The Holy City New Jerusalem

"And he carried me away in the spirit above a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." (Revelation 21: 10).         

Imagine this wonderful vision given to John on the Isle of Patmos—a great city of gold, descending from heaven!  This pictures the beautiful teachings of the New Church that the Lord is establishing in heaven and on earth. 

NOTE:  The Holy City is a spiritual representation of the beautiful doctrines of the New Church and a life in keeping with these teachings.  It may be difficult for us to imagine exactly what John would have seen as a physical picture in our minds.  The projects and illustrations for the June website offer a variety of ways to picture this beautiful city.  Enjoy! 

FAMILY WORSHIP

Read aloud the story in Revelation 21:2-23.  Try to picture the Holy City in your mind as you hear the description of it.  Think about the kinds of building materials that are mentioned: gold, pearls, precious gems.  It sounds like a beautiful city—a wonderful place to live!

You might want to explore the meaning of the story with your family, perhaps reading aloud one of the family talks or sermons.  You may also want to read and discuss some of the quotations From the Word.

SING:  Jerusalem, the Golden

PROJECT: Open the Gate and See an Angel (for preschoolers)
This project illustrates the concept that each gate of the city is made of a single pearl and guarded by an angel. 

COLORING PAGE: John Sees a Vision of the Holy City

READ:  “The  Holy City, New Jerusalem” by the Rev. Eric Carswell

ACTIVITY:  Bake and Decorate a Holy City Cake
Here is a special cake to help you celebrate New Church Day.

PROJECT:  Make a Model of the Holy City (with cut-out gates)
This is a lovely model of the city designed by Leon Rhodes which could be suspended in the air.

ACTIVITY:  Paper Doll Chains of Children Playing in the Street
Make paper chains of children to illustrate the prophecy about the city being full of boys and girls playing in its streets (Zechariah 8:5), picturing the rejoicing of those who love the beautiful teachings of this new church.

PROJECT: A Model of the Holy City and Surrounding Wall
This project was designed by Kent Cooper and includes the surrounding wall with its 12 pearl gates and the golden city inside.

Flash Animation for teens & Adults: The Meaning of the Holy City
Roll-over different parts of the Holy City to see their spiritual meaning

ACTIVITY:  How Big Is It?
Using the description of the Holy City, figure out how large this city would be if it was a physical city on earth.  Hint: It would be very large!

ACTIVITY:  12 Gates
List twelve truths or teachings that could lead a person into the New Church.

PROJECT: Calligraphy of Psalm 122—Pray for the Peace of New Jerusalem
Make a beautiful border for this quotation and perhaps a picture of the holy city above the quote.

PROJECT: Wolf and Lamb
This illustrates a prophecy about a wolf and a lamb peacefully feeding together (Isaiah 65:25).

ACTIVITY: For All Nations
All are invited to learn about the truths of this New Church and enter the gates of the holy city.  To illustrate this idea, cut out pictures of people from all over the world from magazines, etc., and put them around a picture or model of the holy city.  You could also display flags, stamps, or coins from various countries.

SING:  New Hope of Every Nation

Food for Thought: What’s in a Name?
Talk with your family about the words “New Jerusalem.” This website is produced by a church organization named “the General Church of the New Jerusalem”.  Some New Church congregations incorporate the words “New Jerusalem” into their name.  This is a way of expressing their hope that they are helping the Lord bring His New Church (a spiritual entity) into the minds and hearts of people.

The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it,

for the glory of God illuminated it.  The Lamb is its light.

(Revelation 21:23)

PROJECT:  Surround a Candle with a Picture of the Holy City
Color a picture of the holy city to place in front of a candle or in a window.

PROJECT:  Transparent Gold
We are also told that the city is made of gold that is as clear as glass.  This pictures the clarity of the truths of the New Church, for the Heavenly Doctrines explain the inner meaning of the Old and New Testaments.  Make a special covering or mat for the Word by sprinkling gold glitter between 2 layers of waxed paper and ironing them with a warm iron.  Or sprinkle the glitter or pieces of metallic gold paper onto clear contact paper.

Prepared as a Bride

I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband (Revelation 21:2).

As John looked at the beautiful city descending from heaven, he also saw it appearing like a bride wearing white linen.  The bride pictures our loving response to the Lord and the truths that He gives us.

ACTIVITY: Make a New Church Day Representation of the Holy City Adorned as a Bride

PROJECT:  Make a Paper Bride

PROJECT:  Make Your Own Picture of a Beautiful Bride

READ: “Prepared as a Bride” by the Rev. Robert Junge

Flash Animation for kids: Holy City Descending
See the Holy City adorned as a bride

Celebration of New Church Day

Making New Church Day Special
There are many ways to help our children develop affections for this religious festival.  New Church congregations may hold an outdoor service, put on a pageant, give gifts to the children, and have a picnic.  Families can have a special breakfast or brunch.  Choose red and white food to echo the colors of the New Church flag (strawberries and whipped cream, cherry Danish, cranberry juice, etc.) or yellow food to suggest the gold of the Holy City (New Jerusalem cake, scrambled eggs with cheese, lemon Danish, lemonade, etc.). 

The reason for celebrating this day may be more obscure for children than why we celebrate Christmas and Easter, but parents and teachers can help children sense its importance by differentiating this day from other days.   You might be interested in reading “Our Attitude toward New Church Day” by the Rev. Clark Echols, in which he stresses how important it is for adults to have an understanding and affection for New Church Day in order to pass it on to the children in their care. He notes that “If we can bring the sphere of the Lord’s Divine work of the Second Coming to our children, we will teach them to have affection for the spiritual event, which we may celebrate externally with worship, picnics and gift giving.”                                 

Decorating Your Home
This month’s website offers several projects that can decorate your home for the birthday of the New Church.  Among these are the New Church Day representation of the bride and many art projects.  To extend the theme of the Holy City, you might decorate the house with yellow streamers and balloons.  And if you give your children New Church Day gifts (such as religious books or song tapes), you might want to wrap them in yellow or gold paper.