Behold, I Am With You Always, Part IV

The New Jerusalem

Hello, and welcome to the Biblical Imagination, where we read the Bible with fresh eyes and shed new light on old truths. With this post, we conclude our series on the covenant presence of God.

Our journey began by distinguishing between God's omnipresence and His covenantal presence, and we've followed the latter through the biblical story, from Eden to the Patriarchs to Israel to Jesus, and up to the church. In this post, we explore God’s eschatological temple, also known as the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem, described in Revelation chapters 21-22. ¹

God’s presence among his people, together with the Temple—God’s home, or palace, is a central biblical theme, and the New Jerusalem represents the summit of this relationship, vividly depicted as a marriage. The coming of the New Jerusalem amounts to the climactic union of bride and groom, and them having moved into their eternal home.

The book of Revelation is a challenge for most of us. It is chock-full of citations, allusions, and echoes from the First Testament, not to mention often unfamiliar language, images, and symbols. We will touch upon these only to the degree necessary to keep our focus on the goal of this series: to highlight God’s relationship with and special presence among His covenant people.

The New Jerusalem: The Ultimate Temple

In the following discussion, we will keep the focus on three major points, all having to do with the New Jerusalem:

1. The Location of the New Jerusalem.

2. The New Jerusalem is a Temple

3. The City-Bride: God At Home With His People

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

The Location Of The New Jerusalem

The debate over whether Revelation 21-22 describes a millennial kingdom or the eternal state has been ongoing for a long time. We will not enter into those debates. The view expressed below is the emerging consensus of many contemporary theologians, pastors, and authors who view these chapters as depicting a restored creation at the culmination of the biblical story. This means, of course, that, on this topic, I do not stand in the tradition that I, and many of you, have been educated in.²

The New Jerusalem is not up there, somewhere, in a Platonic heaven,³ but rather descends from heaven to earth, signifying the union of heaven and earth. The new heaven, new earth, and New Jerusalem actually are more than the conclusion of the story. This closing of the story lays the foundation for a new beginning where God‘s original intentions, as outlined in Genesis, are now reinstated, laying the groundwork for the sequel.⁴

As we trace the continuity of God’s presence among his people from Eden through to the Temple and ultimately to the church, the story climaxes in the eschatological vision presented in Revelation.

In chapter 19, the voice of a great multitude announces ‘the marriage of the Lamb and his Bride,’ signifying a profound moment in the unfolding story of redemption, where the faithful are prepared for their ultimate union with God.

Then, in chapter 20, the resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous occurs as they are raised from the dead. This event is an ecstatic event for the faithful, but a horror for God’s enemies.

Those whose names are not written in the book of life find their fate with Satan and the wicked; both are cast into the lake of fire (20:13-15). But those whose names are written in the book of life do not share this fate. Instead, they enter the New Jerusalem described in Revelation 21.

Revelation 21 announces the bride’s entrance. John sees both a new heaven and a new earth, and then he observes the New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride, coming down out of heaven.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

Revelation 21:1-3 ESV

The opening paragraph of chapter 21 (vv 1-8) summarizes all that is taking place. It begins by reaffirming Old Testament promises of a new heaven and a new earth,⁵ introduces the bride city, and states that God’s dwelling is with humanity, along with the realities of the new creation, i.e., “the former things have passed away.”

21:1 John sees a new heaven and a new earth.

21:2 The climax of this newness is the New Jerusalem, the bride-city of God.

21:3 A loud voice from the throne declares that “the dwelling place of God is with man.”

21:4 The same voice continues to announce that will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. . . “the former things have passed away.”

21:5 The one sitting on the throne affirms John’s vision of the new creation, “Behold, I am making all things new!”⁶

21:7 The one sitting on the throne affirms his earlier promises: ‘The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” ⁷

Then, starting from verse 9, the apostle provides a detailed description of the bride-city. It is at this point that we learn John’s location. An angel has taken him to a “high mountain.”

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.

Revelation 21:10

Clearly, the movement of the passage is downward, from heaven to the earth. God, the voice declares, “will dwell with man,” not that man will dwell with God. As such “they will be his people and He will be with them.” Other earthly realities, such as nations and kings, remain present. These will walk in the light radiating from the holy city (21:23-24).

The vision includes earthly realities of rivers and water - “The River of the Water of Life,” along whose banks stand trees whose leaves are used for healing the nations (22:1-2). Does this remind us of anything? Is it not Eden?⁸

Finally, we read, “There is no longer... anything accursed” (22:1-3), reminding us that the earth was once under a curse following the rebellion in Eden (Genesis 3:17). The curse upon the earth has been removed. Again, the former things have passed away. The Garden in Eden has been transformed into a garden city—the city of God. Its streets populated, as it were, with “peoples” “from every tribe and language, and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9; 7:9 ; 13:7; 14:6; 17:15). ⁹

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The New Jerusalem is a Temple.

Remember that the Holy of Holies in both the Tabernacle and the Temple were in the shape of a cube. Its length, width, height, and depth are all the same. (See part II of this series). So too is John’s description of the New Jerusalem. The following is adapted from a previous Post: The Story of New Creation.

The Bride City in Revelation Corresponds To The OT Temple

The Temple in Jerusalem And The New Jerusalem

• The Holy of Holies at the heart of the Temple was the shape of a cube. Its length, width, and height were the same (1 Kings 6:20 )

  • In Revelation, the New Jerusalem is a cube, “its length and width and height are equal.” (21:16).

• The Temple was designed in heaven (i.e., God gave Moses the blueprint), but it was built on the earth (Ex 25:9; 31:1-11; cf Heb. 8:5)

  • In Revelation, the New Jerusalem is “coming down out of heaven to the earth.” (21:2). ¹⁰

• The Holy of Holies of the Temple was overlaid, inside and outside, with pure gold, the mercy seat within being a solid slab of gold (Ex 26:26-36)

  • In Revelation, the city is made of pure gold, including its one street (21:18, 21).

• The Holy of Holies was God’s throne room, within the Temple (Ex 25:8 )

  • In Revelation, the New Jerusalem is the dwelling place of God and people - the Household of God. (vs 21:3).

• The Temple was filled with God’s glory - so much so, at times the glory was so overwhelming the priests were forced to exit (Ex 29:43; 40:34-38; 1 Kings 8:11).

  • Here in Revelation, the city is filled with God’s glory such that there is no need for a sun or moon to shine, for “the glory of the Lord God gives it light.” (vs 23). The reason? His glorious presence is there (vs 3)!

• In summary, the earthly temple was the place of God’s presence.

  • In Revelation, the massive cube-city, the New Jerusalem, has come to earth, and God dwells with His people there.

These correspondences are not coincidental. John is showing us that the New Jerusalem is the New Temple, and the New Temple now resides on earth.¹¹ Similarly, both Peter and Paul describe the church, or more accurately, Christians, as “living stones being built together as a dwelling place for God by the Spirit, i.e., a Temple (Ephesians 2:21-22; 1 Peter 2:5).

Finally:

“As John goes on to say, there is no separate temple in the new Jerusalem, because “its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22). In other words, in the new Jerusalem, there is no longer any division or separation between God and his people. All this has been overcome, so that the city is a “living temple” of God.” ¹²

It is to this consummation we now turn.

The City Bride: God At Home With His People

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

Revelation 21:2

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

The New Jerusalem: The Bride of Christ

The language and imagery of a marriage are used to describe the city. In chapter 19, the marriage of the Lamb and his bride is announced by a multitude. They proclaim that she has “made herself ready” and that it was granted to her to clothe herself “fine linen, bright and pure,” which represents “the righteous deeds of the saints.” (19:8). In 21:2, the bride is introduced, and in 21:9, she makes her grand entrance.

Grant Pitre is eloquent here:

“Everyone knows that the appearance of the bride is the climactic moment of the wedding ceremony. At that point in the service, everyone turns around or cranes their neck to catch a glimpse of her, even if they know her very well. So too when the angel shows the bride of Jesus to John, we look to see how she is adorned, and we immediately recognize that she is no ordinary bride.”¹³

The New Jerusalem, then, is not a literal city but a symbol representing God's deep and intimate relationship with His people—rooted in the theme of marriage in the Old Testament. There, Israel is portrayed as God’s wife.

“When I . . . saw that you were old enough for love. . . I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.” (Ezekiel 16:8 NIV)

“The LORD your maker is your husband” (Isaiah 54:5).

Ultimately, her idolatry led to divorce (Jeremiah 3:8, Hosea 1:9).

Additionally, the language of bride and bridegroom is used in prophecies of the coming Messiah. When, for example, John the Baptist speaks of “the voice of the bridegroom,” he is echoing language from Jeremiah 33:10-17.

In the New Testament, references to Jesus as the bridegroom and the church as his bride are common. Some are straightforward, such as when Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom in Mark 2:19-20 and parallels. Other references are more subtle, yet highly suggestive, such as when Jesus enters into a conversation with the woman at the well in John 4. (You may be surprised at how many biblical marriages begin when a man and woman meet at a well—Isaac, Jacob, Moses, etc.). ¹⁴

Both Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are linked to marriage. As a Jewish bride washed before her wedding, Christ’s bride, the church, is made pure through Baptism into His death. One of the several meanings associated with the Eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, is that of a wedding feast in which we participate, looking forward to the final banquet in Revelation. There will be a time when all of Christ's faithful are gathered for this joyful celebration.

The New Jerusalem Is The Home Of God’s Family

You will notice, too, that the bride is not only dressed for her wedding day, but she is also said to be prepared (21:2). This is significant. Remember that Jesus tells his disciples, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). John’s use of the same word is no coincidence. Jesus’ reference to “my Father’s house” (KJV = mansions) is clearly the Temple.

In John’s gospel, Jesus is leaving (by way of his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension) to prepare a place in his Father’s house for his disciples. In Revelation, the temple has been prepared and is ready for Jesus’ return and the wedding banquet with his bride.

In short, Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is his bride, and the New Jerusalem is the couple’s new home. Moreover, as we have seen, this new home, this new temple, is a living entity.¹⁵ This climactic vision is that of heaven and earth coming together at last - bringing into reality the ancient belief that the Temple was the navel of the earth, i.e., the place where heaven and earth meet.

Thus, in these climactic chapters, John is using the image of marriage to depict the permanent and intimate relationship between God and His people. John has highlighted the covenant relationship between God and humans, bringing the OT and NT promises of God dwelling among humans to a fulfillment.¹⁶

Several statements that highlight the intimacy between God and His people in the New Jerusalem resonate with other passages in both the Old and New Testaments that affirm an eternal and intimate relationship with YHWH and the Lamb. Here are but a few of them placed, side-by-side

• And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3)

  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6).

  For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39)

• The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:7)

  For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God! (1 Jhn 3:1 KJV)

• They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:4)

  Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).

  Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:1-2)

While it is tempting to survey John’s full description of the bride-city, I fear going overboard with too much information. For the same reason, I’ve held back from discussing other relevant topics, including the defeat of Satan and evil, the Kingdom of God, the earth as God’s footstool within His cosmic temple, and humanity as God’s Idol. Enough has been said; the bride-city represents the eschatological vision of God’s eternal dwelling with His people.

Conclusion

I chose the title of our series from Jesus’ command to go and make disciples of all nations, adding “Behold, I will be with you always, to the end of the age” (Mat 28:20). We have seen that this promise echoes God's promises to the patriarchs and has continued throughout the biblical story. Revelation is the eschatological climax of this promise in the New Jerusalem. All barriers between God and humanity are removed. The human institution of marriage is the closest analogy we have for this intimate and eternal relationship.

But our restored relationship with God is not an end in itself. God’s covenants invite us, not simply to be saved from sin, but to restore fellowship with Him, so that we may partner with Him in carrying out His purposes for the world. Purposes that include filling the earth and ruling it with people who faithfully reflect His likeness. This likeness is most transparently seen in the person of Jesus. This is why we are “predestined to be conformed into the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).

Because our very nature is such that, for good or ill, we become like what we worship, our worship and fellowship with God enables this purpose to be accomplished.¹⁷ Throughout the biblical story, God is forming a people for Himself from “every tribe, people, language, and country” to fill the world with His glory.

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord

as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:9

In closing I offer an extended quote from Dallas Willard in his thought-provoking book, The Divine Conspiracy:

“We will not sit around looking at one another or at God for eternity but will join the eternal Logos, “reign with him,” in the endlessly ongoing creative work of God. It is for this that we were each individually intended, as both kings and priests (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 5:10).

Thus, our faithfulness over a “few things” in the present phase of our life develops the kind of character that can be entrusted with “many things.” We are, accordingly, permitted to “enter into the joy of our Lord” (Matthew 25:21). That “joy” is, of course, the creation and care of what is good, in all its dimensions. A place in God’s creative order has been reserved for each one of us from before the beginnings of cosmic existence. His plan is for us to develop, as apprentices to Jesus, to the point where we can take our place in the ongoing creativity of the universe.”

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. 378

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Resources: If you would like to learn more about topics covered in this series, here are a few resources. These are brief works and written for lay people.

• From Eden To The New Jerusalem by T. Desmond Alexander

• God Dwells Among Us by Greg Beale and Mitchel Kim

• Jesus The Bridegroom by Grant Pitre

1. Eschatology (pronounced: Eska-tology) is the doctrine of last or final things, focusing usually on what is to happen when God’s purposes for creation are fully realized at the end of human history. (Stone & Duke, How to Think Theologically, 2nd Ed., p.135.

2. Few of us were told that, historically, there is more than one view of the end times, nor that the one we were taught had a name, “Dispensationalism,” nor that it arose as recently as the 19th century and thrived only in America. Our pastors and teachers told us only that it was “the truth.” The definitive history of the Dispensational theology movement can be found in The Rise And Fall of Dispensationalism. How the Evangelical Battle over the End Times Shaped a Nation, by Daniel G. Hummel, 2025

The view expressed in this post is compelling, for me, because it fits nicely into the overall storyline of the Bible.

3. "Platonic Heaven": Plato’s philosophy brought the idea of God into philosophy for the first time, and he believed that God was a living soul, and that he was good. Plato’s influence (esp. Timaeus 41d–e) led initially to scattered belief (throughout the ancient world) in the possibility of becoming a star (or like a star) in the astral realm after death. Later, in the Christian era, it led to the idea of dwelling with God in heaven (located above and beyond the earth).

Adapted from: Who’s Who In Christianity, p. 569 and Middleton, New Heaven and New Earth, p. 31

4. The train went off the rails early on in Genesis, but by the close of the story, the train is back on the tracks. It can now travel. We know, for example, that Christians are going to participate in God’s rule when the new age reaches its consummation. (Exodus 19:6; Matthew 19:28; Revelation 5:10).

5. Isaiah. 65:17; 66:22; Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:21; 2 Peter. 3:13.

6. The present tense “am making all things new” affirms that even now God is at work renewing all things. The eschatological future is “Already, but Not Yet.” A phrase that helps explain the movement of the biblical story towards its future consummation. Also, as we have seen, God’s temple is a living, growing thing. He is renewing creation even as the temple continues to grow. “If you are in Christ, you are a New Creation!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

7. Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26, 3:5, 12, 21, 17:14

8. Some might find it confusing when they read there's no longer any sea (21:1), thinking it means there's no more water at all. But as you can see, water is abundant (21:6, 22:1-3). Nevertheless, we should be careful about interpreting this either too literally or too metaphorically. The image of water is a very powerful one, suggesting its life-giving properties. The image wonderfully combines both the literal and symbolic qualities of this life-giving element. Spiritually and physically, water is life. Nothing lives apart from it.

9. In Greek, the word “people” is in the plural; thus, it should be translated “peoples.”

10. It is worth noting here that this structural parallelism between the Tabernacle/Temple and the bride city further affirms the location of the city as being located upon the earth. For as the Tabernacle and Temple were designed in heaven, and constructed on earth, so is the New Jerusalem coming from heaven down to the earth.

11. Some commentators speculate that the massive size of this cube-city, almost 1500 miles in each direction, would have equaled the area of the known world of the time. Also, while this is not made explicit, the fact that the city is so bright there is no need for the sun or moon (it doesn’t say sun and moon are no longer there), and “by its light, the nations walk” suggests the entire earth is in view. (21:23-24). Yet, once again, deciding what is literal and what is metaphorical is no small challenge.

12. Pitre, Brant James, Jesus the Bridegroom: (pp. 127-128). Kindle Edition.

13. Ibid. p. 123

14. There is so much going on in this passage that it would take another post alone to summarize it. I share here but one aspect as related by Victor Wilson:

“It would be virtually impossible for a traditional Jew in Jesus’ day to imagine a person of lower human standing. This is a woman five times married and set aside, and the sixth man with whom she now lives will not even countenance her as his wife. . . He (Jesus) is therefore to be the “seventh,” the ultimate redeeming relationship for her. He is the salvation of one who has no hope in life, no identity, and no place. He is the bridegroom and she the bride of Christ, the one here representing the new church, the fellowship of Christ. This woman is therefore the representative of the Gentiles, that mass of humanity of whom the God of Israel, until now, had been effectively excluded. Victor Wilson, Divine Symmetries. p. 241

15. See Part III, under the heading of “The Apostle Paul’s Description of the Temple.”

16. Külli Tõniste, The Ending of the Canon: A Canonical and Intertextual Reading of Revelation 21–22, p. 526:194.

17. Psalm 115:8, 135:18; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10; Romans 12:2