Key Features of New Jerusalem – Part 1

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

The previous post intoduced us to Mount Zion, which stands in contrast with Mount Sinai. In this post, we note several key features of this heavenly city, also known as New Jerusalem. 

New Jerusalem is a holy city (Rev. 21:2, 10)

Humans have built many great cities over the centuries, from ancient Babylon to modern-day Tokyo. But New Jerusalem is unique in that it is a city built without hands. The writer of Hebrews tells us Abraham saw New Jerusalem from afar. He may have lived in tents as a foreigner in the Promised Land, but “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). 

New Jerusalem is a holy city because it is the city of God. It is his home, and he invites us to live there forever with him. It is a holy place because God is holy – set apart, unique, perfect, and righteous. God’s otherness sets him apart from all creatures. He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, unchanging, and transcendent. Wherever God visits creation, that place is holy ground, as Moses and Joshua experienced (Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15). 

In our future resurrection and glorification, we’re fully conformed to the image of Christ. That is, we are perfected in body, soul, and spirit, prepared to take up everlasting residence in the holy city.

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I Am Coming Soon

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

Throughout history, the element of surprise has birthed many dramatic victories. In 1184 B.C., a massive wooden horse is left at the gates of Troy, ostensibly as an offering to the goddess Athena. The horse, however, conceals soldiers who, once wheeled into the city, open the gates for an invading Greek army. 

A detachment of 2,400 troops crossing the icy Delaware River on Christmas night of 1776 uses the cover of darkness and the drunken stupor of defending German troops (whom the British hired as mercenaries) to secure a surprise victory for General George Washington’s beleaguered Continental Army.

And in the early hours of June 5, 1967, the Israeli Air Force launches Operation Mivtza Moked with two hundred aircraft. The pilots catch their Egyptian counterparts napping. By the end of the day, five hundred Egyptian aircraft are destroyed, and their military airstrips are rendered inoperable. Jordanian and Syrian aircraft are similarly targeted. As a result, the Six-Day War radically alters the geopolitics of the Middle East.

Unlike these historic upsets, the return of Christ doesn’t hinge on stealth. Jesus is not returning in disguise. He’s not scheming with Mother Nature. Nor is he descending from heaven under the radar. Quite the contrary. Jesus openly tells us he’s coming back. He offers signs as obvious as a red sky at dawn. He urges us to be ready at all times. Scripture foretells his return as personal, physical, visible, and powerful. John declares that “every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7). 

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Mount Zion

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

Mount Zion

The writer of Hebrews contrasts Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. God descends in a thick cloud on Mount Sinai and delivers the Law to the Israelites (Exod. 19ff). In many respects, it’s a terrifying time:

For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear. (Heb. 12:18-21; cf. Exod. 19:12; Deut. 9:19). 

Mount Zion, however, stands in stark contrast to Mount Sinai. It beckons the believer and promises great blessings. While Sinai is restricted to Moses and a few others, Zion is the scene of angelic and human worshipers, basking in the glory of the triune God. While death threatens those who touch Sinai, eternal life adorns the inhabitants of Zion. And while even God’s chosen leader – Moses, who is a type of Christ – is terrified as he approaches Sinai, followers of Jesus are reminded that we should not be afraid (e.g., Matt. 10:26-31; Mark 5:36; Luke 5:10; 12:32; John 6:20; 14:27). 

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Parable of the Wedding Banquet

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

In the previous post, we looked at how an ancient Jewish wedding foreshadows the return of Christ for his bride. But not everyone enjoys the marriage supper of the Lamb, as Jesus illustrates in the parable of the wedding banquet:

Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet, but they didn’t want to come. Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

“But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.

“Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’ So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests. When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.

“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are invited, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:1-14).

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Jesus as the Firstborn

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 15: Assembly of the Firstborn: Hebrews 12:23.

The writer of Hebrews points his readers to “the assembly of the firstborn” (12:23). The word “firstborn” (Greek: prototokos) is used in a variety of ways in Scripture. Usually, “firstborn” means the first male child born into a family, but the word can be used in other ways. It may denote rank, position, or prominence. King David, for example, who is the last in his family’s birth order, is called “firstborn, greatest of the kings of the earth” (Ps. 89:27).

The same is true for the nation of Israel. The Israelites are not the first people group to populate a region of the earth. Even so, the Lord commands Moses to tell Pharaoh that “Israel is my firstborn son” (Exod. 4:22). That is, God established the Israelites as a special people for whom the Promised Land is prepared.

When it comes to Jesus, the Greek word prototokos never is used to describe his origin, as if he’s a created being; after all, he’s the uncreated creator of all (John 1:1-3). Nor is “firstborn” used to depict Jesus in purely human terms, for he has no earthly father. In every case, the New Testament writers depict Jesus as first in rank, position, or prominence. We see this every time in Scripture he’s declared to be the firstborn. 

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