Tick Tock Time Is Running Out – Part 4
Jesus has returned and the Tribulation has come to an end, now there is a 75-day transitional period in which there are some significant things that will happen.
• The temple will be removed (Dan. 12:11)
• The antichrist and the false prophet will be cast into the Lake of Fire, into their permeant home. (Rev. 19:20)
• Satan will be thrown into the “pit” for a 1,000 years. Spoiler alert, after the 1,000 years is up, satan will join the antichrist and false prophet in the Lake of Fire.
Tim LaHaye; “Revelation 20 introduces the marvelous reign of Christ on the earth. This period of time is the utopia the human race has yearned for and never found. That the coming kingdom age is to be an age of righteousness. History proves that the only means to a righteous era is for satan to be bound; as long as he is loose, we will have trouble.”
• The Old Testament saints will be resurrected from the dead. (Isa. 26:19, Dan 12:2) They were not raptured with the Church because they weren’t part of the Church.
• The saints that were killed during the Tribulation will be resurrected. Rev. 20:4
“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”
• It’s also possible that the marriage feast of Jesus will take place on earth and not in heaven. This is mentioned in Rev. 19…
(Vs.9) Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
NASB – Writes, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
Called and invited come from the same Greek word, which means to call his name or to invite. So, who’s invited to the supper? This is a distinct group other than the church, since the bride would hardly be invited to her own wedding supper. This group is made up of the Old Testament saints, and the martyred Tribulation saints (which also include the saints that are still alive at the end of the Tribulation).
At every wedding reception I’ve ever been to, the “best man” would always raise a toast to the bride and groom. I think at this wedding supper, Jesus is the Best Man and Groom all wrapped up in One. Jesus is indeed the best Man/God.
Matt. 26:29
“But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”
I think the wedding feast is the day that Jesus had in mind when He spoke these words to His disciples. This is the day that is celebrated every time we take communion together. It will be the sweetest cup we will ever share together. I can’t even imagine what Jesus will say to us before we drink this cup together. The Second Coming of Christ also means that we will never partake in communion again… strange as that sounds. More on that later.
Matt. 25:31-46
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
The nations that will be judged consist of the sheep and goats (and, no, “goats” doesn’t mean greatest of all time, especially in this case). The sheep and goats represent the saved and the unsaved. All the nations means every person alive on the earth when Jesus comes back. Jesus will separate all the believers from the unbelievers when He returns to set-up His Millennial Kingdom. The righteous believers (the sheep) will enter into the kingdom, the unbelievers (the goats) will immediately be thrown into the “Lake of Fire.”
Then comes the Millennial Kingdom…
The Millennial Kingdom is the title given to the 1,000-year reign of Jesus Christ on the earth. The Bible speaks of the conditions during the millennium as being a perfect environment physically and spiritually. It will also be a time of peace and comfort. Jesus will be King, the only King over the whole earth.
Isaiah 40:1-2
“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.”
Israel’s troubles and tribulations have finally come to an end. There will be no such thing as antisemitism anymore. All the attacks, the persecutions, and the murders that happened in Israel’s history will be just that… history.
Isa. 65:17-25
“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying. No more shall an infant from there live but a few days, nor an old man who has not fulfilled his days; for the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain, nor bring forth children for trouble; for they shall be the descendants of the blessed of the LORD, and their offspring with them. It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.”
Isaiah speaks of a created new heaven and new earth, this is not to be confused with the new heaven and earth seen in Rev 21-22.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum writes; “Hence, for the millennium, there will be a total renovation of the heavens and the earth. The fact that the term create is used shows that this renovation will be a miraculous one, Possibly by God alone.”
Verse 20 here in Isaiah is significant for us because it discusses life and death within the kingdom.
(20) “for the child shall die one hundred years old, but the sinner being one hundred years old shall be accursed.”
The first thing to note is, there will never be infant mortality… no babies will ever die (miscarriages will be non-existent).
The specific age when someone may die is at the age of one hundred years, everyone will live to be at least a hundred.
The people dying at the age of one hundred are only the unbelievers (the sinners). Everyone born in the kingdom is born with a sin nature (this part of humanity is still the same) in need of salvation, just like the rest of us. The way to salvation remains the same as well, being “saved by grace through faith.” So, those born in the kingdom have until their 100th birthday to receive Christ, if they do not, they will die in their 100th year. The unbeliever will not be able to live past the first century of their life. Everyone else will live through the Millennial kingdom and never die. Death during the Millennial kingdom is only for unbelievers.
Amos 9:13-15
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” Says the Lord your God.”
Randy Alcorn: “The New Earth will be the setting for God’s Kingdom. The New Jerusalem will be where people come to pay Him tribute.”
Isa. 66:22-23
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord, “So your offspring and your name will endure. And it shall be from new moon to new moon and from sabbath to sabbath, all mankind will come to bow down before Me,” says the Lord.”
The curse on the earth will finally be lifted…
Isa. 35:1-2
“Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring crocuses. Yes, there will be an abundance of flowers and singing and joy! The deserts will become as green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel or the plain of Sharon. There the Lord will display His glory, the splendor of our God.” (NLT)
The Bible also tells us that only believers will enter the Millennial Kingdom, this will include the remnant of Jews who have come to Christ during the Tribulation. Because of this, it will be a time of obedience, holiness, faithfulness, truth, and the knowledge of God. Jesus will rule as King. David will be given a place of prominence, and Jerusalem will be the political center of the world.
Now we have a unique situation that has never existed before, except just once, mortals living with immortals. Those who have survived the Tribulation and the ones who have already received their glorified bodies co-existing together. The one other time this scenario has taken place was when the resurrected Jesus walked, talked, touched, and ate with His disciples. The people with glorified bodies will neither die nor sin, but the survivors of the Tribulation will be as mortal and human as we are now. They will marry, have families, and have a long life as it was in the beginning of mankind.
Tim LaHaye; “It is encouraging to realize that many times more people will be converted during the Millennial Kingdom than will be lost, because the millennial population will undoubtedly exceed the total world population during the whole of biblical history, and since the majority living at that time will be Christian, it follows that there will be more people in heaven than in hell… Consequently, God will achieve His grand purpose for the majority of humankind… their salvation (2 Pet. 3:9) “but that all should come to repentance.”
A Millennial temple will be built…
The millennial temple will be the final temple for Israel. This temple will be much larger than the previous temples. Along with this temple will be animal sacrifices, this will serve as a memorial. I know, I just got your attention big time. You’re probably saying to yourself, “Wait a minute, Jesus was the last sacrifice,” and you’re right.
Heb. 7:27
“Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when He offered Himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.”
So why, why will there be sacrifices?
Isa. 56:7
“Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Future animal sacrifices during the Millennial Kingdom will not be to cover sin like in the past, but it will serve as a reminder or memorial to the Lord and all that He has done for us.
Ezek. 43:18
“And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it.”
Arno C. Gaebelein (a theologian, who was a close assistant to Dr. C. I. Scofield):
“But what is the meaning and purpose of these animal sacrifices? The answer is quite simple. While the sacrifices Israel once brought had a prospective meaning, the sacrifices brought in the millennial temple have a retrospective meaning, (recollecting and contemplating things that happened in the past). When during this “church age” God’s people worship in the appointed way at His table, with bread and wine as the memorial of His love, it is a retrospect. We look back to the Cross. We show forth His death. It is ‘till He comes.’ Then this memorial feast ends forever. Never again will the Lord’s Supper be kept after the saints of God have left the earth to be with the Lord in glory.
The resumed sacrifices will be the memorial of the Cross and the whole wonderful story of redemption for Israel and the nations of the earth, during the kingdom reign of Christ. And what a memorial it will be! What a meaning these sacrifices will have! They will bring to a living remembrance everything these sacrifices will have! They will bring to a living remembrance everything of the past. The retrospect will produce the greatest scene of worship, of praise and adoration this earth has ever seen. All the Cross meant and the Cross has accomplished will be recalled and a mighty ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ will fill the earth and the heavens. The sacrifices will constantly remind the peoples of the earth of Him who died for Israel, who paid the redemption price for all creation and whose glory now covers the earth as the waters cover the deep.”
Although Jesus will rule and reign from Jerusalem, the survivors of the Tribulation, their children and grandchildren many times over, will still have a choice to make… whether to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior or not.
After a thousand years, many of the descendants of these tribulation saints will have rejected Jesus as Lord (I know, it’s hard to fathom). This tells us just how strong our flesh really is, because all these unbelievers will reject Jesus without any help from satan… remember, he’s still in the “pit” all of this time. These unbelievers will be the ones who will join satan in the final rebellion against Jesus. (all under 100 yrs. old).
John MacArthur; “Obviously, those rebels will be the descendants of the saints who went directly into the kingdom at Christ’s return. We should not be surprised that there are those who will not believe in Christ even though He will be in their presence. Most of His hearers did not believe the first time He came either.”
A thousand years has passed, and satan is now released from the pit… and during that time he will be joined by other demonic spirits as well.
Rev. 20:7-8
“When the thousand years come to an end, satan will be let out of his prison. He will go out to deceive the nations – called Gog and Magog – in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle – a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.”
Satan will deceive the nations… that’s always been his modus operandi, his M.O., all throughout history.
John 8:44
“For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (NLT)
The nations will believe satan’s lies and join in with him. Who are these people? These are the children and grandchildren we talked about before. As long as they never rebelled outwardly against Jesus, they were permitted to live during the Millennial Kingdom. But now they will be enraged with the hate of satan. Just like the battle at the end of the Tribulation, this rebellion will be crushed instantly.
Rev. 20:9
“And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.” (NLT)
Satan, the fool of fools, thought in his mind that he could be victorious over God… when he will be destroyed immediately.
Rev. 20:10
“Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
The counterfeit trinity will be together in the Lake of Fire for all eternity. Satan will join the antichrist and the false prophet who have already been there for a thousand years, except now, it will be a never-ending torment.
Now it’s time for the Second resurrection…
John 5:28-29
“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth -those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
What Jesus is talking about here, is what the “world” has been denying for centuries. Every person that has said, “there is no God, and there is no heaven or hell,” is headed for a very rude awakening.
This is not to say that there is “one” common resurrection at the end of time. There has always been the first and second resurrection. The first resurrection is Jesus and His saints. The second resurrection will be all the wicked ones, the unsaved.
The first resurrection doesn’t happen all at once. It started when Jesus came back to life, then came the rapture of the church, and then those who died in Christ during the Tribulation. Finally, in the Millennial Kingdom, we have the Old Testament saints along with the believers at the end of the Millennial Kingdom given glorified bodies.
Ron Rhodes; “Accordingly, the term first resurrection applies to all the resurrections of the saints regardless of when they occur, including the resurrection of Christ Himself.”
So, by the end of the Millennial Kingdom, all the believers in Christ will have their glorified bodies… the perishable becoming imperishable. We talked about our “new bodies” earlier.
The second resurrection is what no “normal” person would want anything to do with. At the end of the Millennial Kingdom, every unsaved person will be resurrected. They also will trade in the perishable for imperishable, except these new bodies will never be burned up in the fires of hell. These bodies will last for all eternity, facing God’s judgment.
II Peter 3:9
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
Peter is talking about the heart of God. God has made a way for all to come to Him. It hurts God when people refuse His offer of salvation, but God never makes anyone choose Him and heaven… everyone has free choice. And remember, not to make a decision is the same as denying Him.
The White Throne Judgment… it is very clear that the Great White Throne Judgment is the final judgment. Those whose names are not in the book of life will be judged according to their deeds to determine the degree of punishment they will receive in the Lake of Fire. This is the complete opposite of the Bema Seat.
Rom. 2:5
“But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his deeds.”
Worldly people are fine living a life separated from God, that is until the reality of His wrath is staring them in the face… and then it’s just too late.
Ron Rhodes; “Once they are before the divine Judge, they are judged according to their works not only to justify their condemnation but also to determine the degree to which each person should be punished throughout eternity.”
Just as there are differing degrees of rewards in heaven for believers, there are differing degrees of punishment in hell.
Luke 12:47-48
“And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.”
You’ve heard of near-death experiences and how people see the light and are drawn to it, but you never seem to hear about the bad experiences. A man named George Godkin had one and describes it like this, “I was guided to the place in the spirit world called hell. This is a place of punishment for all those who reject Jesus Christ. I not only saw hell, but felt the torment that all who go there will experience. The darkness of hell is so intense that it seems to have a pressure per square inch. It is an extremely black, dismal, desolate, heavy, pressurized type of darkness. It gives the individual a crushing, despondent feeling of loneliness. The heat is a dry, dehydrating type. Your eyeballs are so dry they feel like red hot coals in their sockets. Your tongue and lips are parched and cracked with intense heat. The breath from your nostrils as well as the air you breath feels like a blast from a furnace. The exterior of your body feels as though it were encased within a white-hot stove. The interior of your body has a sensation of scorching hot air being forced through it. The agony and loneliness of hell cannot be expressed clearly enough for proper understanding to the human soul; it has to be experienced.”
This may or not be true about hell, but we know from Jesus, it is a place no person would want to go. Sadly, once it is experienced it’s too late, there’s no turning back. This is condemnation.
Matt. 25:30
‘And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
All the pain and suffering inflicted on a person in hell will continue forever because they have received an imperishable body, that will never be consumed, it will go on throughout eternity.
Charles Spurgeon; “If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”
At this point evil is completely eradicated. Satan and his demons, the antichrist, the false prophet and all unbelievers are sealed up in the Lake of Fire, never to be heard from again.
Now Jesus delivers the kingdom to His Father…
I Cor. 15:24-28
“After that the end will come, when He will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under His authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under His authority,” that does not include God Himself, who gave Christ His authority.) Then, when all things are under His authority, the Son will put Himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave His Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.” (NLT)
When Jesus took on the “work” of salvation from His Father, He came to earth as a baby, lived and grew into a man. Jesus walked the earth, He taught us, He preached God’s truth, He healed and performed many miracles. Jesus suffered and died and was raised to new life, defeating sin, death, and satan. After ministering to His disciples for a short time, Jesus ascended into heaven with His Father, where He is interceding for all who belong to Him. After the Rapture, when Jesus returns for the second time, He will fight, conquer, rule, judge, and then, as His last work on the Father’s behalf, forever overpower and finally judge all the enemies of God, recreate the earth and heavens, and finally deliver the kingdom to His Father.
John MacArthur; “From the time of His incarnation until the time when He presents the kingdom to the Father, Christ is in the role of a Servant, fulfilling His divine task as assigned by His Father. But when that final work is accomplished, He will assume His former, full, glorious place in the perfect harmony of the Trinity. Christ will continue to reign because His reign is eternal, but He will reign with the Father in trinitarian glory, subject to the Trinity in that way eternally designed for Him.”
The old heavens and earth are destroyed…
Isa. 51:6
“Look up to the skies above, and gaze down on the earth below. For the skies will disappear like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a piece of clothing. The people of the earth will die like flies, but my salvation lasts forever. My righteous rule will never end!” (NLT)
As kids we used to say, “I get a do-over.” The earth and universe need a do-over… satan has carried out his evil plans since the fall of man, so now, the earth and universe must be purged of all stains resulting from the time satan has been doing his dirty deeds.
Will the earth as we know it and the universe be completely destroyed and the New Earth and new universe be made from scratch? Or will the original earth and universe be renewed and transformed into a new one? Good questions.
Luke 21:33
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.”
II Peter 3:10
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
Then we have other Scriptures…
Eccl. 1:4
“One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.”
Psalm 78:69
“And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has established forever.”
If God had to destroy the earth and universe because satan made such a mess of it, this would mean that satan gets the victory. I don’t think that’s the case, and we know that satan has been soundly defeated.
John Piper argues that God did not create matter to throw it away. He writes, “When Revelation 21:1 and II Peter 3:10 say that the present earth and heavens will ‘pass away,’ it does not have to mean that they go out of existence, but it does mean that there will be such a change in them that their present condition passes away. We might say, ‘The caterpillar passes away, and the butterfly emerges.’ There is a real continuity, a real connection.”
However, God chooses to cleanse the earth and universe, and the end result will be…
A New Earth and New Heaven
Bible expositor Albert Barnes makes this comment: “The earth will be no more cursed, and will produce no more thorns and thistles. Man will be no more compelled to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. Woman will be no more doomed to bear the sufferings which she does now; and the abodes of the blessed will be no more cursed by sickness, sorrow, tears, and death.”
J. Oswald Sanders says, “The picture is of the universe transformed, perfected, purged of everything that is evil and that exalts itself against God. It is ‘new,’ not in the sense of being a new creation, but of being new in character… a worthy setting for the residents of God’s redeemed people.”
Just think, we’ve seen all the beauty this world has to offer, and as beautiful as it is (in certain places) it all exists under God’s curse. God is going to change all of it and make it like it was from the very beginning, perhaps even better. One day heaven and earth will no longer be two separate places, they will become one.
The New Jerusalem…
Rev. 21:1-3
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.” (NLT)
Rev. 21:10-27
“So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone – like jasper as clear as crystal. The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates. There were three gates on each side – east, north, south, and west. The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel). The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass. The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones: the first was 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, the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were made of pearls – each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty – but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”
To say the least, the New Jerusalem will be big and beautiful. Here’s some numbers to put it in perspective. The heavenly city is approximately 1500 miles by 1500 miles by 1500 miles. The eternal city is so huge that it would measure approximately the distance from Canada to Mexico, and from the Atlantic Ocean to the Rockies. That is a surface area of 2.25 million square miles. By comparison, London is only 621 square miles. To put it another way, the ground level area of the city will be 3,623 times that of London. If the city has stories, each being 13 feet high, the city would have 660,000 stories.
Someone calculated that if this structure is cube-shaped, it would allow for 20 billion residents, each having his or her own private 75-acre cube. If each residence were smaller, the city would have room to accommodate one hundred thousand billion people with plenty of room left over for parks, streets, and other things you would see in any normal city.
Randy Alcorn; “The Artist’s fingerprints will be seen everywhere in the great city. Every feature speaks of His attributes. The priceless stones speak of His beauty and grandeur. The open gates speak of accessibility. All who wish to come to Him at His throne may do so at any time. We can learn a lot about people by walking through their houses. The whole universe will be God’s house… and the New Jerusalem will be His living room. God will delight to share with us the glories of His capital city… and ours.”
Does this sound like a place where you would want to spend eternity? We’ve gotten a glimpse of what the future with our Father will look like. Paul saw heaven and wasn’t permitted to say anything, but God gave John a first-hand look, and gave him just the right words to express it to us. These are all the promises given to anyone who will put their full trust and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
For the believer, there is so much more to come. Your future is so bright that you have to wear spiritual sunglasses. In the meantime, we are to walk in obedience to Christ, serve God, and keep up storing treasures in heaven till you hear the trumpets blowing.