6.3.1 Hope in Eternity

6.3.1 永恆裏的盼望

Speaker: Ming

God created the heavens and the earth. The Bible talks about the old heavens and the earth, the existing heavens and the earth, then the new heavens and the new earth, and finally the holy city of Jerusalem. The heavens and the earth created by God are all beautiful, the morning stars sing together, and the sons of God rejoice.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

He who removes mountains, and they know it not, when he overturns them in his anger,6 who shakes the earth out of its place, and its pillars tremble;7 who commands the sun, and it does not rise; who seals up the stars; (Job 9:5-7)

The Old Heavens and The Old Earth:

At that time the earth became void and chaotic, darkness on the face of the earth, including the old heavens and old earth mentioned in Isaiah, which can make us understand why current science can find some so-called ancient civilizations.  I believe there are underground cities that can be searched in Google Maps, which are more than hundreds of millions of years old.

Modern archaeologists have unearthed the truth, including the discovery of a mine in Africa that contains nuclear energy and is over a hundred million years old. The Kingdom of Atlantis, which we are talking about now, appeared in the old heavens and old earth. The heavens and earth were judged by God, and then God began to restore the earth to its original form in six days. The Book of Genesis states that the heavens and earth that we have now are the result of God's work of restoring the earth, but there is one place that needs to be renewed, and that is in the air.

There are evil spirits in the air.

In the depths of the sea there are demons.

At the end of the book of Revelation, the sea will be gone, so in Genesis chapter 2, God does not say that this creation is good because there is a duality of power from the second heavens there.

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. (Genesis 1:6-8)

God does not say that He sees the heavens and the earth as good for this reason, and there is a curse on the earth. In Genesis 6:5, it is mentioned that man's thoughts all day long were evil, and he provoked the wrath of God, and the flood came to judge the whole earth. Before the flood, man didn't eat meat, but only veggies and fruits, and so did the animals, including lions and wolves, which were all grass-eaters. Then after the flood, they began to kill each other, and the weak are food for the strong.

3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. (Genesis 9:3)

20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.(Romans 8:20-21)

This is our present heaven and earth, after which our hope comes, the millennium, the new heavens and the new earth, and then finally the holy city of Jerusalem.

The Holy City of Jerusalem:

Previous commentaries have said that the Holy City is a spiritual foretaste of the preparation of all the Bride, it is a collection of the Bride of Christ. This is also true if you look at it from a spiritual point of view, which is why we see two verses in Revelation 19, one talking about the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, being prepared, and the other talking about the Wife of the Lamb.

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband..(Rev. 21:2)

I mentioned in my last sermon that the readiness of the Bride of Christ will be after the millennium. There will be another group of people who will need to be overcomers in the millennium, and God is giving them a chance. In the millennium,  the devil will be released from the bottomless pit, and all the nations will besiege the holy city and the saints, which will give this group of people a choice whether to be on God's side or the devil's side. So we see that there will be a group of brides that God will prepare for the millennium.

In addition to the spiritual fortaste, the holy city of Jerusalem is a real city because we can see from several passages in the New Testament that the place that God spoke of does exist:

2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2)

6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.(Heb 11:6)

The city will be seen bright as crystal in Revelation 19:21, meaning that the light from this new city of Jerusalem shines on objects without shadow, because that light is transparent as crystal, not sunlight, but God Himself.

The holy city of New Jerusalem is the original dwelling place of God, and the third-heaven is the Father's throne, which is higher than the heavens in the northern extremity, which is what we usually call heaven, and which is spoken of in the Bible, that is, in the place above the stars of God, on the mount of the assembly, far away in the north, including the place where the heavens are. (Text from Isa 14:13)

22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23 and to the assembly[a] of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

God's final destination is not in the third heaven. His plan in eternity is to bring the heavenly portion of the Holy City of Jerusalem to the earth, which is a great mystery of God the Father at the end.

We all desire to go to heaven, but the Father desires to come to earth, and this is what we see after Revelation 21. God is going to put the center of the universe on earth, and this is something that we are very honored to have, and the Father's tabernacle is going to be on earth, and God is with us.

The LORD God had the tabernacle built in the days of Abraham, and then in the days of Moses, and He said that He would dwell with the Israelites, and that He would dwell with them and build the tabernacle, not in the land of Canaan, but before He entered the land of Canaan. The tabernacle was a foretaste of God's presence, but by the time we get to Revelation 21, God the Father is going to put His tabernacle with man, and He didn't say put my palace with man, but His tabernacle.

The Tabernacle of God is with Men:

We know that the tabernacle is a very simple place, and what God commemorates are the days when He and Israel were together in the wilderness, so what He commemorates are not Solomon's magnificent palace, but the days when He rejoiced with people, and conquered with them, and even when they failed, they laughed together, and mourned together, and God commemorates the days in the wilderness with Israel.

God remembers the days in the wilderness and in Israel as a faithful lover. That's why Jesus said later that I will not leave you as orphans, but I will come to you, and that's what the Father is trying to tell us through Jesus, so no matter how much the circumstances have changed, God remembers not the times of the happiest times, but the times of suffering and pain with us.

Therefore, in the most difficult times of our lives, God has already said that His dwelling will be with us. This is the mystery in God's heart, and it is also the ultimate expression of His love for us. The Holy City of New Jerusalem is the place where God is with people, and it is also the place where God lives with people.

The throne of God will come down so that the will of God can pass through, this is what the Bible tells us. So in eternity, the Holy City of New Jerusalem will come down.

A Spiritual Foretaste of the Holy City of Jerusalem

18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.(Rev. 21:18)

This passage states that the conduct of the saints is to be like fine gold, which is the nature of God, and that fine gold is a sign of purity and whiteness, a sign that you are to be completely transparent and no-masking. The whole city is made of jasper and has no shadow. The materials used in the construction of the Holy City were fine gold and jasper, so your life should be full of the nature of God, that is, the nature of pure gold. It should also have the characteristic of jasper, which is the characteristic of God, without impurity, just like the clear glass.

The second part speaks of his walls, the foundations of which were adorned with all manner of precious stones, the first being jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, agate; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, onyx; the sixth, carnelian; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; and the twelfth, amethyst.

I have read David Pawson's views on the 12 gemstones. He said that the gemstones on the earth are found as isotropic stones, and will lose their color. If a thin slice of these gemstones is shone in with pure light, either two things will happen; one will become colorful, which is known as an-isotropic, and the other will become black– the isotropic stones. No matter whether the stones are red, green, or blue, it will become black, or it will lose its color completely, and the colorless gemstones are called isotropic. A stone that loses its color is called an isotropic stone, so all earthly stones will lose their color even if they are brought to heaven.

However, the 12 jewels that John saw in the New Jerusalem are only found in heaven because they are an-isotropic stones and turn into the colors of the rainbow, so these 12 fruits are also indicative of the 12 fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Gemstone symbolism:

Jasper is a sign of God's manifestation and glory, sapphire is a sign of heavenly love and peace, emerald is a sign of kindness, onyx is a sign of faithfulness, carnelian is a sign of sacrificial love, chrysolite is a sign of goodness, beryl is a sign of endurance, etc., topaz is a sign of joy, chrysoprase is a sign of gentleness, amethyst is a sign of preciousness, etc., and all of these things can be inquired of from God.

Next it is mentioned that the 12 gates are 12 pearls, each gate is a pearl, and pearl means life from the dead. It hurts the clam as it has to endure and secrete a substance to encase the stone in sand. Life must be renewed and changed before you can become a gate.

There were also jewels on the breastplate on the priests' garments, and the saints had the glory of God on them, because the individual spirit emits a different kinds of light, and we all reflect the glory of God, just as the moon cannot emit light on its own, but it does reflect light of the sun.

Including Lucifer, of whom the Scriptures say that he was all beautiful, that he was covered with glowing jewels, but he had once reflected the glory of God, and that he did not emit light of his own. But God is different. God Himself is light, and He is love.

Walls:

In the holy city of New Jerusalem, the city wall is really high, 144 cubits, equivalent to 66 meters. This is the difference between the New Jerusalem and the Garden of Eden, where there was no wall, so the serpent could enter, but the New Jerusalem can only be entered through the gate. Additionally, the Pearl Gates is the only entrance because the wall is extremely high, and the defenses are very tight.

The walls of the city were made of jasper, the foundations were made of all kinds of precious stones, and the streets of the city were paved with fine gold. From the decorations of the Holy City, we know the requirements of the Bride, that you have to have a life that is not afraid of death. You have to have 12 kinds of precious stones that bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, an extremely pure and obedient character, which is not easy; and it is also mentioned that there are some other things in the Holy City of the New Jerusalem, the Water of Life, and the Tree of Life:

Then the angel[a] showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life[b] with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.(Rev. 22:1-3).

There is a golden street in the city of New Jerusalem, and in the street there is a river of the water of life. There are trees of life on both sides of the river, and these trees are very special, and the river of the water of life flows out from under the throne of the Lamb of God, and the tree can grow on both sides of the river without stopping, and we can see that the tree grows like a vine, and it can bear twelve kinds of fruits, and it bears fruits every month.

This one talks about the need for saints to have abundant supply in their own life. The ability to supply to others' lives. Do you have a river of life in you? Do you have a supply in you? The 12 fruits are for the needy, the sick.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Rev. 21:22)

There is no temple in the New Jerusalem itself, but we know that there was a temple in the Old Testament, even when Jesus Christ was on the earth. There were sacrifices in the millennium, and this is mentioned in the book of Ezekiel. Meanwhile, there will be no more sacrifices in the new heavens and the new earth. This is a very wonderful thing, on that day, men will be able to look to God, because God Himself has become the temple of the city.

The city will be the temple of God, and God himself will be the temple of the city. It is a marvelous thing to make the nations walk in the light of the city, and the throne of God becomes the center of the universe.

12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.(Rev. 21:12-14)

We know that the 12 apostles represent all the saints in the New Testament, the redeemed believers, and the 12 tribes represent the saints of the Old Testament, both in the New Testament and Old Testament times, both Gentiles and Jews, whose names are to be found written in the Lamb’s book of life.

27 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.(Rev 21:27)

The Foundation of the Holy City:

When God laid the foundation, He put the 12 tribes, the 12 apostles, underneath. So in our generation, this city has many layers, and as we go up layer by layer, we will see martyrs or the brides of God on every layer.

Every layer has a foundation, the lower you build, the greater the reward, and there will be a group of overcomers in the coming millennial generation, when Christ is already on the earth, and even though God is already reigning on the earth, there are still some people who don't believe in the true God, or else it wouldn't have happened that all the nations of the earth would have besieged the Holy City and the saints.

In each generation you see a different foundation for the city, so that when the new heavens and new earth come, all of the Bride's assemblies will be prepared. That is when the Scriptures will speak of the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, and being prepared, as a bride adorned and waiting for her husband.

To summarize, all of these verses and chapters talk about two important things about the New Jerusalem, and that is that God's tabernacle is with men and He will be their God, which means that the relationship between God's children and God will be restored and rebuilt in the last days.

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”(Rev. 21:4)

Once a man's relationship with God breaks down, it will cause all other relationships to fall apart. And the reason we could have hope on this earth is because our relationship with God has been restored through Jesus Christ.

How many years did God promise to give humankind to live? God has given humankind 120 years to restore this relationship between man and God.

Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in[a] man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.”(Gen. 6:3)

In the past, human beings lived long lives, up to 800 to 900 years old, and God was able to give people hope in this situation. The hope of God's children is not only that God's Spirit will hold me from perishing, but that the relationship between man and God needs to be restored, and that after the restoration of the intimate relationship, then we will be able to enjoy the presence of God. Not only to be with God, but for God to dwell with us. This is the point of our study of the Holy City of New Jerusalem, that our relationship with God is restored to normal, so that there will be no sorrow or pain, and the past is past.

The foundations of the wall are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, then the 12 apostles, and on up, we know that the Christians in John the Baptist's time suffered much more than we do. When Christains came across the Roman Emperor who persecuted them, he gave orders to persecute the Christians, to make them leave their homes, and to nationalize their possessions.

At that time, Christians were thrown into the colosseum to be watched as if they were theater performers. Some Christians were nailed to poles, poured with oil, and burned alive, while others were nailed to crosses, and the entire highway was filled with the corpses of thousands of Christians. This was to let the Romans citizens see how the Christians were tortured and killed as they entered and exited the city, and how horrible the persecution was.

So John the Elder wrote this information to tell his brothers and sisters in the midst of suffering that there is a new heaven and a new earth, and there is a holy city there, and that hope is the city of New Jerusalem. The foundation of the holy city was built in the time of the greatest suffering, and it was the foundation that was built by this group of martyrs.

Question:

We can't live without hope, because the way you live today is based on what you think about the future. It is based on what hope you have for the future. If I don't have the hope of eternal life in my future, and I don't know about salvation, then my hope and plan will end in 120 years, so I will enjoy this life.

But Christians not only have eternal life and salvation, but our hope is in the new heaven and new earth and the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the hope of the inner city and outer city, and how many are willing to stay outside the city? How many are waiting for the river of healing to flow out of the city and come to them?

If we know that there is a hope of a holy city of Jerusalem in the future, it will lead us to a different future; There is an example of two people being arrested, both of them were sentenced to 10 years in prison, and they suffered a lot in prison. They were not allowed to see the light of the day, and this was their punishment. Both of them had wives and children, but one of them knew that his wife and children were already dead. The other man's wife and children sent him regards (while he was in the prison). Do you know what happened to the two of them?

A few years later, the man who knew his wife and son were dead had no will to fight, and was getting weaker and weaker, and one day he died in jail. The other man, he finally walked out as a liberated man. The punishment is the same for both, but the outcome is completely different. The future of the two people was different, even though they had the same circumstances, it was due to the different hopes and longing they had for the future.

What you believe affects your life today, and your future is determined by how you live today.

● Original title: 6.3.1 The Holy City, The New Jerusalem 20181201

● Source of Article:  Omega Ministry Pastoral Department

● Article Optimization: Omega Ministry Editorial Department