Zechariah 2:1-2

I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.

A golf course, football field, soccer field, boxing ring, and basketball court all have the like characteristic of a definite boundary. Hundreds of acres compose a golf course, yet white stakes and roads signify its boundaries of where the golf course ends and a new property line begins. Property lines are important.

God knows the boundaries of the New Jerusalem. It was presumed the man mentioned on Zechariah was a “surveying” angel employed to measure breadth and length of this new city. If a mere earthly man were employed for such a task, he would loosen or unfairly constrict the boundaries in order to satisfy His own beliefs. Some men are of the belief the gate is wide while others picture such a narrow gate that only a very small number within his own ideology will be permitted through. Because God deemed it important to ascertain the square footage of the New Jerusalem, it is reasonable to conclude He knows the exact population of this city.

Why are boundaries even important? Our Lord has definite boundaries within which we are to live our lives. There are things specifically prohibited by the believer and places He instructed for us “to not go there.” Any functioning society has boundaries and any deviation thereof creates uncertainty. There is but one way to this New Jerusalem. A gate has definite boundaries from which a visitor is to enter. A post is located on each side of this gate which dictates the entrance. Such a gate to salvation is faith and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This boundary is not “denominationally determinable”. He did not draw the lines for solely Baptists, Pentecostals, or Methodists.

A functioning country has borders, knows its boundaries and the number of citizens who live therein. If such borders do not exist, chaos ensues as the nation does not have the necessary resources to accommodate those which attempt to enter by a means which is contrary to the land’s prescribed laws. Heaven will be no different. There is a registry called the Lamb’s Book of Life which details all of the occupants of Heaven. Our God knows exactly the dimensions of the believer’s eternal abide in order to accommodate this number. Further, the one means of entry is restricted to only those who have placed faith and believe in His son Jesus Christ as Savior.

Golf courses and basketball courts do not increase boundary lines in order to satisfy the skill levels of the participants. Similarly, there is no scripture to support a belief that heaven ever increases her borders. Are you living your life within God’s set boundaries? Will you have citizenship in this New Jerusalem?