Rev. # 78~21:1-27 THE PEARLY WHITE CITY, OUR FUTURE HOME 11-13-10
We left off last time talking about the names of the 12 tribes of Israel being engraved on the gates of the City.
Chapters 21 and 22 are a description of the eternal state (following the Millennium and the final judgment), centering in the New Jerusalem as the eternal habitation of the saved.
This idea of a new heaven and a new earth is not confined to the New Testament. God foretold these things to Israel, saying,
Isa.65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. And then in
Isa.66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make**, shall remain before Me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Ø Listen as I read verses 1-12 once again.
1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
The idea is one of transition, not extinction, not annihilation, God does not annihilate any thing.
The renovation of the heavens and the earth indicates a continuing place for the entire universe in the plan of God. Earth and the 1st and 2nd heaven will be completely purified by fire.
2And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
It is called the "holy city" and is described "as a bride adorned for her husband, in verses 9 and 10
3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4And 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. 5And 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.
6And 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.
7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8But 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.
9And 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. 10And 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, 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12And 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:
13On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
There are twelve gates to the city, three gates on each side. On each gate is the name of one of the tribes of Israel. This suggests the order in which the children of Israel camped about the tabernacle in the wilderness wanderings. The tribe of Levi was the priesthood tribe and served in the tabernacle proper.
Let’s keep in mind that each of these 12 gates are made of one solid Pearl according to verse
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl:
Ø These verses describe the beauty and glory of the holy Jerusalem. It is called Christ’s bride in verse 2, a reference to the church as the city’s principal inhabitant. It is an expression of the glory of God.
The wall shows its security and protection. Its gates show accessibility. It has dimensions of approximately 1,500 miles cubed, or square.
The gold and precious stones may be earthly materials glorified. They picture the glory, beauty, and eternal quality of the city.
It is called the "holy city" and is described "as a bride adorned for her husband." In verses 9 and 10.
The words “From God” shows its divine purpose, and “out of heaven” its divine origin”.
12And 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:
But remember it appears as though Dan’s name will not be on a gate because of their sins of idolatry and blasphemy in LEV.24:10-16-AND Judges 18:30-31, that we’ve already read and talked about.
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14And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
And their names are;
Matt.10:2-4 The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.
I want to quickly say something about “Simon the Canaanite” that we see here named among the Apostles. Lets not go off the deep end and think that he was not a Jew, here is some of the information I found on this Simon the Canaanite.
Simon the Canaanite that we read here- Luke calls him "Simon Zelotes,**" the zealous. It is probable that he was one of a small sect of the Jews called "Zealots," on account of special zeal in religion.
This word "Canaanite" does not mean a native of Canaan, but is derived from the Syriac word Kanean, which was the name of a Jewish sect that was highly zealous for their Lord Jesus.
It is probable that he was referred to as (Simon the Canaanite) to distinguish him from SIMON who is called Peter.
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We don’t believe Judas Iscariots name will be among the names on one of the 12 foundations as he betrayed the Lord. Many think it will be Paul but I believe it will be Matthias.
Listen and I’ll tell you why that I believe it will be Matthias instead of Paul.
Ø Listen as I read from Acts 1:15-26.
15And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,) 16Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus.
17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.
18Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. 19And it was known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem; insomuch as that field is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.
20For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.
Ø Listen closely and we’ll see that it’s not Paul.
21Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, ****
22Beginning from*** the baptism of John, unto*** that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
Paul, (Saul at this time) if you’ll recall met Jesus for the 1st time as Paul was on his way to persecute Christians in Damascus, Jesus appeared to Paul as a Great light and cause Paul to fall to the ground in Acts 9:-----listen as I continue reading
23And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, 25That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell,*** (notice Judas fell from the office of Apostleship, he did not fall from grace, Judas was never saved.} that he might go to his own place.
26And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Ø Paul had not met the Lord Jesus in person as yet, he did that in
Acts 9:1-4 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, ** whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5And he said, Who art thou, Lord? ***
(Notice, he ask the Lord Who He was) And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.** (the pricks of a sharpened “goad” that a farmer would use to get the oxen to do some thing, it was futile for the ox to kick when he was pricked with the goad.)
So it seems to me that the other name of the apostle to be on one of the 12 foundations will be Matthias, who replaced Judas.
This is certainly taken nothing away from the great Apostle Paul; Paul wrote 14 books of the N.T., he was the minister to the Gentiles, and I’m sure he’ll have a prominent place in the Kingdom of Christ.
Romans 15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
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15And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, (a measureing device) twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19And 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; 20The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
These beautiful Gems depict the glory, beauty, and eternal quality of the city. Jasper is green, sapphire is blue, chalcedony is another shade of green, emerald is the darkest of the greens, sardonyx is red and white, sardius is blood red, chrysolite is yellow or gold, beryl is another shade of green, topaz is greenish gold or yellow, chrysoprasus is another shade of green, jacinth is bluish purple, and amethyst is purple quartz. The effect is a magnificent city of brilliant gold adorned with gems of every color. There appears to be only one street (cf. 22:2), also made of pure, radiant gold.
We notice many shades of (green) green speaks of eternality, as the ever green tree is green year around.
21And 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. 22And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23And 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. 24And 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. 25And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. 27And 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.
Notice that the number 12 is very predominant in this city; it has 12 gates named after the 12 tribes, 12 angels, 12 foundation stones inscribed with the names of the 12 apostles, 12 pearls, 12 kinds of fruit, a wall 144 cubits (12x12), and the height, width, and length is 12,000 stadia, about 15,00 miles.
The fact that the gates are named after the 12 tribes of Israel and that the foundation stones are inscribed with the names of the 12 apostles of the church should clearly show that both Israel (Old Testament saints), and the church will be a part of this city, yet they still remain distinct groups within the people of God.
21:22, 23. There is no temple in the city, since both the Father and the Son will be present in their fullest manifestations. Its light will be provided by the Shekinah glory of God and of Christ
21:24–27. The glory of God in the New Jerusalem will light the earth. Whether this is the new earth (v. 1) or the millennial earth is not clear. Perhaps the New Jerusalem will give light to the earth during the Millennium as a satellite city.
The open gates show that security measures are no longer necessary.
Day is continuous since darkness never comes. Only redeemed and glorified people will have access to or dwell in the New Jerusalem. No sinful thing that defileth will enter God’s presence.
I am reminded of what Paul said in
1 Corinthians 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
