Revelation 21:1-4 NASB
The New Heaven and Earth
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
The first things have passed away. The old has given way to the new. The transformation of the old man to the new man is accomplished. The clay of humanity is mixed with the Spirit of God, heaven and earth are joined together to create a new creature as God purposed. Gone are the agonies and trials that have forged a people.
The tossing sea where the twisting serpent swam and the beast arose from the murky depths of a fallen creation has now dried into the harvest of the fruitful. Just as the flood waters receded before Noah to reveal a clean earth, the sea dries and no longer serves to confine mankind. We are free indeed.
The new Jerusalem descends from heaven and the dwelling place God always intended is revealed. The Father has prepared a people through the fire of creation who are adorned in righteousness, who have arrived at the destination promised at the end of their walk with The Lord. The promised land.
There is a four-fold proclamation of God's eternal presence with man confirming the house of God, the new Eden. We might hear echoes of the four living creatures that served as His throne. They may have depicted a picture of this blessed state. Jesus walked on the earth as a man. Now The Lord will walk among men again, but this time as He really is and we will be like Him.
Isaiah 57:20-21
But the wicked are like the tossing sea;
for it cannot be quiet,
and its waters toss up mire and dirt.
There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
Isaiah 27:1
The Redemption of Israel
In that day the Lord with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea.
Isaiah 54:6-8
For the Lord has called you
like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,
like a wife of youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I deserted you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
In overflowing anger for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”
says the Lord, your Redeemer.
John 3:29-31
The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all.
Ephesians 5:31-33
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Psalms 48:1-2
Zion, the City of Our God
A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in the city of our God!
His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
Isaiah 12:6
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.”
Isaiah 25:8
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
1 John 2:17
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
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