1I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. 2I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.”
5He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He said, “Write, for these words of God are faithful and true.” 6He said to me, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls which were loaded with the seven last plagues came, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come here. I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” 10He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12having a great and high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. 13On the east were three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb.
15He who spoke with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. 16The city is square. Its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand twelve stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. 17Its wall is one hundred forty-four cubits, by the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. 18The construction of its wall was jasper. The city was pure gold, like pure glass. 19The foundations of the city’s wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire; the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was made of one pearl. The street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it and its lamp is the Lamb. 24The nations will walk in its light. The kings of the earth bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 25Its gates will in no way be shut by day (for there will be no night there), 26and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it so that they may enter. 27There will in no way enter into it anything profane, or one who causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21
A New Heaven and a New Earth
21 I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more. 2 I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people; and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.”
The old heaven and earth will pass away, and a new earth will be made. In such a place, we will live for eternity with Jesus, the lover of our souls. This is all indescribable, because frankly it’s just indescribable. Our human mind can’t conceive of it. Isaiah describes much of this new earth in chapter 65. He begins, “17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. (Isaiah 65:17 NKJV)This kind of makes me think we’ll no longer be able to remember any of the sorrowful or negative things from our time on earth. This idea is reinforced by the Apostle Peter, “12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:1-13 NKJV)
This is all hard to imagine, but the part that I love is that “no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” I am ready for there to be no more pain, death, crying, or sorrow. In our sojourn on earth, we suffer horrendous things. In my premarital counseling, I advise young couples to be aware that tragedy is on the horizon. It is part of the human experience. John continues in the next few verses, telling us that Jesus will make all things new. This sort of sounds to me like an echo of 2 Corinthians 5:17, telling us that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creature. Old things have passed away, all things have become new.
Reader, we can believe these things because He is faithful and true. We can’t understand everything about Jesus because He is God and we are not. Yet, the Bible tells us so much about His character and His faithfulness. I find it kind of interesting that Jesus calls Himself the “beginning and the end.” This is interesting to me because He is not confined to time. With Jesus, there isn’t a beginning or an end. So much of this is a mystery, and that’s okay. Reader, don’t ever take hold of the thought that just because you don’t understand something, it doesn’t mean that it’s not true. In these verses, Jesus promises to give a fountain of flowing water to all who are thirsty. That’s you and me. In the meantime, we are to overcome. That means we’re commanded to keep on keeping on. Don’t give up. Never surrender. This too shall pass. We who know Him are promised a crown of righteousness as part of our reward. We are promised an eternity as everlasting splendors. The contrary position is one of separation, misery, and eternal death. If you don’t know Him, accept Him today. If you do know Him, rest in the assurance of your salvation in Him. He is more than able. In the meantime, He has made us to be more than conquerors. (Romans 8:37)