ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Bible: What Does Revelation 21 Teach Us About the New Jerusalem?

Updated on September 15, 2016

The Apostle John

200px-Hans_Memling_039.jpg
200px-Hans_Memling_039.jpg

The New Jerusalem

300PX-~1.JPG
300PX-~1.JPG

The New Heavens and New Earth: Renovated or Recreated?

Will God merely renovate the old Earth and heavens, or will He create them completely new?

See results

"Pearly" Gates

view quiz statistics

The New Jerusalem or the Lake of Fire?

200px-Jheronimus_Bosch_115_inner_wing...
200px-Jheronimus_Bosch_115_inner_wing...

Revelation 21: The New Jerusalem Descends to the Earth

The Apostle Peter foretold that “the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and the works will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10).

Likewise, the Apostle John records that he “saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (v. 1a).


[Will God create this new Earth “from scratch,” or will He merely renovate the old Earth?

The language of Peter strongly suggests the former.]


John also notes that the new Earth had no sea (v. 1b).

[That the new creation is one large landmass intrigues the apostle enough for him to mention this fact.]


The Bride of Christ

At this point, the apostle observes the New Jerusalem descending from “heaven” (perhaps from outer space where it had been suspended as a satellite during the millennium); Christ has fulfilled His promise to prepare a beautiful place where His people would dwell eternally (v. 2; cf. Jn. 14:2).

Another voice from heaven announces that both the tabernacle of God (Jesus, or the New Jerusalem?) and God Himself will be with His people, and He will dwell with them in perfect conditions: no crying, no death, no sorrow, no pain.

The past is gone forever (vv. 3-4). The Father declares to John that he should write these true and faithful words: “Behold, I make all things new” (v. 5).

[Is this the first time that the Father speaks directly to John and not through an interpreting angel?]

Proclaiming Himself the eternal God, He promises to share His life (“the fountain of the water of life”) with everyone who thirsts; God will make co-heirs with His Son all those who overcome (commit themselves to Christ, cf. 1 Jn. 5:5), and will regard them as mature sons (vv. 6-7).

However, those who practice various evil ways will burn in the lake of fire and sulphur; they will experience the “second death” (v. 8).

One of the bowl judgment angels now approaches John to show him “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (v. 9).

One would expect a description of the Church to follow, since she is the bride of Christ (cf. Eph. 5:25-27, 32; Rev. 19:7); instead, the angel transports John to a high vantage point from which he shows the apostle the New Jerusalem descending from outer space (v. 10).

[Christ has so united the Church to her eternal abode that when one speaks of the bride, one may well mean both the city and its inhabitants.]

God’s glory illumines the city’s transparent substance (v. 11).

The New Jerusalem has a wall one hundred forty-four cubits high (@ 216 feet) with twelve “pearly gates”: each having its own personal angel standing there, each having the name of one of the children of Israel written on it, and each situated at one of the points of the compass (vv. 12-13, 17, 21a).

Constructed of a clear substance, the wall itself has twelve foundations, each one inscribed with the name of an apostle (vv. 14, 18a) and each one made of a different-colored precious stone (vv. 19-20).

John’s interpreting angel carries a goldenrod, an instrument with which he intended to measure the city, the gates, and the wall (v. 15; cf. Ezekiel 40).

Made of pure, transparent gold, the city itself stands one thousand three hundred eighty miles high; its length and width extend by the same dimensions (vv. 16, 18b).

Likewise, its streets are composed of gold (v. 21b).

Unlike the “heaven” from which the previous action in the book proceeded, the New Jerusalem has no temple; the omnipotent Father and the Lamb take its place (v. 22).

[People will worship within the “environment” of the Godhead.]

God’s glory, the Lamb’s light, illumines the city; the New Jerusalem will not need the lights of the new heavens (v. 23).

Regenerate kings and citizens living during the millennium will enter the city through the eternally opened gates, and bring their glory and honor with them (vv. 24-26).

Only those whose names God has written eternally in the Lamb’s Book of Life will enter therein; the Lord will permit nothing unholy or unclean to come inside (v. 27).

© 2013 glynch1

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)