Revelation
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Revelation 21
Revelation 21
1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more.
1And 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.
Commentary · verse 1
2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Commentary · verse 2
This stated the new Jerusalem came down from heaven of God and was made ready, as a bride. The new Jerusalem is the Bride. Notice, this city is not "New Jerusalem." This city is Jerusalem, the new version. This was the final creation recorded in the Bible. This was the most complicated creation: The Bride.
3And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his peoples, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God:
3And 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.
Commentary · verse 3
The new Jerusalem was also referred to as the tabernacle or house of God. In John 14:1-4, Jesus stated He was going away to prepare an eternal place for believers, which He called His Father's house. In it, there were many mansions. Hebrews 3:6 stated that Christ was the Son over His own house, "whose house are we"...the believers. Finally, in John 14:23, Jesus said that the Father and the Son would make their abode with believers. Now we see that the new Jerusalem will be the eternal dwelling place for believers, and it will be on the new earth. So, everyone will either spend eternity in the lake of fire or on earth in the new Jerusalem.
Recall the Disclaimer discussion from the previous chapter, everyone will exist forever in either the lake of fire or the new earth. What happens to those who died without being able to intentionally make a choice to be for or against God? God is always completely Right and always completely Just. God would not send these people to eternal torment through no fault of their own. However, God would not bring these people into the new Jerusalem against their will. There appeared to have to be a moment when these people would be able to make a choice prior to Final Judgment. Since people will not die in childbirth during the Millennium, there will not be the issue of people not being able to make this choice coming from the 7th Dispensation. It would seem the time for God to give the people from the first six dispensations to make their choice would be during the 7th Dispensation.
4and he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more: the first things are passed away.
4And 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.
Commentary · verse 4
Summary of verses 1-4: A new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem were created. The new Jerusalem was referred to as the Bride and the tabernacle/house of God. Believers will inhabit the new Jerusalem. The Greek root for the word cell was room. The new Jerusalem is a Bride made up of many cells (rooms the size of mansions). The believers will occupy each cell bringing life to the Bride. Every cell in the body of the Bride will desire Jesus because every cell contains a believer. Every cell in Jesus' body desired the Bride as we saw in Hebrews 12:2 that Christ left heaven to endure the cross because of the joy set before Him. The joy that Jesus did not have in heaven before He endured the cross, and the reason He endured the cross was to facilitate the creation of the Bride.
Do you remember what was taught as the "Meaning of Life" from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians?:
"All believers interact with each other as "cells in the body" of the Bride which is married to Jesus."
Doctrines on this passage
5And he that sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith, Write: for these words are faithful and true.
6And he said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
5And 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.
6And 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.
7He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8But for the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; which is the second death.
7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8But 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 burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Commentary · verses 7-8
Notice, everyone will exist forever, however those in the lake of fire were said to experience the "second death" while those in the new Jerusalem experienced eternal life. Clearly, life is "the ability to repair."
Those in the lake of fire will not be able to repair. Those in the new Jerusalem will be able to repair for eternity. Every day in the lake of fire will be the worst day that person will have ever experienced because they cannot repair. Every day in the new Jerusalem will be the best day that person has ever experienced because they can repair which means it will result in something more.
Two verses that contrasted the two locations that were predestinated for everyone: believers will be children of God through their Marriage to Jesus and unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire. Predestinated meant "to limit in advance." God limited in advance the eternal location of every person to two possible locations. However, this did not mean God determined which location each person would spend for eternity. God places them in either location in response to the choices of the individual. God selects people (the elect) for eternal life in response to their choices.
9And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, who were laden with the seven last plagues; and he spake with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
9And 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.
Commentary · verse 9
One of the angels of the bowls offered to blatantly show John the Bride, the Lamb's Wife...
10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
10And 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,
Commentary · verse 10
This verse blatantly called the new Jerusalem the Bride of Christ.
Summary of verses 5-10: The new Jerusalem is Jesus' Bride. Everyone that has ever existed will either spend eternity in the lake of fire or in the new Jerusalem on the new earth.
11having the glory of God: her light was like unto a stone most precious, as it were a jasper stone, clear as crystal: 12having a wall great and high; having 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:
11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12And 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:
Commentary · verses 11-12
The twelve gates of the new Jerusalem had twelve angels. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates.
13on the east were three gates; and on the north three gates; and on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Commentary · verses 13-14
The wall of the city has twelve foundations with the names of the twelve Apostles of Christ. Hebrews 13:14 stated that we currently have no continuing city, but we seek one to come, the new Jerusalem.
15And he that spake with me had for a measure a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs: the length and the breadth and the height thereof are equal.
15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16And 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.
Commentary · verses 15-16
Definition: "twelve thousand furlongs" equals 1500 miles. This is half the size of the United States. Imagine dividing the United States in an eastern and a western half. Then imagine one of those halves being the base of the new Jerusalem and the height also being 1500 miles. Since Jesus will be at the top and seen by all, the structure will probably resemble a pyramid more than a cube. The new Jerusalem now looked even more like a Body. In our body, each cell takes direction from three possible sources:
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adjoining cells,
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local area center, and
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the brain.
Ephesians 5 stated that we the Church would be married to Jesus in eternity. Ephesians 4 described how the Church would build up its Body: by speaking the truth in love to each other. Eternity began with Final Judgment which will be the only day when everything will be equaled out. After that day, every interaction in the Body of the Bride will result in an injustice: someone owing someone else. If God's mercy ended, He would have to instantly equal out every interaction. However, God's mercy enduring forever, God's lack of equaling out Justice forever, will result in believers loving each other in order to equal out Justice. This loving each other will actually result in the building up of the Body, just like Paul described in Ephesians 4.
These mansions will be stacked on top of each other. For instance, if we assume that the new Jerusalem will be a regular pyramid and each mansion will have a one mile by one mile base with a one mile height, the bottom layer of the new Jerusalem would have 2,250,000 mansions. If each mansion continued to have the same dimensions and were stacked on top of each other, the total number of mansions would be over 1.1 billion mansions. In order for the number of mansions to approximate the number of cells in our physical bodies, the mansions would need to be about 1/4 mile in length, width, and height. In Luke's presentation of the Parable of the Talents (Luke 19:12-28), Jesus stated at the end, those who entered into paradise were put over cities, in proportion to their talents (Reward). Perhaps the reason Jesus told us to store up treasure in heaven now was so that we would end up over more cities/mansions in the new Jerusalem.
Taking this thought in conjunction with the Disclaimer discussion, a large percentage of the occupants of the new Jerusalem will make up the first dozen layers. If these people were at this level because they had very little Reward, where would they come from? One possibility is these layers would consist of everyone who ever existed and was not able to make an intentional choice to follow God prior to the "first death," and then subsequently made the decision to take direction from God.
Look at this Body in light of everything written in the previous comment: a mansion will interact with the adjoining mansions on the same level. In addition, each mansion will lead the mansions under it and take direction from the mansion(s) over it. Finally, everyone will be taking direction from Jesus who is the Head of the Bride. God's mercy endures forever so we can edify (build up) the Body by speaking the truth in love to each other. Justice will never be equaled out again, and that is a good thing.
17And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
Commentary · verse 17
The wall of the new Jerusalem will be about 216 ft. high.
18And the building of the wall thereof was jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto pure glass.
18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
Commentary · verse 18
Pure gold is so soft it can be shaped by hand (and body oils actually corrode it). In fact, gold is so soft and strong it can be pounded so thin that you can see through it.
19The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner 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; the twelfth, amethyst.
21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the several gates was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
19And 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;
20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21And 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.
Commentary · verses 19-21
This verse is the source of the often quoted phrase: "streets of gold." Notice, all of the barriers between mansions (walls and streets) are of gold so thin you can see through it. In our bodies, each cell wall is made up of the thinnest layer of oil, literally a molecule in thickness. When oil is present in lump quantities, it flows and has no structure. However, an oil molecule by itself is very rigid and acts as strong as iron.
22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof.
22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Commentary · verse 22
Further proof the new Jerusalem is the tabernacle/house of God.
Doctrines on this passage
23And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine upon it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb.
23And 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.
Commentary · verse 23
There will be no need for the sun or moon because the Glory of God and Christ will be the light. Christ is the Head and occupies the top. His light is so powerful and able to be seen (through thin gold walls) that everyone experiences "day time."
24And the nations shall walk amidst the light thereof: and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it.
25And the gates thereof shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there):
24And 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 honour into it.
25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
Commentary · verses 24-25
There will be no night.
26and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it: 27and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie: but only they that are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
26And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Commentary · verses 26-27
This chapter presented the Meaning of Life. The Meaning of Life is Church and Marriage. God's purpose is to create a Bride for His Son. Church is the ultimate community solely made up of people (even though God can be part of it). The Ultimate community is Marriage because God is involved. The Meaning of Life is Church (one type of community) in the Ultimate Community (Marriage Covenant with Jesus and God the Father). There were many verses that pointed to Jesus being the Groom and the Church being the Bride: Matthew 9:14-15, Mark 2:19-20, Luke 5:33-35, John 3:29 (John the Baptist was referred to as the "best man"), and Matthew 25:1-10.
Doctrines on this passage
The current heaven and current earth will pass away. They will not be remodeled or improved. They will be taken apart atom by atom and never exist again, because they have been defiled by Satan. Also, heaven no longer needs to hold all the angels and believers prior to the battle of Armageddon, it will have a different purpose. Apparently, the earth will have a different purpose because it no longer has a sea. From Genesis 2:22, Eve was the last creation by God before this verse. In Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, we saw that every creation made by God was more complicated than the previous creation. God created a new heaven and a new earth. These creations were more complicated than Eve.