The City of Abraham

New Jerusalem will be populated in fulfillment of the promise to bless all nations through Abraham and his seed – Revelation 21:24-22:5.

The Book of Revelation concludes with an image of the immense and glorious city of “New Jerusalem” populated by the “innumerable multitude” of men redeemed from every nation and people by Jesus. It represents the fulfillment of the covenant promises to Abraham of “land” and “blessings to all nations.” All this has been accomplished through the shed “blood of the Lamb.”

In the Book of Genesis, God promised Abraham that “in you, will all the families of the Earth be blessed.” Kings would come from the Patriarch, and he would become the “father of a multitude of nations” – (Genesis 12:1-3).

[Singapore - Photo by Mike Enerio on Unsplash]

The vast extent of this promise was illustrated when God challenged Abraham to number the stars. “North and south, east and west, for all the land that you see, will I give to you, and your seed, for an everlasting possession”:

• “And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then may your seed also be numbered”– (Genesis 13:16).

• “Look now towards the Heavens and number the stars, if you can number them. And he said to him, So will your seed be”– (Genesis 15:5-6).

The Abrahamic Covenant foresaw something larger than the territory of Palestine or the small nation of Israel. For example, “by faith” Abraham “became a sojourner in the land of promise <…> For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is God” – (Hebrews 11:9-10).

In Chapter 21 of Revelation, the dimensions of the Holy City make it coterminous with the “New Heavens and new Earth.” It is the “Paradise of God” where the “Tree of Life” provides life to the “nations.”

This “tree” is the Cross of Calvary. As the Risen Christ promised to victorious believers, “To the one who overcomes I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God. All that was lost because of the disobedience of Adam will be restored, but also infinitely enhanced and enlarged. The “curse” will be no more and the nations will be “healed” – (Revelation 2:7, 22:1-5).

The description of “New Jerusalem” includes verbal allusions to the Old Testament stories of Adam, Abraham, and Israel. What God intended in the first creation will not be abandoned. It will be fulfilled in the New Creation.

• “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude that no man could number from every nation and tribe and peoples and tongue, standing before the throne and the Lamb” – (Revelation 7:9).

• “You are worthy to take the book, and to open its seals, for you were slain and purchased for God with your blood men from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made them a kingdom and priests for our God” – (Revelation 5:9-10).

• “And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and loosed us from our sins by his blood. And he made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father” – (Revelation 1:5).

Likewise, the covenant promises of land, kings, and “blessings to the nations” will be consummated in the Holy City, including the promise to regather the tribes of Israel.

NATIONS AND KINGS

The “nations” are portrayed positively and negatively in Revelation. So, also, the “Kings of the Earth.” Those men who submit to Christ are found in “New Jerusalem,” and they become members of the “countless” multitude of men “purchased by the Lamb” - (Revelation 7:9-17, 21:24-27).

In his present “reign,” Jesus is “shepherding the nations” with his “rod,” but he does not use it to pulverize them. Instead, he “leads” them so that his glorious city will be populated. He is the Messianic Son who will inherit and shepherd the nations and possess the “uttermost parts of the Earth” - (Psalm 2:6-9, Revelation 5:9, 12:5, 15:4, 19:15).

• “For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will lead them to fountains of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” – (Revelation 7:17).

Likewise, Jesus is the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” This group is included among those who fled from his “wrath” when the “Sixth Seal was opened.” So, also, the “Kings of the Earth” are gathered to the “war” against the “Rider on a White Horse” - (Revelation 1:4-6, 6:15, 17:2, 17:18).

Nevertheless, the “Kings of the Earth” bring “their glory into the Holy City, and the glory and the honor of the nations,” and only individuals whose names are “written in the Lamb’s book of life” will gain entrance. Some, at least, of the Earth’s rulers will find their names in the “Book of Life.” Christ’s reign is not about annihilating nations but redeeming men and women for God’s Kingdom – (Revelation 21:27).

The group that is excluded from New Jerusalem is the “inhabitants of the Earth,” the men who gave their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea.” Their names are not found in the “Book of Life.” This group is distinct from the “Kings of the Earth” and the “nations.” Its members are beyond redemption - (Genesis 12:3, 17:6, 22:8).

In his final vision, the angel showed John the “river of water of life.” This echoes the vision of the Prophet Ezekiel when he saw a river flowing from “under the threshold of the house” providing healing and life, only now, it is for the “healing of the nations” - (Ezekiel 47:1-12, Revelation 22:1-5).

In the clause of Chapter 22, the Greek noun translated as “tree” or ‘xulon’ was used for lumber, that is, dead wood as opposed to living trees. The same Greek clause is found in the Septuagint translation of Genesis 2:9 for the “Tree of Life.” Elsewhere in the New Testament, ‘xulon’ is applied to the Cross on which Jesus was hanged. Christ crucified is the source of everlasting life for the nations - (Acts 5:30, 10:39, 13:29, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24).

Unlike the original creation, “there will be no curse any longer” in the New Creation. The term “curse” echoes the Genesis story when the Earth was “cursed” on account of Adam’s disobedience - (Genesis 3:17-19).

In New Jerusalem, “there will be no need of the sun or the moon, for the Lord God will give them light.” This alludes to the promise of restoration to Israel found in the Book of Isaiah, the regathering of the nation of Israel to the land. Darkness may cover the Earth, but God will display His glory over Israel so the “nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” - (Isaiah 60:1-3, 60:19-22).

Thus, the Book of Revelation squares the biblical circle. Jesus removes the “curse” and redeems God’s “good” creation. All the covenant promises are fulfilled by Jesus Christ, the “slain Lamb” who “shepherds the nations.”

God’s Redemptive Plan was never to abandon fallen humanity or the original creation but to redeem it and place humanity at its center under the rule of the Messiah, where righteous men and women will dwell securely and reign with the “Lamb” in the “Holy City of New Jerusalem.”

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SEE ALSO:

• The Era of Salvation - (The Gospel of the Kingdom announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and life to men and women of every nation and people)

• Redeeming the Nations - (The nations and the Kings of the Earth are found in the City of New Jerusalem because of the redeeming work of the Lamb)

• The Ruler of Kings - (Jesus, the Faithful Witness, now reigns supreme over the Kings of the Earth, and he is shepherding the nations to the Holy City of New Jerusalem)

• The Shepherd King - (The Lamb’s reign commenced with his Death and Resurrection. Since then, he has been shepherding the nations to the Holy City, New Jerusalem)