9Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal. 12The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. 13There were three gates on each side – east, north, south and west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. 17Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel). 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.
19The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21The twelve gates were made of pearls-each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.
22I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26And all the nations will bring their glory and honour into the city. 27Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Revelation 21:22-27
It struck me in reading this remaining portion of chapter 21 multiple times that we have a new earth with some things missing. But it also occurred to me that we won’t miss any of these elements at all! In fact the New Earth is more aligned with God’s original plan, so we need to relax and enjoy it.
- No Temple
- No Sun
- No Moon
- No evil
- No sin
- No sea
- No death
- No crying
- No pain
- No sorrow
- No tears
- No curse
- No night
- No need for Guards – Open Gates
In other words, the perfect gated community! Who wouldn’t want to be there? I would say we wouldn’t miss any of those things in the list if we think about it. What is there that we would lack? I expect you would say, “No Temple!” Why is there no temple? Surely we will have church? My dear friends, think about it! Look again at what John has told us. I have told you already, we need to add the first five verses of chapter 22 to John’s summary of what he saw of the New Jerusalem and the New Earth.
1Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations. 3No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 22:1-5
Do you see why we need to combine these sections together? As I have taught in Deeper Bible and throughout the Gems, it is important to find the body of text or sense unit that hangs it all together. I am sure you can see this portion is all about the New Jerusalem. But we also know John was told by one of the 7 angels with the bowls:
. . . 9“Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
“Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
Revelation 21:9-10
We have been trying to understand this portion over the last number of Gems, since the start of the Beautiful Beyond Description Gem series. How can the angel take John to show him the bride and turn around and then show him a city. Simple: symbolically the bride is the city. The city is the dwelling place of the people of God and the bride in turn is the people of God. You will know by now this portion is rich with symbolism and superlatives. The language used is filled with inflationary description that seems too good to be true. Have you recognized that John has also given us a structural sandwich? It is formed by a repetition that John himself was told by the LORD Himself. I will give it to you again in its stark simplicity.
And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 21:5
Bounded by:
Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.”
Revelation 22:6
This whole unbelievable section is framed start to finish with the words, this which is written for you is Trustworthy and True. Why? Because Ian, from Berean Insights and Wycliffe Bible Translators, has told you? No! Because John, one of Jesus’ disciples, and the one Jesus loved has recorded it for us? No! Because it came from an angel of the LORD? No! It is Trustworthy and True because it came from the One sitting on the Throne, The LORD God Almighty and the Lamb. That is why I have coloured Trustworthy and True – gold; because it is Gold Standard. Has it occurred to you that the one part of Revelation that is most unbelievable: the portion most commentators describe as having been written in over-the-top language is that portion which is the most wonderful, twoterful, exponentialifullerthanlifefull of anything in John’s letter. You mean what is written at the end of Revelation is reality; true and trustworthy realism? Yes, that is exactly what I am saying, along with John and Jesus, the LORD and the Lamb of God! Besides He has told us that twice so that it might sink in and stay with us.
Now having said all that, allow me to remind you of what John has written, prefaced by the question: why is there no temple in heaven?
The Tent of Meeting, the Tabernacle and the Temple, along with the Holy of Holies are all symbolic of the Presence of God. Why then is there no Temple in the New Earth? We encountered that same dilemma with the thought that there was no sea on the New Earth. We came to understand why there is no sea on the New Earth – see Gem 2378. Allow John to explain once more why there is no temple!
3I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5And the one sitting on the throne1 said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” 6And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
Revelation 21:3-7
I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Revelation 21:22
For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 22:3-5
Is it clear enough for you now?
- God’s home is now among his people!
- He will live with them and they will be his people.
- God Himself will be with them.
- The throne of God will be there.
- They will see His face.
- His name will be written on their foreheads.
- The LORD God will shine on them.
And where will this be?
On the New Earth!
John is describing the indescribable! I have already told you not to focus on the impossibility but rather to take in the magnitude of the NEW. He has told us He is making everything new. Hence we have to adjust our expectation to take in that which is more than we can imagine, the reality of which is MORE; not less. God has told us He is moving His residence from Heaven to Earth. Actually what is being described here is the completion of the restoration of the Life of the Age to Come. God is restoring, bringing to consummation, life as He always intended LIFE to be. You have seen the fact that there are multiple allusions or links between the first chapters of Genesis and the closing chapters of Revelation. It stands to reason that God would dwell again with His Redeemed People on the New Earth. Hence His residence is now once again among His people. As it was in the days of Adam (not Noah); walking and talking with God in the garden in the cool of the day ( // Genesis 3:8) without the hide and seek.
Human beings have not gone to heaven to be with the LORD forever. Rather the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY & THE LAMB OF GOD have brought Heaven to the NEW EARTH. Paul was right when he wrote “”Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.” It truly is mind blowing; beyond our comprehension to imagine. It will be a reality and not a fantasy, the likes of which will be multiple times more true than you or I could ever have imagined!
Heaven is better than you could ever possibly imagine, but the New Earth is far better than anything you could possibly conceive.
Ian
Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you.
Dr. Seuss
On the New Earth in the Life of the Age to Come, whatever you imagined will be NEWER than NEW and better by far.
Ian
Some drink from the fountain of knowledge, others just rinse and spit.
Dr Robert Anthony
Don’t rinse and spit out anything John has told us here at the end of Revelation. Rather take it all in and suck it like a sweetie.
Ian with apologies to Drs Basil Brown & Robert Anthony