Reviews and Views

Book of Revelation – Chapter 21

After the Great White Throne Judgement of chapter 20, the heavens and the world move toward another judgment; chapter 21 is the eternal state with new heavens and a new earth. This chapter and the next present a fantastic future that awaits every believer of all dispensations and ages. Without warning, the heavens disappear with an earsplitting noise. All heavenly bodies or planets burn up and be destroyed. The world we know as earth with everything in it will vanish. The noise of this destruction will be deafening. Refer to 2 Peter 3:7-13.

In verse 1, we read of a new heaven and new earth with no sea. New is not merely new as to time but also as to kind. Therefore the sky will look similar, as will the world, but also different. For example, the new earth has no sea. The first earth and the first heavens are purged with fire and regenerated. This purging is necessary because Satan defiled both spheres, and God makes them anew and fresh. All of this occurs at the end of the Great White Throne Judgment. 

1. Old Jerusalem exists today. It is historic, the City of David.
2. In the exact location as the first, a second Jerusalem becomes the center for Christ’s millennial kingdom on earth and the earthly nations’ capital city. Also, during this thousand-year reign, a satellite city (the new Jerusalem) hovers above this planet. This celestial city is home to all believers during this period and eternity.
3. Finally, the new Jerusalem descends to the new earth at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ. It serves as heaven’s capital city on the new earth eternally.

Verse 2 speaks of a new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, a new capital city. People in the new Jerusalem will live in peace and harmony. 

Then we come to verse 3, where God dwells with His people. Before the Fall in Eden, God came and walked with Adam in the cool of the day, so God shall live with men forever and delight in His abiding presence. Presently, the location of God’s Tabernacle is in heaven. He descends to earth with His heavenly entourage, settling in the new Jerusalem to begin global operations from this satellite city. The redeemed in their glorified bodies live in the new Jerusalem.  

In verse 4: God will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain; for the former things pass away, such is this land of eternal life. No more cancers, diseases, heart attacks, automobile accidents, or wars. What is declared is the absence of anything to be sorry about. There is no sadness, no disappointments, no pain, no tears of regret, no loss of loved ones, no more funerals, no more graves, no more hospitals, no more broken homes, and no more broken hearts. And sin has ceased because Satan forever remains incarcerated in Gehenna, the lake of fire.

In verses 5 and 6, God adds that he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. All creation began without sin, and now it has ended without sin. Our spiritual thirst will be satisfied forever. 

From verse 7, we learn the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4) is an overcomer; he shall inherit all things, and God will be his God, and he shall be His son.

Verse 8 speaks about those sinners who miss this eternal paradise upon the earth. Where are they now? They are in the lake of fire (the second death) with no second chance, no reprieve, no commuted sentence. This list should be read as a description of eternal character. Who did not make it?

1. The fearful; are those who rejected Christ to escape the ridicule of men.
2. The unbelieving; are those who rejected the doctrine of Christ’s deity and shed blood as the only means of obtaining eternal life.
3. The abominable; are those who engage in corrupt practices, speaking the language of Christendom but never living it. They profess that they know God, but in their works, they deny him. They are described as being an abominable (hateful & obnoxious), disobedient (unruly & disorderly), and unprincipled (immoral, unethical, & corrupt) rogue (or SOB) Titus 1:16.
4. The murderers; are those who carry hatred within their hearts and minds for others (1 John 3:15).
5. The whoremongers; are those who engaged in fornication (premarital sex), adultery (extra-marital flings), or perverted sex.
6. The sorcerers; are those who practiced drug usage for “kicks” and “highs.”
7. The idolaters: are people who worship or revere anyone or anything other than God, living and trustworthy, or using idols in worship. (1 John 5:21).
8. All liars; are those who deceived others, distorted the truth, and destroyed humanity by lies.

Verse 9: Now John is shown the Bride, the Lamb’s wife. She is the one who made herself ready in fine linen, clean and white (chapter 19:7-8), and who returns with Him (Christ) for the 1,000-year honeymoon (chapter 19:11-16).

In verse 10: The great city, the holy (heavenly) Jerusalem, descends out of heaven from God. John is impressed by the city’s brilliance, the size of the municipality, and the city’s beauty. The new Jerusalem reflects its people, the redeemed or the Bride. 

From verses 11 thru 14, we get a description of the new Jerusalem in more detail. The city was clear as crystal, with a great wall, 12 large gates, and 12 foundations. 

• A great high wall surrounded the city. It is an eternal memorial of our hidden life with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3) until we appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:4). It reminds the believers that God loves His people and protects them while on earth.
• Twelve angels staff the 12 gates. These gates remain open, and the angels welcome those possessing the right and privilege to enter the city. Each gate has the name of the twelve tribes of Israel. 
• The city sets on 12 foundations, each named after each of the twelve apostles of Christ. 

In verses 15 thru 17, the size of the new Jerusalem gets revealed.

• The city forms a perfect cube of tetragonal shape. Its width, length, and height are equal (at 12,000 furlongs or 1,5000 miles). This distance would cover a geographic area in the USA, extending from Maine’s northernmost point to the southernmost point of Florida and from the eastern seaboard to Colorado. A city of this size could house every person ever born, plus billions of additional people. Remember, from verse 3, this city comes down from heaven and orbits earth during the millennium reign before coming to rest upon the new earth as eternity begins.
• The walls surrounding the city extend 216 feet high by the measure of a man. The wall is relatively low compared to the city’s walls, reflecting no need to ward off an attack.

In verses 18 thru 21, we see a further description of the wall, foundations, and gates. 

• The wall of jasper represents Christ, in His radiant glory, surrounding His saints.
• The city was pure gold, like transparent glass, which typifies the righteousness of God’s holy nature. The transparency allows God’s glory to shine through to every aspect of the city and beyond.
• The various foundation stones – brilliant – picture the Lord’s attributes and various aspects of His redemptive work.
• A single pearl composes each gate that never shuts. Each immense pearl symbolizes the tremendous sufferings of Christ.
• Streets made of pure gold appear as transparent glass.

Verse 22 tells us that there was no temple in the city (new Jerusalem) for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple because God has chosen to dwell with His people.

In verse 23, there is no need for the sun or moon since God and the Lamb lighten everything. No wonder there shall be no night there, for the night is an impossibility since Christ’s splendor, and glory shines brilliantly.

Verses 24 thru 26: These verses picture the multitudes who came through the Millennium as born-again, regenerated believers. These did not follow Satan in the final rebellion upon release from the bottomless pit. Therefore, they entered the eternal state in bodies of flesh. Their rulers, kings, and presidents are also born-again and still living in earthly bodies. They bring their glory and honor into the New Jerusalem as well. They come to praise Him, who is all in all. Security is needless in the land of an eternal day with no night.

In verse 27: The warning flag is again lifted as John writes, “But nothing impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of the living will enter the city.” GNT

April 21, 2024 - Posted by Bill Wyler | Bible, Last Days, Revelation | Bible, Future, GOD, Truth