Revelation 21
Donnie's Teaching Notes
PowerPoint
Rev. 21:1
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away (disappeared), and there was no longer any sea.
• John 14:2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
• Visions of what Jesus has been building for 2000 years
• God’s agenda for the present world that we live in is re-creation, restoration, and renewal.
• No divisions among the people.
Rev. 21:2
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride (speaks of intimacy, relationship) beautifully dressed for her husband.
• Everything we make is a little “crooked” anything we are involved in is tainted with sin
• Heaven will start with God, not man
• God’s dwelling place isn’t replaced, but relocated
• Biblical thought always places man on a redeemed earth, not in a heavenly realm removed from earth
Rev. 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God (the home 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.
• Wouldn’t you like to live in a city with no sin?
• Mankind lost the ability to dwell with God in the Garden of Eden
• Direct, unmarred fellowship between God and His people
Rev. 21:4
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."
• The first thing God will do is, like a parent, wipe away our tears
• No more tears – no emotional pain, no physical pain, no deadly car accidents, no cancer, no chronic pain, no injustice, no tsunamis, no loneliness. Removal of ALL sorrows. "The place of No More!"
• No Death - Death is not natural, pain is not natural. We were not created to die.
Rev. 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."
• “I am making” (note the present tense). 2nd law of thermodynamics reversed? Instead of universe running down, it's building up.
• Suggests an ongoing process of creation
• Heaven is a continuous new beginning
• I Know it sounds too good to be true…
• But Jesus affirms that we trust this promise
Rev. 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.
• People are thirsty for God
• Mankind will drink anything to satisfy thirst
• No more polluted fountains to drink from – only fresh, clean pure water
• How much do we pay for the water of life?
Rev. 21:7
He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
• Promises are made in the 7 letters (Rev 2,3) to those who conquer
• Those who don’t overcome will not make it into heaven
• Those who do overcome are saved by the good works of Jesus, not their own
• Some people go to heaven. Some people go to hell. Everybody lives forever.
Rev. 21:8
But the cowardly (Those who shrink, and lack courage, when they should stand), the unbelieving (Reject Jesus), the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters (worship the beast) and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
• Here’s a list of whose not getting in…
• Q’s: Does everyone go to heaven? Do you want these kind of people in heaven? Who do you want to go to heaven?
• This kind of behavior will NOT get you into heaven
Rev. 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.
-
In heaven, the relationship between Jesus and the Church is described as the relationship between a bridegroom and bride.
Rev. 21:10
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.
• This is the capital city of the earth
• Both Israel of the Old Testament and the Church of the New Testament (The Bride of Christ) have their home here - forever
Rev. 21:11
It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
Rev. 21:12
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.
• The Gates are named for the 12 tribes of Israel. Access to this city is through Israel. During the Millennium there will be many other cities on earth, but no city will be like this.
• The city will shine like a multi-faceted jewel refracting light
• The city is surrounded by a great high wall
Rev. 21:13-14
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.
• The city gates are memorials to the 12 Tribes and the 12 Apostles
• The gates are where people enter and leave this city
• The Millennial citizens living outside the city on the New Earth will travel to the city through these gates
Rev. 21:15-16
The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 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.
•The city’s dimensions are immense
• 1400-1500 miles in width, height and length
Rev. 21:17-18
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.
• 216 feet – this may refer to the width of the walls
• Jasper - a transparent stone like a diamond
• Transparent gold is not an earthly element, suggesting new creations
Rev. 21:19-20
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.
• Let your imagination go! A kaleidoscope of light and glory
Rev. 21:19-20
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.
Rev. 21:21
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.
• What we place great value on today, here on earth, is used as asphalt in heaven
Rev. 21:22
I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
• Some teach there is no temple
• But it says “There is no temple in the city”
• An interesting solution - when the New Jerusalem descends from heaven, it will hover directly above the earth
• The Millennial Temple may be the connector between the city and the earth
Rev. 21:23-24
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.
• God Himself will be the light source for the New Jerusalem
• All the nations on earth will bring their gifts of worship to King Jesus
Rev. 21:25-27
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. [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.
• Only people who obey God live in this city
• Sin will be a thing of the past in the New Jerusalem
• Outside the New Jerusalem, the new earth may still have a taint of sin during the Millennium
