New Jerusalem, the Eternal Marriage (10)

New Jerusalem as the eternal marriage is portrayed by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, prophesied in the Old Testament, and plainly presented in the New Testament beginning in the gospels. Now we look at the epistles.

Second Corinthians 11:2-3 says, “For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts would be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity toward Christ.”

As receivers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are pure virgins, not in ourselves but in Him, not of ourselves but of Him. Yet, there is a risk that we would be corrupted. A note on simplicity begins,

Referring to the believers’ single-hearted loyalty, single-minded faithfulness, toward Christ. In the garden of Eden, Eve, the wife of Adam, was deceived by the serpent, Satan, through his questioning and undermining of God’s word, and was thus carried away to the tree of knowledge and distracted from the simplicity of eating the tree of life (Gen. 3:1-6).*

New Jerusalem is a city of life. It is also a city of transparency and purity, not obscurity nor corruption. Our preparation for the wedding feast and for the eternal marriage is to be pure and simple toward Christ by loving Him and letting Him save us from all other loves. Let us frequently declare, Lord Jesus, I love You. And ask, Lord, keep me simple and pure toward You.
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* Footnote 2 on 2 Corinthians 11:3, in The Holy Bible, Recovery Version, published and © by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim CA, 2003.

Photo in Portland, Maine by David Kan, a seeker of New Jerusalem.

Posted by Don on January 30, 2026

https://newjerusalem12.wordpress.com/2026/01/30/new-jerusalem-the-eternal-marriage-7/