Revelation Chapter 21
(Revelation 21:1)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.
- This is nearly a direct quote from Isaiah 65:17, below
- Home, at last, forever, for all of us
- In the physical, visible realm, God never seems to remodel things. He simply destroys them and re-creates them
- The oceans, post-Flood, have separated mankind from each other as nations, continents and islands, in addition to being undrinkable
- No sin, a New Jerusalem, around which all will orbit, no sun, no night, no rest needed, no more sea, truly "on earth as it is in Heaven" (more land mass)
- All prophecies written now fulfilled, completely, forever
(Isaiah 65:17)
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
2 Peter 3:7
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2 Peter 3:10-14
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.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
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.
Matthew 24:35
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
Isaiah 51:6
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
(Revelation 21:2)
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
- This is not the Bride of Christ, but a literal New Jerusalem, the city of God, now to remain forever untainted by sin, never attacked again, always safe
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.
Hebrews 12:22
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,
Revelation 3:12
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
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.
- First time ever, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit live with man on earth, in perfect conditions, never to be tainted with sin again.
- For the Holy Spirit, it is from indwelling to dwelling with.
- The tabernacle is simply God's dwelling with man
1. A tent. Num 24. Mat 17.
2. A temporary habitation.
3. Among the Jews, a movable building, so contrived as to be taken to pieces with ease and reconstructed, for the convenience of being carried during the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness. It was of a rectangular figure, thirty cubits long, ten broad, and ten high. The interior was divided into two rooms by a vail or curtain, and it was covered with four different spreads or carpets.
It is also applied to the temple. Psa 15.
4. A place of worship; a sacred place.
5. Our natural body. 2 Cor 5. 2 Pet 1.
6. God's gracious presence, or the tokens of it. Rev 21.
7. An ornamented chest placed on Roman catholic altars as a receptacle of the ciborium and pyxis.
TAB'ERNACLE, v.i. To dwell; to reside for a time; to be housed; as we say, Christ tabernacled in the flesh.
(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.
- We will forget everything in the past, so this truly is a new Heaven and a new Earth
- We will be crying because of seeing the lost go into the lake of fire forever
- Wiping away the tears is a personal thing, not like just drying them up, stopping the crying, etc.
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.
- No one else can make all things new, from nothing (everything else was melted away)
- John saw the Lamb on His Throne and recorded all of this book
- All of the words of God are faithful and true
- Faithful, because they have now been shown to all have come to pass, finally
- True, because God cannot lie
In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;
(Numbers 23:19)
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
(Revelation 21:6)
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.
- Only God is the Alpha, Omega, First, Last, the Beginning and the End
- Water is Life, and Jesus is the Water of Life, and so this water from the fountain is no plain water at all!
- The same is today with the Gospel. We can ask to drink from the water of life today, but it is salvation and a relationship with the LORD Jesus Christ. Then, it will be a literal water of life
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
John 6:35
And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
(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.
(Revelation 1:11)
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
(Isaiah 41:4)
Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
(Isaiah 44:6)
Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
(Isaiah 48:12)
Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
(Revelation 21:7)
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
- "He that overcometh" refers to believers and only believers, and does not imply works salvation, because we overcome by His Spirit, not by works. We overcome by His Faith, not by works
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 "unbelieving" is tied to the "overcomer" in the verse above
- Idolatry, murdering, lying and lewd sex outside of marriage
WHOREMASTER, n. [supra.] One who practices lewdness.
(Revelation 21:9)
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
- This is the Heavenly City of The New Jerusalem, where we as the Church, the Bride of Christ, will dwell
And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
- Our new, permanent home
- Unlike the old Jerusalem, this one is not under conflict, not under confusion as to ownership/occupancy, not declared divided by some group of worldly men
- It will come to earth, where all of mankind is
- Earthly cities are built from the foundation up, on ground. This one is opposite (no earthly foundation), from the top down it comes
Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
- She has a glory and a brilliance unmatched today on earth; a crystal city, better than any Hollywood movie set designer can imagine, design and build
And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
- This is a JEWISH city, not a Gentile one.
- The Church will be in it also
- Walls for cities are for protection
- God being there makes it a temple/tabernacle with an eternal priesthood, serving God
On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
- The walls are for a symbol peace and safety, which is what we have achieved in our salvation
And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
- The Jewish apostles were the foundation of the church, and therefore the foundation of this glorious, celestial city
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
(Revelation 21:15)
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
- f
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
- This is about 1,500 miles square
- The shape is a cube
A measure of length; the eighth part of a mile; forty rods, poles or perches.
(Revelation 21:17)
And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
- One hundred feet high walls
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
- 100% pure gold is see through?
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
- Founded on precious gems, not reinforced concrete
- These gates are what we call the "Pearly Gates" today. They are real, they exist and are not an adage, saying, imagined thing
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
- This is a first for history-no temple, God the Father and the Son alone are the temple
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
- Jesus said that He was the light of the world; now it is literal
- No candle, no lamp, no electricity can bring such a glorious light, probably without shadows
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 9:5
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
- There will still be nations of people there
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
- So the gates are for God's glory, not security, safety, protection
And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
- That glory and honour is for the King who created them, not for themselves
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
- All sin is removed, eliminated from earth, the universe, locked in hell with no escape, forever-perfection
- This is one step better than the Garden with Adam and Eve, when they had the serpent to deceive them
- Sin defiles, sin is an abomination and the first one was the fall of the enemy, lying to himself about what and who he is
Revelation Chapter 22
