Last Monday April 8th there was a lot of hype about the total solar eclipse. However, they are not really something new. Total solar eclipses typically happen every one to three years somewhere around the globe, but the events are often only visible from Earth’s poles or from the middle of the ocean. The people who were in the path of totality had the opportunity to see the sun fully covered by the moon for several minutes. The first recorded total solar eclipse was in 1778, according to NASA, just a few short years after the United States became an independent country. That eclipse was visible from the Carolinas to New England. Interesting to me that people would go through all that trouble for four minutes of darkness. Not to mention the risk of burning out your retinas due to the harmful ultraviolet rays and infrared radiation.

Folks, the day is coming that there will be no harmful UV rays from the sun. There will be no need for it, if you can imagine that. Also, God’s word emphasized that physical decline and aging will be no more. It is a place where we will never age again and we will partake of the tree of life and drink from the rivers of living waters. Today we examine…

I Daily Life Within the City (21:22-27)

1. Jesus talked about the treasures of heaven, the reward of heaven, the riches of heaven. The Apostle Paul followed up on that and reminded believers that he was thankful for the hope laid up for him in heaven. Peter said that we have an inheritance which is undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for us, I Peter 1:4.

2. Heaven is our home our future. It’s where our inheritance is. It’s where our reward is. It’s where our hope is. It’s where our treasure is laid up. Heaven is our eternal home and the place of eternal glory. It’s the place where we’re going to spend eternity and have complete…

1. Complete Access to God. The New Jerusalem will have no temple in it. Unlike earth and even the Millennium age there will be no need… Up to this point we would have to acknowledge that there has been a temple in heaven. However, there is no need for an abode of God because God will literally occupy the whole of the new heaven and the new earth. There’s no need for a temple. There’s no need for a cathedral. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. The temple was merely a shrine symbolizing God’s holiness and presence. The whole city is temple-like in which God will dwell. This city dwells within the temple, which is the very presence of God and Christ.

We will worship God that will be our full time job, it won’t be work. It will be an awesome experience that we will never tire of. Let me help you understand. Have you ever been to the botanic gardens or an art museum, or a planetarium a city a car show, whatever? You were there and amazed with what you were seeing and learning and it was so awesome before you knew it the time was up and you barely scathed the surface.

You went back the next day and could not get enough. That what our worship will be likened to… never getting enough of our awesome God ever. To be in awe of God is worship… This is…

2. A Complete Environment: The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it. So, there will be no more solar eclipses. We mention this last week that the Shekinah glory of God’s own presence will illuminate the New Jerusalem. (Note 22:5) No more sun sunburn! Think of all the money you’ll save on sun blockers.

Not too long ago a certain cosmetic company boasted that its UV & anti-wrinkle cream could “banish” these wrinkles, it was said to be a jar of the fountain of youth. Well with such claims eventually they were asked to prove it in court. The findings showed that the cream did tighten skin, but only temporarily. The wrinkles soon became obvious again. Millions of people are looking for the fountain of youth because the aging process is so unacceptable to many people. So be sure you are saved and you’ll experience just that and…

3. Complete equality: Verses 24-26 present a beautiful picture of the nations and the kings of the earth bringing their glory and honor to the new city. Will there still be nations? Nations is the word (ethnos) it means “the peoples. This word is translated “nations,” but most often it is translated in the New Testament by the word Gentiles.

Here it is translates as “peoples,” indicating no social structure, no upper or lower class, all the kings of the earth means those mighty men, noble men, leaders, they give their glory to that city. That is their glory is gone. Everybody is at the same level. All rulers are going to have their glory dissolved into the glory of God which is all the glory that will be in the eternal state. All human glory dissolves into the glory of God. All races dissolve into the people of God. Praise God there will be no more racism!!

4. Complete Access to the City:
1. Another interesting fact is that the gates in verse 25 they never shut. They are always open for God’s children to come in because the gates of heaven have been eternally opened by Jesus Christ. In ancient times city gates were shut at night because they were there for protection. Not in the New Jerusalem, there is no night, no thieves and nobody will ever sleep there anyway. Apparently, all residents of the New Jerusalem will have unlimited access to the New Earth and the new heavens.

4. Perfect holiness: John further describes what life will be like in the city by saying, there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination (evil), or maketh a lie … (verse 27). This does not imply that sinful people will be roaming around outside the Holy City, but rather a warning to those who read this book that the only way to participate in the activities of the New Jerusalem is by having one’s name written in the Lambs book of life.

Those that defile, workers of evil, all liars, and anyone who does not have their name in the Book of Life have already been dispatched to their eternal home. Note this is a multitude of individuals of the same nature. What nature are we talking about? A saved nature a saved people!

5. Perfect physical and mental health. (22:1-5)

1) In 22:1 John moves inside the city and begins to describe the beautiful landscape. First, he says there is a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal… (22:1. The source of the water of life is the throne of God and of the Lamb (22:lb). The throne of God is the source of life and pleasure to those who have their names written in the Book of Life.

This is a different kind of river because this river is filled with the water of life. That’s not H2O, people. To understand this look at John 4; verses 10 to 15 and John 7:38-39. Word and Spirit?

2) Not only is there a river of water of life, but also in the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life (22:2). Apparently, the tree of life is large enough to span the river, so that the fruit of the tree can be picked from either side of the river.
This tree of life seems to be similar to the tree mentioned in Genesis 3:22-24. The tree bore twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month (22:2). There is no end to its fruit-bearing, as the tree of life provides variety and delight without interruption to the inhabitants of the city for all eternity.

This may symbolize to us that there will be a regular cycle of joyous provision, filled with variety, changing all the time. Not only does the tree produce luscious fruit, but the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations (22:2).

This raises an interesting question as to the necessity for healing where sickness no longer exists. It doesn’t imply illness. “The word for ‘healing’ is therapeian, from which the English word therapeutic is derived, almost directly transliterated from the Greek. Rather than meaning ‘healing,’ it should be understood as ‘health-giving,’ as the word in its root meaning has the idea of serving or ministering.

A better way to translate it would be this, “And the leaves of the tree were…were life giving, health giving, therapeutic.” They just enriched life. Like vitamins only supernatural ones.

c) The phrase And there shall be no more curse in 22:3 takes us back to where our problems all began in Genesis 3:16-19, the fall of man and the curse upon the earth.

Conclusion:

The glories that await the Christian defy our comprehension. What we can grasp about them hopefully fills us with great anticipation. Someday we shall enjoy heaven in all its fullness. Verses 4-5 denote the truth found in I John 3:2…Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

A man died and went to Heaven. When he got there he just couldn’t believe how great it was. He said to the Lord,” this place is tremendous, the music, the beauty — it’s 100 times better than I expected it to be. In fact if I’d known it was this good I’d have come here sooner! The Lord responded, “Well you would have been, if you hadn’t eaten all that oat bran!”

1Cr 2:9 —But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.