REVELATION 21:
NOT CONCERNING THE CHURCH!
PART IV
REVELATION 21:
NOT CONCERNING THE CHURCH!
PART IV
JAN LILLEBY
When checking the internet to see what kind of ideas most Christian denominations has regarding New Jerusalem, I find that many Christians seriously believe it is the same as heaven.
But I can prove to you here and right now that this is not so.
The Bible itself says straight forward, Rev. 21:1, 2, NASB,
1 Then 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.
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.
How can ever this mean ‘heaven’, like, the heaven we are looking forward to, reading Paul’s Church epistle Col. 3:1-4, NASB,
“1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
Paul’s exhortation is clear: We are to look upwards, to the heaven up above (Greek, epiouranos) – where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. We shall set our minds at those things which are above (in heaven) – and NOT on the things that are on earth.
The New Jerusalem as found in Rev. 21, comes DOWN from (or out of) the heaven from God, and is landed at the New Earth.
This proves clearly that neither the New Jerusalem nor the New earth is our ‘Heaven’. That golden city with its enormous measurements of 1500 miles described as a cube, are coming DOWN from heaven it says. That disqualifies it as being our heaven. It will be one of those things which belong to ‘what is on the earth’ – with Paul’s exhortation in Col. 3.
The New earth does not qualify it as part of heaven. In Greek, this so-called New earth is described by the word Kainos, which means new by QUALITY, and not by time. In other words, the New earth is nothing but a re-arranged and renovated, restored earth. It is new only by Kainos, quality. A LOT OF VAST CHANGES WILL BE MADE BY GOD.
This narrative in Rev. 21 of New earth/New Jerusalem, is accurately described as a planet with a huge golden city sat down on it. If this city had been placed in North America, it would reach from Canada all the way down to Mexico. Each of its four sides measures 1500 miles. This future New Jerusalem will be on this renovated/restored earth.
And Rev. 21:24-26, NASB, allows us to be sure,
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there ) its gates will never be closed;
26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
This let us learn that there is a population on this earth (families) even kingdoms coming and going…..business as usual. Children will be born, and lives will go on by normal earthly standards. But with just one important exception: There will no longer be people dying! (v. 4).
But if the narrative in Rev. 21 describes heaven (in line with Paul’s Church epistles) – then Paul really made a giant blunder in not telling us of these things.
But Paul did not teach any New Jerusalem, New Heaven, New Earth, or anything like this. He did not teach what God had taught to His ancient people Israel. Because those things are irrelevant to us, the Church, the ‘One new Man’ in Christ. Paul was sent to give us Gentiles a free Grace Salvation by faith alone, and the heaven-up-above-the-heavens as our hope. Eph. 2:6-9.
In Rev. 21 we clearly learn of an existing infrastructure…verse 24-26 quoted above needs to be repeated,
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
Jesus said in the dispute going on with the Sadducees, Mat. 22:28-30, NASB, That in heaven, there will be no one being married (no possibility for having children!) – for people there will be like the angels.
“28 "In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her."
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures or the power of God.
30 "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”
If one can no longer have a family-life after resurrection, it would be impossible to have such families on the New Earth not the least. But the Bible says there are NATIONS, KINGS, and a business system, since the kings on earth will enter the New Jerusalem bringing their earned goods in (it may be as tax?). These kings will of course have these valuable to bring, since they in their turn collect taxes from their nation; easy to understand, right? On the New Earth there will be cars, boats, planes and trains…and what not regarding international and national transportation. People will go to work and come home from work every normal week day. They are paid salaries by their bosses every month, just as it is today. No great mysticism with this. There has to be taken full attention to the big and tall New Jerusalem however. One cannot just get near to it all by your own liking. There will be issued a Law for how to approach this marvelous building of God. Jesus will probably tell about it already during the time of the Millennial reign when He is King.
These few words in Mat. 22 from the Lord kills entirely the false idea of the New Earth/heaven with the New Jerusalem as our eternal hope of heaven.
For on the New Earth there will be normal family life, only, the element of anyone dying will be gone. And the light-sources of the sun and Moon are gone, replaced by the presence of Jesus, the Lamb.
The expression ‘New Earth’ as well as ‘New Heaven’ is told from Greek, Kainos as I told above. Meaning NEW BY QUALITY, and not by time.
These vast changes which this earth has to undergo are started up already during the Great Tribulation. The Millennial Kingdom to come is a long time of preparing the earth for the coming changes. Much of these altering’s of the earth will start the same day God sends the Great Tribulation upon Israel, as the two witnesses in Rev. 11 arrives and start prophesying all these disasters seen in Rev. 6 and on. In my PART III these things are explained, by asteroids hitting and thus causing severe ‘Pole Shifts’.
Gracepano.com
