Series: Life in Christ
The longing to know
Not long ago I wandered into the Stanford bookstore, a place with which I have a love-hate relationship. I love bookstores for all the knowledge the books contain. I hate them, because never in a lifetime could I read a fraction of the books in even one store. This emotional duality overcame me as I began scanning a book in the religion section. I thought, "Oh, that I could have the time to read all these books!" Then I wandered over to the calendars section and took in the pictures from the most beautiful places on earth. I thought, "Oh, for the time and resources to visit these places!" Then I picked up a biographical book, the subject of which took stock of the number of people in the world and noted, "You can't know them all." I thought, "Oh, for the time (and inclination, in this case) to know all these people."
I walked out of the bookstore defeated. Then it struck me: Isn't my desire to "know" just a grand metaphor for my desire to know God, the author of knowledge, the architect of the earth and the creator of people? And won't there come a time when there won't be any time, when I can know him with an eternal intimacy beyond my wildest dreams, experience the knowledge of him through a new and more spectacular creation and see him in the face of other people he has redeemed? My spirit was lifted by the truth of 1 Corinthians 13:12, that "I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known."
Some day. But not this day. Well, why not this day? Because God is patient, "not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:10). In his love, he is waiting. And he's left us, members of the body of Christ, here as an offer of redemption to a dying world. And if I'm part of God's offer to a dying world, I suppose I can wait, too.
But I'll not live for this world, for it is dying. Instead, like my father Abraham, I'll be "looking for the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). I'll live for the day when the full implications of my position in Christ will be realized, when my body will be transformed. Because I am in Christ, what's true of him is - and will be - true of me. Because he rose from the dead and received a transformed body, I will be "glorified with him" (Romans 8:17). I will "bear the image of the heavenly" - the image of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:49). Christ will "transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of his glory" (Philippians 3:21). Because I am in Christ, I will "gain the glory of Christ" (2 Thessalonians 2:14).
What will this transformed body do for me? It won't be tainted with sin, which blocks my perception of God. I want to see him, but my present body only allows me a faint image. "We know that, when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him just as he is" (1 John 3:2). Now, I can't see him "just as he is." But with my transformed body, which is like him, without sin, I'll be able to see.
Therefore, with a new body, I'll be part of the holy city, the new Jerusalem, where the knowledge of God is displayed in stunning eternal splendor.
This city is described for us in Revelation by the Apostle John, who was given a vision of it. The book is written in apocalyptic style, which is rich in symbolism, so it is probably best not to be dogmatic where interpretation is concerned. But if we take into consideration the fact that God wants to relate and that what we want most of all - yea, what we were made for - is to relate with him, the book will come alive. We won't be able to arrange all the details, but we will be able to worship. The new Jerusalem will shine more gloriously. So in considering the aspects of this city, let us consider how all our dreams for intimacy with God and worship of him will be eternally satisfied.
Because the text contains parallelism, the features of the city will be considered topically.
All things new
Revelation 21:1, 5:
(1) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.
(5) And he who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And he said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."
The word "new" is the theme here. Because of the fall, creation is cursed, and all of us toil because of it. All of us live with a deep sorrow that we may not even be aware of. Sooner or later, though, we must come to grips with a devastating truth: Life isn't what we thought it would be. It doesn't work the way we want it to. We have damaged lots of people, and lots of people have damaged us. The Lord never seems near enough for long enough. When reality crashes home, we try to start over. But fresh starts become stale after a while, and we're left panting for something that is legitimately and enduringly new.
For a few months I lived with a couple who owned a very old house. Not only was it old, it was poorly constructed. The pipes were put together in an intricate maze of joints that no one could figure out. My friends always had some kind of silicone concoction at hand, ready to patch things up. They longed for a house that worked. Finally, they moved to a new house - one that worked.
One day, this creation will pass away, and God will bring about a new creation. Things will be new. Relationships will be new, chiefly our relationships with God. The centerpiece of this new creation will be a city bursting at its walls with the life of relationship.
The city and the bride
Revelation 21:2, 9:
(2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.
(9) And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."
The new Jerusalem is a city, but it is also a woman - the bride of the Lamb. Both concepts are rich with relationship.
A city is a place where people live together. Though we live with deep-seated fear of intimacy with people, we long for it just as deeply. We often push away those whom we love most, because intimacy means the possibility of pain. The closer someone gets, the more damage he or she can do. But relationships are what we were made for, and relationships are what we want. One of King David's delights with the earthly Jerusalem was that it was "a city that is compact together," allowing for easy fellowship (Psalm 122:3). Although the new Jerusalem is described as exponentially larger, our new bodies, free from sin and fear, will enable the intimate relationships that we crave. This is the city and the family we long for, the place where we will be accepted. This is where we belong. This is home.
A bride is one on the verge of experiencing the most intimate of human relationships. Not only is the new Jerusalem described as a bride, but so is the church (2 Corinthians 11:2, Ephesians 5:25-27). So the new Jerusalem is a picture of the church: all believers throughout history. The bridegroom is "the Lamb," a reference to Christ that is evocative of his deep love for his bride that culminated in his dying for her that she might be presented to him as a stunning virgin, without spot or wrinkle. Together, then, as the bride of Christ, we will share an intimate communal relationship with him.
The tabernacle
Revelation 21:3, 22:
(3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be among them.
(22) And I saw no temple in it (the city), for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple.
The tabernacle, and later the temple, is where God dwelt. It is where his presence was known. It was the ultimate Old Testament witness that God was with his people. But God's presence with his people was most evident in Jesus Christ. His name was Immanuel, which means, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). John in his gospel writes, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Jesus, then, embodied the temple; in fact, he described himself as doing so (John 2:19). Therefore, the heavenly city will have no need of a temple, for the Lamb will be there, as will the Lord God Almighty.
We will see the eternal fulfillment of the promise first made in Leviticus and reiterated throughout the Old Testament: "Moreover, I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul will not reject you. I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be my people" (Leviticus 26:11-12). As with the bride metaphor, this implies a communal relationship with the Lord. This, though, contains within it the concept of obedience to a holy King. When God reiterated his promise to Jeremiah to "be their God," it was connected with his placing his law "within them," enabling obedience. Here we are frustrated. Like Paul, we are doing the things we hate (Romans 7:15). In the holy city we will serve the holy King in perfect obedience.
We may be able to identify with a desire to be "with" someone we love to serve. It's difficult to imagine how deeply we desire to be with the Lord. If we see all our desires as cries of the heart for fellowship with him, we will begin to understand how deeply we desire to be with him. This was the Apostle Paul's desire, to "depart and be with Christ" (Philippians 1:23). Paul elsewhere says the eternal state is characterized by being "with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17, 5:10).
No pain
Revelation 21:4:
(4) And he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning or crying or pain; the first things have passed away.
If we have lived with reality, we know that this life is filled with tears and death and mourning and crying and pain. And it is this way because of sin, which is rejection of God expressing itself in self-idolization. Such consequences of sin are God's gracious gift to us on earth so that we won't destroy ourselves by worshiping ourselves and will instead seek him. Because pain is the doorway to intimacy with God, culminating in eternal intimacy, Paul could say, "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17). But in the holy city, we will need nothing to drive us to the Lord, for the sin that drives us away from him will no longer be there. Only he will be there. And when sin is eliminated, all its devastating byproducts will vanish.
It is comforting to know that mourning and crying and pain are simply part of "the first things," not the final things. Some of us may envision the resounding melody of the eternal state being muted by regret. We may think of hearing God say something like, "Nice life, but you could have done better." Such will not be the case, for there will be nothing about which to mourn. Others of us may picture ourselves being tearful over those who rejected God's offer of citizenship in the new Jerusalem, particularly family members. Such will not be the case, for there will be no crying in the new Jerusalem.
We can't know for sure how it is that we won't live with regret, but a similar verse in Isaiah may offer an answer: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind" (Isaiah 65:17). It may be that our minds will be so impressed by God and his glorious plan for humanity that there will be no room for sorrow. Even that which we are now sorrowful about may be translated into joy when we see God's gracious intentions. We will be like the scared little boy, crying up a storm until he finds his mother's arms, whereupon he forgets what he was so upset about.
Living water
Revelation 21:6, 22:1-2a:
(21:6) And he said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. (22:1) And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, (22:2a) in the middle of its street.
Water satisfies thirst, which is used elsewhere in scripture as representative of our thirst to know God (Psalm 42:1-2; Jeremiah 2:13; John 4:14, 7:37). When I was in Little League our coach would only let us drink water at certain times during practice. I'd work up quite a thirst. One day after practice I came home and drank five glasses of ginger ale, a beverage for which I have never had much affection. But it was there, and I had never been so thirsty. If we can remember times in our lives when we've been exceedingly thirsty, we have just a small picture of the spiritual thirst we have for God.
Pure, crystal-like water (not ginger ale) is pictured as coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb - from the presence of God. It is a picture of the Father and the Son themselves satisfying our thirst for God. And they do this by sending the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who is sent by both the Father (John 14:26) and the Son (John 15:26). John himself connects the image of water with the Holy Spirit: "He who believes in me, as the scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.' But this he spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive" (John 7:38-39). The Holy Spirit satisfies our thirst to know God by relating us to him.
Sons of the Father
Revelation 21:7:
(7) He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
We "overcome" by faith in "the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 12:7), not by any effort on our parts.
The language here is almost identical to that of 2 Samuel 7:14, in which the Lord says of the son of David, ultimately Christ: "I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me." As Christ the eternal Son enjoys and intimate relationship with the Father, so do we, as his sons and daughters, because we are in Christ. In the earlier illustration, as individuals we were part of the bride, enjoying a compelling communal relationship with Christ. Not only will there be a compelling communal relationship with God, each of us will know him intimately in a Father-son relationship.
Not long ago I read a blurb reporting that one in three individuals feel neglected, abandoned or abused in some fashion by their fathers. I would venture to guess that 3 in 3 share that feeling to one degree or another at some point in their lives, and it breaks our hearts. We long for the approval and acceptance of our fathers. The little boy or girl in all of us wants to leap into the arms of a loving father. What we long for will be ours, when in glory our heavenly Father opens his harms, smiles warmly and invites us to feel his tender embrace. He'll say, "Stay a while. In fact, stay forever."
No sinners
Revelation 21:8, 27:
(8) But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, there part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
(27) ... and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Sinners will not be there. We might respond, "Wait a minute, I'm a sinner. I'm cowardly; I've been guilty of idolatry; I have lied." The issue is not one of practice; it is one of identity. Though believers sin, they are not sinners; they are children of God who are written in the Lamb's book of life. It is the Lamb's book because it is his shed blood - and not our good works - that enabled our names to be written in it.
And if sinners are not there, that means the pervasive influence of the world, which incessantly discourages us from believing God, will be eliminated.
If sinners are not there, where will they be? Scripture gives us images and metaphors of "hell." The most concrete description may be Paul's in 2 Thessalonians 1:9: "And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power." Whatever else can be said of God's judgment upon those who have rejected him, one thing can be said with tragic certainty: They won't know him. And they won't know him because they don't want to know him.
The glory of God
Revelation 21:10-11, 18-21, 23-24, 26; 22:5:
(10) And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, (11) having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.
(18) And the material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. (19) The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; (20) the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the 11th, jacinth; the 12th, amethyst. (21) And the 12 gates were 12 pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
(23) And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. (24) And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it.
(26) ... and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
(22:5a) And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them.
The dominant theme here is the glory of God, which provides illumination. The glory of God is simply God revealed. Here that glory is depicted as a brilliant light that shines on the city.
The city is composed of precious stones, which elsewhere in scripture are used to illustrate God's precious people. The sons of Israel were represented by precious stones on the ephod of the high priest (Exodus 28:21). Israel was called God's "special treasure" (Exodus 19:5). The Apostle Peter says the church is the equivalent of a spiritual house comprising "living stones," meaning people (1 Peter 2:5). So the stones in this city can be seen as God's people.
A diamond is just a stone without the light. But when the light is turned loose on it, it sparkles; it is revealed to be beautiful. So it is with us. We are all in a sense hidden treasures, because we cannot fully see the glory of the Lord. But when we are exposed to the full spectrum of the glory of the Lord - when we fully understand who he is - we will reflect his glory in a stunningly beautiful manner.
The jingle promises, "Be all that you can be ... in the Army," but neither the Army nor anything else allows us to be all that we can be. And whenever we try to reach our potential, we're left with a feeling that alternates between consternation and despair. We want to be all that we can be, but something keeps holding us back. In the holy city, the true beauty of God's creative and re-creative work in us will be illuminated by the glory of the Lord.
This is the essence of glorification. We behold the glory of the Lord and reflect his glory as mirrors that capture all of who he is. We become like him in character. The image of God in us, which has been distorted by sin, is finally and completely restored, shining forth as a testimony of God's grace.
And if the holy city comprises countless precious and living stones of every color imaginable, the picture of the new Jerusalem radiating the glory of the Lord is too beautiful for our finite minds to envision. Together, we will beam with a glory that outshines the most beautiful bride on her wedding day.
Nations are pictured here as being drawn to this city, which reflects the glory of the Lord. Kings are seen as coming to pay tribute to Lord, the King. They bring "the glory and the honor of the nations" into the city. A similar scene is described in Isaiah 60, where the nations are depicted as presenting their wealth (60:5), silver and gold (60:9). The giving to God of the best of earthly possessions is symbolic of worship - giving the best of ourselves to God. We were created for worship, and we will worship the Lord unhindered in the new city.
The walls, gates and foundation stones
Revelation 21:12-14, 25:
(12) It had a great and high wall, with 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel. (13) There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west. (14) And the wall of the city had 12 foundation stones, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.
(25) And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed.
Three themes are dealt with here: the wall, its gates and its foundation stones.
Walls in ancient times were built to protect cities from enemies. The walls in the holy city, therefore, are symbolic of eternal protection from enemies. Today those enemies - the world, the flesh and the devil - influence us away from trust in God and toward trust in ourselves. We know, however, that we are untrustworthy, that we are not God-like in our ability to care for ourselves. Therefore, we are insecure and fearful. We have already seen that sin and sinners are excluded from the city. In Revelation 20:10, the devil is pictured as being thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone to be "tormented day and night forever and ever." So Satan is excluded. There will be no one or nothing to inspire a fearful and insecure trust in ourselves. We will be free from fear and free to trust in God.
Gates are the way into the city, and in the new Jerusalem, there are 12 of them. And they are always open. So there is ample and easy access. With 12 wide-open gates, the Lord is beckoning to his people, "Come on in." All believers in Jesus Christ receive an eternal invitation to enter the gates of this city to receive an audience with its King.
The gates of the wall are connected with the 12 tribes of Israel, and its foundation stones are connected with the 12 apostles. These references highlight the connection between the people of God in both testaments. Believers in God from all ages will be there.
The foundation stones are indicative of the teaching the apostles left - the word of truth upon which the walls of security rest. In Ephesians 2:20, Paul pictures the living temple of God's people resting on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, a reference to New Testament revelation. It is the revelation of this truth that gives us the opportunity to believe it and enter into relationships with God.
The measurements
Revelation 21:15-17:
(15) And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. (16) And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, 1,500 miles; its length and width and height are equal. (17) And he measured its wall, 72 yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements.
Two aspects of these measurements stand out: The city is immense in size and perfect in symmetry. Its size means there is plenty of room. No one who loves the Lord will be excluded. Its symmetry harkens back to the perfectly square symmetry of the most holy place of the temple, which was the place of divine presence (1 Kings 6:20). This is a reminder, once again, that God will be there. Whatever method of interpretation we might use to understand this book, the eternal state revolves around this truth: God will be there, and we will be with him.
The tree of life
Revelation 22:2b:
(22b) And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit in every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
We are not told explicitly in scripture what the tree of life represents. In the garden of Eden, partaking of it meant eternal life. God in his grace prevented Adam and Eve from eating of it so that they would not live forever in a fallen world. But in the holy city, in the new and better garden of Eden, free access to the tree is granted. This certainly means eternal life, which involves a quality of life as well, for the tree is "for the healing of the nations." Healing concerns the restoration of a relationship with God. A broken relationship damaged us; a restored relationship heals us. In this light, the tree of life can be understood as a picture of Christ, the "Branch of the Lord" (Isaiah 4:2, 11:1), who hung on a "tree" so that we might be healed (Galatians 3:13) - so that we might know God.
Servants and kings who see his face
Revelation 22:3-5:
(3) And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his bond-servants shall serve him; (4) and they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. (5) And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.
The curse that God graciously implemented after the fall so that we would be frustrated in this life and therefore seek him, not the destructive things of this world, will be lifted. There will be no need for it, for there will be nothing to distract us from seeking him. And with the curse removed, we will serve him. We serve him now, but we are constantly frustrated by conflicting motives. Are we serving God because we love him, or are we serving him because we hope to gain something? Is our service, in fact, self-serving? We are haunted by such questions and torn apart internally. We long to serve God from a pure heart. When the curse is removed, we will.
We will see his face. A person's face is the expression of who he or she is. This is the equivalent of seeing God's glory - seeing who he is. In Exodus 33:17-23, God's glory, goodness and face are used interchangeably. In that passage, Moses asks to see the glory of the Lord, but the Lord responds, "You cannot see my face, for no man can see me and live" (33:20). We get the idea that in these bodies, our brains cannot absorb full exposure to the glory of the Lord, much like our eyes can't absorb full exposure to the sun. It's as if the beauty of the Lord would blow a circuit and cause mental meltdown, because his goodness wouldn't make sense, defying all human experience. In the holy city, there will be no such limitations. We will see him as he is. His face will shine upon us. We will drink in his glory.
A song sung by Sandi Patti and Wayne Watson sums it up well, expressing desire for the day "when all my hopes and dreams are captured with one look in Jesus' face."
Finally, we will reign over God's new creation. The dominion over creation forfeited in the fall will be restored, but restored on an even grander scale, for the new creation as all the earmarks of being even more spectacular than the first one. And it will be our delight to reign over it, as vice-regents of our Lord.
We now have the answer to the question, "What will we do in heaven?" Together, we will know the Lord, and we will serve him and reign over his new creation because we love him. So there will be plenty to do, without the restriction of time. With this knowledge, all thoughts of insignificance can be jettisoned.
Not a place but a Person
The picture John was given is that of a spectacular city. But we can assert after looking it over that it is not so much a place as it is a Person. It is no so much where we will be but who we will be with. We will be with our Lord.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
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