When God destroys the present heavens and earth by fire at the end of the Millennium, He will create new ones vastly different from the originals. 1 Corinthians 2:9 attests to this fact, proclaiming, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
The new earth will contain the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, and be unlike any previously seen or experienced place. It will be “fresh, recent, unused, and unworn” in form and “of a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, and unheard of” in substance.
The New Jerusalem will have pure gold streets, like transparent glass, and precious stones that will shine brilliantly from God’s glory. A high wall made of jasper will surround the city, and it will have three gates on each side (north, south, east, and west.). Each gate will consist of a single pearl and always remain open. It will also be laid out in a three-dimensional cube, with each of its “borders” measuring the same distance. It will span 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high. It will also contain 12 jeweled foundations—implying that this enormous cube will be inhabitable on multiple levels rather than only one.
To put the expanse of the New Jerusalem into perspective, consider the United States: America is 2,800 miles wide when measured horizontally from the West Coast to the Eastern Seaboard and 1,582 miles from north to south. However, this area includes uninhabitable spaces like mountain ranges, rivers, bodies of water, and undeveloped land.
Assuming the Holy City contains multiple levels of living space, its magnitude would equate to 12 fully inhabitable land masses equal to the width of California to Nebraska (approximately 1,400-1,500 miles east to west) and the length of North Dakota to Texas (about 1,500 miles north to south) stacked on top of each other with more than 1,000 miles of sky separating them.
The New Heaven and Earth, including its Holy City, will be completely void of sin, sickness, suffering, evil, pain, death, and tears. It will also be void of oceans, seas, the sun, the moon, night, temples, or churches. God’s glory will be its light source, and God Himself will be its temple.
God’s throne will be in the center of the New Jerusalem, and the “river of the water of life” will flow from it through the middle of the street. The Tree of Life is located on each side of this river and consists of multiple saplings rather than one. Each tree will bear fruit every month, and its leaves will be “for the healing of the nations.’ Although the necessity for a healing tree in God’s presence is unclear on this side of eternity, it will be fully realized when seen and experienced by believers residing there for eternity.
(See the Scripture References link at the top of the page.)
