Revelation 21:22-23 There is no temple in the heavenly city since God and Jesus are present. Their presence will cause the city to permeated with their Spirit so that all its citizens will fully filled with God’s Spirit. Everyone will have the full and perfect knowledge of God’s Spirit and His presence. The result of that will be that there will be unbroken worship, communication, and sharing with God and His Messiah. This is the reason that there will be no need for a temple and its ceremonies and rituals to cleanse us and to focus our hearts and mind into the worship of God.
The new heaven and the new earth will be radically different from the present earth, which depends on the sun and moon for non-electrical and fossil fuels for light. There is no need for any light source, for the glory of God and the Lamb, the Light of the World (John 9:5) will provide all the illumination anyone can bear. The moon causes the ocean tides but without a sea that too will be unnecessary. This is the same light that blinded Paul on the Damascus road and caused the disciples to fall to the ground in terror at the Mount of transfiguration.
Revelation 21:24-27 The citizens of the New Jerusalem are the saved from all the nations of the earth. God does not discriminate between people nor show partiality to any person. They will be walking in the light of the city walking in the light and the the knowledge of God knowing exactly what to do and how to do it. They are kings who bring their glory and honor into the city and so will be ruling and reigning with Jesus. They will probably be serving by overseeing the universe for Him. Who will they be ruling?
The heavens will be created anew as well as the earth. Their very likely will be new creatures created that we will be ruling over (Matthew 19:28; 25:23; Luke 12:42-44; 19:17, 19; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; Revelation 5:10).
Furthermore Believers will bring their glory and honor into the heavenly city and give all their glory and honor to the Lord who bestowed it upon them. Believers owe everything they are to God and Yeshua and so we will be praising them for our great a salvation. The citizens will have constant, unbroken access to God. The gates will never be closed and there will be no night and eternal Sabbath so there will be no need for sleep or rest. We will have perfect bodies with perfect strength. In addition, the Holy Spirit of God will fill us to the fullest giving us perfect knowledge and consciousness of God’s presence.
We will not only bring our personal honor and blessings into the City but also the glory and honor of the nations we come from into the city. The picture seems to be periodic celebrations of great worship when all believers will come together from all the corners of heaven in a great celebration of worship. Scripture says that as kings we enter “into” the city. It is as though we are coming from the far reaches of the spiritual world to bring the honor of our nations to God and Christ. But our minds could never imagine the glory and majesty of what will really happen.
Believers also will be assured of a perfect life and service never worrying about heaven being imperfect or defiled. God will not allow heaven to become contaminated with a any sin. Heaven will always be perfect, no liars deceivers only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life (Matthew 5:20; Galatians 5:19-21; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:50).
Revelation 22:1-5 – God will make the provisions of heaven more splendid than the provisions of Eden, as wonderful as that was. There the river that has the water of life.
The New Jerusalem, being 1500 miles cubic, will have the beauty and refreshment of a running river and of many likely many other bodies of water. We often spiritualize when we think of heaven, imagining that we will be in some kind of dreamy, unreal world instead of a real world. But Scripture teaches that God is going to recreate this earth and the heavens of this universe. This recreated world would certainly have the same features that this world has with one exception: it will be perfect (2 Peter 3:10-12; Revelation 21:1).
The source of the river is “the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The water of life flows from God and His Messiah: they are the source of all life that lives in the city. The river while likely very real also speaks of the life that flows out from God and Christ. It will be a constant reminder to us that Jesus is the living water who gives us life, who quenches our thirst who satisfies, fulfills, and completes our thirst for life (John 4:10, 14; 7:37-38, Revelation 22:17).
Another provision in city is the tree of life, which was also planted in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). As long as man remained sinless, he was allowed to eat of the tree; but as soon as he sinned, he was not allowed to eat its fruit. The fruit infused eternal life into Adam’s body.
We are told that the tree of life bears twelve crops of fruit, one crop each month. It always bears fruit and whoever eats of the tree of life is nourished by its fruit eternally. The leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. They provide a perfect life preventing sickness and disease.
We are further told once again that there is no more curse in the city. The earth is cursed by its aging, corruption, deterioration, death, suffering, evil, divisions, and on and on. It is cursed because man has chose to make his own life in this world and to reject God’s life. The result was that man brought death and all its evil into the world. Man cursed the earth by his rejection of God and God’s life.
The Heavenly Jerusalem has no curse and so is free of evil and death. We are told further that the throne of God and of the Lamb is in the city. This means that the Heavenly Jerusalem will be the capital city of the universe, headquarters of the Lord’s government and rule and reign.
The Lord’s servants will see His face (Revelation 22:4). We will actually stand face to face with our Lord and God: talk with Him, share with, serve, discuss, worship, praise, and offer thanks throughout all of eternity (Matthew 5:8; John 17:3; 1 John 3:2). The name of God will be written in the forehead of believers. This is the seal of the Spirit and speaks of possession and security. We shall belong to Him and be under His care and love, direction and guidance, security and safety – eternally (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Revelation 14:1).
Revelation 22:6-7 The message of Revelation is faithful and true, it can be trusted and it is reliable. The message is from the same Lord God that gave the prophets their message and will bring a blessing to the person who studies and obeys the prophecies of this book. Some of those blessings include being drawn closer to the Lord. He will know what is coming on the earth in the end time and be better prepared to cope until the Lord comes. He will understand more about the ungodly and evil of this world and more about how God is going to conquer evil and bring righteousness to the earth.
There will be a better understanding of heaven aned be more strongly stirred to long for heaven. He will be drawn by the Spirit of God into more and more fellowship with the Lord in preparation for that glorious day of His appearing and establishment of His Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. The events of Revelation will come quickly and suddenly so the book prepares those who read it for the events foretold.
Revelation 22:8-11 The message of Revelation stirs worship and this certainly was John’s response when he heard the prophecies of Revelation. He actually fell down at the feet of the angel who was delivering the message for the Lord. This was the second time that John had done this (Revelation 19:10). Again, the angel tells John to get up, explaining that angels are only servants of God just as men are. He told John to worship God and God alone.
The Lord instructed John that the book of Revelation is never to be sealed or closed. It is to be read, studied, preached, and taught – always. Two reasons are given firstly because the time of the events is at hand. We can never be prepared or prepare others unless we understand what is coming and are ready for their coming.
Secondly the time is coming when it will be too late to prepare. The more a person hardens his heart, the harder he becomes and the less likely he will be to change. If we do not get into the Word of God and the prophecies of Revelation then our hearts will become harder and more stubborn. But if we turn to God and begin to study Revelation and do what Revelation says, we will be righteous and remain righteous.
