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| Photo of Jon Tracy, by Jim Tracy |
There should not be a chapter division here.
1 And 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.
This is almost word for word Isaiah 65:17
Verse 20 in Isaiah speaks of babies and the death of old people (but no one else) so this can’t be talking about heaven. Both men are prophesying about the Church Age, the New Covenant.
“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“But may it never be that I should boast, except in The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision (the old covenant) anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation (new covenant)” Galatians 6:14-15.
The first covenant (wife, marriage contract) has been done away with. We are under a New Covenant.
God no longer has a chosen nation.
The sea has been the gentiles in the rest of this book. There are no more “gentile nations” since the Cross; just saved and unsaved individuals.
You don’t plant in the sea. You can’t grow any crops there. It is unproductive. Before The Cross most of the world was unproductive for God. Few ever found Him (though the Bible does give a few examples of none-Israelites who did know Him). He was pretty limited to Israel. After The Cross, all nations became productive, places to “grow” God. (See Hebrews 8:6-13 and http://bolcf.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-olive-tree.html)
2 And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
The church is “New Jerusalem” and replaces old Jerusalem. We are the Bride of Christ.
“But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,” Hebrews 12:22
“Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.” Matthew 21:43
The New Jerusalem comes from heaven while the beast came from the sea.
3 And 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.”
God dwells in our hearts now, not in temples or tabernacles.
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.”
We don’t have to mourn the loss of saved loved ones because we know we will see them again (though we are sad for missing them in the meanwhile). We know the trials of this life are just temporary and a better time is coming, so we don’t have to be sad over what happens here. This does speak of the ultimate home, Heaven, and its perfection, as well as the joy of life now with God.
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.”
The Old Covenant is gone. We have a new relationship with God. All sins are gone when we repent and we are new creatures.
“Make” is in present tense. It’s happening now.
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.
Jesus is the living water. His spirit dwells in us and we don’t have to thirst for God. He is there in our hearts.
7 “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be His God, and He shall be my son.”
This is now. All who overcome sin are the sons of God.
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 sinners die eternally.
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.”
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,
New Jerusalem is the bride. This is the church. Present tense.
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
Matthew 5:14-16 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
Acts 13:47 "For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?"
Ephesians 5:8,9 "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)"
Value of the city
1 Corinthians 2:12 "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God"
1 Peter 1:7 "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:"
1 Peter 2:4-7 "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5 Ye
also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ.
6 Wherefore
also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief
corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
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:
Under the new covenant, the church is Israel. “12 tribes” is symbolic for "The Whole Thing."
Walls are for protection.
Isaiah 60:18-19 "Violence
shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy
borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.
19 The
sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the
moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall be unto thee an
everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
The city (church) is perfect with no irregularities.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
The church is based on Israel. It is founded on the teachings of the apostles of Christ.
Ephesians 2:20-22 "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."
Church based on and protected by teachings of apostles.
Or our new planet/country based on the Bible
15 And He that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
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.
A furlong is 660 feet, so this city measures 7,920,000 square miles.
This could not possibly be physical because this size of a city would alter the rotation of the planet and destroy it.
Its about half the size of US. Mount Everest is only 29,028 feet tall.
But a Square/cube is the ancient Greek symbol for perfection, as in our saying “square deal” which means honest or upright.
This city is a perfect square, a planned city, not haphazard or an afterthought.
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.
What good would a physical wall this size be? It would be way over kill for ancient weapons and not effective at all to keep modern planes and bombs out.
Cubit (the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger) is a common measure, available to all. Bible is for everyone, written to be understood by all.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
The Church is pure.
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.
The Church is of great value. These are the same as the stones in priest's breastplate.
The City (the Church) is now the priest. We are all priests to God.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls:
Pearls are created with great suffering. We enter the church through the suffering of Christ.
If literal, how big would those clams have to be to produce 216 foot high pearls?! Truly terrifying monsters!
...every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
Our path must be pure.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
We worship in our hearts, not prescribed locations.
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.
Sun and moon were Israel earlier. God's church is no longer run by The Law (sun=Sabbath, moon= monthly feasts), but by Jesus Christ Himself. Its His presence in our hearts that lights our lives and gives us life, not obedience to Moses.
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 honor into it.
Those nations that have followed God's principles, His natural laws of human rights, have prospered and received reflected glory from God. Those that haven’t, have descended into tyranny.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
The Church is never shut to anyone. All are free to come at any time.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
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.
Only those who are saved can be part of the church. All in the church must have their sins, their uncleanness, washed away. They must all be pure.