Day 3 - 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

It's hard to imagine, isn't it, a whole city coming down from the sky?  And not only a city, but a glorious shining city, radiating like a beautiful bride coming down the aisle!

John MacArthur describes John's vision like this, "As John watches....an entire city, magnificent in its glory, descends whole from heaven and becomes part of the new earth.  Heaven and earth are now one.  The heavenly realm has moved its capital city to the new earth."

Amazing!!!  Isn't that a vision to behold!?  Heaven and earth truly united, becoming our eternal home.  Earth will still function.  I don't think we think about that a lot.  We usually picture eternity in a cloudy existence "up yonder" somewhere.  But God shows John that heaven and earth will be brought together...into a new, and absolutely improved, version for our new, and absolutely improved, lives.

Eternity will never be boring.  We will be doing things we never imagined with capabilities that we cannot even begin to fathom in our earthly minds and with our present bodily limitations.

In our Women's Bible Study last night we talked about Abraham and his continual pursuit of a deeper and greater relationship with God.  Throughout our earthly lives we should make the knowledge of God our ultimate goal.  But, in this life, we will always "see through a glass darkly"...we will never be able to completely understand all that God truly is.

But when we see the Holy City, and we begin our eternal lives, the unveiling will begin.  We will see the glory of the God we have pursued and every bit of our hunger for Him will be satisfied.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known .  1 Corinthians 13:12

I long to see God face to face.  But I will not abandon my quest for more of Him now.  The journey doesn't begin in the new Jerusalem, the new heaven and new earth...the journey begins now.  When He calls to us to come to Him, to start our lives with Him here, on earth, this old earth.  Here is where we make our decision as to what we will hunger after.  Here is where God is constantly seeking those whose hearts are turned to Him.

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His." 2 Chronicles 16:9

Turn your heart to Him now, He will strengthen you in your journey.

And then, one day, we will say, "Amazing!"

Day 2 - 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

It is Easter morning 2016 and I'm looking out my window at my yard covered with snow!  What a beautiful picture to think about the whiteness of snow against the blood of Jesus.  With the resurrection taking place on Easter almost 2,000 years ago, the disciples will come to understand that the blood they saw shed on the cross on Friday has made each one of them bear their sins no more. For those of us who believe, the same is true today, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1;18

What a Savior we serve!  Death could not hold Him, Satan could not defeat Him...He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

And with His resurrection we have the assurance of His power over our physical death as well.  We will one day leave this earth, whether by death or by His coming, but oh the promises that we have been given!

John visually saw the promise of our new eternal lives...and in this verse he tells us of the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God! Throughout Revelation 21-22 John describes more and more of this new Holy City.  As Robert Morgan writes in 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, John...

"takes us on a tour of this celestial city of Foreveropolis.

1. The city from a distance (Rev. 21:9-11) Standing atop a mountain, John watched this massive diamond of a city descend to the new Earth.
2. The city up close.  (vv. 12-14) As it grew nearer, he marveled at the massive walls, foundations, and gates.
3. The size of the city. (vv. 15-17) Fourteen hundred miles in all directions!
4. The construction of the city. (vv. 18-21) The building materials included gold, jewels, pearls and crystal.
5. The interior of the city. (vv. 22-23) John was impressed by the light illumining the city and by the absence of a temple.
6. The commerce of the city. (vv. 24-27) Its gates are never shut as the produce and commodities of the new Earth flow in and out of it.
7. The city center. (vv. 22:1-2) At the heart of the city are the throne, the Crystal River, the Golden Boulevard, and Tree of Life Park.
8. The city's inhabitants. (vv. 3-5) God's children will be there worshipping, serving, reigning, and ruling forever with Him."

The new Jerusalem is a REAL place...God gave John a preview of it...but one day John will actually see it and experience it as he walks its streets.  And all who believe in Jesus' name as their Savior will be there too...walking along with John, with Peter, with Paul...with Jesus!  I want to be there, I long to be there.  I want all those I love to be there.

Two thousand years ago God made the way for us to join Him in this beautiful new world of eternity. His name is Jesus, and He died for our sins so that we could be found righteous and acceptable for a world that is free of sin, free of our sinful, self-centered desires.  And after Jesus died, He rose from the dead as proof that God IS victorious, and that we can have confidence in His ability to bring us from this "old world" into the new, forever world.

Jesus told His disciples that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life...God gave us the escape route from this world that is temporary into His world that is forever.  Isn't that proof of God's wonderful grace...He came to tell us how to get there.  The Way is Jesus.

Walk with me on the streets of the new Jerusalem...believe in God, believe in the One He has sent...

"You believe in God; believe also in me." John 14:1
"Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.”" John 6:29

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!

Day 2 - 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

Just happens that I was in my church today and visited with my pastor, David Ritchie, about two scenes that groups in our church have painted over the last couple of years.  The first one is the Annunciation to Mary by Gabriel of Jesus' first coming.  The second is the revelation to John of Jesus' second coming.  David told me that he plans to have each of the paintings hung in the sanctuary, one on each side, with the church in between.  Makes a perfect picture, doesn't it?  The church today lives in between Jesus' first coming and His second.  We are in this unique period of time..a period of time that one day, as our verse tells us, will pass away.

We are living in the time of the first heaven and the first earth.  As much as we talk about one day being in "heaven", we don't think much about a "new earth" do we?  But we are assured there will be one...and it will be a part of our eternal existence.  What do you think about that?

Robert Morgan says in our reference book, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart, "Too many of us have a vaporous view of eternity.  We picture it as clouds, harps, robes, and never-ending worship services.  But the Bible teaches that God is going to recreate the universe and give us a new planet Earth.  This new Earth will be a lot like the old one, only imperishable.  No sin or sinners.  No sorrow or suffering.  No pain or pollution.  No tears. No death."

Randy Alcorn says, "The first earth serves as the prototype or pattern for the new earth.  There's continuity between old and new.  We should expect new trees, new flowers, new rocks, new rivers, new mountains, and new animals.  As our current bodies are the blueprints for our resurrection bodies, this present earth is the blueprint for the new earth."

I guess I start thinking about perfection...we are told that  "when that which is perfect is come , then that which is in part shall be done away" 1 Corinthians 13:10.  This earth is "in part"...our new earth will be perfection!  Everything that we see good in our earth will become even better...perfect.  And everything that we see broken and ugly in our world will be gone forever.

Can you even begin to imagine?  Think of the most beautiful sight you've ever seen and then try to imagine that same scene exploding in even more brilliant color, without even the slightest hint of any imperfection.  Our new earth will astound us!

As I'm sitting here writing and thinking, Genesis 1:1 shouts to me..."In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

In the beginning, God created the first heaven and the first earth. In the beginning of time.  In the beginning of the ticking of this earthly clock.  And in the end, when time is complete and we move into the wonderful newness of eternity, God will create for us a new heaven and a new earth...perfect places for perfect lives.

And it will be good...forever.

I can't wait.

Day 1 - 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

After a wonderful weekend with my son, daughter-in-law and two beautiful granddaughters visiting from Kansas City, today starts off "back to normal"...the house seems so much quieter and I'm missing the activity and having those sweet little faces to wake up to!  Some of God's very greatest blessings in life come through our children in the form of grandchildren...there's just nothing like them!  Until they are part of your life, you just can't quite imagine how much love you will have in your heart for them.

In the same way, I don't believe we can quite imagine what heaven will be like...until it becomes our new life.  We can try, we can conjure up all kinds of images, but I think, going back to 1 Corinthians 2:9, “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” — the things God has prepared for those who love him—" , we just can't really begin to imagine what God has in store for us.  And, in fact, the Bible really doesn't tell us that much about what eternity will be like, I think because God knows that our human, finite minds just cannot grasp so many of the features of the home that He is preparing for us.  So, He just asks us to trust Him....it will be good.

Our Verse 97 is one of those verses, though, that does give us a brief glimpse into the eternal picture. All things are new!  A new heaven, a new earth...and all the old has passed away.  Our earth stories...of zero consequence in the newness of eternity.  The fame we established...gone!  The wealth accumulated...gone!  The toys we worked for....gone!

The many sins we grieved over....thank You, Lord...gone!!

I often say, "wish I could do some things over, I'd sure do them differently."  I think (underlined that since I'm not quoting Scripture here!) in heaven we get that opportunity, we have an eternal life to do things right.  I'm not saying we're going to live a perpetual "Groundhog Day" existence...I don't think we will replay our earthly life's mistakes over and over until we get them right.  But I think we will live in such newness of the total understanding of who our Father God is, and who we are in His sight, that we will get to experience life in complete "rightness"---we get to live life absolutely differently than we did this first time around on planet Earth. Never having to look back and wishing we had made another choice, regretting choosing our way over God's will, because we will be living new lives basking in the glory of God Himself, always living to please Him!

Let's recap this section of verses so we can again embed them in these earthly brains of ours!

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."

And now add to these five verses, 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."

New here - old gone...that's part of what we will experience.  And that's just the first layer of the onion of this verse.  There's a lot more to peel off!