Happy Easter!
Easter is a time to remember and celebrate the victory of Jesus Christ
in His life, death, burial and resurrection.
I normally take a break from whatever sermon series I am preaching
through at Easter, but as I’ve thought about an Easter sermon over the last few
weeks, I really felt led to continue looking at the New Creation. It is very appropriate to think about the new
creation at Easter, because it too is part of what Jesus accomplished in His
death, burial, and resurrection. We tend
to individualize Easter a little too much.
Jesus did die for you, but He also died for more than just you. He died to give His Father a people, He died
for all of His people, and He died to set the universe free from the curse of
sin and death. Also, as we have just
sang, Christ’s resurrection is a
“foretaste of our deliverance!”
Christ’s resurrected body is a foretaste of our own resurrected bodies
that we will enjoy in this new creation.
I will go even further and say that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is
the greatest statement God has ever made about what He is going to do with this
world. So join me as we think about the
new creation today as the spoils of Christ’s victory on the cross.
[9] Then came one of the seven angels who
had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying,
“Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” [10] And he
carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy
city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, [11] having the glory
of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
[12] It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve
angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel
were inscribed—[13] on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on
the south three gates, and on the west three gates. [14] And the wall of
the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb.
[15] And
the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and
its gates and walls. [16] The city lies foursquare, its length the same as
its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and
width and height are equal. [17] He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by
human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. [18] The wall was
built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. [19] The
foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The
first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,
[20] the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, 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 of
the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold,
like transparent glass.
[22] And
I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the
Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the
glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light
will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into
it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no
night there. [26] They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the
nations. [27] But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does
what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book
of life.
[22:1] Then
the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing
from the throne of God and of the Lamb [2] through the middle of the
street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with
its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations. [3] No longer will there be
anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his
servants will worship him. [4] They will see his face, and his name will
be on their foreheads. [5] And night will be no more. They will need no
light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign
forever and ever. (Revelation 21:9-22:5 ESV)
As I shared with you last time, this vision of the
new creation is meant to encourage God’s people to persevere in the face of
persecution and temptation by setting the joy of heaven before us in order to
motivate us to endure. My prayer today
is again that we would be so taken with this vision of the new creation that we
would endure anything to enjoy
it. Also, remember as we get started
that Revelation uses the Old Testament more than any other book in the New
Testament. There are major allusions in
this passage to Ezekiel’s vision of a future temple in Ezekiel 40-48, as well as major allusions to Isaiah 60, Zechariah 14,
and the Garden of Eden in the opening chapters of Genesis.
I.
The Other Woman: the Wife of the Lamb, New Jerusalem (9)
After the initial description of the new creation
(21:1-8), John’s vision focuses upon “the
holy city, New Jerusalem.” Verse 9
says “then” one of “the seven angels who had the seven bowls
full of the seven last plagues” came to John and told him “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife
of the Lamb” (9). If you compare
this verse (21:9) with Revelation 17:1, you will notice that
identical language is being used here to contrast the Lamb’s bride with another
woman who is a city, “the great
prostitute,” Babylon the Great. Again, this is reason to forsake the love of
the world, because loving the world is like loving a prostitute. The love of Christ, on the other hand is like
that of a perfect husband who lays down His life to protect His bride.
II.
The Outer Description of the City (21:10-21)
Verses 10-21 describe the outside of this city,
focusing mostly upon its walls. Two very
important descriptions we need to notice at the outset are that this city is
the work, or gift, of God (10) and that is radiates with the glory of God
(11). This city is not the work of human
hands, but is the work of God and it radiates with His glory! This is the city of God’s glory.
John begins with a general layout of the city (12-14). The city John sees is “four-square” (16) with a “great, high wall” that includes “twelve gates” (three on each side) that
are guarded by “twelve angels.” This is an allusion to Ezekiel 48:30-35. Also,
these walls rest upon “twelve
foundations.” We’re told that the “names of the twelve tribes of the sons of
Israel were inscribed” upon the twelve gates and that “the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” were written
on these twelve foundations. What is
being emphasized here is the unity of
God’s people. This is their city, the city of the one people of God. As Ephesians
2:20 says, Jesus’ work on the cross has successfully destroyed the dividing
wall between Jew and Gentile. On a
practical note, this also encourages us that we will one day enjoy the company
of our lost loved ones who were believers again.
John then gives several important measurements of the city walls,
alluding once again to Ezekiel 40:3-5. The angel who spoke with John had a “measuring rod of gold” to measure the
city, gates, and walls. The city “lies foursquare” (has four sides and is
square), and the “length and width and
height” of the city’s walls “are
equal.” The measurement given is “12,000 stadia” (1,380 miles). Also, the walls are “144 cubits” (216 feet) thick “by
human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.” Don’t get lost in the measurements themselves,
get lost in the vastness, symmetry, & splendor of this city. It’s
big enough for all of God’s people! The
most important thing I could point out about these measurements is that the dimensions
of this city are cubed, like the holy
of holies (1 Kings 6:20). This explains why in alluding to Ezekiel’s
vision of the latter day temple, John sees no temple: because the whole city
has now become the holy of holies! John
is seeing a “city-temple.” That means
that this is also the city of God’s
presence.
John also highlights several materials that the city is made of and adorned with (18-21). This great wall is “built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.” The foundations of the wall are adorned
with twelve different jewels which
correspond to the jewels on the high priest’s breast plate in Exodus 28:17-20. This amplifies what we just said about the
city being a holy of holies. In the Old
Testament, only the high priest could enter the holy of holies once a year on
the Day of Atonement. But in New
Jerusalem, all of God’s people are priests, all of God’s people can enjoy the
fullness of God’s presence, and no one has to bring a blood sacrifice to do so,
because Jesus’s blood has satisfied God’s wrath! Remember what we read in Revelation 5:9-10: the blood of the Lamb is what has made this a
reality.
Notice also that the twelve gates are made of
twelve pearls, each gate being made of a single pearl (21)! The streets of the city are “pure gold, like transparent glass.” The new creation will be a place of great
abundance, so much so that what we prize in this world will be common in the next.
III.
The Inner Description of the City (21:22-22:5)
The inside of New Jerusalem is described with a
lot of statements about what is not
there. First, there is no temple. John sees “no
temple in the city, FOR its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” The temple represented the presence of God
among His people, but only the high priest could actually enter God’s presence
once a year in the holy of holies. But
as we saw earlier, in New Jerusalem, there is no need for a representation of
God’s presence because the entire city is saturated by the fullness of God’s
presence. What the temple represented
and facilitated has become a reality.
Second, there is no need for luminaries (23).
The city “has no need of sun or
moon to shine on it, FOR the glory of God gives it light and its lamp is the
Lamb.” This is mainly an allusion to
Isaiah 60:19-20: [19] The sun shall be no more your
light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD
will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. [20] Your
sun shall no more go down, nor your moon withdraw itself; for the LORD will be
your everlasting light, and your days of mourning shall be ended. The presence of God seems to nullify the
need for luminaries.
Third, we also see that in this new creation, the nations will no longer rage. Instead, “the
nations” will “walk” by the light
of God and the Lamb’s glory. The “kings of the earth will bring their glory
into it”: they will bring “the glory
and honor of the nations” into the city.
This continues the allusion to Isaiah
60:3-5,11. It “envisions a time when all nations will devote their gifts and energies
to the worship of the one true God.”[1] This activity will never cease because the city’s gates
will “never be shut by day – and there
will be no night there.”
This is quite a picture when you consider the role
that the nations have played in the context of Revelation. They have been the enemy all throughout Revelation.
This is no longer the case. In
the new creation, the nations are only made up of the redeemed! Notice also that even though this is the most
secure place in the universe, there is actually no longer any need for
security: the gates are never shut. Why
do you lock your doors? You do so
because of thieves and murderers. You
won’t have to in the new creation, because there won’t be anyone to keep
out! All the home security companies
will be out of a job!
Also, please don’t miss the focus upon the nations
here. It has always been God’s heart to
be worshiped by all nations. We see here
the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham: all the families/nations of the
earth blessed in the new creation through Abraham’s offspring: Jesus
Christ. This is “missions accomplished”:
they day when mission are no more because all the nations worship the one true
God through His Son. This is how the
world was supposed to be.
Fourthly, there will be no uncleanness (27). Verse
27 says “BUT” nothing “unclean will ever enter” this city, “nor anyone who does what is detestable or
false.” ONLY “those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” can enter this
city. Like Revelation 21:8, this is a statement about how lost people will not
enjoy this new creation, but will be confined to the lake of fire. This could be an indicator that New Jerusalem
is more than a city in the New Creation, but rather is symbolic for the
realities of entire new creation itself.
As we move into 22:1-5, we are basically going to see the Garden of Eden restored
and enhanced. This is the way the world
was supposed to be: a world with no
curse. John first sees the “river of the water of life” flowing “from the throne of God and of the Lamb”
through “middle of the street of the city.” Now this is an allusion to both Ezekiel 47:1-12 and Zechariah 14:8, but even more than
that, it hearkens back to the river that flowed in Eden to water the Garden of
Eden (Genesis 2:10-14). Here we see river again, only this one is
enhanced. Notice that the source of this
river is God Himself. He will be the
source of refreshment, sustenance, and ultimate satisfaction in heaven. What also reappears is “tree of life.” It is said to
be “on either side of the river” and
has “twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its
fruit each month.” This means that
the tree of life yields one crop for every month of the year (so enhancing the
tree in the original Garden of Eden). The “leaves”
of the tree of life are “for the healing
of the nations.” This obviously
hearkens back to the tree of life in Genesis
2:9,15-17. Also, the curse of Genesis 3:14-19 is explicitly said to
be lifted: “No longer will there be
anything accursed, BUT the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his
servants will worship him.”
Notice the way the passage ends: God’s servants
will “see His face,” His name will be
“on their foreheads,” and “they will reign forever and ever” with
Him. Seeing God’s face was impossible
after the fall (Exodus 33:17-34:35),
but was the earnest prayer of God’s people (Psalm
11:4-7, 27:4, 42:2). These are more
statements that hearken back to the Garden of Eden. This is what we were made to do: serve God,
worship God, see His face, walk with Him in the cool of the day, and have
dominion over His creation under Him. This
also reminds us again of what a treasure God is. He is heaven’s greatest treasure and we were
made to enjoy Him forever.
In closing, may we remember that we are in some
sense already a part of this new creation.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2
Corinthians 5:17 ESV) The Bible
calls us as new creatures to set our attention and our affections upon things
in heaven, not things upon earth (Colossians
3:1-4). You were meant for more than
this world. C.S. Lewis would say that
that is the reason so many people can’t find happiness in this world: because
we were made for another. Will you turn
to Jesus and become part of that world today?
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