A New Heaven and A New Earth
– Revelation Twenty-One –
Revelation Twenty-one begins with the
encouraging statement, "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. (Revelation
21:1-2) The "new heaven and new earth" was a picture of victory for
the saints of God.
Second Peter
Isaiah, Peter and
John all had in mind the same thing as they wrote of the new heaven and new
earth. They are writing about the time when persecution will be over and the
saints of God will be victorious. The "new heaven and the new earth"
means a new order of things. God's faithful people will be victorious!
Revelation
Twenty-one gives us a look at the wonderful fellowship with God that will be
enjoyed by those that die faithful. "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." (Revelation 21:4) We are also provided a glimpse into the beauty
and protection enjoyed by those that die faithful.
Wonderful
fellowship with God – Revelation 21:1-7: God's faithful people do not
die without hope. The sea that had prevented intimate fellowship in the
presence of God is no more. (Revelation 21:1) The New Jerusalem is the church.
"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to
one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin
to Christ." (II Corinthians 11:2)
Those that die faithful in the church enjoy heavenly hope.
The amazing
fellowship that saints enjoy with God is beyond anything they could have hoped for.
This is a picture of the final state of the redeemed. In this state: (1) God
dwells among His people (Revelation 21:3), (2) God is their God and they are
His people (Revelation 21:3), (3) There will be no more tears (Revelation
21:4), (4) There will be no more death (Revelation 21:4), (5) There will be no
more sorrow (Revelation 21:4), (6) There will be no more crying (Revelation
21:4), (7) There will be no more pain (Revelation 21:4), (8) All things are
made new (Revelation 21:5), (9) God will give unto him that is athirst of the
fountain of the water of life freely (Revelation 21:6), (10) He that overcomes
shall inherit all things (Revelation 21:7),
(11) They shall be God's son. (Revelation 21:7) It is a wonderful thing
to overcome!
The
wretched state of the ungodly – Revelation 21:8: In sharp contrast to
the state of the righteous John wrote of the state of the ungodly. "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." (Revelation 21:8) This is the final description of those that do
not overcome.
Observe these sins:
(1) the fearful are those that in cowardice chooses self and safety before
Christ. God's faithful people must do the right thing and to hold fast to the
faith. (2) Unbelief is the result of spiritual wickedness. (3) The abominable
likely were participants in the rites of paganism and the unmentionable perversions
of that day. (4) Murderers do not respect God and therefore have no respect for
human life. (5) Fornicators violate the eternal law of God by their sexual
behavior. (6) Sorcerers practice an especially despicable sin because they try
to substitute some other power for that of God. (7) Idolaters give the glory
that should belong to the Creator to the creation. (8) Liars can never be
pleasing to God. God cannot allow any place in heaven for those that practice
these things. They "shall have their part in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone: which is the second death."
John
is shown the New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:9-17: The description of the
New Jerusalem had to do with the glory of God. There was security because of
the gates and the walls that were great and high. There was hope because of the
size of the city. It was 1,400 miles in each direction. The city "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
God provided
perfect protection. The wall around the city stood 216 feet high. "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." (Revelation 21:17) "We
are to conceive of the city itself as towering immensely above the walls. Its
glory, therefore, would not be obscured by the wall that was thrown around it
for defense."
The inhabitants of heaven
will all be pure and holy. Those that are unclean and practice abominations or
falsehood will have no access into the heavenly city. "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." (Revelation 21:27) Nothing will be
found in that blessed abode which is unholy or sinful. The gates of heaven have
been opened wide for the righteous by the blood of Jesus. However, nothing that
defiles will be there because they will all be cast into a lake of fire.
The blessing
awaiting those that die faithful to God should motivate us to obey the gospel
and serve Him faithfully. To obey the gospel one must hear God's truth (Romans