The thousand year reign of Christ is complete, the Satan has joined the rest of his trinity in the Lake of Fire, and those who followed him in their physical lives have been cast in with them. Eternity has begun, but what will it be like? Revelation 21 and part of Revelation 22 give us a detailed picture of what is to come. Let’s take a look at the promises of the Lord.
Revelation 21:1-5 – 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. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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. 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. 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.
God promises five new things:
- New heaven
- New earth
- New Jerusalem
- New place for God’s throne
- New things
Heaven and earth, which were restored for the Millennium, will be destroyed by fire (II Peter 3:10) because, though those heavens and earth will have been restored, they will still be contaminated with sin. With this new earth, there will no longer be a sea. 2/3 of the earth is now covered by water, but in eternity it will be completely covered with land. Of the remaining 1/3 of the earth today, a vast portion is deemed worthless due to deserts and mountain ranges and can’t be inhabited. The 6.5 billion people alive today only live on and use about 1/3 to 1/2 of the land on the earth. I will not be this way in eternity. Also, New Jerusalem will come down from heaven. When Jesus tells us in John 14 he is going to prepare a place for us, this is the place he has prepared. It will be the city of righteousness because God Himself will dwell in it. It will probably be inhabited mostly by the church which is due to the symbolism of a bride being prepared for her husband, like the church, is what makes many think this. Again, God Himself will live among us. He will no longer make His headquarters away from us in Heaven, but will live on earth with us for eternity. He will remove any form of trouble that we suffer in life. All semblance of humanities plight will pass away. Tears, death (the result of sin…since sin will be destroyed so will its penalty), sorrow, and pain will be no more. All things will be new. Our way of life will be so different and grand that God doesn’t even try to explain what this means.
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.
This is the eternal promise of Jesus that He freely gives living water to those who seek it and it is still given freely in eternity. When He says that He is Alpha, Omega, Beginning, and End shows that this promise is still the same as it was 2000 years ago.
Who’s Where in Eternity
Revelation 21:7-8 – He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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.
Only overcomers, or those who are saved, will enter into eternity. As co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), we will inherit all things and we will have a Father-child relationship with God forever. In contrast, the unbeliever’s inheritance is eternity in the Lake of Fire. God reiterates this right here for a reason. Hell, judgment, and the Lake of Fire are real. People will go there because they chose sin over God. This is once again proof that there is no annihilation or second chance after death as some teach.
New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:9-27 – 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. 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, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 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: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 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. 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. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 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. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 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. 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. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 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.
John is taken by an angel to a mountain to see Christ’s bride. This does not suggest that the bride is a city, because chapter 19 shows us that the church is the bride. This is again a probable reference to the inhabitants of the city, the church. It has the glory of God. This shows that this city is the expression of God’s power and love for His people. Its light is so beautiful it’s as if it shines off of a crystal.
The great high wall shows a couple things:
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That the city is exclusive – it was specially made for special people.
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That all do not have access to God – Those who don’t love Him according to His plan don’t have a relationship with Him.
It is built with twelve’s which is the governmental number of Scripture and shows that God will rule. For example:
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Twelve gates always open– open access to God for all saints
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Twelve angels
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Names of the twelve tribes of Israel – The Jews will have ready access to it.
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Twelve foundations – These foundations are stacked on top of each other to build the walls. Each foundation is a different type of precious stone. They are:
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Jasper – Clear with a gold cast
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Sapphire – Blue
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Chalcedony – Sky blue with other colors running through it
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Emerald – Green
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Sardonyx – Red and white
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Sardius – Red
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Chrysolyte – Clear gold
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Beryl – Sea Green
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Tolpaz – Greenish gold
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Chrysoprasus – green
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Jacinth – violet
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Amethyst – Purple
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Some of these colors are general colors and the exact shades are unknown, but the description is one of unmistakable beauty.
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Names of the twelve apostles written in the walls. Those faithful Apostles built the walls of the “city” on the foundation of Christ. Something to think about is that the gates of the city, or the access to God, have the names of the tribes of Israel. Through these tribes the promises of access to God came. In the walls are the names of the twelve apostles, who built the walls of the church by faithfully witnessing to the entire world. God shows that He rewards the faithful.
From the rest of the description we see this. The walls will surround a 1500 square mile city and are 1500 miles tall. This is equivalent to the land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River from east to west, and the area between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. So basically, an area equivalent to the size of the eastern half of the United States will be one city that is surrounded by 1500 mile tall walls. To put it in perspective…in that space, 20 billion people could each have a one cubic mile plot, which is 1/3 long, 1/3 wide, and 1/3 tall, if it were a perfect cube if all the homes were stacked on top of each other. Each gate of the city is one solid pearl and will remain open because there will be no evil or threat and all will be allowed to enter freely. Also, the streets of this city are made of gold. There will be no temple. The massive temple that Christ built for His Kingdom it seems will melt away with the old earth. Throughout history, God has used a temple to fellowship with His people, including the bodies of His believers but this will be no more. We will finally have full, face to face access to the full glory of God. There will also be no sun or moon. God’s glory will light the city and there will be no night. Again, nothing evil will ever enter the city.
God’s city will be beautiful and perfect. If you are not an overcomer, God has promised that you will not have access to it. Become an overcomer today by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. If you are ready, e-mail me at revolvearoundchrist@yahoo.com so that I can counsel you in your decision.
Only one more chapter left and we will study it next time.
Until then…God Bless!!
Free By Christ 