Revelation

Revelation

Chapter 21
{Chapter 21 through Chapter 22-5: The Eternal State}
{Verses 1-5: Description of the Eternal State}
{New Universe}
1~~Then I {John} saw {next eschatological vision of the Apostle}
a new heaven and a new earth . . .
{see also Isaiah 65:17}
for the first heaven
and the first earth
were 'blown away'/'passed away'/departed
{parerchomai - here describing the result of a Thermo Nuclear
Destruction},
and there was no longer any sea {thalassa}.

{Note: We know that currently there are three heavens:
1) Earth and its atmosphere
2) Celestial Space - 2nd Universe and home of the Angels and
3) 3rd Heaven - Abode of God.
In the last Chapter and in II Peter 3, we see the divine nuclear destruction of the earth and the heavens. Now we have the creation of a 'new earth and new universe'. RBT says that this is actually the '3rd universe'. The first was the universe of the angels and the angelic conflict. Earth was a focal point of that conflict until the revolt was put down and the Earth covered in 'frozen water'. In Genesis 1, the Earth was 'restored' in 6 days by God. This started the 2nd universe - that of human history. Now the eternal state is the 3rd universe.}

{Note: In the 3rd Universe, there are no seas and probably no oceans. Apparently water is no longer necessary for life. We will also see that the Sun will no longer shine because God will directly provide light.}

{New Capital of the Eternal State}
2~~And, I {John} saw the holy/'set-apart to God' {hagios} city . . .
the 'New Jerusalem'
{this is not the Jerusalem of human history differences},
descending {katabaino} out of heaven . . .
{Greek suggests this is a satellite city suspended above the Earth}
from the source of {apo} God,
having been prepared as {an analogy} a bride {numphe}
{has been made beautiful} for her husband/'Noble Man' {aner}.

{Note: This is the city God promised to Abraham mentioned in Hebrews 11:8 and 12:22. This city is described in more detail starting in verse 9. RBT says this is the permanent home of winner believers for eternity. Here, this New Jerusalem is said to be so beautiful a city, it is being compared to a bride - the time when a woman is said to look her best.}

{Personal Presence of God in the New Jerusalem}
3~~Then I {John} heard a great/loud voice
{the voice of the King of Arms}
from the throne, saying/proclaiming,
"Behold, the 'Tabernacle {skene} of God' {Jesus Christ} . . . {is}
with mankind {anthropos}.
And He {Jesus Christ . . . THE Tabernacle} . . .
will tabernacle/dwell {skenoo} with them.
And they shall keep on being His people
{citizens of the satellite city only},
and God Himself {the Shekinah Glory}
shall be among them
{Moses veiled his face on Mt Sinai because the people could
not handle the illumination of his face from being in the presence
of the Glory of God - the mature believers in this city will be able
to handle being in the presence of the Shekinah Glory}."

{Note: Jesus Christ is the Tabernacle of God. In the Old Testament, Jesus Christ as the Shekinh /Shekinah (taken from the Hebrew word for dwelling - shakan) Glory tabernacled in the Holy of Holies.}

[Note: see also I Corinthians 3:9 note on the tabernacle joke.]

{Abolition of All Suffering in Eternal Future}
4~~And He {God} shall 'wipe away'/remove/erase {exaleipho}
all tears from their eyes
{means the removal of all suffering/regret in Eternity future}.
Furthermore, death will absolutely no {ouk} longer be/exist;
neither sorrow/sadness/grief {penthos - mental pain/anguish};
nor crying {krauge - the manifestation of pain in this case};
nor pain {ponos - meaning physical pain} . . .
because the 'first things'/'old order of things' {protos}
have 'passed away'/disappeared/'gone away' {aperchomai}
{RBT says this is the removal of historical group suffering here}.

{Declaration of Our Lord Jesus Christ}
5~~Then He {our Lord Jesus Christ}
Who was sitting on the throne said to me {the apostle John},
"Behold, I am making all things 'new in species' {kainos}
{referring to the Resurrection Bodies (ultimate sanctification) of
believers and also the new universe}.
Then He continued speaking,
"Write/'Keep on writing'! These doctrines/words {logos}
keep on being accurate/dependable {pistis}
and true
{alethinos - doctrine is 'absolute reality' - see Hebrews 11:1}."

{Verses 6-8: Description of the Citizens of the Eternal State}
{1st Citizen Mentioned First as Always - The Alpha and Omega}
6~~Then He {Jesus Christ} said to me {the Apostle John},
- to his advantage {and ours} -
" 'It is done'/'It has been accomplished' {ginomai}
{reference to the end of human history - it is completed
Jesus used 'teleioo' on the cross for 'it is finished' when salvation
was perfected}.
I keep on being the Alpha
{The 'First' Letter/Word - deity of Christ in eternity past}
and the Omega
{The 'Last' Letter/Word - Uniqueness of Christ As God-man forever
also explains "Jehovah is 'Elohiym . . . Jehovah is Unique/One"} . .
the beginning
{arche - see John 1:1 - Jesus predates human history}
and the end {Jesus exists after human history and forever}.
{Salvation Parenthetical Clause}
(I {Jesus} will give without cost/charge {dorean} to him
who thirsts {represents positive volition to God and His Word}
from the spring of the water of life
{everlasting life resides in our Lord Jesus Christ})."

7~~"He who overcomes
{see I John 4:4-5 - belief in Jesus Christ}
shall inherit {kleronomeo} these things.
Furthermore I {Jesus} will be his God.
And he will be My son."

{Distracters to Belief and Common Grace}
8~~{Subject Title} "With reference to the cowardly/
'those who have lost touch with reality' . . .
{deilos - does have a meaning of cowardly but also has a meaning
of losing touch with reality - and is not referring to physical
courage here}
even the unbelieving ones {apistos} . . .
{Next, the 6 categories of major systems of distractions:}
the detestable/loathsome/abominable/'self-righteously arrogant ones'
{bdelusso - is 'ana-poetic' sounds like throwing up - and that is
what it means this type makes you want to vomit - the self-
righteous arrogant type},
the murderers
{phoneus - self-righteous arrogance leads to criminal arrogance -
no respect for society or the laws of society},
the fornicators
{pornos - lusts of the flesh down-out thoughts of your creator},
the drug abusers
{pharmakeus - drugs destroy brain capability to think},
the idolaters {eidololatres - worship of false gods, demonism},
and all the {pathological} liars
{pseudos - pathological liars lose all connection with reality} . . .
their part will be in the lake of fire
which burns with fire and sulphur.
This is the second death."

{Verses 9-27: Capital of the Eternal State}
9~~Then one of the angels {a pur sui vant messenger}
who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues/judgments
{he was on the death squad the last time we saw him},
spoke with me, saying, "Come,
{and at this point he doubles as a 'tour guide'
and a professor of eschatology dealing with future things}
I will show you the bride {the New Jerusalem - see verse 2 above},
the wife of the Lamb."

10-11~~Then he {the angel} carried me {John} away in the spirit
{filled with the Spirit, a prerequisite for seeing a city that does not
yet exist, and yet in this vision he sees it very clearly}
to a great and high mountain
{which will exist in the eternal state - maybe floating in space},
and he showed me the holy/'set-apart to God' city,
{The New} Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God
{suspended in space above the Earth}11~~
having the glory of God
{the presence of the Shekinah Glory (Jesus) in the New Jerusalem},
her {the New Jerusalem's} brilliance was like a very precious jewel,
like a gem of crystal clear diamond/'jasper stone' {without flaws}
{the base of this city is tons and tons of a flawless diamond-like
gem maybe unknown to us today - but it is transparent and hard
like a diamond}.

{Gates and Walls of the New Jerusalem Satellite City}
12-14~~It {The New Jerusalem}
had a great and high wall,
{verse 17 tells us this is 200 feet high}
{SideNote: the Millennial Jerusalem had no gates - a difference}
with twelve gates and twelve angels at the gates
{an angelic honor guard as a tribute to Jesus Christ's victory
in the angelic conflict}.
Furthermore names were inscribed on them {the gates},
which are the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. 13~~
On the east side three gates
{as in Numbers Chapter two the east gates
would be named Judah, Issachar, Zebulun},
on the north side three gates, {Dan, Asher, Naphtali},
on the south side three gates, {Reuben, Simeon, Gad},
on the west side three gates {Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin}.14~~
The walls of the city had twelve foundation stones,
and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb
{Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew/Nathanael,
Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite,
and (in place of Judas Iscariot) Paul (I Corinthians 15:7-10)}.

{Verses 15-17: Dimensions of the New Jerusalem}
15-17~~And the one who spoke with me
{the tour guide, the pur sui vant angel}
had a gold measuring instrument to measure
the city, its gates and its walls. 16~~
Now the city was laid out in a square
{actually, today we would say 'in a perfect cube'},
and its length is as great as its width.
And he measured the city with the measuring rod,
fourteen hundred miles
{12,000 stadion (600 feet in the usual stadion)},
fourteen hundred miles wide,
fourteen hundred miles high. 17~~
Then he measured the walls, two hundred feet
{144 pechus/cubits (a standard cubit was roughly 18 inches)}
by man's measurement, which the angel was using
{God always teaches man in terms man can understand}.

{Verses 18-20: Construction Material of the New Jerusalem
Remember This is a New Universe So this is Just God Putting
Things In Terms To Which We Might Relate}
18-20~~Now the material {endomesis}
of the wall was diamond/jasper
{iaspis - here a flawless diamond-like material}
and the city . . . {was} pure gold like translucent glass
{not like the gold of today - this gold will be translucent yellowish
tint}. 19~~
And the foundation stones of the wall of the city
were decorated with every kind of precious gem.
The first foundation stone was diamond/jasper
{transparent flawless diamond of the future translucent and clear}.
The second . . . sapphire
{translucent light blue, but not the sapphire of the present}.
The third . . . turquoise {again, translucent and greenish-blue}.
The fourth . . . emerald {translucent green with no flaws}. 20~~
The fifth . . . sardonyx {translucent redish-whiteish flawless gem}.
The sixth . . . ruby {translucent brighter red with no flaws}.
The seventh . . . topaz {translucent golden color with no flaws}.
The eighth . . . paradole {translucent green with no flaws}.
The ninth . . . a topaz {red topaz translucent, no flaws}.
The tenth . . ., chalcedony {green and gold translucent, flawless}.
The eleventh . . . blue aquamarine
{translucent dark blue with no flaws}.
The twelfth . . . amethyst
{translucent violet and purple with no flaws}.

{Gates of the New Jerusalem}
21~~And the twelve gates . . . {were} twelve pearls.
Each one of the gates was a single pearl.
And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass
{again these materials are similar to pearls and gold of
our universe, but not necessarily exact equivalents}.

{Note: Each one of these gems is translucent so that the Shekinah Glory can shine through.}

22~~Furthermore,
I {John} absolutely did not {ouk} see
a temple in it {there is no need for a temple}.
For the Lord God the Almighty, even the Lamb, is its temple.

23~~So the city had no need for the sun,
nor the moon, to shine on it.
For the glory of God {Christ - the Shekinah Glory} has illuminated it,
and the Lamb is its lamp.

24~~Then the nations will walk by its {Jesus as the lamb} light,
{nations on the new planet earth in the eternal state
and they will get the light from the satellite city}
and the kings of the earth will bring their glory to it.

25~~And in the daytime
(for there shall be no night there)
its gates shall never be closed.

26~~And they shall bring the glory
and the honor of the nations into it.

27~~And absolutely nothing unclean,
and no one who practices abomination
{bdelugma - religion - self-righteous arrogance},
and lying {indicates a lack of integrity}
shall ever come into it
{they are all in the lake of fire;
in the eternal state all believers function on the honor code,
but the unbelievers are excluded}
but only those {believers}
whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

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