Earthly Jerusalem And Heavenly Jerusalem

Whatever is created on this earth was given to us to teach us spiritual and invisible things in heaven.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

God and spiritual things are invisible, but the bible says those invisible things are made clearly visible through the created things on this earth so that we can know the invisible things in heaven and cannot make any excuse to God that we did not know the spiritual world. That is why we must first look at the created things on this earth to know the spiritual things in Heaven.

Physical Temple and Spiritual Temple

One of things created by God on this earth is God’s Temple in Jerusalem or Jerusalem Temple where God promised that he would put his Spirit in it and dwell among his people on this earth. Through this physical Jerusalem Temple God is teaching us the reality of Jerusalem Temple in Heaven. In the Old Testament people went to Jerusalem Temple in Israel for the forgiveness of sins and salvation.

But as God’s people who are living in the age of fulfillment, we must seek the true temple of God to receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation. Out of ignorance, however, many people come to visit the temple in Jerusalem for the worship of God. But the bible says those who worship God in the earthly Jerusalem Temple was given as copy and shadow to teach us the reality of Heavenly Jerusalem which would appear at God’s appointed time.

First, let us find out the true reality of the temple. What is the spiritual temple? A temple is God’s dwelling place where he put his Spirit. In the Old Testament it was the physical building located in Jerusalem since God promised that he would put his Spirit inside the Temple, sitting enthroned between the cherubim in the Most Holy Place.

However, Jesus taught us the reality of the Temple that we must seek as people of God who are living under the new covenant. The physical temple was given to the people who were under the old covenant.

John 2:19  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” 20 They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body. 22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Through this Jesus taught that the reality of the Temple is Christ himself because God put his Spirit in the body of Christ and dwelled among his people. That is why to truly worship God now we must come to the Christ who is the true holy temple of God. And wherever the Christ is, that is the place we should go to worship God.

Earthly Jerusalem and Heavenly Jerusalem

With this in mind, let us think about Jerusalem Temple, the dwelling place of God. In the time of Solomon, the king established the temple of God so that people would come to worship God and to receive the forgiveness and salvation. This earthly Jerusalem Temple was also given as copy and shadow to teach us the reality of Heavenly Jerusalem Temple, where we should go to receive the forgiveness of sins and salvation. Apostle Paul teaches us about the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Galatians 4:24  These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

Paul explains the spiritual meaning of Abraham’s family through this two sons: Isaac and Ishmael. Ishmael was born through Hagar who had been a slave girl serving Sarah and Isaac who was born through Sarah, the legitimate wife of Abraham. In bible, symbolically Abraham represents God himself so Abraham’s children represent God’s people who would be the heirs of God to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Among the two sons of Abraham, Isaac was chosen as heir even though he was not the firstborn to Abraham. That is why we must become like Isaac to receive salvation as heir of God. Then how can we become Isaac?

Paul explains the parabolical meaning of Abraham’s family history. It can be represented as table below.

Hagar                                                  Sarah
Old Covenant                                     New Covenant
Law of Moses                                      Law of Christ
Mountain Sinai                                  Mountain Zion
Earthly Jerusalem                          Heavenly Jerusalem
Children of Slave woman              Children of Free woman
Death                                                   Salvation

What is the Heavenly Jerusalem Temple?

God gave the earthly Jerusalem Temple to those who were under the old covenant, but to his true people who are to be saved he prepared the heavenly Jerusalem Temple that we must go to worship God. Then how can we find this spiritual Heavenly Temple to meet God? Paul said, “But the Jerusalem that is above (in heaven) is free and she is our mother.” He was teaching that the heavenly Jerusalem we must seek was in heaven.

Here we are put under a dilemma: as sinner we must receive the forgiveness of sins on this earth to go to heaven, but the only way for us to receive salvation is through the Jerusalem in heaven. Without receiving the forgiveness of sins we cannot go to heaven, but to receive the forgiveness of sins we must go to heaven to go to Jerusalem in heaven which is the true reality of the temple we must go to worship God. This was the same situation for God’s people 2000 years ago.

Even though Jews were given the physical temple in Jerusalem to worship God, it could not give them complete salvation that is why they were still under the slavery of sins. In this hopeless state the Christ who was the reality of the temple came down as man in the flesh to this earth to give them the complete salvation. Since it was impossible for a sinner to go to heaven to worship God in the true temple of God, the heavenly temple came down to this earth to give the true forgiveness of sins.

It would be the same today. Since we cannot go to heaven to worship God in heavenly Jerusalem, that Heavenly Jerusalem must come down to us to give us the true forgiveness of sins just like the Christ 2000 years ago.

Heavenly Jerusalem Coming Down to this Earth

Now the question is when the Heavenly Jerusalem comes down to this earth.

Revelation 21:9  One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The spiritual Jerusalem is coming down to this earth and makes its dwelling among the people so that people can come to this heavenly Jerusalem to receive the forgivenss of sins and salvation. But we cannot imagine that a temple building is going to fall down from heaven to this earth. But then how would it appear to us? 2000 years ago, the reality of Temple God himself came down to this earth in the flesh and put his Spirit in his body. Through this we can see God is the reality of temple and God establishes the heavenly temple on this earth by coming as man in the flesh.

Therefore, the Heavenly Jerusalem which is coming down out of heaven actually means God who is coming down as man with a physical body. 2000 years ago it was only God the Father came in the form of male to give us the forgiveness of sins. But according to the bible in the last days, it is the Lamb (Jesus Christ) and his Bride (Heavenly Jerusalem) that are coming down to this earth in the human form. Then who is the bride of God, the heavenly Jerusalem?

Galatians 4:26  But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother

The bible teaches that we have our mother in heaven too. And she is going to come down to this earth in the human form. Elohim God (our Father and our Mother) comes together as man in the flesh in the last days as true temple of God and will give us the forgiveness of sins and salvation.

Conclusion

Therefore, we who are living in the last days must seek the Heavenly Jerusalem our Mother who came down to this earth as the true temple of God to dwell among us and to give us salvation. That is why those who want to worship God in spirit and truth must come to Heavenly Jerusalem our Mother. To fulfill the prophecy God the Father and God the Mother came down to this earth. They are the reality of the temple.

Revelation 21:22  I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

Father and Mother are the true temple of God and they are God’s dwelling place which are going to be established in the last days. And we must come to this God’s dwelling place to worship God.

Revelation 21:2  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, “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.

That true reality of Temple came down to this earth to give the salvation, the water of life. Come to our Mother Heavenly Jerusalem. Come to the World Mission Society Church of God and receive the salvation.

Related Topics:

• Christ, The Reality of the Temple of God