Earthly Jerusalem is in bondage with her children. When the Lord Jesus descends with His saints He will bring Jerusalem to life spiritually, taking away the sins of the people.

Later, when the present world passes away, the true, eternal Jerusalem, the Jerusalem that is in Heaven today, will descend through the new sky and come to rest on a high mountain of the new earth.

While there no doubt will be a real, stationary Jerusalem on the new earth, yet it appears the new Jerusalem will have a counterpart such that it will be wherever the saints are.

The Lord Jesus Christ has this power of multiple presence now. He never leaves the right hand of God in Heaven. Yet He is among us when we gather in His name. Soon His conquerors also will have the power to be in many places at once.

To Be an Eternal Part of the Newness of Christ

. . . and I will also write on him my new name. (Revelation 3:12—NIV)

Jesus Christ never changes. Yet, in accordance with the fact that He is the Firstborn from the dead, the First of the new creation, He has a new name. The new name of Jesus Christ tells what He has become since He walked the earth in a human body, sharing in our pain, and then was crucified.

I think Christ has grown more "human" since the time He shook Mount Sinai and threatened the people and animals with death if they drew near. Yet He remains the Word of God made flesh.

We also have been given a new name in keeping with the fact that in Jesus Christ we are being made a new creation. But now we see that the new name of Christ is to be written on us. This is an indication we are married to Him. We are the Bride of the Lamb, the eternal counterpart of Jesus Christ.

The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. (Isaiah 62:2—NIV)

One of the greatest enemies we have is that of our self-will—our frantic desire to remain what we are. Worldliness we can put away. The lusts of the flesh we can drive out by the Spirit of God.

But when it comes to self-will, self-centeredness, self-love, self-seeking, self-importance, self, self, self, we draw the line. We "want to be me," as someone moaned.

The only solution to our destructive desire to remain what we are is our personal cross. When we carry our cross faithfully for a period of time it destroys from us that which constitutes our adamic nature. There is much good in the adamic nature of most people, but all of it must be removed before we can enter the fullness of union with the Lord Jesus Christ.

The two shall be one, the Bible declares. But the two remain two until one of the two decides to relinquish his or her right to remain as a separate entity.

If we would enter our land of promise we must surrender our right to be ourselves. We must enter the crucifixion and resurrection of the Lord. He must become our life.

To be continued.