Foundations for Christian Mission, Mentor's Guide, MG04

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F O U N D A T I O N S F O R C H R I S T I A N M I S S I O N

The New Jerusalem as the Ultimate

III. God’s Adoption of the City: the Heart of the Lord for Cities

Vindication of the City

A. Jerusalem in God’s heart

The ultimate vindication of the city comes in the apocalyptic vision of New Jerusalem, which descends from heaven (Rev. 21.2), symbolic of its divine origin and its transcendence of human and earthly reality. With the appearance of this heavenly city, “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (Rev. 11.15). Its ancient rival, Babylon, which attempts to subvert it, will ultimately be destroyed and cast down (Rev. 18). This New Jerusalem will have no temple, “for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb” (Rev. 21.22 RSV), and it will need no sun, since God’s glory will be its eternal light (v. 23). Furthermore, “The kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it” (v. 24 RSV). The curse of the Fall will be removed and, along with it, the injustice and futility that characterized life in the city of man. ~ Leland Ryken. The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2000. p 153.

1. God chose the city of Jerusalem for himself, even though David captured Zion in his warfare.

a. David’s capture of Zion in battle, 2 Sam. 5.4-10

b. God’s selection of Jerusalem

(1) 2 Chron. 12.13

(2) Ps. 48.1

(3) Ps. 78.68-70

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(4) Ps. 132.13

(5) Isa. 14.32

2. The Lord established Jerusalem and has determined to make her a praise in the earth.

a. Isa. 62.6-7

b. Isa. 62.12

3. Divine irony: God selected something which humankind created (this is the same as the idea of kingship ; although God’s people chose a king against God’s will, God adopted it and expanded it for his own divine purpose).