The New Jerusalem Revealed: Streets of Gold or Symbolic Bride?

Dave Robbins: What is the new Jerusalem that John described
descending from heaven?
Is it a literal city with streets of gold, or does it
symbolize something far deeper?
On today’s “Endtime Show” we’re going to explore the mystery of
the holy city, the gates, the foundations, the 144,000, the
role of the church, and God’s ultimate plan for his people.
Traditional teachings on this prophecy does raise many
questions, so stay tuned as we uncover the truth.
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Dave: Good afternoon, everybody.
I’m Dave Robbins from End Time Ministries, and I do thank you
for joining me on this edition of “The Endtime Show.”
You know, having studied prophecy for many, many years,
one of the most fascinating and sometimes puzzling prophecies in
the Bible is John’s vision of the new Jerusalem.
I’ve heard many definitions of this over the years, what people
think and traditional teachings and different things.
And John describes this incredible city coming down out
of heaven, walls of jasper, gates of pearl, streets of
pure gold.
And people have looked forward to those streets of gold all
these years, right?
But here’s the question.
Is John describing a physical city that we’ll one day walk
through or is he pointing us to something even deeper, something
symbolic of God’s eternal plan.
For centuries, Christians have debated this passage here in
Revelation chapter 21.
And traditional teachings has often left people scratching
their heads.
Let’s just face it.
But I believe when we look closely, we’ll uncover a mystery
that’s not just about the future, it’s about what God is
doing in his people right now.
Okay, let’s get off into the new Jerusalem because so many
questions and so many, you know, there’s speculation about this
and so many different teachings, but let’s go to the–let’s go
straight to the Bible and just walk right down through
this chapter, Revelation 21.
John in Revelation 21:2 declares this, “And I,” John, “saw the
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
So, here, the new Jerusalem is introduced to us right in the
beginning of Revelation chapter 21 as the bride.
Hebrews chapter 12, verses 20 through 23 further reveals who
this bride is.
It says, “But you are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, to the general assembly and church of
the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge
of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.”
So, this passage makes it clear.
The heavenly Jerusalem is the church, the bride of Christ.
We see then that there are two Jerusalems.
This is very important because some people get–they just–this
blows people out of the water when you start talking about
some of this stuff because they’ve never been taught
this before.
But it’s talking about two Jerusalems here, the physical
Jerusalem located in the land of Israel and the spiritual
Jerusalem, the church of the Living God.
And, you know, the apostle Paul, he echoes this truth
in 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 2.
He says, “For I am jealous over
you with a godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one
husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
So, once again, the church is identified as the bride
of Christ.
And, you know, from the very beginning, God’s purpose in
creating humanity was to prepare a bride for himself, a people
who would live with him forever.
And as the scriptures draw to a close in Revelation, God devotes
the entire 21st chapter to describing this ultimate prize,
and that’s his church.
Throughout Revelation, God conveys the truth through many
powerful symbols.
The prophecy of the new Jerusalem, that’s no exception.
It is the great unveiling of his eternal bride prepared and
perfected to dwell with him for all eternity.
The church is the tabernacle of God.
Now, I’m gonna hit many different points as we go down
to Revelation chapter 21.
And, you know, in Revelation 21, God takes time to give us
a vivid description of his bride.
And–now remember, it’s written in symbolism and a lot of people
won’t take this literal, but you gotta understand the
symbolism here.
So, God takes time during this entire chapter to give a vivid
description of his bride, which is the church.
And he even calls the church the tabernacle of God.
Revelation chapter 21, it’s verse 3 and 4.
It says, “And 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.
And God shall wipe away their tears from their eyes; and there
shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither
shall there be any more pain: for for the former things are
passed away.”
Well, I mean, come on, what a promise, everybody.
I mean, this scripture tells us what life will be like for those
who are part of the rapture, those who make up the tabernacle
of God.
No more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain.
Think about that.
The former things will all be gone.
The tabernacle of God simply means the place where
God dwells.
Paul, of course, reminds us of this truth in 1 Corinthians
chapter 6, verse 19, “What?
know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own?”
So, both individually and collectively, the church is
God’s dwelling place, his holy tabernacle.
And, you know, God doesn’t dwell in temples made with hands.
Doesn’t the Bible tell us that?
If you go back to the very powerful sermon preached by
Stephen, of course, the first Christian martyr.
Just before he was stoned, he declared these words.
This would be Acts chapter 7, verse 48.
He said, “Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made
with hands; as saith the prophet.”
Now, you know, this is a virtual truth that some of us have got
to grasp here.
Humanity has always had a tendency to exalt temples and
buildings and, you know, so called holy places, but Stephen
reminds us that God does not dwell in structures built by
human hands.
His dwelling place is far greater.
And then you remember, I want to go to a phrase that’s found in
the book of Revelation and the phrase is, “It is done.”
You know, as John receives his vision here in Revelation 21, he
saw one seated on the throne.
Revelation 21:5-6 records this and it says, “And he that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
And he said unto me, Write: for these are the words true
and faithful.
And he said unto me, It is done.”
And it’s not the only time that this phrase is mentioned in the
book of Revelation.
But John goes on to write, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end.
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of water
of life freely.”
So, the one on the throne declared, “I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end.”
We know this is Jesus speaking because if you go back to
Revelation chapter 1, verse 8, he made the same claim,
didn’t he?
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.”
And here in Revelation 21:6, Jesus said, “It is done.”
And, you know, the question is, what is–what does that mean?
It is done.
Well, it means that his purpose for the very–from the very
beginning of creation is now fulfilled at this point.
He has his bride.
She is redeemed and the marriage of Christ to his church
is complete.
But before describing his bride in greater detail, Jesus pauses
to extend both a promise and a warning.
In Revelation chapter 21, verse 7 through 8, the Bible says, “He
that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his
God, and he shall be my son.
But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable,
and the murders, and the whoremongers, and the sorcerers,
and it’s idolaters and liars, they shall have their part in
the lake of fire which–the lake which burneth with fire and
brimstone: which is the second death.”
So, to the overcomer, there’s an eternal inheritance, and to the
unbelieving, there’s eternal separation.
So, the words are true and these words are faithful.
Eternal separation versus eternal reconciliation.
Oh, don’t you wanna be reconciled to God, everybody?
The Bible–that’s the reason God came, rubbed himself in flesh,
and died on a tree.
The Bible says, “God was in Christ reconciling the world
unto him.”
You don’t want to be separated, you want to be reconciled or
brought back together again to God where Adam and Eve
were originally.
God can bring you back to that state once a person is
born again.
Dave: Many people argue America is not mentioned in the
prophecies of the Bible, but they will miss so much about the
coming events that will happen in the end-time if they don’t
get that understanding.
What do these beasts symbolize?
That’s what we need to answer because if we can’t understand
what these beasts symbolize, there’s no point in even
studying this, right?
If you don’t believe that America is mentioned in the
Bible, you’re gonna be stuck when it comes to figuring out
all these prophecies, but once you understand this, America has
a prophesized future.
It’s given to us in the Bible.
And the America will not be part of the world government, but
we’re gonna be protecting Israel against the world government all
the way to the second coming of Jesus Christ.
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At least 22 people are reported to have died in a strike
in Gaza.
Dave: The rise of Islam.
I’m trying to bring answers for so many families desperately.
Is the Israel Hamas Iran conflict World War III?
So, let’s talk about the four horsemen.
What do these horses symbolize?
These are the four spirits of the heavens which go forth from
standing before the Lord of all the earth.
In the end time, the true people of God will not be weak, anemic,
and defeated.
These prophesized events are revealing, we are quickly
approaching the time of the great tribulation right now.
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Dave: You say, well, born again, you know, how can we overcome?
Well, Jesus said that we must overcome, but how do we become
overcomers so that we can inherit all things and enter
into the kingdom of God?
Revelation 12:11 gives us the answer.
The Bible says, “And they overcame him,” Satan, “by the
blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony; they loved
not their lives unto the death.”
So, the blood of the Lamb is our defensive weapon.
There’s nothing the enemy can bring against us that the blood
of Jesus cannot remove and to heal and to–or destroy.
The word of our testimony is our offensive weapon.
Once we’re saved, we can lead others to Christ by telling them
how Jesus saved us, forgave us for our sins, washed me clean by
the blood of the Lamb, and sharing the power of our
personal testimony.
“They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of
their testimony.”
But Jesus also warned who would not be part of his kingdom.
The very first two listed were the fearful, if you remember,
and the unbelieving.
You know, once we place our faith in Jesus Christ and his
salvation, it really takes away the fear factor.
Fear has no place in somebody who’s been born again.
And his Word assures us in, if you go to what?
2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7, it says, “For God hath not given us
a spirit of fear; but of power, love, and of a sound mind.”
So, fear goes out the window to a Christian.
What’s there to fear?
I didn’t say you’re not gonna be concerned about a loved one or
this situation, but as far as fear of the enemy.
The Bible says, “Greater is he that’s in me than he that’s
in the world.”
I’m not afraid of the antichrist, I’m not afraid
of Satan.
God–I just trust God to take care of all that.
And then Jesus, you know, he specifically said that all liars
will have their part in the lake of fire.
Why such a strong condemnation here?
Because salvation itself depends on believing the truth.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse
10 that many will be lost because they received not a love
of the truth that they might be saved.
So, to overcome, we must cling to the blood of the lamb, boldly
share our testimony, and walk in the truth without fear, without
unbelief, and without–certainly without any compromise.
There’s a lot of churches compromising today.
Oh my goodness, you read some of the stories about how some of
these churches are just–they’re doing things diametrically
opposed to the Word of God and you think, “How is
that happening?”
They didn’t receive a love for the truth and
they’re compromising.
Can’t do that.
So, when we go, let’s go back to our–to Revelation 21 here
because we’re gonna be shown the bride.
The angel escorting John as he’s given him these visions,
he declares, “Hey, come with me, John, I will show you
the bride.”
Who’s the bride?
The bride’s the church.
So, this takes us to the central purpose of Revelation chapter
21, and verses 9 through 10.
This is very, very–this is really the–what everything
hinges on right here in Revelation chapter 21.
It’s verses 9 and 10.
And it says, “And there came unto me one of the seven angels
which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues,” and
he said, “Hey, John, come with me.”
“And saying, Come hither, and I will show you the bride, the
Lamb’s wife,” which is the church.
Everybody would agree with that, right?
And he goes on and said, “And he carried me away into the Spirit
to a great and high mountain, and he showed me the great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.”
Now he said, “Come on with me.
I’m gonna show you the bride,” and he took him and he showed
him the city.
So, when Jesus promised to show John the bride, the Lamb’s wife,
what did John see?
He saw the holy Jerusalem, the new Jerusalem.
You say, “Oh, Dave, I, you know, I don’t know.”
I’m walking you through the scriptures here.
This scripture gives us absolute proof the bride is the
holy Jerusalem.
And we know the holy Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem, they’re
the same thing because back in verse 2, the bride was called
the new Jerusalem, right?
And from this point forward in Revelation 21, God describes the
new Jerusalem in detail.
And remember, the new Jerusalem is the church.
And that means every description given, you know, hear about the
new Jerusalem is actually a description, a symbolic view of
the church.
But just like so many of the prophecies in Revelation, these
truths are revealed to us through symbols.
Okay, now it’s gonna get very detailed here.
And so, I want you to follow along with me because I get
questions about this all the time, and the New Jerusalem, and
the gates, and the foundations, and the streets of gold, and,
you know, what does all this mean?
And it’s very, very important.
Some people think it’s a physical city coming down
someday with physical streets of gold.
You say, “Dave, what do you–are you saying that’s not
gonna happen?”
Well, let’s go to the Bible and I’ll let you decide
for yourself.
So, the Bible says the new Jerusalem will have 12 gates.
Revelation chapter 21, verse 11 through 12.
It really gives us a description of the gates of this
New Jerusalem.
Now, remember, this is symbolism.
There’s–there there aren’t 12 physical gates.
You say, “But that’s what I’ve been taught my whole life.”
Now I get that, but what I’m telling you is we’re gonna go
through the Word of God here and we’re gonna figure it out
together, right?
So, this is Revelation 21:11-12.
It says this, “Having the glory of God: and her light was like
unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone,
crystal and clear.
And it had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and
at the gates were twelve angels, and names were written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children
of Israel.”
Now, notice this detail.
The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed on the
gates of the new Jerusalem.
And remember, who’s the new Jerusalem?
The new Jerusalem’s the church.
Now, for centuries, many have asked, “Will the Old Testament
saints be included in the church and therefore in the Rapture?
What happens to all the Old Testament saints?”
Well, the answer is they will be included there, absolutely.
The very fact that the names of the twelve tribes of Israel are
written on the gates of the new Jerusalem makes it very clear.
The Old Testament saints are included in God’s eternal plan
for his church, okay.
We’re always gonna go back to the fact that the new Jerusalem
is the church.
And this helps us to answer so many questions that I’m–that
I get asked all the time.
Jesus gave us even more proof in Luke chapter 13, verse 28.
It says, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you
shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets,
in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.”
So, here, Jesus specifically names Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
and all the prophets being in the kingdom of God.
And that means the saints of the Old Testament, just like the
saints of the New Testament, are part of the eternal bride
of Christ.
And so, that means, you know, that they adhered to, they
obeyed the plans of salvation for the different dispensations,
and they’re gonna be included with us in this–in the kingdom
of God when he establishes that at the time of his second
coming, okay.
Also, I wanted to talk to you about the twelve foundations.
In Revelation chapter–this new Jerusalem has
twelve foundations.
Revelation 21:14.
It tells us and it said, “And the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb.”
So, this reveals that the names of the twelve apostles are
inscribed in the foundations of this new Jerusalem, which is
the church.
And remember, back in verse 12, the names of the twelve tribes
of Israel were written on the gates.
So, in the new Jerusalem, we see both the tribes of Israel and
the apostles of the Lamb.
The Apostle Paul also spoke of this in Ephesians chapter 2,
verse 20 describing the church.
He said, “And they are built upon the foundation of the
apostles and the prophets, and Jesus Christ him alone being the
chief cornerstone.”
So, it’s vital to understand that Jesus Christ is the
chief cornerstone.
Now, I’ve built houses, I’ve built factories, I’ve built all
kinds of stuff for years.
In construction, many–all you guys that are out there in the
trades, you know that the cornerstone of a building, that
determines the alignment of the entire building.
You gotta get them cornerstone that’s–set right.
Every wall, every measurement has got to line up perfectly
with that cornerstone, right?
Well, this means that everything in the new Jerusalem, everything
in the church must align perfectly with Jesus Christ.
You’re gonna be part of the church, you got to align up with
Jesus Christ.
And then if you remember, Paul reinforces this in
Ephesians 4:13.
It says, “We are to grow unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ.”
This is, of course, this is God’s Word.
It’s reinforces this over and over and over.
The foundations of the new Jerusalem reminds us that the
apostles and prophets that they play their part, but everything
rests upon Jesus Christ.
He’s the cornerstone, the standard, the measure of
all things.
The apostles would have no message without
Jesus Christ, okay.
And then, this probably is maybe one of the most controversial
parts of Revelation 21.
The most talked about, the most disputed, the most argued, you
know, back and forth, or what does this mean?
What’s that mean?
So, I wanted to talk to you today about the measurements of
the new Jerusalem.
Now, remember, we’re dealing in symbolism here.
And so, we’re not–I’m not gonna pull out a tape measurer here on
the desk and say, “Okay, 65 inches by 36 inches and,” you
know, it’s–you gotta get that out of your mind.
We’re dealing with symbolism here and we’re just we’re
describing the new Jerusalem which is the church.
And so, we’re gonna talk about some measurements and we’re
gonna talk about, you know, furlongs and cubits and all
kinds of different things, foundations.
We’re gonna try to tie it all together so it makes sense and
it can make sense.
God wanted us to understand these things, right?
But what is he doing?
He’s showing us a description of the new Jerusalem which is the
bride of Christ, the church.
But you gotta look at it from–as it’s given to us
in symbols.
And so, that’s what we’re going through.
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