When John saw New Jerusalem, he was both in spirit and also carried away onto a great and high mountain. The great and high mountain is in contrast to the wilderness in 17:3. To see Babylon, the great prostitute, John was carried to the wilderness. To see the Bride, the New Jerusalem, he was carried to a great and high mountain. We need to be uplifted to a high mountain that we may see God’s dwelling place for the fulfillment of His eternal purpose. In order for John to see the churches, it was sufficient to be on the island of Patmos. But the New Jerusalem is vastly higher than the churches, and in order to see it, John had to be carried to a high mountain. The New Jerusalem is a mountain city, and we must be on a mountain in order to see it. We need to be in the spirit and to get to a high mountain. This is the way to see the vision of the New Jerusalem.
We also need to know what the New Jerusalem is. The New Jerusalem is the ultimate consummation of God’s building work throughout the centuries. Beginning with Adam and continuing for nearly sixty centuries, God has been doing a great deal of building. The issue of this work will be the New Jerusalem, God’s eternal habitation.
We have seen that the time from Adam until the end of the millennium is divided into four dispensations: the dispensation of the Patriarchs, from Adam to Moses; the dispensation of law, from Moses to Christ; the dispensation of grace, from Christ’s first coming until the restoration of all things at Christ’s second coming; and the dispensation of the kingdom, from Christ’s second coming to the end of the millennium. During these dispensations God has been carrying out His building work, and He will continue it. Most Christians, however, do not care for God’s building; they care only for their human religion. Praise the Lord that we have been rescued from that pitiful situation! Now we are not in a human religion; we are in the building of God. Presently this building is the churches, and eternally it will be the New Jerusalem. We are in the churches and we are on our way to the New Jerusalem. Thank the Lord that we have such a clear view of the New Jerusalem, our ultimate destiny.
In verse 2 John says, “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” The New Jerusalem is a living composition of all the saints redeemed by God throughout all generations. It is the Bride of Christ as His counterpart (John 3:29) and the holy city of God as His habitation. This is the city, the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb. 12:22), which God has prepared for us and which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob longed after (Heb. 11:10, 16). It is also the Jerusalem which is above and which is the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26).
This New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven to earth. Verses 2 and 10 both say that New Jerusalem comes “down out of heaven from God.” God’s intention is not to have an eternal habitation in heaven; He desires to dwell on earth. Although religion dreams of going to heaven, God desires to come down to earth. Even today, God’s best habitation is not heaven; it is the church on earth. Today God has two dwelling places—the heavens and the church. God dwells in heaven with His angels, and He also dwells on earth with His children. If you were the Father, would you prefer to stay with the angels, the servants, or with your children? If the servants lived in a mansion and the children lived in a poor cottage, would you prefer to live in the mansion or in the cottage? Certainly you would prefer to be with your children in the cottage. It is the same with God. How He desires to dwell in the church! Although the appearance of the church is not marvelous or splendid, the children of God are there, and God enjoys being with them. Eventually, the poor “cottage” of the church will be transformed into the New Jerusalem, which will be far more splendid than any mansion.
New Jerusalem will be an immense city, twelve thousand stadia in length, breadth, and height (v. 16). Twelve thousand stadia is approximately one thousand three hundred and sixty miles, the distance from San Diego to Seattle. The distance from the east coast of the United States to the west coast is about three thousand miles. Thus, the length of the New Jerusalem will be almost half that of the United States. What a tremendous city this will be! It will be about seven million feet high. This city, which is far more wonderful than we could ever imagine, will actually come down from heaven to earth. Of course, the earth at that time will be the new earth (vv. 1, 24, 26).