[TomSmedley]

The church is the new Jerusalem, the true, faithful, and loyal Spouse of the great Bridegroom.[1] The Epic of Gilgamesh speaks of the day "when kingship was let down from heaven." In that we are born from above (see John 3:3), we are members of this heavenly city, where Jesus reigns. We set the standards that God-fearers, God-seekers, and God-lovers in every nation yearn for.

In this new Jerusalem, every citizen has instant access to The King. There's no standing in line for days under a sweltering mid-eastern sun, awaiting a brief audience of a second or two in the Holy Presence. Our Catholic friends consider it the high point of their lives if they can have an audience with their pope for just a few minutes. We can talk to our Great High Priest at any hour of the day or night, for as long as we want to!

And your vision of an earthly city with a long line of sweating audience seekers, and a handful of folks getting rich off the porta-potty concession is better than my vision .... how?

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[1] There was a bizarre heresy floating around Pentecostal circles a half-century ago that imagined the Bride as a separate entity from the whole church. Of course, they numbered themselves among "the manifest sons of God," and left us second-rate saints out in the cold! But that's old news ...

[Uncle Chip]

Where does scripture say that the New Jerusalem is the Church?

[Campion]

Our Catholic friends consider it the high point of their lives if they can have an audience with their pope for just a few minutes. We can talk to our Great High Priest at any hour of the day or night, for as long as we want to!

So can your "Catholic friends".