Ezekiel 48:30

But we do confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth, although before heaven, only in another state of existence; inasmuch as it will be after the resurrection for a thousand years in the divinely-built city of Jerusalem, "let down from heaven," [Revelation 21:2] which the apostle also calls "our mother from above;" [Galatians 4:26] and, while declaring that our πολίτευμα, or citizenship, is in heaven, he predicates of it that it is really a city in heaven. This both Ezekiel had knowledge of [Ezekiel 48:30-35] and the Apostle John beheld. [Revelation 21:10-23] And the word of the new prophecy which is a part of our belief, attests how it foretold that there would be for a sign a picture of this very city exhibited to view previous to its manifestation. This prophecy, indeed, has been very lately fulfilled in an expedition to the East. For it is evident from the testimony of even heathen witnesses, that in Judæa there was suspended in the sky a city early every morning for forty days. As the day advanced, the entire figure of its walls would wane gradually, and sometimes it would vanish instantly. We say that this city has been provided by God for receiving the saints on their resurrection, and refreshing them with the abundance of all really spiritual blessings, as a recompense for those which in the world we have either despised or lost; since it is both just and God-worthy that His servants should have their joy in the place where they have also suffered affliction for His name's sake. Of the heavenly kingdom this is the process. After its thousand years are over, within which period is completed the resurrection of the saints, who rise sooner or later according to their deserts there will ensue the destruction of the world and the conflagration of all things at the judgment: we shall then be changed in a moment into the substance of angels, even by the investiture of an incorruptible nature, and so be removed to that kingdom in heaven of which we have now been treating, just as if it had not been predicted by the Creator, and as if it were proving Christ to belong to the other god and as if he were the first and sole revealer of it.

(Verse 30 and following) And you shall measure five thousand four hundred cubits outside the city on the northern side. And the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel: three gates on the north side. The gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. And on the eastern side, you shall measure five thousand four hundred cubits, and there shall be three gates. The gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. And on the southern side, you shall measure five thousand four hundred cubits, and there shall be three gates. The Gate of Simeon, one; the Gate of Issachar, one; the Gate of Zebulun, one. And on the west side, five hundred and four thousand, and their gates three. The Gate of Gad, one; the Gate of Asher, one; the Gate of Naphtali, one; in all eighteen thousand cubits round about the city. And the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there. Now it is written that it was measured along each side, which is eleven thousand and eighty-five paces, that there were three gates, which Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion call διεξόδους (exit passages), and the LXX call διεκβολὰς (projections): we interpret them as the entrances and exits of the city. And first, it must be briefly noted that the same three tribes camped around the tabernacle in such a way that Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, the sons of Leah, were to the east; and to the south, Reuben, Simeon, and Gad, the two sons of Leah, and the third son of Leah's handmaid, Zilpah. But towards the west Ephraim and Manasseh, and Benjamin namely, the two sons of Rachel; for Joseph, who was from the tribe of Levi, which was appointed for sacrifices, was divided into two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. But towards the north, there are Dan, Asher, and Naphtali, of whom the first and third are the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, and the second is the son of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, who are of lowly birth and are positioned towards the north, being descendants of maidservants who were in conflict with each other. According to the book of Numbers and the description of the tabernacle, which was dictated by God to Moses (Num. XXXIV). But our city, which is the city of the great king of which God is the artificer and the founder, of which the psalmist sings: Shall it be said of Sion: This man and that man is born in her? and the Highest…