What's the New Jerusalem? | Revelation 21:9-27
Series: Revelation: The Best is Yet to Come
Title: “What’s the New Jerusalem?”
Scripture: Revelation 21:9-27
(Commentary helps listed at the end)
Need: We need to see how dangerous it is to set our hearts on the treasure here on earth.
Bottom line: The real treasure of the new heaven, earth and city is God himself. We look forward to a new heaven, earth and city because there we will:
Live in God’s presence
experiencing his mercy
Satisfied by his pleasures, and
Aware of his justice forever.
God is the treasure. And God treasures us!
INTRODUCTION
Opening story:
A lot has changed in the last 500 years…
Read Rev 21:9-27
CONTEXT
We have seen:
Jesus and his churches (1-3)
The throne and judgments of God (6-16)
The whore, the King, and his bride (17-22)
It’s also noteworthy that these last 2 chapters of Revelation and of the Bible occur when sin has been abolished from the universe. No more sin, shame, guilt, death—it’s all history.
OUTLINE
The New Jerusalem will be a perfect city. (9-21)
The New Jerusalem will be a perfect temple. (22-27)
“I did not see the temple in the city”
Why? Because, “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (22)
John 2:17-22
Ephesians 2:19-22
“This means that whereas formerly there was a structure, a tent or a building, that was holy because God was there, now the structure is the whole of the reality. The temple is the new heaven and new earth. Just as the temple was formerly the holy place in the midst of the wider world, now God and the Lamb are what the temple was: they are the holy in the midst of the world, and there is not a particular building that is the temple because the world itself has become the temple. This is what the OT prophesied in the passages such as Zechariah 14:20, 21.” -Jim Hamilton
“The 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.” (23)
“Have you ever taken a flashlight outside on a clear, sunny day? You can barely see the light of the candle or flashlight at all.” -Jim Hamilton
I can remember getting a new Timex watch for Christmas and trying to see it glow during the day. You could never see it because the light in the room or outside was way to bright. You had to go into a closet and close the door to see it. The light of the sun and moon will be that dim in comparison to the light of the glory of God.
“but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” will enter this city.
“God wrote these people’s names in the Lamb’s book of life before foundation of the world. It is not unfair of God to write down some names and not others. He is God. He shows mercy to whom he pleases (Exodus 33:19). He does not owe mercy to anyone. He has chosen to guarantee that some will be faithful to him, and the rest he allows to make their own choice. They choose to worship the beast and suffer the consequences. But it is not as though those who names are written in the Lamb’s book of life do not get the same choice. God so works that they are born again, and as a result they have the ability to see God’s hidden kingdom. Because of that, they choose to resist the beast. They choose, and God chose them. Humans are responsible, and God is sovereign.” -Jim Hamilton p. 399
The New Jerusalem will be a perfect garden. (22:1-5; Next week)
CONCLUSION
“Image that you were born into a miserable situation—no family, no future, no hope. A father you did not know and never would have met sets his love on you. He makes elaborate plans to redeem you for himself, make you part of his family, and give you hope and a future. The price for your redemption is shocking, but this father who has decided to adopt you doesn’t even flinch.
At a cost to himself that you cannot fathom, a price that you will not understand until your own faculties have matured, he ransoms your life. The redemption entails a journey of a distance we have no categories for comprehending, a sacrifice that risks everything , suffers, dies, and rises from the dead, and in the triumphant resurrection your life is secured. He has bought you back, and he will fetch you home.” -Jim Hamilton
Better questions:
Have you chosen him?
Bottom line: The real treasure of the new heaven, earth and city is God himself. We look forward to a new heaven, earth and city because there we will:
Live in God’s presence
experiencing his mercy
Satisfied by his pleasures, and
Aware of his justice forever.
God is the treasure. And God treasures us!
Pray
Lord’s Supper, 1 Corinthians 11:17-32
OTHER NOTES:
The value of a pearl can vary dramatically depending on many factors, such as its type, size, color, surface quality, and more. A wild pearl will be worth more than a cultured pearl. However, on average, a pearl's value ranges from $300 to $1,500.
https://www.thepearlsource.com› h...
How Much are Pearls Worth | The Pearl Source
A natural pearl (often called an Oriental pearl) forms when an irritant works its way into a particular species of oyster, mussel, or clam. As a defense mechanism, the mollusk secretes a fluid to coat the irritant. Layer upon layer of this coating is deposited on the irritant until a lustrous pearl is formed.
https://www.jthomasjewelers.com› ...
How Pearls Are Formed - J. Thomas Jewelers
OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS:
We make Superman out to be a god.
God makes Superman out to be a cartoon.
A little girl once defined repentance as “Being sorry enough to stop doing it.”
Fort Knox holds 173 billion dollars in gold.
It has held the nation’s gold deposit since 1937.
It could create a 20x20x20 ft cube of gold.
Now imagine how much gold it would take to create a 12,000x12,000x12,000 foot cube. Now 12,000 stadia! (1,500 miles)!
What’s the real treasure in the new heaven, earth, body and city?
God himself.
MAIN COMMENTARY HELP:
Exalting Jesus in Revelation by Daniel Akin
Revelation by Jim Hamilton
Revelation by Paige Patterson, New American Commentary series
Breaking the Code by Bruce Metzger
2020 Sermons by Matt Chandler
ESV Global Study Bible
Bible in One Year by Nicky Gumbel
Bible Knowledge Commentary
The Outline Bible, Wilmington
Discipleship on the Edge, Darrell W. Johnson