1. The New Jerusalem - Planned / The New Testament Heaven - Planned
Exodus 26:1-37
(esp. v30) "Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain. (MOSES)
TENT- a picture
TEMPLE- a picture
New Jerusalem- the reality
New Testament Heaven- the reality
Hebrews 11:8-10
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:13-16
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country-- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Hebrews 12:18-22
18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm;
21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." {21 Deut. 9:19} 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God.
2. The New Jerusalem - Prepared / New Testament Heaven - Prepared
John 14:1-3
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (The RAPTURE)
3. The New Jerusalem - Presented / The New Testament Heaven - Presented
Revelation 21 & 22 Summary: 22:1-4
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (The Eternal State)
Revelation 21:16
16 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 {16 That is, about 1,400 miles (about 2,200 kilometers)} in length, and as wide and high as it is long.
Revelation 21:18-21
18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass.
19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,
20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. { The precise identification of some of these precious stones is uncertain.}
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Revelation 21:22-27
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.
25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.
26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Revelation 22:12-14
12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (The Reality of Heaven)
Revelation 22:15
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (The Reality of Hell)
Revelation 22:17
17 The Spirit and the bride say, "COME!" And let him who hears say, "COME!" Whoever is thirsty, let him COME; and whoever wishes, let him COME and take the free gift of the water of life.(GRACE)
