WHO WILL BE IN THE HOLY CITY?

[Doug]

Who will be in the holy city.

[Revelation 21:3 KJV] "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.".............God will dwell with his people................[
[Leviticus 26:12 KJV] "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."
[Leviticus 26:13 KJV] "I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright."................Those who shall be my people is Israel. Israel was brought out of Egypt. Paul never says the body of Christ will be his people.

[Revelation 21:7 KJV] "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."............who is he that overcometh?...................[1 John 5:5 KJV] "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"...............Israel had to only believe Jesus was the Son of God to be saved. The Israel that believed Jesus was the Son of God are those who overcometh. Paul never says the body of Christ overcomes.

[Revelation 21:12 KJV] "And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:"[Revelation 21:14 KJV] "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."..........the twelve tribes are highlighted on the city gates and in the twelve foundations

[Revelation 21:22 KJV] "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.".............only to Israel would the absence of a temple have significance

[Revelation 21:24 KJV] "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it."..............There will be saved Gentile nations in the millennial kingdom which will bestow honor in the holy city

The New Jerusalem is on earth and is primarily dedicated to believing Israel. The nations will benefit from this city, The nations will be healed in the new Jerusalem.............[Revelation 22:2 KJV] "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations."...........The nations will indeed be blessed by the believing remnant of Israel.

[Revelation 22:5 KJV] "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."..............It is said that Israel shall reign............[Deuteronomy 15:6 KJV] "For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee."

The body of Christ is not identified as receiving the new Jerusalem holy city. The believing remnant of Israel and the saved Gentile nations are said to be in it. The body of Christ reside in heavenly places.

 

[LoveYeshua]

Who will be in the holy city.

[Revelation 21:3 KJV] "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God.".............God will dwell with his people................[
[Leviticus 26:12 KJV] "And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people."
[Leviticus 26:13 KJV] "I [am] the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright."................Those who shall be my people is Israel. Israel was brought out of Egypt. Paul never says the body of Christ will be his people.

[Revelation 21:7 KJV] "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son."............who is he that overcometh?...................[1 John 5:5 KJV] "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"...............Israel had to only believe Jesus was the Son of God to be saved. The Israel that believed Jesus was the Son of God are those who overcometh. Paul never says the body of Christ overcomes.

[Revelation 21:12 KJV] "And had a wall great and high, [and] had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are [the names] of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:"[Revelation 21:14 KJV] "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."..........the twelve tribes are highlighted on the city gates and in the twelve foundations

[Revelation 21:22 KJV] "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.".............only to Israel would the absence of a temple have significance

[Revelation 21:24 KJV] "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it."..............There will be saved Gentile nations in the millennial kingdom which will bestow honor in the holy city

The New Jerusalem is on earth and is primarily dedicated to believing Israel. The nations will benefit from this city, The nations will be healed in the new Jerusalem.............[Revelation 22:2 KJV] "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations."...........The nations will indeed be blessed by the believing remnant of Israel.

[Revelation 22:5 KJV] "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever."..............It is said that Israel shall reign............[Deuteronomy 15:6 KJV] "For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, but thou shalt not borrow; and thou shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee."

The body of Christ is not identified as receiving the new Jerusalem holy city. The believing remnant of Israel and the saved Gentile nations are said to be in it. The body of Christ reside in heavenly places.

You are trying to make Revelation teach a division Jesus never made. You keep repeating that only Israel enters the holy city, that only Israel are “His people,” and that Gentile believers stand outside. None of that is what Jesus said, none of that is what John said, and none of that is what the prophets said. You are forcing a system onto the Scriptures that collapses the moment we actually read what God Himself promised.

Let’s start simple. God never said He would only dwell with one ethnic group forever. He said He would dwell with all who belong to Him. The voice in Revelation does not say, “Israel only.” It says, “with men,” meaning humanity. That matches the promise God gave long before Israel even existed: “In your seed all nations of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). Jesus repeats the same thing when He speaks of “other sheep” not of the Jewish fold, whom He will gather into one flock, not two (John 10:16). That alone ends your argument.

You keep saying “Israel only,” but the prophets never said that. Isaiah said God’s house would be a house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7). Jesus quoted that directly. He did not reduce God’s people down to a single bloodline. He opened the door wide to every nation that turns to Him. That is why John sees a great multitude from “all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues” standing before the Lamb (Revelation 7:9). You cannot erase that just because it does not fit your chart.

Your next claim is that only Israel “overcomes.” Again, Jesus Himself destroys that idea. He said anyone who keeps His word will never see death (John 8:51). He did not say “only Israelites.” When John explains who overcomes, he says plainly: the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:5). You claim that means Israel only, but Jesus said the gospel is for the whole world, not only one group (John 3:16). He said He came to draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). Your view shrinks what Jesus expanded.

You keep pointing to the twelve tribes on the gates as if that means only Israel enters. But you ignore the fact that the foundations are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Those apostles were sent to all nations. Jesus Himself commanded that their teaching be taken to every nation (Matthew 28:19). The city carries both: the tribes and the apostles, because the people of God include both faithful Israel and all nations that come to the Lamb. The gates and foundations show unity, not exclusion.

You then claim the city is “primarily dedicated to Israel.” Jesus never said that. John never said that. The prophets never said that. What they did say is that God would create a new heaven and new earth where “all flesh” would come to worship before Him (Isaiah 66:23). You cannot take “all flesh” and shrink it down to one nation without fighting the Scriptures themselves.

You argue that Gentile believers stand outside the city while Israel lives inside. Yet Revelation says the nations walk in its light (Revelation 21:24), which simply means the whole renewed creation is blessed by God’s presence. Nothing in the text says those nations are excluded from citizenship. The whole point of the city is that God dwells with redeemed humanity. Jesus made it clear that many from east and west will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom (Matthew 8:11). He did not say they stand outside and watch.

Your last claim is the weakest: that the “body of Christ” lives somewhere else while Israel gets the New Jerusalem. Jesus never taught two peoples, two destinies, or two eternal homes. He taught one flock, one Shepherd, one kingdom, one judgment, one resurrection, and one eternal family. The holy city is the home of all who belong to the Lamb, not a divided neighborhood with ethnic sections.


In truth, the New Jerusalem is the home of everyone who belongs to God, from every nation, every tribe, every tongue, everyone who follows the Lamb and keeps God’s word. The prophets said it. The apostles said it. Jesus said it. Revelation is the final picture of that promise fulfilled. If you want to split God’s people into separate eternal groups, you will have to argue with Jesus, not with me.

 

[Doug]

You keep repeating that only Israel enters the holy city,

I said [Revelation 21:24 KJV] "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it."..............There will be saved Gentile nations in the millennial kingdom which will bestow honor in the holy city

 

[Doug]

Jesus repeats the same thing when He speaks of “other sheep” not of the Jewish fold, whom He will gather into one flock, not two (John 10:16). That alone ends your argument.

The other sheep arent Gentiles. but are scattered Jews outside of Jerusalem..............[John 11:52 KJV] "And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad."

 

[Doug]

Your next claim is that only Israel “overcomes.” Again, Jesus Himself destroys that idea. He said anyone who keeps His word will never see death (John 8:51).

The phrase overcometh was under consideration Paul never uses it to describe the body of Christ

 

[Doug]

You argue that Gentile believers stand outside the city while Israel lives inside.

This is what I said The New Jerusalem is on earth and is primarily dedicated to believing Israel. The nations will benefit from this city, The nations will be healed in the new Jerusalem.............[Revelation 22:2 KJV] "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations."...........The nations will indeed be blessed by the believing remnant of Israel.

I said The body of Christ is not identified as receiving the new Jerusalem holy city. The believing remnant of Israel and the saved Gentile nations are said to be in it. The body of Christ reside in heavenly places.