Jesus and the Centurion, Scene 1

Now I have used the title of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind in order to develop a title for this series of conversations which Jesus Christ had with the people of his day as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel, changing it to “Encounters of the Fourth Kind.” That, of course, is meant to pique your curiosity. What are encounters of the fourth kind? Or for that matter, since we’re speaking spiritually, what are encounters of the first, second, and third kinds, too?
Heaven, Section 5

When I read these verses that talk about God being in this city forever, I think to something else that Ezekiel wrote about. Ezekiel, as I pointed out at the very end of his prophecy, gives that revelation of the new name for Jerusalem, "the Lord is there." But that itself makes me think of something that occurs earlier in his book. In chapter 10 you have what is perhaps the lowest and most discouraging point in the entire prophecy. Ezekiel is standing on a height, perhaps the Mount of Olives, looking out over the city towards the west. And as he looks, it’s nighttime, and God gives him a vision of what’s happening in the city. 
Heaven, Section 4

John begins to describe some of the other details, and he talks about this great wall all the way around it. A wall would symbolize protection, and so you have an image there of our eternal security and safety. He talks about the twelve foundations. Why twelve? Well the reason is that they relate to the twelve apostles of the Lamb in verse 14. And the reference to the twelve apostles goes along with the twelve gates in the city, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel. This shows us the kind of base upon which this heavenly community is established. 
Heaven, Section 3
When John begins to describe this in chapter 21, the thing that impresses him most about Jerusalem is that God dwells there. He writes, “I saw the Holy City,” he says, “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God’” (vv. 2, 3).
 
Heaven, Section 2

It's really not possible to come to this chapter at this point in the Bible, right at the end, without realizing that when John has this vision of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, this is in contrast to practically all of the great themes preceding this that have to do with our normal, earthly expectations. Jerusalem is certainly contrasted with Babylon, which is mentioned just a few chapters before. Babylon stands for everything that is human in opposition to God.