Heaven

Summary of Revelation 21

In Revelation 21, all things are made new. There is a new heaven and a new earth and a new Jerusalem that descends from heaven. All things are made new. There is an invitation and a warning to believers and unbelievers. Next, a familiar angel shows John the city in greater detail with dimensions and accounts of adornment. The city is brilliant, inside and out, including the walls, gates, foundation, and inner structure. The city itself is the temple and God himself is the illumination of the city. It is explained that there are select people who have access to this city as well as others without access outside of the city.

Takeaways

• We should get together regularly and celebrate Him and what has been done for us.
• There will be a new heaven, a new earth, and a new city called Jerusalem. Everything will be different from that which we know now. This world is but a shadow. Heaven is going to be a party.
• We worship the Creator, not the creation. We can decide to trust in God so completely that our joy, what you consider beauty, and our foundation of knowledge are all based on Jesus, and not on anything created.
• There will be a day when death and sadness will be defeated and forever gone replaced by peace, righteousness, and sinlessness.
• This world should not have a grip on our heart so that we are not inviting of the Kingdom of God.
• God’s desire is to live in close fellowship with man, and man’s purpose is to be a people unto God. This is the greatest glory of heaven, and the ultimate restoration of what was lost in the Fall. We can feel grateful for the fall of man with the actions of Adam and Eve. Redeemed man is greater than innocent man. We gain more in Jesus than we ever lost in Adam. God’s perfect state is one of redemption, not innocence.
• “What does a thirsty man do to get rid of his thirst? He drinks. Perhaps there is no better representation of faith in all the Word of God than that. To drink is to receive-to take in the refreshing draught-and that is all. A man’s face may be unwashed, but yet he can drink; he may be a very unworthy character, but yet a draught of water will remove his thirst. Drinking is such a remarkably easy thing, it is even more simple than eating.” (Spurgeon)
• He is in control from the beginning to the end and He is in control of everything in between. He promises that these words are trustworthy and true.

One Couldn’t Help But Ask…

1. How do you picture heaven and what do you envision it to be like? Is your answer child-like?
2. In verse three is says, “…He will dwell with them and they shall be His people…”. How can we take this verse to heart today? In other words, what does this verse say to our engagements with God and with people today?
3. In Verse seven and eight it says, “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Does this mean that if we have ever committed the sins listed in verse eight that we will be in the lake of fire and sulfur? How does one “conquer” or “overcome” as stated in verse seven?
4. If there is no more evil or sin in the new world at the arrival of the new Jerusalem, then why does the new Jerusalem have walls? What is it defending or keeping out of the city?
5. In verse twenty-four, it says, “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it…” who are the kings of the earth? If they don’t live in the new Jerusalem, then who does? In other words, who lives inside and outside of the city and how is this determined?
6. In verse twenty-seven it says, “But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Are there going to be unclean, detestable, or false people outside of the new Jerusalem? Do these people have hope of knowing Jesus and having their name written in the Lamb’s book of life?