Revelation 21:7-22:5: Better than You can Imagine
This portion of our study begins with a contrast. Verse 7 is a promise and verse 8 is a warning. The promise is that he who overcomes shall inherit all things. It strongly echoes 1st John 5:5:
"Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?"
So he who so believes actually overcomes the world view of rejecting the Son sent for salvation of believers and in doing so inherits all the glorious things prepared for him in eternal life.
But for those who reject and do not accept the destiny is horrid. To make the point more forcefully, a list is given of those who will be forbidden to enter New Jerusalem and whose destiny is the eternal lake of fire. We immediately see the first group mentioned is the fearful. By a ratio of more than two to one, the strongest command given in scripture (said to be 365 times) is "fear not". Some Bible translations use the word cowardly in place of fearful. Both remind us there is no middle ground. Those who are too afraid to be servants of the Lord choose to be servants of darkness and here we are shown their final place.
Verses 9-10 allow us a view of the nature of the city coming from God for His own. An angel invites John to see it and to lead John to it, carrying him away in spirit to a high mountain so that his view of the city descending from above was clear. The angel describes the city as the bride, the _Lamb's wife. Here again is used the marriage metaphor to tie the elect to the Lord for eternity. The city is like the bride on her wedding day, adorned and made beautiful for her husband.
Verses 11-14 show the city's brilliance, wall, gates and foundation.
Having the glory of God within her, her light was as a precious stone, but pure and clear. She has a great high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, with the names written on them of the twelve tribes, three gates on each of the four sides. The foundations carry the names of the twelve apostles, an eternal testimony of their place in God's plan. Ephesians 2:20 foretold this part and that Jesus himself is the cornerstone.
The wall is measured with a gold reed as John watches, with identical length, breadth, and height, all 144 cubits, measure that says is the same for an angel as a man. ( a cubit being 18 inches, the length of an arm from the elbow to the tip of the fingers). The city is shown to be 1500 miles square, a distance like the distance from Maine to Miami, or the size of the moon.
One recent Bible scholar has said that if there have been 100 billion people on earth throughout time, and if 20% were saved, then each person will have 75 acres in New Jerusalem.
The walls are pure precious stone and the structures within are purest gold, so pure as to be clear. While we shall have no need of precious stones or elements, the vision is to give the proof of the value of that which God has prepared for those who are His. The symbol is meant simply to point to the high glory of God's work. There is very little prophetic scripture of this vision, with likely the best being the description of the breastplate of the high priest of the Hebrew people given in Exodus 28:15-21. The clearness seems to indicate that the city is designed to transmit the glorious light of God throughout. Clearly a city whose architect is God will surely be beyond any possible thing imagined by man.
Verse 21-23 are profound, teaching us that no Temple exists within the city. There is no need. The Holy Trinity will act as our Temple. The Temple is not removed, but expanded. Before Jesus, the Temple was prophecy and represented by the Tabernacle and later by a Temple of stone in old Jerusalem. In the Christian era (now) the Temple are His people, indwelt by His Spirit. In the millennium the Temple will be a shared space of the Lord and His elect. Here the Temple is everywhere, all present in every place in the city.
There is no need of sun or moon, as light will be given by God, and all there will be a reflection of it. It is a place of pure worship, with no joy, beauty, or knowledge based on created things by man, but focusing only upon the Creator.
Verses 24-27 speak to us of access_ to the city. The nations of peoples saved will walk in the light of the city, and its gates are forever open as nothing that defiles can enter there. The ancient tree ·of life is there bringing forth its fruit for all to take, and like the same tree placed in the original garden (but never used) it is for the healing (life giving) of all nations who accept the Lord and gain His eternal reward.
In the first verses of chapter 22 we see a view of the interior of the city. A pure river flows from the throne of God, the water of life that Jesus spoke of to the woman at the well. Now it flows for all who will live there in the new creation. Psalm 46 foretold it and said the river would make glad this city. The curse of earth made by sin of man is now removed, which remained even in the millennium. Isaiah 65 : 20 showed us sinners would still be cursed in that time. But now, the throne of God replaces the curse, those eternally there will serve the Lord, and they shall actually see His face which even Moses was not allowed to see. So the intimacy between God and man is now assured forever and His people there will be sealed with His name upon them, with no darkness (night) ever again, and the divine circle is closed as paradise lost by the sin of man is regained by the grace of God, and all things are made perfect in Him.
TODAY WE COME TO THE MEETING IN WHICH WE TRY TO SUMMARIZE WHAT WE HAVE STUDIED.
WE HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO LOOK DEEPLY AT THE PULLING BACK OF THE CURTAIN OF ETERNITY SO THAT ONE DEVOTED MAN COULD HEAR AND SEE WHAT THE LORD INTENDS BOTH FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND FOR THOSE WHO DON'T.
WE HAVE SEEN WHO IS COMING.
WE HAVE HEARD ANGELS .SING.
WE HAVE SEEN TERROR TRANSFORMED.
WE HAVE SEEN A DRAGON ENTER.
WE HAVE. SEEN A GODLESS CITY FALL.
WE HAVE SEEN ALL TEARS DRIED FOREVER.
WE HAVE BEGUN TO UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT IS RESERVED FOR US, HIS ELECT, IS FAR BETTER THAN ANY MAN MIGHT IMAGINE.
AND NOW, WE LISTEN TO A CONVERSATION WITH JESUS HIMSELF GRANTING US HIS WISDOM AS TO WHAT HE WISHES US TO HOLD DEAR FROM ALL OF THESE LESSONS.
1,000 YEARS BEFORE JESUS TOOK ON THE LIKENESS OF OUR FLESH, THE MAN WHOM WE KNOW AS THE WISEST MORTAL WHO EVER LIVED, SOLOMON, DESCRIBED OUR SUMMARY OF THIS FINAL LESSON IN THIS WAY:
ECC 12:13:
"LET US HEAR THE CONCLUSION OF THE WHOLE MATTER: FEAR GOD, AND KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS: FOR THIS IS THE WHOLE DUTY OF MAN"