The New Jerusalem - God's Covenant Blessing

What do you think the significance is of Heaven being referred to as the New Jerusalem? I have not studied about Heaven. I am not talking about the essence of Heaven, I am talking about God's act of giving Heaven to us. Here are my thoughts around this question. If you think I've overlooked something or missed an idea or a thought, comment and add it right in! I'm just writing what I think.

The OLD Jerusalem, the promised land, was a land 'flowing with milk and honey.' A very blessed land that will be the epitome of 'good land.' This promised land was near water, it was flourishing with crops and plants and animals. The Israelite's troubles were taken care of in that land!

I want to suggest that Jesus was, perhaps, a second form of 'promised land' given to mankind. As Jerusalem was a physical gift that met their physical need, So is Christ an eternal gift to meet our eternal need! It was in Christ that God overcame sin. God met with His people on a level they could not have foreseen! His provision of forgiveness in Christ was far beyond what their imagination would consider. The Israelites had the mentality that the Christ would come much like Moses and Abraham did. They actually thought that the Christ would be a human prophet and/or king figure who would overrule the Romans - setting the Israelites free from oppression. If only they had known God better than they knew His statutes; they would not have missed the Christ.

Heaven will be the NEW Jerusalem! A third promise! Jerusalem was a physical blessing, Jesus is the eternal blessing, and Heaven...I will call the beautiful blessing (In this case, the word beautiful can describe no other thought, feeling or thing! There is not a word appropriate for titling Heaven!). Jerusalem brought tangible provision, Jesus brought Spiritual provision, and Heaven will bring us into the Glory of God. The religious leaders were oblivious to Jesus' teachings. Jesus did not match up to their tradition, so they ruled Him out before seeing Him in light of Scripture "In light of Scripture" is not an easy term. They would have had to read into many of the prophet's writings in a way that hadn't been done before. We're talking about a reformation, here! Rewriting theological structure that the leading religious people held - about everything: especially about Christ, but in turn, they would have to revise their thinking to conform to Jesus. Understanding the culture in context really helps us to see why the pharisees and teachers of the law never believed Jesus. To accept Jesus was to deny the legacy of their ancestry, as it had become a vile institution of false worship and teaching.

We are the ones looking for the New Jerusalem! The third promise! In a sense, we are the 'Israelites' and the 'religious leaders.' Just as He did for the Israelites and for the teachers of the law, God is bringing about us a wonderful promise that we cannot imagine (not even if we were told! Habakkuk 1:5). The reality is, our response is within the same principles as the Israelites and the teachers of the law as well - meaning that our receiving the promised blessing hinges on the condition that we are obedient and faithful to God first. So our inability to imagine the promise is bittersweet. The Israelites knew what their promise looked like - a land flowing with milk and honey was very difficult to oversee. The teachers of the law knew every thing there was to know about the Christ who was to come, yet they did not walk in obedient faith with God, and so their knowledge was irrelevant. This leads me to wonder - what marvelous things God can do! What marvelous things He WILL do. How dreadful it is to have missed the Christ. I will not be among those who will miss His glory.

Take Heart. Strength Will Rise. Believe!

I wrote this literally talking to myself. Every 'you' is meant for me. I post it in hope that some others can relate.

What is your hearts desire? Is it worth your attention and effort? Is it something you must strive for, or something you merely insist on waiting around for?

Do you have you a desire that runs exclusively deep in your mind, even in your heart, whether it is that you are praying for your child to know Christ, for a personal preference, for your friend to be healed, or for your congregation to grow? I believe in you. The Lord believes in you. I believe that if, by prayer, you do still find that one thing to be deserving of your time and effort, of God's time and effort, and if you believe that God has in mind to bless you and/or others in that way, you must keep on believing.

Believing in God's promises is a sacrifice that this world renders foolish. Many of my friends have rendered me foolish in my dealings. When I am influenced in their words, however, I slip up and am reminded that I can trust the voice of God even when it is the only voice of it's kind. I know these truths all the more: Jesus is my hope. I must choose to hope for nothing else. He will keep His promises. I will be blessed and protected and will be being satisfied when I dwell in the shelter of His presence.

Be encouraged in this: In the deepest realm of my being (whether it's my mind or my heart or my actions or presuppositions, who knows), many things are at war with God for my time, but at least one thing is even at war with God for the actual throne of utmost worth. I would never consciously (as it seems to me) give up God's place of worth to any other thing. I know that God is most worthy, but sometimes, perhaps I know it less.

So your prayer must be absorbed into every inch of what God made humans to consist of, because of faith in Jesus. God must have all you are; yet, nobody has adequate understanding of humanity to know what 'all' may entail. God must be all you want; still, the blows of the enemy discourage and tear you down, even now. It seems you can barely coherently think even sufficiently to survive! And too, the pressure of being continually aware of where you place value is wearisome, not a natural practice in your society!

Do not fear. Do not be discouraged.
Be courageous. Dwell in God's encouragement.
BE STRONG in the Lord. He is Mighty to Save.
Dwell in Him, and He will be the Rock upon which You will stand firm.