Chapter 21: 9-21

“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. 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.”

We began our look into the New Heaven and the New Earth last week, and it is refreshing to come to the end of the damage and the destruction. From our present time until the end of the Millennium will be a down spiral around the world.

Right now, the religious freedoms of the Lord’s people are being restricted in the name of tolerance. I read a quote recently that basically said that, in a world of lies, the truth tellers are the enemy. Well, God’s people are the truth tellers, or at least we should be.

I had a great conversation with a dear sister in the Lord this week, and she recounted going to play golf with a lady who claims to be a minister for the Lord. Yet she says that there are some parts of the Bible that she willfully ignores or does not consider because it does not fit her beliefs. This kind of confusion is rampant in religion. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we see these words,

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Notice the first words “ALL SCRIPTURE,” not just the ones we like, but ALL is given by the inspiration of God; another term is “God-breathed” and is profitable. For one to forgo some of the scripture is to question if it is God-breathed and its profitability This is the very height of arrogance. For a mere human to determine that something that God has said is not profitable is to declare that you, a mere human, knows more than God.

Since the scripture is profitable, since it is God-breathed, we are to hold it in high regard; we are to cherish it and study it, and find out what God is saying to us with the goal of being “perfect and thoroughly furnished (equipped) unto all good works.” Sadly, this kind of arrogance is eating into the very foundation of Christianity. One very prominent ‘church’ leader recently alluded to the idea that we no longer need the Old Testament, yet God says ALL scripture is profitable. Once again, a mere man trying to usurp God’s clearly stated directive. Run from these people; run I say! Run far! Find a Bible- believing, Bible-teaching and Bible-cherishing church, one where the Pastor carefully and deliberately handles God’s Holy word.

The Lamb’s Wife, verse 9-11

In john 14:1-3 we see these beautiful words of promise. Words that tells us the Jewish story of the betrothed man. In our case, Jesus is the betrothed husband and we the bride.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

John was there when Jesus said this. Now he is seeing it with his own eyes. This is the place where the Bride of Christ will live. Notice that John had to be carried to a great mountain to see this place in all its glory. This is like no other city you have ever seen. You mouth will be slack-jawed for a long time once your eyes set on this sight. This reminds me of the verses in 1 Peter 2:11; we are sojourners here and should long for our new home.

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.”

Too many of us Christians are settled on earth, and we are content here. There is no real longing for our new home. No real desire to go there unless we are on our death bed; and all too often, we live as though we are not true resident aliens. I do believe in aliens; I am one. This world is not my home. I long, like Abraham, for a city whose builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). This beautiful place is our home; in it are our dwelling places, and they will be all we ever need. There will be no want there, no lack, no loss and no desire for more.

Our New Home, verses 12-21

This place is huge. Sometimes we do not get the size of it. Let me help you. The place is 2,250,000 square miles, but it is also 1,500 miles high, so it is actually 3,375,000,000-cubit miles in its size. The largest state in the US according to square miles is Alaska at 571,951. That is more than twice the state of Texas. The Holy city is almost 4 times the square miles of Alaska. In Canada, our province of Quebec relates the best to Alaska at 595,391 square miles. So, this Holy city is about 4 times the size of Quebec as well. This is huge. Think of how many cities we have in a province, yet this one city, the new Jerusalem, is 4 times the size of one of our provinces.

The population of this is going to be huge. Between the Bride of Christ and angels and whatever else or whomever else is here, this population is going to be like the sands of the seashore. Certainly, more than any could count. It is bright and beautiful.

There are 12 gates, each bearing the name of a Jewish tribe; we are not told which ones they will be. Tribes like Dan, for instance, that helped Israel go into idolatry may not get a gate, or maybe the tribe of Joseph is united as one tribe. Does the tribe of Levi get a gate or does God have some special place for them in accordance with their call as His special tribe? It may be that the names are written in the order that they lived in the wilderness. In Numbers 2 we find the order in which the tribes were placed around the Tabernacle. From the website www.steintothestory.ca we see the image.

There are twelve foundations upon which the city is built, and they are named after the 12 apostles. Once again, we cannot be sure which apostles; there were 11 left in Acts 1:15-26, and the people in the Upper room elected Mathias to take the place of Judas who had killed himself. But, not long after this, Jesus confronts Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus; and upon arriving in Damascus, he is met by Ananias and addressed as brother, in Acts 9:17. Then he is baptized. In 1 Corinthians 15:8, Paul addresses himself as an apostle born out of season,

“And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.” `

So, whose names will appear on these foundations? I do not know. You need to be there to see it for yourself. Jesus is the only way.

We find that those who love God, those who love Jesus, have always longed for a new place, a better place, a new home. See Hebrews 12:22-24,

“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

Further in Hebrews 13:12-14, we see that Jesus died outside the city as an identity with us, those who seek a new home, a new place. Those of us that are not settled here, we are out of place and longing for a new home.

“Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”

We identify with Jesus as a people without a city. He came to the earthly Jerusalem, but the Heavenly Jerusalem is His true home. The earthly one rejected Him, but the Heavenly one welcomes Him. This earth rejects us because we are in Jesus. Thus, we look for a new home, a permanent home, a peaceful home; and here, in Revelation, John got to see it and talk a bit about it.

So, here is the question to you: is there a dwelling in this new Jerusalem for you? Has Jesus gone to prepare a place for you? John 14:5-6 completes the thought about how to have a place in this new Jerusalem; it is clear and simply, Jesus is the Way.

“Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Chapter 21:1-8

“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. 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.’

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.”

We live in a time when the world system wants the earth to last forever. If we would just stop using fossil fuels, just stop using straws, stop polluting the atmosphere, stop being humans and using the resources of the earth, it will last forever. But the word of God tells us that there will come a time when we get a new heaven and a new earth. We find this promise in Isaiah 65:17,

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”

And then in 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.”

These promises are fulfilled in Revelation 21. Notice that John wrote in verse 1, “I saw.” He saw the fulfillment of these prophecies. They had not yet happened 2,000 years ago and are yet to be fulfilled, but John “SAW” them, past tense. The fulfillment of God’s promises is secure and sure.

One more thing before we move on: notice in Isaiah 65:17, the “former things shall not be remembered, nor come to mind.” This earth that people hold so dear will be gone and erased from the memory of all those who are around at this time. I personally cannot imagine not remembering Niagara Falls; maybe some of you have been to the Grand Canyon, maybe to the top of Everest, others to the savannahs of Africa or the rainforests of South America; none of these will be remembered anymore. The NEW heaven and the NEW earth will be so much that all remembrance will be wiped away.

Folks, I am all for caring for the planet that we live on, but we are not called to worship it, and we need to be reminded that this planet as it is will be here for at least another 1,000 years if the Millennial era started today. Christians should not let the misinformation of the world confuse them. God’s word is the absolute truth. When in doubt, when in conflict, when there is a question, trust God’s word.

The New Heaven and Earth, verse 1

These are not simply a remodeled heaven and earth, but NEW. Jesus told us in Mathew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

Here Jesus tells us that the earth that they see and the heavens that they see will stop being there; they will pass away. What a contrast to the last chapter with Hell and death and war! Now we have New. The word New here is not just a remodeling as we mentioned before, but new as in very NEW, so much so that there is “no more sea.” Right now, the seas cover some 70% of the world’s surface; but in the new earth, there is no more sea. The words used in the Greek refer to being made out of nothing, a new creation, not remodeled. The Hebrew in Isaiah suggests the same things: a new creation, made out of nothing.

The obvious question that many ask is what will Heaven be like. My little 6-year-old was quite distraught that the new heaven will not have TV, nor will her cat be there. The new heaven is mind-blowing. The apostle Paul, one of the most highly educated men in the scriptures, saw the new heaven and was not allowed to write about it; he was actually dumbfounded about it. See in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4,

“It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”

Paul wrote that he could not lawfully write about the new heaven. He had seen stuff that he simply could not put into words. Be careful about people who claim to have gone to Heaven and then come back and write books about it. If Paul, one of the most brilliant men in the scriptures, could not put into words what he saw, neither will the people today. But God gives us a few ideas to hold on to: there is no more sea, just land; there are no more tears, no more death, no sorrow and no pain. These are tangible things that we can look forward to. The most noticeable thing that man would see first is that there is no more sea.

The New Jerusalem, verse 2

According to some scholars, John MacArthur being one of the ones that I researched among others, Jerusalem has always been designated as a Holy City. In the scriptures we are shown three cities of Jerusalem. The one we have today in modern Israel is the same city that David took from the Jebusites; that city is referred to as the Holy City in Daniel 9:24, Hosea 11:1, and Isaiah 52:1. Then, as we journeyed into the Millennial era, we saw a Jerusalem that was the center of the earth, and there Jesus was enthroned on the throne of David. That city, of course, is holy since Jesus is there, as is everyone who lives in it (Revelation 20:6). But this new Jerusalem that we encounter here in verse 2 is just that, a new one.

We are told later in the chapter that it is about a 1,500-mile cube (see verse 16). This is huge. From Toronto to Miami is about 1,450 miles, so you will have a city that covers from Toronto to Miami, and then from Miami to 200 miles west of Dallas, and then 1,500 miles high as well. Imagine the population that will inhabit this city.

In John 14:3, Jesus promises to go and prepare a place for His bride; and man, does He prepare a place! This is the best bridal house ever built in the history of time and man. This place will blow your mind and shut your mouth. Now you can understand why Paul was speechless at the glimpse of the new heaven.

This city is Holy, NO SIN at all. Think of the large cities in our time: New York, Los Angeles, even Toronto; the good is no longer good. Think of Chicago, Boston and Miami; these are cesspools of sin, debauchery, crime, pain, loss, the poor and the rich live together, lots of crying, death, suffering and loss. But not this new Jerusalem; it is HOLY. It is PERFECT. We see this promise in Hebrews 12:22-24,

“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.”

This is a heavenly Jerusalem, the new one, the holy one. In it are an innumerable number of angels, the general assembly and the church of the firstborn and God. In it the spirts of men are made perfect. God gives us all we can handle about the new heaven and the new Jerusalem in the Bible. Stop buying these man-made books and movies; they are lies, mere fables that pull at our heart strings, give us false expectations, and diminish the glory of what God has for us.

God with us, verse 3

God made man to have fellowship with Him. God used to visit Adam and the woman in the Garden of Eden. When one reads Genesis 3, you get the impression that it was normal for God to come and see Adam; but then, because of sin, one day they hid from Him. There will be no more separation from God. Why, you ask? Because we will be perfect as He is perfect.

Now, in our time, today, we are declared righteous in Jesus as far as our renewed spirits are concerned. We have become ‘lively stones’ as we see in 1 Peter 2:4-5. But then, we will have perfect minds and perfect bodies to match our perfect spirits. We can then have ‘face-to-face’ fellowship with God like Adam had before the fall in Genesis 3.

One writer, Guzik, makes an astonishing assessment: it is easy to blame Adam and wish that we had never fallen; but in the fall, we gained much more in Jesus than we ever had in Adam. In the act of redemption, we have more in the awareness of God’s character than we had in innocence. This in no way endorses what Adam did, nor exemplifies what Jesus did in response for us.

God will wipe away all of our tears (verse 4). There will be no more death, nor crying, nor pain, and on we can go. No more bad stuff. Why? God is with us and He is perfect. We will be called God’s children (1 John 3:1). Also see verse 7 of our text.

The Redemptive Work is Done, verse 5-8

Jesus finished the redemptive work when He rose from the grave. There is nothing else to be added or done. In Ephesians 1:7-14 we see this promise from the Lord penned by Paul,

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; ⁸ Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; ⁹ Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: ¹⁰ That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

¹¹ “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: ¹² That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. ¹³ In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Look at this with me. We have redemption through His blood, verse 7; He has revealed the mystery of His will, verse 9; He will gather us all together, verse 10; we have an inheritance, verse 11; we have the Holy Spirit as the ‘earnest,’ the down payment of our inheritance, verse 14. We have it all: salvation, an inheritance, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the mystery of God has been revealed, all in our time and in our dispensation. There is nothing else to be done.

Now there is the choice; will you trust Jesus or choose the rightful inheritance of the wicked in the lake of fire? The choice is yours. Look at all God has done for you, there is no more to be done. He has left nothing out, there is nothing lacking, and you will have it all in Jesus. Once again, the choice is yours.

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca