The New Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom

Many Christians believe that the New Jerusalem, the city of gold, will descend from heaven AFTER the Millennial Kingdom, and onto a new earth. Since Revelation 21 starts with these words, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.", many bible students think that the timing here is the beginning of eternity, the beginning of the dispensation of the fulness of the times. But one might be surprised to learn that this is NOT the case. The New Jerusalem will descend to earth at the BEGINNING of the Millennial Kingdom.

Let me present you with scripture and a few points of reasoning to justify my conviction.

1. Revelation 20 concludes with the final war at the END of the Millennium. Through deception, Satan causes countless Millennial inhabitants to rebel, but God destroys this upstirring quickly with fire from heaven. Satan is cast into the lake of fire and the Great White Throne judgement concludes with the removal of all rebellion. In Revelation 21, John now returns to the BEGINNING of the Millennium again. We can deduce this because the phrase, "new heaven and new earth" also appears in Isaiah 65:17 in a passage which describes Israel enjoying the fruitfulness and blessings of life during the Millennium. We must not be surprised that John jumps back and forth in the timeline of Revelation. The book does not follow in a strict chronological order.
   
   
2. The first 5 verses of Revelation 22 are a summary of Ezekiel 47:1-12, which is also about the Kingdom age in Israel. In both these passage (Ezekiel 47 and Revelation 22) it speaks of the river of life being a source of life for all sorts of flora, and the leaves of the plants being for the healing of the nations.
   
   Ezek.47:12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
   
   Now consider this; what is the need for healing if we were in the eternal state where sickness or death have long been defeated? Also, the reference to nations in Rev.22:2 can only be in reference to the nations of the Millennium who, as mortals, will need the fruit thereof as meat for sustenance.
   
   
3. Consider also the monthly harvest of this fruit (mentioned above). This reference to time confirms that John was not talking about eternity, which by definition is the absence of time.
   
   
4. In Acts 3:21 Peter refers to the time when Christ will refresh and renew all things. The word translated "new" in John's quote of Isaiah 65:17 can also mean refreshed or renewed. We know this renewing will take place at the 2nd advent of Christ to earth because in Matt.19:28 Jesus speaks of this time being the regeneration of all things.
   
   
5. In Matt. 24:29 Jesus said that after the distress of those days (of the Great Tribulation), the sun and moon would no longer shine. In Rev.21:22-27 it describes the nations walking by the light of the New Jerusalem. It could be interpreted that after the 2nd advent of Christ, it is the New Jerusalem that will replace the sun and earth as the source of light.
   
   
6. The New Jerusalem has a distinctly Jewish identify. Not only does it have the names of the 12 apostles imprinted into the 12 foundations (Rev.21:14), but the gates of the city also had the names of the 12 tribes of Israel (Rev.21:12). Why would we need these as reference and reminder when at the end of the ages, God will bring all into one in Christ, both in heaven and earth. In this eternal state there is no need to be reminded of Israel and the Jewish Kingdom program.
   
   
7. Since the Bible deals with God's redemption plan throughout determined ages, and divided across clearly defined dispensations, each of which are relevant to mankind, it would be reasonable to conclude that all the detailed information written in its 66 books deal with the ages within this plan. So why then would Revelation break the pattern and provide information that extends beyond the ages of man and into eternity? We do have references to eternity in individual scripture references which inform us that we will be with God forever and beyond the ages, but the details provided in the prophetic books are not concerning the forever, but remain within the bounds of God's existing plan, which He declared has a definite beginning and a definite end (Isaiah 46:10).

Having reasoned about the New Jerusalem appearing at the beginning of the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth, I'd like to provide a quote by Jack Kelley from his book called, "Understanding Revelation", which puts into perspective some other interesting points regarding the "regeneration" or "renewal" of all things during the Millennial Kingdom. Even these things are generally considered to be attributes of what bible students think will belong to the new, or eternal heavens and earth. Before I quote Jack, let me remind you again of the verse in question.

Rev. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Now review what Jack quotes in his book,

"The judgments of the Great Tribulation served in part to prepare the Earth for its restoration. In all probability, its orbit and axis will have been returned to their original configurations, bringing again the world wide sub-tropical environment likely enjoyed by our first parents. The vast oceans, silent witnesses to the enormity of Noah's flood will be hoisted back into the outer atmosphere, restoring the water vapor canopy that protected early man and allowing the return of long life spans they experienced (Isaiah 65:20).  The sea floors will be elevated and the mountains lowered, and Earth will once again resemble the Garden Planet it was when Adam came on the scene." (Regarding this last sentence, I could speculate that the vast additional quantity of landmass might become useful considering that very little death might occur during this time. —Long life-spans, no wars, no sickness and countless millions of new births. One can imaging the need for vast swaths of fruitful and productive lands to support a growing population with low mortality and expanding agricultural needs.)

I can agree with Jack. The catastrophic events of the Great tribulation will certainly prepare the earth for a complete overhaul. I never considered the oceans disappearing at the beginning of the 1000-year Kingdom. I've always believed it to be part of that eternal new heavens and earth, but it makes sense that the new heavens and earth IS the Millennial Kingdom and that this vanishing ocean will contribute to the atmospheric conditions to support the global change of life and renewal.

I don't know about you, but this certainly changes my many imaginations on what I thought the Millennial Kingdom was going to look like. I have always known about certain aspects of the 1000-year kingdom; things like the long life of humans, deserts blooming with roses, animals becoming herbivores and tamed, but I never considered that the New Jerusalem would hover above earths proximity and that the river of life and the tree of life would be present at the Millennium. Regarding these two points, I've always thought them to be after the Millennium, in the eternal state! But based on the evidence in scripture and what I consider to be reasonable interpretation of it, I can see the renewal of all things to actually be the Millennium, and inclusive of all the details above. With this being the case, I stand in awe at what we will experience in this time, and after! As Paul says,

1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus, come.