REVELATION LESSON 53

REVELATION

LESSON 53

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 21:13   ¹³ On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

The wall will have four sides with three gates on each side, providing access to the holy city from every direction on the new earth.

Revelation 21:14   ¹⁴ And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

This city will have twelve foundation. Each foundation will have the name of one of the twelve apostles of Jesus on it. This is significant because the Word tells us that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets.

Revelation 21:15   ¹⁵ And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

Revelation 21:16   ¹⁶ And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

The holy city will be laid out like a square. Its length will be the same as the width and height. The holy of holies in the tabernacle and the one in Jerusalem temple were cubes. The shape of Gods temporary residence among the Hebrews will be the shape of Gods permanent residence among his people.

Revelation 21:17   ¹⁷ And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

The wall around the holy city will be 144 cubits, (216 feet thick) the thick wall will provide plenty of protection. The ancient wall of Babylon was only 87 feet thick.

Revelation 21:18   ¹⁸ And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

The wall will be made of a gem that is beautiful, hard and transparent. People will be able to see through it into the holy city. The light of God will beam out of the city. The city itself will be made of gold as clear as glass.

Revelation 21:19-20   ¹⁹ And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

²⁰ The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

Each one of the twelve foundation of the city walls will be different. The first four floors will be Jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, and emerald.

The next eight foundations will be decorated with sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth and amethyst. A brilliant rainbow would be just a pale glimmer compared to what these foundation stones will look like. God is light and His light passing through these many different colored stone will be breathtaking.

Revelation 21:21   ²¹ And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

With only twelve gates to this amazing city and each gate being more than 300 miles apart, we know the gates will need to be huge. Each gate will consist of a single gigantic pearl.

And the street of the city will be made of pure gold as it were transparent glass.

Revelation 21:22   ²² And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Because of sin on earth God withdrew his presence from mankind. He had Moses and others to build a tabernacle. Later Solomon built a temple where the people would go to worship. He separated himself from them by residing in the holy of holies. After the millennium things will be different. A temple will not be needed since sin will not be present in the holy city.

God will have no need to separate himself from his people. The glorious presence of the Father and Son will permeate the entire city.

Revelation 21:23   ²³ And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

The Father and the Son are the source of the physical light. They spoke light into existence when they created the sun, moon and stars. These will be done away with when they create the new heaven and the new earth, Gods presence in the holy city will be our illumination.

Revelation 21:24   ²⁴ And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.

The new earth will be populated with the children of Israel and the descendants of those who did not follow Satan in the final rebellion after the millennium. Nations and leaders will be on the new earth when the holy city comes out of heaven. They will walk in the light coming from that holy city instead of the light of the sun and moon.

The inhabitants of the new earth will travel to the holy city to worship. The holy city will be the future home of the church. The new earth will be the future home of Israel and all others who will be saved after the rapture.

Revelation 21:25   ²⁵ And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

The people of some ancient cities would open their gates during the day and close them at night. The continuous presence of God will illuminate the Holy city and there will be continuous light. There will be no darkness.

Darkness will not be known. There will be no need to shut the gates.

Revelation 21:26   ²⁶ And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

Visitors will go to the holy city to give glory and honor to the Lord.

Revelation 21:27   ²⁷ And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

When God created Adam and Eve, he placed them in a perfect creation, the garden of Eden. When Satan came and tempted them and they fell they lost their place in the Garden. God will never allow that to happen again. He will never allow any thing that is impure to enter the holy city. Only those whose names are found in the Lambs book of life will be permitted to enter.

Until our next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy.

REVELATION LESSON 52

REVELATION

LESSON 52

ARE WE LIVING IN THE END TIMES?

Revelation 21:4   ⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Wiping all tears from their eyes means that the normal reaction of the present life of sorrows will be eliminated. For the former things shall pass away. The new creation will be much different in every way.

Revelation 21:5   ⁵ And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Following the millennium Jesus will not fix or repair this old creation. He will recreate everything. This is more than a verbal promise because he says, write, these words are true and faithful.

Revelation 21:6   ⁶ And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

The new creation is inevitable because it is the spoken word of Jesus. He proved His power to create when he fashioned all things at the beginning of creation. As the alpha and Omega, he is the first and the last word in all things, all authority is his and what he declares will be done.

Revelation 21:7   ⁷ He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

In the original creation Adam was told to till the ground. He was a steward over the creation, but the overcomers will inherit the new creation. All true Christians are overcomers God is their God, they are his children and joint heirs with Jesus.

Revelation 21:8   ⁸ But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

All unbelievers will be cast into the fiery lake of burning brimstone, which is the second death. The original creation was over come with sin. The earth was filled with violence and corruption. This will not happen in the new creation because the ungodly will find their place of death in the lake of fire the cowardly unbelievers, abominable murderers, sexually immoral. Those who practice sorcery, idolaters and liars.

Revelation 21:9   ⁹ And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and talked with me saying to me come, I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. The same angel came to John saying, come I will show you the bride, the Lambs wife. Both of these women represent a great city.

One of the same angels who poured out a bowl of Gods wrath is now inviting John to see Gods love for his church. A special union will exist between a bridegroom ad bride upon their marriage.

Revelation 21:10   ¹⁰ And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

On both occasions the angel carried John away in the spirit. But there is a difference, the first time the angel took John into the wilderness, and this time the angel took John to a great high mountain. The first time John saw Babylon hurled down with violence. This time John saw the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven. How it will descend is a matter of debate, nothing is said about it coming to rest on the earth.

It may do that bit it also may remain suspended above. One thing is for sure, what goes on in the holy city will be more important than what takes place on the new earth. The holy city will be the headquarters of the new creation. John was in the spirit. It was an ecstatic spiritual state that put him close to God and made it possible for him to see visions.

Revelation 21:11   ¹¹ Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

The holy city will descend out of heaven lit with the shekinah glory of God. His light will burst forth in brilliance like the sparkle of a large jasper stone clear as crystal. Jasper is the first stone in the breast plate of the high priest. It is a symbol of purity and holiness.

Revelation 21:12   ¹² And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

The holy city will be surrounded by a thick high wall with twelve gates. Peter won’t be standing at these gates, angels will. The name of each of one of the twelve tribes of Israel will be written on the gates.

The names of the twelve tribes of Israel will be a reminder that the messiah, the scriptures and salvation came through the Jews. Without them the holy city would not be needed and the gentiles would be without hope.

The walls of the new Jerusalem reveal that Israel and the church share equally in the inheritance of the city. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel are inscribed on it’s twelve gates. The names of the twelve apostles are on the twelve foundation stones.

Until our next lesson,

Stay in the word.

Brother Andy.