New Jerusalem

The New Testament Church

Restored

Art used by permission by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992.
Click here to visit her "Revelation Illustrated" site.

The Seven Churches of Asia Series	The Binding and Loosing of the Dragon Series
The Opening of the Seven Seals Series	New Jerusalem
The Sounding of the Seven Trumpets Series	The New Testament Church Series
The War in Heaven Series	The Seven Parables
The Seven Last Plagues Series	Prophecy and Revelation Charts

Revelation Chapter 21 & 22

Some think that there will be a literal city in heaven, 200 sq miles on each side with walls standing 200 feet high where the streets are made of pure gold. What do you think?

Some think that it’s a real mansion, up in the skies somewhere. A great big house with lots of rooms, beautiful furniture, three or four stories high, what are those rooms for? Are you going to rent some rooms out or will you entertain guest? What kinds of furniture will your have, a refrigerator, a T.V. Set? A air conditioner? What are you going to have in all those rooms? How many bedrooms will you have? Who will be sleeping where there is no night?

Can you see the false city some have built up in their minds, and natural imaginations? Could you see multitudes of people each having and sitting around in a big 40 room gold mansion with no one to enjoy it with? See 1 Corinthians 2:9-16; Isaiah 28:10.

What is the New Jerusalem?

The New Heaven and New Earth (God’s new Creation)

Isaiah the Prophet saw the New Jerusalem, and prophesied about the Old Jerusalem. Let look at Isaiah the profit for understanding.

First of all Israel was in an Apostate condition, and Isaiah was burden because of the dilemma the people of God had gotten themselves into. So Isaiah offers this prayer to God, with hope to move God to action. See Isaiah 64^th chapter. God answers Isaiah; thus says the LORD:

“As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, “Do not destroy it,
for a blessing is in it,’ so will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all. Isa. 65:9-25; Isa. 66:5-17.

We can see from the foregoing scriptures that The New Creation, The New Heaven and New Earth that Isaiah the prophet was talking about is the New Jerusalem. This is a symbolic description by God that He was going to take the gentiles and the remnant of the Jews and make a new Creation, which he called and termed “New Heaven and New Earth, and “New Jerusalem”.

Now where there is a New Creation, A New Jerusalem you have got to have New Creatures. In the beginning God made Heaven and Earth, and afterwards He made a new man and put him in a new home, called the Garden of Eden. Well just like God did that in the literal sense He did it again the spiritual sense.

God Created a New Heaven and Earth, in the spiritual realm, and Created a New Home for his New Creatures. See (2 Corinthian 5:17-18).

¹⁶Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

You cannot take the old Jews and put them in a New Jerusalem, you need new Jews for a New Jerusalem.

The Bride of Christ is (The Church of God)

The city is the bride of Christ, and the bride of Christ is of course, the Church.

See Eph. 5:25-27.

The Tabernacle of God (not the one in the wilderness), she is brand new.

The Water of Life (Salvation) John 4^th chapter “the living water”

The Promise to him that overcometh

How can I see this New Jerusalem? (New Creation from God)

The Angel (God’s ministry) must show it to you

You must be carried away into the Spirit

To a Great and High Mountain (Mt. Zion) Hebrews 12:22-29

Where did the New Jerusalem come from?

New Jerusalem’s origin (she descended out of heaven from God)

New Jerusalem descriptions and characteristics

She have the glory of God: John 17:22; Eph. 5:27

Her Light (The teaching of God’s Word) (2 Cor. 4:4); (Eph. 5:8); (1 Pet. 2:9)

Great High Walls (The Standard of her Salvation)

The Wall of this city is great and high, at the time that the Revelation was written, Walls were for security and protection for his people against the enemies of the church and of the peace he can give in troublesome times. In the Old Testament in a poetic passage, walls were used symbolically: “And thou shall call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. Isa. 60:18, 19.

The 12 Gates (her entrances)

“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls…and the GATES of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there is no night there” (Rev. 21:21,25). Gates, of course, symbolize entrance into the city. The number 12 again reminds us of the 12 apostles of who made it possible for men to have access into the church through their preaching. The gates are never shut.

Gates facing each direction: north, south, east, and west, can speak of the universality of the gospel. “And they shall come from the east and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. (Luke 12:29).

The 12 Angels (They are the Gate Keeper like in the Garden of Eden)

The names on the gates symbolize the 12 tribes of spiritual Israel, the people of God

The 12 Foundations (The names of the Apostles of the Lamb)

New Jerusalem

The Angel (Ministry) have a golden reed “ a measuring instrument to”;
1. Measure the City,

Measuring the City, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel

The Length, breath, and height

We should be measure according to the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:11-16

Measuring the Wall, (The Standard of Salvation)
1. The Wall was like pure Gold, you could see your image in it.

Jasper, Sapphire, Chalcedony, Emerald, Sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolyte, Beryl, Topaz, Chrysoprasus, Jacinth, and Amethyst. Twelve stones are mentioned here correspond with the twelve stones that were in the breastplate of the high priest (Exodus 28:17-20). In Revelation there are 12 Stones, in Exodus there are 12 stones. In Revelation the names of the 12 apostles are in the foundation; in Exodus the 12 stones have the names of the 12 tribes. In Revelation the streets are gold; in Exodus the breastplate is decorated with gold. In Revelation the city is foursquare, in Exodus the breastplate of the high priest is foursquare. in Exodus the breastplate is decorated with gold.

Measuring the Gates, (Christ, The Entrance into the City)

The 12 Gates were made of 12 Pearls. Every Gate was of one Pearl. The Pearls symbolize the holy things of God, it is His teaching, doctrines, His precious truths, the bible says, neither cast your pearls before swine, neither give that which is holy unto dogs.

The Streets were made of pure gold. In Revelation the streets are gold; The symbolic use of gold as a building material is brought out in 1 Cor. 3:10-15. Paul spoke of men building upon the foundation of Christ with “GOLD, SILVER, PRECIOUS STONES, WOOD, HAY, and STUBBLE”—ALL OF WHICH WOULD BE TESTED BY FIRE. Some materials will stand the test, such as gold, while the hay, wood, and stubble will be destroyed. Gold, then, can well represent truth which will stand the test, the pure message of the gospel. Likewise the streets being pure gold as transparent glass should be understood to symbolize absolute purity. The place upon which the saved walk is holy ground. It is the way of holiness.

This City is not made by man, it is a new creation.

1. No Temple (literal building) therein, because it is a city not made with hands

2. No need of the sun of moon, (It did not need aerial lights), The Lord God is the light of this city.

3. The residents of this city are the nations of them which are saved (from sin).

4. The Kings of the earth do bring their glory, and honor into it, These Kings are the saints of Gods.

5. The Gates shall never shut, because salvation is open to all.

6. Nothing that is sinful and defiled shall enter into the city.

7. Only them who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life are in this city

8. The Pure River of water of life, symbolizes the flow of Salvation, from the throne of God, “the source”.

9. In the midst of the street of it, we see the tree of life, Jesus is the tree of life, the 12 manner of fruits, symbolizes the fruits of the spirit. The leaves of the tree??????????

10. There shall be no more curse, “the curse of sin”

11. They shall see his face; (His glorious presence, His name shall be in their foreheads “his teaching”

12. And there shall be no night there: (No spiritual darkness), the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.

The End of the Vision

If you feel this is not a symbolic description of the church, the bride of Christ. Let me ask you some following questions?

Can you explain that outside of the city “are dogs”, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters and whosoever and maketh a lie. Rev. 22:14. Will there be dogs in this new kingdom?

The fact that the city lieth foursquare, for he measured the city with a reed, twelve thousand furlongs (1500 miles.). You are actually saying that, the city is 1500 miles, high, wide, etc. Because the scriptures says that it is equal on all sides.?

What would be the purpose of walls 216 feet high? For if this is a literal city in heaven, who are the enemies these walls are designed to keep out?

If the gates of pearl are the same height as the wall, these pearls would stand 216 feet high! Surely such dimensions as these, instead of indicating a literal city, show that symbolism is being used.

Some teach that this is a literal city that will come down and rest on the earth. Just how a city built 1,500 miles square-which, in size, would take up a good portion of the United States alone, would rest on the round earth is not explained. Or will the new earth be flat?

Can you see the folly in this belief, Do you see how false dispensationalism is? Their doctrine teaches that the Old Testament said the God would send Elijah the prophet. Jesus said this fulfilled by the ministry of John the Baptist. But futurism places the coming of Elijah 2,000 years later!

According to the book of Revelation, 144,000 Israelites were to be the first converts to Christ—the first fruits. But futurisms places the time of their conversion about 2,000 years later. If this were true, it seems they should have been called the last-fruits instead of the first!

Jesus said the time was fulfilled (at his first coming) and the kingdom of God is at hand. But futurism must postpone the kingdom until 2,000 years later and make the church a mere parenthesis in the meantime.

Peter preached that the prophecy about one of David’s descendants sitting on his throne was fulfilled by Christ when he ascended into heaven. But according to futurism, when said this, the fulfillment was still 2,000 years in the future.

The New Testament does not put fleshly Jews on a pedestal and the church in a parenthesis. Instead, all believers are one in Christ.

If, then the old Jerusalem has been superseded by the new Jerusalem, the old temple by a spiritual temple, the old priesthood by a new priesthood, the old sacrifices by the perfect sacrifice, the old circumcision by the spiritual circumcision, the old Israel by the Israel of God, and old Jews by the New Jews of the Spirit, why would any believe that God will go backwards and restore the carnal when he has raised up the spiritual.