The New Jerusalem
Notes
Transcript
With Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, all of the demon hordes, and all of the unbelievers now cast into the lake of fire forever, it is time for the New Heaven and Earth to be enjoyed by those who faithfully walked with Christ. This is the focus of Chapter 21. We see the New Jerusalem coming down in all of its glory.
All Things Made New
All Things Made New
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.
As we start Chapter 21, we see that there is a gap.
It is not so much a gap in time as it is a gap in information. Just as in the creation account, where many of the details are left out, this section of the Scriptures is intentionally left vague.
We know that Jesus reigned on earth during the Millennial Kingdom for 1,000 years. We know after that 1,000 year reign was fulfilled, Satan was loosed for a short season to wage war against Christ once again. We know that Satan lost that battle, and was cast into the lake of fire. We know that at some point after that, the Great White Throne Judgment takes place, to where all of those who were not alive during the Millennial Reign will take place and receive their just judgment. And here we are told in the very first verse, that John sees a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.
But we are not given all of the details as of how this happened…
We do know that when God destroys this universe as we know it, He will do so with fire: 2 Peter 3:5-13
What about those who were alive during the Millennial Reign? Are they taken to Heaven before the world is destroyed? Are they transported somewhere else? The Bible simply doesn’t answer these questions, but we know that God has always taken care of His children. We are promised that we will be in the presence of the Lord!
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.
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.
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.”
In verse 1, John saw a whole new universe (a new heaven and earth), but here he sees the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. This city is created by God for all of the saints and will be prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This city will be the dwelling place of God and serve as the epicenter of worship to Him. It tells us that the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell them, and they shall be His people.
It is during this time that we will experience the fullness of our relationship with Him. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. We will know and experience the fullness of God’s love like never before. Our relationship with Him will be so personal that He will wipe our tears away Himself. He will assure us that there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. This is the longing of every Christian’s heart. This is the moment that we all eagerly anticipate. This is the promise that we plant our feet on!
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.”
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.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
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.”
God then directly speaks to John from the throne, saying, “Behold, I make all things new.” This means exactly what it says. God is not going to rehabilitate a fallen world. Rather, he is going to create a whole new one… one that has not been scarred by sin. This new world will have no place for self-righteousness… only the righteousness of God.
This is the assurance of our eternal dwelling with Him. For those of us who have fought faithfully against the sinfulness of this life and truly long for a world without its curse, this will be music to our ears. This will bring tears to our eyes. This will be exactly what our hearts long to hear. Nothing will ever separate me from Him again. Nothing will ever stand in my way… not even me.
All things… means all things. Even I will be new. There will no longer be a sin nature inside of me. There will no longer be a propensity to sin. There will no longer be this desire for ungodly things, or a capacity for it. I will be fully and completely remade in the image of God. I will be like Him!
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
God seems to be mesmerized by this message, maybe even completely overwhelmed with the thought of it. God has to bring him back to reality by telling him to pick back up his pen and “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
John snaps back to reality in time to write these next words, “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. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son. 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.”
God now brings John back to the current timeline. God reassures John that all the events concerning end times events are complete, and if someone wants to be on the right side of eternity, they must have genuine faith and follow Christ, regardless of the price. To those who thirst for God, He give of the water of life freely. To those who do not, they will not be forced to spend an eternity with One whom they had no desire to know while on earth.
The New Jerusalem
The New Jerusalem
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,
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.
One of the seven angels who participated in the bowl judgments now calls John to a better vantage point. He takes John away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed him the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
John gets to behold the glory of God first hand. This is His city, made by His hand, which houses His throne, which He will reign from for all eternity. This city is full of His glory, and John gets to see it first, before anyone else. It was so bright that John said her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
This city also has a great and high wall that surrounds it, and built into it is twelve gates, each of which has an angel standing guard. And on each of the gates, one of the names of the twelve tribes of Israel is written. There are three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three hates on the west. (Ezekiel 48:31-34)
Now some people like to argue that Israel is not God’s chosen people anymore and that they have no bearing whatsoever in end times events. I would love to hear them explain this Chapter. The city itself is called “The New Jerusalem”. Each tribe from the nation of Israel is etched into the twelve gates that surround it. This city screams Jerusalem. Furthermore, the 144,000 that are sealed with the seal of God during the Tribulation Period are Jews as well.
Some might say, well what about the church? The Church is engrafted into this family that was started so many years ago. We are all one nation in Christ, and Jerusalem will play a heavy, heavy role in all of these things.
As a side note, notice that God does not have a problem with walls. The New Jerusalem will have walls, big walls, and they will be guarded day and night.
The wall is so big in fact, that it will have twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. These twelve men will be remembered for all eternity for their work in Christ. Without these twelve faithful men, the church would not be what it was today.
The names of the twelve tribes will be there to honor the covenant God made with Israel and the names of the twelve apostles will be there to honor God’s covenant with the Church. Both will be recognized and both will be welcomed.
Some have speculated who the twelfth apostle who is recognized will be. Will it be Matthias or Paul? We simply do not know, but I personally believe that it will be Paul.
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.
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.
The angel who was talking with John had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The specifics of this city was of importance to God. He wanted us to know its measurements, so let’s unpack it:
The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth.
Twelve thousand furlongs… Roughly 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles long… that is 2,250,000 square miles. This is very close to size of the state of Alaska, the largest state in the U.S.
The Wall’s height: 144 cubits
This is roughly 216 feet tall.
It goes on to tell us that the city wall was made of jasper, a diamond-like crystal. It also tells us that the city was pure gold, like clear glass. It seems as if the entire city is somewhat translucent, which would make the entire city available to the light of God. It’s as if there will be no darkness, no shadows so to speak.
There will also be different precious stones that adorn the 12 foundations of the wall, each foundation hosting a different stone (vs. 19-20).
The gates themselves are made of pearl… not pearls, but one single pearl. “Each individual gate was of one pearl”, it says. And the street will mimic the rest of the city being pure gold.
The Glory of The Lord
The Glory of The Lord
22 But I saw 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.
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 into 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.
There will no longer be a physical temple in the New Jerusalem, for there will be no need for one. There will be no more need for sacrifices, for prayer, for healings, or for various symbols pointing towards the glory of the Lord. The glory of the Lord will be there in person, there will be no more sin, and there will be no more need for prayer when Christ is in the flesh before us. It tells us that the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
There will also be 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 since God will be ever present with us, we are told that there shall be no night there.
Not only will this city be full of God’s glory, but it will remain that way forever. All of those who are put in charge to reign under him throughout the earth will bring their glory into this city to God. Also, it tells us that there will never be anything to enter that city that defiles, or causes abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It will be perfect, and it will remain perfect.
