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1. The Presence of God in the City. (Rev. 21:2-4)
a. God will send the Holy City, New Jerusalem, from Himself in heaven down to New Earth! "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband." (Rev. 21:2, 10)
b. God Himself will leave His home in heaven and permanently camp out among men in New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:3)! The Apostle John heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle (skēnḗ, 4633, tent) of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them" (Rev. 21:3). How profound is this? God will leave his eternal abode up in heaven, and will come down to New Jerusalem and permanently "camp out" or "tent" among redeemed men, whom He loves so much! c. God will remove all pain and sorrow from human existence! "And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away" (Rev. 21:4). All will be new (Rev. 21:5). d. God will be the Father of those who conquer (Rev. 21:7). Those who continually conquer evil and temptation in this life will have God for their Father both now, and in the life to come. e. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb constitute the Temple in this city (Rev. 21:22). No artificial building will be needed for worship. We will all be able to go directly into the presence of God and of the Lamb and worship them freely! f. God and the Lamb sit on the throne in this city (Rev.22:1, 3). The form of government will be a theocratic monarchy, in which God and the Lamb, Jesus Christ, will rule as co-regents. 2. The Presence of the Lamb in the City a. The City of New Jerusalem is described as "the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:9). This means it will be the eternal Capital City of the Church, as well as of redeemed Israel.
b. The twelve foundations of the City were named after the Apostles of the Lamb (Rev. 21:14). Once again, this means the City will be the eternal Capital City of the Church, as well as of redeemed Israel. c. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb constitute the Temple of the City (Rev. 21:22). No artificial building will be needed for worship. We will all be able to go directly into the presence of God and of the Lamb and worship them freely! d. "...The City has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it because the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb" (Rev. 21:23). e. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life will be allowed to enter the City (Rev. 21:27). f. God and the Lamb sit on the throne in this city (Rev.22:1, 3). The form of government will be a theocratic monarchy, in which God and the Lamb, Jesus Christ, will rule as co-regents. 3. The Description of the Human Residents of and Visitors to the City a. Those who are thirsty.
Then He (God, the One sitting on the Throne) said to me (the Apostle John), "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from
the spring of the water of life without cost" (Rev. 21:6). There are
some people who thirst for God, who thirst for righteousness. These
will have their thirst quenched through fellowship with the living God
and through participation in a city in which there is no pain (Rev.
21:4) and in which there are no evil people (Rev. 21:8, 27). Only
righteous people and righteousness will exist in this city and upon the
New Earth (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 22:14-15). I take it that the "spring of
the water of life" (Rev. 21:6) is both metaphorical (Eternal Life) and literal, drinkable water that has life-giving properties.
There will be in that city a literal flow of water springing from the
throne of God, expanding into the river of the water of life that flows
through the middle of the city (Rev. 22:1-2). There will be a literal Tree of Life, of whose fruit and leaves all will be able to partake (Rev. 2:7; 22:2). Why cannot the River of Water of Life (Rev. 22:1, 17) be a literal river whose water we will be able to drink? The last invitation in
the entire Bible is given to those who are thirsty (Rev. 22:17). The
Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say,
"Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes
take the water of life without cost."
b. Those who keep conquering. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son" (Rev. 21:7). "He who overcomes" is, literally, "The one conquering," the Present Active Participle of the verb nikáō (3528), to conquer. Similarly, Jesus said through John to the messenger of the church in Ephesus, "The one having an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches: 'To the one conquering, (same tense, same verb) I will give to him to eat from the tree of the life, which is in the paradise of God'" (Rev. 2:7, JTB literal translation). The Christian life is a life-long battle. Those who keep on conquering temptation and evil and pain will inherit this New City and New Earth and will eternally enjoy the status of being God's son. Christians can never retire from the battle of the Christian life. c. Those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 21:27). See also Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12. 15. d. Those designated as the "bond-servants" (literally slaves, plural of doûlos, 1401) of God and of the Lamb (Rev. 22:3, 6). These also have His name on their foreheads (Rev. 22:4). e. Those characterized as righteous and holy (Rev. 22:11). f. Those who are said to have washed their robes so that they have the right to eat of the Tree of Life and enter by the gates into the city (Rev. 22:14). The "washed robes" should probably not be taken as a literal, but as a figurative washing. Note that those martyrs who had come out of the Tribulation had washed their robes, making them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. 7:14). This means that they were holy and pure people because they had trusted in Jesus' death to pay for their sins. Notice also that the Bride's fine linen, bright and clean, stands for the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:8). 4. The People Groupings of the City and New Earth. a. It is called "The Bride, the Wife of the Lamb" (Rev. 19:7-9; 21:2, 9). This means that this glorious city is the capital city and eternal home of the Church, called the "Bride of Christ" (Eph. 5:24-27, 29, 32). That this city is the eternal home of the Church, prepared for her by Jesus (John 14:2-3), is evidenced by the presence of the names of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb on the twelve foundations (Rev. 21:14).
b. It is called "The Holy City, New Jerusalem" (Rev. 3:12; 21:2, 10). This means that this glorious city is the capital city and eternal home of the Nation of Israel. No name is more Jewish than "Jerusalem"! This is further evidenced by the names of the twelve sons of Israel appearing on the twelve gates of the city (Rev. 21:12). God's ancient promise and decree was that the Nation of Israel and the Land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would exist in perpetuity into eternity (Gen. 13:14-17; 17:8; Jer. 31:31-40). I take it, then, that throughout eternity there will forever exist upon New Earth not only the Nation of Israel, but also the Land of Israel. Since the dimensions of this glorious city (Rev. 21:16) are too gargantuan to fit upon the land that God promised to Israel, I believe the future New Jerusalem will likely be a satellite city orbiting New Earth, much as our present moon orbits the present earth. It is altogether possible that New Jerusalem will have a geosynchronous orbit, eternally stationed above the land of Israel down below upon New Earth. c. It will be the Chief City of all the Nations living on New Earth (Rev. 21:24-26; 22:2). The nations down on New Earth will walk (live, conduct their business) by the light of this glorious (Rev. 21:23), orbiting city (Rev. 21:24). These nations on New Earth will be ruled by kings. There will be no republics or democracies. These kings will bring their honor and glory into the Heavenly City (Rev. 21:24). The same will also be true of the people of the nations (Rev. 21:26).This "glory and honor" will consist of such things as the products of commerce, agriculture, industry, and art. The nations and kings living on New Earth will have 24-hour-a-day access to New Jerusalem. It will be a city of perpetual day, for there will never be night in that city (Rev. 21:25). There will be no danger from any sort of evil, so its gates will be open continually (Rev. 21:25). People from New Earth will have access at any time to the orbiting city above. An orbiting city need present no more impediment to access for resurrected believers than locked doors impeded Christ's access to His disciples after His resurrection (John 20:19-29). The Nations of New Earth will have a ready audience and market for their wares, not only upon New Earth, but also up in New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:26). Moreover, Nations from New Earth will have ready access not only to the fruit of the Tree of Life up in New Jerusalem, but also to the leaves of that tree (Rev. 22:2). The NASB95 states that the leaves were for the "healing" of the nations. I do not think that is the best translation. The word is therapeía (2322), from which we derive our word "therapy." But there will be no illnesses nor need for therapy as we think of it. I prefer the translation "well-being." I foresee that people from New Earth will gather leaves from the Tree of Life, take them home, and brew the most delicious tea they have ever tasted. It will give them a sense of well-being like no "Energy" drink on earth can ever give. The point is that Nations living on New Earth will have ready access to any part of New Jerusalem to which they might wish to travel. d. What is the implication? The implication is that there is not merely one people of God, as so many insist. There are three peoples of God throughout eternity – redeemed Israelis, the redeemed of the Church, and redeemed from among the Nations who are neither part of Israel nor part of the Church. There will be complete unity, but there will be diversity, a "Triunity," if you will, of peoples populating New Earth and New Jerusalem throughout eternity. 5. God's Messengers. The City had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates stood twelve angels (messengers, the plural of ángelos, 32) (Rev. 21:12). Ordinarily one might think these angels were sentries. But there will never be any evil people entering the City (see Item 6), so their presence cannot be for the purpose of security. Angels are, after all, messengers. Perhaps they function as dispensers of information. Perhaps they are there to answer any questions people might have as they enter or depart the City. Are there more than twelve angels in the City? We are not told. In heaven itself, John had seen four living creatures worshiping God (Rev. 4:6-8). Also in heaven, John had heard the sound of millions of angels worshiping the Lamb (Rev. 5:11-12). But we are not told whether there will be more than twelve of these angels in New Jerusalem. 6. Those Excluded from the City. Revelation 21:8.
"But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and
immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part
will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." In the context, these are seen to be individuals who do not thirst for God and for righteousness, and so they are not given to drink from the spring of the water of life
(Rev. 21:6). Moreover, they do not conquer sin and evil, and so God is
not their God, and they are not sons of God, and they do not inherit New Jerusalem or New Earth (Rev. 21:7).
Revelation 21:27. "And nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 22:11. "Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy." Revelation 22:14-15. 14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city." 15 "Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying." 7.
Personal Invitation. The Book of Revelation closes with an invitation to all readers from the Holy Spirit and from the Church, the Bride of Christ (Rev. 22:17). It is my desire to issue each of you who are
readers a personal invitation to enter this City and have access to New
Earth. Is there within you a hunger for God? Are you thirsty for that
which only God can give you, eternal fellowship, friendship,
forgiveness, reconciliation with others, peace, eternal life? I cannot
place that desire within you, and you cannot generate it
yourself. But you can ask God to give it to you. I have outlined
below steps to take in this process.
* Admit you are a sinner
(Romans 3:23). That takes humility, I know. We immediately compare
ourselves to other people who we think are worse than we are. We
justify ourselves by saying, "Really, down deep, I am a pretty decent
human being. But God's assessment of each of us is that we do, indeed
sin. We transgress God's commandments and His standards. God's verdict
is that "there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who
understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside,
together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there
is not even one" (Rom. 3:10-12). In fact, our default setting is that
we are against God and against doing good all the time.
* Ask God to give you a hunger and a thirst for Himself and for righteousness (Matt. 5:6). You do not have because you do not ask (James 4:2; Luke 11:5-13). * Repent of your evil, change your mind about who Jesus is, and turn to the Messiah, God's Anointed King, who is the Lamb of God who died to pay for the sins of the entire world (John 1:29). God resurrected Him on the third day to assure forgiveness and eternal life to all who trust in Him (John 3:16-18; 5:24; Acts 13:38-39; 1 John 5:11-13). * As a new believer in Jesus, recognize that your life does not belong to you. You need to yield control of your life to Jesus, your King. Do not be conformed to the evil world around you (1 John 2:15-17), but allow your mind to be transformed daily by exposing yourself to the truth of God found in the Bible (Rom. 12:1-2). Then you need to live the rest of your life to serve the King of Kings, understanding that one day He will return to this earth and require every person on earth to give an accounting of himself (Acts 17:30-31; Rom. 14:11-12; 2 Cor. 5:6-10).
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