HEAVEN
Heb. 2:5
Morning Meditation 5/26/2013
Hebrews 2:5, "For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak."
The theme of this meditation is the relationship of the New Jerusalem to the Millennial earth during the 1000 year reign of Christ.
John Phillips makes the following comment beginning with 21:9:
"THE BRAND NEW CITY (2 1:9--22:5)
"Now comes a change. An angel appears to give John a more extended view of the Millennium and of the relationship between the eternal state with its celestial city and the glorious reign of Christ over the renewed earth. The chronology introduced by the words, 'and I saw,' is over. We are taken back to the Millennium in this, the last great parenthesis of the book. A similar visit was made by an angel to give John further details about the Babylonian city and the Babylonian system. Now John has described to him not the scarlet woman, but the bride; not Babylon. but the new Jerusalem. The purpose of this parenthesis is to show the relationship between the two Jerusalem's-- between the earthly Jerusalem. which will be the capital city of the nations during the Millennium, and the heavenly Jerusalem, the home of the saints during the Millennium and for all eternity."
"The marvelous heavenly city is seen suspended in the heavens, flashing her rays of glory to the earth. Its peoples have great concern for what happens on earth during the thousand year reign of Christ. True, many commentators have allegorized the vision and interpreted this passage in terms of the bliss and blessedness of the saved throughout eternity. Such an application has its measure of validity, for the Scriptures are very deep. But a more literal apC2ADproach seems to do better justice to the passage."
"In this description of the Millennium, everything is seen in relation to the heavenly Jerusalem and in the light of that city The first word from God in Genesis 1:1 brought heaven and earth together in perfect harmony But then sin entered, driving its wedge between the two. Now sin has been dealt with, and the great deceiver is in bonds; once again heaven and earth are brought together in the closest harmony"
JOHNS FIRST IMPRESSIONS (21:9-14)
"There is an impression of the mystery of the heavenly city John says, '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. 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.' The city is closely linked with the bride. Babylon was set forth in a dual way as a woman and a city: so is the holy Jerusalem. The city and its inhabitants are thus closely linked."
"Twice the city is said to descend from heaven. The first time, in verse 3, has to do with the eternal state. In that verse the city is seen descending toward the new earth, there to remain forever. Here in verse 9. the city descends to earth's environs to hover over the earth throughout the MillenniC2ADum."
"There is nothing impossible about a giant literal city hovering in the sky over the earth and located immediately over the earthly city of Jerusalem. Men have scoffed at such an idea in the past, but they can afford to scoff no more. Men themselves can now put satellites into stationary orbit over any part of the globe. The New Jerusalem is brought by God from outer space and made to hover in stationary orbit over Jerusalem. Direct communication is opened up between heaven and earth, and there will be much intercourse between the two Jerusalem. The miraculous element is present. but it is no longer the kind of thing at which men can scoff, nor is it to be regarded as science fiction."
"John is impressed by the majesty of the heavenly city. He describes the city as having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 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: on the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve aposC2ADtles of the Lamb. These were his first impressions. How strange that city is! It glows with a light all its own. As we fly over the great cities of the earth at night, we see the sparkling lights of those cities illuminating the sky for miles, and beneath us the vast panorama stretches away in millions of lights. The heavenly city will shine in the sky with a luster all its own. Men will look up from the earth and see it there flashing in the sky like a giant diamond. How secure that city is! Its twelve gates, directed toward the four points of the compass, are guarded by those mighty sentinels, one of whom in one night could destroy all of Sennacherib's host. No forbidden power will pass those strongly guarded gates. How strong that city is! Its mighty walls are bedded in twelve foundations, and the names of the apostles are blazoned there. That city is rooted and grounded in truth."
JOHN'S FURTHER IMPRESSIONS (21:15-27)
"John has taken a swift survey of the city, taking in with a single glance its salient points and landmarks. Now he takes a closer look and gives us his second thoughts. He mentions some of the dimensions of the city. He says,
"And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four square, 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. These dimensions can describe a pyramid but it seems more likely that the holy city is a perfect cube, just as the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple were cubes. The city runs twelve thousand stadia in all directions: it is fifteen hundred miles square and high. These dimensions have puzzled past expositors. But a city this size is no longer inconceivable. Especially when it is regarded as a heaven-descended satellite. The God who can orbit a moon around a planet or a family of planets around a sun can easily design a cubical satellite, create it. and then launch it into its desired orbit relative to earth."
"John mentions some of the details of the city. He begins with a further description of the wall. The angel who was conducting John on his grand tour, 'measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.' Compared to the height of the city itself, the wall is quite low. The city itself was measured by God, and all is therefore vast and perfect: the wall was measured by a creature, 'the measure of a man,' and is therefore nothing compared with the city. The wall of an ancient city was intended for defense, but this city needs no beetling battlements to ward off attack. It is impregnable and inviolate in itself."
"The wall is made of jasper (perhaps the diamond), a hard and brilliant stone. The city itself is made of gold, a precious metal usually used in ScripC2ADture to symbolize deity. The holy places of Israel's Tabernacle and Temple contained furniture of pure gold. In the Temple. the entire surface of the Holy of Holies was overlaid with gold. This heavenly city is the dwelling place of God, so all is of purest gold, clear as glass, constantly reflecting the glory of God."
"John describes next the foundations and says, '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 chalC2ADcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 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.' These stones represent the glory of God in a dozen different ways. We cannot fathom the meaning of them now, but the redeemed, in their heavenly city will appreciC2ADate their full significance. The overall impression is one of wealth and magnifiC2ADcence beyond anything known on earth."
--John Phillips from his book EXLORING REVELATION
I ordinarily do not make this long of a quote. But what Phillips says is so good and exactly what I believe, I found it compelling to share it with you.
I believe in verse 9 that the city is identified with her occupants. The bride of Christ will occupy the city with Jesus her Lord and will rule during the millennium from that city. We will have glorified bodies. These bodies will never tire and eating will be for pleasure not necessary to survive. So we will be so much different than people on earth in our glorified state we will go back and forth to our specially prepare place with the speed of thought. We certainly will not know everything, and will therefore, need instructions constantly from the Lord.
The words in verse 11, "having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal . . ." God is manifest with light.
Paul describes God in this way: 1 Timothy 6:16, "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen."
Jesus is the express image of God: Hebrews 1:3, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
The Glory of God that shines in this city will never dim at night. There will be no night there. But the materials out of which this 1500 mile square city are built will allow the light from the glory of God to lighten the earth. Inside the city we will be beholding the face of God. Only with God giving us the capacity to behold His glory would this be possible. Moses beheld the glory of God and it literally made his face shine for two weeks. He had to put a veil over his face for the Jews to meet with him. They could not look upon his face. Paul tells us a little about this in 2 Corinthians 3:7-8, "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?"
THE GREAT WALL
John continues to describe what the angel shows him. He describes next a wall around the city:
Revelation 21:12, "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:"
The wall "great and high" must be understood as ornamental. The great cities in the ancient world were surrounded by a wall for the purpose of protection and security. A good illustration of this was the city of Babylon. Daniel 5:1-6 says, "Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another."
Outside the walls of that great city of Babylon the armies of the Medes and Persians were camped. The walls were high and outside the walls there was a moat of water that prevented a close approach to the wall. It would be impossible for any enemy force to scale the wall because of the moat. Belshazzar felt so secure that he threw a party with the enemy army outside. He felt completely safe. But the walls were not enough. Belshazzar was killed that night and Babylon fell into the hands of the enemy.
The fact is that the wall is not necessary in the case of the New Jerusalem. There will be no attempt to enter the city by anyone who is not supposed to be there until the 1000 years are completed and Satan is loosed for a season. Then it will not be the wall that keeps them out, it will be the direct intervention of God in direct judgment upon the opposing forces. God will fight this battle and it will be destroyed before any damage is done.
THE HUGE GATES
Revelation 21:12, "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:" The city gates will have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel written on them.
This is the city Abraham looked for. It was in existence in his day and God had spoken to him of it or he would not have looked for it. Israel will be on the new earth and they will bring the glory of the nation into this city. So will all the other nations of earth.
Can you imagine three gates running down the side of this enclosed city fifteen hundred miles down one side. The gates themselves must be huge. It is hard to imagine that each gate will be made out of one pearl. People who can appreciate the precious stones what will garnish the walls of the city and a gate made out of solid pearl will be awed at the sight. In fact those like myself who have never been around these kinds of precious stones will be awed. God does not make this city out of precious stones that have had to go through a process in their creation. He creates them perfect with the Word of His mouth. It is like Genesis 1. God said let light be and light was.
If you were to start down the side of the city and the city was in length from where I am in Bossier city, LA you would walk drive or fly for fifteen hundred miles going down one side of the city. As you proceeded down one side you would only run into three gates on that one side. And there would be an angel at each gate. The average commercial plane flies between three and four thousand feet high. That is less then a mile high. If you were to decide to fly sixty thousand feet high you would be on the edge of space and running out of oxygen and you would have a very long way to go before you got anywhere near the top. As it is today everyone on the plane would have to have a space suit on to survive. Now we are just talking about the capital city of heaven and the operational center for the millennial kingdom.
There will be people in the natural bodies who will see this city constantly and will not be able to enter. They are not saved and no unsaved person will be allowed to enter that city.
THE FOUNDATIONS
The city will have twelve foundations. Revelation 21:14, "And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Not thirteen. 1 Corinthians 15:5-8, "And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." There was more than twelve apostles. But the original twelve with the exception of Judas Iscariot, and the one who took his place, Mathias will be sitting on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:27-28, "Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The original apostles will have their names written in the twelve foundations.
THE TEMPLE IN THE CITY
We are told that there is no temple in the city. Revelation 21:22, "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." Temples are not to be worshipped. God is to be worshipped. So many people say the feel the presence of the Lord because of the beauty of the sanctuary. This is not a Scriptural view of worship. Jesus said in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." This will be the worship in the New Jerusalem.
THE CITY HAD NO NEED OF LIGHTS
Revelation 21:23, "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." The Shekinah glory of God and of Christ will be light the city with the brilliance of their glory. This is the Holy City the New Jerusalem and Jesus is still called the Lamb. Just remember this. Jesus as the slain Lamb is the only reason anyone is in the New Jerusalem, has a glorified body, or lives on the new earth.
THE NATIONS OF THE MILLENNIAL EARTH WILL WALK IN THE LIGHT OF THIS CITY
Revelation 21:24-26, "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 honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it." This will be a time of great prosperity and those who are mentioned here bring the best of what they have as a result of the blessings of God and in doing so acknowledge God and Christ as the source of the blessing by offering it to the Lord in the New Jerusalem. They will in this way bring glory to God.
Men today blaspheme God by denying that He created all things. When the rain falls on a needy area, el niC3B1a gets the credit for it. Or, some other change in nature. To the world it is not God, it is luck or some other phony bologna.
THE WAY INTO THE CITY
Revelation 21:27, "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."
Heaven is a real place where real people are going to spend eternity with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only way: John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Those who try to go another way are identified by Jesus: John 10:1, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." John 10:9, "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
There are some who think the Pope is the door, or, the Catholic Church. There some who think their particular church and denomination is the door. Jesus said these are thieves and robbers. I am not just being negative toward the Pope, the Catholics, and the Protestants. I am a Baptist and not a protestant. But the Baptist Church won't get you into the New Jerusalem. If you are depending on the Baptists you are in as bad a shape as any of the other denominations. At the point where one thinks that his denomination will get him to heaven, at that point, he becomes a thief and a robber. He is trying to steal the glory from God for the salvation of the soul and give it to another. That won't work. The Lord tells us this in advance. God through Christ is the ONLY Saviour. It is not a mixture.. It is Christ alone. Hebrews 1:3, "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
May the Lord bless these words to our heats
