“The New Jerusalem” (What Will Heaven Be Like?)
Revelation 21:1-22:6 Emmanuel Christian Church 10.27.24
INTRODUCTION: Last week, we witnessed the first destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Since then, the city has been destroyed once and rebuilt twice. It has always been “ground zero” for Muslim, Jew and Christian. And while it remains central to human events, past present and future- it is NOT the ultimate destination of God’s plan for mankind. God’s Word promises that there is coming a NEW heaven, a NEW earth, and a New JERUSALEM!
PROPOSITION: We’ve seen the Old Jerusalem, and it wasn’t a pretty sight! But what about the New Jerusalem (not to mention the New Heaven and Earth)?
This morning, we’re going to visit that new city! What we’ll see there is going to give you real HOPE!
Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Revelation 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
So, what will heaven and the NEW JERUSALEM be like?
It Won't Be The Same Old Thing!
- All the "old things" will pass away.
- Man reforms and fashions the things that already are.
- God promises to recreate things as they were originally
intended to be!
- That recreation begins right now, with US!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
- What God has done for us as individuals, He will do for all of the Creation!
APPLICATION: Most of us love the old familiar things of life. But, we need to not love them so dearly as to refuse their release. When God calls us to "let go" it’s because He wants to give us something better! If your hands and heart are filled with the old, broken things of this world that God has said will “pas away”, you will never be able to take hold of the things He has waiting for us beyond this short life.
- Creation "as we know it" will pass away...
- There will be a new Heaven and a new Earth.
- What will it be like? Nobody knows. God didn't give specifics.
Would we understand them if he did?
- It is my opinion that to think the new Heaven and Earth will be
like this present creation is foolish. How much more beautiful and perfect will they be?
APPLICATION: Think for a moment about the glories of this present life- then realize that they will pale compared to what God has prepared for us!
- Evil and imperfection will pass away...
- Mourning will be a thing of the past because death will be a
thing of the past.
- Crying will be no more because broken bones and broken
hearts will have gone the way of the "old order”.
- The wicked will pass away with that "old order”...
- The cowardly - those who rejected Christ in the face of
human opposition.
- The unbelieving - those who have refused to acknowledge
the reality of God's authority.
- The vile, those who love the perverse and wicked over the
righteous things of this life.
- Murderers, the sexually immoral, witches, idolaters and
liars will all be REMOVED from the new order. APPLICATION: If you are a Christian, everything that makes you
sigh and cry is destined to go away and never come back!
Revelation 21:9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And 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. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Revelation 21:15 The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16 The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17 He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man’s measurement, which the angel was using. 18 The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls,
each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Revelation 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.
What will the New Jerusalem be like?
It Won't Be Like Pittsburgh!
- Pittsburgh is the home of the "Pirates" and "Steelers", the New Jerusalem is the home of God and His people!
- Who in their right mind would want to live in a city of bandits and thieves? You can tell no advertising agency put Pittsburgh's image together!
- Look at the difference in the names of this heavenly city: it is called the "New Jerusalem" (vs.2), "The Bride" (vs.9) and the "The Holy City" (vs. 10)
- Pittsburgh is known for its sooty steel industry, Heaven is known for the brilliance of God's presence.
- In the 1948, the Pittsburgh community of Donora was so overwhelmed with smog that day was turned to night, and over 20 people died of asphixiation!
- Three times, the fact is mentioned that there is no need for the sun in Heaven, for God's own radiating light serves as it’s illumination!
- Pittsburgh's foundations were laid at the confluence of 3 rivers, Heaven's foundations are of 12 different precious stones!
- Foundations of precious stones and streets of gold are not the only amazing feature of Heaven...
- The city itself is a cube based upon multiples of twelve- representing the faithfulness of God's people. (twelve tribes, twelve apostles)
- Pittsburgh is known for its bridges, the New Jerusalem is known for its gates.
- The gates themselves are twelve in their number.
- They face in all directions- suggesting that God's people will be gathered from all regions of the earth.
- They are constructed of 12 mammoth pearls!The gates are inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes (God is faithful to keep his promises made to Israel so long ago).
- The center of Pittsburgh is old and crumbling, the center of Heaven is the Throne of God! What does that look like?
Revelation 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
Revelation 22:6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”
CONCLUSION: These glories are not for everyone.
Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The most important question you’ll ever ask yourself - “Is my name written n the Lamb’s Book of Life?” That is the singular entrance requirement of Heaven!