THE NEW JERUSALEM

The city of the new Jerusalem is the final grand result of the Spirit of prophecy. All the preceding developments merge into it. It will forever constitute the capital city of the new creation. Many curious ideas have been expressed as to what that city consists of.

The Quaker believes that he carries it in his heart, and the S. D. Adventist believes that it is built of real gold and pearls, and is located beyond the starry sky.

John 14: 2 is the text that is generally used as the basis of the different theories. We will refer to it here. The Lord says:

"In my Father's house are many dwellings; but if not, I would have told you; because I am going to prepare a place for you."

By the statement, "I am going to prepare a place for you," it is generally taken for granted that the house of God means a mansion where God now dwells, and that Christ left his disciples in order to go there and fix up some apartments prior to their going there the same way: namely, by death or translation. That is how they would have us understand the Word of God; by interpretations—words of man—which have no spirit of prophecy in them. But the testimony of Christ, being the very Spirit of prophecy, contains something more than the words of mortal man.

Christ's words are like the seed which is reaped in the fall of the year and sown again in the spring and which develops new life and sustains those who handle it.

Christ explains his words in the context. When the disciples answered that they did not know the way he went, or was to go, he said

"I am the way, the truth and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

As the center-power of the spiritual developments, Christ is—by the development of the sanctuary, Zion and Jerusalem—the "way" to the bosom of the great Father. The "truth" is unfolded by these developments, and the very "life" is manifested, seen, and realized, not only in the present age, but in the eternal age to come. When he has completed his wonderful unfolding of the spiritual power, he brings to the bosom of the Father a tabernacle, a living city for the Father to dwell in and glorify forever.

Jerusalem, as the shadow shows, evolves from Zion. Hence, in the prophecies, they are mingled together as if inseparable from each other. Jerusalem is spoken of as being at war with the nations the same as Zion. We will quote a few texts:

"Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations as when he fought In the day of battle." (Zech. 14: 1-3.)

Where will this battle between Jerusalem and the nations be fought?

The prophets say it will be fought in the valley of decision or in the valley of Jehoshaphat. This answer is very plain when correctly understood. We shall look ahead to the camp of the seed of Shem, where they are gathered in the desert in their tent dwellings. That camp is called Zion and Jerusalem in the prophecies. The Lord says:

"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles (nations) : Prepare war, wake up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near; let them come up. Beat your plough-shares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears (the three and a half years of drought leave no use for plough-shares and pruning hooks) ; let the weak say, I am strong… Let the heathen be wakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about… Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision." (Joel 3: 9-14.)

The valley of Jeho-shaphat signifies the place of God's judgment. The valley of decision represents the condition in which the people—both those who are in the camp of Israel and the Babylonians—are placed. They must decide which God to choose—Elohim or Bel. The whole dragon-power of the nations is brought to bear on the camp of tents. Faith and patience must now conquer—it is the last deciding battle. Then, the cleansing-process of the sanctuary is about to be completed. Just at this point another peculiar prophetic declaration is developed.

"And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which Is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west," etc. (Zech. 14: 4.)

This is an explanation of the 2nd verse of Zech. 14, quoted above, where it says that Jerusalem shall be divided into two parts. To expect this prophecy will be literally fulfilled so that the natural mount of Olives, which is located in Palestine outside of Jerusalem, will cleave into two parts, belongs to the spiritually blind. Then what does it mean? It simply means that the cleansing process of the sanctuary is closing up, and that the Bridegroom is about to reveal himself. The mount of Olives refers to the olive branches the prophet saw in connection with the sanctuary, from which the golden oil ran into the golden lamps. In the Book of Revelation these olive branches signify the two witnesses of Jesus. (Comp. Matt. 25: 8, 9.) They are conducting their last battle against the beast; they are captured, and terrible darkness covers the company which constitutes the virgins. The prophetic door is closed forever and those who are inside, are by faith separated from those who are outside of the door. All outside of the door are taken captives by the beast, and their last end is worse than their first.

Mat 25:8 And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.

Mat 25:9 The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell and buy for yourselves.

The 144,000 are sealed. The two witnesses have completed their mission. Up to that time they have been like a "nail in a sure place" (Is. 22: 23), upon which the whole camp of Israel has leaned. When they are captured, the work of the sanctuary, or the sanctified ones, is finished; the company which at that time is not sanctified is delivered to the mercy of the red dragon. Thus one-half of the city is separated from the other half, and the people who constitute this separated half then have a special mission to carry out before the resurrection restores what has been lost in the battles.

The voice of the seventh angel, or trumpet, will begin to sound after the two witnesses have passed out of sight. The opening of the seventh seal opens the way for that trumpet. Then the work of faith, on the part of man, is complete, and a cover is needed no more to shield those who are developed by faith. Hence, it is written:

"And the temple of God was opened In heaven, and there was seen In his temple the ark of his covenant, and there were lightnings and voices and thunder and an earthquake, and great hail." (Rev. 11: 19.)

That company—the 144,000—have then so deeply accepted, acknowledged, and practiced the laws of Heaven that they stand there as the very ark of the covenant, filled with the written Word of God. Hence, it is written concerning them:

"These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God ... Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

Mount Zion. The 144,000 sealed as the property of Elohim, were seen by John as standing on mount Zion. As the shadow shows that Jerusalem will develop from mount Zion, we will here view it once more.

When that camp of tents is first formed, it is prophetically pictured as a pregnant woman in a desert, persecuted by a great red dragon. The dragon does not care so much for the woman as he does for the child she is to bring forth. He wants to eat it as soon as it is born. Why? Because he, like King Herod, expects that the child will usurp the throne of his power and destroy his kingdom. That child-144,000 conquerors—finally stands on mount Zion. But where is the mountain? You can see it no longer. But you can easily understand that if it had not been for Zion—the great multitude which first started—that child—the sanctuary, or the 144,000—would never have reached its elevated position. What brought these 144,000 up so high? Mount Zion. But Zion is now in the past. No, the gates of death hide it from our view, that is all. But faith keeps this sealed company elevated above them. In other words, the great majority have been slain by the beast and its rider; but, they will soon be brought up again to fill their assigned places in and about the New Jerusalem.

The seven last plagues are first poured out over the worshippers of the beast and its image. For that purpose the temple in heaven is opened, or uncovered. Before that time, the two witnesses had power over the plagues, but now these sanctified beings receive that power. They need no covering, because they have so much of God's power that they can defend themselves by pouring the plagues over their enemies.

The woman and the child (Rev. 12) were splendidly represented by Christ in his kingly ride to Jerusalem, when the people carried branches of palm trees before him and cried, "Hosanna to the son of David!" He rode a colt and had the mother of the colt—a working animal—along side of him on the way up to Jerusalem.

The golden city. The Revelator describes the New Jerusalem as a city of gold and precious pearls. Gold has been and is the glory of Babylon. What kind of gold can we expect the city of the new creation to consist of ? It consists of the gold brought to light by the Spirit of prophecy, of course. How is that gold produced? Christ says to the last branch of the seven churches, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich." What gold is that? It is undefiled faith. When that faith—with respect to its true value—is revealed by the power and glory of God, it will shine as glittering gold. The face of Moses at Mount Sinai reflected some of that glory.

John saw the High Priest in the sanctuary of faith, and describes him as girded about the breast with a golden girdle: his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace. Did John mean to tell us that the gold and brass he saw on the Messiah were dead materials? Has the Son of God feet of real brass? None but those who are entirely devoid of faith can understand the prophetic language in such a manner.

Daniel saw a man in one of his visions, of whom he says: "Whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphas ; his body also was like the beryl (a stone of bluish green color); and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished brass." Apply that literally and .you will have a monster.

In Is. 54, an explanation of the glory of the New Jerusalem is found. God speaks to it while it is trodden under the power of Babylon and calls it a barren and childless woman, as compared with Babylon. (See the 46^th and 47^th chapters.) Then he places before them their future prospects, thus:

Isa 54:4 Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

Isa 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Isa 54:6 For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

Isa 54:8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer.

Isa 54:9 For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee.

Isa 54:10 For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.

Isa 54:11 O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

Isa 54:12 And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

We add to this Is. 60: 18-20.

"Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruc­tion within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls salvation, and thy gates praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thy everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended."

Such language cannot be applied to a dead but to a living city. Elohim speaks to the poor toilers of Babylon who create and sustain its glory and who are continually kept down under its burdensome yoke.

He commences thus:

"Isa 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.

Isa 52:2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

Isa 52:3 For thus saith the LORD, Ye have sold yourselves for naught; and ye shall be redeemed without money. " (Is. 52, compare Rev. 14: 4.)

Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

"These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfrults (of the great harvest that follows) unto God and the Lamb."

This language is too plain to need any comment. It is only necessary to understand the spiritual development of the sanctuary and its cleansing process—the very means which clothe the holy city in its golden and glittering garments.

The new Jerusalem compared with the old. Paul gives the following analogy:

"For It has been written, that Abraham had two sons; one from the bond-woman, and one from the free-woman. Now, the one from the bond-woman was naturally produced; but the other from the free-woman was through the promise. Which things are allegorical; for these represent two covenants; one indeed from Mount Sinai, breeding children for servitude (typical purposes):—that is Hagar. Now Hagar signifies Sinai (a mountain in Arabia), and it Is correspondent to the present (old) Jerusalem, for she Is In bondage with her children. But the exalted Jerusalem represents the free-woman, who is our mother. For it has been written, rejoice, O barren woman who does not bring forth," etc. (Gal. 4: 22-27.)

This testimony shows in the first place that the old Jerusalem was a type of the new; again, it settles it as a fact that the new Jerusalem comes into existence because of the promises. The first promise developed Isaac, the typical; the second developed the Messiah, the true seed; and the third develops the seed of the woman spoken of in Rev. 12 which shall entirely destroy the work and the kingdom of the serpent; the fourth brings back from the power of death all the true heirs of Abraham. Thus the city that Abraham looked for is the mother of all, because she constitutes the very fountain from which all promises have issued since the time of Abraham; she is the first to be resurrected.

The mensuration of the city. The Revelator, like the prophet Zechariah, saw someone measure the city. He says:

"And he who spoke with me had a measure, a golden reed, that he might measure the city and its gates and its walls. And the city lies quadrangular, and its length is as much even as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed to twelve thousand furlongs; and the length and the breath and the height of it are equal."

(Rev. 21: 15, 16.)

It is measured by a "reed"—a kalamos or a writer's pen—as was the temple. In fact, the mensuration of the temple and the city represents one and the same movement; but, the mensuration of the city is carried on in a more distant future. The eating of the opened prophetic book, illustrated by John (Chap. 10) , first brings the reed. Then, by the proclamation of the words of the, book, the measuring process separates first the seed of Shem from the seed of Ham (the Nimrodians) ; then, it separates the seed of the woman from the woman herself, and brings that seed under the seal of God.

The mensuration of the city follows.

In the 3^rd chap. of Rev., the Lord in his testimony to the Philadelphian branch—which branch has set before it the prophetic door that finally separates the wise virgins from the foolish—refers to the mensuration process of the temple and the new Jerusalem, thus:

"The conqueror, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God (this proves that the temple is under the process of restoration), and he shall never go out any more; and I will write on him the name of my God (like the Babylonians mark their subjects with Bel's signature) and the name of the city of my God (instead of Babylon) the new Jerusalem—which cometh down out of heaven from my God (Babylon, to the contrary, comes up from Shinar); and my new name (the King of kings and the Lord of lords)." The fiery trials, which meet the temple of God, will humbly bring them underneath the measuring reed, where they, as Paul says, "Go from glory to glory." They gain victory upon victory until they are without fault before the throne of God—just the very opposite to the requirements of the throne of Babylon. There the selfish, the brutish, the most blood-thirsty and iniquitous beings generally fill the highest positions and are honored as pillars in the consolidations. Hence, their end is darkness and death; but the end of the others is light, life and glory.

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

Rev 3:12 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.

Rev 3:13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

Rev 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Rev 3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Rev 3:22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

When the mensuration of the city is complete, it measures 144,000 furlongs, or spaces. Each individual fills a space in the measure. Their experience in the development of faith fills that space. The work of faith makes the space.

The wall of the city.

"And it had a wall great and high, it had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels (messengers), and names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel." Rev 21:12

In Zion, the suburb of Jerusalem, the gates develop by the sealing process of the 144,000.

• Zion constitutes a wall about Jerusalem during the gathering-time of the tribes.

• As the sealing work advances, each and all of the different tribes develop or form a passage through that wall, into the living and immortal city.

• This is done by passing over the gates of death.

• All the tribes are represented by a special leader who is actuated by the power of faith and who exemplifies it by his acts; hence, he becomes a messenger connected with the gate or the passage to immortality.

In the typical system, the twelve sons of Jacob constituted the gates or the openings for the tribes to go through on their way to the old Jerusalem. That city had a material wall about it—a shadow cast from the living Zion.

The wall of the new Jerusalem will be an everlasting construction and will remain with the city eternally. Hence, the apostles, in connection with the prophets, laid its foundation.

The wall is subject to death, but is restored again by the first resurrection: i. e., before the translation of the sealed 144,000.

In other words, those who are slain outside of the living temple as martyrs will have part in the first resurrection (Rev. 20: 4, 5) .

As that act takes place before the company that passes over alive into the new kingdom is translated

(1 Thess. 4: 16, 17), the immortal wall will surround the city before they all meet the Lord in the air. As they meet in the air from all quarters of the globe, that grand city will be put together for its glorious position by the Spirit of God—the Builder thereof. Then it will come down from heaven like a Bride, adorned for her husband.

"And it was given her that she should be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen represents the righteous acts of the saints." (Rev. 19: 8.)

Her ornaments represent the righteous acts of the saints. The acts of faith done in the mortal state appear in the form of ornaments—as polished gold and pearls in an immortal state. Thus, the work of faith will remain eternally, and by its glorious reflection, it will memorize the deeds done in the flesh.

The "wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." (Dan. 12: 3.)