The Kingdom Viaduct
Between heaven and earth, there is a highway of sorts. This "high" way is a viaduct that will be a well traveled route for many who worship in the New Jerusalem in days to come. Let me tell you how I discovered this fascinating fact. Not too long ago, I woke up with a phrase running through my mind that just wouldn't go away. Until I got home from work that evening, I kept thinking, "The Assyrian is in the land. The Assyrian is in the land." When I realized the Lord was teaching me that the Assyrian was a symbol of a people in the land, I understood that he was about to show me something special based upon that knowledge. When I got home and began to search it out, I made an awesome discovery! Adding my knowledge of the Assyrian symbol to what I already knew from the "Iron Gate" studies about Egypt being a type of heaven, I discovered the meaning of the Hebrew word "mesillah," meaning a highway, staircase or viaduct.
Let's begin with an introduction to the holy city.
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
Revelation 3:12
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
Revelation 21:10
The nations shall walk by the light of the city, illumined by the glory of God. Its lamp is the Lamb, apparently providing light for both spiritual and physical vision.
23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. 25 And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed; 26 and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
Revelation 21:23-26
Although the gates shall never be closed, access to the city through these gates is limited to those who had washed their robes, according to Revelation 22:14-15. Evidently, those who wash their robes during the great tribulation become the kings of the earth. These kings are of the earth, not of heaven. They live on the earth and have an earthly kingdom. They go to the holy city to bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. Have you ever wondered how they get there?
Balcombe Ouse Valley Railway Viaduct in West Sussex
The route or way for travel to and from the holy city is identified by the Hebrew word "mesillah." Strong's #4546. mesillah, mes-il-law'; a thoroughfare (as turnpiked), lit. or fig.; spec. a viaduct, a staircase:--causeway, course, highway, path, terrace. A viaduct is a road that is raised above the surface of the ground, especially one with a series of spans or arches used for passage over a wide valley or obstruction. It is similar to a bridge. Two categories of people will travel back and forth by means of this "mesillah." An "Egyptian" signifies an holy city dweller, and an "Assyrian," an earth dweller.
In that day there will be a highway (mesillah) from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
Isaiah 19:23
"mesillah" occurs in the following verses.
From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses(mesillah) they fought against Sisera.
Judges 5:20
A voice of one calling: "In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God."
Isaiah 40:3
Whatever this "mesillah" is, it is not your everyday natural viaduct.
The king used the algumwood to make steps (mesillah) for the temple of the Lord and for the royal palace, and to make harps and lyres for the musicians. Nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah.
2 Chronicles 9:11
The temple and all its furnishings were carefully made after the pattern of what is in heaven. The mesillah of algumwood reflected the greater reality of heaven's "mesillah." As with the harps and lyres, nothing like them had ever been seen in Judah!
Travel on the "mesillah" is likened to the Red Sea crossing at the Exodus, a miraculous event.
11:16 And there will be a highway from Assyria for the remnant of His people who will be left, just as there was for Israel in the day that they came up out of the land of Egypt.
12:1 Then you will say on that day, "I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord; For although Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, And Thou dost comfort me.
Isaiah 11:16-12:1 (NASB)
At the crossing of the Red Sea, a notable miracle allowed Israel safe passage, but denied passage to the pursuing army. Do you remember how access to the holy city was said to be restricted to those who had washed their robes? The inability of those who hadn't washed their robes to enter the city parallels the inability of the wicked Pharaoh and his army to pass through the sea, a parallel that comes to our attention through the comparison made in the text.
Here are a few more passages about this awesome viaduct.
10 Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people. Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations. 11 The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.'" 12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.
Isaiah 62:10-12
11 I will turn all my mountains into roads, and my highways will be raised up. 12 See, they will come from afar-- some from the north, some from the west, some from the region of Aswan." 13 Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones."
Isaiah 49:11-13
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. [NASB and NRSV render thusly: "In whose heart are the highways to Zion!"] 6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca [Boca means weeping, or, the weeper], they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalms 84:5-7
The following passage begins with a verse I already shared with you, but there's something very important to note from the context.
23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. 24 In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. 25 the Lord Almighty will bless them, saying, "Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance."
Isaiah 19:23-25
There will be three groups of people, two in the land and one in the city. Israel will remain distinct, a blessing on the earth - the Lord's inheritance. It seems a logical inference that the Egyptians and Assyrians are not considered Israel, and therefore are divisions of the church, since no others qualify for eternal life. Given what we know about the washing of the robes, and about the Bride whose robes don't need to be washed because they were white when the Bridegroom comes for her, we can draw some conclusions about who dwells where. I believe the Bride will dwell in the New Jerusalem, and the others will dwell in the earth. The kings of the earth will be those of the church who wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb during the great tribulation. The subjects of the kingdom are those of the church who refused to wash their robes but yet have eternal life. Some will have access to travel the "mesillah." Others will not.
Will you?