| “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10). |
| “The Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother” (Galatians 4:26 JND). |
| Yesterday we saw some of the history of the city of Jerusalem, and how important that city is to the people of Israel. We saw too that it will be the capital of Israel, and indeed the capital of the whole world, during the millennium. |
| Here in our verses today we see the heavenly Jerusalem, a picture of what we will share together in heaven as the church of God. God compares us to the city of Jerusalem, for just as Jerusalem in the land of Israel will be God’s center on earth in a coming day, so we will be God’s center in heaven. The holy city pictures to us the church, but it is looked at as a city. If you read Revelation, chapter 21:9-27, you will read a description of that city. It is probably not meant to be taken literally, as it is a picture, but if we look at the dimensions of it, how big it is! Twelve thousand furlongs long, twelve thousand furlongs wide, and twelve thousand furlongs high. Since there are eight furlongs in a mile, that means that this city is fifteen hundred miles long, fifteen hundred miles wide, and fifteen hundred miles high! You and I have never seen a city like that. Even if it were all on one level, it would cover more than two-thirds of the land area of continental U.S.A. But this city is also fifteen hundred miles high! We cannot imagine anything like that. |
| It is also very beautiful, as we read of its foundations being decorated with all kinds of precious stones, and its gates being made of pearl. There is no night there, nor do they need light from the sun, for we read that “the Lamb is the light thereof” (Revelation 21:23). |
| Again, all this is probably just a picture of what we will enjoy in a coming day, and there are spiritual meanings to all these things that we will not take time to go into here. But as I have already said, God is going to have a Jerusalem on earth, but also you and I, as His church, will be the “new Jerusalem” in heaven. |
