Revelation 21

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first (literally - former) heaven and the first (former) earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The first or former earth has passed away, it has been desolate for 1000 years and must be re-created.

The “holy city” or the “new Jerusalem” refers to Christ’s people, those who have been taken to heaven when Jesus comes at the end of this era (eon), when the millennium begins. They will accompany Jesus back to earth at the END of the millennium, at the time of the second resurrection, the resurrection of the unsaved.

Jesus tells us that “where two or three are gathered together in My name, THERE am I with them.” (Matt 18:20) The followers of Christ are the “New Jerusalem.”

In Hebrews 12:18, 22-24, the Bible speaks of Mount Zion being the Heavenly Jerusalem (New Jerusalem) “the city of he living God.”

Verse 18: “You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words, that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded . . .” (This is talking about Mt. Sinai where the Ten Commandments were given in the wilderness.)

Verses 22-24: “But you have come to (a better mountain) Mount Zion, to the HEAVENLY Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the ecclesia (the Called Ones – NOT the “Church”) of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God. . . to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” (Abel’s blood speaks of revenge, but Christ’s blood speaks of reconciliation.)

“Mt. Zion” means salvation.

3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.

God apparently will bring His headquarters to earth, to rule the universe from the earth after this great experiment of sin has been completed. Just as God’s redemptive presence was in Israel’s ancient tabernacle. “Then have them make a sanctuary for Me, and I will dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8), God will “tabernacle” (dwell) with men on earth.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and death will be no more, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.

First, note that “death will be no more.” There will be NO death, therefore EVERYONE will have to be alive. Also, note that tears aren’t wiped away until there is no more death and that occurs AFTER the millennium. It does NOT occur in heaven, it occurs in the New Earth, when God becomes “ALL in ALL” (See 1 Cor 15:22-28).

There will be no more sorrow, nor crying, nor pain, in part because there will be no more disease or death, both of which are the consequence of sin. And by the end of the last eon, sin and death will be no more.

5 And He that sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make ALL new (Not: all THINGS new - the word “things” has been added in the translations). And He said unto me, ‘Write; for these words are FAITHFUL and TRUE.

God is telling us that He makes ALL new - THAT is Universal Restoration. EVERYONE eventually will be changed and saved. EVERYONE will become a New Creature in Christ. Then God adds, for emphasis, “Write; for these words are FAITHFUL (God keeps His promises) and TRUE!” (God does NOT lie!) God emphasizes that He is telling the truth when He says He is going to save EVERYONE!

6 And He said unto me, ‘It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him who thirsts of the fountain of the water of life gratuitously (freely).

7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and He shall be My son.

“Jesus describes Himself as ‘the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End’ meaning that only in God and Jesus do human beings and world history receive their ultimate meaning. They express God’s rulership over the world, reassuring us that He can bring humankind to the goal that He has set: the New Jerusalem!” Light for the Last Days, Hans LaRondelle, pg 154

This is Universal Restoration!

8 But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and sexually immoral, and sorcerers (those who give or take drugs of any kind - including drug medications), and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (divine fire): which is the second death.

It should not escape our attention that John begins his list with “the cowardly.” The “cowardly” are those who shrink back from confessing Christ in the hour of testing and thus fail to persevere in the faith (see Heb 10:36-39) When Paul referred to the threat of “cowardice” he immediately admonished Timothy, “So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord. . .” (2 Tim 1:7,8), and pointed him to the gift of the “a spirit of power”.

“John mentions in Rev 21:8 at least seven kinds of people who will be excluded from the holy city. As the eighth kind he mentions “all liars,” which some authors consider a summation of all the previous seven. John’s list of losers functions as the dramatic counterpart to the seven kinds of overcomers mentioned in the letters to the ecclesias (the called ones - often mistranslated “churches”) in Revelation, chapters 2-3. John’s designation “liars” is significant, because it points to the religious lie that distorts the truth about God and the Lamb.” LaRondelle, pg 483

Please see the study on Revelation 20 for the explanation of the “Second Death.”

9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials (bowls) brimming with the last seven calamities (plagues) came, and he speaks with me, saying, “Come hither! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10 And he carried me away, in spirit, on a mountain, huge and high, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, as it is descended out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.

This passage tells us that the “bride, the wife of the Lamb” - the true followers of Jesus, ARE the “New Jerusalem.” The “bride, the wife of the Lamb” also connects the coming Jerusalem with the beautiful “woman” in Revelation 12;1,2.

The New Jerusalem is placed in contrast with Babylon, the harlot city. The prostitute has engraved on her forehead the words “Mystery-Babylon the Great, Mother of harlots.”

11 Her luminosity is like a stone most precious, as a crystalline jasper gem,

12 Having a wall, huge and high, having twelve portals (gates), and at the portals twelve angels, and their names inscribed, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

The “twelve tribes of Israel” refers to the story of the followers of God in the Old Testament.

13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates

This takes in the “four corners”, or ALL, of the earth.

14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

This term “twelve apostles” refers to the followers of Jesus in the New Testament. So the New Jerusalem embraces all true followers of God.

15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

16 And the city is laid out as a square (four-square, meaning “room for ALL”), and the length is as large as the breadth; and he measured the width the reed, twelve thousand stadia. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

The city is a cube, just as the Most Holy Place in the temple was a cube. The Most Holy Place was the place of God’s Presence. Now God will literally dwell with man. Also, “four-square” means that there is room for everyone. The “four corners” of the earth (east, west, north, south) includes EVERYONE.

The entire city is now the Most Holy Place - the place where God dwells.

Twelve thousand stadia would literally be 1,500 miles in each direction, even upward, far above the stratosphere! This symbolically means that the City contains the Israel of God of all salvation history, including in the last eon - AFTER the judgment!

17 And he measured the wall thereof, and hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

“One hundred forty-four cubits (12X 12) is literally about 216 feet, stressing again the key number 12. A wall, by definition, not only symbolizes security but also separation from the “outside (22:15) which basically refers to the place of the “lake” of divine fire (21:8), where the unsaved are reaping what they have sown, but NOT in a literal burning hellfire!

18 And the construction of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire, the third chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every individual gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

The twelve precious stones and the twelve pearly gates reveal the basic message that God will unite all His children into one flock - both from the Old Testament (twelve tribes of Israel) times and New Testament (twelve apostles) times.

Research shows that the “stones of the apocalypse” cannot be correlated with specific tribes, apostles, zodiac signs or geographical directions, according to LaRondelle (page 485). These twelve gems may function as the counterpart of the jewels adorning the prostitute of Babylon (Rev 17:4; 18:12,16).

22 And I saw no temple therein; for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did illuminate it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.

24 And the nations (former unbelievers) of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth (the “kings of the earth” who came against God in Rev 17:12-17 - the greatest enemies of God who were previously controlled by the Beast power) do bring their glory and honor into it.

Clearly, God will win EVERYONE back to Himself, including the “kings of the earth” who were under the complete control of the Beast power, and who were the ultimate enemies of God! This universal perspective tells us that even the former enemies of God and His people, from Babylon (The New World Order and the leaders of the False One World religion) will eventually come into the New Jerusalem.

Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 2:2 :

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and ALL NATIONS (ALL unbelievers) shall flow unto it.

This is Universal Restoration!

25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day; for there shall be no night there.

The symbolic gates will never be closed, meaning that the unbelievers on the “outside” of the city (verse 8) will be coming “into the city” (to be with the followers of Christ) one by one, as they are converted, after reaping what they have sown. Eventually, EVERY unbeliever will become a believer - and God will be “All in All”!

26 And they shall be carrying the glory and the honor of the nations (unbelievers) into it,

27 And under no circumstances may anything contaminating, or one who is made an abomination and a lie be entering into it, except those written in the Lamb’s book of life.

EVERYONE who enters into “the city” – who joins with the true believers - must be truly converted. God will triumph by converting the hearts of ALL the individuals in the universe, once they have reaped what they have sown.

Isaiah 60:11 says the following:

“Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the wealth of the Gentiles (unbelievers - nations) and that their kings may be led in procession.”

What a glorious day that will be when ALL will be restored to God and EVERYONE will be saved for eternity!