Revelation 21-22-The Creation Of The New Heavens And New Earth
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday October 3, 2010
The Day of the Lord: Revelation 21-22-The Creation Of The New Heavens And New Earth
Lesson # 42
Please turn in your Bibles to Revelation 21:1.
Following the Great White Throne Judgment of every unbeliever in history (Revelation 20:11-15), the Lord will destroy the present heavens and earth and a new heavens and a new earth as well as a New Jerusalem will be created by Him (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21:1).
Hebrews 1:10-11 quoting Psalm 102:25-27 states that the present heaven and earth “will perish...will become old as a garment” and “as a mantle” the Lord Jesus Christ “will roll them up...as a garment they (the present heavens and earth) will be changed.”
The present heaven and earth have been contaminated by sin and rebellion.
Therefore, a new heaven and earth must be created so that there will be no more remembrance of sin and rebellion and its results.
The new heavens and new earth will be created for the eternal state.
The apostle John describes the creation of the new heavens and new earth and New Jerusalem in Revelation 21.
Inhabitants of the new heavens and new earth and new Jerusalem will be the following: (1) The Trinity (2) The Church (3) Regenerate Israel from the theocentric and eschatological dispensations. (4) Regenerate Gentile believers from the theocentric and eschatological dispensations. (5) Elect Angels.
Revelation 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.” (NASU)
The word “new” here is kainos, which means fresh, new in quality and character.
Further, in the Greek text the words “heaven” and “earth” are without the article stressing the aspect of quality rather than identity.
One striking statement is made, “there was no longer any sea.”
“Sea” refers to a lake, sea, or body of water.
The sea occupies most of the earth’s surface today and in fact, approximately ¾ of the total surface of the earth is water.
Most of the earth is now covered with water which is vital to man’s survival, but apparently in the new earth there will be no bodies of water except for the one river mentioned in 22:1 2.
Since Satan and the fallen angels will not be residing in the new heavens and new earth but rather will be in the lake of fire for all of eternity and the fact that there will be no oceans in the new earth we can conclude that the fallen angels are incarcerated underneath the oceans.
There are angels incarcerated in the Abyss underneath the earth and under the Euphrates River according to Revelation 9.
Revelation 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. 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, 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.’ 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.’ 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. 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 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.’ 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.’ 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, 11 having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. 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. 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. 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. 15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. 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. 17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. 18 The material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 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; 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 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. 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 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. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 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.” (NASU)
From this passage we read that there will be in the New Jerusalem the following: (1) Twelve gates and twelve angels (verse 12). (2) Twelve tribes of Israel (verse 12). (3) Twelve foundations (verse 14). (4) twelve apostles (verse 14). (5) Twelve pearls (verse 21). (6) Twelve kinds of fruit (22:2). (7) Wall 144 cubits- twelve times twelve (21:17). (8) Height, width and length 12,000 stadia and about 1,400 miles (verse 16). (9) Walls north, south, east and west with three gates on each side and with angel standing guard at each gate (verse 12).
Revelation 21:2-20 reveals that the structure of the new Jerusalem will be composed of: (1) Great and High Wall (Rev. 21:12). (2) Twelve Gates with twelve angels on guard at each of the twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on them (Rev. 21:12). (3) Three Gates will be located on the north, south, east and west (Rev. 21:13). (4) Twelve Foundation Stones with the names of each of the twelve apostles inscribed on them (Rev. 21:14). (5) The city will be laid out like a square and measures 1500 miles in length on all four sides (Rev. 21:16). (6) The length, width and height of the city are all equal in measure (Rev. 21:16). (7) The wall measures 72 yards (Rev. 21:17). (8) The walls are made of jasper (Rev. 21:18a). (9) The city is made of pure gold like glass (Rev. 21:18). (10) The foundation stones with the names of the twelve apostles on them will be adorned with every precious stone.
Revelation also teaches us that the twelve gates are twelve pearls and each one of the gates was a single pearl (Rev. 21:21).
There was no temple in the city because “the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple” (Rev. 21:22).
The city will have no need of the sun or the moon for “the glory of God” will illuminate it and its lamp is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Lamb (Rev. 21:23; 22:5).
The nations of the new earth will walk by its light since it will be permanently suspended above the new earth (Rev. 21:24).
There will be no day or nighttime and its gates will never be closed because there will no longer be any war (Rev. 21:25).
The glory and honor of the nations shall be brought into it (Rev. 21:26) and the only individuals who will be allowed into the city will be the elect angels and regenerate humanity (Rev. 21:27).
Those who rejected Christ as Savior will be suffering in the Lake of Fire forever and ever and will therefore not be found in this city or trying to enter its gates (Rev. 20:11-15).
The Lord has built a city for His heavenly people (John 14:1-3; Heb. 11:16) and is the architect and builder of this city (Heb. 11:10).
This city is called the New Jerusalem, the city of the living God (Heb. 12:22) and is a literal city.
The believer is to diligently seek or desire for the time when he will live in the New Jerusalem (Heb. 13:14).
As we can see from Revelation 21, the number twelve is prominent in the New Jerusalem since it is a perfect number signifying perfection of government or of governmental perfection.
Revelation 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, 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. 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; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 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. 6 And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true’; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. 7 And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.’ 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. 9 But he said to me, ‘Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.’” (NASU)
Revelation 22:1-9 teaches that there will be a river in the middle of its only street called the “water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1-2).
The tree of life will be on either side of the river bearing twelve kinds of different fruit which it will yield every month (Rev. 22:2).
Regenerate humanity and elect angels will serve the Lord in this city throughout the eternal state and there will no longer be any curse (Rev. 22:3).
We shall see the Lord’s face and His title shall be on our foreheads (Rev. 22:4).
Revelation 21-22 teaches that life in the new Jerusalem will be characterized by the following: (1) Fellowship with the Lord (John 14:3; 1 Cor. 13:12; 1 John 3:2; Rev. 22:4). (2) Rest (Rev. 14:13). (3) Knowledge (1 Cor. 13:12). (4) Integrity (absence of sin) (Rev. 21:27). (5) Joy (Rev. 21:4). (6) Service (Rev. 22:3). (7) Prosperity (Rev. 21:6). (8) Glory (2 Cor. 4:17; Col. 3:4). (9) Worship (Rev. 7:9-12; 19:1). (10) Peace (Rev. 21:24-26).
This leads us to the communion service and so therefore, could we have our ushers pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ 25 In the same way {He took} the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink {it} in remembrance of Me.’ 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”