Revelation 21:1: “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea.”
In Isaiah 65:17-19, the Lord promised, “I create new heavens and a new earth. The former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.”
In Isaiah 66:22, the Lord said, “As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.”
In 2 Peter 3:13, Peter wrote, “We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.”
The new heaven and earth are not merely a “remade” heaven and earth. We know this because Jesus said in Luke 21:33 that heaven and earth shall pass away, but His Word would live forever. In Isaiah 65:17, when God said that He would create a new heaven and new earth, He used a Hebrew word which means to “create out of nothing,” instead of re-fashioning existing material.
Revelation 21:2-3: “Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’”
In Galatians 4:25-26, Paul wrote that New Jerusalem is from above. She descends from God to man not vice versa. Just as God created Eve and brought her to man, He creates holy Jerusalem (His people) and brings her to His Son. People cannot create her. She is from God.
In Luke 23:43, Jesus called the afterlife paradise. In Hebrews 11:10, Abraham envisioned a city whose builder and maker was God. In Hebrews 12:22, it is written, “You are come to mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels.” In Hebrews 13:14, we have no continuing city on earth, but we seek one to come.
The new heaven, new earth and New Jerusalem arrive on the heel of the devil’s demise.
In his book, ‘The City of God,” Augustine of Hippo wrote of two rival cities formed by two loves. The earthly city, formed by love of self even to the contempt of God, stands in contrast with the heavenly city, the city of God. The city of God is founded and shaped by love of God. Currently, these two cities are progressing along separate paths toward radically different ends.
Jesus said in Revelation 3:12, “To him that overcomes... I will write upon him the Name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new Name.”
God’s visible presence with His people is the greatest blessing of New Jerusalem. In Job 19:25-26, it is written, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:42-43, 49, it is written, “The body is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power.” “And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.”
New Jerusalem is adorned as a bride for her Husband. Not only is the city new, but the people within it are new. They love God as a bride loves her husband. I am reminded of what Jesus said on the cross... “I thirst.” His greatest thirst was for God and His people to be one.
In Revelation 21:2, New Jerusalem is prepared as a bride for her husband. She is a city for God and people to live together as one. Jesus said in John 14:2-3, “I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am.”
The word Church in Greek literally means “Called Out.” I envision the “called out” as people selected by a suitor at a dance. Christ chose them. He wanted an everlasting relationship with them. God wants all people to be saved, but only some will respond to His invitation.
God uses the metaphor of a bride often in the Bible to explain His love for His people. In Isaiah 62:4-5, He says, “You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah, for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. As a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.” Thanks be to God for rejoicing over us and loving us.
God enters a relationship with us through the sacrificial offering of His Son on the cross. Romans 5:7-8 says, “One will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” How much are we willing to pay to maintain a love relationship with someone? The Lord loved our race, the human race, after we nailed Him to a cross. That’s true love!
The word Jesus used when He talked about marriage was the Greek word for glued. In Matthew 19:5-6, He said, “What therefore God has joined [glued] together, let not man tear it apart.” After a carpenter glues two pieces of wood together, the glue-bond between the wood actually becomes stronger than the wood itself. The Lord’s love-bond with us is strong and everlasting. In John 10:28, Jesus said of us His people, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”
In Song of Solomon 1:15, the lovers have dove’s eyes. Doves have a wide field of vision but focus on one thing directly in front of them at a time. They give each other full attention. The dove couples fly side by side and land almost at the same time. They are lifelong mates.
The Church is a group of people who profess that Jesus is God’s Son, our Messiah. We embody a bride-like love for our bridegroom Jesus Christ. We love Him deeply. We speak His Name with awe and wonder. We talk about Jesus Christ because we want others to know Him.
The first miracle of Jesus in the Gospels took place at a wedding in John 2:1-11. In Matthew 22:1-10, Jesus told His servants, “Invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.”
Revelation 21:4: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
In Isaiah 25:8, God promised to wipe away the tears and remove the rebukes from His people.
Revelation 21:5: “Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’”
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, we read, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” Christ makes us brand new to prepare us to live in New Jerusalem on new earth surrounded by a new heaven.
Revelation 21:6-7: “And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning, and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.’”
Jesus quenches our soul’s thirst. This promise is repeated multiple times in the Bible. In Psalms 36:9, “For with You is the fountain of life.” In John 4:14, “Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” In Revelation 7:17, “The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne... shall lead them to living fountains of waters.” In Revelation 22:17, “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Revelation 21:8, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Multiple passages of Scripture confirm that God condemns sin. For example, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, we read, “Know you not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” This warning is repeated in similar fashions in Galatians 5:19-21, Ephesians 5:5-6, Hebrews 13:4, 1 John 3:15, and Revelation 22:15.
It is absolutely imperative to come to Jesus for the forgiveness of our sin and for renewal into His image by the indwelling Holy Spirit. We cannot change ourselves! Only God can do it!
Revelation 21:9-13: “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. Also she had a great and high wall with 12 gates, and 12 angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.”
When an angel shows John the Lamb’s bride, His wife, he sees holy Jerusalem. This holy city is where He and His people dwell together with love, joy and peace forevermore.
The names of the twelve tribes on the gates of New Jerusalem commemorate the fact that God gave to the world the Old Testament Scriptures through them.
Revelation 21:14-21: “Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: 12,000 furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall: 144 cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The 12 gates were 12 pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”
In Joshua 4:1-3, Joshua chose twelve men to carry twelve stones over the Jordan with them into the Promised Land. Jesus has the names of His twelve apostles on the twelve foundations of New Jerusalem. In Ephesians 2:20, we read, “We are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets [from the 12 tribes of Israel], Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.”
New Jerusalem is 12,000 furlongs on all sides. 12,000 furlongs is 1,500 miles. 1,500 miles is the distance from Maine to Florida. This square mileage is equal to the size of the moon, which is enough space for a hundred billion people to have 75 acres each in New Jerusalem. [1]
“The city was pure gold, like clear glass.” “The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.” “The constant mention of transparency indicates that the city is designed to transmit the glory of God in the form of light without hindrance.” [2] Gold is so abundant that it is used to form walls and streets.
In Revelation 21:19–20, eight of the twelve precious stones that make up the foundations of New Jerusalem are the same as the ones on the High Priest’s breastplate as recorded in Exodus 28:17–20. The following stones are found on both lists: jasper, sapphire, emerald, topaz, beryl, amethyst, jacinth, and sardius. The twelve precious stones on the High Priest’s breastplate represent the twelve tribes of Israel. The twelve precious stone foundations of New Jerusalem represent the twelve apostles on whose testimonies the Church was based.
In Isaiah 61:10, Isaiah prophesied, saying, “The Lord... has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”
Revelation 21:22: “But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
In the ancient world, it was unthinkable to have a great city without many different temples. During the Christian era, the temple was not removed but expanded. Those in Christ became God’s temple. In New Jerusalem, the One who sits on the throne and the Lamb are the temple. In other words, people gather directly before God.
In Isaiah 66:1, the Lord says, “Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that you build to Me? Where is the place of My rest?’” God is much greater than our minds can imagine or comprehend.
In Hebrews 12:22, it is written, “You have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels.”
Revelation 21:23-26: The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.”
Light emanates from God. He is glorious. Saved nations enjoy walking in His light. Saved kings bring their glory and honor to Him. The gates of New Jerusalem are always open because there is no threat of danger to those inside. The open gates remind me of Jesus with His arms wide open on the cross. He would have all men to be saved and to enjoy His presence forever.
Revelation 21:27: “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
In Isaiah 52:1, the Lord called holy Jerusalem to awake! To put on strength and beautiful garments, “for the uncircumcised and the unclean shall no longer come to you.”
Never again will the servants of the Lord need to cry out, “How long Lord until you avenge our blood?” The days of mistreatment are over. Never again will this holy city be defiled by the devil, deception and death.
New Jerusalem is a city prepared by God for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. How do you get your name on His list? You believe in Him. You surrender yourself to the truth that you cannot save yourself from your sin. Jesus Christ alone is the Savior of the world. You place all your hope for salvation in Christ by calling on His Name, and asking Him to forgive your sins and to save you from the much deserved consequences of them. He will do it.
[1] Enduring Word Commentary
[2] Ibid
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