Is the New Jerusalem found on earth, and will we see the Father there?
The New Jerusalem is described beginning in Revelation 21:
Rev. 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
Rev. 21:2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev. 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
Rev. 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
This scene from Revelation 21 takes place after the end of the 1,000-year Kingdom on earth. At the end of chapter 20, we’re told that our present creation will be completely destroyed and will be found no more.
In its place, the Lord will make a new heavens and earth. This new creation described in Revelation 21 completely replaces the original earth and universe. Notice in v.1 we’re told that the original earth and heavens (i.e., the universe) have passed away. In its place, a new creation called the “new Jerusalem” descends out of God’s dwelling place in Heaven. This is an entirely new creation to replace our existing one.
Secondly, the Father will be in that place, as John says later in chapter 21:
Rev. 21:22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Rev. 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Early in v.3 John writes that God will tabernacle with men in this new age. God, in this case. means all three Persons of the Godhead, as Paul explains in 1Corinthians 15:
1Cor. 15:23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,
1Cor. 15:24 then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.
1Cor. 15:25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
1Cor. 15:26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death.
1Cor. 15:27 For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him.
1Cor. 15:28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.
Paul explains that when the end of the Kingdom comes, Jesus will hand all rule and authority over to the Father so that the Godhead will become “all in all,” Paul says. This implies that the Three Persons of the Godhead will work as One in this age, though the meaning of Paul’s words is unclear.
Nevertheless, the arrival of the Father does not mean we will "see" Him, as the Bible says He cannot be seen by His Creation:
1Tim. 6:15 which He will bring about at the proper time — He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
1Tim. 6:16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
1John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
For a complete explanation of these things, please consult our Revelation study.
