“ In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” ( John 14:2 KJV )
The word ‘place’ in this passage of Scripture in the original Greek is the word ‘topos’ and is a NOUN meaning ‘a place, region, seat‘. This is a real physical place that Christ started preparing for us after His ascension 2000 years ago. It will be the physical dwelling place of Christ and home to the Saints (all believers from the Old Testament and New Testament times). The Bible calls this place the New Jerusalem, and the Heavenly City Of Jerusalem. At the Rapture event, believers will find themselves in this place, with new immortal bodies that are both physical and spiritual, just as Christ has (1 John 3:2).
“Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
(1 Thess. 4:17 KJV)
At the Second Coming at the end of the Tribulation period, the Bride of Christ from our current dispensation come back to Earth with Christ leading them. Old Testament Saints will be bodily resurrected at this time. When believers come then where do they come from? Heaven or the New Jerusalem?
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev. 21:2 KJV)
The New Jerusalem is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:2). No coincidence there. Jesus calls all who believe and accept Him as Lord and Savior as the Bride of Christ to whom Christ is married in union forever. And you see that it does not say the New Jerusalem is heaven, it says it is “coming down OUT of heaven”. It is clearly the physical dwelling place of the Bride of Christ. The New Jerusalem now resides in the third Heaven where God’s throne is located. This verse in Revelation 21:2 is going to happen when Christ begins His rule on Earth at His 2nd Coming. All on the Earth will see this place coming towards Earth. It will be the brightest thing in the sky! They will hide themselves from what they see coming from space. Previously raptured Church Age believers will find themselves in this ‘place prepared’ for us. It is where we will be going at the Harpazo Rapture event. It is the eternal dwelling place of Church Age believers. How blessed are we! Some teach the Heavenly City, The New Jerusalem, does not come down out of heaven until after the 1000 year Kingdom Age but it is a misunderstanding of reading. More info on that here.
We know the New Jerusalem is a physical place in our universe because this Scripture is telling us that after the Millennium it will land on the Newly created Earth. It is described as massive in size with length height and depth equally 1500 miles long each! (So it’s in our physical 3D universe). Likely a cube or possibly a huge pyramid. A massive place that would easily hold billions of believers with vast room to spare! Much too large to reside on the Earth in the Kingdom Age.
If we look at Rev 20:9 it describes the final rebellion after Satan is released for a short time near the end of the 1000 year Reign of Christ on Earth.
“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” (Revelation 20:9 KJV)
Let us look at this verse as written in the Greek to gain a better understanding about this beloved city.
It says that those rebelling against Christ and being led by Satan, “went UP on the BREADTH of the Earth”. The original Greek word for ‘UP’ is ‘anabainō ‘ and means ‘to climb..ascend ‘. The original Greek the word ‘BREADTH’ is ‘platos ‘ and means ‘a great extent’. The original Greek word for ‘EARTH’ is ‘gē’ and means ‘the earth as a whole, the earth as opposed to the heavens’.
This verse mentions two locations. One is the camp of the saints and the other the ‘BELOVED city’. It does not state one place being attacked in this final rebellion led by the devil. It seems to indicate an attack on the camp of the saints on Earth and a Beloved City. Is this the city of Jerusalem on Earth? Is that the beloved city? Another question comes to mind and that is, won’t believers be found all around the globe and not just in this camp on Earth? So who exactly is the devil and the rebellious humans trying to attack? Well, who is ruling and reigning on Earth? Who is running the world system at that time? Jesus and the resurrected saints, that’s who! Everyone else is still mortal from the start of the Kingdom Age, who are the ones who repopulated the Earth in mortal human bodies. It seems like the devil and those siding with him, will attack two places where Jesus and the saints reside.
“…and compassed the camp of the saints about, AND the beloved city…”
Ephesians 1:6 shows believers are the ‘beloved’ and it is the very same word as used here in Rev 20 in the Original Greek. It is the Greek word ‘agapaō ‘.
The Camp of the Saints is not a place of permanence. The saints place of permanence that Jesus is preparing for us (John 14) is the New Jerusalem which is right now residing in Heaven. At the Second Coming, glorified Saints will return with Christ from Heaven, where the New Jerusalem is now located and will be ruling and reigning on Earth with Christ. Apparently, we will be ruling and reigning from this ‘camp’, which is headquartered in Jerusalem where Christ rules on Earth from. Just like an army has stations around the globe, it is a remote camp that is away from the homeland. This is a camp on Earth where the Saints reside while away from home in the New Jerusalem, ruling with Christ on Earth.
Satan and those who side with him for this final rebellion are where? They are on the Earth. So what is this great distance to the BELOVED CITY all about then? It seems to be the very city where Jesus is sitting on the throne on Earth; the city of Jerusalem on Earth. Those siding with Satan will come from all over the Earth, wherever they are, in a final rebellion against Christ and the Saints. And they will be utterly defeated as God send fire from Heaven (space) and kills them all physically.
Revelation 5 shows us that all glorified at the Rapture event may have been raptured to the third Heaven and the New Heavenly Jerusalem, but we will also be made kings and priests and will be ruling and reigning with Christ in the Kingdom Age, which is the 1000 Year Reign of Christ and His saints on Earth.
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign ON THE EARTH.”(Revelation 5:9-10 KJV)
It may also be that ruling saints are able to travel between Earth and their real home in the New Jerusalem in Heaven during the Kingdom Age. We will already have been resurrected and have the same body characteristics that Jesus now has. That is a possibility too. Maybe, we go back and forth between the New Jerusalem and the temporary ‘camp’ on the Earth for our duties in the Kingdom Age as Kings and Priests. Whatever the case will actually be, God will give us meaningful and purposeful work in the ruling of the world during the Kingdom age; the 1000 year reign of Christ over the Earth. The Bible gives us some clues about what we will be doing in the Millennium Reign of Christ. The Saints will be judges (Psalms 149:9) and officers of peace (Isaiah 60:17). Some Saints will be made kings in helping Christ rule (Job 36:7) and some will be teachers (Jeremiah 3:15) likely all will teach to some degree). These Scriptures show us that these are very plausible ways working the Saints will perform in the coming Kingdom on Earth.
With in-corrupt bodies that never die, the Saints have the same kind of body that Jesus has since His resurrection. After His resurrection Jesus walked around on Earth for 40 days! He just appeared through a locked door when He greeted the Disciples and scared the gajeebies out of them at first. (Yes God does have a sense of humour!). Jesus could walk through locked doors. He appeared out of now where. He disappeared from one place and was in another place instantaneously. The Saints will have that same ability and will instantaneously be able to leave the New Jerusalem and appear on Earth to rule and reign. This is speculation though as the Bible is not really clear on this. We know that on Earth is a CAMP – not a place of permanence. It is a temporary dwelling. That could be referencing just that we will be away from our real home, the New Jerusalem in the third Heaven until the end of the 1000 Kingdom Age when it will descend out of the third Heaven. Or it could mean we still reside there and go back and forth to the camp on Earth and it will still descend from the third Heaven later. The Bible does not seem to be clear on this because the focus is the Kingdom Age and the fact that we will be ruling and reigning with Christ, and the final defeat of satan and his angels, and all who go alog with him will be done with and over.
There will also be vast knowledge about Christ and Salvation in Christ during the Kingdom Age. He is here RULING physically on Earth! The saints (believers Raptured) will be doing as Christ did in His first coming to Earth; teaching in love, the truth while also ruling in judgement to keep the Earth at complete peace. Toward the end of the 1000 years though we see that a massive number of people are rejecting Christ and Satan is released from his imprisonment to deceive them and gather them together for one final rebellion against Christ. They will be swiftly defeated and killed by Christ.
What About The Rebuilt Earthly Temple In Israel?
The Bible tells us that the Rebuilt Temple in Israel will be in full operation during the Kingdom period. During the Millennium Israel will perform daily sacrifices as was in Old Testament days. But didn’t Christ already pay for the sins? The Saints are already in their immortal perfect state of being now? Why go back to the Old Testament Sacrifices? For the same reasons the Jewish people did in the Old Testament days. It was never done to atone for their sins, but was done as a foreshadowing of what the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would do on the cross in their future. It was a remembrance of what Christ WILL DO to forgive them of their sins. Those in the Millennial Reign of Christ will do this, not to atone for sins; Christ already did that in the past tense. The sacrifices begin again as reminder to those mortal humans born in the Millennium Reign of Christ just how horrible sin is. As a remembrance looking back at what Christ did on the cross.
Christ will rule the nations with a ‘rod of iron’ (Revelation 2:5, Revelation 19:15). Jesus once came to us as a baby in a manager, as our Savior. At the Second Coming He comes as the Lion of Judah, in power. He comes to thwart Satan and take over the world. Believe me when I say that today Satan rules much of the world system. The media, the governments, religions, even many so called ‘Christian’ religions! Our music and television. The Internet. Advertising. Corporate marketing, corporate greed. Look closely and you can see how deceived we really are. Satan has deceived the whole world! (Revelation 12:9) The Bible is the only thing telling us the truth! And the truth in believing and receiving Christ’s atonement as Gods only begotten Son, is the only way out of receiving the wrath of God coming upon the world.
There will be swift and severe consequences for evil and disobedience to the mortal humans living in the Millennium. Jesus will make the world such a wonderful place to be. There will be no more war (Isaiah 2:4). Mortal humans will live long lives. So long that living 100 years old will be looked at as a curse by God. (Isaiah 65:20-22).
Jesus is ruling in strictness now. Some who rebel against Him will be given short lives and others put to death even. Rebellion will not be tolerated. He will not allow vast rebellions any longer.
Satan has been bound for the entire 1000 years and can not deceive the people. Even though Satan is bound and unable to influence humankind, those born in the Millennium still have the fleshly sin nature. They can still sin. They still need to make a choice to accept the Salvation provided by Christ! They can also and will eventually die as mortals. The sacrificing is restarted because they need to know how severe a consequence sin is. Blood is required. The blood of Christ! As the Old Testament Jewish peoples used the Sacrifices to remind them what Jesus would do on the cross in their future to forgive their sins, the Millennial people on Earth will have it to remind them the great sacrifice Jesus Christ accomplished in blood, in their past, to redeem them. To show them how terrible sin really is. To show them their need for Salvation.
