A New Beginning Series

August 10, 2024

The Great Controversy is over. Satan and his followers have been destroyed and all traces of sin and evil are forever gone. At that time our planet will undergo a radical transformation. Cleansed and restored to its original state and ready to be the forever home of God’s people.

Revelation 21:1-4 - Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

It is interesting to note that John describes the New Heaven and Earth in terms of what is not there: no sea (could be understood as 1 - the oceans, as we know them, will no longer exist 2 – a symbolic end of evil because the enemies of God came from the sea (13:1) or 3 - a symbolic end of separation and suffering which John experienced while on Patmos – separated by the sea from his people) no tears, death, sorrow, crying and pain.

Because of sin, all those words entered our vocabulary and every single human has experienced them. However, sprinkled throughout Scripture are promises that things will not always be that way:

Isaiah 65:17 - Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Isaiah 25:8 - He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

1 Corinthians 15:54-55 - When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." {Isaiah 25:8}

"Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" {Hosea 13:14}

Ezekiel 37:26-27 - I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and increase their numbers, and I will put my sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Even though the fulfillment of these promises is still in the future, we can live as though they have already been fulfilled. Why? Because God says there will come a day of ultimate fulfillment:

Revelation 21:5-7 - He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

This section concludes with a warning. While those who overcome will receive their promised inheritance, those who reject God’s mercy – “the cowards, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars” will be excluded.

John is now shown the Holy City – the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.

It is a real place and real people will live there, but it is so far beyond our comprehension (1 Corinthians 2:9), that John must use symbolic language to describe what he sees (21:11-27):

• It’s brilliance is like that of jasper – clear as crystal.

• It has high walls with 12 gates (3 gates on each wall – north, south, east, west – access from all directions) and an angel is stationed at each gate. Each gate is a single pearl and on the gates are written the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

• It has 12 foundations and on them are written the names of the 12 Apostles. Each foundation is a different precious stone: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth and amethyst.

Next, John is given a measuring rod and told to measure the city:

• It is square – more precisely a cube - 12,000 stadia (1,400-1,500 miles depending on the translation) per side.