The heavenly Jerusalem is the destination of our journey. Therefore, we need to be clear about our destination, our goal, and our direction in life. The Lord will bring us to the destination of our journey—New Jerusalem. It’s eternal dwelling place of God, our sweet home. Our whole person, including our spirit, soul, and body, will reach this final destination.
We will visit the people outside of the city and help them. These people are real humans. They will continue to multiply, and soon the worlds of love will fill the universe. We will be the most glorious ones and the Lord’s precious witnesses. We will oversee these people, and help them to learn about God’s love. They will not sin when they know deeply about God’s love. The sufferings we endure now are preparing us to become kings, so that we will rule with God in eternity.
The heavenly Jerusalem is also the destination of our spirits. Earlier, we mentioned how Hebrews chapter 4 talks about “drawing near to the throne of grace.” In chapter 12, it says that we have come to the heavenly Jerusalem among other things. The Book of Hebrews is a conclusion. It tells us that New Jerusalem is the final destination of our spirits. There we will enjoy the presence of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is our goal and final destination of our spirits. It’s impossible for us to have any higher aim or better destination than God Himself!
New Jerusalem is not merely a city. Its core is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and us. Of course, we can’t be separated from God because the church is the closest to the Lord, united in one spirit. Our lives are deeply united with Abba and the Lord. This love relationship is the deepest. One day we will reach the final destination of our life journey, New Jerusalem.
We are pilgrims who “run with endurance in the race that is set before us.” (Heb. 12:1) Now we are running the last leg of the journey before the Lord’s coming! What are we running towards? New Jerusalem! He will come to receive us. It’s so precious that the eternal Lord, the infinite One will leave His throne to receive us in the clouds! We are so precious! A lot of people admired Enoch and Elijah because they were taken up to heaven. However, neither Enoch nor Elijah was taken to heaven in the same manner as we will be. The Lord will come in person to receive us. Indeed, we are very blessed. We should be humble, yet, we also need to recognize the truth—how He loves us and how important we are in His heart. The Lord does not want to delay his coming by a single second. He will come in person to receive us. He wants us to know His heart, that is, He desires us and longs to meet us face to face as soon as possible.
In the last chapter of the Bible, the Lord says three times that He is coming soon. To do what? To receive us! This is the Lord’s love desire. In addition, on the night before His crucifixion, the Lord prayed, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am.” (John 17:24) He also said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:1-2) One day, when we follow the Lord to heaven, will we be surprised to find out there are no rooms for us? He said, “I go to prepare a place for you.” Just as a groom will prepare a place for the bride, the Lord will for sure prepare a dwelling place for us as He promised. The beauty of this place is beyond measure. No mansions on earth can be compared to it.
It’s so precious that God wants us to set Him as our final destination. In eternity, He wants us to enjoy Him more and more deeply. Our love for Him will continue to increase and overflow. Even though now we already love Him with all our heart, in eternity, our capacity will increase and we will love Him more. This is our destination!