SCRIPTURE: REVELATION 21
MEMORY VERSE:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Revelation 21:6-7)
THE NEW JERUSALEM (vs. 1-27)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured it wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using. The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls 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 chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
THOUGHTS: (From Life Application Study Bible)
After God’s final great judgment, he will create a new earth. God and his followers – those whose names are written in the Book of Life – will be united to live there forever. Instead of us going up to meet God, He will come down to be with us just as God became man in Jesus Christ and lived among us. Wherever God reigns, there is peace, security and love.
God described the Holy City – the new Jerusalem – as the place where God will remove all sorrows. There will be no death, sorrow, crying or pain. God has written about the final chapter – his fulfillment of eternal joy to those who love him.
The Bible begins with the majestic story of his creation of the universe, and it concludes with his creation of a new heaven and a new earth. He finished the work of redemption and the Trinity will finish the entire plan of salvation by inviting the redeemed into a new creation.
Those who endure to the end will receive the following blessings and rewards that God had promised:
- Eating from the tree of life.
- Escaping from the lake of fire.
- Receiving a special name.
- Having authority over the nations.
- Being included in the Book of Life.
- Being a pillar in God’s spiritual temple.
- Sitting with Christ on his throne.
The new Jerusalem is a picture of God’s future home for his people. The 12 tribes of Israel probably represent all the faithful in the Old Testament, the 12 apostles represent the church. Both believing Gentiles and Jews who have been faithful to God will live together in the new earth.
The city’s measurements are symbolic of a place that will hold all God’s people. These measurements are all multiples of 12, the number for God’s people: There were 12 tribes in Israel and 12 apostles who started the church. The walls are 144 (12×12) cubits (200 feet) thick. There are 12 layers in the walls, and 12 gates in the city and the height, length and breadth are all the same, 12,000 stadia (1,400 miles) The new Jerusalem is a perfect cube, the same shape as the Most Holy Place in the Tempe. These measurements illustrate that the new home will be perfect for us.
The picture of walls made of jewels reveals that the new Jerusalem will be a place of purity and durability – it will last forever. In the New City, no temple is needed because God’s presence will be everywhere. He will be worshiped throughout the city and nothing will hinder us from being with him.
Not everyone will be allowed into the new Jerusalem. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Eternal life is available to you only because of what Jesus, the Lamb has done. Would you like to secure your citizenship in his new creation now?
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