10.1 Key themes⤒🔗

God’s final kingdom will be:

• A new creation
  - God will renew this creation, by destroying all the evil in it.
  - Heaven and earth will become one place.
• A new Jerusalem
  - The new Jerusalem is us, the church.
  - The church will be perfect and glorious.
  - God will live with us.
• A new Eden
  - There will be a river and a tree of life again.
  - People will see God’s face again.

10.2 Revelation 21:1–10, 22:1–5←⤒🔗

^21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more.

^21:2 And I saw the holy city – the new Jerusalem – descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband.

^21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: 'Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.

^21:4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.'

^21:5 And the one seated on the throne said: 'Look! I am making all things new!” Then he said to me, “Write it down, because these words are reliable and true.'

^21:6 He also said to me, 'It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the one who is thirsty I will give water free of charge from the spring of the water of life.

^21:7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

^21:8 But to the cowards, unbelievers, detestable persons, murderers, the sexually immoral, and those who practice magic spells, idol worshipers, and all those who lie, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. That is the second death.'

^21:9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues came and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb!'

^21:10 So he took me away in the Spirit to a huge, majestic mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

…

^22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life – water as clear as crystal – pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb,

^22:2 flowing down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

^22:3 And there will no longer be any curse, and the throne of God and the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him,

^22:4 and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

^22:5 Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.

© NET Bible

10.3 Finally!←⤒🔗

All people go somewhere after they die: heaven or hell. But we have seen that this is not God’s final plan. When Jesus comes again, the bodies of all people will be raised. Those who have disobeyed God will be thrown into hell with their bodies. But those who belong to Jesus Christ will enter God’s kingdom with their bodies.

In Revelation 21 and 22 John describes his vision of God’s final kingdom. Again, it is too wonderful for human words! But John helps us to understand three things about God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom will be a new creation, a new Jerusalem, and a new Eden.

10.4 A new creation←⤒🔗

The Bible begins with these words: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Now, at the end of the Bible, we find these words: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1).

What does the word “new” mean? Does it mean that God is making a totally new creation? Is he going to throw away his old creation? No. The word “new” that John uses here, is a word that means “renewed.” God is going to take the old creation and renew it. He will destroy all the evil in it.

In John’s vision “the sea existed no more” (Revelation 21:1). That does not mean that there will be no oceans or water in the new creation! In the book of Revelation, the sea is a picture of evil and rebellion against God. God will destroy everyone who has rebelled against him (Revelation 21:8).

In the new creation there will be no more evil and death. But it will still be a creation with plants, animals, water, food, and all the good things that God had made. In Lesson 8 we saw that we will have new bodies. God will not throw away the things that he had made! Remember: he said that these things are “very good” (Genesis 1:31).

But the new creation will be even better than God’s creation in the beginning. Because in the new creation, heaven and earth will not be separate anymore. Heaven will come down to earth! Heaven and earth will become one place, where God will live with his people.

10.5 A new Jerusalem←⤒🔗

John did not only see a new heaven and earth. He also saw a city coming down from heaven. This was not just any city. It was the new Jerusalem.

In our passage John says a strange thing about this city. He says that the city is “made ready like a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:2). Later the angel says that the city is the bride of Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:9–10).

The bride of Jesus Christ is us: the church. In God’s kingdom the church will be beautiful and pure. We will not have sin and weaknesses anymore. And God will live with us. We will be his city (Revelation 21:3).

For this lesson we have read only the first ten verses of Revelation 21. But in the rest of the chapter, John describes the beauty of the new Jerusalem. It shines with God’s glory! All its parts are perfect. That is what the church will be like, on the day when our God comes to live with us.

10.6 A new Eden←⤒🔗

The Garden of Eden had a river. The tree of life was also growing there (Genesis 2:9–10). The tree of life was a sign of eternal life. After Adam and Eve sinned, people could never eat from the tree of life again (Genesis 3:22–24).

But now John sees a new Garden of Eden. This time the river is flowing from the throne of God. The tree of life is standing there again. Everyone can eat from it all the time (Revelation 22:1–2).

Before Adam and Eve sinned, God would come to walk with them in the garden (Genesis 3:8). In the new garden people will see God’s face again. We will have such a close relationship with him that his name will be on our foreheads (Revelation 22:4).

Words cannot describe the new heaven and earth that God is preparing for us. But we know this: it will be a new creation, a new Jerusalem, and a new Eden. Let us look forward to it, and prepare ourselves for it!