Revelation 21:1-22:21 Comments by Stephen Ricker
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The New Heaven, the New Earth, the New Jerusalem
Comments for Study 15

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Memory Verse: 21:8
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I. The New Heaven and New Earth (21:1-8)

The Holy City New Jerusalem

* The drawing is called "The Holy City New Jerusalem". It was in the "September 1522 Luther Bible", the first Bible translated into German. Luther's New Testament was published in September of 1522, with a second edition coming out in December of the same year both adorned with woodcut illustrations by Lucas Cranach.

>1. After the judgement at the great white throne what happened? (1)

* Revelation 21:1 "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea."

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>What appears for the first time? (2; Rev. 3:12)

* Revelation 21:2 "I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband."

* Revelation 3:12 "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."

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>What does it mean that it is prepared like a bride?

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>What does the appearance of the new Jerusalem mean for saved mankind? (3)

* Revelation 21:3 "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God."

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>2. What will living with God be like? (4)

* Revelation 21:4 "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

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>What is finished? (5-6)

* Revelation 21:5-6 "He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life."

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>What does it mean to overcome? (7)

* Revelation 21:7 "He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son."

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>Compare the overcomer to those in verse 8.

* Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

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>How does a decision now affect where we will be in the future?

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II. New Jerusalem: the Bride's Home (21:9-27)

>3. Who is the bride of the Lamb and where do they live? (9-10)

* Revelation 21:9-10 "One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God."

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>Who is the bride of the Lamb and where do they live? (9-10)

* John 14:1-4 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

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>What is the glory of God? (11; and 2 Chron. 5:13-14; Prov. 25:2; John 11:40)

* Revelation 21:11 "It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal."

* 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 "The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God."

* Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings."

* John 11:40 "Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

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>4. How is the new Jerusalem described? (12-14)

* Revelation 21:12-16 "It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

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>Drawing pictures from its measurements what shapes are possible? (15-17)

* Revelation 21:15-17 "The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using."

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>What materials are foundation and streets usually made from and what does this tell us about the new Jerusalem? (18-21)

* Revelation 21:18-21 "The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass."

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>5. What can we learn from verse 22?

* Revelation 21:22 "I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple."

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>Does verses 23-25 indicate that the sun and moon won't exist at this time? (John 3:19-21, 8:12)

* Revelation 21:23-25 "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there."

* John 3:19-21 "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

* John 8:12 "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

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>Why will things be brought into the new Jerusalem? (26-27; Psalm 72:7-14)

* Revelation 21:26-27 "The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

* Psalm 72:7-14 "In his days the righteous will flourish; prosperity will abound till the moon is no more. He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores will bring tribute to him; the kings of Sheba and Seba will present him gifts. All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him. For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight."

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III. The River of Life (22:1-6)

>6. What was flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb? (1)

* Revelation 22:1 "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb"

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>As it flowed down stream what was growing on its bank? (2)

* Revelation 22:2 "down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."

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>Where was this tree once growing? (Gen. 2:8-9)

* Genesis 2:8-9 "Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

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>What tree was missing and why? (3; Gen. 2:16-17, 3:17)

* Revelation 22:3 "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him."

* Genesis 2:16-17 "And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

* Genesis 3:17 "To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life."

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>7. According to verses 4-5 what was the source of life and healing: the water, the fruit, the leaves, or someone else?

* Revelation 22:4-5 "They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever."

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>How is the sequential prophecy of our future ended? (6)

* Revelation 22:6 "The angel said to me, "These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place."

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IV. Jesus is Coming (22:7-21)

>8. What does Jesus tell us as recorded in verse 7?

* Revelation 22:7 "Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book."

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>Who are considered servants of God? (8-9)

* Revelation 22:8-9 "I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all who keep the words of this book. Worship God!"

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>What does it mean to worship a servant rather than God?

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>9. Why are we given this book? (10-11)

* Revelation 22:10-11 "Then he told me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy."

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>What does Jesus coming mean? (12-15)

* Revelation 22:12-15 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood."

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>What are all the ways Jesus is described in these verses?

* Revelation 22:16 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."

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>10. What are we, Jesus' bride to do until he comes? (17)

* Revelation 22:17 "The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life."

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>What are we not to do? (18-19)

* Revelation 22:18-19 "I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book."

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>How have many done this?

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>What promise is given us in verses 20-21?

* Revelation 22:20-21 "He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."

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