Revelation 21: Everything’s New

Introduction:

We know come to the final section of the this book. Each section of this book speaks to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, the Lord of the Churches (ch. 1-3)

Jesus the Lion over the nation (ch. 4-20)

Jesus, the Lamb among believers (ch. 21-22)

The new perspective of this last section is glorious. We have now gone from smoke and pain and heat to all of that being put to rest, passing into the clear, clean atmosphere of the eternal morning where the breath of heaven is sweet and the vast city of God shines bright in the radiance of his presence.

vv. 1-4) The New Heavens and New Jerusalem:

[1] Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

With the opening verses of this chapter describe the creation of the new heaven and the new earth, which chronologically follows the thousand-year reign of Christ described in ch. 20.

This chapter and the next deal with the eternal state and not the millennial reign of Christ. There are a lot of similarities between the two, and here we are to understand that there being a new heaven and a new earth point to this being the eternal state. The principle is well established in Scripture that distant events are often telescoped together.

Examples of this are:

Isaiah 61:1–2 NKJV

1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

This verse speaks of the first and second comings of Christ together. Dan 12:2, mentions the resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked together even though, according to Revelation 20:5, they will be separated by a thousand years.

Daniel 12:2 NKJV

2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Sometime even the chronological order is reversed, as in Isaiah 65:17-25.

vv. 17-19 refer to the new heaven and new earth:

Isaiah 65:17–19 NKJV

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.

vv. 20-25 refer clearly to the Millennium: As this passage deals with the Millennium, because sin and death are still present.

Isaiah 65:20–25 NKJV

20 “No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, Nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; For the child shall die one hundred years old, But the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord, And their offspring with them. 24 “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the Lord.

This new creation is described again as a new heaven and a new earth. That it is a totally new heaven and a new earth, and not the present heaven and earth renovated, is supported by the additional statement, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.

We are not given a whole lot of information about this, just one major fact is stated: there was no longer any sea.

Our current and present earth, which has most of its surface covered by water, no large body of water will be on the new earth. The Bible remains silent, however, in verse 23 we are given a glimpse of a few features:

Revelation 21:23 NKJV

23 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.

There will be no sun or moon, and by implication, no stars. The new heaven refers not to the abode of God, but the earth’s atmosphere and planetary space.

Also there are no landmarks are given, and nothing is known of its characteristics, vegetation, color, or form. What we know is that the residence are all saved. There are a few references found in scripture.

Isaiah 65:17 NKJV

17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.

Isaiah 66:22 NKJV

22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the Lord, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.

2 Peter 3:10–13 NKJV

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Just so we are all on the same page. I believe the clearer passages should be used to explain obscure passages supports the conclusion that the second coming of Christ is followed by a literal 1000 year reign on earth, and this in turn is followed by a new heaven and new earth, the dwelling place of the saints for eternity.

[ With the absence of any geographic identification and the absence of a sea, the new earth will obviously be entirely different. By contrast, the sea is mentioned many times in relation to the Millennium (e.g., Ps. 72:8; Isa. 11:9, 11; Ezek. 47:8–20; 48:28; Zech. 9:10; 14:8). The evidence is conclusive that the new heaven and new earth are not to be confused with the Millennium.]

I do believe we would miss an important detail if we ignore the Jewish mindset pertaining to the sea. They believed that it was a place of separation and evil, chaotic. Already in this book it is shown to be the source of the Satanic beast (13:1), and the place of the dead (20:13).

In other passages of the Bible, the sea is associated with the heathen:

Isaiah 57:20 NKJV

20 But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

And in a more general sense, with the opponents of the Lord that must be conquered:

Psalm 89:9 NKJV

9 You rule the raging of the sea; When its waves rise, You still them.

[2] Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

This is the Jerusalem of hope:

Hebrews 12:22 NKJV

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,

The Jerusalem above:

Galatians 4:26 NKJV

26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

The place of our real citizenship:

Philippians 3:20 NKJV

20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,

We are given to descriptive words: “holy” and “new” as it distinguishes the city. It is holy and new, implying it is different from any city we might have seen or even tried to imagine. However the word Jerusalem gives it continuity with earth, especially with the place of our redemption.

Something we might not be aware of is the fact that this holy and new city is a dwelling place of God’s people. Even in eternity there is not going to be isolation, but a perfect community of the people of God.

The Christian concept of heaven is a community—a place of life, activity, and people—and it is very different from say the Hindu conception of blank Nirvana.

We have never known a community unmarred by sin. Adam and Eve only knew a limited community, and community in larger context only came along after the fall. Here what we have is something totally unique: a sinless, pure, community of righteousness.

Bride adorned:

John used the most striking, beautiful image he could think of. The most beautiful thing a man will ever see is his bride coming down the aisle, ready to meet him. John said that this is how beautiful New Jerusalem will be.

[3] And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.

Moses’ tabernacle represented the dwelling place of God on earth. That was past the representation of the dwelling place of the dwelling place of God; this tabernacle of God is the reality of His presence.

This succinctly states essence of God’s desire and man’s purpose: “He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.”Simply, God’s desire is to live in close fellowship with man, and man’s purpose is to be a people unto God.

This is the greatest glory of heaven, and the ultimate restoration of what was lost in the Fall.

“I do not think the glory of Eden lay in its grassy walks, or in the boughs bending with luscious fruit—but its glory lay in this, that the ‘Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.’ here was Adam’s highest privilege, that he had companionship with the Most Hight.”–Spurgeon

[4] And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

The New Jerusalem is distinguished by what it doesn’t have—no tears, no sorrow, no death or pain. Later it will be shown to have no temple, no sun, no moon, no darkness, no sin, and no abomination.

“Man comes into the world with a cry; and goes out of it with a groan, and all between is more or less intoned with helpless wailing… But the Alleluias of the renewed world will drown out the voice of woe forever.”–Seiss

Every tear will be wiped away, likely there will be many.

Tears of bereaved affection, such as Mary, and Martha, and the widow of Nain wept.

Tears of sympathy and mercy, such as Jeremiah and Jesus welt over the sins and the calamities of Jerusalem.

Tears of persecuted innocence.

Tears of contrition and penitence for faults and crimes against the goodness and majesty of heaven.

Tears of disappointment and neglect.

Tears of yearning for what cannot be ours.

But the idea of tears in heaven should never be used as a tool of guilt/manipulation on this earth.

“There is no just ground for imagining from this text that the saints will shed tears in heaven concerning the failures of their former life on earth. The emphasis here is on the comfort of God, not on the remorse of the saints.”–Walvoord

Application:

We are invited by God to dwell with Him here for all eternity. But are you inviting God to dwell with you now? why wait?

Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Are you welcoming Him into your life or trying to keep your distance?

Benediction:

Jude 24–25 NKJV

24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.

Introduction:

v. 5) All things new:

[5] Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

This is an announcement that has all authority behind it, and who does it come from? from the very throne of God. The statement is, “behold, I make all things new” is in the present tense, “I am making everything new.” This is the completion of God’s work of saving and redeeming human being, which you and I are apart of, what really is a trip is the understanding that what has “begun” right here and right now in our present is a very real reality before God.

Hebrews 12:2 NKJV

2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Paul, clues us in to this transformative work in:

2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I just want to briefly reiterate the importance of “make all things new.” Family we are given a slight insight to the thoughts of God concerning the eternal plan.

To display His patience, mercy, and grace all in order to show this great work of making all things new. At this point in time, His plans are complete.

Almost instinctively we romanticizes the innocence of man’s perfect state, looking at Adam and wishing that the sin that he and eve committed would never had happened. But I think we might fail to understand that redeemed man is actually greater than the innocent man. Family what you have recieved in Jesus will forever be greater than what was lost in Adam.

God’s perfect state is one of redemption, not innocence.

“Write:” John was probably so enamored with what was going on by what was being spoken that he forgot to write—because he was told to do so.

vv. 6-8) The invitation and warning:

[6] And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

“It is done!” God’s plan is now accomplished, and Ephesians 1:10 has been fulfilled:

Ephesians 1:10 NKJV

10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him.

At this point, all things have been resolved, no loose ends, all has been summed up in Christ—it is done!

Drinking and thirst are common pictures of God’s supply and man’s spiritual need. Drinking is an action, one of receiving—like faith, it is doing something, but it is not a merit-earning work in itself.

“What does a thirsty man do to get rid of his thirst? He drinks. Perhaps there is no better representation of faith in all the Word of God than that. To drink is to receive-to take in the refreshing draught-and that is all. A man’s face may be unwashed, but yet he can drink; he may be a very unworthy character, but yet a draught of water will remove his thirst. Drinking is such a remarkably easy thing, it is even more simple than eating.”–Spurgeon

Spiritual thirst can never be slaked by what mankind can find, conquer, obtain, or desire. Rather, as a part of God’s being with us, he provides water from the fountain of the water of life; and no payment is sought—not because the water of life is of little value. It is after all, the only remedy to slake human spiritual thirst.

But the price for this purchase has already been paid with the death of Jesus, and consequently the water of life is now free to those who thirst for it. However, men do not seek for the water of life unless they have acknowledged their thirst.

Spiritual disciplines:

Prayer

Fasting

The sacraments

Baptism

Bible reading

Alpha and Omega, are the beginning and the ending letters of the Greek alphabet, a cultural but all encompassing way of stressing that before there was anything else God was there; He is truly the beginning of all things. he is not only the beginning, he is the end of all things too.

End:(τέλος) carries with it more than the sentiment of ending of a sequence of events, but also implies a sense of completion or purpose.

So God is the beginning of everything, but he is als other purpose of all that transpires. This promise of purpose should always provide profound comfort for the saints, knowing that there is an explanation for all sorrows and tribulations—an answer that will be completely satisfying.

[7] He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

Those who overcome (by faith in Christ: 1 John 5:5)

1 John 5:5 NKJV

5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

God’s presence takes on still a further significance. Those who overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony have a heritage. Therefore, God is not just present with the human family, but he actually maintains a relationship as of a father to his son. While God has but one ontological Son, namely, Jesus, the Word of God:

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

he has many children by adoption:

Romans 8:15 NKJV

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:23 NKJV

23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

Galatians 4:5 NKJV

5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

And the children who by faith have been adopted into the family of God are just as much the heirs and joint heirs as the supernatural Son of God.

[8] But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

These observation, however, lead to one final warning of the Apocalypse. While all of these exquisite blessings come to the one who has overcome by the blood of the Lamb, there is another class of people turned into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The list provided in this verse is not intended to be definitive, but certainly represents a good chunk.

Those enumerated are the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, all who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars. The list once again provides a general overall look at the natures of those who deny the Lord.

“Cowardly” at first seems to be far less serious than the other sins mentioned here and perhaps even out of place. When the word (in Greek) is used to describe things, it is usually translated in classical Greek (earlier form of the language that we fading during the time of Christ) as “miserable” or “wretched.”

This provides some insight into the use of the word here, where it is obviously used of people. Cowardliness is a vile or wretched, and to be sure, a miserable state to find oneself in.

Ultimately there is a contrast that is being made. The contrast is with those who at the coming of Christ experience boldness or confidence.

1 John 2:28 NKJV

28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming.

When Christ is revealed, some will be bold or even bold to speak because they are right with God and are aware of the righteousness that has been bestowed on them. However, others will call “to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hid us from the face of him who sits on the throne (6:16)’”

Because of this, they would be cowardly. The word (ἄπιστος) is from the work “faith” with the alpha privative attached meaning “no faith,” and hence “unbelieving.”

Nothing that will defile or pollute will enter God’s presence in the New Jerusalem. Murderers and the sexually immoral are added as those who will not be allowed access. The word for one who “practices magic arts” is φάρμακος which references sorcery and drug use. Idolatry and liars are included and all of these will have their part in the lake of fire.

Something to muse over: since heaven will also be populated by persons guilty of all these things, one must inquire as to why some are excluded and turn aside. The distinction between the two groups is to be found in the response of the individual to the revelation of Jesus Christ in His holy Word.

That is were God reveals His provision of mercy and grace for any who would believe in His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

Application:

Something to reflect on:

What are you thirsting for? The things of God or something else?

Overcoming: Are you fighting in the war that you have been drafted to? Or are you passively observing?

Write down one thing you need to do based on what you have learned in this passage.

Benediction:

Introduction:

vv. 9-10)

[9] Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

[10] And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

vv. 11-14)

[11] having the glory of God, Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

[12] Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

[13] three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

[14] Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

vv. 15-17)

[15] And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

[16] The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

[17] Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

vv. 18-21)

[18] The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

[19] The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald,

[20] The fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

[21] The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

Application:

Benediction:

Introduction:

vv. 22-23)

[22] But I was no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

[23] 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.

vv. 24-27)

[24] 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.

[25] Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

[26] And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations it.

[27] 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.

Application:

Benediction: