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Day 36 Revelation 21 Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first 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. 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. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he who sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. 10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he who talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lies foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. 18 And the building 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 garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; 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 several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 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 lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Have you ever wanted to start over, make a fresh start with your life? Did you want to erase everything bad and start over with a clean slate? In the beginning, God created a beautiful earth. There wasn’t any evil, and He saw everything as very good. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (KJV) However, soon after God created the earth and the universe, Satan came and grabbed hold of it along with the hearts and minds of people so the earth was no longer the beautiful jewel God created. John saw a new heaven and a new earth. Not only was everything new, but God brought His temple to earth to dwell in the midst of His people. 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. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he who sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. As God intended to live in the midst of His people when He created the earth, He will live in their midst when He recreates the earth in all its splendor and glory. In the beginning, God walked in His garden with Adam and Eve during the cool of the day. Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (KJV) Because Adam and Eve sinned, God could no longer walk with them in the garden. Sin separated them. Now, God made all things new and He brought heaven to earth and lived among His people as was His intention since the creation. An angel showed John the beauty of the New Jerusalem, more glorious than anyone could imagine. It is here we get the idea of the pearly gates. New Jerusalem has twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel on each, three on each side. When Moses set up the tabernacle in the wilderness according to God’s design, God told him to have three tribes camp on each side of the tabernacle. God’s design for the tabernacle is the same as He told Moses to set up. Everything has a purpose in God’s plan. Then John saw the foundation of the New Jerusalem. Twelve foundations with the names of the twelve apostles on them. Each foundation had a precious stone marking it. When God ordained the priests, the high priest wore a breastplate with twelve precious stones for each of the twelve tribes. Here we see the purpose of the stones. They were the foundation stones for New Jerusalem. And one precious stone, the pearl for the gates. With Satan’s banishment to the Lake of Fire along with everyone who rejected Jesus as Savior and Lord, you see who God will not allow in His New Jerusalem. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. God said everyone would die once and face judgment. Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (KJV) For Christians, our judgment takes place as soon as we die. For unbelievers, they face the White Throne Judgment and are sent to the Lake of Fire for eternity, the second death, which has no end. Isaiah 66:22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, says the LORD. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Christians will enjoy eternal life in the presence of God and their Savior, Jesus Christ and nothing will bring trouble their way and they will live in peace and safety for eternity. No more tears and no more death. God makes all things new and if you accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, you will be part of God’s new creation and live in New Jerusalem without fear of anything bad ever happening again. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for Your Word which is true and faithful. Let me seek You and walk with You every day and enjoy Your presence in my life. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 2 August 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay