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The New Jerusalem—the Bride of Christ

The New Jerusalem—the Bride of Christ

When you think of the New Jerusalem, do you think of high walls with pearly gates on each side, streets of gold, and beautiful mansions? In other words, do you envision mostly inanimate materials? But could the “New Jerusalem” in Scripture be representative of something more? Could the highly symbolic book of Revelation use the image of a city to depict a people from every corner of the earth who have characters that shine like purified gold, living with immortal bodies, and bonded in intimate union with Jesus?

Consider what John saw in vision:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. … 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.” 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 (Revelation 21:1, 2, 9, 10 NIV84).

Is Christ married to inanimate materials or to living beings?

For your Maker is your husband—the LORD Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth (Isaiah 54:5 NIV84).

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25–32 NIV84).

The loving intimacy, trust, and union of marriage require living beings. It cannot occur with non-living matter. The church, the people of God, is the bride of Christ; the Bible metaphorically describes the people of God not only as a purified bride but also as the New Jerusalem. And the New Jerusalem is also described as Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the place where the “names” of the righteous are written:

But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven (Hebrews 12:22, 23 NIV84).

Further, this heavenly city is described as shining “with the glory of God” (Revelation 21:11). This is not referring to mere photons but to God’s character of truth and love. It will shine with the glory of God because the people of God have been healed to have the character of Christ; they all shine like beacons of glorious heavenly love and truth—they reveal the character of God. And, yes, these healed and sealed saints will also shine brightly as Moses’ face did after being in God’s presence (Exodus 34:29–35).

But the Bible gives us more insight into this profound mystery of Christ being united with His bride. The New Jerusalem is described as being structurally in the shape of a cube (Revelation 21:16). This is the exact shape of the most holy place in the sanctuary (1 Kings 6:20). The parallels between the New Jerusalem and the most holy place are not accidental—they are divinely inspired:

  • The most holy place was covered in gold; the city is paved in gold.
  • The most holy place was lighted by God’s Shekinah presence; the city is lighted by God’s eternal presence (Revelation 21:21, 22).
  • The most holy place is where the high priest conducted a special ceremony: the ceremony of atonement, the ceremony of cleansing, the ceremony of washing away sin and purifying the people (bride), the ceremony of bringing the people into at-one-ment with God, of two becoming one. In other words, it was a wedding ceremony! And the New Jerusalem is the bride being married to Jesus the Bridegroom!

Just as the apostle Paul described in Ephesians, Jesus is cleansing His bride in order to bring His people into at-one-ment with Him. This is the marriage of the Lamb, when Jesus cleanses her from all defilement and clothes her in the white robes of His righteousness—and the “two” become “one.”

During this time, the cleansing of the sanctuary, Jesus purifies His bride, washing her, removing all sin, all defects, and all shame, guilt, fear, and selfishness. Jesus and His bride are bonded with the bonds of love, devotion, loyalty, and trust for all eternity. This is what happens at a wedding—two hearts united together in intimate at-one-ness.

The cleansing of the bride and the cleansing of the sanctuary describe the same event. Jesus, in heaven, is working to completely heal the hearts and minds of those who have exercised faith in Him so that when He returns, we are able to stand in His presence and see Him face to face (1 John 3:2). We who are alive on the earth cooperate with Him for the healing and cleansing of our minds, hearts, and characters to make ourselves ready for His return:

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’” (Revelation 19:6–9 NIV84).

The wedding is the intimate joining of the hearts and minds of the people with Jesus, the final cleansing of their characters, bringing them into at-one-ment with Jesus, which occurs before His appearing; it prepares us to stand in His glorious presence. The wedding supper of the Lamb is the celebration and feast that the saved experience after the second coming, when the mortal puts on immortality. We will be physically present at the wedding supper, the celebration. But the wedding itself happens before the celebration. The wedding is the bonding, healing, uniting, and cleansing of hearts and minds from sin, the purifying of character, the restoring of the righteousness of Christ within, the writing of His law into our inmost being. The wedding is happening now, and the bride—you and me—are to be making ourselves ready by faith, by following Jesus in loving trust and living out His methods and principles today.

And just like a woman takes the name of her husband, those who are united with Christ are given His name:

I will make those who are victorious pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name (Revelation 3:12 GNT).

The name of God is His character. The people of God have His character reproduced within them. This restoration of God’s character within the living saints is the cleansing of the sanctuary, the removal of sin and rebellion, the restoration of the saved to God’s original design for humanity, the receiving of the perfection of Christ as their own, being united, at-one, with Christ, being married to Him! We receive our new name—Christian—one who is like Jesus.

This beautiful description of intimacy—of love, of unity of heart and mind, of husband united with wife so that the two are one—is the same event as the cleansing of the sanctuary described in the prophecy of Daniel 8:14, as well as Jesus coming to His temple to cleanse it before His return as described in Malachi chapter three. I am not the first to come to this conclusion. The book The Great Controversy states:

The coming of Christ as our high priest to the most holy place, for the cleansing of the sanctuary, brought to view in Daniel 8:14; the coming of the Son of man to the Ancient of Days, as presented in Daniel 7:13; and the coming of the Lord to His temple, foretold by Malachi, are descriptions of the same event; and this is also represented by the coming of the bridegroom to the marriage, described by Christ in the parable of the ten virgins, of Matthew 25 (p. 426).

Prior to the coming of Christ, He receives His kingdom (Daniel 7:13), which is the kingdom of truth, love, and liberty—the kingdom of God’s eternal character of love based upon the living law of love, the law upon which all life is built by God to operate. Christ advances His kingdom by writing His living law of love into our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10), because, as Jesus taught, “the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 NIV84). The receiving of His kingdom is the receiving of His bride in holy union; it is the Bridegroom cleansing her, cleansing the spirit temples, the place where God dwells; it is the healing, recreation, restoration of His people to perfect unity with Him. This is the wedding, the purifying of His bride so that when He returns, we are ready to stand in His presence holy and pleasing, a bride adorned for her husband!

The event that began at the end of the 2,300-year prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is Jesus cleansing His people, purifying His bride, bringing all who have professed faith in Him throughout all human history into at-one-ment with Him and His Father, uniting us in heart, mind, and character with Him for all eternity. We receive His name—His character!

If you would like to read more about this incredible healing, cleansing, and unity with God, we invite you to read our magazine The Heavenly Sanctuary and Investigative Judgment for the Modern World.

Jesus is coming soon; at this time in human history, the bride is to prepare herself to meet Him. I invite you to prepare yourself by opening your heart to Jesus, accepting Him as your friend, companion, and partner for all eternity and allowing Him to write His design law of love upon your heart and mind, purifying and cleansing you from all sin. Allow Him to write His name upon you and enter into the reality—become part of the New Jerusalem!

But you have come into the reality (of which the symbols only pointed to), to Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem — the heavenly city of the living God — and you are part of that city. You have come to join millions upon millions of angels rejoicing in God’s presence, into the heavenly sanctuary — the true church of Christ — whose identities are stored in heaven. You have come to God — the source and standard of righteousness for all people; to the archived individualities of righteous human beings perfectly restored into Christlikeness of character; to Jesus — the conduit and administrator of God’s healing plan; and to the reality of God’s true nature and character, which was much more potently revealed and disseminated when Christ died than in the symbols offered by Abel (Hebrews 12:22–24 The Remedy New Testament Paraphrase).

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Testimony 62

I would like to express my thanks to the C&R team for creating a platform from which people can learn to trust in God and grow. My life is a witness to the effectiveness of this ministry. Without believing the truth about God as you have shown, I don’t know what my life would be like. I had given up on God helping me with certain sins – it was all useless. Given that the scripture is clear and God is so good, how could I have betrayed him so many times? I was a yo-yo christian; spinning up and down. My faith and enthusiasm was driven by discoveries/threats that prophecy is about to be fulfilled. But when I watched your “Healing the Mind” seminar, it was like a light finally went on. I could see God had no plan to hurt me, the danger came from sin, and that He is working to protect me and strengthen me. Thank you for allowing God to use you. The message God gave C&R saved my life!

Antony N. – Hobart, Australia

 

Testimony 29

Thank you for all of your work to correct misconceptions about God’s character. So many people that my husband and I have talked to seem to be against the natural law construct and view it as “errant” and “dangerous.” Having learned more about it through your blogs and lessons, I don’t really understand why they view it that way, except that it means they have to relearn theology they have known for their entire lives. But I’m so excited to relearn this. For the past few years I have been questioning how I could trust a God who punishes arbitrarily and is full of wrath for those who don’t obey His commands. That view made me afraid to “mess up” or “not be good enough,” even within my relationship with God. I really appreciated the point you bring out about God not wanting us to serve Him because we are afraid, but because we love Him.

Melissa H., IN, USA

 

Testimony 19

I truly believe that to know who God really is the first step to understand ourselves in a balanced and kind way, so the healing can take place. Your approach really makes sense – Thank you for your ministry!

A.M., Pittsburg, PA, USA

Testimony 45

I have been confused for years about what [christianity] calls [its] most disgusting teaching. It has never made much sense to me and for that reason has been evermore empty. I have listened to your class off and on and have struggled determining what is truth, because of the resistance design law encounters in the church. So, I thank God for your ministry. What you teach makes sense. It’s logical and backed up by the power of love. I have never seen that in Christ until now. I am astounded by the insight that is found when we look at God’s ministry through design law. All strength to this message, as I believe it to be the power of God.

Brendon S.

 

Testimony 28

I have been following your Bible study class for about a year now. I must say I am impressed with how your ministry has grown. I took it upon myself to listen to all your lesson podcasts from the past and they have both enriched me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I have learnt a lot from this class. I have also noticed how the class has grown in spiritual strength. One of the things that benefited me is that now I am not afraid of God. I use to be, but now it has melted away. The second thing is that you helped me to have a real life relationship with God. Now He is my friend that was always there and I love having him with me all the time. Thirdly, because of this class, it inspired me to take over and lead a class. I have called it “Let Us Reason Together,” adapting your inquisitive style and creating a class of free thinkers.

T. Banda, Malawi, Africa

 

Testimony 41

I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

Bless you for all you do.

Melissa L.

 

Testimony 18

The Healing the Mind DVD set tarted me on a journey that has changed my relationship with our loving God more significantly than any other study, and brought me to your book and Bible study podcasts, which I now listen to daily, thanks to the availability of archived content on your site and on iTunes.

Anonymous

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 13

I borrowed “Healing The Mind” DVDs from a friend and showed them at my home for a small gathering of women friends. Neither of my friends are Adventist, but they both enjoyed and embraced the messages you taught. In fact, one of the ladies prayed out loud in our group and that was the first time she had ever had public prayer.

J.B. ,Dalles, OR, USA

 

Testimony 72

I am blown away by the truth that you present. God’s Design Law makes so much sense! You have validated my impression that, if God is love, He would not kill those who don’t want to know him. If God gives us choice, then how can He destroy us if our choice is not to follow him. Thank you for opening my eyes and heart to the pure love of God seen through Jesus. The love I now have for Jesus is deeper and free from condemnation. My heart has been opened to love others as Jesus loves me. May God continue to bless your God-given insight into His word and your ministry. The truth has set me free!

H. Miller, Centereach, NY

Testimony 12

I have been really blessed reading your response to the various questions on your site.

K.C., OH, USA

 

Testimony 51

I Love This Ministry!!!!!!! I see first hand how this message is desperately needed, how erroneous beliefs about God and His Character negatively affect humanity at every level. I thank God for your ministry, as I was searching on my own and was discovering some of your same beliefs and was blown away when I found your ministry. I know you hear it all the time, but it is truly life changing. May God continue to reveal His Will to you and Bless you!

Eric S., Sanford, FL, USA

 

Testimony 7

Ok, so last night I listened to “The Law of Liberty” and “How to Achieve Victory: Freedom, Truth and Spirtual Warfare.” These are both MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITES so far! The logic is just soooooo beautiful. I had to re-listen to them a couple of times. I just want to EXPLODE! (<< we assume with joy and happiness)

N. B., Canada

 

Testimony 11

I would love to have a copy of “Healing the Mind” DVDs to have in my therapy office. I enjoy having clients check out materials to enhance their therapy experience. I have sat under Dr. Jennings’ teaching at an American Association of Christian Counselors convention and respect his work greatly.

K.B., LA, USA

 

Testimony 14

We really appreciate your views on the judgment and they make good sense considering our free choice.

Anonymous