debates because they tend to make me anxious and uneasy. The candidates often attack each other personally and they interrupt each other and talk over each other in a rude and irritating manner. Someday we won't have to deal with this anymore. We won't have to choose or elect any political candidate ever again. The One who chose us and left all the glory of heaven to offer His life for us will be our perfect and eternal King. The precious Son of God will be the head of the worldwide government. Everything He does will be absolutely right. We will joyfully submit to Him as our Lord and King because He has redeemed us from our sins and because He has granted us eternal life in His presence. We won't be bowing our knees to Him because we are forced to bow; we will be bowing our knees because of all He has been and forever will be to us: a wonderful Counselor, a mighty God who has done great things for us, a Father figure who loves us and wants the best for us, and the One who gives us peace in our hearts and peace with our holy Creator.
John goes on to describe what the beautiful city looks like: "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 agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass." (Revelation 21:18-21) In yesterday's passage we studied the measurements of the city and learned that the city is approximately 1,400 miles wide and 1,400 miles long. Imagine the tons of precious jewels it will take to lay the foundations of a city this large! Imagine how tall and deep these gates of pearl are! Imagine how much gold will be used to pave this many miles of streets! John is describing the New Jerusalem for us as best he can, but the beauty of this city is something we can't begin to comprehend until we see it for ourselves. In our current world system we place a lot of value on owning and wearing costly metals and precious stones. But in the Lord's world system those things are going to become basic building materials. The purest gold in existence is going to be under our feet because our joy won't be measured by material possessions. Our joy will be in at last beholding our Redeemer face to face in all His perfection and glory and holiness, and in living forever in a world where there will never again be sadness or sickness or death.
There is an enormous difference between the New Jerusalem and ancient Jerusalem. There will be no temple in it. Join us tomorrow to learn why.
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