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 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. 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. 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. (Rev 22:1-5)The size of New Jerusalem is massive. Today's measurements place its greatness at 1,400 to 1,500 miles high, long and wide (Rev. 21:16)! The volume of that leaves plenty of area for all the godly inhabitants there. Will there be multiple floors? The bible doesn't say, but it does say in the Father's house are many mansions or rooms (Jn. 14:2). BTW, just out of the great tribulation period alone there will be a great multitude that no man can count in heaven (Rev. 7:9-17). Also, the Greek word for new as in New Jerusalem means fresh. That implies no housekeeping or repairs will be necessary. Nothing will ever get dirty or dusty in it! The city of God will remain new and fresh forever!
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. (Psa 46:4,5)The crystal clear water of life alone will make the overcomers glad. Imagine that. Beyond all the other many thrilling, exciting and joyful things the overcomers will experience, the water of life will add to it more by making the pure in heart glad. Thank you Jesus.
and the ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away (Isa 35:10).Instead of being overtaken with sorrow and sighing, as too OFTEN is the case in this life, gladness and joy will overtake the righteous dead! Hallelujah. What an excitingly wonderful reality to ponder.
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. (Dan 7:10)God's throne is also the source of the river of fire . Imagine that. God's double side reflects his great mercy (Neh. 9:31; Dan. 9:18; etc.) and wrath (Nah. 1:2,3; Jude 7; Rev. 20:10; etc.) or as Paul wrote the kindness and sternness of God (Rom. 11:19-23). Also, Dan. 7:10 seems to be very similar to Rev. 20:12-15.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev 2:7).Jesus gives overcomers the privilege to eat from the tree of life, which is a special fast-producing fruit tree, which grows out of the great street of pure gold. What a strange sight compared to this life. Rev. 22:2 states the tree of life bears twelve crops of fruit, yielding fruit every month. That alone proves the overcomers will eat in God's kingdom, but there is more to know.
The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. The Greek word for nations means people. The overcomers will eat the leaves for healing, but healing from what? We don't know, but the time frame is after the millennium and the great white throne judgment of the wicked dead, Rev. 20:11-15.
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. 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." (Rev 21:3,4)
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Mat 5:8).What an unrecognized privilege it is to see God's face. Back in Moses' day we read:
But, he (God) said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen." (Exo 33:20-23)People living now in our current mortal bodies would die if we looked upon God's face! We also have the following truth supplementing Mt. 5:8:
Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14).It take a pure heart or holiness to see the Lord, which means most people (the wicked who go to the lake of fire) will never see God's face. Throughout all eternity, while in fiery torment, they won't even get a glimpse of God's face.
When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him (Exo 34:29,30).
But whenever he (Moses) entered the Lord's presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the LORD (Exo 34:34,35).Elsewhere we are told this about Almighty God:
Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong... (Hab 1:13).But, the righteous dead will live with God, in his absolute holy presence. At the first resurrection, each person will have his glorified body of dignity and honor.
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads (Rev 22:4).What an honor that will be to have God's holy name of our foreheads, but there is more:
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I (Jesus) 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 (Rev 3:12).Overcomers will have written on their glorified bodies:
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 (Rev 21:23).Also, Abraham and the earliest Christians knew about New Jerusalem before John gave the details in Revelation 21 and 22:
For he (Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Heb 11:10).Note the plural foundations and that Almighty God is the architect and builder. It will be perfectly designed and built, but God even built New Jerusalem for the those who love him, the righteous (Mt. 25:34; 1 Cor. 2:9; Heb. 11:16b).
And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. (Heb 13:12-14)
I (Paul) consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us (Rom 8:18).Press on dearly beloved. Don't give up following Jesus. Keep yourself pure (1 Tim. 5:22b) and hold on to what you have (Rev. 3:11). MUCH BETTER days (far beyond our ability to comprehend) are ahead for all the overcomers in Christ. Ponder these truths often and you'll be encouraged in heart. Pass this teaching on to others.
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