Because God is unchanging, it shouldn’t surprise us that there is continuity in how He presents Himself and the place where He communes with His people. When we look at the places where God chose to dwell, we see that it is pointing toward the New Jerusalem where once again sinless people will dwell with God—this time with no possibility of another Fall.
The city’s exact dimensions are measured by an angel and reported to be 12,000 stadia, the equivalent of 1,400 miles or 2,200 kilometers, in length, width, and height (Revelation 21:15-16). Even though these proportions may have symbolic importance, this doesn’t mean they can’t be literal. In fact, Scripture emphasizes that the dimensions are given in “man’s measurement” (Revelation 21:17). If the city really has these dimensions (and there’s no reason it couldn’t), what more could we expect God to say to convince us?
A metropolis of this size in the middle of the United States would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border. The New Jerusalem is all the square footage anyone could ask for.
Even more astounding is the city’s 1,400-mile height.
The ground level of the city will be nearly two million square miles. This is forty times bigger than England and fifteen thousand times bigger than London. It’s ten times as big as France or Germany and far larger than India. But remember, that’s just the ground level.
Given the dimensions of a 1,400-mile cube, if the city consisted of different levels (we don’t know this), and if each story were a generous twelve feet high, the city could have over 600,000 stories. If they were on different levels, billions of people could occupy the New Jerusalem, with many square miles per person.
If these numbers are figurative, not literal (and that is certainly possible), surely they are still meant to convey that the home of God’s people will be extremely large and roomy.
The cube shape of the New Jerusalem reminds us of the cube shape of the Most Holy Place in the Temple (1 Kings 6:20), the three dimensions perhaps suggestive of the three persons of the Trinity. God will live in the city, and it is his presence that will be its greatest feature.
by Lita Cosner
God created human beings in His image and with the unique capacity for relationship with Him out of the rest of the physical creation. God’s plan has always included dwelling with His people in a place characterized by holiness, and we can see that theme all throughout Scripture.
Eden was the first place where God communed with man, and its description conveys what the earth was like before sin corrupted it.
“A constant in this passage is the bounty of God’s goodness to his special creation through a beautifully complete environment with luscious verdant herbage and a land rich in water and precious stones.”
It was a perfect garden paradise with all types of fruit trees and it was well watered by four rivers. Adam’s job was to tend and keep the garden. Interestingly, these same words would later be used of the priests’ service in the Temple.
“Adam was to begin by ruling the garden for God and presumably to extend God’s reign over the whole earth.”
Eden was a place God came to commune with Adam and Eve, and because there was no sin, there was no need for sacrifices for sin. However, once Adam sinned, that fellowship was broken and Adam and Eve could not stay in the Garden. They were driven out so they could not eat from the Tree of Life and cherubim and a flaming sword were placed at the entrance so they could never return.
While God appeared to people, He did not dwell continually with anyone until the exodus of Israel from Egypt. God’s presence with them symbolized their favoured position as His nation and the people the promised Saviour would come from. He instructed them to build Him a tent so that He would have a dwelling with them. As Scripture elsewhere makes clear, He did not need a house, and He could not be contained in one in any case (1 Kings 8:27). However, it was a powerful symbol and became a central part of the Israelite religion.
Moses was given strict instructions about how to make the tabernacle, and he was warned not to deviate from it. The author of Hebrews says that Moses was shown the heavenly tabernacle, of which the earthly tabernacle was a copy (Hebrews 8:5).
The tabernacle, like Eden, had only one entrance. As one approached closer to the Holy of Holies, the materials became more costly and luxurious. On the outside, the curtains that formed the walls for the tabernacle were plain skins, utilitarian and chosen to withstand the elements. The metal elements were made of cheap bronze. But inside the materials were silver, then gold. The curtains were embroidered with cherubim—the same creatures that guarded the entrance to Eden ‘guarded’ access to God in the tabernacle.
Most Israelites never entered the Tabernacle. “Indeed, the whole structure of the tabernacle emphasizes that God’s presence cannot and must not be entered casually.”
Rather, they worshipped and sacrificed in the courtyard. The priests could enter the tabernacle to perform their duties. There they would see the altar of incense and the table of the Bread of the Presence, both of which were wooden, overlaid with pure gold, and all the utensils associated with them were also golden.
The other piece of furniture, the most glorious feature most priests would ever see, was the lampstand. It served a practical purpose—the tent was an enclosed space that did not allow sunlight in, so lamps were necessary to allow the priests to see so they could do their work. But it also had important symbolism.
The lampstand was specifically designed to look like a flowering tree with almond blossoms, and some of these blossoms would hold the lamps. The menorah which is used in Jewish worship today is modeled after this lampstand. When it was properly outfitted with the lamps and lit, it would fill the entire tent with light. Most commentators see a clear reference to the Tree of Life in the lampstand.
The most intricately-crafted item in the tabernacle was something most people would never see—the Ark of the Covenant. The ‘lid’ of the Ark was the mercy seat—a solid gold slab which perfectly fit over the top of the Ark. Two cherubim were crafted on the top of the mercy seat, and their wings overshadowed the mercy seat. The Ark was appropriately ornate, as it represented the most holy place where the Presence of God dwelled.
Whenever the tabernacle was dismantled to be moved from place to place, a select few priests were entrusted with the task of covering the Ark with special covers which would protect the Ark and shield it from view; the only other person to ever see the Ark was the High Priest, and then only once a year, when he would enter the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of the people.
Solomon’s Temple continued some of the motifs present in the Tabernacle. Cherubim guarded the holy place (1 Kings 6:23–28). The palm trees, flowers, and pomegranates decorating the Temple recall the garden paradise (1 Kings 6:29–32, 7:18–20). Because it was larger than the tabernacle, the Temple had not one, but ten lampstands, five on the south side and five on the north side. The Holy of Holies was a perfect cube, overlaid with gold which would symbolized the glory of God.
Solomon’s Temple was destroyed when Judah was conquered and sent into exile; this was God’s judgment on their idolatry. But God promised to restore Israel, and to pour out His Spirit on them (Ezekiel 25–29). In this context, God showed the prophet Ezekiel a vision of a temple. The structure in Ezekiel’s vision had obvious reference both back to Eden and looking forward to the New Jerusalem.
Cherubim and palm tree motifs featured in Ezekiel’s Temple (Ezekiel 40:16, 22, 26, 37, 41:18–20 ; 25–26). The temple featured square dimensions (few height dimensions are given), with the altar in the very center of the square. When the glory of the Lord fills this temple, it makes the very land glow, terrifying Ezekiel (43:1–3).
Water flowed from the temple eastward (through the gate that remained closed because God had entered through it). This unusual stream started as a trickle, but grew to be an impassible river. The water of the river was life-giving; the fertile soil on its banks supported fruit trees on either side Ezekiel 47:7), and the leaves of these trees are said to be for healing (Ezekiel 47:12). The river flows into the Dead Sea and revives the ecosystem there, allowing many fish to live there Ezekiel 47:8–10).
When Israel returned from exile, the temple they built did not live up to the glory predicted by Ezekiel, and today, Christians are said to be themselves the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). But even Ezekiel’s temple pales in comparison to the complete restoration of the Heavens and Earth predicted in Revelation.
After the complete defeat of all God’s enemies, the New Jerusalem is presented descending from Heaven—Heaven and Earth are ‘married’ as God makes His permanent dwelling place with His people. The entire city is radiant with the glory of God, and made of the most precious gold and jewels. It is presented as a perfect cube (as the Holy of Holies was), and huge enough to contain all the people of God from every age with plenty of room to spare.
The New Jerusalem has no Temple; in a sense, it is a temple. There is no need to keep sinners away from God’s presence, because there will never be sinners there. A river like from Ezekiel’s Temple flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1), and the Tree of Life, now a huge orchard, grows on either side, yielding abundant fruit with healing leaves (Revelation 22:2). The New Jerusalem will be unimaginably beautiful and radiant, but by far the greatest privilege will be the immediate access to God believers will have there.
Scripture’s testimony is clear and unanimous that the new heavens and earth will be a physical (yet also spiritual) realm.
A fully restored creation is unequivocally linked to the events in the Garden of Eden.
The Bible teaches that this present earth (indeed all of creation. Rom 8:22) is cursed because of the presence of sin and will be destroyed.
In straightforward language, he is saying that God is actually going to burn up the universe and set up a “new heavens and earth in which righteousness dwells”. And he uses this fact to tell his audience to live a life befitting citizens of the new heavens and earth.
Many judgments in the Bible are reversals of creation; for example, the Flood reversed creation to the time before the land was separated from the seas on Day 2, and Jeremiah 4:23 alludes to a future uncreation that reverses the universe back to the state described in Genesis 1:2.
The destruction is not the end of the story, because God will create a new heaven and a new earth “for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1) and believers will live in that new creation for eternity.
2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
What Does It Mean To Be Born Again?
The unsaved person cannot understand God...
"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." -1st Corinthians 2:14
The reason why you need to be "spiritually" born is because you have never been spiritually born to begin with. So when the Bible speaks of being "born again," it actually means "born for the second time." You were born physically into this world, but you were born without the Spirit of God in your soul (spiritually dead). Yes, God created you, but He gave you a freewill to decide for yourself where you will spend eternity. God never forces anyone to accept Christ as their Saviour, He simply offers a warm invitation to anyone who wants to have their sins forgiven and go to heaven. Salvation is a free gift paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, but we must accept it or it WILL be forever forfeited when we leave this world (die).
To be "spiritually" born means that God's Holy Spirit "quickens" (or makes alive) your dead spirit. When you invite the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, asking Him to forgive all your sins, then God the Father and God the Son come into your heart in the form of God the Holy Spirit (John 14:23). The "Holy Spirit" is "God with us."
The Holy Spirit of God guides me, comforts me, teaches me, rebukes me, chastises me, convicts me, encourages me, empowers me, loves me, strengthens me, and so much more. The Holy Spirit of God uses the Word of God to do these things. This is why it is critically important for every believer to live in their Bible (and make sure you have a reliable Bible, I only use the King James, not the "new" King James either!). A person cannot understand the Bible without the presence of the Author...God is the Author. When you become born again (or born for the second time), then God will come into your heart (never to leave -Hebrews 13:5) and you will understand many new things for the first time in your life...
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." -2nd Corinthians 5:17
If you're born once, then you die TWICE; If you're born twice, then you die ONCE.
If you don't invite Jesus Christ into your heart and become a born again Christian, then you will burn in hell-fire for all eternity (John 3:18, 36; Revelation 20:15; 21:8).
The GOOD NEWS (the gospel) is that it is very EASY to partake of the second birth, the spiritual birth. God came down to this earth 2,000 years ago and took upon Him the form of a man, that man was the Lord Jesus Christ (1st Timothy 3:16). Literally, the Godhead became incarnate (Colossians 2:9). Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). Jesus never sinned one time (2nd Corinthians 5:21). Jesus died, was buried and rose again after three days (1st Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus shed His blood for our many sins (Colossians 1:14).
There are a few things you must know to be saved:
1. You are a sinner (Romans 3:10,23). Romans 3
Rom 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
2. You deserve to go to hell to pay for your sins (Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:8). Romans 3 Revelation 21
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
3. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh (God's Son), died upon the cross to pay for your sins (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8). John 3 Romans 5
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
If you believe that Jesus is the Saviour (the Christ) Who paid for your sins, and you realize your sinful condition enough to see your need for a Saviour, then you are ready to be born again. All that remains for you to do is to personally ask Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and to come into your heart as your own personal Saviour.
Romans 10:9,10 Romans 10
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans
Creator Saviour my God I pray all those that read this article will accept you as Lord and Saviour and live with you in the New Jerusalem. This youtube video is a song called, Come To Jesus. It is an invitation to accept Jesus as Saviour and also a call to those who are weak and wounded sinners whom God calls to repentance. (Please pray for my son whom I know God is calling to repentance. Researcher Bill Rains)
3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.