02.64. LECTURE No. 64 -- Rev_21:2-8
LECTURE No. 64 -- Revelation 21:2-8 At the Close of the One Thousand Year’s Reign of Christ the Earth Will Be Renovated by Fire - The New Jerusalem Will Then Descend Upon the Renovated Earth - Creation Itself, Will Be Delivered from the Curse into the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of God - The Earth Will Be Renovated, Not Annihilated -- When the New Jerusalem Descends Upon the New Earth the Tabernacle of God Will Be with Men - By Faith Abraham Looked for Such a City - Jesus Promised That He Would Prepare a Place for Us - In Spite of Conditions As They Are Today There Is Hope for the Future - Some of the Blessings of the New Earth
ALTHOUGH the book of Revelation has been a much neglected book in Bible study by most Christians, those of us who are studying, it at this time, are finding it to be full of light and truth and blessing even for those of us who are living in this age of grace.
It is for the most part a book of prophecy which reveals to us the future judgments of God upon the wicked and the ultimate and final blessings of God which are to come upon the righteous in the end of God’s plan of redemption.
We have progressed in our study to Revelation 21:1-27.
Our last lesson was based upon Revelation 21:1 where the Apostle John said,
“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 Earth Will Be Renovated by Fire In our preceding lesson based upon this verse, we pointed out from the scriptures the three different stages through which the earth and the atmospheric heavens about the earth have passed or will pass during the ages allotted in the scriptures to the plan of redemption.
We learned that the first or original earth mentioned in Genesis 1:1 perished by water and that the earth in its present condition is being kept in store “reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
The renovation of the earth by fire, however, will not take place until after the close of the millennial period.
We do not need to worry therefore, about the renovation of the earth by fire until both the tribulation period and the millennium have come to pass. When Jesus shall have delivered up the kingdom to the Father then the earth will be renovated by fire in preparation for the perfect age, which is to follow this event, and which is spoken of as the “Ages of Ages.”
The New Jerusalem Will Descend
Let us now advance in our study by considering what is written in Revelation 21:2-8, where it says,
“And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
“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.
“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.
“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. 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. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
“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.”
Nothing Is Ever Destroyed In our last message we made mention of the fact that the renovation of the earth by fire does not mean that the earth will be annihilated and come to nothing as if it had never existed.
The very nature of things and the Word of God itself are both contrary to such an idea as this.
When we understand the workings of nature we discover that nothing is ever destroyed, in the sense of annihilation.
Things may become chemically changed, but even when something is burned the material merely changes form, but is not destroyed. There is no way of proving that a single atom of material of any kind was ever destroyed.
We have every reason to believe, therefore, that when the Apostle Peter speaks of the renovation of the earth by fire, “In the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and that the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up,” he was not arguing that the present earth will be annihilated but that it will be changed and be made habitable once again on a new basis for those who are to live upon the earth, in its new form following its renovation by fire.
Creation to Be Delivered from Corruption This position seems to be substantiated in Romans 8:19-22 in where the Apostle said,
“For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.”
From these words we discover that because of man’s sin the material creation also has been cursed and is in bondage, and travaileth in pain until now. It is therefore, waiting to be delivered from its present bondage into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Certainly, my friends, the annihilation of the earth would not mean deliverance but destruction, which is contrary to the teachings of scripture on this point. A Well Known Author’s Statement In his book on the Revelation, Clarence Larkin, a well-known authority says on this point,
“The ‘Dissolving’ (of the earth) of which Peter speaks in 2 Peter 3:11, is the same word Jesus used when He said of the colt-’Loose’ him and let him go.’ The teaching of the Scriptures is, that ‘creation’ is at present in a ‘State of Captivity,’ waiting to be loosed from the bondage that sin has caused.
“As to the ‘Departing as a Scroll’ of the heavens, and the ‘Flying Away’ of the earth and heavens, of which John speaks in Revelation 6:14; Revelation 20:11, a total disappearance of all the material worlds is not at all the idea, for he tells us that afterwards, he saw-the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, and nations living and walking in the Light of it on the earth, and the kings of the earth bringing their Glory and Honor into it.” Our conclusion, therefore, is that the earth is to be cleansed and purified by fire and be made fit for the home of those redeemed people and nations that are to occupy it after it has been cleansed and renovated by fire. The renovation of the earth by fire, therefore, does not mean the end of time or the annihilation of the earth or the destruction of the human family.
Jesus Himself plainly taught that the meek shall inherit the earth. The scriptures also teach that the Children of Israel shall dwell in the earth forever.
This is confirmed in Isaiah 66:22, where it says,
“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.” The Tabernacle of God Will Be with Men
There is much other arguments that might be presented from the scriptures to show that after the earth has been renovated by fire it will continue in a new form which will be much better than its present state, but let us now give our attention more especially to our lesson text. In Revelation 21:2-3 it says,
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a 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.”
Abraham Looked for Such a City The idea of a holy city is not new in the scriptures. Seemingly Abraham understood that such a city was being prepared as the future home of the righteous. This is confirmed in Hebrews 11:8-10, where it says,
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
What Jesus Said The idea that a place is being prepared for the righteous is also confirmed in John 14:1-3, where Jesus said to His own disciples,
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where 1 am, there ye may be also.”
The wonderful thing about our lesson text is, that John, in his vision, “saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
These very words substantiate our argument, that following the renovation of the earth by fire the earth in its new form is to continue.
There Is Hope for the Future As John saw the holy city descending from God out of heaven, he heard a wonderful prophetic announcement, concerning the future, which is recorded in the third verse of our lesson text, where it says,
“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.”
Certainly, my friends, these words mean much for the future. When we read them, we are reminded of the fact that in the days of Moses there was a tabernacle of God upon earth in which he tabernacled among men, even among the midst of His chosen people, Israel. In that tabernacle, besides the outer court and the holy place, there was the holy of holies in which God manifested Himself in His Shekinah glory between the cherubim above the mercy seat. The tabernacle in which God dwelt among His people at that time however, was merely a tent, which as we know, was later replaced by the temple which Solomon built in Jerusalem. When Solomon’s temple was built, God also manifested His presence on the day that it was dedicated, for it says,
“The priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord, had filled the house of God.”
Present Day Conditions For nearly two thousand years, however, there has been no temple of God in Jerusalem in which He might manifest Himself in His Shekinah glory, as He did in days gone by.
True it is that in the world today the Jews have their synagogues and the Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, have their churches, but God does not manifest Himself in these earthly tabernacles now, after the same manner that He did in the tabernacle in the wilderness and in the temple in Jerusalem.
I do not mean to say that God’s presence is not felt in the earthly sanctuaries of today, for He does manifest Himself by the Holy Spirit in the churches where men meet to pray and to worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Even so, there is a difference between the way He manifests Himself now and the way He manifested Himself then.
According to our lesson text, however, we have every reason to believe that in the new order of things, following the millennium and the renovation of the earth by fire, the holy city, which is the New Jerusalem will descend from God out of heaven and that God Himself will once again tabernacle with men and dwell with them in their midst.
When that time comes, they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Blessings of the New Earth
Now let us notice some of the blessed conditions which will, exist upon the earth in its renewed form when all of these things shall come to pass. No More Tears In the fourth verse of our lesson text John said, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
No one can deny but what the world of today is literally filled with broken hearts, which cause many tears to flow freely and there seems to be so little we can do about it. Is there anyone who is not acquainted with grief in some way or another? Is there anyone who does not have occasion to weep, either over their own sins or the sins of others? Even though we succeed in drying up someone’s tears, there is little we can do toward binding up the wound of a broken heart.
Yea, when our own hearts are broken and bowed down with grief, it takes more than human kindness and human sympathy to comfort us so that tears no longer flow. There are many reasons why men grieve and shed tears.
For instance when we are bereaved through the death of some loved one, we groan within ourselves and weep over the ties of love and affection which have been broken. We do not need to be ashamed of this and consider it a sign of weakness, for such is not the case. Even Jesus Himself wept at the grave of Lazarus, because He loved him, and we have reason to believe that He wept over Jerusalem because of its sins.
We know there are also tears which are caused by persecution and by injustice and discrimination against those who are innocent. We all know what it is to shed tears of disappointment. Some of us also know what it is to shed tears of penitence for the sins which we have committed against God and against cur fellowmen.
Yes, indeed, my friends, there are many reasons why men weep and shed tears in a world like this, which is filled with sin and sorrow and heartache and disappointment.
What a happy thought, therefore, that the time is coming when all of these things which cause us to weep now will be removed, and that God Himself shall wipe away all tears from the eyes of those who will be privileged to inhabit the new earth. No More Death Not only will all tears be wiped away, but we are told also that,
“There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things will have passed away.”
Death, my friend, has reigned upon the earth as master of all men, bringing each one into the grave regardless of his earthly wealth, his fame or his power. Death is still present with us today. We know, however, that the last enemy to be destroyed is death, which fact is stated in 1 Corinthians 15:36.
Present conditions upon the earth are well described in this little verse which says, There is no flock, however watched and tended, But one dead lamb is there!
There is no fireside, howsoe’er defended,
But hath one vacant chair. As we travel along the highways up and down the land, we pass by the silent cities of the dead and each time we do, it is a silent reminder that we too, someday, shall take our place beside those who are buried there. There is only one hope of escaping the tomb, and that is, providing the Lord should come in our day and time while we are yet alive, for we are told in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 that,
“The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Unless this event occurs while we are still living, each and every one of us will as surely die, as those who have lived and died before us.
Imagine, my friends, if you can, what it will be like for those who live in the new earth where there shall be no more death. What a blessed existence that will be for those who will live then. When death has been destroyed, we do not wonder that there shall be “Neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things” will have passed away.
We do not need to be in doubt as to the certainty of these things, for in Revelation 21:5 of our lesson text it says, “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.”
Indeed, my friends, when God has pledged His Word to us in this fashion, we dare not doubt the final fulfillment of these things. To do so would be wicked unbelief on our part and would rob our own hearts of much comfort for the present and of hope for the future.
We shall conclude our lesson by reading Revelation 21:6-8 of our lesson text! In these verses it says,
“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. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shaft have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
~ end of lecture 64 ~