A voice in the wilderness: They will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it. Revelation 21:2.

Let's assume you read my last post and now have a confidence that allows you to describe how:

The surviving Jews enter the millennial kingdom and become evangelists.
The beast (which is the antichrist) and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, while Satan is locked up in Hades, where he cannot bother anybody for a thousand years.
People from the nations that are NOT believers and did NOT fight against Jerusalem and Jesus at His triumphant return will enter the thousand years with their free wills intact.
Because there are many among the churches that believe only Christians come into the millennial kingdom, here are a couple more passages that speak in opposition to this belief.
The entirety of the thousand years will be peace. This is only one verse among many that speak of this.
By the time the great white throne judgment comes along, multitudes from among the nations will have come into the kingdom and are now called God's people.

It is hard to imagine who is left to stand before the throne. One of the things that became clear as I did this study is that in Matthew's account of the great throne, Jesus (the only judge) finds good deeds listed for some, and they obtain mercy and enter the eternal kingdom.
The thousand years are expired; Satan is released; and deceives all those whose names ARE NOT written in the book of life.

This tells me that many from the nations chose to NOT have their names written in the book of life. To be honest, this is unbelievable that someone could choose to walk away from God's love. So, Satan deceives an uncountable number from the nations, and they surround the Holy City in an attempt to kill God and His people. God responds by killing them all with fire. Do you understand what death is? Most think it is merely the cessation of breath and heartbeat. Ah, but your soul never dies. As a non-believer, you merely go to sleep as you await whatever happens next. Unfortunately, even if it's a wait of several thousand years, that next event is to stand before the Great White Throne.
Scripture tells us that the next event is the great white throne, the final judgment, which has Jesus Christ as the judge.

The only people standing before this throne are dead people. Scripture says nothing about sinners; they are simply dead. They weren't “Christians,” or they would have gone up in the rapture, and we far too quickly forget that Jesus took ALL sin upon Himself on the cross; therefore, their sin was forgiven. Alright then, why are they standing here?

Since each of us has God's moral code written upon our hearts, (Think about the logic of that. We were made in God's image, so it only stands to reason that His moral code is written there also. It also stands to reason that the choice of following after the one who made you or tossing Him aside has repercussions,) then, you are only judged based upon what you did with Jesus; and it was Jesus who paid that sin price for you. In Matthew's gospel, chapter 25, we see Jesus calling the nations before Him. Nations suddenly equals the dead.

All of them standing there are judged by what is written in those books, and Jesus is looking for good deeds. Those deeds are explained in Matthew 25, and I will let you go there and pursue that on your own time. But it is evident that the simplest acts that demonstrate God's love, which is an aspect of that moral law written upon our hearts, had its wanted effect. While it is not explained, those who demonstrated these acts of love apparently have their names written in the book of life. (Do not ask me how or why their names are written there because I do not know. I just know it happens because I see it in scripture.) Matthew's gospel tells us that the “sheep” are the first to be dealt with and given entrance into the eternal kingdom. (Don't worry, Jesus is going to allow anyone to bring their broken human nature into the eternal kingdom, and so they will be changed at some point.) Those NOT found in the book of life were cast into the lake fire.
The final judgment is over. The next thing that happens is that the earth is burned up along with the heavens. But not to worry, because believers are now immortals and can't be harmed. That and God makes the heavens and the earth new.

Where does this Holy City go when the earth burns?

Maybe nowhere. Maybe it is heavenly, spiritual, and according to scripture, more real than what we see on earth and untouchable by fire. Maybe, it's hovering in the sky, just waiting for the command to descend.

With the end of the time of wrath, I know that the New Jerusalem (God's Holy City) will come down to earth, and this may happen within minutes of Jesus' return.

How can I be so sure?

The end of warfare can come about with a Word from Jesus. The changes will begin.

Jesus, alongside the previously martyred saints, will sit as the judge during the millennial reign. Doesn't it stand to reason that He will sit in the new Jerusalem? Amir Tsarfati, a Jewish believer and evangelist, will tell you, “We DO NOT have control of the temple mount in Jerusalem.” I would think that would be a necessity if Jesus were to sit on the throne of David. (Spare me the theological arguments and corrections, as they don't really matter while I try to make a point.) The point here is that the place and the city in which Jesus will be seated is NOT here yet, and the only place and time that can happen is after Jesus returns and conquers everything.

Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4 NASB)

So, when Jesus comes back to earth at the end of the time of wrath, where does, He sit as the judge?

"It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. "At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.” (Jeremiah 3:16-17 NASB)

Jerusalem, but not the place we now see, as that will be destroyed. It will be the New Jerusalem that lies within the Holy City, which is currently absent. This line from Jeremiah chapter three, “and all the nations will be gathered to it,” is the lead in verse to the sheep and goat judgment of Matthew 25. It has a context, and that is the final judgment.

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. (Matthew 25:31 NASB)

Standing before the Jewish high priest, who could not recognize Him as God, spoke of that throne.

But He kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest was questioning Him and saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" And Jesus said, "I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN." (Mark 14:61-62 NASB)

And in the book of Hebrews, Jesus is described as the one who upholds all things by the Word of His power and is seated at God's right hand.

“in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Hebrews 1:2-3 NASB)

So, Jesus, as we speak, is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is, by the way, ever making intercession for us.

Doesn't such a picture imply something noble, worthy of a judge?

I know I am making a broken human assumption, and NO, we don't need special seats to judge, but we all picture a throne. And most of you realize that such a magnificent place can only exist when Christ comes to reign.

In Revelation 19:3-5, we see a chorus of voices rejoicing because they see smoke rising up from her. That “her” is Jerusalem as the sin and rebellion are squeezed out of her, and God's wrath is finished. Revelation 19:5 tells us that he heard a voice coming from the throne; however, that throne is in heaven, and there is a good chance that this voice was coming from The New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven. We have to look outside the Revelation to get more details on this.

“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, ...” (Zechariah 14:4 NASB)

And here our introduction ends, so let's move on to Revelation twenty-one, verse 2.

Revelation 21:2 NASB “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”

While Zechariah 14:8-11 does not speak of a throne, he tells us that Jesus will be the king over all the earth and where this Holy City will be placed.

“And in that day, living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem, but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin's Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. (Zechariah 14:8-11 NASB)

At 1500 miles square, there is much ground to level.

As for the dimensions of the Holy City, most translations use the term stadia, but stadia does not translate into an exact measurement in English. For me, it is like meters and feet. So, the CEV version

works best for my understanding.

“The city was shaped like a cube, because it was just as high as it was wide. When the angel measured the city, it was about fifteen hundred miles high and fifteen hundred miles wide.” (Revelation 21:16 CEV)

According to Ezekiel 48, this measurement is the exact same on each side. I found several versions of maps, and most differ, but here is one. Some show the land engulfing all of Saudi and North to encompass Turkey. By looking at old maps and their distance equivalence indicators, I can do no better than 600 miles.

Here is a thought for you. We always make the assumption that Adam stayed in one small garden area. When in fact, the landmasses were all combined. I don't speak of this much as I do not handle ridicule well. One day my mildly autistic grandson said to me, “the entire earth was a Pangaea.” This was a new vocabulary word moment for me, and my grandson knew what it meant. I looked it up, and it means that what we consider continents were at some point all combined into one landmass. I told my grandson, “I have believed that for many years, and my bible tells me that this was the case.” That did not impress him, but it impressed me. In case you don't believe that I will show you.

Two sons were born to Eber; the name of the one was Peleg, for, in his days, the earth was divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. (Genesis 10:25 NASB)

Divided is the Hebrew word pâlag and literally means to split. So, we have evidence of an earthquake so massive that the continents physically split apart; and people wonder how Egyptian glyphs ended up in the walls of the Grand Canyon in Arizona and other places. Having joined landmasses may explain why are there commonalities between the megalithic stonework of Sacsayhuaman, Cusco, Peru, and Baalbek in Lebanon?

Just remember, brides, are always at their best on their wedding day. So the New Jerusalem will be spectacular.

A voice in the wilderness

Sunday, May 15, 2022

They will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it. Revelation 21:2.

And here our introduction ends, so let's move on to Revelation twenty-one, verse 2.

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