The Jerusalem from Above

                                                                                                                                                     

The Jerusalem from Above

                Quite a few years ago a couple came to our door and started to talk to us about their religion.  Since we love discussing the Bible we listened to what they had to say. It wasn’t long before they started saying strange things. The woman I was speaking to stated that, yes God was our Father, but that we also had a mother. She turned to a verse in Galatians where it appears to say that Jerusalem was our mother. The conversation went downhill from there. We weren’t interested in joining their church and they weren’t interested in learning more about God or Jesus Christ.  

                Recently I heard of another religious group who were going around and using the same verse to prove that Jerusalem was our mother. So I thought maybe it was time to really study this verse of scripture and find out what it’s talking about.

                “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (Galatians 4:26)  

                To start to understand this verse we first must look at why it was written. Galatia was one of the cities that Paul and Barnabas preached to on their first missionary journey. One of the things that the believers in Galatia were taught was that salvation was through believing in Jesus Christ and not through the following of the Law of Moses. This must have been very freeing for these believers, like a breath of fresh air. But after Paul had left, Jewish believers came to Galatia and started teaching that they still needed to follow the law to maintain their salvation. When Paul heard this he was not happy. The letter to the Galatians starts with some very strong language:

                “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: “ (Galatians 1:6)

                He continues, “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth..” (Galatians 3:1)

                “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 5:7) The truth that Paul is referring to is regarding the freedom we have by believing in Jesus Christ and not by following the law.

 Two Covenants            

In verse 4:21 Paul continues by saying, “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?  For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.”  

Paul here starts to put forth an allegorical example from the Old Testament about the two covenants; the one natural and the one from above.

                “But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.”

The one who was born of Hagar, the bondwoman (who was Ishmael) was born after the flesh. Meaning born by natural means. He that was born of the free woman, Sarah, was Isaac, who’s birth was because of the promise God made to Abraham. Isaac was born long after Abraham and Sarah could physically have children.

                “This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants: one proceeding from Mount Sinai bearing children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.”  

Hagar the bondwoman, correlates to the covenant of the law which started on Mt. Sinai and was practiced in Jerusalem. This Jerusalem, which was the heart of Judaism, remains in bondage because of the law of Moses. This law keeps men and women in bondage. But verse 26 mentions another Jerusalem,

                “But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”  

In contrast to the earthly Jerusalem, which was in bondage, the Jerusalem which is from above was free. Judeans all believed that there was a heavenly counter-part to things on earth. Since the heavenly Jerusalem was not governed by the Law of Moses, It was free. How then is the heavenly Jerusalem our mother? One hint is found in John 3 Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being “born again” (John 3:3) Born again literally means “born from above”.  

The Heavenly City

                Many times in the Old Testament it talks about a heavenly Jerusalem or heavenly city. It was referred to many times as Zion, the city where God dwelt. When David captured the city of Jerusalem, it was also referred to as Zion, the counter-part of the heavenly city. Just as in the earthly Jerusalem, this heavenly Jerusalem also has a temple. The dimensions of the tabernacle given to Moses is said to be fashioned after this heavenly temple (Hebrews 8:5) And just as the earthly temple required a high priest, Jesus Christ is our high priest in the heavenly city. 

                In Hebrews 11 it says that when God called Abraham to go into the land of Canaan, Abraham looked forward to a heavenly city, 

“For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” 

This was the heavenly Jerusalem that God showed him by revelation as He did with the other believers in this chapter. This was their motivation to keep going.  

                In Hebrews 12:8-22 Paul mentions two mountains. One is Mount Sinai where God first spoke to Moses and the children of Israel, and the other is Mountain Zion the heavenly kingdom.

                 “No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering.” (Hebrews 12:22 NIV) 

When we come to the new Jerusalem there will be a joyous celebration. (to read more about the new Jerusalem see Revelation 21)

Citizens

                The best part of all of this is that we are legal citizens of this heavenly city, 

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” (Philippians 3:20 NASB) 

Because we believed on Jesus Christ we now have a heavenly citizenship and when Christ returns for us we will see it with our own eyes. In this heavenly city there will be no more crying, or tears or pain (Revelation 21:1-4). And this is why Paul can write to the believers in Galatia and say that the Jerusalem that is above, the heavenly city, is our mother. Because this is our true home. Now we can more fully understand the rest of this chapter.

                 “Now we, brethren (the family of God), as Isaac was, are the children of promise… for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” (Galatians 4:28-31)  

                -Children of the bondwoman-represents the Old Covenant, kept by adhering to the law –are partakers of the earthly Jerusalem.

                -Children of the freewoman-represents the New Covenant, made available by believing in Jesus Christ-citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.

                Adhering to the rules and regulations of the Law of Moses will not make you free. Only believing in Jesus Christ will make you free and give you the “keys to the kingdom.” God’s kingdom.  

“For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14 NSAB)