Article 3, In New Jerusalem-current application scriptures (under the sub-head Where Do You Live)

By: Bob Jamison

LIVING IN HEAVEN NOW- REALLY
Where Do You Live?
by Bob Jamison
3. In New Jerusalem
With Current Application Scriptures

What a beautiful sight Revelation 21 and 22 gives us to behold, a city to ponder living in for all eternity. Twelve gates of pearls, streets of gold, walls of Jasper, foundations adorned with precious stones, all are descriptions of the city of New Jerusalem written at the very end of God’s Word. They must refer to the city we will live in upon our physical death when we leave the earth. After all, the description of New Jerusalem occurs at the end of the Bible. It flows the way we like our books to flow: the beginning in Genesis 1 when God created our ancestors, our problem as a fallen creature walking in darkness; a middle, when Jesus redeemed us; and an ending that describes our life after death in a beautiful heavenly city.

Two Bible interpretation principles present truths that disrupt this seemingly simple flow of God’s Word. First, Bible readers must keep in mind that throughout scripture they will find metaphorical writing, such as parables, figures of speech, types and anti-types, and allegories. The description of New Jerusalem contains metaphors that require careful interpretation to arrive at the truth.

Second, the Biblical concept of both “now” and “future” applied to descriptions of New Jerusalem opens new light on the walk and lives of those living in Christ today. We have long recognized that Messianic Psalms and many prophetic writings in the Old Testament apply to both Israel at that time and centuries later to the Messiah, our Lord Jesus; giving us a form of now and future.

Jesus used the concept of both now and future when he told His disciples in Mark 10:29-30, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters, or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time- houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions- and in the age to come, eternal life.” Followers of Jesus, therefore have an inheritance now in this life, and a future inheritance in the age to come.

The Bible ends with our call, “Come, Lord Jesus,” as a call for Jesus’ second coming. However, we also, with heartfelt longing, call for his coming now to cleanse and immerse us in His presence bringing revival during our prayer and song services.

The biblical concept of both now and future applied to salvation, redemption, tribulation and other doctrines applies also to living in New Jerusalem. Hebrews 13:14 says here we have no continuing city in the sense that we have to leave New Jerusalem when we allow ourselves to be led by our old flesh nature. In the New Jerusalem to come, just as in our salvation and redemption to come, our old nature will no longer be a problem.

Giving evidence to the position that New Jerusalem is for now, the following scriptures in Revelation chapter 21 and 22 also apply currently according to other New Testament scriptures. These truths point to our living in New Jerusalem both now and in the future.

1. Rev. 22:14, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life (now), and may enter through the gates into the city (now).” Simply eating of the tree of life qualifies us to enter into the city of New Jerusalem. According to Revelation 2:7, all overcomers eat of the tree of life.

2. Hebrews 12:22-23, “”But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (New Jerusalem in 2nd heaven), to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.” New Jerusalem, the city of the living God, therefore, speaks of the church, encompassing just men (our church fathers who have preceded us), in their perfect state, angels, and God the Father and our Lord Jesus. We have come there now.

Careful analysis of Hebrews 12:22-23 gives us reason to believe that New Jerusalem, the Garden of Eden, Paradise, exists in both the 2nd and 3rd heavens. So when God, in His timing and by his grace, gives continual residence to someone in New Jerusalem, that person lives in a state available to God’s call to be caught up into the 3rd heaven where he will hear inexpressible words (2 Corinthians 12:4). He may or may not know which heaven he is in.

3. Rev. 22:3- We find the throne of God and the Lamb in New Jerusalem. In Colossians 3:1-2 Paul tells us, “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God (on their throne in New Jerusalem in 2nd heaven). Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” While we walk and earn our living in this evil world that John describes as under the sway and influence of Satan (1 John 5:19), we also walk, set our minds, and seek to worship and gain true knowledge of God the Father and our Lord Jesus in New Jerusalem. When we obey with a cleansed heart the exhortation of Hebrews 4:16 to come before His throne of grace, we enter in New Jerusalem.

4. Rev. 21:6- “I (Jesus) will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” This New Jerusalem invitation we read also in John 7:37-39: Jesus said, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” We come to Jesus in New Jerusalem to drink.

5. Rev. 21:3, describing New Jerusalem, a voice from heaven said, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” In 2 Corinthians 6:16, Paul quotes God saying, “You are the temple (or tabernacle) of the living God. I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people (now).”

6. Rev. 21:5, Jesus said, “Behold, I make all things new.” In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The Holy Spirit working through saints currently makes all things new now. Although Jesus is making things new today, the future far exceeds the present.

7. Rev. 21:7, “He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son.” In 1 Corinthians 3:21, Paul tells us, “All things are yours.” In Acts 20:32, Paul tells the elders at Ephesus, “I commend you to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance.” Our inheritance is for both now and future.

8. Rev. 22:3, “And there shall be no more curse.” In Galatians 3:13, Paul writes, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (on the cross).”

In my next article, article 4, I will attempt to shed light on some more difficult to interpret passages about New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22, again showing that we live in that city both now and ultimately.

Article Source: http://www.articles.narrowisthepath.com

Bob has held various management positions in local governments and credit unions, and is a retired Captain in the Navy Reserve. He has a B.B.A. degree from S.M.U., an M.A. degree from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Theology degree from Fountaingate Bible College, where he learned principles for interpreting figurative language in scripture. Bob invites you to his website, www.whatwasjohnthinking.com where you will see biblical truths in word pictures connecting earth facts to heaven truths, get a free chapter of his book, "What Was John Thinking?" and find a link to all 19 articles in this series titled "Living in Heaven Now, Really."

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