New Jerusalem

In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, YHWH šāmmā, YHWH [is] there") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the Messianic Kingdom, the meeting place of the twelve tribes of Israel, during the Messianic era. The prophecy is recorded by Ezekiel as having been received on Yom Kippur of the year 3372 of the Hebrew calendar. In the Book of Revelation in the New Testament, the city is also called the Heavenly Jerusalem, as well as being called Zion in other books of the Christian Bible. Babylonian captivity In Jewish mysticism, there are two Gardens of Eden and two Promised Lands: the heavenly invisible one and the earthly visible one that is a copy of the heavenly invisible one. Heaven in Jewish mysticism includes a heavenly Promised land - including Jerusalem, the temple, and the ark of the covenant - and a heavenly Garden of Eden - including the tree of life, a storehouse for the manna that angels eat, and multiple rivers that water the garden. When the Bible mentions a New Jerusalem, heavenly sanctuary, bread of life, or God's throne, it is referring to the Jewish mystical understanding of heaven. The Babylonian threat to the Kingdom of Judah began as the Babylonian Empire conquered Assyria and rose to power from 612 to 609 BCE. Jerusalem surrendered without major bloodshed to Babylon in 597 BCE. An Israelite uprising brought the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar’s army in 586 BCE. The entire city, including the First Temple, was burned. Israelite aristocrats were taken captive to Babylon. The Book of Ezekiel contains the first record of the New Jerusalem. Within , there is an extended and detailed description of the measurements of the Temple, its chambers, porticos, and walls. contains a list of twelve Temple gates named for Israel's tribes. The Book of Zechariah expands upon Ezekiel's New Jerusalem. After the Second Temple was built after the exile, Jerusalem's population was only a few hundred.