The New Jerusalem

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 19:7‭-‬9 NKJV

Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Revelation 21:2‭-‬14 NKJV

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The Bride 

God's people, those who are "in Christ", are the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the bride of Christ. Throughout the Bible, God's relationship with His people is described as a marriage, and He's made covenants with His people, just as we make covenants with each other in marriage. The relationship between Jesus and his people is the model in which marriage came from. 

Several times, Jesus refers to himself or is referred to as the Bridegroom. Paul made the connection between marriage and our relationship with Jesus when he wrote that husbands need to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Matthew and Luke record a parable that Jesus told about a marriage supper which his Father had arranged for him and those who accept His invitation.

Many years later, the apostle John had a vision in which an angel instructed him to write about the marriage supper, "the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready...Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!". John also saw, "the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." Shortly after that, an angel came and talked to John and carried him away in the Spirit to show him "the bride, the Lamb's wife." In his vision the Lamb's wife was portrayed as "the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God."

The Tabernacle 

As John describes what he saw and heard in his vision, he said that he heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God." The Hebrew word for tabernacle means, "dwelling place" or "residence". In the Old Testament, God gave Moses very precise instructions on how to construct the tabernacle, which was the place where God would reside and meet with His people. In the New Testament, the apostolic writer of Hebrews wrote that the tabernacle was among "the copy and shadow of the heavenly things", and that is the reason why Moses was commanded to "make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." He goes on to say that Jesus "has obtained a more excellent ministry" than that of the Levitical priests because "He is also the Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." The better promise of the New Covenant was that God will put His laws in their mind and write them on their hearts, and He will be their God and they shall be His people. This is exactly the same thing that John heard the "loud voice" saying in his vision: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."

As the Mediator of the new covenant, Jesus is also the High Priest who entered the Holy Place of the tabernacle to offer Himself as the one time sacrifice for all. However, the way into this Tabernacle was not made manifest until after the first tabernacle was no longer in effect. Jesus came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, or not of this creation. Jesus is the Tabernacle. 

John wrote years earlier in his Gospel that "the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us." Jesus dwelt and resided among us and made a way for us to be reconciled with God so that we can meet with Him and be His people and He can be our God. This is the promise of the new covenant. 

The Twelve Foundations 

John also described seeing in his vision, the wall of the city having twelve foundations, with the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb written on it. Other places in the Bible show us that the Kingdom of God which is compromised of God's people, is built on the foundation of the apostles. During the Last Supper, Jesus said to his twelve disciples that he was giving them the gift of a kingdom,  of which they will judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28‭-‬30). He gave them apostolic authority over all of his people. While the minds of the Jews was veiled and therefore could not fully understand the Scriptures, he opened the apostles's understanding so that they could build his Kingdom by teaching the Scriptures and everything that he commanded them.

Paul wrote to the Gentile church, that they are "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God which is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19‭-‬22).

Peter follows Paul's line of thought in his letter to the primarily Gentile church. Though Peter doesn't say that the foundation of God's household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, he does describe the church as being chosen by God, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people, and the people of God, who are living stones being built up to be a spiritual house with Jesus as the chief cornerstone. 

In both cases, God's people are living stones being built together to be the household and dwelling place of God that is built on the foundation of the twelve apostles and prophets, with Jesus as the chief cornerstone. John's vision of the New Jerusalem was also built on the foundation of the apostles. It is the same foundation that the other apostles described the household of God is being built upon.

The holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God

If the New Jerusalem is the people of God under the new covenant as I am suggesting, some may wonder why it is coming down out of heaven from God, rather than going up to God. After all, the common belief is that Christians go to heaven to be with God when they die and spend eternity there.

But actually, God's people will spend eternity on the new earth that John also saw in his vision. The new earth is where God's eternal Kingdom will be overseen by King Jesus, and his where his good and faithful servants who have inherited his Kingdom will co-reign with him. Most of Jesus's teachings were about the Kingdom of God. He talked about those who are faithful with little being given more. That applies to our current lives in the Kingdom on the present earth, as well as to our future, eternal lives in the Kingdom on the new earth. 

To further this point, Jesus quoted Psalm 37, saying that the meek will inherit the earth. 

“But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

Luke 22:28‭-‬30 NKJV

https://bible.com/bible/114/luk.22.28-30.NKJV