Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
Today we continue with our study of the Revelation of Jesus Christ as given to the Apostle John.
We have been studying the description of the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. So far we have seen the size and structure of this beautiful city. It is not some figurative place, it is a real city authenticated by the authority of the word of God. If people do not believe in the authority of the word of God they will doubt not only this description, but most likely they will doubt the rest of the Bible as well, including Gen.1:1, and John 3:16. For the believer belief begins and ends with the Alpha and the Omega, and we doubt nothing in between. Amen?
Now John is shown life inside the city. He saw things that would and would not be there.
v.22
John saw no temple in the heavenly city because the Father and the Son are its temple. They are the temple; they are the place of worship. The earthly millennial reign of Christ according to Ezekiel will have a beautiful temple, Ezek.40:1-47:12. At the Millennial temple remembrances will be made to show what Christ did to redeem mankind. But in heaven no remembrance is necessary because we will all be believers and we are with the Savior and the Father.
v.23
In that city there is no need for the sun. Notice it doesn’t day there is no sun as it says the city has no need of the sun, neither the moon to shine it because the glory, the doxa, which reflects the majesty of God is there and this lights the city, and the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ is the light of the city. From this we note that God outshines all of his creation because all of creation is subject to God. From this we see the deity of Christ as the second person of the godhead.
v.24
And the nations, ethne, gentiles (believers not of Israel’s stock); who are being saved in time (present passive participle) will be there, and they, the saved resurrected gentiles shall walk (future active imperative), they shall one day walk in the light of it, and the saved resurrected kings of the earth (saved world rulers) will bring their glory and honor into this city. Those living in the Millennial kingdom will not do this during the millennium as they are still in the flesh, but they will once they are resurrected.
In the eternal state after the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, is placed on the new earth all the saints of God will walk the street of gold in this city. There will be nations all over the earth. Israel will be a nation as well for she is promised an everlasting position before God. Israel will not cease to be a nation when the Millennial reign of Christ is over, Gen.17:19 (Abrahamic covenant), as this was an everlasting covenant.
As we have noted before, only resurrected saints will abide in this city, saints from all walks of life, from the pauper to the highest of leaders who have bowed the knee to Jesus Christ during their life.
v.25
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day for there is no night there. With the glory of the Father and the Lamb as the Light of the city there is no darkness there. It will never be dark there during its suspension over the earth during the millennial reign of Christ and there will never be darkness there during the eternal state. The gates will remain open for no harm can come to her or her people. Because of sin in our world we have to lock everything up and bolt the doors shut and still this isn’t enough sometimes. There is coming a day when we will not need a police force or a military, or a gun to protect ourselves or our property because all sin and sinners will be gone.
v.26 The glory of gentile resurrected saints will bring (future active indicative verb from phero); we will bring honor into this city.
v.27 And because only resurrected believers along with the Holy Trinity and holy angels will be there, there will be no abominations or liars there; in other words, all unbelievers will be absent from this city. Only those whose names which are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be there. If your name is not registered in this book, heaven is not your eternal home. To get on this registry you must do as Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”
Once the end of the millennial reign of Christ is over, and all the unsaved are judged and sent to hell no more humans will be born. The angelic conflict will finally be resolved and God’s justice will have been satisfied in condemning Satan, the fallen angels and all unbelievers to the lake of fire. God’s program for eternity will commence with the redeemed of all time.
The description of the heavenly city depicts the environment of the new earth as well. It too will have no more sea, 21:1, no temple, 21:22, no need for sun or moon, 21:23, no night, 21:25, and no sinners, 21:27.
It is not selfish for the children of God to want what God has provided for his children. God’s grace supplies for us everything we need to get by in this life, and even more is supplied in the next life. Sin can stain and distort the blessings God gives to us in this life and for this reason we take for granted our many blessings. Sin takes the credit for all we have, if we let it. Pride will say I have gotten all that I have by my own might and my own means and that is not true. Be grateful for what you have. Do not be ungrateful because you do not have more.
One day all believers in Jesus Christ will walk in the physical presence of God and we will walk in his light. Every person who comes into this world has the opportunity to walk in God’s spiritual light if they have received Christ as Savior, John 1:1-9. Do not turn away from that light, for it is according to God’s word, the only light that transports mankind out of spiritual darkness. Those who have never been born again are in spiritual darkness and they do not have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life. If your name is not in the Lamb’s book of life you will never enter heaven. It is His book. No one else writes in His book. God invites everyone to receive the Son for the forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, II Pet.3:9. I trust each one here has accepted that offer.
If you are already a believer, but you have been walking in sin; walking a carnal walk with mental attitude sins, or sins of the tongue, and yes even physical acts of sin, then you have not been walking in the light that you once entered into at salvation and I can guarantee you, that you are not a happy person, I John 1:5-9. Confess your sins to God, and begin walking in the light of God’s direction. Come to Bible class often so you can be instructed more in how to walk in the light of God’s word. You will become more confident and more convicted in your eternal relationship with God if you do. Let’s not be satisfied with a Christian experience that is mediocre at best.