THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH (Rev 21:1-8)

Rev 21:1-8 describes the new heaven and new earth for us and tells us who will inherit them.  Rev 21:1 says that the first heaven and first earth has passed away.  Heb 1:10-12 confirms this when it says that the heavens and earth will wear out and be rolled up like a scroll.  It follows that by saying that they will also be changed, like a garment.  Rev 21:1 says that there will be a new heaven and a new earth and they will be quite different from the first.  In fact verse 1 also says that there will be no sea, possibly meaning that there will not be any humans on the earth.  As if Revelation has not been symbolic enough up to this point, God now really gets serious with the symbolism.  John next sees something called the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven to the newly reconstructed heaven and earth.  This new Jerusalem is said to be the bride of Christ.  It is said to be the new dwelling place of God, since God now lives with men and within men.  We are also told that there will be no more death, no more pain, no more sorrow, because the old order has passed away.  Men will now live on a new earth in glorified bodies like the one that Jesus had after his resurrection.  God will live with men in the new order.  Anything that two or more ask in the name of Jesus will be granted to them “in that day,” John 16:22-26.  God says in verse 5, “I am making everything new.”  God then goes on to say that all of this will be available to “the one who overcomes.”  However, the one who lives a sinful lifestyle will inherit only the “second death” in the lake of fire.  The Greek word for “new” means utterly renewed and renovated, not a new creation.  Also see 2 Peter 3:13, Isa 65:17 and Matt 24:35.

THE NEW JERUSALEM (Rev 21:9-27)

Next, one of the angels who had been responsible for executing the seven judgments on earth took John away in the Spirit to a high mountain on the new earth and showed him the Holy City, the new Jerusalem coming down out of the sky.  Again we are told that this is the church, the bride of the Lamb.  Following are the characteristics of the bride as John describes them.  Remember, this is really the great multitude of the redeemed, apparently descending in the city which will be their home through all of eternity.

• It shown with the glory of God, with the brilliance of a very precious jewel like jasper, as clear as crystal (remember the sea of glass, as clear as crystal, surrounding the throne of God).
• It had a great high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.  The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates since they provided the way for the Lamb to be born as the lion of the tribe of Judah, and the way for all believers to be part of Abraham’s seed (Jesus) and heirs to the promise, Gal 3:16, 29.  There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west.  This parallels the way that the twelve tribes were encamped around the tabernacle in Numbers 2.  This again emphasizes the historical aspects of the bride.  The Jewish children of God are also a part of the bride.  Ezek 48:30-35 gives us the names of the gates of the millennial city.
• The walls of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the names of the twelve apostles.  Eph 2:19-20 says that believers are fellow citizens with God’s people, members of his household and built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
• Next, the angel who took John to see the city measured it.  He found it to be square and 1200 units on each side (about 1400 miles).  The walls were about 144 units thick (about 200 feet).  It is interesting that the area of the square city is 1200 x 1200 which equals 144,000 units, the same as the number of servants in Rev 7 and 14.  There were said to 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes.  The number 12 in the Bible is said to represent perfection in government and certainly represents the starting point for both the Jewish and gentile churches.  In God’s mathematics he starts with 12 when he is building something holy.  It is only fitting that this represents the dimensions of the Holy City.  It seems to me that the walls represent the two witnesses, the servants from Judah and Israel, and the 144,000.
• The wall was made of jasper.  Again, it seems to me that these represent the servants from Judah and Israel.
• The city was made of made of pure gold, as clear as glass.  Again, this is consistent with the description of the sea of glass, as pure as crystal, surrounding the throne of God in Rev 4:6.  The city is the bride and is the home of the bride.  It is interesting to note that Solomon’s original temple in Jerusalem was overlaid with pure gold on the inside and was adorned with precious jewels, 2 Chr 3:3-9.  We continue to see how the ways that God interacted with his children in the Old Testament represent models of God’s ultimate plans for his people, his bride.
• The foundations of the walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone.  Again the foundation represented the apostles.  Each one of them was said to be decorated with a different precious stone.  Isa 61:10-11 says that a bride adorns herself with jewels.  It further says that through this beauty and perfection God will cause righteousness and praise to arise from his people.
• The twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate being composed of one pearl.  In Matt 13:45-46 we see the parable of the pearl of great value.  When the merchant found one of great value, he sold everything he had so he could buy it.  The church is like a pearl in that it grows in response to an irritation.  Christ gave everything he had on earth, his very life, in order to purchase the church, Eph 5:25.  It may seem strange that the twelve gates are said to be pearls representing the church with each one having the name of a different Jewish tribe written on it.  To me this may represent the fact that Jesus also purchased the Jewish believers.  He died “once for all,” once for all people of the world, Jew or gentile, and for all of the sins of the world, Heb 9:23-28.  God is God of both Jews and gentiles alike, Rom 3:29.
• The great street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
• There was no temple in the city because God the Father and Jesus were the temple.  As John 17:20-23 says, God and Jesus are in us and we are in them.  They are our temple in heaven.
• The glory of God and the lamp of Jesus give the city its light.
• The gates of the city are always open because there is no night there.
• The glory of the nations will be in the city.
• There will not be anyone in the city unless his name is found written in the book of life.