Both Heaven and Hell are either ignored, ridiculed or denied by the world and the church today.
The famous theologian Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, says, “It is unwise for Christians to claim any knowledge either of the furniture of heaven or the temperature of hell.”
The Scientist, Dr Alfred Whitehead said, “As for the Christian Theology, can you imagine anything more appallingly idiotic than the Christian idea of heaven.”
A common approach of the liberal clergyman is that he does indeed believe in a literal heaven and hell, but limits them both to this earth! In other words, ‘Life’s good experiences are heaven’, and ‘Life’s bad moments’ are “HELL”.
Heaven is discussed far more than hell in the Scriptures.
1.Three Heavens.
A. The First Heaven.
Home of the birds and the clouds.
Jer 4:25 I looked, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.
Mat 8:20 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.
This is not the eternal home of the redeemed.
B. The Second Heaven.
Home of the sun, moon and stars.
Gen 22:17 that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies.
Psa 19:1 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the expanse [the sky] proclaims His handiwork. In the 1960’s man built space craft that could leave the first heaven and enter the Second Heaven. But as amazing as that is the Second Heaven cannot be confused with the heaven of Salvation.
C. The Third Heaven.
The Home of God.
2Co 12:2 I know a man in Christ fourteen years before (whether in the body, I do not know; or outside of the body, I do not know; God knows) such a one was caught up to the third Heaven.
1Ki 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this house which I have built?
1Ki 8:28 Yet, O, Jehovah my God, You have turned toward the prayer of Your servant and to his request, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today;
1Ki 8:29 for Your eyes to be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, My name shall be there; to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.
1Ki 8:30 And You shall listen to the cry of Your servant, and of Your people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place, and hear in Heaven Your dwelling-place, and when You hear, forgive!
No Spacecraft can transport us from the Second to the Third Heaven. It is only those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb of God who can enter there. Jesus said to Nicodemus
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be Thy Name.”
The New Jerusalem.
The Third heaven is the Abode of God. The Bible teaches us that within this heavenly abode there exists a dazzlingly high and holy city called the New Jerusalem. This will be the permanent home for all the redeemed with God throughout Eternity. Both OT and NT Saints looked for and longed for this Celestial City.
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| The New Jerusalem |
Psa 46:4 There is a river, its channels gladden the city of God glad, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
Psa 87:3 Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God. Selah.
Heb 11:10 For he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Heb 11:16 Instead, these men were longing for a better country-a heavenly country. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them.
Heb 12:22 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together
Joh 14:2 My Father's house has many rooms. If that were not true, would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you?
Joh 14:3 If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again. Then I will bring you into my presence so that you will be where I am.
Rev 21:2 Then I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, dressed like a bride ready for her husband.
Rev 21:3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say, "God lives with humans! God will make his home with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God.
2. The Characteristics of the New Jerusalem.
A. The Shape of this city.
Rev 21:16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. ESV
Lieth foursquare (tetragōnos keitai). Present middle indicative of keimai. The predicate adjective is from tetra (Aeolic for tessares four) and gōnos (gōnia corner, Mat_6:5) here only in N.T. As in Eze_48:16, Eze_48:20. It is a tetragon or quadrilateral quadrangle (Rev_21:12.).
The length thereof is as great as the breadth (to mēkos autēs hoson to platos). It is rectangular, both walls and city within. Babylon, according to Herodotus, was a square, each side being 120 stadia. Diodorus Siculus says that Nineveh was also foursquare.
With the reed (tōi kalamōi). Instrumental case (cf. Rev_21:15 for kalamos) and for metreō (aorist active indicative here)
Twelve thousand furlongs (epi stadiōn dōdeka chiliadōn). This use of the genitive stadiōn with epi is probably correct (reading of Aleph P), though A Q have stadious (more usual, but confusing here with chiliadōn). Thucydides and Xenophon use epi with the genitive in a like idiom (in the matter of). It is not clear whether the 1500 miles (12,000 furlongs) is the measurement of each of the four sides or the sum total. Some of the rabbis argued that the walls of the New Jerusalem of Ezekiel would reach to Damascus and the height would be 1500 miles high.
Equal (isa). That is, it is a perfect cube like the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s temple (1Ki_6:19.). This same measurement (platos, mēkos, hupsos) is applied to Christ’s love in Eph_3:18, with bathos (depth) added. It is useless to try to reduce the measurements or to put literal interpretations upon this highly wrought symbolic language. Surely the meaning is that heaven will be large enough for all, as Jesus said (Joh_14:1.) without insisting on the materialistic measurement of a gorgeous apartment house full of inside rooms.
B. The Size of the City.
…...And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. Rev 21:16
That is about 1,400 miles wide, long and high. i.e. From Brisbane to the Alice or from Brisbane to Melbourne. What capacity this City has?. It has enough room for everyone.
C. The Inhabitants of the City.
1. The Holy and Elect Angels.
Rev 5:11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands,
Rev 5:12 saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"
2 . The 24 Elders.
Rev 4:4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. ESV
Round about the throne were four and twenty seats. Rather, "thrones." The central throne was encompassed by twenty-four lesser thrones.
Four and twenty elders sitting. These ancients were (1) twenty-four in number; (2) they were clothed in white, the color of victory and purity; (3) on their heads were golden crowns, not the diadem which means a kingly crown, but the golden crown of honor (Stephanos). Critics are not agreed as to the signification of these elders, but most of them think that they symbolize the glorified church of God gathered round the throne. They disagree as to the significance of the number twenty-four. There were twenty-four courses of priests. There were twelve tribes, and twelve apostles. Possibly the number of the latter was doubled to symbolize the entire church, Jew and Gentile. In a note below I will give my own view of the Twenty-four Elders. PNT3.The Church.
The Assembly of the Saints.
Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
Heb 12:23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
Rev 19:1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;
Rev 19:8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
Rev 19:9 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are the true words of God."
Rev 21:9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."
Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
Rev 21:11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
4. The Saved of Israel.
Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Heb 11:9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.
Heb 11:10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Heb 11:14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
Heb 11:15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
Heb 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
5. God, the Father.
Rev 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
Dan 7:9 "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.
Dan 7:10 A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened.
6. God, The Son; Lamb of God.
Rev 5:6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Rev 5:7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
7. The Holy Spirit.
He is there with the father and the Son.
Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!"
Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
D. The Foundations of this City.
The city rest on Twelve Foundations with each being inlaid with different gems or precious stones.
Jasper, Sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolyte, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and an amethyst.
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| Jasper |
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| A Blue teardrop cut Sapphire |
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| Agate a type of Chalcedony |
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| Emeralds |
Each foundation layer carries the Name of one of the Apostles in the New Testament.
Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
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| A slice of Sardonyx |
.jpg/800px-Carnelian_sard_(mineral_specimen).jpg) |
| Sardius |
E. The Walls of the City.
The walls of the City are made of Jasper and are some 216 feet “66.72m” high and are made of Jasper.
Rev 21:17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement.
Rev 21:18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
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| Chrysolite - Olivine |
F. The Gates of the City.
There are Twelve gates to this City, three on each side. One each gate is the Name of a tribe of Israel. Each gate is composed of one solid white pearl.
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| Three types of beryl |
Rev 21:13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
Rev 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
G. The main street is of Pure Gold.
Rev 21:21b above.
H. The Throne within this City.
Rev 4:2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.
Rev 4:3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.
Rev 4:6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:  |
| Types of Cut Topaz |
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| Chrysoprase |
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| Pakistani Red Jacinth |
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| South African Amethyst |
I. The River of Life in this City.
Rev 22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
Rev 22:2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Psa 46:4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
J. The Tree of Life in this City.
Rev 22:2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Was there the tree of life - Not a single tree, but it abounded everywhere - on the banks of the river, and in all the streets. It was the common tree in this blessed Paradise - of which all might partake, and which was everywhere the emblem of immortality. In this respect, this new Paradise stands in strong contrast with that in which Adam was placed at his creation, where there seems to have been a single tree that was designated as the tree of life, Gen_3:22-23. In the future state of the blessed, that tree will abound, and all may freely partake of it; the emblem, the pledge of immortal life, will be constantly before the eyes, whatever part of the future abode may be traversed, and the inhabitants of that blessed world may constantly partake of it.
Which bare twelve manner of fruits - “Producing twelve fruit-harvests; not (as our version) twelve manner of fruits” (Prof. Stuart). The idea is not that there are twelve kinds of fruit on the same tree, for that is not implied in the language used by John.
The literal rendering is, “producing twelve fruits” - ποιοῦν καρποὺς δώδεκα poioun karpous dōdeka. The word “manner” has been introduced by the translators without authority. The idea is, that the tree bore every month in the year, so that there were twelve fruit-harvests. It was not like a tree that bears but once a year, or in one season only, but it constantly bore fruit - it bore every month. The idea is that of abundance, not variety. The supply never fails; the tree is never barren. As there is but a single class of trees referred to, it might have been supposed, perhaps, that, according to the common method in which fruit is produced, there would be sometimes plenty and sometimes want; but the writer says that, though there is but one kind, yet the supply is ample. The tree is everywhere; it is constantly producing fruit. Barnes Notes.
Gen 2:9 And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
When man sinned in the garden of Eden, he was driven from the Garden and the Tree of Life.
Gen 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
K. The relationship between this New Jerusalem and the Earthly Jerusalem
It is important to distinguish between "the camp of the saints, and the beloved city" spoken of in Revelation ch.20:9, and the New Jerusalem of chapter 21. Rev.ch.20:9 refers to an earthly City, description and purpose of which is found in book of Ezekiel, starting with chapter 36 and ending with ch.48. One of the most obvious differences is, the dimensions of the New Jerusalem of Rev.ch.21 are 1000 times bigger than dimensions of the city in Ezekiel ch.48 (and in Rev.ch.20:9) New Jerusalem of Revelation ch.21 is 2225 km. in length, width, and height, a city of these gigantic proportions can not be located on this earth, but as stated in ch.21 comes down from heaven on to the new earth. Wikipedia.
12. The Activities of the redeemed in the City.
Heaven will not be a place of sitting on fleecy clouds while strumming on harps.
a. It will be a place of singing.
Rev 14:3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!
b. Heaven is a place of fellowship.
1Co 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
1Jn 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
To “have fellowship,” means to have anything in common with others; to partake of it; to share it with them, (see the notes at Act_2:42); and the idea here is, that the apostle wished that they might share with him all the peace and happiness which resulted from the fact that the Son of God had appeared in human form in behalf of men. The object of the apostle in what he wrote was, that they might have the same views of the Saviour which he had, and partake of the same hope and joy. This is the true notion of fellowship in religion.
And truly our fellowship is with the Father - With God the Father. That is, there was something in common with him and God; something of which he and God partook together, or which they shared
c. Heaven is a place of serving God.
Rev 7:15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple. And He that sits on the throne shall dwell among them.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants will minister to Him.
1Co 6:2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
1Co 6:3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Let alone ordinary matters!
saints ... judge — that is, “rule,” including judgment: as assessors of Christ. Mat_19:28, “judging,” that is, “ruling over.” (Compare Psa_49:14; Dan_7:22, Dan_7:27; Rev_2:26; Rev_3:21; Rev_20:4). There is a distinction drawn by able expositors between the saints who judge or rule, and the world which is ruled by them: as there is between the elected (Mat_20:23) twelve apostles who sit on thrones judging, and the twelve tribes of Israel that are judged by them. To reign, and to be saved, are not necessarily synonymous. As Jehovah employed angels to carry the law into effect when He descended on Sinai to establish His throne in Israel, so at His coming the saints shall administer the kingdom for, and under, Him. The nations of the earth, and Israel the foremost, in the flesh, shall, in this view, be the subjects of the rule of the Lord and His saints in glorified bodies.
1Co_6:3
That we shall judge angels. Angels, i.e. some who belong, or once did belong, to that class. The statement furnishes no data for further speculation. It can hardly mean "evil spirits," for where the word is entirely unqualified it always means good angels; otherwise we might refer it to the "angels which kept not their first estate" (Jud 1Co_1:6). It is impossible, and not straightforward, to explain away the word "angels" as meaning Church officials, etc., or to make the word "judge" mean "involve a condemnation of them by comparison with ourselves." All that we can say is that "God chargeth even his angels with folly, and in his sight the very heavens are not clean" (Job_4:18); and that "to angels hath he not subjected the world to come" (Heb_2:5)
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