Read: Revelation 21:9–21

When you are going to go on a holiday, you think a lot more about where you are going than how you are going to get there.

But do you think very much about the new heaven and the new earth? The Lord tells us some things about eternal life. Often we think about the new life as somewhere up in the clouds, but God tells us that he is going to renew not just the heaven, but also the earth. When God created the earth, he said that it was good. And God is going to use the cities and fields and forests and lakes of this earth and make them completely new. He is going to renew them to be a place without sin.

The earth and heaven will not be two separate places but one place. The dwelling place of man will be the same as the dwelling place of God. We will be living with God in the holy city.

John saw this new city coming down out of heaven. The new Jerusalem is a holy city because Christ has made it holy. John saw it as a very, very large cube. It’s a huge city, and its length is the same as its width as well as its height. This won’t be the actual size of the city, but what God is showing us here is that it will be very large and holy. You probably remember that the Holy of Holies in the temple was also a cube shape. The Holy of Holies was the place where God lived. It was very special and no one was allowed in there, apart from the high priest once a year. It was God’s dwelling place.

The new city is like a massive Holy of Holies. It will be God’s holy dwelling place. But then we will be allowed to live in this holy city with God. Isn’t this wonderful news? One day we will be living with Him and will be able to worship him without any sin.

Reflection with your child:

Do you look forward to living in the new city with God?

Source: Sermon by Rev. G. Visscher