And He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (11) having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. (12) Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: (13) three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south and three gates on the west.(14) now the wall of he city has twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb………(22)But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (23) The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.

Chapter 21 and 22 of the book of Revelation contain almost all the Bible records concerning the eternal state. The judgments are past, the terrible plagues on the earth are ended and the faithful begin with a view of heaven coming down to earth following the Great White Throne judgment. John sees a whole new creation spring into being. This brings us full circle to the Bible again – we are told a new heaven and earth are coming where Jesus will continue His reign not only upon earth but throughout the entire reach if the vast universe of God. The basis of redemption was settled – redemption is complete and the redeemed are age home in glory. Not one thing is left undone. The passage suggests strongly that the new Jerusalem is to be the capital of the whole new universe.

Present universe in its farthest reaches says this present universe is running down – devolution, not evolution; decaying, losing its energy. But in the new heavens and earth apparently that law is reversed. There will be no more filth to be cleansed by salt water. Then we will live in close intimacy not only with the Lord Himself but each other as well. This will be the the dwelling place of God – the place where God lives with His people. In the new temple and earth there is no temple because Jesus himself, God in man is the temple. Light is not created but light is the glory of God and the lamp is the Lamb. Night, sin and sorrow is forever gone for the dwellers of that holy city.

Angels as gatekeepers may be the mark of dignity or an indication that the angels are in control of who enters. The gates are marked with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve foundations are inscribed with the names of the twelve apostles indicating that the city include the nation of Israel of the Old Testament as well as the universal church of the New Testament.

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. (2)Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and he their God. (4)And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away”. (5)Then He who sat on it the throne said “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

The book of Revelation is believed to be written by the apostle John. John received his revelation about the victory of God in the face of terror and evil during a period of great persecution for the church. John wanted Christians of Asia to know of God’s ultimate victory to encourage them to perseverance and faith in the midst of persecution. The subject today is a “new heaven and a new earth”. The Messianic judgments are now followed by the last of the last things: the new order and the bliss of the redeemed, which is really the end of our pilgrimage – the pilgrimage of the church of Jesus Christ as well

In a sense we have here what we might expect for paradise lost in Genesis to paradise regained in Revelation, chapter 21. So this is likely to be about the eternal state of the the heavens and a new earth. John’s writing of this witnesses to the fact of man’s immortal longing includes such a vision of the future. The new heaven and new earth is a result of the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The dream of a new heaven and earth is witness to spiritual man’s faith in God.

God shall dwell among men and they shall be his people describes the story of Scripture: God in His marvelous grace through the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We love God because He first loved us. C.s.Lewis writes that “The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledge, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of out inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory means good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgement and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.”

It the Spirit who gives life: the flesh profits nothing……(68) But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Our verses today were written by the apostle John and address the antidote to spiritual defection – in other cases the defection may be due to unresolved doubts or unanswered questions about the Bible -such as how do you resolve the seeming contradictions in the Bible; how can you reconcile the creation account with modern science; how can a loving and powerful God permit all the evil that goes on in the world? if God is sovereign then aren’t we just robots with no free will. How do you handle the kind of hard trials and disappointments? How do you persevere in your faith when things don’t make sense – what is the antidote to spiritual defection.

To begin we need to acknowledge there are hard truths in God’s works you don’t like or understand. We must come with a teachable heart. if you come to God with that attitude you would walk with God. You may not like what the Bible sovereignity choosing some for salvation and passing over others but Jesus repeatedly teaches that. -it is taught from Genesis to Revelation. But if we accept the parts of the Bible that fit with what we like we are not following Jesus as Lord but rather ourselves as lord.

How do we submit to hard truths. We must be born again of the Spirit. Jesus explains all your learning and religious activities are incapable of getting you into heaven but that which is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. It is the Spirit who gives life, points to God as sovereign and must impart new life to us.

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Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; ; and the number of them was ten thousand times, ten thousands, and thousands of thousands. (12)saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the lamb, who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (13) and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under and glory with a loud voice: strength and honor and glory and blessings every creatures which is in heaven and on the earth and such as in the sea, and all that are in them. I heard saying: . “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne and to the and to the Lamb foreve. (14) who was the slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and blessing”. (13) Blessibg and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the four elders then the twenty four living elders fell down and worshipped Him. Who lives forever and ever.

Revelation was written during a persecution for Christians – the Roman emperor officially sanctioned the torture and extermination of Christians whom he blamed for the great fire in Rome in A.d.64. The early church fathers ascribed the authorization of Revelation to John the apostle. John received his revelation about the victory of God in the face of terror and evil during a time of great persecution for the church. God’s impending judgment of the wicked Roman Empire is a prelude to His judgment at the end of time. John’s message is that God has already triumphed over evil and that He will destroy all evil at the end of time. John was confident that a decisive victory and emphasized that he was writing what has been personally revealed to him.

The primary emphasis of the book of Revelation is the triumphant Christ who is unveiled in His glory.

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