By Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III, BA, MA, DD
LESSON NOTES:
I.
WHAT IS THE NEW JERUSALEM? It has been described as the dwelling place of God.
Listen at the text real closely and ask yourself, is this referring to an
actual city or is it the Church Triumphant and Glorious? Either way, our desire
should be to be a part of it.
Ephesians 5:25-27 25Husbands, love your wives, just
as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her
holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27and
to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless.
II.
GOD WILL DWELL WITH HIS PEOPLE. John sees the dwelling place of God descending upon a
brand new Earth. Just like Adam and Eve had close communion with God, we will
have something even better; His dwelling will be with us!
Revelation 21:1-7 1Then 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. 2I saw the Holy City, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne
saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will
dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and
be their God. 4'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." 5He 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." 6He said to me:
"It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To
the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of
life. 7Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be
their God and they will be my children.
III.
THE WICKED PUNISHED. The
unsaved will have no inheritance at all among the saved.
Revelation 21:8 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving,
the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts,
the idolaters and all liars-they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning
sulfur. This is the second death."
IV.
NEW JERUSALEM DESCRIBED. Again, if this is an actual city or not remains to be
seen. It would make more biblical sense (looking at our Ephesians 5 text
mentioned earlier) for this to be the Church in its glory vs a city; as it
would be strange for Christ’s bride and wife to be a city. Either way it is
filled with the glory of God.
Revelation 21:9-21 New International Version (NIV)
9 One
of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last
plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the
wife of the Lamb.” 10 And
he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and
showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and
its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear
as crystal. 12 It had a
great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates.
On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three
on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.
15 The
angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city,
its gates and its walls. 16 The
city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city
with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and
high as it is long. 17 The
angel measured the wall using human measurement, and it was 144
cubits thick. 18 The
wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19 The foundations of the city walls were
decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was
jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby, the
seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth turquoise, the
eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 The
twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl.
The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.
A.
TEMPLE’S BECOME OBSOLETE. Adam and Eve did not have a church building, temple or
tabernacle. They did not have an organized system of worship and religion.
There was no sacrificial system. In this text all of that simplicity will be
restored.
Revelation 21:22 22I did not see a temple in the
city, because the LORD God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
B.
NO NEED FOR ARTIFICIAL LIGHT. Our lives will not be based on the Sun; but our lives
will be based on the Son.
Revelation 21:23 23The
city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God
gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
C.
ONLY FOR SAVED PEOPLE. We
will not have to worry about humanity going through sin, death and redemption
again.
Revelation 21:24-27 24The nations will walk by its
light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On
no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The
glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing
impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
V.
WHAT IS THE EIGHTH
DAY? Basically
it will be as if everything from Garden of Eden to the New Jerusalem never
existed and never occurred. God rested on the 7th Day of creation.
Meaning He ceased from labor. Now it is a brand new day. All the former things
have passed away.
A.
NO MORE SICKNESS,
DISEASE AND DEATH. All of the results of sin are gone forever.
Revelation 22:1-2 1Then the angel showed me the river of the water
of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2down
the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the
tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.
And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
B.
THE CURSE IS GONE. We will never have to
deal with it again.
Revelation 22:3-6 3No
longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face,
and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more
night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the
LORD God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 6The
angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The LORD, the God
who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that
must soon take place."
C.
HE IS COMING SOON. That is the purpose
of this book; to prepare us for His soon return!
Revelation 22:7 7"Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one
who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll."
D.
WORSHIP GOD. As the days draw to a
close; we should not get distracted.
Revelation 22:8-10 8I, John,
am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them,
I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to
me. 9But he said to me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant
with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this
scroll. Worship God!" 10Then he told me, "Do not seal up
the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.
E.
WILL YOU BE READY TO
MEET HIM?
Revelation 22:11-21 New International Version (NIV)
11 Let
the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be
vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person
continue to be holy.”
12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I
will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the
Last, the Beginning and the End.
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have
the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the
city. 15 Outside are
the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the
murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony
for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and
the bright Morning Star.”
17 The
Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say,
“Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the
free gift of the water of life.
18 I
warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If
anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues
described in this scroll. 19 And
if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will
take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy
City, which are described in this scroll.
20 He
who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21 The
grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.
VI.
CONCLUSION. Jesus is coming back.
Don’t get left behind! Receive Christ today as Lord and Savior.
A.
PRAYER FOR SALVATION FOR YOU TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST; THE
SON OF THE LIVING GOD.[1] As we close, if you have not received this Jesus pray
this simple prayer:
"Father,
I know that I have sinned against You. Please forgive me. Wash me clean. I
promise to trust in Jesus, Your Son. I believe that He died for me—He took my
sin upon Himself when He died on the cross. I believe that He was raised from
the dead. I surrender my life to Jesus today.
"Thank You,
Father, for Your gift of forgiveness and eternal life. Please help me to live
for you. In Jesus' name, Amen."
[1] http:www.joycemeyer.orgOurMinistriesEverydayAnswersHow+to+Become+a+Christian. (Accessed, March 2, 2011).
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