Living in the Golden City: New Jerusalem
The vast multitudes of saved people will live in the nations of the New Heaven and New Earth.
Every one of these saints will live in splendor and will have perfect happiness. The River of Life will flow out of the Golden City, New Jerusalem, and the Tree of Life will line its shores throughout God’s redeemed universe. There will be no sin, no pain, no death, and no sorrow. It will be a breathtaking world.
But at the heart of this New Heaven and New Earth will be the Golden City of “New Jerusalem.” This city will be a magnificent place and will actually be the City of God’s Eternal Tabernacle. The Throne of the Father and of His Son Jesus Christ will be the center of this city. Their brilliant glory will lighten the city, and from the city, the entire New Heaven and New Earth.
The Bride of Christ will live in this city with the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. The highest order of reward which a saint of God can receive is the Brideship of Christ and only a small portion of the Lord’s church will obtain this honor. We are saved by grace and that grace earned for us a right to eternal life. But rewards are not given on the merit of grace but by our devotion and surrender to a life of abandonment to Christ. Every expression of our rewards must be earned by every soul. We must establish this in our Bibles.
Apostle Paul taught us that, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (II Corinthians 5:10) He wrote to the Hebrews, “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not shothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:10-12)
We must understand that Jesus made the principles of rewards according to our labor a settled fact. In the last great statement that he made by the Holy Ghost, He said, “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” (Revelation 22:12-14) There is a false idea almost universally in the church world that “grace earns us the right to be His Bride,” but there is not one Biblical statement to suggest the same. Every reward that awaits us is according to our labor.
This wonderful fact of responsibilities and rewards balanced together is at the heart of our Holy Bible. David declared these great principles in his wisdom. He taught, “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.” (Psalm 92:13-14) One of David’s greatest prophesies is found in Psalm 37: “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good: so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shall be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.” (Psalm 37:1-6)
The beloved Psalm 23 is David’s testimony that ends in his expectation of living in the Golden City. He wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” (Psalm 23:1-6) Notice He ends by declaring “…I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” New Jerusalem is the single “House of the Lord” forever.
Abraham, God’s “Father of Faith,” spent his life traveling the road of faith. In many unbelievable situations he always found the right road of full obedience. Even when his beloved son was declared an offering to God, Abraham did not hesitate. The son’s life was saved only in the last seconds. He lived his life waiting and watching for this eternal city. Abraham had a marvelous vision of this heavenly city and earned the assurance that he would be a resident on one of those golden streets. “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” (Hebrews 11:9-10)
We must not suggest that the saved in the New Heaven and New Earth are second rate saints because there is no such idea. The eternal saints of God regardless of their rewards are a blessed and grand family. There will be no human expression of superiority. Heaven will have no finger pointing and bragging on one’s rewards and positions in His magnificent city or in the New Earth.
One of the Bible’s greatest promises to the Bride of Christ is found in the Lord’s letter to the Philadelphia church. “Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” (Revelation 3:10-13)
It is insane to ignore such words as these. Notice the warning, “hold that fast which thou hast that no man take thy crown.” If that isn’t possible the Lord by His Spirit would not have said it. He promises to make these “Bride Saints” a pillar in His temple. He also promises to write the name “New Jerusalem” upon these blessed souls and to reward them with His new name.
The apostle Paul is a perfect picture of a grand saint pressing toward the goal of a full reward. He possessed no self-righteousness in his attitude. He had no sense of self importance and literally appeared to tremble in his passion for Jesus Christ. Listen to his humble words: “And he found in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” (Philippians 3:9-10)
You speak to the average person today about being in the “Bride of Christ” and they will strongly declare their position. Yet this prophet of God says, “If by any means, I might attain…” A good sign someone is not ready is when they protest at the slightest warning.
The modern ministers are flooding the air waves preaching a form of grace that far exceeds the Holy Scripture. You hear terms like “how broad is the grace of God” and how “the grace of God covers our failures.” These very terms are unbiblical and dangerous. Let’s allow the Apostle Paul to describe grace Biblically. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:1-6) If you describe grace outside this perimeter, you are guilty of a false gospel.
The Masterpiece of prophesy is the Book of Revelation. As John declares the great city of “New Jerusalem,” he is careful to show the distinction between the Bride of Christ living in this grand city and the greater multitudes living in the cities of the New Heaven and New Earth. Let’s deal with the saved that will enjoy the city but do not live in the city. Here are the words that the Father gave His Son and His Son gave to John the Revelator. “And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:24-26)
These great words of explanation cannot be altered without great judgment on the careless soul. The word “nations” is a term for multitudes of souls. When you consider this vast New Heaven and New Earth and the nations populating these cities, we can see the great numbers of saved people. The glory of New Jerusalem is the glory of all the cities. The golden city will be loved by all and the great joy of these saints will be to bring their glory to this Magnificent City.
There are twelve gates carved from great pearls and these gates are never closed. Great cherubim and seraphim will grace the gates with their presence and the entire New World will flood in and out of this city. The joy of the earth will be reflected in the love for the great worship, music, and celebrations which will fill the city of “New Jerusalem.” John calls this city a tabernacle or a place of God’s glory. The Golden City will be the joy of the whole universe.
While this city is the delight of God’s redeemed world, it is the home of the Bride of Christ. How did our world come to view it in such a mistaken way? The Bride of Christ will be the Father and the Son’s grandest delight and joy. Listen as John describes the connection between the golden city and the Bride. “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God…And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 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: 2-3; 9-10)
The Bride of Christ will inherit the city not just to possess it but to reign with Jesus Christ and to make this city the joy of the whole New World. Remember what David said, “Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” (Psalm 92:13)
The Golden City will be the keepsake of the Bride of Jesus Christ, and we will share in making it the delight of the multitudes of saints all over the New World. It will be full of singing, music, praise, and worship. Just to walk down its street will be heaven. It will be the scented city of God’s new universe.
The Psalmist David had a prophetic vision of the Bridegroom and the Bride in this future hour. “My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever…And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. The king’s daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needwork: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king’s palace.” (Psalm 45:1-2; 12-15)
The glory of His Bride dwelling in this future Golden Palace is transcending and breathtaking. New Jerusalem will be the Awesome capitol of our Father’s worldwide Garden of Eden and its incredible value is beyond description. But the greater glory will be the King of Kings, the Bridegroom. Eternity will be filled with the New Heaven and New Earth and the “New Jerusalem” that lightens God’s magnificent universe. The redeemed world will enjoy “all things new” with the Golden City as the capitol and crown of all God’s eternal glory.
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SuperCounters
jaimie
Dear Pastor
This is true the Kingdom of Heaven approaches, it is our great expection. Peter came to mind as i read this; he reminds us not to look for the coming destruction, but the coming Kingdom of our Lord Jesus. ll Peter 3:12& 13
God Bless
jaimie
Eileen Groskreutz
I envy your piece of work, thanks for all the good articles.