Jehoshua is on the throne of David in New Jerusalem and He is the King of a New Israel
New Jerusalem is the governing center of the universe and will come down to earth after the second advent as promised by the Son of God. Revelation 21:1-3 (ASV) 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven of God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.3And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God: When we go through scripture we see that the saints of old and also the new testament saints believed that the day of Jehovah i.e the second advent of Jehoshua would usher in the new heaven and new earth (Isaiah 65:17-25; 66:22-23; Isaiah 11:6-9; 2 Peter 3:12-13; Hebrews 12:26-27; Hebrews 11; Hebrews 13:13-14). In verse 3 of Revelation 21, New Jerusalem is called the "tabernacle of God". Earthly Jerusalem was a type of New Jerusalem and pointed to the hope of a glorious city built by God's hands to be the reward of all the saints who have ever lived. As we see from verse 1, New Jerusalem comes down from heaven right after the passing away of the old heaven and earth and the making of the new. Also as scripture elsewhere confirms that the day of Jehovah God ushers in the new heaven and earth, New Jerusalem then comes down to earth after the second advent and not a thousand years later. John 14:1-3 1Let not your heart be troubled: believe in God, believe also in me.2In my Father`s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Let's look at John 14:1-3 again, Jehoshua exhorts His disciples to be stout hearted due to the promise of mansions that are in God the Father's house awaiting them. The question is, where is God's house? As Revelation 21:1-3 says it is in heaven i.e. New Jerusalem aka the tabernacle of God. Jehoshua is promising the disciples mansions in New Jerusalem not earthly Jerusalem. After making this heart warming promise to His disciples, Jehoshua then tells them one of the things He will be doing when He is away from them which is to prepare a place for them. If Jehoshua is going away meaning leaving this earth via His death, resurrection and ascension then the place He is going to prepare for His apostles must be in heavenly Jerusalem. Jehoshua is going somewhere His disciples can't go, we know this is not referring to anywhere on earth because the death of Jehoshua and His subsequent glorification is the subject of John 13:31 - 14:3. We know that as a result of His glorification He ascended to heaven at the right hand of God the Father. So we must conclude that the place where Jehoshua is going in order to prepare places for His apostles is in heaven not earth. This is proven also by the mentioning of mansions in the Father's house which scripture says is in New Jerusalem in heaven not earth. Let's now go to the book of Revelation in order to show that New Jerusalem is the destination of the saints after the second advent: Revelation 7:9-17 (ASV) 9After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of [all] tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands;10and they cry with a great voice, saying, Salvation unto our God who sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb.11And all the angels were standing round about the throne, and [about] the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,12saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, [be] unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.13And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, These that are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and whence came they?14And I say unto him, My lord, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they that come of the great tribulation, and they washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.15Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them.16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun strike upon them, nor any heat:17for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. The context of the above passage is clearly after the second advent and resurrection and translation of the saints. We are told by many so called experts on eschatology that the destiny of believers after the second advent is earthly Jerusalem not new Jerusalem however Revelation 7 absolutely refutes this idea. Verse 9 of Revelation says that the great multitude will be standing before the throne of Jehovah God and before the Lamb after they are resurrected. Let's ask this simple question, where is God's throne, is it in earthly Jerusalem or New Jerusalem? Isaiah Chapter 66 1Thus saith Jehovah, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what manner of house will ye build unto me? and what place shall be my rest? Jehovah does not dwell in man made temples anymore and His throne has always been in heaven. Let's go to Acts 7:48-49 48Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands; as saith the prophet,49The heaven is my throne, And the earth the footstool of my feet: What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord: Or what is the place of my rest? Here Stephen qoutes Isaiah 66:1-2 and before that states that Jehovah does not dwell in houses made with human hands. It seems as though the earthly Jerusalem promoters have ignored this passage. Lets go to Acts 17: 24The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Paul echoes the words of Stephen and reiterates that Jehovah does not dwell in temples made with human hands. Jehovah God's dwelling place is the tabernacle in which He pitched which is the true tabernacle. Scripture over and over again shows that Jehovah's throne is in heaven not earth. Hebrews 8:1-2 (ASV) 1Now in the things which we are saying the chief point is this: We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,2a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. This passage destroys any teaching that Revelation 7:9-15 is tied to an earthly temple in Jerusalem. Jehoshua sits on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the HEAVENS. Did you read that, the Majesty Jehovah God's throne is in heaven not earth and His Son the lamb of God is sitting on His right hand. Jehovah God only has one throne and that is in the heavens according to the author of Hebrews. So if Jehovah's throne is in heaven and the saints after the resurrection are pictured in the midst of the throne of God then we must conclude that we go to New Jerusalem after the resurrection not earthly Jerusalem. In Revelation 7:9 and 17 it says that we stand before the Lamb and that the Lamb is in the midst of the throne. This goes right in step with the abundance of scripture testimony that Jehoshua upon His ascension sat at the right hand of the Father. Revelation 5:6-7 (ASV) 6And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.7And he came, and he taketh it out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. In the above passage, John is taken in vision to the heavenly sanctuary where God the Father is sitting on His throne and the Lamb is in the midst of the throne. This is exactly where the resurrected saints are pictured as being in Revelation 7. They are in the temple of Jehovah before His throne and the Lamb is there as well. The location is undoubtedly New Jerusalem as there is no reason to think otherwise being that God, the throne and the Lamb are in both scenes and clearly in Revelation 5 the scene takes place in heaven not earth thereby Revelation 7:9-15 takes place in heaven as well. Revelation 7:15 (ASV) 15Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them. Most Christians acknowledge Revelation 7:9-15 as taking place pretty soon after the resurrection, if that is the case then it is clear that the teaching that we won't see or experience God the Father until after "a thousand year" millennium is utterly false. Right after the resurrection of the saints we are told that we will worship Jehovah God day and night in His temple. How could this be if we are supposed to be in earthly Jerusalem before we even see God the Father and dwell with Him? Speaking of dwelling with God the Father, the above verse says He will spread His tabernacle over us. The KJV says He will dwell with us. Let's now go to Revelation 21 which is after the millennium of Revelation 20. Revelation 21:1-3 (KJV) 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. In verse 3 we see that the tabernacle of God is going to be with men which takes place after it comes down out of heaven (verse 1). The tabernacle of God is New Jerusalem (verse 2). Remember that chapter 21 of Revelation takes place after the millennium that is described in chapter 20. Verse 3 is the key in understanding that New Jerusalem is indeed the destination of the saints right after the resurrection. Verse 3 says that once New Jerusalem comes down to earth out of heaven that God will dwell with men and He will be their God and they will be His people. This is precisely what is said in Revelation 7:15 KJV " Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." ASV "Therefore are they before the throne of God; and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall spread his tabernacle over them." In verse 3 of Revelation 21 John says after the millennium that the tabernacle of God will be with men and He will dwell with them. In verse 15 of Revelation 7 it says that God will spread His tabernacle over men (ASV). In the KJV, it says that God will dwell with among men. Remember that Revelation 7 is after the resurrection of the saints which takes place in conjunction with the second advent. This shows us that the millennium precedes the second advent in that Revelation 21 and 7 are describing the same thing and the same event. One description is after the second advent and the other description is after the millennium. If they are both describing the same event which is obvious then we must conclude that the second advent coincides with the conclusion of the millennium. This also proves that the hope of the saints is New Jerusalem not earthly Jerusalem. However New Jerusalem will come down to earth and be the capital of the Kingdom of Jehovah God on earth. This also proves that the teaching of a future 1,000 year minimum is false. The millennial reign of the Son of God is a present reality. There is more in regards to the similarity of Revelation 7 and 21. Let's look: Revelation 7:17 (KJV) 17for the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall be their shepherd, and shall guide them unto fountains of waters of life: and God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes. In verse 15 of Revelation 7 we learned that God will spread His tabernacle over the saints and dwell with them. Here in verse 15 we see that the Lamb will lead us to fountains of living waters and that God will wipe away all tears from our eyes. Let's now look at Revelation 21: 3And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God:4and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away. Do you notice the same exact sequence of Revelation 7 (verses 15-17) is depicted in Revelation 21 (verses 3-4) meaning that we are told God will dwell with men and then lead them to fountains of living waters and wipe away all tears from their eyes. Verses 15-17 of Revelation 7 parallel exactly verses 3-4 of Revelation 21 again proving that these two chapters are speaking of the same event not two separate events separated by a thousand years. In Revelation 21 we are told that New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven and God will dwell with man and lead him to fountains of living waters and wipe away all tears from their eyes which mirrors perfectly the events in Revelation 7. Here is the sequence of events: New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven as told to us by John in Revelation 21:2 and promised by the Son of God as the inheritance of those who overcome: Revelation 3:12 (ASV) 12He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God, and mine own new name. The promise from the Father's only begotten is that those who overcome will inherit New Jerusalem which falls right in step with the teaching of Paul the apostle and the author of Hebrews. The Son of God clearly says that New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven echoing John's later vision in Revelation 21. Notice that Jehoshua doesn't say anything about a future millennium in which the saints will rule with Him in an earthly Jerusalem in an earthly temple. Jehoshua's promise to the saints after their overcoming the world is New Jerusalem. As stated before, New Jerusalem will come down to earth fulfilling the prophesied reign of the saints with Messiah on earth. The Kingdom of Jehovah and His only begotten Son will be on this earth however New Jerusalem not the earthly one will be it's capital. Let's also catch something else stated by the Son of God in Revelation 3:12. Jehoshua said that the overcoming saints will be pillars in the temple of His God. Remember that Revelation 21 says there will be no temple in New Jerusalem after it comes down out of heaven. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof. So clearly we are told that there will be no literal temple in new Jerusalem but that the Father and Son will be the temple. This fits perfectly with what Jehoshua said in Revelation 3:12 as we the saints will be pillars in the temple of God. Obviously we aren't literal pillars anymore than God and His Son are literal brick and mortar temples. This shows us that the temple in New Jerusalem is a spiritual one not a physical one. To be continued..
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