Revelation 21 describes the “new heaven and a new earth….a new Jerusalem”. We have arrived at that final place. The old will be put aside and God will bring His followers into eternity as it will be forever. Not only will the surroundings be new – but “He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God”. This place will be an experience like no other. God will be the center of it all and we will be in His presence and filled by His glory. He will be the focal point. It is a new place and He will fill it with “the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel”.
Often people wonder what it will be like in heaven. We get a few answers to that question here. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore”. Life as we know it on earth will not exist there. The things that cause us sadness will be done. There will be no more death. That experience ends at eternity. Tears aren’t part of that environment because God will have removed all the things that cause them. We will be in a new place and God tells us “I am making all things new”. Did you catch that? He will make ALL things new. There will be no old left – God will do a makeover on all of it. He will create the final chapter and make the finishing touches complete as He redoes all that is. And then He will be true to the words scripture has “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end”. This is it – the grand finale – God will have brought us to His final place of eternity.
The chapter goes into great detail to describe the new city. It will be a magnificent place – and be covered with the most beautiful of all God’s creation. But the thing that jumps out at me is the reality that there is no more sun or moon “for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb”. God and His glory will be all the light we need. It will illuminate the place and make it shine. We go on to learn “its gates will never be shut by day – and there will be no night there”. The doors of heaven never close. The light never ends. It is a 24X7X365 place of worship and adoration of God. We won’t grow tired. We will continually give God glory and honor and praise. But as the chapter ends – we are reminded once again that “only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” will be there. Even though the gates are never shut – that doesn’t mean they are left unguarded. Heaven will be occupied only by those who have a relationship with the Savior. Do you know Jesus? Will you be there?
