The New Jerusalem
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Last Week
Last Week
We have now come to the fulfillment of the Book of Revelation. For those who have not been with us, John the son of Zebedee was in exile on the isle of Patmos, and Yeshua revealed Himself to John there. John was commanded to write to seven communities in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).
Last week we looked at the final judgement of all people in front of the Great White Throne of Adonai.
Today we will look at the new Heavens, the new Earth and the new Jerusalem.
I want to read the whole passage of Revelation 21:1-22:5 to gain a view of the grandeur of the place that Adonai has prepared for those who love Him.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city—the New Jerusalem—coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. I also heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them and be their God. He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer, for the former things have passed away.” And the One seated upon the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new!” Then He said, “Write, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will freely give from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But for the cowardly and faithless and detestable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars—their lot is in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” Then came one of the seven angels holding the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Then he carried me away in the Ruach to a great and high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God—her radiance like a most precious stone, like a jasper, sparkling like crystal. She had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels. On the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Bnei-Yisrael— three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb. The angel speaking with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city is laid out as a square—its length the same as its width. He measured the city with the rod—12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall—144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. The material of the city’s wall was jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone—the first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, carnelian; the seventh, yellow topaz; the eighth; beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls—each of the gates was from a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass. I saw no temple in her, for its Temple is Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot and the Lamb. And the city has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God lights it up, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. Its gates shall never be shut by day, for there shall be no night there! And they shall bring into it the glory and honor of the nations. And nothing unholy shall ever enter it, nor anyone doing what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Book of Life. Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life—bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s street. On either side of the river was a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in the city, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. Night shall be no more, and people will have no need for lamplight or sunlight—for Adonai Elohim will shine on them. And they shall reign forever and ever!
New Heaven and New Earth
New Heaven and New Earth
The first several verses of this chapter introduce us to the new Heaven, the new Earth, and the new Jerusalem. As we discussed last week in Rev. 20:11b, there was an ending to the current Earth and the heavens (which is a reference to the entire universe). John wrote that, “The earth and heaven fled from His presence, but no place was found for them.”
And now, just as Yeshua says in Rev. 21:5, He is “Making all things new!” There is a new universe, and a new Earth. I believe that this means “new”, not “renewed,” especially because of the reference to the lack of oceans or “sea”.
When John referred to these things, one of the first passages that would have come to mind to the original audience would have been Isa. 65:17-25
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating. For behold, I am creating Jerusalem for rejoicing, and her people for joy. Then I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and be glad in My people. No longer will the voice of weeping or the voice of crying be heard in her. No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days. For the youth will die at a hundred years, But one who misses the mark of a hundred must be accursed. They will build houses and inhabit them. They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit, nor plant and another eat. For like the days of a tree, so will be the days of My people, and My chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. They will not labor in vain nor bear children for calamity. For they are the offspring of those blessed by Adonai, as well as descendants with them. And it will come to pass that before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together. The lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,” says Adonai.
Isaiah’s prophesy continues in Isa. 66:22-24
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will endure before Me”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“so your descendants and your name will endure.” “And it will come to pass, that from one New Moon to another, and from one Shabbat to another, all flesh will come to bow down before Me,” says Adonai. “As they leave, they will look on the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me. For their worm will not die, and their fire will not be quenched, and they will be a horror to all flesh.”
This is the restoration of all things! In the Garden of Eden we see that Adonai used to walk with Adam and Even in the cool of the evening. But after man sinned this relationship and intimacy was broken. Now, here in Revelation, we see that Adonai is once again tabernacling, or dwelling, with mankind.
It is interesting to note that this word “tabernacling”, is only found one other place in the New Covenant writings and that is in John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We looked upon His glory, the glory of the one and only from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Yeshua, the Messiah, the King of Glory, the Root of Jesse will dwell with us forever. He will continuously supply all of our needs according to the richness of His glory. The one sitting on the throne, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, tells John that the rivers of living water, a reference to the Ruach HaKodesh, will continuously be our source and our life.
And this will be the life, the everlasting life, that is promised to all who overcome. We will come back to this point later.
The New Jerusalem
The New Jerusalem
The new Jerusalem, as promised in Isaiah, is described in detail here in Revelation. And just like the last 8 chapters of Ezekiel, an angel with measuring rod provides dimensions to the magnificent, glorious city. A significant difference between the account in Ezekiel and Revelation, is that Ezekiel is describing a new temple, where as John tells us in Rev. 21:22 that, “I saw no temple in her, for its Temple is Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot and the Lamb.” In other words, the entire city is a Temple or Tabernacle or Dwelling place for Adonai.
Literal or Figurative
Literal or Figurative
What is interesting is that the city that John sees is a cube, 12,000 stadia for it’s length, width and height (approx 2200 Km) with walls that are 144 cubits high. And yes, a city that high would not fit on our current planet. Craig Keener asks the question this way:
Should we take the numbers 12,000 and 144 (21:16-17) literally? The use of symbols in apocalyptic literature and especially the consistent numerical patterns in Revelation (see 7:4-8) invite us to take these numbers symbolically. Here the numbers are symbolic for God’s people, reminding us who will live there.
Another interesting comparison is found in Ezekiels vision of the final temple and the measurements of Solomon’s Temple. When the angel was measuring the Most Holy Place, the place where Adonai’s presence dwells, it is a cube. 1 Kings 6:20
The inner Sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in breadth and twenty cubits in height. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the cedar altar.
And we see the same in Ezekiel’s Vision: Eze. 41:4,
When he measured the inner room’s length, it was 20 cubits, and the width was 20 cubits, in front of the Temple. He said to me, “This is the Holy of Holies.”
So when we look at all these passages together, we see that Adonai’s home, his dwelling is coming to the new Earth, and it will be filled with all the faithful people, and the number 12,000 and 144,000 symbolise all of the faithful overcomers who follow Adonai and His Messiah Yeshua of Nazareth. Yeshua, himself, said it this way: John 14:1-3
“Do not let your heart be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to Myself, so that where I am you may also be.
12 Tribes and 12 Apostles
12 Tribes and 12 Apostles
In Exodus 28:15-21 we see that Moses was commanded to engrave 12 stones with the names of each of the 12 tribes of Israel. Here in Revelation we find that each of the 12 gates has the same names inscribed. We also see that there are 12 different foundations, made from different gemstones, and on these foundations the names of the 12 Apostles are inscribed. Adonai tells Moses why these stones were to be on the high priests breastplate, or ephod. Ex. 28:29
“Aaron will bear the names of Bnei-Yisrael in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, whenever he enters the holy place, as a continual memorial before Adonai.
These names of both the Tribes and the Apostles remind us that Adonai is faithful to keep His promises. He is faithful to accomplish all that He has said He will do for Israel, and He is faithful to keep the words he spoke through Yeshua. Adonai’s faithfulness is the very foundation of this city that is to come.
River of Life
River of Life
Finally Chapter 22:1-5 describes the river of life that is flowing out from the throne of Adonai. This is the same river that is described in Ezekiel 47 (which I encourage you all to read). However I would like to read from Zechariah 14:6-9
In that day there will be no light, cold or frost. It will be a day known only to Adonai, neither day nor night—even in the evening time there will be light. Moreover, in that day living waters will flow from Jerusalem, half toward the eastern sea and half toward the western sea, both in the summer and in the winter. Adonai will then be King over all the earth. In that day Adonai will be Echad and His Name Echad.
Now I believe that this passage in Zechariah actually refers to the Millennial reign of Yeshua, but concept is still the same. This river of life is for the healing of the nations. And just as a natural river brings life to the surrounding land, how much more will the river of the Ruach HaKodesh bring healing to the nations?
Application for Today
Application for Today
There are so many ways that we can apply this to our lives today.
A Promise
A Promise
Firstly, we see that the promise of Adonai to restore the Earth, and to create a new Heaven and new Earth have been consistent from the time of the Isaiah and Zechariah to the time of John. Adonai is faithful to His word.
Rav. Sha’ul, in is last letter before he died, puts it this way: 2 Tim. 2:11-13
Trustworthy is the saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will also deny us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
A Calling
A Calling
In Rev. 21:6-7 we see Yeshua calling us to overcome:
Then He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will freely give from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
The call to overcome was repeated after ever letter to every congregation in the first 3 chapters of Revelation. Some of the congregations were experiencing persecution, some were experiencing prosperity. Some congregations had experienced a love for Yeshua but had forgotten it, others had fallen asleep spiritually. Some congregations had traded the truth of Yeshua’s word for financial security, and some were barely hanging on.
Yet the final call of Yeshua was the same to all of the congregations: “To the one who overcomes, I will grant ...”
Now here at the end of the Revelation, we see the same call, “To the one who overcomes...” No matter what we are facing in life, we a all called to overcome through the strength that Yeshua has given us.
A Warning
A Warning
And finally, just as Yeshua warned all of the congregations in the first three chapters, He once again warns of the consequences of not following Him and of not overcoming the world. Rev. 21:8
But for the cowardly and faithless and detestable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars—their lot is in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
This warning covers everything: from those who continually act cowardly, to those who continually break trust and are faithless; from those who continue to murder, to those who live in a sexual perverse way, against the way of God; and from those who worship and serve other gods, to those who live a lie.
This is the warning, but I will finish with hope. 1 Cor 6:9-11
Or don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Don’t be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, those who practice homosexuality, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, swindlers—none of these will inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you were—but you were washed, you were made holy, you were set right in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah and by the Ruach of our God.