HEAVEN ON EARTH IS NOT A CLICHÉ
A PEEK INTO THE FUTURE
Revelation 21:1-27 What is it like in the New Heaven?
The Seventh Trump has sounded; the One thousand Days of the Millennium, the Lord’s Day has passed; and John’s vision of the Third Heaven gives us a glimpse into what it is going to be like there. All the people who have overcome the Lake of Fire will be there.
1 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.
God tells us how things will be—no more seas, no water anywhere. This is why “all” the people can live on the Earth at one time. The word “new” means rejuvenated, refreshed; and in this case, put back the way it was in the First Earth Age before Satan’s rebellion.
Archeologists have found Mammoth bones in the frozen tundra with buttercups in their mouths, which tells us originally the entire Earth was habitable. God will put the North Pole back to true north instead of it being offset as it is now. The firmament of water will once again protect the Earth from storms. The Earth will be rejuvenated back into a wonderful, wonderful place.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Remember Revelation 1, where John was taken in person to the Lord’s Day to show him things before and after that great day. We learned Revelation is the uncovering or unveiling and understanding of exactly how things transpire in the end times. There will be a Heavenly Jerusalem here on Earth. God is not keeping it a mystery, no secrets here.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
In the final line in the Book of Ezekiel we are informed the full Godhead does not return to Earth until the Great White Throne Judgment—the last day of the Millennium, not just the Son, but also the Father comes to Earth. Please do not plan on being raptured, since God is coming here to the New Jerusalem, the City of Peace.
We see here the Father loves His children and wants to dwell with them in peace, meaning the evil must be gone. Many of the people you thought were not good and might not make it will be around in the Second Resurrection because they will have been taught the truth, which they did not know before the Millennium.
4 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.
No more death. (Hebrews 2:14) Christ came here to die on the cross to defeat death, which is the devil. God must kill the devil, His own child. Satan brought about the crucifixion of Christ through his offsprings, signing their own death warrant. Death will be done away with after the Great White Throne Judgment.
There will be no more pain because you will be in your incorruptible body that does not wither, does not get sick, does not get old; and you will have your immortal soul with its deathlessness. What a fantastic time to look forward to being with God and good spirited people. No more Lake of Fire. It will be gone. Bear in mind, you will not be watching Granny or Uncle Bob frying and screaming and crying day in and day out either. The Lake of Fire will be gone! And that is why there are no more tears.
Also, the memories of the people who chose Satan over God will be blotted out. Christ made it clear Satan will be turned into ashes in the end. (Ezekiel 28:18-19) Satan will be finished, gone forever; he will no longer exist.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
You can count on God to be faithful and true to His word.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
“It is done!“ The Alpha and the Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The next chapter, twenty-two, goes into detail about the Fountain of Living Water. There will be joy because God loves you.
7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
There is no gender here; it means male and female; it means His children. He created each one of us different—your DNA is different; your fingerprints are different; you are unique, and He wanted someone just like you. He wants you to love Him and if you have made it here, you already love Him.
8 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 burned with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Sorcerer is pharmakeus in the Greek, meaning pharmacist, drug dealer, or poisoner. He is not referring to legally necessary prescription medications. He is talking about illegal drugs, especially when children are put on drugs that ruin their lives. Jesus loves the little children. (Luke 18:16)
Idolaters are people who love other things more than God.
All liars is referring to the false teachers, corrupting God’s word.
The Second Death is the final death, the death of the soul. The second death will blot them out, as if they never existed. (Psalm 69:28) No one will even remember them. That is why there will not be any more tears.
The First Death is the death of the flesh. Jesus said, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
The bride, the Lamb’s wife, God’s Elect, who stood with him in the First Earth Age and were overcomers in the second earth age; thereby, God will interfere in their lives, as they are foreordained, the saints, or set aside ones, who will participate in the wedding.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
The Lord is here. The Holy City of Jerusalem, His permanent place, is restructured, and rebuilt.
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Crystal means purity.
12 And 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 Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
Here we have the twelve tribes of the Israelites.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Here we have the twelve apostles of the Gentiles. (We do not know if Mathias or Judas will be the twelfth apostle, but we do know we have a forgiving God.)
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
This reed is different than the one we learned about last week, as this one is to bring peace, order, and discipline.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
He just described a cube one hundred miles square—one hundred miles for the width, one hundred miles for the height, and one hundred miles for the depth. This is God’s Heaven!
17 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.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
This denotes purity, as there is nothing there that offends.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
More purity, again nothing to offend. What a beautiful site, a city of pure glass with a type of gold unknown to us. Solomon’s Temple was beautiful, but this supersedes that one.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
This clearly shows the wonders and glory revealed here belong to post-millennial times and ages; therefore, the city of the great King during the thousand-year reign with the palace-temple will have passed away. There cannot be two Jerusalems on the Earth at the same time. New Jerusalem comes down on the New Earth, thus taking the place of the former city.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
This makes it clear that on the first day of creation the light on the Earth was the Light of Jesus. The stars and the moon had not yet been created. They were created two days later. There was light—the presence of God was the light.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.
The nations are the ethnos or ethnic people. Who are these kings? They are representatives of different races. Is this mentioned anywhere else in the Bible? Yes, in Isaiah 60: 11-12,15, 18-20, & 22 God does not keep any secrets from us.
Isaiah 60:11-12 Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.
The Gentiles bring offerings and their love.
Isaiah 60:15 Whereas thou has been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.
God rewards those who stood strong when persecuted for their Christianity.
Isaiah 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
There is salvation within those walls. God wants righteous people to be saved.
Isaiah 60:19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
Here we are reminded, once again, that the Lord is the Light, our everlasting light.
Isaiah 60:20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Looking forward to the time when God comes here, YHVH Shemah—God is here, or God dwells here!
Peace comes and everything wicked will be gone. When this age ends the rudiments of evil will burn and be destroyed. The good remains. What a wonderful place this will be. (2Peter 3) It is written throughout the word of God. His promises of salvation are written in Hosea, whose name means salvation, which is part of Christ’s name, Yahshua Hosea, YHVH’s Savior.
We can trust God; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Back to Revelation 21:
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
This sounds familiar to what we just read in Isaiah.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
The nations are the ethnos, the Gentiles are the people who love God and want to worship Him. God loves all His children.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiled, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
There will not be anyone bad there, only good people. All the bad things will have been eliminated.
We are currently in a different dimension and cannot see the face of God. Flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Good thing God created us in the same likeness and image we were in the First Earth Age so we can recognize each other once changed back into our spiritual bodies.
God keeps track of you in the Lamb’s Book of Life. He keeps the record right there in heaven. He knows everything; fortunately, you can repent and be forgiven of anything as if it never happened, except for the unpardonable sin, which is a topic for another time.
What a wonderful Father we have, who brought about this wonderful plan of salvation.
***Coming Next Week: Revelation 22:1-21 Jesus is the Light***