Eternity is Unveiled

The universe will look different. There will be no sun to give light, for God Himself will supply it directly to the universe. The presence of Christ and God, together with the throne of God made visible, ushers in a new day for man—the new creation.

Hi everyone, I’m Tammy Becker.  Welcome to the Almighty God & Gospel Girl Podcast.  This is week 26 into our series of Revelation and our podcast today is titled: Eternity is Unveiled

My podcast today will be based on the reading of Revelation 21:1-8.  And if you would like to follow along with the notes or maybe you would like to find the links to anything mentioned in the podcast today, you can go to the link in the description or by visiting www.youministries.com and visiting the corresponding page.  As we get started today, I would like to remind you of my disclaimer, that as always…do not take my word, or anyone’s word for what you read…get yourself in the Bible and let God discern His Word to you.  I am only human and make many mistakes and do not claim to know or understand everything in the Bible…I just hope by bringing out this study that your interest is sparked enough to get into God’s Word and begin to deep dive on your own.

We leave the earth now to explore our new home in heaven. Heaven is a very definite, actual place. You will have an address there.

As the long view of eternity is in front of us, we move from time to eternity and to a new existence. Revelation 21 is about new things. A new heaven, a new earth, a New Jerusalem, a new era, and the eternal life as the Lamb’s bride where we will be new creations in Christ Jesus. A new universe suggests new methods and approaches to life. New laws will regulate the new universe. Our entire lifestyle will change. There will be a total absence of sin, temptation, and testing in this new creation—that alone will make a radical difference. It is impossible for our minds to comprehend the great transformations that will take place in a new creation.

All things will be made new. We can start over, and there will never be an end to our growth. Remember that of Christ, Isaiah 9:7 said there’ll be no limits to the wholeness He brings—constant growth and development.

The universe will look different. There will be no sun to give light, for God Himself will supply it directly to the universe. The presence of Christ and God, together with the throne of God made visible, ushers in a new day for man—the new creation.

The Lord Jesus Himself clearly teaches this present creation will pass away in order to make room for a new heaven and a new earth (see Matthew 24:35). In his second letter, Peter plainly teaches that the present earth on which we live will be destroyed by fire (2 Peter 3:7, 10-13). The old creation was made for the first Adam. Christ, the Last Adam, has a new creation for His new creatures (see Isaiah 65:17, 66:22). God promised Abraham a land forever and David a throne forever. Daniel prophesied of “a kingdom which shall never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44). The new earth will see the total fulfillment of these prophecies. Consider the faith of Old Testament saints who “desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:16).

The chief characteristic of the new earth is the absence of the sea. This will automatically change the climate, the atmosphere, and the lighting conditions. However, by the disappearance of the sea, the population on the earth can be doubled again and again because of the increase of the land surface. Apparently people will be vegetarians during the Millennium and throughout eternity, as they were in the Garden of Eden. Fruit is the only diet of eternal man.

THE NEW JERUSALEM

Very little is said in Scripture about heaven—so let’s examine what is said here in Revelation 21. Here it is:

“I … saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (v. 1).

The New Jerusalem is likely where we, the bride of Christ, will live. Not to be identified with the earthly Jerusalem, the New Jerusalem is a planet within itself. The Lord Jesus promised to “prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:2-3). We couldn’t ask for a more lovely or appropriate picture of what this marriage relationship could be for believers than what our personal relationship with Jesus Christ will be like. No other creatures, including the angels of heaven, will know this kind of intimate fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. We will celebrate throughout eternity the fact we are with Him and that we have been joined to Him.

The New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, won’t be another satellite for the earth, but rather the opposite—the earth and all the new creation with all of the galactic systems will revolve around the New Jerusalem, because it’s the dwelling place of God and of Jesus Christ. Likely the law of gravity will be radically revised. There will be traffic between the New Jerusalem and the earth.

NEW ERA

John’s eyewitness reporting tells us next of a great voice from the throne announcing that God will live with us. He’ll pitch His tent next to ours. He’ll essentially move into the neighborhood, making His home with men and women! We’re His people; He’s our God. That flesh was crucified on the cross, and He was raised in a glorified body. We, too, with glorified bodies, will live with Him in the New Jerusalem.

And we won’t experience certain things like sorrow, pain, and death anymore. God promises to wipe away every tear from our eyes. Just think what it will be like to not experience death of any kind. The undertaker will be out of business, so will doctors.

The Lord confirms this is true. He reminds us that He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

In our new bodies, we will thirst after God and the things of God, and they will be satisfied, just like Jesus said they would in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:6). He promises that those who overcome the world by faith will inherit these things (see Romans 8:16-17). John wrote about this same victory in his first letter (1 John 5:4). To the one who overcomes, Jesus also said He will be his God and he will be His son (see also John 1:12). This relationship is more than just being God’s people; this is a unique and more glorious relationship (see 1 John 3:2).

This new and amazing creation of new heavens and a new earth did not affect the lake of fire and the destination of those who rejected Christ. They are eternally separated from God, and nothing is as fearful and frightful as that. Sin will never break over the barriers into the new heavens and the new earth. Sin and its potential are forever shut out of the new creation.

What will our new home look like? We will be amazed!

Next week we will be taking a look at the architectural blueprint of the New Jerusalem