Living in the Last Days

“What Heaven will be like Part I”

Revelation 21:1-16 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I wil…”

I. Intro

The major outline of the book of Revelation is found in Revelation 1:19 “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;” The third section of that outline is the things which shall be hereafter. This third section has three subdivisions: the Tribulation (4-19), the Millennium (20), and all things made new (21-22). We now will look at the final subdivision, which reveals what Heaven will be like.

II. It will be totally new (21:1-8)

We have taken a long, dark journey through the book of Revelation. It has mostly been bad news about disease, pain, smoke, global destruction, war, death, and the lake of fire. Now, we come to the good news. The word translated ‘new’ (kainos) [ki-nos] does not mean recent or new in time, it means new in quality and nature. It is new kind rather than in time. The new heaven and new earth are possible because the first heaven and first earth are passed away. No details are given, but Peter gives us an idea in 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” John also writes, there was no more sea. This means there will be a total change in climatic conditions, since humidity and rainfall are determined by the seas and the oceans. Water will not be essential for life because we will have our glorified bodies like Christ’s. Philippians 3:21 “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” Next, John sees the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven. This is what Isaiah predicted. Isaiah 65:17 “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: And the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” Isaiah 66:22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, Shall remain before me, saith the Lord, So shall your seed and your name remain.” All pain, suffering, lost people we knew, and sin will be forgotten. However, we will know each other. 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” The New Jerusalam is prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The New Jerusalem will have dazzling beauty, beyond anything we have ever seen. Next, John hears a great voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” In the New Jerusalem, God will make His tabernacle with His children for all of eternity. Revelation 21:4 “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” This is because the former things are passed away. These former things are all results of sin. Since there is no sin in heaven, all these things will be gone forever. The one sitting on the throne says, “Behold, I make all things new.” The Bible begins with God’s creation of the old heavens and old earth. It ends with His creating a new heaven and new earth. God then tells John, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” This means what we are reading is an absolute certainty. God then says to John, “It is done.” He has finished the plan of salvation. God also says, “I am the Alpha and Omega.” This repeats what Jesus said to John. Revelation 1:8 “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Therefore, God is the beginning and the end of everything. Most of us do not think much about water, but it was a major concern in John’s day. This is a promise of abundant satisfaction because God will meet and exceed every need freely. God continues, “He that overcometh is anyone born of God.” God also tells John who will not be with him in heaven. As I often mention, when you see a list in the Bible, always pay special attention to what comes first. What two groups are first in this list of those who will have their place in the lake of fire? Revelation 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” The first group includes those who know about Christ, but are afraid to take a stand for Him. They may come to church often and hear many sermons. However, because they fear persecution, they are not brave enough to take a stand for Christ. The second group includes those who hear the Gospel, but do not demonstrate saving faith. These two groups are listed first because God considers them the worst of all sinners. Next on the list are the abominable, which refers to those who are vile and disgusting to God. Then comes murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers. (Pharmakeus) [farm-uh-qus] which translates the word from which we get our word ‘pharmacist.’ This refers to those who use spell-giving potions and practice fortune telling through signs and omens. This list also includes idolaters and all liars. Their fate is the lake of fire, which is the second death.

III. It will be home for both old and new covenant saints (21:9-14)

Next, one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues says to John, “Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” The angel carries John away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. John is transported in a vision from the Isle of Patmos, where he is a prisoner. The angel shows him the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. A city is not the buildings; it is the people. We never say: a city of 50,000 buildings, but rather, a city of 50,000 people. Therefore, the New Jerusalem has the spectacular splendor of God, whose light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. In other words, a beautiful light radiates from the city. The city has a great wall great and high, symbolizing the safety and impregnability of the city. The wall has twelve gates and at the gates, twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. This means godly people of the OT will be residents of the city. There are three gates on each side:east, north, south, and west. The wall of the New Jerusalem has twelve foundations. The gates and foundations are reminders the New Jerusalem is the eternal home of all God’s people under both the old and new covenants.

IV. It will have room for all believers of all time (21:15-16)

1. The angel who speaks to John has a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the walls thereof. The city is a cube, being equal in length, width, and height. It measures 12,000 furlongs in length, width, and height. The word translated ‘furlongs’ (stadion) [stad-ee-on] is the word from which we get our word “stadium.” In anceint Greece and Rome, this was a unit of measure for foot races. One furlong is about 607 feet, or 185 meters. The New Jerusalem is a 12,000 furlong, or 1,380 mile cube, the distance from Dallas to New York City. It is shaped like the Holy of Holies, because of 1 Kings 6:20 “And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.” The Holy of Holies was a 20 cubit, or 30 foot cube. Since the New Jerusalem is a 1,380 mile cube, it could have hundreds of floors (tiers) each with just over 1.9 million square miles. So, one floor is roughly half the size of the continental United States, which is just over 3.7 million square miles. Over 300 million people live in the United States. Half that amount would be 150 million on each floor. If each floor is one mile in height, and there are 1,380 floors, and if 150 million can live on each floor, that’s a total of over 207 billion people. The world population today is about 6.6 billion. So, there is room for everyone. Now, we can better understand the words of Jesus in John 14:2 “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”