Chapter Twenty One

The confrontation is over. Throughout the book of Revelation, God's people have been faced with temptation, trial and persecution. The dragon has enlisted the aid of the beast from the sea, the beast from the earth and the harlot on the scarlet beast in an attempt to lead away the faithful.

As we have seen, this paralleled what Christians faced under the Roman empire. The beast from the sea was the political or military might of Rome. The beast from the earth was the pagan religion that led people to follow the political power. And the woman was the commercial structure that held the entire Roman world in the hands of the great empire.

All of these enemies have been judged, and God's people have been victorious. This great book has accomplished its purpose of encouraging and strengthening early Christians by showing them that things would be difficult, but that God was in control and that they would ultimately triumph through Him. All that remains now is the last section of the book: section seven in the final two chapters.

At the opening of chapter 21 we are presented with a new heaven and a new earth. Why do we need a new heaven and earth? Perhaps it is because the old ones fled from the presence of God in verse 11 of the previous chapter.

Don't forget that we are talking about the Roman empire as much as we are about the entire world. Whenever a world power is eliminated by God, it is said that the world ends for that power. We listed some of the prophetic passages that use this language when we discussed the opening of the sixth seal starting in Revelation 6:12. We mentioned the judgment against Babylon in Isaiah 13:10, against Edom in Isaiah 34:4, against Judah in Jeremiah 4:23 and against Egypt in Ezekiel 32:7-8. We pointed out the passage in Joel 2:10 and 28-32, fulfilled in Acts chapter two. We also said that there are still other passages that use this language.

"The mountains will melt under Him," Micah 1:4 prophesies of the judgment of Samaria and Jerusalem, "and the valleys will be split, like wax before the fire, like water poured down a steep place."

"He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, " Nahum 1:4 states in an oracle to Nineveh, "He dries up all the rivers."

"Mountains quake because of Him," the next verse continues, "and the hills dissolve; indeed the earth is upheaved by His presence, the world and all the inhabitants in it."

"I will completely remove all things from the face of the earth," Zephaniah 1:2-3 says of God's wrath against Judah, "I will remove man and beast; I will remove the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth."

Whenever God promises the end of a certain system, He also offers the hope of a better world.

"For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;" He promises in Isaiah 65:17, "and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind." Take the time to read the entire passage from Isaiah 65:17 to 25, which deals with the kingdom to be established by the Messiah. As we have pointed out before, this kingdom begins with the church and extends into eternity as the saved join their Lord in heaven. As humans, death seems to us to be a dividing point. But the kingdom goes beyond the grave. So part of what we will read in the last two chapters of Revelation may apply to the church while other parts may apply more to heaven. The point is that it describes the condition of God's people.

It should be pointed out that a new heaven and new earth are never a re-making of the old ones. The old are eliminated and replaced by the new. So this chapter can never be used to support the idea of spending eternity on a purified literal earth. If for no other reason, there would be some real problems with a literal earth and sky without a literal sea, as verse one would require.

Although this passage may or may not be talking about the day when the whole earth is destroyed and we begin to spend eternity in heaven or hell, we should notice that there will be a day when the literal world is destroyed and is replaced with a spiritual world. 2 Peter 3:1-13 makes this very clear.

Verse two paints the picture of the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven and made ready as a bride. This city fits the description of the church that is found in Ephesians 5:22-33. We are seeing God's people who are being allowed to spend eternity with their Lord.

Revelation 21:3 talks of a time when God will make His tabernacle with men. This relationship cannot be complete until we join God in heaven, but when did God begin to dwell among men?

Matthew 1:23 states that Jesus was to be called "Immanuel," which means "God with us."

"If anyone loves Me," Jesus promises in John 14:23, "he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him."

Other passages that point out when God and Jesus abide with us include 1 Corinthians 3:16, 2 Corinthians 6:16, Ephesians 2:20-22 and 3:17, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 John 2:24 and Revelation 3:20.

Read Revelation 21:1-7 and see how these verses apply to heaven. But notice, also, how they can apply to the church. Verse six promises the spring of the water of life. That spring was offered to a Samaritan woman in John 4:14.

Verse eight contains some very important information. Here we have a list of those who will spend eternity in hell. We are not surprised to find the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, immoral persons, sorcerers and idolaters included in the list. We are shocked, however, to discover the inclusion of the cowardly and liars. Do all belong in the same list?

Yes, they obviously do since the Holy Spirit put them there. But why is it this way? The book of Revelation was intended to encourage Christians under trial. The cowardly could have no place with these people. What about the cowards in our day? What will be the fate of those who fail to stand up and defend God's pure teaching as presented in the Bible? Can we sit back and neglect to act on what we know to be true?

And what about liars? The third chapter of James points out the tremendous power of the tongue. Galatians 5:19-21 and 2 Corinthians 12:20 are just a couple of the places where we find lists of things that will cause people to be lost. Notice how many are related to the tongue. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things that God hates. One of these is a lying tongue.

The bulk of Revelation 21, beginning in verse 9, describes the glorious bride of the Lamb. There could be no more beautiful description of God's people. There are twelve gates, three on each of the four walls. Notice the symbolic numbers that are used to describe the completeness of the city. The gates are guarded by 12 angels. The gates are named for the twelve tribes. The twelve foundation stones contain the names of the twelve apostles.

John is given a gold measuring rod to measure the city. We mentioned before that a city was figuratively measured to see how completely it has followed God's instructions. What kind of measurement would we expect for this city? The city is a perfect cube. Each side measures 12,000 stadia. The actual length of this distance is not important. What counts is the symbolic significance of the number itself. It is 12 times 10 cubed.

The wall is 144 cubits. This is 12 squared. It is made of jasper, and the city is gold so pure that it is like clear glass. The foundation is composed of precious stones and the gates are twelve huge pearls.

The city needs no illumination, since God and the Lamb provide all of the light that is needed. The nations walk by its light.

Finally, there is a list of those who are excluded from the city, whether the city be the church or heaven. To be excluded from one is to be excluded from the other.

The ones who cannot enter are those who are unclean and those who practice abomination and lying. Revelation 1:5 tells us that the blood of Christ will release us from our sins. Some translations say this blood will cleanse or wash us from our sins. In Acts 22: 16, Paul remembers when Ananias told him to be baptized and wash away his sins. The only ones who are not allowed to enter the city because they are unclean are those who have not washed themselves in the blood of Jesus through baptism.

Others who cannot enter are those who practice abomination and lying. Notice the present tense. Everyone can repent of past sins and enter the city. But those who insist on continuing in their sins cannot go in.

Only those who reject the world and obey the truth can be set free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."