CHAPTER
21 When we come to this chapter we find that which is not only debatable, but which has been debated through the centuries. There are those who contend that this earth is to be completely annihilated, and that God will then create “a new earth.” Then there are those who contend that the earth will be part of the “all things” that will be restored in the coming day, Acts 3:21. God created man “in His own image”, but man fell into sin and lost that image of God. But God set His hand to restore man. Salvation is just the initial stage of that restoration. The final stage will be when we no longer have these fallen sinful bodies, but rather when we have those glorified bodies “like unto His glorious body”, Philippians 3:21. There have been times when it seemed that God’s justice would require the extermination of the entire race. Even God’s own chosen people of Israel went so far that it seemed that God was ready to completely destroy them and start over. But in Psalms 106:23 we see that Moses “stood before Him in the breach” and turned away the wrath of God, thereby, saving the children of Israel from destruction. Our Lord stood in the breach of the Cross of Calvary and turned the wrath of God away from His elect people, thereby, saving them from the lake of fire. Not
only did our Lord die to redeem His elect
people but He died to redeem the earth as well. If old Satan has
brought this
earth to the place where it must be annihilated and a new one created
in order
to have one like Adam originally lived on, then someone should hold
Satan’s
hand up high and proclaim him the victor. But I do not believe God will
ever
permit Satan to be ultimately victorious in any of his undertakings. I
am aware
that II Peter 3:10 sounds as if this earth is to be consumed.
But the
New English version says, “The earth
with all that is in it will be laid bare.” In Psalms 102:25-26 we read, “Of old hast
thou laid the foundation of the
earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall
perish, but
thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a
vesture
shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.” There we
are
told that “they (the earth and the
heaven) shall perish”, but in
Scriptural usage the word “perish”
certainly does not mean annihilation. In II Peter 2:12 we see
some
people who are to “utterly perish
in their own corruption,” but certainly no one would say
that these
wicked people are to be annihilated. Something much worse than
annihilation
awaits these people. Then in our reference in Psalms we are
told that “the earth and the heaven” “shall be
changed.” In I Corinthians 15:51 we read, “We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed.” And in Philippians 3:21 we see what that
change is
to be. There we read “Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious
body.”
When Adam fell into sin our bodies became subject to pain, suffering,
heartache,
and even to death itself, but in that soon coming day these vile bodies
of ours
will be made like unto our Lord’s glorious body.
So with this old sin cursed earth. When Adam fell the earth was cursed. In Genesis 3:17 God said to fallen Adam “Cursed is the ground for thy sake.” And in the next verse we see this cursed earth bringing forth thorns and thistles, but in Isaiah 55:13 we read, “Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree.” And not only has this old earth been infested with such things as thorns, thistles, nut grass, and cockleburs, but, much worse it has been infested with sin. Old Satan has been permitted to infest every nook and cranny of this earth with sin. There is no place to be found on the earth that sin is not already there. But when Satan, along with all the wicked of all the ages, has been cast into the lake of fire forever, when Hades, the place where the wicked dead have been confined, is literally flung into this lake of fire with them, this sad condition can no longer be tolerated. So this earth you and I know must be fumigated thoroughly. All traces of sin must be eradicated for all time. We are told in Psalms 102:25-26 and again in Hebrews 1:10-12 that this earth “shall be changed.” When we are changed and given that wonderful glorified body, our Adamic fleshly nature will be forever left behind. So when this earth is changed, all traces of sin will be forever left behind. It will indeed be “a new earth. But let us remember, “Who laid the foundations of the earth that it should not be removed forever,” Psalms 104:5. Yes, the foundations of this earth are eternal. They will not, in fact, they cannot be removed forever, because God’s Word says they won’t. We
are also told that there is to be “a new heaven.” Some
great Bible
scholars who have written on this subject go so far as to have the
entire
universe, including the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars,
being
completely annihilated. If they are right, I sure am wrong. In Isaiah
24:23 I
read, “Then the moon shall be
confounded and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in
Mount
Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously,”
but
nowhere have I been able to find that all these heavenly bodies are to
be
annihilated. Yes, the sun and the moon have cast their wonderful light
upon the
crooked and perverse generations so long that when righteousness reigns
on the
earth, the moon will blush for shame and the sun will be ashamed.
John
says “I saw a new heaven.” He did not say
heavens. There are three
heavens. In II Corinthians 12:2 Paul speaks of his being “caught up to the third heaven”, and
since there is a third heaven there must of necessity be a first and a
second
heaven. The first heaven consists of the atmospheric circle about the
earth,
that is, the sphere in which the birds fly. The second heaven takes in
that
part of the universe in which the heavenly bodies are located. And the
third
heaven is the place where God’s throne is located.
And
since the purpose of the “new heaven” (that is, in
quality) is to
eradicate all traces of sin, the first heaven is the one that must be
dealt
with. When Lucifer fell and became old Satan he was cast out of “the third heaven.” And since there was
nothing in the second heaven that was of interest to him due to the
fact he
could not lead the sun, the moon, and the stars in a rebellion against
God, he
set up his throne in the first heaven. From that vantage point he has
operated
through the centuries. In
Ephesians 2:2 he is called “the prince
of the power of the air.”
I once thought that Satan’s sphere of operation was way up yonder
somewhere,
but I have long since come to see that his abiding place is much nearer
his
prey. This word “air” is from the Greek
word AER which means the dense air
below the mountain tops, “not just around the tree tops,” but around
our very
heads. If he seems to get in our hair sometimes it is because he does
get in
our hair. So the heaven that is to be made new in quality, as the Wuest
version
puts it, is “the first heaven” that
has been contaminated by Satan’s operations. Then
John says “and there was no more sea.” The
word “sea”, THALASSA, usually
means a literal sea as the Red Sea, or the Sea of Galilee, but it is
also used
to express the chaotic conditions in the world. When John “saw
a beast (who is a man) rise
up out of the sea”, in Revelation 13:1 it is not speaking
of a sea
of water, but rather of the chaotic conditions of the world. So, if
someone
contends that John means there won’t be any oceans or seas of water in
the new
earth, I won’t argue with him, but I won’t believe him. There is one
thing I
will contend for, and that is the fact there will be no more chaotic
conditions
in the world. So, to me, the sea here in verse 1 speaks of the
chaotic
conditions that have gone from the scene forever when this time comes.
Our
rulers for the last 35 years have been experts when it comes to
producing
chaotic conditions. But when the Lord of glory begins to reign upon
this earth,
these conditions will be gone forever.
We
shall deal with verse 2 in connection with verse 10. In
verse 3
John hears “a great voice out of heaven.”
A “voice out of heaven” can always
be expected to say something of great import. So let us notice
carefully what
this great voice is saying. It is so easy for us to jump over great
facts found
in the Scriptures, and we often times do it, without our being
conscious of the
fact that we are doing it. In my younger days I got the impression from
somebody somewhere that saved people would spend eternity in heaven
with God.
And for many years after I was saved I still had that conception. If I
got that
idea from the Bible I have forgotten where I found it, and I certainly
cannot
find it any more. I do find where we are to be “caught
up” “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air.” We are not
told that we are to be carried into heaven. I assume that we are, but I
cannot
prove it. Then in Zechariah 14:5 and I Thessalonians 3:13
we see
our Lord coming down to the earth with His saints. If we are to ever
return to
heaven after that, I find no mention of it in the precious Book. But
this great
voice does say, “Behold,
(or just look), the tabernacle
(or dwelling place) of God is with
men, and He will dwell (just be at home)
with them.” This old earth may be a shame and a disgrace
today, but when God has restored its pristine nature and beauty, and
when He
has come down and made Himself at home upon this earth, all that shame
and
disgrace will be gone and forgotten. This earth will really be
something in
that soon coming day. Talk about heaven on earth, we will really have
that very
thing when this time comes. In
verse 4 we see God wiping “away all tears
from their eyes.”
This goes beyond our poor finite minds to understand. When we have
heaven here
on earth, who will be shedding tears, and why will they be shedding
them? In Zechariah
12:10 we see the Jews mourning “as
one mourneth for His only son,” and in Matthew
24:30
we see “all the tribes of the earth”
(the Jews are the tribes) mourning when they “see the
Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” All this
mourning takes place a thousand years before the new heaven and the new
earth
come into view. In Isaiah 66:13 we see our Lord comforting
these Jews.
There we read, “As one whom his
mother comforteth, so will I comfort you: and ye shall be comforted in
Jerusalem.” In Isaiah 25:8 we are told that “the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off
all faces,” but this too takes place at His second coming. So,
could it be that what we see here in this
verse is not in chronological order? We know there are many instances
in the
Scriptures where the events mentioned are not in chronological order.
In Luke
4:16-27 we have the
record of our Lord’s first sermon preached in His home town. And if you
notice,
He read as His text from Isaiah 61:1-2.
But you will see that He stopped reading at the middle
of verse 2, closed the book and handed it to the one in charge
of the
service. There are those who object to your reading just a part of a
verse, but
you will notice that our Lord did just that in this case. Now why did
He do
that? Simply because those things He did read had to do with His first
coming.
He was present on the earth at that time in the flesh for the purpose
of
bringing to pass those predictions which He read. But the two
predictions He
did not read at that time, “the day
of vengeance of our God: to comfort all that mourn” did not
pertain
to His first coming in any way. They have to do with what will come to
pass
when He comes the second time. So here we see things that come to pass
some two
thousand years apart being separated only by a little comma. So,
with that in mind, could it be that the
tears are wiped from their eyes at the very beginning of the thousand
year
reign of our Lord and then a “thousand
years” later the other things mentioned in this verse come to pass?
It can
only be in the “new earth”, in what
we call the ceaseless ages of eternity, that there will be “no
more death”, suffering, “crying”, “sorrow”,
or “pain”
because when that time comes all these things will have passed away “so
far as
we are concerned.” In
verse 5 our Lord says, “Behold, I make all
things new”,
that is He makes all things new in quality. If a man is saved today he
becomes “a new creature”, but still his friends
who see him tomorrow will recognize him as the same fellow they knew
last week.
He is “a new creature” in quality,
but it does not alter his natural features. In Isaiah 65:17
speaking
concerning the new heavens and new earth we are told “and
the former shall not be remembered, nor
come into mind.” Won’t it be wonderful when the time comes
that we
no longer think about the awful chaotic conditions that prevailed
during the
last few years before our rapture? In the next verse in Isaiah 65
we are
told to “be ye glad and rejoice forever in that
which I create.” How we will do just
that in the
coming day. In
verse 6 our Lord says, “It is done.”
In Revelation 16:17 when the last bowl of God’s wrath has been
poured
out upon this sin cursed earth, we hear this same expression, “It is
done.”
There the “great voice” seems to be
proclaiming the fact that the awful tribulation time had now come to an
end,
that God’s righteous wrath had accomplished its purpose. In John
19:30
when our Lord’s enemies had fulfilled every prophecy pertaining to His
suffering and death in our behalf, we hear Him as He says, “It is finished.” Now, here in Revelation
21:6 when all the wicked of all the ages have been consigned to “the lake of fire”, when Hades, their
present place of confinement, has been flung into “the lake
of fire” with them, when all traces of sin have for ever
been wiped out, when old Satan has been forever and completely put out
of
circulation, when the earth and the heavens above it have been restored
to
their pristine character, that is, when this earth has become a
veritable
garden of Eden, we hear the “great voice”
again saying, “It is done.”
Oh, how we should long for, and how we should pray for that wonderful
time to
come. Then
our Lord says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end.” In our
English language He is saying “I am A and Z, the beginning and the
end.” In Isaiah
9:6 He is called the “Wonderful
Counsellor.” In the counsel halls of the eternity of the past He
was there.
That was when He chose us (John 15:16). That is when the Father
gave us
to Him (John 17:6). And that is when plans were made for Him to
die for
us (Revelation 13:8). Then He is called “The
Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” This He will be while
the ceaseless ages of eternity roll on and on for ever and ever. Then
He says that He will give “the water of life freely” to
those who
thirst. The religious world gives this statement a universal
application. Then
they go about creating an artificial thirst for this water, but theirs
is a
lost cause. It is impossible for a dead person to thirst for anything.
And
every lost person is dead in trespasses and sins until our Lord in His
marvelous grace quickens, or makes alive, this dead person. When this
takes
place the person who has been quickened begins to thirst immediately
for the
precious “water of life”. In verse 7 we learn that those who overcome are to “inherit all things.” Here again the religious world makes it appear that the lost person has it in his power to overcome and to “inherit all things.” And we must admit that this Scripture does not point out that there are those who cannot overcome. There is no need for that because the ones who are unable to overcome, do not want to overcome anyway. In I John 5:5 we read, “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” So
this limits the number who overcome. It is
only the ones who believe “that Jesus is
the Son of God.” Again, the religious world says that everyone can
do that.
But the Scriptures say (Acts 13:48b) that the ones who believe
are those
who “were ordained (or appointed) to
eternal life.” In the eternity of
the past God made an appointment with every one of His elect people.
Then when
the appointed time comes (Galatians 1:15) He gives them faith (Ephesians
2:8) and they believe. In that way “He shall
choose our inheritance for us” (Psalms 47:4). When this takes place, He shall be
our God, and we shall be His children. In
the latter part of verse 6 and all of
verse 7 we see that which applies to every age, but when we
come to
verse 8 we see that which can only apply to the time before the
“great white throne” judgment. At the
time of this awful judgment all the wicked of all the ages will be cast
into “the lake of fire.” After this judgment
we see the “new heaven” and the “new earth”
in which, according to verse
4, there will “be no more death.”
But in order for a person (other than the beast and the false prophet)
to be
cast into this awful place it requires two deaths, first his natural
death,
then his being cast into this “lake of
fire” which is his “second death.”
So we must conclude that this verse has to do only with the time up to
the “white throne” judgment. In
verses 9 and 10 one of the
angels who had one of the bowl judgments came to John and said, “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the
Lamb’s wife.” Then this angel showed John a “great
city, the holy Jerusalem” coming down from heaven. At first,
this may puzzle us somewhat. The angel says, I will show you “the bride”, but when John looks for “the bride”,
he sees “the holy Jerusalem.” If the angel had
said, I will show you the cities of the world, and John had seen this
great
city coming down from heaven, he would have been puzzled himself. If
you and
others are discussing the great cities of the world and someone
mentions Rome,
you immediately think of Rome as being the capital city of Italy. But
if you
are discussing religion and someone mentions Rome, you do not think of
the
capital city of Italy. You think of the Catholic Church. When religion
is the
subject, Rome and the Catholic Church are one and the same thing. It
isn’t
necessary for the speaker to stop and say, I mean by Rome the Catholic
Church. So
it is with this “holy Jerusalem” and “the
bride” of Christ. If “the bride”
is the subject under discussion and someone mentions “the
holy Jerusalem”, it should not be necessary for the speaker to
stop and say I mean “the bride” of
Christ. We should be as familiar with “the
holy Jerusalem” and “the bride”
in the field of eschatology as we are with Rome and the Catholic Church
in the
field of religion. And the fact that we, as a whole, are not as
familiar with
this wonderful subject as we should be must be laid on the doorsteps of
our
preachers and teachers. A thing that is as important to our dear Lord
as His
precious bride and her wonderful abiding place that He has gone to
prepare for
her should be given much more prayerful study and consideration by His
servants. Let
us notice, the angel did not say I will show
you all the saints. He said “I will show
you the Bride.” So I contend that no one but the bride will occupy
this
wonderful city. From my observations it would appear that at least 99
per cent
of our Lord’s own people believe that this New Jerusalem will be the
abiding
place for all the saints of all the ages. And I can assure you it is no
fun to
differ with so many of the saints. I rejoice in my differing with the
religious
world, but when it comes to differing with our Lord’s own people, that
is an
altogether different thing. But, if I do not contend for my
convictions, then I
should not have any convictions. In
Hebrews 11:10 we learn that Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God,” and he will see that
city. But
still Abraham will not be part of the Bride of Christ. I know that the
popular
thing to do today is to teach that the moment a person is saved he or
she,
automatically becomes a part of the Bride. It is also popular in
Baptist
circles to hold to the view that you are a part of the Bride if you
have been
saved and have joined a Baptist Church. That was my view for many
years. But I
have come to believe that the Bible does not support either of the
above
theories. After a little more careful study on the subject I am
persuaded that
our Lord is more particular about who makes up His Bride than I once
thought He
was. In
II Corinthians 11:2 Paul says, “I am
jealous over you with godly jealousy:
for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you
as a
chaste virgin to Christ.” This word “chaste”
is from HAGNOS
which means pure from every fault. So Paul is to present our Lord’s
Bride to
Him as a virgin who is pure from every fault. But in respect to what,
is she to
be pure from every fault? It cannot be that she is to be sinlessly
perfect.
Some twenty-five years after he was saved on the road to Damascus Paul
said in Romans
7:18 “I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with
me; but how
to perform that which is good I find not.” So, since Paul
himself
could not be a sinless person, he certainly had no hopes of presenting
others
to Christ who were sinless. But I believe we can find a clue to the
Bride’s
purity in I Corinthians 1:10. There Paul says, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing and that
there
be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined
together in
the same mind and in the same judgment.” There is absolutely
no room
here for tolerance and compromise. Those who make up “the
Bride” of Christ must believe and teach the same thing. She
must accept all that is taught in the Bible. She must believe Acts
13:48
and at the same time she must believe John 3:16. She must
believe Ephesians
1:4 and at the same time she must believe Revelation 22:17.
She must
believe John 5:21 and at the same time she must believe Acts
16:31.
We do not have to understand all the great doctrines in our Bible (no
one does
that), but we do have to accept them. I do not believe that a person
can rebel
against any clear teaching found in the Bible and at the same time be a
part of
“the Bride.” There can be no
contradictions in the Bible, therefore, those who make up “the
Bride” of Christ will believe it all. But
we notice that when John looked for “the Bride” he saw “the holy Jerusalem.” Just as the Catholic Church and Rome
are
synonymous terms, so “the Bride” and
“the holy Jerusalem” are synonymous
terms. That being true, we are forced to believe that only “the
Bride” dwells in this city. So, as
a result of that, we must either accept the teaching that “the
Bride” is made up of all the saved or else try to find a
dwelling place for the saved who are not in “the Bride”.
So turn with me to John 14:2 where we read. “In
my Father’s house are many mansions: (dwelling
places) if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” We
want to
notice, Jesus told His disciples that there were already many mansions
in the
Father’s house. But He makes it clear to them that the mansions that
were
already there at that time were not for them. Rather He says, “I go to prepare a place for you.”
I know of no Scripture that teaches there can be only one city in the
eternal
state. Then
is verse 11 we see that this “holy Jerusalem”
has “the glory of God” about it, and “her
light” will be as “clear as crystal.” In verses 12-14 we see a great high wall
around this city which speaks of separation. “The Bride”
of Christ will have the privacy becoming her in that
day. Then we see “twelve gates” in
this wall which may very well speak of governmental completeness. And
then we
see an angel at each gate. Nothing is overlooked as to the safety and
well-being of our Lord’s precious Bride. On each gate we see the name
of one of
the tribes of Israel. In Matthew 19:28 we learn that when our
Lord sits
upon the throne of His glory the twelve apostles “shall sit
upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
So it would appear that each apostle is assigned a gate, and that the
name of
the tribe that he is to judge has its name inscribed on his particular
gate. And
not only does this wall have “twelve gates”, it also
has “twelve foundations.” And in these
foundations are to be seen “the names of
the twelve apostles.” We see the names of “the twelve
tribes” written on “the
twelve gates” because these tribes are to be judged by “the
twelve apostles.” But we also see
the names of “the twelve apostles”
in “the twelve foundations” of the
wall. Now why are these names found in the foundations of the wall? If
we turn
to Ephesians 2:19-20
we hear Paul saying to the church at Ephesus “Now
therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints, and of the household of God: and are built
upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief
corner stone.” Catholics (and I am sorry to say
others also)
hold that the church is built upon Peter. Then there are others who
hold that
the church is built upon Peter’s faith. But just think what would have
happened
to the church on that awful night if it had been built upon either
Peter or his
faith. Can you not see how the church would have reeled and rocked, and
how it
would have utterly collapsed while Peter was denying his Lord three
times, and
even using profanity in an effort to make his denial stick? It’s true
that in
one sense “the twelve apostles” made
up the foundation of the church. In I Corinthians 12:28 we are
told that
they were the first ones to be put in the church. Therefore, their
names are
inscribed upon the foundations of the wall of the holy city. But, let
us never
forget that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is the chief cornerstone of
the
church. That is the thing that gives it stability. That is what kept it
from
reeling and rocking on that awful night. And that is why He could say “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it.” In
verses 15-16 we
see
that this wonderful city is as broad as it is long and that it is also
as high
as it is long. It is “twelve thousand
furlongs” each way. And since eight furlongs make a mile we can
divide
12,000 furlongs by 8 and find that this city is 1,500 miles each way
This old
world has never dreamed of such a city. Just think, if this “holy
Jerusalem” were to be set down
upon our continent, it would reach from New York City to over about
Salt Lake
City, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the middle of Hudson Bay in
Canada. Our
Lord’s precious Bride will not be cramped up in a slum pocket in that
wonderful
day. In
verse 17 we find that the wall was “one hundred and
forty four cubits”, or
216 feet high. And in verse 18 we learn that this wall is
composed of,
or made “of jasper”, and the city
itself is made of “pure gold.” Today
jasper is usually red, brown, or yellow, but in ancient times a green
colored
quartz was called jasper. So it would appear that this wall will be a
lovely
green color, and the great city itself will be the beautiful yellow of “pure gold.” This will be one place that
will be so perfect that this Bride will not find one single thing that
she will
want to change. She will not want this lovely place redecorated before
she
moves in. In
verses 19-20 we are told that the
foundations of this lovely wall
are “garnished”, or adorned with “all
manner of precious stones.” I often
have trouble trying to match colors when I start to dress. But this One
who has
gone “to prepare a place” for His
Bride never has any trouble with colors. When we see this lovely
dwelling place
I’m sure we will find that the colors of this lovely city, the
beautiful wall,
and its foundations will blend to perfection. We won’t find one single
change
we would like to make. In
verse 21 “the twelve gates” in “the
wall” are made of “pearl”, that
is, each gate is made of “one single
pearl”, and the pale, grayish white color of these pearls will
blend in
perfectly with all the rest of the city. Here we also see that the
street, or
broad avenue of the city is “pure gold.”
“Pure gold” would not be suitable
for building freeways in this old world. It would be too soft to stand
up under
the strain upon it, but there won’t be any ten ton trucks traveling
this lovely
avenue. Then
in verse 22 we are thrilled at the
absence of something. Here in this life we are so thankful for our
place of
worship. It means so much to us. Like David of old we are glad when
they say, “Let us go into the house of the LORD.”
But when that wonderful day comes we will have no need of a temple or
sanctuary
in which to worship our dear Lord. A young woman whose husband is away
in the
service of his country may keep his picture with her at all times. She
may take
it up every day, cover it with kisses, and clasp it to her bosom. But
when her
beloved husband is finally discharged, the moment he enters the door of
his
home the picture takes a back seat. Who needs a picture when the
husband is
home with her? So it will be with our Lord’s Bride. When her beloved
Bridegroom
is there with her, she will have no need of a sanctuary. In 22:3
we see
His throne in this wonderful city. So that is why John saw no temple. It
may be that verses 23 and 24
have been sorely misinterpreted. In my younger days I got the idea from
somebody, somewhere that there would be no sun or moon when this time
comes.
But I see nothing to substantiate that kind of thinking here. We are
told that
the city won’t have any need of the sun and moon. In Matthew 17:2
Peter,
James and John did not need the sun and the moon, but they were still
there. So
here the glory of God gives light to it, (the city). But that does not
mean
that the sun and the moon won’t be around anymore. In Isaiah 24:23
we
are told that the “moon will be
confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in
Mount
Zion,” but we are not told that they will disintegrate.
Rather in
Isaiah 30:26 we are told “the
light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of
the sun
shall be seven fold, as the light of seven days.” This is to
take
place when our Lord binds up those whom He has smitten and heals those
whom He
wounded, that is, the Jews, but we are not told how long this will
continue. Then
we are told that “the nations shall walk in the light of it.”
This is not necessarily
physical light. In John 9:5 Jesus
said, “As long as I am in the world
I am the light of the world.” The nations did not walk in
that light
when He was here the first time. But when He sets up His throne here on
the
earth they will walk in that light. In verse 23 the word “light” means physical light, but in
verse 24, it, in all probability means spiritual light. The
expression “of them which are saved” must have
sprung from the imagination of the translators. You won’t find it in
other
translations. In
this verse we also see “the kings of the earth”
bringing “their glory into it.” This is the time when
our Lord rules the “nations with a rod of iron” (Revelation
2:27, 12:5, 19:15), and whether these rulers are
saved or
lost they will do as they are told to do. I do not mean by this that
lost
people will have access to this city, but the glory of their kingdom
can be
brought into the city. In
verses 25-27 we learn that “the
gates” of the city will not be closed at all. Since the glory of
the LORD
lights the city there will be no night in it, because His glory never
goes
down. We are told again that “the glory
and honor” of the nations are brought into the city. But, if you
notice, we
are not told in this verse that the rulers themselves do the bringing.
We are
told in verse 27, however, that no one but saved people will be
permitted to enter it. Here in this life we must live in the midst of a
crooked
and perverse people. Every way we turn we hear and see all manner of
vulgar and
profane things. We are utterly unable to avoid much of it, because this
old
wicked world is just completely saturated with that which dishonors our
precious Lord. But in that coming day everything we see and everything
we hear
in that wonderful city will be to the honor and glory of our dear Lord.
May it
please Him to hasten that wonderful day. |