Question: Surely "Jerusalem above" is the heavenly Jerusalem. So isn't that where Christ will reign, and not from the Jerusalem on earth?

—J.D., Penzance, Britain

Answer: The scriptural record attests to the fact that Christ will return from heaven to this physical earth to reign for 1,000 years on this planet—with the restored and renewed physical city of Jerusalem as its world capital.

Zechariah 14:3-4, for example, states: "Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east . . ."

At His ascension to heaven from the Mount of Olives 40 days after His resurrection, two angels told the disciples: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

In Revelation 20:4, John records his vision of the resurrected saints ruling with Jesus Christ: "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them . . . And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years." Revelation 5:10 says that this takes place on the earth.

But beyond that millennial period and the Great White Throne Judgment, God the Father—bringing the New Jerusalem with Him—will come down to be with Christ and the rest of His divine family, the vast multitude of the saved, who will by this time have been changed into immortal spirit beings (see Revelation 21:1-5). By then, the old physical order will have passed away.

To understand the intriguing details, request or download our free booklet You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. Chapters 7 and 8 will clarify the order and nature of these future events. Another booklet, Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?, will help show that the Jerusalem of Christ's millennial rule on earth is not in heaven. And to better understand the nature of Christ's coming Kingdom, request or download The Gospel of the Kingdom. All of these are free for the asking.