A survey of the last Days

Bill Woody

Prophecy • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Revelation 19:9–10

Prophecy

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A survey of the last Days

(Revelation 19:9-10)

9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

I. The church will be saved from the tribulation. (Rev. 4:1-4), (Rev. 3.7-13), (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), (1 Corinthians 15:51-53), (1 Thessalonians 5:9)

II. Names of the Tribulation.

A. The Great Tribulation. (Matthew 24), (Daniel 12:1) (Zeph. 1),( Jeremiah 30:7, 32:6-15)

B. The Day of the Lord. (Zechariah 12-14), (Joel 1:15, 2-3), (Rev. 14:14-19), (Isaiah 2), (Isaiah 13), (I Thessalonians 5:2) C. Trouble or Tribulation. (Deut. 4:25-31),

III. The reason for the Tribulation. (Deut. 4:25-31)

IV. The Tribulation was foretold by the prophets.

A .God told Moses in the very beginning. (Deut. 4:25-31)

A. As foretold by Isaiah. Isaiah2:10-22), (Isaiah 24)

B. As foretold by Jesus. (Matthew 24), (Acts 2:15-20)

B. As foretold by John. (Revelation 6), (Revelation 19:9-21)

V. The timing of the Tribulation. Daniel 9:24-27 Revelation 11:2-3 Daniel 12:11- 12,

VI. The first 3 ½ Years of the Tribulation.

A. The Anti-Christ will confirm a covenant for 7 years. (Daniel 9:27)

B. He will re-build the Jewish temple.

C. He will break the covenant in the Middle, 3 ½ years. (Daniel 9:27)

D. He will set up an image of himself in the Temple. (Daniel 9:27, (Rev. 19:. Revelation 13:5)

VII. The great Tribulation. (Daniel 9:24), ( Matthew 24:21), (Matthew 24:15)

A. The beginning of the Great Tribulation. (Matthew 24:15-30),

B. The End of the Great Tribulation. (Matthew 24:29-30)

VIII. The survivors of the Tribulation. (Revelation 7:13-17)

IX. The battle of Armageddon. (Zechariah 12-14), (Joel 1:15, 2-3), (Rev. 14:14-19), (Isaiah 2), (Isaiah 13), (I Thessalonians 5:2)

X. The judgment o the nations. (Matthew 25: 31-46), (Revelation 19:11.21)

XI. The beginning of the Earthly Reign of Christ. (Revelation 20:1-6)

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Notes: Six times in Revelation 20:2-7, the millennial kingdom is specifically said to be 1000 years in length. If God wished to communicate “a long period of time,” He could have easily done so without explicitly and repeatedly mentioning an exact time frame.

1). The unconditional covenants demand a literal, physical return of Christ to establish the kingdom.

2) The Abrahamic covenant promised Israel a land, a posterity and ruler, and a spiritual blessing (Genesis 12:1-3).

3). The Palestinian covenant promised Israel a restoration to the land and occupation of the land (Deuteronomy 30:1-10).

4). The Davidic covenant promised Israel forgiveness—the means whereby the nation could be blessed (2 Samuel 7:10-13).

5).The word millennium is not in the Bible, but neither is the word grandfather, but the Bible is full of grandfathers.

6). Millennium is from Mille, which means thousand and annum, which means year.

7) Some insist that this is a symbol for a long period of time- Dr. David cooper, commenting on correct Bible interpretation said “when the plain sense of the Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense: therefore take every word at it’s primary, ordinary, usual literary meaning, unless the facts of the context indicate otherwise.”

Conditions during the 1000 years of Jesus’ earthly reign:

Israel and the Millennium

1). There will be peace. (Micah 4:2-4); (Isaiah 2:1-5, 11:10, 65-66), Isaiah 32:17-18), (Psalms 72),

2) There will be comfort. (Isaiah 40:1-2)

3). There will be no poverty or sickness. (Amos 9:13-15; Joel 2:28-29).

4) It will be a kingdom of righteousness. (Isaiah 35)

5) It will be a kingdom of Joy. (Isaiah 65:17-25)

6). Only the nations that God saves will enter into the kingdom. (Matthew 25:41)

7). Israel’s blindness will be removed and all Israel will be saved. (Romans 11:25-26), (Revelation 7:1-7)

6). God will make a new covenant with Israel. (Jeremiah 31:33), (Jeremiah 30 18:-31:40).

8) Israel under Christ’s rule will fulfill the promise to bless all the nations of the earth. (Genesis 12:3, 18-17-18), (Isaiah 27), (Acts 3:19-21).

9) Israel will re-claim all of her promised lands and it will be dived equally among the tribes. (Amos 9:9-15) The Church in the Millennium

1). The Church and Israel will be united together under the rule of Christ. (II Timothy 2:12), (John 17:24)

2). The Church will reign with Christ assisting him in his government. (Revelation 5:10-20:4), (I Corinthians 6:2-4), (Hebrews 12:22), (Zech. 6:13) Satan in the Millennium Creation in the Millennium

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A. Satan bound for 1000 years. (verse1-4)

B. Thrones are set up, Saints Rule with Christ. (Verse 4,6), (Jeremiah 31:1-9 and 31:38-40), (Daniel 7:25-27), (Daniel 7:21-22) (I Corinthians 6:3, ), (I Corinthians 15:20-28), (Acts 15:15-18),(II Tim. 2:11-12), (Jude 14:14-15), (Revelation 5:10), (Rev. 3:20-22), (Rev. 20:6)

C. They Reign with Christ 1000 years. (Verse 5), McGee, J. V. (1991). Vol. 60: Thru the Bible commentary:

1). First of all, there can be no Millennium until Satan is removed from the earthly scene. You could not have an ideal state down here as long as Satan is running loose

2). In the second place, the curse of sin must be removed from the physical earth before a Millennium can be established. Scripture prophesies that the desert will blossom like a rose. If you live along the coast in California, the desert blossoms like a rose, but in eastern California, the desert is not blossoming like a rose. The curse of sin has not yet been removed from this earth

3). In the third place, the resurrection of the Old Testament saints must take place at the beginning of the thousand years. If they were raised before the Great Tribulation, they would have to stand around and wait for the Millennium. There is no need for them to do that, and the Lord is not going to raise them until the Tribulation is over. Daniel makes this very clear: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:1–2). This is talking about Israel. Following the Great Tribulation period will be the resurrection of the Old Testament saints (see Isa. 25:8–9). Only Christ will raise the dead (see John 5:21, 25, 28–29), so He must come for that purpose.

4). the Millennium is the final testing of man under ideal conditions. This is the answer to those who say there is nothing wrong in man which circumstances and conditions cannot change. Man is an incurable, an incorrigible sinner. Even at the end of the Millennium, he is still in rebellion against God. The rebellion in the human heart and the depraved nature of man are impossible for any man to comprehend. If you and I could see ourselves as God sees us, we could not stand ourselves. But we think we are pretty good and that we are very nice people—do we not? The Millennium is the final testing of mankind before the beginning of the eternal state.

5). The Millennium is God’s answer to the prayer, “Thy kingdom come.” When we pray the prayer which we mistakenly call the Lord’s Prayer, we say, “Thy kingdom come … in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10). That is the Kingdom which He is going to establish here on earth, and it is called the Millennium. This is the Kingdom which was promised to David (see 2 Sam. 7:12–17; 23:5). God took an oath relative to its establishment (see Ps. 89:34–37). This is the Kingdom predicted in the psalms and in the prophets (see Ps. 2; 45; 110; Isa. 2:1–5; 11:1–9; 60; 61:3–62; 66; Jer. 23:3–8; 32:37–44; Ezek. 40–48; Dan. 2:44–45; 7:13–14; 12:2–3; Mic. 4:1–8; Zech. 12:10–14:21). All of the prophets spoke of this Kingdom, the minor prophets as well as the major prophets—not one of them missed it. These are but a few of the manifold Scriptures that speak of the theocratic kingdom which was the great theme of all the prophets in the Old Testament. This is the kingdom, the theocratic kingdom, that is coming here upon this earth. 6). This prophecy is like any other prophecy in Scripture: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20). That is, you cannot just lift out a verse of Scripture and base doctrine on it; you need to have the corroboration of other Scriptures. When this passage here is treated as a dignified statement of literal facts, it becomes reasonable, and it fits into the entire program of prophecy which we have been following. Any attempt to reduce it to the lowest common denominator of fanciful and figurative symbols makes the passage an absurdity. To spiritualize this passage is to disembowel all Scripture of vital meaning, making the interpretation of Scripture a reductio ad absurdum.

The thrones are literal; the martyrs are literal; Jesus is literal; the Word of God is literal; the Beast is literal; the image is literal; the mark of the Beast is literal; their foreheads and their hands are literal; and the thousand years are literal. It is all literal. A thousand years means a thousand years. If God meant that it was eternal, I think He would have said so. If He meant it was five hundred years, He would have said so. Cannot God say what He means? Of course He can, and when He says a thousand years, He means a thousand years.

7). The Greek word for “resurrection” is anastasei, which means “to stand up, a bodily resurrection.” It is rather difficult for a spirit to stand up, and those who spiritualize this section are at a loss to explain just how a spirit stands up! This is the same word used by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 for the resurrection of Christ and believers.

“And I saw thrones and they sat upon them” is the one statement that is not entirely clear. Who are “they”? It is my judgment that they must be the total number of those who have part in the first resurrection, which includes the saved of all ages.

The first resurrection began with the resurrection of Christ. Then it is followed by the resurrection (at the Rapture) of His church sometime more than nineteen hundred years later—but before the Great Tribulation (see Rev. 4). At the end of the Great Tribulation is the resurrection of both the Tribulation saints (“the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God; and whosoever worshiped not the wild beast”) and the Old Testament saints (see Dan. 12:1–2)

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9). Multitudes of both Israel and the Gentiles will enter the Kingdom in natural bodies, not having died. These are the ones, together with those who are born during the Millennium, who are tested during this millennial period. As Christ in a glorified body mingled with His apostles and followers, so the church in glorified bodies will mingle with the multitudes in their natural bodies here on the earth.

10). “They shall be priests of God” refers to the entire nation of Israel. This was God’s original purpose for Israel: “And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.

11). In Scripture there is more prophecy concerning the Millennium than of any other period. The Kingdom was the theme of the Old Testament prophets. I do not know how else you would interpret it. In our day we hear very little about the minor prophets. There is a great silence, a great vacuum and void, when it comes to the teaching of the minor prophets, yet all of them look forward to the Millennium, that Kingdom which is coming on the earth

XII. The end of the earthly Reign of Christ. (Revelation 20:1-6 cont.)

A. After 1000 Years Satan is loosed. (Verse 7)

B. Satan’s again gathers men against God. (Verse8)

1). This last resistance and rebellion against God was as foolish and futile as man’s first rebellion in the Garden of Eden. Here it is not the beginning but the ending of man’s disobedience to God. It is the finality of man’s rebellion. Nothing remains now but the final judgment.

C. Satan is cast into the lake of fire. (Verse 10)

D. The earth and the wicked are destroyed by fire. (Verse10), (II Peter 318-12)

E. The final judgment. (Verses 11-15)

1). If you are saved, you are not going to stand before this judgment. Your works are to be judged as a child of God at the judgment seat of Christ, which will be for the purpose of rewards (see 2 Cor. 5:10).

2). The Great White Throne is what men mistakenly call the general judgment. It is general only in the sense that all the lost of all ages are raised to be judged here. All who are saved have been raised in the first resurrection. Even the Tribulation saints had part in the first resurrection. This is the second resurrection in which the lost are raised to be given an equitable, fair, and just evaluation of their works in respect to their salvation.

3). The One seated on the throne is the Lord Jesus Christ: “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son…. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:22, 26–29).

4). What is the work of God? It is to “… believe on him whom he hath sent” (John 6:29). Those who have done good are they who have accepted Christ, and they come forth unto the resurrection of life—that is the first resurrection. They who have done evil come forth unto the resurrection of damnation and condemnation—that is the Great White Throne judgment

Psalm 1:4-6 (KJV)

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalm 2:1-12 (KJV)

1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire [Rev. 20:14–15].

5). Sheol or hades (translated hell in the New Testament) is the place of the unseen dead and is divided into two compartments: paradise and the place of torment (see Luke 16:19–31). Paradise was emptied when Christ took the Old Testament believers with Him at His ascension. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things)” (Eph. 4:8–10). Christ did two things: He gave gifts to men down here, but He also took with Him to heaven those Old Testament saints who had died and were in the place called paradise. But the place of torment will deliver up the lost at the judgment at the Great White Throne. All who stand at this judgment are lost, and we are told that they are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death

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6). “Death,” the great final enemy of man, is finally removed from the scene. No longer will it be said, “In Adam all die” (see 1 Cor. 15:22). Death is personified in this case, for it is man’s great enemy. In the Old Testament we read: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes” (Hos. 13:14).

And Paul writes: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death…. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Cor. 15:26, 55).

7). “Hades,” the prison of lost souls, is likewise cast into the lake of fire. The lost are no longer in hades but in the lake of fire. This is where Satan, the wild Beast, the False Prophet, and their minions were consigned. If man will not accept the life of God, he must accept the only other alternative: eternal association with Satan. God never created man to be put in this place, but there is no other place for him. Hell was created for the Devil and his angels. I take it that it is a place where God never goes. The second death means eternal and absolute separation from God.

XIII. A new heave and a new earth. (Revelation 21:1), (Isaiah 66:22)

1). The Scripture clearly teaches that this present order of creation is to pass away in order to make room for a new heaven and a new earth. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away …” (Matt. 24:35). The old creation was made for the first Adam. Christ, the Last Adam, has a new creation for His new creatures. “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isa. 65:17). “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain” (Isa. 66:22).

2). God had promised Abraham a land forever and David a throne forever. Daniel prophesied of “… a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed …” (Dan. 2:44). The new earth will see the total fulfillment of these prophecies. Consider the faith of the Old Testament worthies: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city” (Heb. 11:13–16). “Heavenly” does not mean they are going to heaven, but that heaven is coming to this earth. This is what we mean when we pray the so–called Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come … in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).

“Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13). In his second epistle Peter declares plainly that the present earth on which we live will be destroyed by fire: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men…. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness” (2 Pet. 3:7, 10–11).

A. A new Jerusalem. (Verse 2)

1). The New Jerusalem is the habitation, the eternal home that is prepared for the church. The Lord Jesus said: “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2–3). You could not have a more lovely or more appropriate picture given. We have seen in Revelation 19:7–8 that ushering in the millennial period, actually before Christ returned to the earth, was the marriage of the Lamb, and the bride was the church.

2). This passage is the fulfillment of what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Eph. 5:25–26).

3). At the judgment seat of Christ, there will be the straightening out and the judging of believers. Everything that is wrong will have to be corrected. All sin will be dealt with there. Rewards will be given out. And He is going to do something else—He is going to cleanse the church with the Word. The Word of God is a mighty cleansing agent. “That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27).

4). This is the picture we are getting here in chapter 21. The holy city, the New Jerusalem, is coming down from God out of heaven, adorned as a bride for her husband. The marriage took place before the Millennium, and the Millennium is now over. This has sure been a long honeymoon, hasn’t it? I think it is one that will go on into eternity.

B. God will now live with men. (verse3), (Exodus 33:17-23), (Revelation 22:4)

1). “Behold the tabernacle [tent] of God is with men.” What is the tent? We are told by John in John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt [pitched His tent] among us….” That flesh was crucified on the cross, and He was raised in a glorified body. We, too, are going to have glorified bodies, and we are going to live with Him in the New Jerusalem.

2). “God shall wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

3). “And death shall be no more”

C. All things are made new. (verse5)

1). You are going to be able to start over again.” I am waiting for that day when all things are going to be new and I can start over. Have you ever stopped to think about the potential of starting out all new again, of learning all over again, and never ceasing but going on into eternity? Oh, the potential and capability of man! Yonder at the Tower of Babel, God said, “I had better go down there, or nothing will be withheld from man” (see Gen. 11:5–7). It was very foolish for some scientists and preachers to say that man could not go to the moon; I think he is going farther than that. Man is a clever being which God has made. Death ends his potential down here, but with eternity ahead of him, oh, the prospects a saved man has!

2). We see here the glorious prospect of all things made new. We can start over, and there will never be an end to our growth. Remember that of Christ it is said, “Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end” (see Isa. 9:7). There is constant growth and development. Just think of the prospect of that for the future. Someday I am going to know something; today I don’t, but I will then.

D. God says He is done. (Verse 6)

1). “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” This identifies the speaker as the Lord Jesus Christ, as He was identified like this in the first chapter of this book.

2). Believers in their new bodies will thirst after God and the things of God, and they will be satisfied: “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” In Matthew 5:6 the Lord Jesus said: “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

3). All believers are overcomers because of faith: “He that overcometh shall inherit these things.” “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4).

4). “I will be God unto him, and he shall be the son to Me.” All the sons of God become sons through faith in Christ: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12).

“The son to Me” is in the Greek moi ho huios. This is a very unusual expression. Vincent calls attention to the fact that this is the only place in John’s writings where a believer is said to be a son (huios) in relationship with God. (In other passages another Greek word is used rather than huios.) God is the One who says “my son,” and He says it here. Believers in the church are one of the peoples of God, but they are more. They are the sons of God in a unique and glorious fashion. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2)

E. The saved receive their inheritance. The meek inherit the earth (Verse 7)

C. All the wicked have died the final death. (Verse 8)

1). There are several amazing features about this verse. First of all, the creation of the new heavens and a new earth did not affect the status of the lake of fire and of the lost. They are going into eternity just that way.

2). In the second place, there is no possibility of sin, which made man become fearful, unbelieving, liars, murderers, and all the rest, ever breaking over the barriers into the new heavens and the new earth. Sin and its potential are forever shut out of the new creation

3). Finally, the lake of fire is eternal, for it is the second death, and there is no third resurrection. It is eternal separation from God, and there is nothing as fearful and frightful as that.

D. We are introduced to the Bride of the Lamb. (Verse 9)

1). The appearance of this city is the quintessence of beauty, refined loveliness, and uncontrolled joy. Lofty language describes her merits, and descriptive vocabulary is exhausted in painting her portrait. The contemplation of her coming glory is a spiritual tonic for those who grow weary on the pilgrim journey down here

2). The New Jerusalem is really a postmillennial city, for she does not come into view until the end of the Millennium and the beginning of eternity. This city was evidently in the mind of Christ when He said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (see John 14:2), but the curtain does not rise upon the scene of the heavenly city until earth’s drama has reached a satisfactory conclusion. Earth’s sorrow is not hushed until the endless ages begin.

3). The New Jerusalem is the eternal abode of the church. The New Jerusalem is the home of the church, the hometown of the church. This is a city toward which the church is journeying as she pitches her tent in that direction. We are now to look at this new home by reading the architect’s blueprint in this twenty–first chapter.

4). This city comes down out of heaven. She originates in heaven, and the Lord Jesus is the builder. Although the city comes down out of heaven, there is no suggestion that she comes down to the earth. The earthly city never goes to heaven, and the heavenly city never comes to earth. Just how far down the city descends is a matter of speculation.

Two facts are evident from this passage: (1) It comes down out of heaven, and (2) it is not stated that it comes to the earth. This passage of Scripture leaves the city hanging in midair. This is the dilemma that many seek to avoid, but why not leave the city in midair? Is anything incongruous about a civilization out yonder in space on a new planet? The New Jerusalem will either become another satellite to the earth or, what is more probable and what I think is true, the earth will become a satellite to the New Jerusalem as well as the rest of the new creation. This chapter indicates that the city will be the center of all things. All activity and glory will revolve about this city. God will be there, it will be His headquarters, and His universe.

5). The whole city is like a precious gem. This gem is likened unto a jasper stone. The modern jasper is a multicolored quartz stone. The stone referred to here cannot be that, for this stone is not opaque. “Jasper” is a transliteration of the word iaspis, which is of Semitic origin. Moffatt suggests that iaspis could mean the modern opal, diamond, or topaz.

The stone is transparent and gleaming, which suggests one of these stones, most likely the diamond. The diamond seems to fit the description better than any other stone known to man. The similarity of the Hebrew word for crystal in Ezekiel 1:22 to the Hebrew word for “ice” helps to strengthen this view. The New Jerusalem is a diamond in a gold mounting. This city is the engagement ring of the bride; in fact, it is the wedding ring. It is the symbol of the betrothal and wedding of the church to Christ.

D. There will be no more need for a temple. (Verse 22)

1). The New Jerusalem is a temple or tabernacle in one sense, for God is there dwelling with man. The bride constitutes the priesthood who serve Him constantly. They serve as such in the city and dwell there as Levi did about the tabernacle.

2). Everything in eternity will face in toward this city, for God is there.

3). The children of Israel on earth will enjoy the same relationship to the city that they did toward the wilderness tabernacle and later the city temple. This city will be a tabernacle to Israel. The children of Israel will be among the multitudes who come into this city to worship in eternity. They will come from the earth to bring their worship and glory. They will not dwell in the city anymore than they dwelt in the tabernacle of old. Those who actually dwell there will be the priests, who are the bride. The bride occupies the closer place to God in eternity, and the bride, like John in the Upper Room, reclines upon His breast. “Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? …” (Song 8:5). She is the bride, and she has come up from the wilderness which is this present world. But the twelve tribes of Israel will come up to the celestial city to worship, three tribes coming up on each of the four sides.

4) They will then return back to the earth after a period of worship, but the bride will dwell in the New Jerusalem.

E. Daniel was told not to seal the book, John is told seat not. (Revelation 22:10)

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