The significance of Revelation 22:3 cannot possibly be overestimated, for it tells of the coming of the Throne of God to the earth.

The concept of God being in Heaven, and of people praying to God in Heaven in order to receive relief on the earth, is one of the basic understandings of devout people.

But the Scriptures teach clearly that God's intention is to transfer His throne from Heaven to earth. When that takes place, mankind no longer will look to God in Heaven but to God in the earth, to God in the new Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem is the Bride of the Lamb, the Body of Christ.

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17)

"They shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord"!

If it were not that the Father, Christ, and the Bride are to be one in Spirit and Being, the concept of Jerusalem being the throne of God would be blasphemous. God never will give His glory to another. But God indeed shall give His glory to the new Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb, and place His throne in her, because she has been made one in Christ in God.

The concept of Jerusalem becoming the place of God's throne is one of the major issues of the Scriptures. The creating of the house, the tabernacle, of God, is the goal of God's efforts. God will find His rest in the temple He is creating.

The Kingdom of God, the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles of the Jews, is God abiding forever in Christ in the Bride of the Lamb. The very throne of the almighty God is to be located eternally in her.

The Father and the Son will make their abode in the faithful disciple, in fulfillment of the old covenant feast of Tabernacles. This is the supreme goal of the Christian redemption, the rest of God of which the Scriptures speak.

Even more marvelous is the fact that the transfer of the location of the Divine throne has begun and will increase in glory throughout the coming darkness. The spiritual experience portrayed by the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles is God's answer to the incredible pressures of the closing days of the present age.

Adam and Eve did not pray to God in Heaven. God was on the earth. Then God withdrew to the spirit realm becoming invisible to us. God became invisible to mankind because of sin, not because God desires to remain invisible to His children.

The fact that God was on the earth in the beginning does not mean His throne was on the earth. Yet it was true that when Adam and Eve communicated with God, they did so to a Person who was living among them.

God returned to earth in the Presence of Jesus of Nazareth. But we know that the throne of God remained in Heaven (although it was also in the heart of the Lord Jesus) because Jesus prayed to God in Heaven.

God will return to earth again in Christ—Head and Body. This time He will remain forever. God intends to dwell on the earth in the midst of His children. He will do so by dwelling in the Church, the new Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb—in the people whom He has chosen for His eternal dwelling place. This is the Kingdom of God and the spiritual fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles. (from A Study Guide for the Book of First Corinthians)