Day 1 - Verse 98 - "I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband." Revelation 21:2

What a vision John was given!  To actually see the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven! Wouldn't that an amazing thing to get to see?  I want to start singing Mercy Me's "I Can Only Imagine!"

This verse comes immediately after our last verse, Revelation 21:1, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer."

John has seen the old pass away to make room for the new...the new cannot be seen until the old is gone.  And now he sees God's crowning jewel, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven...the new Jerusalem, to take it's place on the new earth.  Not the Jerusalem that we have come to know --- a divided city, torn apart by strife and religious wars.  No, this Jerusalem is beautifully prepared like a bride ready for her husband and coming down the aisle, but instead coming out of heaven.

Everything will be new, everything will be better, everything will be glorious...because Jesus will now take His place as the world's King...forever!

Today is Good Friday, the day that Jesus went to the cross for our sin.  We should be mournful on this day....but we should be mournful over our sins that sent Jesus to that cross.  Not grieving over a crucified Jesus that was less than we thought He was going to be...no, we, unlike the disciples on that dark day, know that Sunday is coming.  We know that Jesus is EVERYTHING He said He was and we have the resurrection to attest to His deity and the power of God displayed.  And because of Good Friday, we can also know that Jesus' willingness to die for us, gives us the ability to claim His blood over all our sinfulness and to know that we will have life with Him forever.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John  5:13)

Because of Good Friday, and then because of the miracle of Easter, we will see the new Jerusalem in all it's glory.  We will see the new heaven and the new earth that John was given the opportunity to preview.

We have a risen Savior, and we should thank God every day for that provision.  But Christ's resurrection and ascension is only part of His story of the redemption of mankind.  Just as the disciples on Friday didn't understand what Sunday would bring, I don't believe we can completely understand the rest of Christ's story: His second coming to reign forever.  But for those who believe in His name, and in His saving grace, we will come to understand just as fully as the disciples saw the holes in Jesus' side when He appeared to them.  All will be made known...all our questions answered.
All things new....and beautiful!

Let's review this section of verses as we start our 98th verse!

Isaiah 9:6  "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be on His shoulders.  And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,The mighty God, The eternal Father, The Prince of Peace."

Luke 2:10   "But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for I bring you good news of great joy, which will be for all the people.' "

Luke 2:11  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:12  "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped snugly in a cloth and lying in a manger."

Acts 1:11 "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven?  This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen Him going into heaven."

Revelation 21:1  "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer."

Revelation 21:2 "I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband."

Thank You, Lord God, for all of Your glorious plans...plans made for our eternal good.  Let us look back and see how Your promises have been fulfilled, and let us look forward knowing that all of Your future promises are just as sure.  Thank You for our forgivness supplied through the blood of Jesus, our Savior!  Amen!

  

Day 4 - Verse 97 - "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer." Revelation 21:1

We like what we know, don't we?  The familiar, the comfortable...the known.  Last night a group of women started a Bible study using Anne Graham Lotz's book, The Magnificent Obsession.  In this book, Anne shares the story of Abraham and how he became known as God's friend.  That's the goal set before us in this study...to come to truly know God and have that kind of personal relationship with Him.

Did this come easy for Abraham?  Not at all.  God told him to leave his home and his family for a place Abraham and never seen.  Abraham's willingness to do that is what led him into such an intimate relationship with God.

Does that scenario strike a chord with you?  When we talk of a new heaven and a new earth, and the first heaven and first earth passing away, is there a part of you that wants to cry out, "But I like it here!"  I think that emotion rings true in all of us...this old earth is what we know, this is where we have lived and where our friends and family are.

But just like Abraham of old, God calls us away, and asks us to trust Him that the new heaven and new earth, even though we haven't seen them, are infinitely better for our eternal life.  Like Abraham, our promised land lies ahead, sight unseen, and we have to be willing to let go of the known to take hold of the promises of God.

Did God's promises hold true for Abraham?  Every one of them.  Will they hold true for us?  Absolutely.  God proves Himself over and over in the Scriptures as being completely trustworthy.  I love when Jesus tells His disciples, "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you", when relaying to them the wonders of their eternal destination.  It sounds like Jesus is saying to them, "I'm telling you the truth...you can trust me on this one."

As much as we may love our earthly lives with all of their trials and troubles, we should be confident enough in God to let go....to know that the new heaven and the new earth will make what we now know look ghastly pale in comparison.

It's been said, "Everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go right now."  But we should. We should have such an anticipation for our new home that we can't wait to get there.  Not taking away from the fact that God has purpose in every day that He gives us here on earth, and we praise Him for those days as well, when we can proclaim Him to others and live under His direction, going where He calls us to go now as well...but our eyes should be on eternity, and all the new things God has in store for us there.

This is what we know...but that is what we are promised.  Abraham saw God's promises to him fulfilled...one day we will too.

Come Lord Jesus!

Day 3 - Verse 97 - "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer." Revelation 21:1

I mentioned before how Genesis 1:1 rings so clear in my mind when I read this verse in Revelation. Don't we have a wonderfully poetic God who writes His Word in such a manner that the end of the story ties back to the beginning in such a perfect balance?  Don't ever think that we get our human literary talents from any source other than the most incredible literary genius ever...way beyond Shakespeare, Dickens or Uris...more mysterious than Christie, le Carre', or Grisham. The Holy Spirit, writing over approximately 1,600 years, has written the most beautiful book of poetry, mystery and the ultimate romance of all time...the beautiful, continuous story of God's love for us and His eternal plan for our lives with Him, accomplished through the gift of His Son for our redemption.

So when in Genesis 1 we are told that on the third day, God separated the dry ground from the waters and he called the dry ground "land" and the gathered waters, "seas", why, now when the new heaven and the new earth have been brought into existence, has the sea disappeared?  There has to be a reason for the beginning...and the end...of this part of God's creation.  Can we dig deeper?

The beasts of Isaiah, Daniel and Revelation rise up out of the sea.  The sea seems to be, in God's literary format, a source of evil.

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Entire Bible, states: "The third day’s work is related in these verses—the forming of the sea and the dry land, and the making of the earth fruitful. Hitherto the power of the Creator had been exerted and employed about the upper part of the visible word; the light of heaven was kindled, and the firmament of heaven fixed: but now he descends to this lower world, the earth, which was designed for the children of men...the waters, thus cleared, thus collected, and thus lodged, in their proper place, he called seas. Though they are many, in distant regions, and washing several shores, yet, either above ground or under ground, they have communication with each other, and so they are one, and the common receptacle of waters, into which all the rivers flow. Waters and seas often, in scripture, signify troubles and afflictions, (Psalm 42:7 Psalm 69:2, Psalm 69:14, Psalm 69:15). God’s own people are not exempted from these in this world." 

Just as God separated light and darkness, He separated land and sea.  He knew that, in this world, we needed the darkness, to recognize the light; we needed the sea, to appreciate the land.  Yes, in the Bible, the sea often signifies troubles and afflictions, and yes, as we know all too well, God's own people are not exempted from these troubles in this world.

But when the new heaven and the new earth are opened up to us and we see the beauty of these new places, lo and behold, there is no more sea!  There is no more sea of turmoil, temptation and sin. There is no more sea churning with beasts about to rise out of them in opposition to our Lord.  In this new heaven and new earth, the sea has been removed...no more, no more, no more!

I'm shouting Hallelujah!  Our time of having to fight against evil is over, the victory has been won, the sea no longer exists!

God is a wonderful author...He has written a most beautiful epic from beginning to end...one that we have gotten to participate in.  But the sequel to this story, that's going to be the mind-blower...don't miss it...don't take a chance of missing it!