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Study #18 -- Inside New Jerusalem
The goal of Study #18 is to paint a word picture of the interior landscape of New Jerusalem!		You have come to... the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem Heb 12.22a
Through a Glass Darkly As we begin, however, you must recognize the following fact. Namely... Mere words cannot even begin to convey the awesome splendor your eyes will behold when, one day, you actually arrive at your future home in Heaven.		But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.'' 1 Cor 2.9
Home At Last! Some glad morning -- on the day when your appointed time on earth is ended -- you will fly away to Heaven. Glory! And then you will have your first glimpse of your eternal home, New Jerusalem! In your mind's eye, picture yourself there even now...
The Mountain of God Your heart overflows with joy and wonder as your eyes drink in the vast panorama of New Jerusalem's unimaginable beauty... And you behold, off in the distance, the lofty grandeur of the heavenly Mount Zion		You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God  Heb 12.22a
And there! Atop Mount Zion stands the shining throne of the Living God		...the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it (New Jerusalem), and His servants shall serve Him. Rev 22.3b
And the glory from Mount Zion bathes you, and all the city, in God's own pure light, so that there is no need for sun or moon.		And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light. Rev 21.23
The River of God Your ears are caressed by the deep, rhythmic thrum of rushing waters. Dazzled by the beauty and wonder of it all, you behold the foam-flecked, azure waters of the mighty River of Life, cascading down Mount Zion, ever flowing forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb.		And he (an angel) showed me (the apostle John) a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Rev 22.1 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Ps 46.4
The Orchard of God All along the river's verdant banks you see lofty, fruit-bearing trees... Trees of Life -- a vast Orchard of Life -- lift their leafy arms, all along the unending flow of Life's River. Everything around you teems and throbs with Life. Everlasting Life! Joyous, Eternal Life!		...on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Rev 22.2
And your heart overflows with praise and worship of the Creator and sustainer of ALL life -- the Living God! Halleluyah!		In Him (God) we live and move and have our being Acts 17.28a (Jesus said to the Father...) And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17.3
No Houses in Heaven? In Bible Bell's OPINION, neither you nor the other citizens of New Jerusalem will live in houses or buildings. As to this OPINION, consider the following...
In John 14.2, Jesus told us that He was going to prepare a place for us in Heaven. As shown in the panel alongside, John 14.2 refers to our heavenly domicile by two Greek words: (1) topos (2) mone		(Jesus told us...) In My Father's house are many mansions (mone); if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place (topos) for you. John 14.2
Depending on context, topos can mean any of the following... Region Locality Room A place occupied by a person or thing A couch at a table		TOPOS is used of "a region" or "locality," frequently in the Gospels and Acts, in Luke 2:7 and 14:22, "room"; of a place which a person or thing occupies, a couch at table, e. g., Luke 14:9,10, RV, "place" (KJV, "room") (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) (Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Mone means "a staying place" or "abode." Vine's Expository Dictionary says: "There is nothing in the word to indicate separate compartments in heaven."		MONE - Primarily "a staying abiding" (akin to meno, "to abide"), denotes an "abode," translated "mansions" in John 14:2; "abode" in v. 23. There is nothing in the word to indicate separate compartments in heaven; neither does it suggest temporary resting places on the road. (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words) (Copyright (C) 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Accordingly, John 14.2 can be interpreted to mean that Jesus promised to prepare a region (topos) in Heaven to be an abode (mone) for God's people... The "region" is that area within the vastness of God's Heaven whereat is located Paradise -- the New Jerusalem. The "abode" is New Jerusalem itself -- the Garden of God -- NOT apartment buildings or a tract of houses.
As It Was in the Beginning, So Shall It Ever Be In the beginning, God gave His people a Garden to live in. Not a house, but a Garden. In Bible Bell's OPINION, your future home in Heaven will be like that of your forebears, Adam and Eve. Not a house, but a Garden.		The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Gen 2.8
No houses in New Jerusalem!! Ah, but where will you sleep? Where will you find shelter and privacy?
The simple answer is that your glorified resurrection body will not require sleep nor shelter nor privacy, for the glorious reason that... Your body will be like that of Jesus Your body will be incorruptible and immortal -- not subject to aging, tiredness, or death		(The Lord Jesus Christ...) will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself. Philipp 3.21 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Cor 15.53 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He (Jesus) is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 1 John 3.2
At Last -- A House to REALLY Live In! God has promised to give you an immortal, incorruptible body. That lovely, perfect, wonderful body is the only "house" that your redeemed and joyous spirit -- the REAL you -- will ever need. Halleluyah!		For we know that if our earthly house (our current bodies), this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God (our resurrected, glorified bodies), a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Cor 5.1
A List of What's Missing in Heaven Moreover... There will be no more sin And no more curse Hence there shall be no storms. No pollution. No violence. No shame. No fear. No jealousy. No hatred. Only love and respect, one for the other, among all God's people. In God's perfect Paradise, who will need or even desire to be sequestered behind the four walls of a house? Nobody!		But there shall by no means enter it (New Jerusalem) anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Rev 21.27 And there shall be no more curse Rev 22.3a
The Paradise of God -- A Summary New Jerusalem is "The Garden of Eden REGAINED"... A vast orchard of lofty trees of life A verdant garden wherein flow the living waters of God's river A lovely, awe inspiring vista of beauty, with Mount Zion rising high in the distance A place wherein reside the people of God. YOUR home town! The Capital City of the Universe, wherein is located the throne of God and of the Lamb A place of joyous and eternal fellowship for all God's people, one with the other, and (best of all) WITH GOD!
In the Beginning... In the beginning, God created the earth with certain purposes in mind. Per the Bible, God's original purposes include but are not limited to the following...
That children would forever continue to be born		Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it...'' Gen 1.28a
That the earth would be filled by perpetual generations of human life		Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it...'' Gen 1.28a For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it (the earth) to be inhabited: "I am the Lord, and there is no other. Isa 45.18
That animal life would forever be present on the earth, under mankind's dominion		Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "...have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'' Gen 1.28b
That there would be no death		Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned Rom 5.12
That all mankind would have open and personal fellowship with God ON planet earth		And they (Adam and Eve) heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day Gen 3.8a
The Groans of Planet Earth As you can see, not all of God's original purposes would be met simply by having a population of resurrected people who reside in a city located in Heaven. Why? Because Planet Earth still groans with sin, decay, and death.		For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Rom 8.22
But the sin and rebellion of the human race did NOT do away with God's original purposes for this tired old world. So stay tuned for the final Study in this series -- "The Redemption of Planet Earth." We'll write/publish it later *some future day*, if God so wills.		Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom 8.21
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