Peering Into the Future: A New Way of Life

In 1969, Rusty Schweickart went up into outer space as the lunar module pilot for Apollo 9, the third manned flight of the Apollo series, and first manned flight of the lunar module. His experience of being in outer space for 241 hours, traveling at 17,000 miles per hour and orbiting the earth every 90 minutes, had a profound effect on him.

After his return, he said that his experience had changed him:

“When you fly in space and you look in at the earth, it is indeed an incredibly beautiful place. I can’t tell you the difference it makes in the way you feel, and the way you relate to the earth, after that experience. When you fly around it again and again, the world comes into you in a different way. You see it in a different way. It doesn’t come in through the head, it comes in through the heart.”

It must have been incredible to have this big picture of the earth—to see it first-hand. John also gives us a glimpse of this “big picture” view in the 21st and 22nd chapters of Revelation. He invites us to step back and see what he calls the New Jerusalem--The city of God. It was way too big to see up close, he tells us it was 1500 miles on every side—length, width, and height. He tells us that in this city, there is no need for a Temple – because all will be holy. There is no need of sun or moon or even street lights – because there is no darkness. The gates of the city are always open to for all to come in, yet everything that enters will be holy. Finally, a river of life runs through it, and on its banks, a tree of life bears fruit always, with leaves meant for healing. All of these things sound wonderful and the beauty of John’s writing catches your heart
- even if you miss the symbolism!

But there is symbolism here. Sometimes if something seems out of place or is hard to understand, it is because it is a reference to something else—something that we might not understand, but the original readers might have understood. John tells us that the city is a cube, and this description is found, to my knowledge, only one other place in Scripture. In the centermost part of the old holy city, at the holiest part of the temple was Jerusalem’s most sacred spot. There God was present at the heart of his people as nowhere else. This place, the Holy of Holies was described as 20 cubits, by 20 cubits, by 20 cubits (1 Kings 6:20).

John is trying to tell us something here. The New Jerusalem is an enlarged Holy of Holies. No one ever lived in the old holiest place, it was visited only once a year by one human, the high priest. There he made atonement for himself and all Israel at the mercy seat, the lid of the ark. It was a dangerous place to visit, and the high priest had to prepare himself in a long and elaborate ritual to even go in or he would be struck dead. But now in the New Jerusalem, we can forget the fear, exclusiveness, and restrictions. All those who trust in the name of Jesus will be in there with God and the Lamb.

Watchman Nee, an influential Chinese theologian, writes that the New Jerusalem is the final glory of God—the ultimate goal of God. Further, the church is meant to be a reflection of the New Jerusalem until that glorious day when the New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven. Until then, in every city around the world, the church is to be a reminder of the New Jerusalem. A place with no darkness, whose gates are always open to for all to come in. A river of life runs through it, and it is to be always bearing fruit, to be always a place of healing and love--a place where God dwells and comes face to face with humanity.

New Jerusalem is a symbol of the Body of Christ. You’ve heard that old song, “I am the church, you are the church, we are the church together…” We who call ourselves followers of Christ are the city, and we walk its streets. The river of life runs through it, Jesus Christ alive in us. We are called to always bear fruit, and we are meant to be always ready to forgive and to heal the wounds of each other. Within us grows a Tree of Life with leaves for the healing of the nations, planted by God, nourished by the Holy Spirit, and cared for by those in our lives who love us and show us how to live—maybe that your mother, or some other person who loved you and inspired you.

The New Jerusalem is not just a new city, it is a new way of life--a way of life that begins not in the head, but in the heart by putting our trust in Christ, letting the river of life flow through us, bearing fruit and cultivating healing. The New Jerusalem is a picture of the ultimate glory of God in the future, and it is a picture of how God calls us to live together today.