“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:22-27) Here we get a glimpse of the relationship between the New Jerusalem and the New Earth. First, the sun does not provide light or energy for the celestial city; rather, the Lamb Himself, within the city, is the light source. Note that the sun isn’t necessarily gone at this point (though it could be). But it is certainly superfluous—no longer required for life or light on earth.

Second, the “satellite” concept is supported by the language of this passage. Not only does the glory of God illuminate the city, He also provides light for the New Earth beneath. The nations—all of the peoples inhabiting the New Earth—will bask in its light. These, you’ll recall, are no longer mortals, but will have received their resurrection bodies at the close of the Millennium, just as the Old Testament Saints and the Church did at the rapture.

Third, their respective populations differ. The New Jerusalem, as we have seen, is the eternal home of the ekklesia, the Bride of Christ. (The Old Testament gentile saints, like Abel, Seth, Noah, Rahab, and Ruth may be included, but we aren’t specifically told.) The New Earth is therefore “heaven” to the redeemed multitudes of the Millennium. These comprise the “nations,” of whom the premier member is Israel (presumably both its Old and New Testament saints who are not included in the ekklesia, though again, the scriptures don’t say). The “kings of the earth” mentioned above are those who proved themselves worthy during their sojourn as mortals upon the old earth during the Millennium, “laying up for themselves,” as Yahshua put it, “treasures in heaven.” (The inhabitants of the New Jerusalem, in contrast, are all described as “kings and priests” in Revelation 1:6.)

Fourth, there is “commerce” of some kind between the New Earth and the New Jerusalem. The nations of the New Earth, led by their “kings,” will freely visit the celestial city, bringing glory and honor to the Lamb. The twelve “pearly gates” are symbolic of the great price Yahshua paid for our redemption. They are not there to shut out evil (as is the usual function of city gates), for the entire universe has been made holy at this point—it no longer “groans and travails” (cf. Romans 8:22) as it once did.