New Israel and New Jerusalem

[Felipe Pérez Martí]

Hi everybody 

In relation to today's first reading;

**Here's today's First Reading (Monday, March 16, 2026 – Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent):**  

**Isaiah 65:17-21** 

Thus says the LORD:  

Lo, I am about to create new heavens  

and a new earth;  

The things of the past shall not be remembered  

or come to mind.  

Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness  

in what I create;  

For I create Jerusalem to be a joy  

and its people to be a delight;  

I will rejoice in Jerusalem  

and exult in my people.  

No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,  

or the sound of crying;  

No longer shall there be in it  

an infant who lives but a few days,  

or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;  

He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,  

and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.  

They shall live in the houses they build,  

and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

This is **exactly** the passage from Isaiah that we weare  referring to in our messages about the “Era of Peace.” It describes the new creation and the renewed Jerusalem where sorrow ends, life is full, and joy reigns — the same prophetic vision that points to the spiritual New Jerusalem (the glorified Church, the Bride of the Lamb) rather than the current physical city. It fits perfectly with everything we’ve been discussing: the Church as the New Israel and the eternal dwelling of God with His people.

**Grok:**

Hello Felipe,

Given that we are starting from the theological premise (common in covenant theology or fulfillment theology, found in Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant traditions) that **the Church is the New Israel** —the people of God gathered in Christ, who fulfills the promises of the Old Testament (see Romans 9-11, Galatians 6:16, and Ephesians 2:11-22)—, the **New Jerusalem** corresponds directly to **the Church in its glorified and eternal state**, as the “bride of the Lamb” and the definitive dwelling place where God lives with His people.

### Main biblical explanation

In **Revelation 21:2** it says: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” And in **Revelation 21:9-10**, an angel says: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb,” and shows him precisely “the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven.”

The image of the **bride** is a clear symbol of the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 19:7-9; 2 Corinthians 11:2). That is why the New Jerusalem is not primarily a literal future city for a separate ethnic Israel, but the symbolic representation of the **triumphant Church**: the whole company of the redeemed (Jews and Gentiles made into one people in Christ) living in perfect communion with God in the new creation.

### Other references that confirm it

- **Galatians 4:26**: “But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.” Paul identifies the heavenly Jerusalem with the Church, the community of believers born of the Spirit.

- **Hebrews 12:22-23**: “But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… to the church of the firstborn.” Here the Church already shares in that heavenly reality.

- The measurements of the city (Revelation 21:15-17) and its elements (twelve gates with the names of the tribes of Israel and twelve foundations with the names of the apostles) show the **perfect unity** between Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church: one single people of God.

### Perspectives in different traditions

- In evangelical and Reformed interpretation, the New Jerusalem is the definitive fulfillment of all God’s promises: the “heavenly city” where the redeemed children (the Church) dwell after the resurrection and final judgment, in the new earth where “God himself will be with them” (Revelation 21:3).

- In the Orthodox tradition, it is understood as the Church itself, the multitude of the saints in heaven and heaven itself: “the city built of saints, with Christ as the cornerstone.”

- Even in other readings (such as that of the Jehovah’s Witnesses), it remains symbolic of Christ’s disciples, the “bride” who will reign with Him.

In summary, within the framework you are presenting (“the Church is the New Israel”), **the New Jerusalem corresponds to the glorified Church**: the full realization of the new covenant, the eternal homeland of believers, where there is no more death, mourning, or pain, and where God and the Lamb are the temple and the light (Revelation 21:22-23; 22:1-5).

If you want to go deeper into any specific tradition (Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox…) or particular passages, just let me know and we’ll explore it in more detail! What aspect interests you most?

[3/16, 10:37 AM] Felipe Pérez Martí: **Here's today's First Reading (Monday, March 16, 2026 – Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent):**  

**Isaiah 65:17-21** 

Thus says the LORD:  

Lo, I am about to create new heavens  

and a new earth;  

The things of the past shall not be remembered  

or come to mind.  

Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness  

in what I create;  

For I create Jerusalem to be a joy  

and its people to be a delight;  

I will rejoice in Jerusalem  

and exult in my people.  

No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,  

or the sound of crying;  

No longer shall there be in it  

an infant who lives but a few days,  

or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;  

He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,  

and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.  

They shall live in the houses they build,  

and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant.

This is **exactly** the passage from Isaiah that you were referring to in your message about the “Era of Peace.” It describes the new creation and the renewed Jerusalem where sorrow ends, life is full, and joy reigns — the same prophetic vision that points to the **spiritual New Jerusalem** (the glorified Church, the Bride of the Lamb) rather than the current physical city. It fits perfectly with everything we’ve been discussing: the Church as the New Israel and the eternal dwelling of God with His people.

Felipe