REVELATION PART 2 CHAPTER 21

Transcription

1 REVELATION PART 2 CHAPTER 21 LOOK AT REVELATION 20:11-Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose [a]presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. WHAT DID WE LEARN? JOHN'S ATTENTION IS NOW DIRECTED TO THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH THAT REPLACE THE OLD HEAVEN AND THE OLD EARTH THAT FLED AWAY. THE NEW EARTH AND HEAVEN WILL COME INTO EXISTENCE AFTER THE MILLENNIUM AND THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT. THE REASON GOD WILL DESTROY THE PRESENT HEAVEN AND EARTH IS THAT HE ORIGINALLY MADE THEM AS THE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. HOWEVER SIN SO THOROUGHLY CORRUPTED NOT ONLY THE HUMAN RACE BUT THE RACE'S ENVIRONMENT THAT HE WILL DESTROY IT AND CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH IN WHICH RIGHTOUSNESS DWELLS. THESE ARE NOT SIMPLY THE OLD HEAVEN AND EARTH RENOVATED, BUT AN ACT OF NEW CREATION. THE BIBLE REVEALS LITTLE CONCERNING THE CHARACTER OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH, BUT IS SEEMS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE PRESENT EARTH. (NOTE: A RENOVATION OF THE PRESENT EARTH WILL TAKE PLACE EARLIER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MILLENNIUM.) THE PHRASE "A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH" DERIVES FROM TWO PASSAGES IN ISAIAH. IN ISAIAH 65:17 GOD DECLARED, For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come to [a]mind. IN ISAIAH 66:22 GOD ADDED, For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me, declares the Lord, So your offspring and your name will endure. WHAT ISAIAH PREDICTED IS NOW A REALITY IN JOHN'S VISION. VS 1 WHY IS THERE A NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH ACCORDING TO THIS VERSE?. THIS STATEMENT SHOWS US THIS IS A TOTALLY NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH AND NOT A RENOVATION. WHAT IS SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED IN THIS VERSE?. MOST OF THE EARTH TODAY IS COVERED WITH WATER, BUT THE NEW EARTH APPARENTLY WILL HAVE NO BODIES OF WATER EXCEPT FOR THE RIVER MENTIONED IN 22:2. THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH WILL FOLLOW THE MILLENNIUM. ONE EVIDENCE FOR THIS FACT IS THAT THE ETERNAL STATE IS CLEARLY INDICATED IN THE ABSENCE OF THE SEA, FOR FREQUENT MENTION OF BODIES OF WATER OCCUR IN MILLENNIAL PASSAGES. THE SEA IS THE FIRST OF SEVEN EVILS THAT JOHN SAID WOULD NOT EXIST IN THE NEW CREATION, THE OTHERS BEING DEATH, MOURNING, WEEPING, PAIN, NIGHT AND THE CURSE. 1

2 VS 2 WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT JERUSALEM? 1. (THIS IS THE CAPITAL CITY OF THE ETERNAL STATE.) LOOK AT REVELATION 3:12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. WHAT IS THE PROMISE? IT WILL BE THE THIRD CITY NAMED JERUSALEM IN REDEMPTIVE HISTORY. THE FIRST IS THE HISTORIC JERUSALEM, THE CITY OF DAVID, WHICH CURRENTLY EXISTS IN PALESTINE. THE SECOND JERUSALM WILL BE THE RESTORED JERUSALEM WHERE CHRIST WILL RULE DURING THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM. BUT THIS NEW JERUSALEM DOES NOT BELONG TO THE FIRST CREATION, SO IT IS NEITHER THE HISTORIC CITY NOR THE MILLENIAL CITY. (REMEMBER- THE EARTHLY JERUSALEM WAS COMPARED SPIRITUALLY TO SODOM - 11:8) IT IS THE ALTOGETHER NEW ETERNAL CITY. IT IS CALLED THE HOLY CITY BECAUSE EVERYONE IN IT IS HOLY (20:6). SCRIPTURE DOES NOT GIVE MUCH INFORMATION OR CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS CITY. A FEW OTHER REFERENCES ARE FOUND IN RELATION TO THE NEW EARTH, ISAIAH 65:17; 66:22; AND 2ND PETER 3: MANY EXPOSITORS REGARD THE PROMISE OF CHRIST IN JOHN 14:2, "I AM GOING THERE TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU," AS REFERRING TO THIS CITY. VS 3 (THIS IS THE LAST OF 20 VOICES WE HAVE HEARD IN REVELATION. REMEMBER A "LOUD VOICE" TELLS US SOMETHING IMPORTANT AND AUTHORITATIVE IS COMING. ) WHAT ARE THE WONDERFUL PROMISES IN THIS VERSE? 1. THE GREEK WORD TRANSLATED "TABERNACLE" CAN ALSO MEAN "TENT" OR "DWELLING PLACE". GOD WILL PITCH HIS TENT AMONG HIS PEOPLE; NO LONGER WILL GOD BE FAR OFF AND DISTANT. THIS WILL BE A MANIFESTATION OF GOD'S GLORIOUS PRESENCE TO HIS PEOPLE LIKE NO OTHER IN REDEMPTIVE HISTORY NOTE: THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN SCRIPTURE FREQUENTLY MEANS FELLOWSHIP AND BLESSING. GOD'S PRESENCE ASSURES AN ENTIRELY NEW STATE FOR THOSE WHO INHABIT THE NEW JERUSALEM. THIS FELLOWSHIP EXISTED TO SOME EXTENT WHEN GOD WALKED WITH ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN AND WHEN HE DWELT AMONG THE ISRAELITES IN THE TABERNACLE AND THEN IN THE TEMPLE. IT ALSO EXISTED PARTIALLY WHEN JESUS "TABERNACLED" AMONG PEOPLE. IT EXISTS TODAY AS GOD INHABITS THE BODIES OF CHRISTIANS INDIVIDUALLY AND THE CHURCH CORPORATELY. 2

3 WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE TO LIVE IN GOD'S GLORIOUS PRESENCE IN HEAVEN? 1. WE WILL ENJOY FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM- FULL AND UNLIMITED (I JOHN 1:3) 2. WE WILL SEE HIM AS HE IS. (JOHN 3:2) IN HIS SHINING GLORY. 3. WE WILL WORSHIP GOD. EVERY GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN IN REVELATION REVEALS WORSHIP (4:10; 5:14; 7:11; 11:1, 16; 19:4) 4. WE WILL SERVE GOD (22:3) VS 4 THE PROMISES CONTINUE - 5. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT PEOPLE WHO ARRIVE IN HEAVEN WILL BE WEEPING AS THEY FACE THE RECORD OF THEIR SINS. THERE IS NO RECORD, BECAUSE "THERE IS NOW NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS. (ROMANS 8:1) WHAT IS DECLARED IS THE ABSENCE OF ANYTHING TO BE SORRY ABOUT - NO SADNESS, NO DISAPPOINTMENTS, NO PAIN. THIS IS THE FINAL REVERSAL OF THE CURSE. (GEN. 3) 6. THE GREATEST CURSE OF HUMAN EXISTENCE WILL BE NO MORE. "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY" (1 CORTH 15:54) 7. THE GRIEF AND SORROW THAT PRODUCE MOURNING WILL NOT EXIST IN HEAVEN. 8. OUR GLORIFIED SIN-FREE BODIES WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO PAIN OF ANY KIND. WHY? LIFE IN HEAVEN WILL BE UNIQUE. OLD HUMAN EXPERIENCE IS GONE FOREVER. NOTHING IS SAID ABOUT THE NEW JERUSALEM BEING CREATED AT THIS POINT AND THE LANGUAGE SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT IT HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE IN HEAVEN PRIOR TO THIS EVENT. NOTHING IS REVEALED CONCERNING THIS IN SCRIPTURE UNLESS JESUS' EXPRESSION OF JOHN 14:2, "I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU," REFERS TO THIS. THE SCRIPTURES MAKE PLAIN THAT NOT ONLY THE OLD EARTH AND HEAVEN PASS AWAY, BUT ALSO ALL THE DETAILS AND ASSOCIATIONS THAT BELONG TO IT THAT WOULD MAR THE JOY OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH. VS 5 WHAT TWO IMPORTANT THINGS ARE WE TOLD IN THIS VERSE? 1. ("MAKING" IS A COMMON VERB IN THE NEW TESTAMENT FOR A WORK OF ACCOMPLISHMENT; THE WORD "NEW" MEANS TO BE BOTH NEW IN CHARACTER AND IN THE SENSE OF RECENTLY MADE. IT SUGGESTS A DRASTIC CHANGE) 2. HOW DO WE KNOW THIS WILL HAPPEN? VS 6 WHAT DOES THE LORD SAY? THIS TELLS US THAT A MAJOR WORK HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO COMPLETION AND THAT THE WORKS NOW RELATING TO THE ETERNAL STATE ARE BEGINNING. 3

4 VS 6 WHO IS THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA? LOOK AT REV. 1:8 - I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who [a]is to come, the Almighty. AND 22:13- I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.. GOD STARTED HISTORY, HE WILL END IT, AND ALL OF IT HAS UNFOLDED ACCORDING TO HIS SOVEREIGN PLAN. VS 6 FIRST OF THREE PROMISES- WHAT IS THE PROMISE? THIS PHRASE SIGNIFIES THOSE WHO "HUNGER AND THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (MATT 5:6) OUR CRAVING FOR GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS WILL BE SATISFIED. NOTHING IS REQUIRED EXCEPT TO COME AND DRINK. IT REFERS TO THE ABUNDANT CHARACTER OF ETERNAL LIFE AND THE BLESSINGS THAT FLOW FROM IT AND IS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE INVITATION OF ISAIAH 55:1- Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no [a]money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost. AND JOHN 4: Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. VS 7 THE SECOND PROMISE - (NOTE: INHERITING EMPHASIZES THE PRIVILEGE OF OBTAINING SOMETHING BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF ANOTHER IN CONTRAST TO ONE'S OWN WORK.) IN REV CHAPTERS 2-3, WHAT DID JESUS CHALLENGE THE CHURCHES TO DO? NOW WE SEE WHY, HEAVEN BELONGS TO "HE WHO OVERCOMES". WHAT A GREAT PROMISE. THIS PROMISE COMPLETES AND SUMMMARIZES THE OTHER SEVEN PROMISES TO OVERCOMERS IN CHAPTERS 2 AND 3. VS 7 THE THIRD PROMISE- OUR INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THE MOST WONDERFUL PROMISE TO THE ONE WHO OVERCOMES AND WHO THIRSTS FOR RIGHTEOUSNES, IS GOD'S PROMISE "I WILL BE HIS GOD." EQUALLY AMAZING IS GOD'S PROMISE THAT THE ONE WHO OVERCOMES "WILL BE MY SON". 4

5 VS 8 THE CONTRAST (BELIEVERS/UNBELIEVERS ) AND THE WARNING - WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT UNBELIEVERS- ALL UNFORGIVEN AND UNREDEEMED SINNERS? THEIR PART - THEY FELL AWAY WHEN THEIR FAITH WAS CHALLENGED OR OPPOSED, BECAUSE THEIR FAITH WAS NOT GENUINE. THEIR DISLOYALTY EXCLUDES THEM FROM HEAVEN. THOSE WHOSE LIVES ARE CHARACTERIZED BY SUCH THINGS GIVE EVIDENCE THAT THEY ARE NOT SAVED AND WILL NEVER ENTER THE HEAVENLY CITY. WHAT DO THEY INHERIT? WHAT IS THIS LAKE CALLED? WHAT THE CONTRAST? WE SEE THE LAKE OF FIRE STILL EXISTS AFTER THE PASSING OF THE PRESENT EARTH. IT WILL EXIST SEPARATE FROM THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH AND THE NEW JERUSALEM. EVEN THOUGH THIS PASSAGE DOES NOT SAY THAT SIN WILL BE ABSENT IN THE ETERNAL STATE, IT SEEMS QUITE CLEAR THAT THERE WILL BE NONE SINCE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN WILL BE ABSENT. VS 9 WHAT DOES THE ANGEL SHOW JOHN? THE NEW JERUSALEM IS DESCRIBED AS A BRIDE BECAUSE IT DRAWS ITS CHARACTER FROM ITS OCCUPANTS. THE OCCUPANTS CONSIST OF THE CHURCH AND THE REDEEMED OF ALL AGES, WHO LIVE THERE FOREVER. THE NEW JERUSALEM IS LIKENED TO A BRIDE BECAUSE THE REDEEMED ARE FOREVER UNITED TO GOD AND THE LAMB. IT IS ALSO DECRIBED AS THE "WIFE OF THE LAMB" BECAUSE THE MARRIAGE HAS TAKEN PLACE. (19:7) VS 10 WHAT DID JOHN SEE? IN KEEPING WITH EARLIER REVELATION OF 21:2, THE HOLY CITY, THE NEW JERUSAEM, IS HERE CHARACTERIZED AS A BRIDE. SINCE A CITY IS NOT A BRIDE, THE TRUTH HERE REPRESENTED IS THAT THE CITY, THE RESIDENCE OF THE SAINTS OF ETERNITY FUTURE, IS TO BE COMPARED TO A BRIDE FOR BEAUTY AND IS INTIMATELY RELATED TO CHRIST THE LAMB. THIS SCENE IS NOT DESCRIBING THE CREATION, IT IS MERELY THE DESCENT OF WHAT ALREADY EXISTED FROM ETERNITY PAST, NOW SITUATED IN THE CENTER OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH. VS 10 WHAT IS THIS CITY CALLED? THE CITY. IT IS TO BE DISTINGUISHED FROM BOTH BABYLON AND FROM THE EARTHLY CITY OF JERUSALEM, WHICH IN ITS HISTORY HAD ALSO FALLEN INTO EVIL WAYS. WHERE DOES THIS CITY COME FROM? VS 11 WHAT JOHN SAW TRANSCENDED ANY EARTHLY EXPERIENCE, AND IT WAS NECESSARY FOR HIM TO DESCRIBE WHAT HE SAW IN TERMS THAT WERE MEANINGFUL TO HIM. WE MUST NOT THINK THIS AS AN INACCURATE DESCRIPTION BECAUSE JOHN WAS GUIDED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN HE WROTE, AND THE DESCRIPTION MUST BE VIEWED AS ACCURATE INSOFAR AS IT 5

6 WAS POSSIBLE TO COMMUNICATE WHAT HE SAW. (NOTE- THE DESCRIPTION OF THE GOLD THAT IS TRANSPARENT (21:21), SUGGEST STRONGLY THAT THE MATERIAL SUBSTANCES WERE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT EXISTS ON THIS PRESENT EARTH.) OF MAJOR IMPORTANCE ARE THE FACTS THAT JOHN ACTUALLY SAW A CITY THAT WAS INHABITED BY BELIEVERS OF ALL AGES, AND THAT GOD HIMSELF WAS PRESENT IN IT. UNTIL FURTHER LIGHT IS GIVEN, IT IS PROBABLY A SAFE PROCEDURE TO ACCEPT THE DESCRIPTION OF THIS CITY AS CORRESPONDING TO THE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS ATTRIBUTED TO IT. VS 11 WHAT IS THE ONE IMPORTANT THING WE MUST REMEMBER ABOUT THIS CITY?. AS THE GLORY OF GOD IS THE SUM OF HIS INFINITE PERFECTIONS IN THEIR MANIFESTATIONS, SO THE NEW JERUSALEM REFLECTS ALL THAT GOD IS. THE GREEK WORD TRANSLATED"BRILLANCE" REFERS TO SOMETHING FROM WHICH LIGHT RADIATES. THE CITY APPEARED TO JOHN LIKE ONE GIGANTIC PRECIOUS STONE. HEAVEN'S CAPITAL CITY IS PICTURED AS A HUGE, FLAWLESS DIAMOND, REFRACTING THE BRILLIANT, BLAZING GLORY OF GOD THROUGHOUT THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH. IT SHONE WITH THE SPLENDOR OF GOD HIMSELF BECAUSE HE WAS IN IT. ITS EXTERIOR DESIGN VS 12 WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE CITY? 1. THE HEIGHT OF THE CITY'S WALL IS AN OBVIOUS SYMBOL OF EXCLUSION OF ALL THAT IS UNWORTHY TO ENTER. IT INDICATES THAT IT IS NOT A NEBULOUS, FLOATING PLACE. AS WE LOOK AT THIS GIGANTIC CITY, NOTICE THE NUMBER 12 IS PROMINENT IN THE CITY. TWELVE GATES, ANGELS, TRIBES OF ISRAEL, FOUNDATIONS, APOSTLES, PEARLS, MORE COMING NEXT WEEK (CHAPTER 22) VS 12 WHAT ELSE DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE CITY? 2. WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT THESE GATES? AND WHOSE NAMES ARE ON THE GATES? THIS IS CELEBRATING FOR ALL ETERNITY GOD'S COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL. IT WILL BE A REMINDER THAT THE MESSIAH, THE SCRIPTURES, AND SALVATION CAME THROUGH THE JEWS. WITHOUT THEM THE HOLY CITY WOULD NOT BE NEEDED, AND THE GENTILES WOULD BE WITHOUT HOPE. THE MANY GATE-TOWERS ALSO SUGGEST GREAT FREEDOM OF ACCESS. VS 13 HOW WERE THE GATES CONFIGURED? LOOK AT EZEKIEL 48:30-35 THIS IS SHOWING THE PLACEMENT OF ISRAEL'S TRIBES DURING THE MILLENNIUM: (THIS ARRANGEMENT IS REMINISCENT OF THE WAY THE TWELVE TRIBES CAMPED AROUND THE TABERNACLE (NUMBERS 2) AND THE ALLOTMENT OF THE TRIBAL LANDS AROUND THE MILLENIAL TEMPLE (EZEKIEL 48) These are 6

7 the exits of the city: on the north side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, 31 [a]shall be the gates of the city, [b]named for the tribes of Israel, three gates toward the north: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one. 32 On the east side, 4,500 cubits, [c]shall be three gates: the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one. 33 On the south side, 4,500 cubits by measurement, [d]shall be three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one. 34 On the west side, 4,500 cubits, shall be three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one. 35 The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, [e]the Lord is there. THE INCLUSION OF ISRAEL'S TWELVE TRIBES SHOULD SETTLE BEYOND ANY QUESTION THE MATTER OF THE INCLUSION OF OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS. VS 14 WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY? WHO IS THE CORNERSTONE? THE TWELVE APOSTLES WERE OF ISRAEL AND WERE CALLED OUT OF ISRAEL TO BE LEADERS IN THE CHURCH, THEY ARE REPRESENTATIVE OF BOTH ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH. THESE STONES COMMEMORATE GOD'S COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHURCH, WITH THE APOSTLES AS THE FOUNDATION (EPHESIANS 2:20). THE LAYOUT OF THE CITY'S GATES PICTURES GOD'S FAVOR ON ALL HIS REDEEMED PEOPLE, BOTH THOSE UNDER THE OLD AND NEW COVENANTS. GOD HAD A ROLE FOR EACH GROUP AND IDENTITY SEPARATE FROM THE OTHER IN THE PAST AND AS HE DOES IN THE PRESENT. THIS DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE FOUNDATIONS AND THE WALLS HARMONIZES WITH BELIEF THAT THE CHURCH DID NOT REPLACE ISRAEL IN THE PLANS OF GOD. THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL HAVE AMONG ITS CITIZENS NOT ONLY BELIEVERS OF THE PRESENT CHURCH AGE, BUT ALSO ISRAEL, OR THE FAITHFUL OF OTHER AGES, WHETHER IN THE OLD TESTAMENT OR IN THE TRIBULATION. LOOK AT HEBREWS 12: But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of [a]angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 7

8 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel., WE SEE THAT THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM WILL INCLUDE GOD AND ANGELS, THE CHURCH AND ALL OTHER SAINTS. EVEN HERE THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE CHURCH IS MAINTAINED. VS 15 WHAT DO WE SEE HAPPENING IN THIS VERSE? WHAT KIND OF MEASURING ROD DID THE ANGEL HAVE? = WHICH SHOWS US THE DIGNITY OF THE TASK AND THE HIGH VALUE OF THE CITY. WHAT WAS HE TO MEASURE? REMEMBER: MEASURING SHOWS OWNERSHIP. WE WILL SEE THE MEASURING OF THE MILLENNIAL TEMPLE (EZEKIEL 40:3) ON WRAP-UP DAY AND WE SAW THE MEASURING OF THE TRIBULATION TEMPLE (11:1). ALL THREE MEASUREMENTS SHOW THAT THEY MARK OUT WHAT BELONGS TO GOD. VS 16 WHAT DOES SHOW US? ITS LENGTH AND WIDTH AND HEIGHT ARE EQUAL. THE CITY IS LAID OUT IN A. WHAT IS THE MEASUREMENT?. (NOTE: THE CITY'S SHAPE IS NOT MENTIONED, BUT JUDGING FROM ITS SQUARE DIMENSIONS SOME HAVE ASSUMED IT TO BE A CUBE. IT COULD BE IN THE FORM OF A PYPRAMID WITH SIDES SLOPING TO A PEAK AT THE HEIGHT INDICATED, THIS SHAPE PROVIDES A VEHICLE FOR THE RIVER OF LIFE TO PROCEED OUT OF THE THRONE OF GOD, WHICH SEEMS TO BE AT THE TOP. (NOTE: THE FACT THAT THE HOLY OF HOLIES WAS A CUBE TEMPTS ONE TO CONCLUDE THAT THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL ALSO BE A CUBE IN SHAPE, BUT THIS IS SPECULATION.) THE IMPLICATIONS ARE THAT THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR EVERYONE AND THAT THIS CITY PROVIDES A RESIDENCE FOR THE SAINTS OF ALL AGES. (NOTE THE DISTANCE 1,500 MILES IS THE DISTANCE FROM DALLAS, TEXAS, TO PHILADELPHIA-GOING EAST OR LOS ANGELES- GOING WEST.) VS WHAT IS MEASURED NEXT? WHAT IS THE MEASUREMENT? IS THIS MEASUREMENT HEIGHT OR WIDTH? WHY DO YOU THINK JOHN TOLD US THAT HUMAN MEASUREMENT AND ANGELIC MEASUREMENTS ARE THE SAME? THEY ARE LITERAL MEASUREMENTS NOT MYSTICAL. VS AS WE LOOK AT THESE JEWELS, LET'S THINK ABOUT THEIR PURPOSE - TO TRANSMIT THE GLORY OF GOD. IN VERSES 19-20, HOW MANY FOUNDATIONS DO WE SEE?. THOUGH THE PRECISE COLORS OF THESE STONES IN SOME CASES ARE NOT CERTAIN, THE GENERAL PICTURE HERE IS ONE OF UNMISTAKABLE BEAUTY, DESIGNED TO REFLECT THE GLORY OF GOD IN A SPECTRUM OF BRILLIANT COLOR. THE CITY IS UNDOUBTEDLY FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL TO THE EYE THAN ANYTHING THAT HUMANS HAVE EVER BEEN ABLE 8

9 TO CREATE, AND IT REFLECTS NOT ONLY THE INFINITE WISDOM AND POWER OF GOD BUT ALSO HIS GRACE AS EXTENDED TO THE PEOPLE OF HIS SALVATION. VS 21 WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE GATES IN THIS VERSE? 1. GATES 2. PEARLS AND EACH GATE WAS A THESE PEARLS ARE LIKE NO PEARL EVER PRODUCED BY AN OYSTER, BECAUSE EACH ONE OF THE GATES WAS A SINGLE GIGANTIC PEARL NEARLY 1,400 MILES HIGH. AS IF SEEING THIS MAGNIFICATE CAPITAL CITY OF HEAVEN FROM A DISTANCE WAS NOT PRIVILEGE ENOUGH, JOHN'S ANGELIC GUIDE TOOK HIM INSIDE. WHAT WAS THE STREET?. (NOTE: SOLOMON'S TEMPLE HAD A GOLD FLOOR. (1 KINGS 6:30) LIFE IN THE HEAVELY CITY VS 22 WHAT IS THE FIRST THING JOHN NOTICES? THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHERE ISRAEL FIRST HAD A TABERNACLE AND THEN A TEMPLE. THIS IS ALSO IN SHARP CONTRAST TO THE MILLENNIAL CITY WHERE A TEMPLE IS BUILT FOR THE WORSHIP OF GOD. SO WHO ARE THE TEMPLE? THE WORD FOR "TEMPLE" IS THE SANCTUARY, OR GOD'S DWELLING PLACE, THE HOLY OF HOLIES IN THE TEMPLE OF ISRAEL. BUT NOW WE HAVE ACCESS TO THE MOST SACRED, INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LORD OUR GOD IN FULFILLMENT OF THE MANY PROMISES GIVEN TO THE SAINTS. LOOK AT GENESIS 3:8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the [a]cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. WE WILL CONSTANTLY BE IN HIS PRESENCE. VS 23 WHAT DO WE LEARN ABOUT THE CITY? NO NEED WHY? BECAUSE GOD IS LIGHT AND THERE IS NO DARKNESS IN HIM, WE ARE EXHORTED TO WALK IN THE LIGHT IN OUR PRESENT EXISTENCE ON THIS EARTH IN KEEPING WITH OUR FUTURE IN HEAVEN. (1 JOHN 1:5-7) VS 24 THE WORD "NATIONS" HERE IS THE WORD FOR GENTILES. THE SAVED GENTILES, OF NON-JEWISH RACES, WILL BE IN THE NEW CITY. IN THE ETERNAL STATE, NOT ONLY SAVED ISAELITES AND THE CHURCH WILL BE PRESENT, BUT ALSO GENTILES WHO ARE NOT NUMBERED AMONG EITHER ISRAEL OR THE CHURCH. THE KINGS WILL NOT BE THE ONLY ONES TO SURRENDER THEIR EARTHY PRESTIGE AND GLORY WHEN THEY ENTER HEAVEN. 9

10 THE GLORY AND THE HONOR OF THE NATIONS WILL ALSO DISSOLVE. THE IDENTITY OF THE NATIONS AND KINGS MENTIONED IS DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE. VS 25 WHAT TWO IMPORTANT THINGS DO WE LEARN ABOUT THIS CITY? THE GATES ARE NEVER SHUT, BECAUSE IN THE CITY THERE IS CONTINUOUS DAY. REMEMBER WE ARE IN OUR GLORIFIED BODIES AND WILL NOT NEED REST. OUR LIVES WILL BE FULL OF CONTINUOUS ACTIVITY EVEN LIKE THE HOLY ANGELS. VS 26 WE OFTEN FORGET THAT GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR THE GENTILES AS WELL AS FOR ISRAEL AND HE GLORIFIES HIMSELF THROUGH THEM. VS 27 NOTHING WILL EVER ENTER THE CITY THAT IS IN ANY SENSE EVIL, THIS IS A REMINDER THAT ALL WHO ARE THERE HAVE ENTERED THE CITY AS THE RECIPIENTS OF GOD'S GRACE. THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE: THIS WARNS THE READER (US) THAT THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN ENTRANCE INTO THIS CITY IS TO HAVE ONE'S NAME RECORDED IN THE LAMB'S BOOK OF LIFE. (NOTE: OF THE SIX REFERENCES (3:5, 13:8, 17:8, 20:12, 15) TO THE BOOK OF LIFE; ONLY HERE IS IT CALLED "THE LAMB'S".) 10