When Jerusalem finally has been brought to the Divine standard of perfection there will be no more need for the present heaven and earth. They will be discarded as worn-out clothes. Christ will create a new sky and a new earth.

On the new earth will be placed the nations of peoples whom Christ has saved.

Then, down from the new heaven will come the resurrected Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb. This is the eternal Tabernacle of God, the Throne of God and of the Lamb. The spirit of the earthly Jerusalem will now have been perfected. Its soul will have been converted. It will be time for its resurrected form to be clothed with its glorified, heavenly counterpart.

There is no doubt in my mind that the new Jerusalem is an actual city, that it is in Heaven at the present time, that it is the Throne of God, that it is the Church, the Wife of the Lamb.

The city shines with the brilliance of a precious jewel, being made of pure gold and reflecting the Glory of God. There is a great wall around the city made of jasper. The twelve foundations of the wall are set with a variety of precious stones.

Yet, I believe also that the gold and various jewels are speaking symbolically of the spiritual perfections that have been wrought by the Holy Spirit in the personalities of God's elect. No doubt the great pearls that serve as gates tell us of the long years of patient suffering that numerous saints have endured. The pure gold, as clear as glass, of the street of the city reminds us of faith tested seven times in the furnace of affliction.

Mineral wealth is of little importance to God and ought to be of little importance to us. What is of eternal worth is the character of the saints—moral character transformed into the image of Christ as little by little, line upon line, the first, adamic nature has died and in its place has been created the Divine Nature of Jesus Christ.

Too much emphasis is being placed today on going to Heaven as a place. Not nearly enough significance is being given to the transformation of the saints. Yet it is that very transformation that provides the worth and beauty of the city. We ought to want to go to Heaven. We ought to desire much more that we will be made heavenly. Don't you agree?

There will be no Canaanites (unholy people) in the house of the Lord of hosts forever. Every pot in Jerusalem will be holy to the Lord. Every word that the Prophets spoke will be fulfilled for all the world to behold. To Abraham and his Seed will have been given the land forever, just as God has promised.

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the Lord of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the Lord of hosts. (Zechariah 14:21)

For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. (Isaiah 65:18) (from Jerusalem)