Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 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, having the glory of God…” Revelation 21:9-11
As the Lord ends His letter to the church at Philadelphia, He encourages them to endure, to stand fast by reminding them of what lies ahead for the overcomers. One of those rewards is eternal fellowship with God in a city built by God Himself. Interestingly, this
is the place that motivated Abraham to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldees. Hebrews tells us he left his home and lived as a pilgrim “for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Abraham’s great desire was to live in fellowship with God in God’s city.
As we read the letter to Philadelphia, the Lord tell them this city, the
New Jerusalem, descends from God out of heaven. There is much to
learn about this city, which we often call heaven. (God reveals more truth about the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21-22.) There are several key points about the city that He wants thePhiladelphians to know.
First, we note the shape of the city. Revelation 22:16 says “The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long.” The New Jerusalem will be approximately 1,400 miles long, wide and high – a perfect cube. Why is this important to the overcomers? The Lord just told them they would wear the name of God like the High Priest who entered the Holy of Holies once per year. They would not just visit but actually live in the place where God dwells, the Holy of Holies (a perfect cube) called the New Jerusalem. Later in Revelation they will read John’s words of the voice from heaven. “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
Second, everything in this city reminds us of our Savior. John says in Revelation 21:2 that he saw “ the Holy City, the new Jerusalem”. The city is holy, pure and set apart just as the Lord described Himself to the church in Revelation 3:7. Even the 12 gates of the city, one huge pearl each, remind us of the sacrifice of the Lord for us. As a pearl is formed by the wounding of an oyster, so the bride of Christ was formed by the wounding our Savior.
Third, it is new. At the time John wrote Revelation, Jerusalem had been destroyed (A.D. 70). For the Philadelphians who lived through the heartbreak of the destruction of Jerusalem and their own city by earthquake, this magnificent city would remind them they are pilgrims on this earth. They are citizens of an eternal home. – a city constructed by the Savior specifically for us (John 14). A city whose builder and maker is God. “I go to prepare a place for you.” They are pilgrims here.
What can we learn? The Lord’s words to the overcomers are designed to focus then and motivate them to endure, to stand fast. They are pilgrims here but this life is not their reality. Looking forward to living where God lives motivated Moses to leave the riches of Pharoah’s palace and completely follow God. Let it do the same for us. “Eye hath not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for them who love Him.”