“The Earthly Jerusalem” vs. “The Heavenly Jerusalem”

“The Earthly Jerusalem” vs. “The Heavenly Jerusalem” 

Galatians 4:22 For it is written in the Law that Abraham had two sons, one born of a handmaid, and the other of a free woman.

Galatians 4:23 But the one born of the handmaid was born of the flesh; the one born of the free woman was born of the promise.

Galatians 4:24 These are allegorical: the two women represent the two covenants. One was born of Mount Sinai, and bore a son for slavery, Hagar.

Galatians 4:25 This Hagar is on Mount Sinai in the Arab world, which is now Jerusalem, for Jerusalem and her children are slaves.

Galatians 4:26 But Jerusalem, who is above, is free and is our mother.

Galatians 4:28 You, brothers, are children born of the promise, like Isaac.

Table 1: The Earthly Jerusalem vs. the Heavenly Jerusalem

Point of comparison	The earthly (present) Jerusalem	The heavenly (above) Jerusalem
Scripture	Gal. 4:24–25	Gal. 4:26–28, 31; Heb. 12:22
First mention	The New Jerusalem is first mentioned not in Rev. 21 but in Gal. 4
Person symbolized	Hagar (the maidservant)	Sarah (the freewoman)
Covenant represented	The covenant of law given to Moses, unrelated to the new covenant	The covenant of promise given to Abraham, related to the new covenant of grace
Corresponds to	Mount Sinai; out of Mount Sinai	The new covenant
Function of the covenant	Condemns and brings in death	Justifies and brings in life
Status of children	She and her children are in slavery; bears children for bondage	Bears free children; children of the freewoman
Whose mother	Mother of those zealous for Judaism	Mother of believers; new covenant believers are born from above by her
How children are produced	By human effort in keeping the law	By God’s work of grace; man enjoys the Triune God
Son produced	Ishmael (the wrong child)	Isaac (the right child)
Ultimate end	Passing away, growing old	Ultimately the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth (Rev. 21:1–2)

Table 2: Two aspects of “the present Jerusalem”

Aspect	Content
Original standing	Jerusalem was chosen by God (1 Kings 14:21; Psa. 48:2, 8) and should belong to the covenant of promise symbolized by Sarah
Actual function	Because she brought God’s chosen people under the bondage of the law, she corresponds to Mount Sinai and belongs to the covenant of law symbolized by Hagar
Paul’s conclusion	Only the Jerusalem above is related to the covenant of promise, so she represents the new covenant

Table 3: Two ways of producing children

Item	Covenant of law (Hagar, earthly)	Covenant of grace (Sarah, heavenly)
Nature	Man’s labor plus man’s ability to produce something	God giving Himself to His chosen people to produce many sons
In Abraham’s experience	Ishmael born of Hagar by the flesh; God was displeased	Isaac born of Sarah by God’s coming; God established His covenant with him
God’s view	Never recognized Ishmael as Abraham’s heir	Isaac was the only son
Nature of the covenant	Added, not the original covenant	The original covenant with Abraham; the new covenant is its full continuation
What it can produce for God	Only an “Ishmael”; nothing for God	Many sons for God

Table 4: The many identities of the heavenly Jerusalem

Identity	Content
The new covenant	The new covenant of grace symbolized by Sarah; she is the new covenant, and the new covenant produces her
Mother of believers	Gives birth to us as free children
Wife of Christ	Rev. 21:2, 9–10
Tabernacle and dwelling of God	Rev. 21:3
Composed of sons	Rev. 21:7; we are born of her and also become her constituents
City Abraham looked forward to	Heb. 11:10; also the city we have come to (Heb. 12:22)
One with the church	Heb. 12:22–23; coming to the new covenant, the heavenly Jerusalem, and the church is one matter
Father, grace, mother, sons, city, covenant	The six items become one entity, the New Jerusalem

Table 5: Understanding the heavenly Jerusalem

Common thought	What the messages see
A material city	A material city cannot be Christ’s wife or the believers’ mother, cannot be composed of sons, and cannot produce us. She is a spiritual entity
A place we will go to in the future	The verb in Heb. 12:22 is in the perfect tense: we have already come. Receiving the new covenant is entering the New Jerusalem
An external destination apart from us	We are her constituents (twelve tribes plus twelve apostles), not merely visitors

 

*Please refer to the 2026 Autumn Training for Elders and Responsible Brothers, General Topic: The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Part Three: The Allegory of the Two Women