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Everyone likes new things.
You soon tire of old things. Sometimes we can make old things look
like new things but they still do not look as nice as new things.
God says that He will make al things new in
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.”
The curtain now rises on the
closing scenes of the great prophetic drama of the apocalypse. The
Book of Revelation is like a great melodrama which builds up to a
grand climax. After witnessing the struggle of the Church with the
powers of darkness, what a relief it is to see her finally
victorious. At last the church is at peace, sin and sinners are no
more. Earth will rest for 1,000 years.
Cycle of 7 Millenniums
Dr Adam Clarke, the famous
Bible Commentator, gives this note, "The ancient Jews believed that
God would renew the Heavens and the Earth at the end of
seven
thousand years." You see they believed that since the Lord divided
time into cycles of sevens, there would be a cycle of 7
millenniums
covering the history of reign of sin. The 7th, being the Sabbatic
millennium when the Earth would lie idle and at rest for 1000 years,
then the lost paradise would be restored to God's people.
Yes, the Bible begins and it
ends with a vision of paradise. The first two chapters picture the
paradise that was lost through Adam and Eve's disobedience. The last
two chapters describe paradise restored through the obedience of the
second Adam, Jesus Christ. The Bible covers the entire history of
the reign of sin and reveals that all that was lost through sin will
be restored through Jesus.
The New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:2,3 says, “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.”
The New Jerusalem descends
to the Earth at the close of the Millennium just before God renews
the Earth. And just as Noah's ARK was the refuse of the faithful,
as it safely rode the surging waters of
the might flood, so the Holy City will be the refuge of the people
of God when the Earth is enveloped in a sheet of flame and becomes a
vast lake of devouring fire.
The prophet Isaiah says in
Isaiah 33:14, 17, “The sinners in Zion
are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us
shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with
everlasting burnings? Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty:
they shall behold the land that is very far off.”
Only those who in this life
have made God their ‘place of defense’ will be able to "dwell with
the devouring fire.”
All Things Made New
Man's home will be
completely renovated and the “new heavens, and the new earth,
wherein dwelleth righteousness”, will become a reality. Then the New
Jerusalem will become the capital of the restored Kingdom.
Revelation 21:5 says, “And he that
sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.”
You will notice that God
does not say that He will make all new things. He says that He will
"make all things new." This Earth is not to be destroyed as some
people think, but rather it is to be renewed.
The prophet Isaiah describes
it in
Isaiah 35.
Verse 1 says, “The wilderness and the
solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice,
and blossom as the rose.”
Verse 5 & 6 say, “Then the eyes of the
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb
sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in
the desert.”
Now isn’t that wonderful!
The entire Earth will be like a huge botanical garden, great
forests will be the home of all kinds of interesting creatures.
Fruit trees will be in abundance. Flowers will be growing
everywhere.
However the best news of
all is that the eyes of the blind will be opened, the deaf will be
able to hear, the lame man will be able to run and jump, the dumb
be able to sing like Pavarotti.
Yes, when God makes all
things new, Eden will be restored on this earth.
Revelation 22:3 says, "And there
shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:”
Who will Be There?
Both the Father and the
Son will rule from this earth. This Earth, which has been the
great battlefield of the ages, is now exalted to become the
headquarters of the government that rules the universe. The Holy
City will be a Christian city, for in the Twelve Foundations of
that city will be found “the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.”
Revelation 21:14
So you see, it is not a
Jewish city although there will be many Jews there, but they will be
there, not because they are Jews but because they have been
overcomers through the grace of God.
Not only the names of the
apostles but also the names of the Twelve Tribes of Israel will be
upon the twelve gates.
I wonder if you get the
significance of that! The saved of the New Testament times and the
saved of the Old Testament times. All are saved by the precious
blood of the Saviour. Both Jew and Gentle.
How to Gain Entrance
There is only one way to
gain entrance into the City of God and that is through the blood and
overcoming.
Revelation 21:7 says, “He that
overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he
shall be my son.”
Every citizen of that
Kingdom will be tried and tested. There isn’t any easy way to make
it to the Kingdom.
Foundation
of the City
Revelation 21:14 says, "And
the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.”
Precious stones, wonderful
gems which we rarely see today comprise the wall's foundation.
Beautiful beyond description are the foundations of this wonderful
city. But more important is that Jesus Himself is the very corner
stone of the city.
Ephesians 2:20 says, “And are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ
himself being the chief corner stone;”
The whole Plan of Salvation
is dependent upon the corner stone, the Rock of Ages, as St Paul
says in
1 Corinthians 3:11, “For other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
Gates
of the City
And now we move on to
Revelation 21:12, “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:”
Verse 13 says, “On the east three
gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on
the west three gates.”
Verse 21 says, "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.”
I have often wondered why
does the New Jerusalem have such great massive gates? And why
guardian angels? Well, there is a reason. Walls are for safety,
gates are for entrance. All who enter the celestial city will be
safe and happy. For a time the great gates will be closed, that is
when Satan and his evil host attack the city. Then the gates are
closed and the guardian angels stand by to see that no one gains
entrance into the city of God.
When Satan and sinners are
no more, then the gates will be opened, never to be close again. But
the gates still have a purpose. They are a constant reminder that
the Lamb of God by His sacrifice has made the way open to all who
have accepted His blood and overcome in His name.
Light
of the City
We are told that God is the
light of that city.
Revelation 21:23 says, "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.”
The light of God is quite
different than the light of our present cities.
Verse 11 says, "Having the glory of
God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a
jasper stone, clear as crystal;”
The oriental jasper is a
beautiful sea-green colour. Green is the predominating colour in
nature. It is the most restful and agreeable colour to the eyes.
The lighting system of the
New Jerusalem is not the bright glaring white light that we are
accustomed to today but rather a soft and mellow - green light that
will harmonize with the peaceful and restful spiritual atmosphere bf
the city and its inhabitants.
Size
of the City
In
Revelation 21:15-17 we are told the SIZE of the great
city. “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.”
A Furlong is about one
eighth of a mile. This would make the city 1500 miles in
circumference. The walls of the New Jerusalem are 144 cubits high.
The cubit was the distance from the elbow to the end of the middle
finger, which is about 18 inches.
The height of the walls
would be about 250 feet. The distance between each gate would be
1000 furlongs or about 125 miles. A city of that size would hold a
vast number of people. The area of the city is 140,625 sq miles
allowing 10 sq ft to each person, or a space of 10 ft square. The
city would hold approximately 40,000,000,000 persons.
Other Particulars
of the City
Revelation 21:18 says, "And the
building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure
gold, like unto clear glass.”
The jasper will be
transparent, so the walls will not hide the glory of the city.
The street is of transparent
gold and there is a reason for this, for under the crystal clearness
of the golden streets there is the beautiful foundation stones with
their many colours, and the names of the twelve apostles written on
them.
The Sun and Moon
Although the light of the
sun and the moon will not be needed in the city because the Glory of
God illuminates it, the world in general outside the city will still
need the light of the sun and the moon, for God created them to rule
over the day and the night.
Isaiah 30:26 says, "Moreover the light
of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the
sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that
the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke
of their wound.”
According to the Genesis
record of creation the moon was made for the purpose of giving
light to the earth along with the sun. “...the
light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun...” Isaiah
30:26
Just imagine that. It does
not mean that the sun will be seven times hotter, but rather that
the lighting system will be completely changed. In the New Earth
there will be no dark and dreary nights or dull and cloudy days. It
will be perpetual sunshine.
No Sickness nor Death
Revelation 21:4 says, “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.”
No hospitals or cemeteries
will be needed in that fair land for no one will say “I am sick.”
No more heartaches as you
see a loved one struck down, then wasting away and finally placed in
the casket of death.
Animals in the New Earth
Even the animals will be
different. When God created this Earth He made the animals to be the
companions of men. But sin came in and the whole animal world,
instead of being affectionate became antagonistic to itself. The
beasts became ferocious. All this will be forever changed in the
coming Kingdom.
Isaiah 11:6,7,9 says, "The wolf also
shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the
kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a
little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat
straw like the ox. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD,
as the waters cover the sea.”
A little child will lead them. Now isn’t that
wonderful? Children love animals and are usually not afraid of them
though they need to be with some of the animals, such as lions and
tigers. In the better land these animals will be harmless, for it
says that the lion will eat straw, the wolf will play with the lamb.
Those Excluded from the City
Now we come to something not
so pleasant.
Revelation 21:7,8 says, "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.”
The fearful, they could have
been inside the city. They could have been with the Saviour for
eternity but they were fearful. They were not disreputable sinners.
O no! Just afraid to do what they knew was right.
There is another class who
find themselves outside the city, the unbelieving. Those who thought
that it was clever to doubt the Word of God, or those who though
convicted by the message refused to accept it. There will be a very
large number in this group.
The sorcerers, those who
were deceived by spiritualism especially through the deceptions of
"the spirits of devils in the last days.”
The abominable, the hateful,
the foul, and the loathsome.
Those
Entering into the City
But the promise is that "he
that overcometh shall inherit all things…”
It is the overcomer who will
inherit all things. We have touched on some of those things.
However before we close our
study we will turn to
Isaiah 65:17, “For, behold, I create
new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind.”
Activity in
the City
Verse 21 says, “And they shall build
houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat
the fruit of them.”
That is going to be real
life! Doesn’t that make you impatient to be there?
But there are some people
who say, “What do you mean build houses, why I thought that we would
never have to work in heaven.”
Listen fellow believers that
is not true. Heaven will be a place of activity. There will be so
much to do, to see, to hear that we will never have a dull moment.
If only we could catch a
glimpse of those all things we would become impatient with the delay
that holds them back from us.
Let us pray LORD please come
quickly. |
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