The simple truth is this: we cannot, in our wildest dreams, begin to imagine what God has prepared for His redeemed. Given that we cannot even fathom the depths of the present sin-stained and cursed creation, how much less then can we comprehend that new creation yet to come, far more grand and glorious than the present. John is given a glimpse of it, much like Moses was given a glimpse of the land to which he was chosen to lead God’s people, but only just a glimpse. What John sees and describes for us is not so much that we will comprehend and understand it as much as it is so that we might have hope, a glorious expectation, and one filled with excitement and joy. It is, if you will, a divine teaser in order to hold our attention until the real thing arrives.
Revelation 21:1-22:5:
| 21:1 | Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. |
| 21:2 | And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. |
| 21:3 | And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, |
| 21:4 | and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” |
| 21:5 | And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” |
| 21:6 | Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. |
| 21:7 | “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. |
| 21:8 | “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” |
| 21:9 | Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” |
| 21:10 | And he 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, |
| 21:11 | having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. |
| 21:12 | It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. |
| 21:13 | There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. |
| 21:14 | And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. |
| 21:15 | The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. |
| 21:16 | The city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. |
| 21:17 | And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. |
| 21:18 | The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. |
| 21:19 | The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; |
| 21:20 | the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. |
| 21:21 | And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. |
| 21:22 | I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. |
| 21:23 | And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. |
| 21:24 | The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. |
| 21:25 | In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; |
| 21:26 | and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; |
| 21:27 | and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. |
| 22:1 | Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, |
| 22:2 | in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. |
| 22:3 | There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; |
| 22:4 | they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. |
| 22:5 | And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. |
In our text, John sees something in verses 1 and 2, hears something in verses 3-8 and then is given the quick tour in the remaining verses 21:9-22:5.
The Things John Saw
First, John sees a new heaven and new earth. He tells us the first heaven and earth have passed away. Heaven in the Scriptures can refer to two different locales. It may refer to that place where God’s presence is found, where His throne room exists. Although it might, this locale does not appear to exist within the confines of this space-time continuum we call our universe. Could we see the entire universe from one end to the other and examine it, it is almost certain we would not find this place called heaven where the presence of God seems to reside? It seems to be outside and apart from this material creation in which we now exist and have our being.
Heaven may also refer to the rest of the physical creation apart from the earth that we view by looking at the skies, that is, the sun, moon, the stars, and all that exists out there. The old heaven and earth, the old universe, has passed away. It fled when the great white throne appeared. It was destroyed. It no longer exists. However, a new universe has been created.
John does not tell us how different it is, except that for the earth, at least, there is no sea. There are many questions we could ask to which there are no answers at present. Does this new earth look like the old? Is it the same size? When John says “no sea,” is he referring to the Mediterranean only or are there no large bodies of water that can be called seas or oceans? Do we have the same type of solar system, or how different is it? Is the galactic structure of the universe the same? How large is it? How do the physical laws of this creation differ from the one we live in now? There is very little we know now about the new universe to be created by our God. However, there will be enough time to study it in the future.
Then John sees the New Jerusalem. This is the place that our Lord went to prepare for us. John 14:2-3:
| 14:2 | “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. |
| 14:3 | “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. |
This is called the holy city. It is holy because it has never been tainted with sin; only the redeemed and justified will ever enter in it, and God Himself will dwell there with His people. It is called the New Jerusalem. The old city in which our Lord was crucified ceased to be with the passing of the old heavens and earth. This is the new center and capital of the new eternal kingdom.
This new city comes down out of heaven from God. Heaven here either refers to the place of God’s current abode or the new universe that God has created. As he watches it, John describes it as coming down. In all probability, this city does not ever land upon the earth, the old or the new. It is far too large; instead, it orbits the earth from where it sheds its light upon her. It is made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. This is the abode of the church, the bride of Christ. The wedding feast is now past, and the bride will now live with her husband.
The 1000 year kingdom, as great as it will be, cannot compare to this new age that is about to dawn, an age in which sin will not exist.
The Things John Heard
John then hears two voices speaking; first, a voice from the throne in verses 3 and 4, then the voice of the One who sits on the throne, that is, God Himself. The voice from the throne is probably an angelic messenger, for he speaks of what God will do in the third person while God speaks in the first person in verses 5 through 8.
The voice from the throne announces first that God will now dwell with His people. Throughout almost all human history, God has localized His presence in heaven while humanity dwelt upon the earth. Man’s sin and transgression made this separation necessary, for if God’s presence had dwelt among men, humanity would have been consumed and destroyed by the overwhelming majesty and holiness of God Himself. But humanity, now redeemed and perfected through the person of Jesus Christ, can now stand before a holy God and live. What God had originally intended is now brought to pass; God will now dwell with His people in a new perfect creation.
God will eradicate all the results of sin. These are the first things that have now passed away. There will be no more mourning or sorrow. There will be no more pain or death. These are passed away.
Then God speaks, confirming what the voice from the throne has announced and declaring that all this is free for any who desire it, that those who overcome will inherit these things and have a new relationship with God and that those who do not respond and seek the water of life, who do not overcome, will face the second death, the lake of fire.
Just as the voice from the throne declares the first things have passed away, the one who sits on the throne speaks, declaring that He is making all things new. The old has passed; the new has been created. The LORD God says to John, “Write, for these words are faithful and true!” This is not just a fanciful dream by John; this is the truth. This will come to pass! You can bank on this!
He then declares, “It is done.” What God intended from the beginning has been accomplished. His perfect plan has been carried out. He identifies Himself as the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. This designation is one God uses of Himself both in the Old Testament and in the New. In Isaiah 41:4b, God declares, “I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.” In chapter 44:6, He states, “I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.” And in 48:12, “I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” In Revelation, the designation “Alpha and Omega” is used of the first person of the Trinity in Revelation 1:8 and this passage. The designation is used of our Lord, the second person of the Trinity, in 22:13. In addition, the designation of “the First and the Last” is used of our Lord in 1:17 and 2:8. The Lord God is He that existed before this universe came into existence; it was He who brought His perfect plan for the universe into existence, and it is He who will bring it to completion.
The water of Life then is offered to all who thirst without cost. This was true in Adam’s day, in Abraham’s day, in the days in which our Lord walked on earth during His first advent. It is true in our day, the age of the church; it will be true in the dark days of the Tribulation and the glorious days of the kingdom. It has been and always will be true. The water of life, salvation, is a free gift to all who will accept it.
The one who overcomes will inherit these things and have a unique father-son relationship with God. Again just as in the letters to the seven churches, the one who overcomes is the one who has placed his faith in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 John 5:4-5 states:
| “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” |
Salvation is freely given and received by faith. Those who do not respond in faith will only inherit the judgment of God, the lake of fire, which is the second death. The first death is the separation of the soul/spirit from the physical body; the second death is separation from God, the creator and sustainer, for the rest of eternity.
The Tour
An angel, one of the seven who poured out the seven final bowls of God's judgment upon the earth, perhaps the same one who showed John the judgment of the great prostitute, Babylon, tells John to come for he will show John the bride, the wife of the Lamb. John is transported in the Spirit to a great and very high mountain where he sees the holy city, the New Jerusalem descending from heaven. John had already glimpsed this in verse 2 of this chapter, but now he gets a closer look, a quick tour if you will.
As it descends, it gleams and sparkles, as John states, like a very costly stone. John adds as a stone of crystal clear jasper. Today we would have probably used diamond as the jewel of comparison for its brilliance and refraction properties. This brilliance is identified as the glory of God. He now dwells with His people, and the city is filled with God’s glory.
The outer perimeter of the city is what John spends most time describing, the walls and the gates. These walls and gates are not defensive structures, for there is no need for defense in the new creation. These structures are commemorative or decorative in nature. The wall is 216 feet high (verse 17), made of jasper with twelve gates, three on each side of the city, which has four equal sides. At each gate, there was an angelic being stationed. The gates themselves were each a single huge pearl, and each was named after one of the tribes of Israel. The wall’s foundation had twelve layers, each adorned with a particular gemstone and each named after one of the twelve apostles.
John is also given the measurements of the city. It is enormous, far larger than any city ever built. It is 1500 miles in length and width and ,remarkably, in height as well. This is a description, not of a terrestrial city, but a celestial one, one that orbits over the earth shedding the glory of God upon the earth. If it orbited above the earth at the same distance, the moon now orbits, it would appear to be about seven-tenths the size of the moon. At a closer distance, it would appear much larger.
John did not see a temple in this city. There was no need of one since the city itself was the dwelling place of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. They themselves are the temple, and all its inhabitants have access to them. The temple was necessary when humanity was stained with sin, but now glorified and perfected, it is not needed.
Nor is there a need for an external light source such as the sun or moon. That is not to say there is no sun nor moon or moons, only that there is no need of them. The glory of God Himself and that of the Lamb illuminate the city. This gleaming city instead sheds its light upon the earth. It will be continually open for all whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life to enter it. Humanity, now able to glorify God, will bring their glory into it. It will never be touched or tainted with sin.
Within this city is now found the throne of the LORD God and the throne of the Lamb. From the throne, there will flow a river of the water of life. Along each side of the river of the water of life was the tree of life, a tree that had twelve kinds of fruits, one each month. The leaves of this tree were for healing the nations.
This raises a couple of difficult questions. Why is there any need for healing? Why are the water of life and the tree of life necessary? These may be questions to which we do not have answers at this point in the revelation of God. It is, however, the opinion of this student of the Word of God that this refers to the ministry of this city during the Kingdom period. This city was not created at the same time God created the new heavens and earth: it was made earlier. It is the place our Lord went to prepare for us in His Father’s house. It is in existence at the beginning of the Kingdom but does not come to our world at that time. It is the true home of the bride during the Kingdom, and from it will come the healing that will take place during the 1000 year reign of our Lord. During this time, there will be a need for healing for the peoples of the earth and for the water and tree of life. Following the Kingdom, after the judgment and the passing of the old heavens and earth, with the creation of the new, there will be no more death according to Revelation 21:4. However, until then, it is needed.
In the new creation, there will be no curse. This is the curse placed upon creation at the fall, that things decay and die, that there is disorder and breakdown. The new creation has never been contaminated with sin, and therefore there is no curse. How this will change all the physical laws of the universe remains to be seen. God’s throne will no longer be in heaven but in the city of New Jerusalem. God’s servants will serve Him and see His face, as do the angels in heaven today. There will never be any night. Day and night will be much the same, for God, Himself will illuminate His servants. They will serve Him and reign with Him for the rest of eternity.
What will the new heavens and earth be like? Not much is told to us except that our home will be the very dwelling place of the Lord God and the Lamb. There will be no curse, no sin, no pain or suffering, no death. It is hard, if not impossible, to imagine. What challenges will there be? What adventures? What new knowledge and fields of study? What new life will there be? It is mind-numbing! Mind-blowing! Mind-boggling! We do not have a clue! All we can say is that following the Kingdom and final judgment, God will recreate the heavens and earth starting not just a new chapter for humanity but a whole new book.
