Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisrael and Mishpachah, welcome to Part LXXIV (74) of our study of the Book of Revelation. Last week I announced we would be looking at the rest of chapter 21 today but upon further reflection I decided to only deal with one theme today, namely, the city of New Jerusalem itself (vv.6-21) and to join last verses (22-27) to the first seven verses of chapter 22 as these two segments are both about the same theme, namely, the Father and the Son, again highlighting once again the problems our semi-arbitrary chapter divisions have caused.

But before we do that we must do some necessary reflection. We're in the 'good news' section of the Book of Revelation now yet we still feel the weight of the previous 20 chapters because we have been studying it for so long. What has all this been for, this carousel of judgments, this portrait of Yahweh imposing this sequence of seeming never-ending suffering which at first glance and superficially seems so 'un-Christlike' a punishment as can be imagined. Yet John is dealing with the twin concepts of Justice and Mercy/Grace and how they interrelate. You cannot view life through the lens of only the latter because one cannot exist without the other, try though 'liberal man' may. For all the evil that has been perpetrated for so long on so many with so little mercy shown to others, there needs to be a very visible justice that all can witness, and every honest soul understands this.

John, in his Apocalypse, conceives of justice "in its most indiluted form", said Brian Blount [1], which - if not actually eternally administered - is then at the least for a very, very, very long period of time so that the wicked can 'get back' in full measure what they inflicted during their lifetimes, and to have that punishment carried out in a lake of fire and sulphur (brimstone). 'What you send out comes back to you' like a ripple from a stone cast into a lake radiating outwards, bouncing off the shore, and returning to the one who threw the stone. "As I have observed," said a friend of Job, that "those who plough evil and those who sow trouble reap it" (Job 4:8, NIV) but sometimes worse: "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind" (Hos.8:7, NIV). Either way, there is often observable payback even in this life. And what is not served back in this life is definitely served in the next if sin is not resolved whilst still in the flesh.

Satisfying though seeing justice done may momentarily feel, and just though that certainly is, Yahweh does not leave it there, although we're not actually shown what happens much further along the line of the seemingly endless æons of 'reformative retribution'...if that couplet can even makes any sense to the finite mind. It's important to remember - once more - that what we are dealing with is primarily (though not exclusively) figurative and not a literal 'lake' in every detail given. For instance, this is not some giant pool full of concentrated sulphuric acid, nor will those immersed in it literally experience the effects of such an acid dissolving them into a liquid but it may well feel like that. What John is describing is not 'real', physical torture which the mind might conjure up in thinking back, for instance, on the instruments of the Catholic Inquisition (even though those experiencing it are physically resurrected beings) but what is experienced on at least on one, important level is the kind of continuous, perceptual spiritual torment that he imagines must occur when a being is separated forever from the presence of Elohim (God). The torment felt will be spiritual, mental, emotional and physical in some sort of way. From what we know of the physiology and psychosomatic symptoms of mortal men, each tortured aspect or part of the human soul, now inseparably connected in resurrection, will impact the other. So it will be a 'complete' experience.

No doubt John was trying to draw upon an image that would have 'teeth' for his listeners and readers, an image that would shock persons who were accommodating themselves to the draconian lordship demands of Rome, into resisting them and testifying in word and deed to the lordship of Father Yahweh and the Lamb instead. He rightly wanted them to get a foretaste of what being separated from Elohim (God) was like by using vivid language approximating the 'real thing' which he, but not us, was a witness to in vision, something we too must enact for our listeners as we bear witness of the Gospel of Salvation, so that people know that this is a hugely important choice that has to be made, and not casually. And John's most forceful metaphorical attempt at conveying what the separation would feel like is the lake of fire and sulphur (brimstone). Yah'shua (Jesus) made a similar effort in making a vivid contrast between the wicked and the righteous when He related the parable of Lazarus and Dives in Luke 20:19-31. We, in the 21st century, must likewise seek for similar language that has 'impactability' in mind, by using a contemporary metaphor appropriate to that separation, one that does not necessarily include traditional images of physical torture, whether eternal or age-long. I can think of a number that might fit the contemporary scene and doubtless you will be able to think of your own to fit the audience you are witnessing to, depending on their experience of life. Those coming our of satanic cults, for instances, will have plenty of practical examples to draw upon or very real torture and abuse.

Last week we looked at the first five verses of chapter 21 where John describes the welcome arrival of the new heavens and the new earth, which takes the form of the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, described like a bride on her wedding day. Its arrival signals that Elohim (God), in the Person of His Son, Yah'shua (Jesus), is truly, fully, and finally dwelling with His people. Just as the story of the original Exodus ended with the construction of the Tabernacle and the divine glory coming to dwell in it, so this New Exodus finishes not with humans going up to heaven but with the Elohim (God) of heaven coming down to earth together with the resurrected qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) of the past, to join with those of the present. This momentous event will signal the end of suffering, the end of the old order of sin and death passing away. The abolition of the first heaven and the first earth (Rev.21:1) does not, however, mean that Elohim (God) will destroy the present space-time world and create a new one from scratch - at least not at the commencement of the Millennium phase but rather at the end of it - because the 'oldness' of the first heaven and earth consists precisely in their corruption, their subjection to decay and death (and in that connection recall Romans 8:18-30 that we read out last week). Yahweh now speaks directly from His Throne, declaring that all things are made anew (Rev.21:1-8).

With that said, let us carefully consider today's segment of scripture. Two parts of this in particular are translated enormously differently in the various Bible versions so you might want to take a close look at the website article afterwards to see what I mean. These two are:

• 1. The list the sins of those who refuse to overcome or conquer their carnal dispositions (v.8); and
• 2. The list of the 12 foundation stones of the New Jerusalem (vv.19-20) about whose symbolic meaning which we still know very little, hence the understandable confusion.

"6 And He ['further' - Amp.V] said to me, 'It is ['already' - JB] done ('They are accomplished' - RNAB; 'They have been done' - B.Wilson)! (Rev.16:17) I am the Alef ('Alap' - AENT; Alpha; 'A' - JNT) and the Taw (Omega; 'Tav' - HRV; 'Z' - JNT) (Rev.1:8; 22:13), the Beginning ('Origin' - CLNT) and the End ('Completion' - AENT; 'Consummation' - CLNT) (Is.41:4; 44:6; 48:12). I ['Myself' - Amp.V] will give of the fountain ('spring[s]' - KNT, RNAB, NRSV, Barclay, Amp.V; 'draught' - NEB) of the water['-springs' - NEB] ('well' - JB) of life ('life-giving water' - RNAB) (Jn.4:10) freely ('gratuitously' - CLNT; 'without cost/price' - NASB, Moff., JBP, Amp.V, NIV; 'free of charge' - JNT; 'free gift' - NEB, Barclay; 'as a gift' - NRSV; 'without payment' - ISRV, ESV) (Is.55:1) to him who thirsts ('the thirsty' - RNAB) (Is.55:1). 7 He who overcomes ('conquers' - KNT, RSV, NRSV, ESV; 'is conquering' - CLNT; 'is victorious' - NLT, Amp.V; 'proves victorious' - JB; 'is the victor' - RNAB; 'is the conqueror' - B.Wilson; 'wins the victory' - JNT; 'the conqueror' - Moff.; 'the victor' - Barclay) (Jn.16:33; Rev.2:7,17.26; 3:5,12,21; 17:14) shall inherit ('enjoy' - CLNT; 'receive' - JNT; 'obtain' - Moff.) ('the victor's heritage' - NRSV) all ('these' - KNT) things ('gifts' - RNAB; 'this allotment' - CLNT), and I will be his Elohim (God) and he shall be My son (2 Sam.7:14; 2 Cor.6:16; Rom.8:14). 8 But the cowardly ('timid' - AENT, CLNT; 'cowards [who turn away from Me]' - NLT, Barclay; 'fearful' - HRV; 'craven' - Moff., Amp.V), unbelieving ('unbelievers' - CLNT, B.Wilson; 'faithless people' - KNT; 'the faithless' - NEB, RSV, NRSV, Moff., ESV; 'unfaithful' - RNAB; 'those who break their word' - JB; 'untrustworthy' - JNT, ISRV; 'those who refuse to believe' - Barclay; 'ignoble' - Amp.V; 'cowardly submissive' - Amp.V), abominable ('corrupt' - NLT; 'unclean' - KNT; 'depraved' - RNAB; '[sinful and] polluted' - AENT, RSV, NRSV; 'immoral persons' - NASB; 'the immoral' - Moff.; 'whoremongers' - KJV; 'vile' - JNT, NEB, NIV; 'defiled' - HRV; 'the detestable' - ESV) ('worship obscenities' - JB; 'for those whose lives are an abomination' - Barclay; 'depraved and defiled with abominations' - Amp.V), murderers ('man-slayers' - AENT), sexually immoral ('fornicators' - KNT, JB, B.Wilson, NEB, RSV, NRSV, Barclay; 'unchaste' - RNAB; 'sexual sinners' - AENT; 'paramours' - CLNT; 'traffickers in sex' - JBP; 'lewd and adulterous' - Amp.V), sorcerers ('fortune-tellers' - JB; 'those who misuse drugs in connection with the occult' - JNT; 'drug sorcerers' - ISRV; 'those who practice magic arts' - NIV), idolaters ('idol-worshippers' - RNAB, NLT, JNT; 'enchanters' - CLNT; 'those who practice witchcraft' - NTL; 'those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God' - Amp.V), and all liars ['of every kind' - Barclay] ('deceivers of every sort' - RNAB; 'false persons' - AENT; 'the false' - CLNT, ISRV; 'any other sort of liars' - JB; 'those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed' - Amp.V) (Ps.5:6; 1 Cor.6:9; Heb.12:14; Rev.22:15) shall have their part ('portion' - AENT, HRV, B.Wilson; 'their doom is' - NLT) in the lake ('pool' - RNAB) which burns ('blazes' - Amp.V) with fire and brimstone ('sulphur' - KNT, RNAB, AENT, CLNT, B.Wilson, NLT, JB, JNT, NEB, HRV, NRSV, JBP, ISRV, ESV, NIV; 'sulphurous fire' - Barclay) (Rev.9:17), which is the second death (Is.30:33; Rev.2:11; 21:9; 22:15; Rom.1:29-32).'

"9 Then one of the seven malakim (angels, 'Messengers' - AENT, CLNT, ISRV) who had the seven bowls ('cups' - AENT; 'vials' - KJV) filled ('brimming' - CLNT) with the seven last ('final' - Amp.V) plagues ('calamities' - CLNT, Amp.V; 'afflictions' - Amp.V) (Rev.15:1,6-7) came to me and talked with me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the bride (Rev.19:7), the Lamb's ('Lambkin's' - CLNT) wife.' (Hos.2:16; Is.62:5; 66:5-13) 10 And he carried ('bore' - AENT, B.Wilson) me away ['rapt' - Moff.] (Ezek.40:2; Rev.17:3) in the Ruach (Spirit) ('in a trance' - Barclay) (Rev.1:10) to ['the top of' - JNT] a great ('huge' - CLNT, Moff.; 'enormous' - JB; 'vast' - JBP, Amp.V) and high ('lofty' - Amp.V) mountain, and showed ('exhibited to' - Amp.V) me the great city, the qadosh (holy, 'set-apart' - AENT, ISRV: 'hallowed, consecrated' - Amp.V) Jerusalem ('Yerushalayim' - JNT, HRV, ISRV; 'Urishlim' - AENT), descending out of heaven from Elohim (God) (Ezek.40:2; Rev.21:2), 11 having the ['radiant' - JB; 'sheen' - Moff.] ('clothed in the' - Amp.V) glory ('esteem' - ISRV; 'Sh'khinah' - JNT; 'radiance' - NEB, Amp.V, ESV; 'splendour' - Amp.V) of Elohim (God) (Is.60:1-2; Ezek.43:2; Rev.15:8; 21:5). Her light ('its brilliance' - NASB, JNT, JBP; 'luminosity' - CLNT; 'its luminary' - B.Wilson; 'its luster' - Amp.V; 'sparkled' - NLT, JBP; 'glittered' - JB) was like ('resembling' - AENT) a most precious ('costly' - NASB; 'priceless' - NEB; 'rare' - NRSV, Moff., ESV) stone ('gem' - AENT; 'diamond' - JB; 'jewel' - NEB, NRSV, Moff., JBP, ESV, NIV) ('it is radiance, like the radiance of a rare and precious jewel/stone' - KNT, RNAB), like a jasper stone (Rev.21:18-19; 4:3), ['shining' - Amp.V] clear as crystal ('crystalline' - CLNT, B.Wilson) (Rev.4:6). 12 Also she had a great ('massive' - RNAB, Amp.V; 'huge' - CLNT, Moff.; 'vast' - JBP) and high ('lofty' - AENT, JBP) wall with twelve ['large' - Amp.V] gates (Rev.21:15,21,25; 22:14), and ['guarded by' - NLT; 'there were stationed' - Amp.V] twelve malakim (angels, 'messengers' - ISRV, etc.) at the gates ('portals' - CLNT), and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel (Ezek.48:30-34): 13 three gates ('portals' - AENT) on the east, three gates ('portals' - AENT) on the north, three gates ('portals' - AENT) on the south, and three gates ('portals' - AENT) on the west. 14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundation['-stone' - JNT, NEB]s (Eph.2:20; Heb.11:10), and on them were the names of the twelve apostles ('emissaries' - JNT, HRV, ISRV) (Ac.1:26; Eph.2:20) of the Lamb['kin' - CLNT].

"I will show you the Bride..."

"15 And he who talked with me had a gold['en' - AENT, CLNT, B.Wilson, KJV, JBP, Barclay, Amp.V, ISRV] reed ('[measuring] rod/stick' - JNT, RNAB, KNT, NASB, NLT, JB, RSV, NRSV, Moff., JBP, Barclay, Amp.V, ISRV, ESV, NIV; 'wand' - Moff.) (Ezek.40:3; Rev.11:1) to measure the city, its gates ('portals' - CLNT) (Rev.21:12), and its wall (Ezek.40:5). 16 The ['plan of the' - JB] city is laid out as ('in the shape of' - Barclay) a square ('stands/lies foursquare' - KNT, CLNT, KJV, HRV, RSV, Moff., JBP, ESV; 'stood up four square' - AENT; 'lies quadrangular' - B.Wilson; 'lies in a square' - Amp.V; 'was laid out like a square' - NIV; 'lies four-cornered' - ISRV); its length is as great ('the same' - KNT) as its breadth ('In fact, it was in the form of a cube' - NLT). And he measured the city with the reed ('rod' - KNT, RNAB, ISRV, etc.): twelve thousand (12,000) furlongs ('stadia' - KNT, CLNT, Amp.V, ISRV, ESV, NIV) ('[about] 1,500 miles' - Amp.V, NASB, JNT, NRSV, Moff., Barclay; '1,400 miles (~2,200 km)' - NLT, NIV; 'approx. 2,216 kilometres or 1,377 miles' - ISRV; 'about 1,380 miles' - ESV). Its length, breadth, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four (144) cubits (v.12) [2] ['thick' - NIV] (Rev.18:13) ('72 yards' - NASB, Moff.; '216 feet' - JNT, Barclay; 'approximately 66 metres or 216 feet' - ISRV), according to the measure of a man ('in terms of human measurement' - KNT), that is, of a malak (angel, 'Messenger' - AENT, ISRV) ('which is what the angel ('Messenger' - AENT, CLNT) was using' - KNT, JNT, JBP, NIV; 'by angelic reckoning' - Moff.; 'the angel was using the ordinary cubit' - JB). 18 The construction ('material' - Moff.; 'structure' - ISRV) of its wall was of jasper ('diamond' - JB, JNT); and the city was pure ('clean' - ISRV) gold, like clear ('pure' - KNT, JNT, NIV) glass (v.21). 19 The foundations ['stones' - Moff.] of the wall of the city were adorned ('decorated' - RNAB, JNT; 'garnished' - KJV; 'ornamented' - Amp.V) with all kinds of precious stones ('every [kind of] jewel' - RSV, ESV) (Ex.28:17-20; Is.54:11-12; Ezek.28:13): the first foundation ('course of stones' - RNAB) was jasper ('diamond' - JB, JNT), the second sapphire ('[lapis] lazuli' - JB, CLNT, NEB, Barclay), the third chalcedony ('[white] agate' - Amp.V, KNT, NLT, RSV, NRSV, Moff., JBP; 'turquoise' - JB, JNT), the fourth emerald ('crystal' - JB), 20 the fifth sardonyx ('onyx' - KNT, NLT, RSV, NRSV, Moff., JBP, Amp.V, ESV; 'agate' - JB), the sixth sardius ['and onyx' - HRV] ('carnelian' - KNT, RNAB, NLT; 'cornelian' - NEB, JBP; 'ruby' - JB, ISRV) (Rev.4:3), the seventh chrysolite ('gold quartz' - JB; 'goldstone' - JBP), the eighth beryl ('malachite' - JB), the ninth topaz ('peridot' - CLNT), the tenth chrysoprase ('green goldstone' - JBP), the eleventh jacinth ('hyacinth' - RNAB, B.Wilson; 'sapphire' - JB; 'turquoise' - NEB, Barclay; 'zircon' - JBP), and the twelfth amethyst ('garnet' - CLNT). 21 The twelve gates ('portals' - CLNT) (v.12) were twelve pearls (Is.54:12): each individual ('separate' - Amp.V) gate was ['built' - Amp.V] of one pearl. And the ['broad' - AENT, HRV, B.Wilson] street ('main street, the broadway' - Amp.V) of the city was pure ('clean' - ISRV) gold, like transparent ('brilliant' - AENT; 'as clear as [translucent]' - KNT, CLNT, NEB) glass (v.18)" (Rev.21:6-21, NKJV).

¤BIBLE VERSIONS KEY: AENT = Aramaic English New Testament (NT, Gabriel Roth), Amp.V. = Amplified Version (1958 ed.), Aram.Pesh. = Aramaic Peshitta (NT), Barclay = William Barclay New Testament, B.Wilson = Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglot, Vatican MS 1209 (NT), CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament, CJB = Complete Jewish Bible (David Stern), HCSB = Holman's Christian Standard Bible, HRV = Hebraic Roots Version (James Trimm), JBP = J.B.Philips New Testament, MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant (NT), NASB = New American Standard Bible, NIV = New International Version (1984 edn.), NKJV = New King James Version, NRSV = New Revised Standard Version (1995 edn.), ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version ('The Scriptures', 2009 edn.), JB = Jerusalem Bible (1st edn.), JNT = Jewish New Testament (David Stern), KJV = King James Version, Moff. = Moffat Translation, NEB = New English Bible (1974 edn.), NLT = New Living Translation, RNAB = Revised New American Bible, RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition (2005 edn., Moshe Koniuchowsky), RSV = Revised Standard Version (1952 edn.), Tischendorf = Tauchnitz Edition, Vol.1000, 1869 (NT), S&G = Smith & Godspeed // ¶ = new paragraph

We have bitten off quite a sizeable chunk of material today so let's start 'general' and then, where we need to, get down to 'specifics'. Whether you are a first-time Bible student or a seasoned one, you all started your journey somewhere. Most, at some point in time, make the decision to start at Genesis and work there way through to Revelation as I first did when I was about 11 years old at boarding school during our compulsory rest periods after lunch. It was the first time I properly opened my King James Version of the Bible. At first it was fine. The drama was fast-paced, there was lots of action and passion and so, I thought to myself, 'this is going to be easier than I thought!' because I had earlier flipped through the pages and was daunted. Then I moved on from Genesis to Exodus and expected more adventure. And to begin with I wasn't disappointed. In fact, the first 20 chapters of that 40-chapter book are just as dramatic as the first book of the Bible.

Then everything changed and for an 11 year-old became very boring...and is boring for most adults these days too. No more fast-moving, emotion-gripping family dramas like the Flood or the story of Joseph, just detailed instructions on what to do if your ox gores someone to death (Ex.21:28), what you should do if your enemy's donkey has collapsed (Ex.23:5) and so on. This is not what a new Bible student expects who knows nothing previously about the Scriptures. Not untypically a lot of people give up reading after that and abandon the quest for a whole Bible-reading, and often just leap-frog to the New Testament. This is a great pity because what follows just a few short chapters on, from Exodus 24 onwards, is one long drama about Elohim (God) dwelling in the midst of His people which is really what we do want to know about. The Book of Exodus is all about Yahweh who rescued His people from Egypt through the great plagues, and brought them to the awesome vision of Sinai and gave them the Torah, and then commanded His own dwelling place to be built to specific instructions. And by the end of the book it was all accomplished.

It sounds as though it was easily done the way I put it but in truth what they accomplished involved a titanic struggle. Why? (And this is important to understand right from the outset, especially if you are a new believer). It always takes an act of enormous grace (undeserved loving-kindness) and it always involves overcoming enormous resistance, for Elohim's (God's) dwelling place to be set up on planet earth. Always. This is what might be called the kingdom-struggle, or the agony through which Elohim's (God's) kingdom arrives - or in other words, the way Elohim (God) arrives as Sovereign or King on earth as in heaven because His Kingdom is violently resisted by the forces of evil...by 'the Empire'. Again, always.

In the book of Exodus, in chapters 25 to/through 31, Moses is up the mountain, receiving the detailed instructions about the beautiful, spectacular Tabernacle and how precisely to have it made. What's happening at the foot of the mountain - what always happens at the metaphorical 'foot of the mountain' in any new work of Elohim (God) such as this one - well, the people get bored and impatient 'waiting', so they make themselves idols - pale, powerless substitutes for the real thing. In this particular case, you'll remember, they give Aaron their gold earrings and he makes the golden calf or a pagan Apis bull (ch.32). "These are your gods, O Israel," he cries, "who brought you out of the land of Egypt" (Ex.32:8). Oh yes, in any new work of Yahweh-Elohim there are testing times when nothing much seems to be happening and temptation sets in. Then what do people do...as has exactly happened in this work? The people snatch at something good, something that's actually been promised them (in this case, Yahweh's powerful presence with His people), but they do it in their own way without acting in Yahweh's timing and the result is an idol. We saw it in our own 'three rebellions' with the Third Rebellion apparently delivering the knock-out blow.

When Moses came down the mountain and saw what had happened, it looked like Israel's knock-out blow. There was a slaughter. Yahweh was angry and threatened to scupper the whole plan - the plan that He would come and live in the midst of His people. He had it in mind to destroy the whole Exodus Company with a view to starting all over again through Moses' family consisting of himself, his wives Tharbis (the Egyptian) and Zipporah (the Midianite), his children Gershom and Eliezer, his siblings Aaron and Miriam, and his father-in-law Jethro, and doubtless some others too. Moses pleaded, offering his own life in exchange for national judgment, and the rebellious nation was spared, and not for the last time. Moses returned with a word of sorrowful but terrible judgment. You can read a similar story with this work in the Olive Branch and in our own historical narrative, only in our case everything nearly was destroyed. Of the thousands we originally had, only a handful survived and have been waiting patiently - and sometimes impatiently - ever since. You see, this Book of Revelation course has been timed to parallel Yahweh's own Kingdom-building project through this work that is about to re-start [3].

So if Israel had been destroyed, it would have been an immense setback not only for Israel but for the whole world, since the point of there being an Israel in the first place was that through this little nation Yahweh would bless the whole planet. The idea of Elohim (God) dwelling in the midst of His people was always an advance signpost pointing to Yahweh's eventual goal, that His presence would flood the whole world, even as prophesied in Numbers:

"Yahweh replied, 'I have forgiven them (Israel), as you (Moses) asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of Yahweh fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw My glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed Me and tested Me ten times -- not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated Me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows Me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it" (Num.14:20-24, NIV).

So Moses wrestled with Yahweh in prayer, just as I am sure the Second Exodus leaders in our day have done, and will do, the same [3], and Yahweh reveals yet more grace and mercy - He consents after all to live with His people (Exodus 33-34). This means that the Tabernacle can finally be built (chapters 35-39), and as it is erected, Elohim (God) comes, in cloud, and fire, and glory, to live in that Tabernacle, just as He promises He will in the end-time Second or Last Exodus in Isaiah, chapter 4. This is how the Book of Exodus works.

Now what has this got to do with the Book of Revelation, and in particular the last chapters? A lot, more than most people realise. So far in the Book of Revelation we have seen the great plagues, like the ten plagues of Egypt. We have seen the redeemed people standing by the sea, singing the Song of Moses and the Lamb (Ex.15:1-18; cp. Rev.15:3). We have seen the great deception, the great idolatrous system, the great whore Babylon, clothed in gold and silver and jewels but inside full of vile, unclean and abominable oppression, lust, violence and degradation. Babylon is the parody or feeble imitation, the Bride is the glorious reality, just as the Golden Calf was the parody or feeble imitation and the Tabernacle the glorious reality. Now, at last, finally, as with the Tabernacle, 'Elohim (God) has come to dwell with humans' (Rev.21:3). The jewels which Babylon wore, like the golden earrings out of which Aaron made the young golden Apis bull, are tawdry (showy) and worthless beside the precious stones with which the city New Jerusalem's foundations are decorated (Rev.21:19-21).

Furthermore, the idea of perfect marital unity between the Lamb and His Bride is reflected in the very different imagery of the structure of the New Jerusalem. On the one hand, it is designed to reflect the identity of Elohim's (God's) people: the dual symbols present once again; just as the true New Covenant believers are required to sing the Song of Moses and the Lamb (meaning obeying the Torah-commandments and trusting in Christ), so we find the Twelve Tribes of Israel named on the gates or portals (showing they they are back as distinct entities), and the Twelve Apostles on the foundation-stones, one apostle for each of the 12 tribes of newly constituted Messianic Israel (Rev.21:12-14). The city wall defines the city, but the gates, as we shall be discovering, will never be shut, because there's no nighttime in the New Jersualem as in the old Jerusalem where the gates were traditionally shut at night, and that because there are no foes anymore. The gates are now for decoration rather than defence though they serve the new purpose of permanently excluding those who are not the Elect Remnant, those who who are not of the First Resurrection, those who belong to the companies that are the lesser two glories corresponding to the moon and stars in spiritual brightness (1 Cor.15:41).

On the other hand, we have the extraordinary measurements of the city, with the malak (angel) measuring this heavenly city, as John was told to measure the heavenly temple in chapter 11, verse 1:

"I (John) was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, 'Go and measure the temple of Elohim (God) and the altar, and count the worshipers there. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the qadosh (holy, set-apart) city for 42 months" (Rev.11:1-2, NIV) [4].

Now John, naturally, has no thought of what kind of buildings would occupy this extraordinary structure. Why? Because he is constructing a symbolic universe for us to see, not an architect's design. Indeed, the city will be an enormous, perfect CUBE. Why? Because that is the shape of the Holy of Holies at the heart of both the ancient Tabernacle and Temple in Jerusalem (1 Ki.6:20) - this is, after all, the New Jerusalem. And you'll remember, only the Cohen Gadol or Levitical or Old Covenant High Priest was allowed into the Holy of Holies once a year at Yom haKippurim. Who is the Cohen Gadol or Melchizedek High Priest of the New Covenant? Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) who alone is able to access the Holy of Holies together with His Bride with whom he is in eternal echad union, she who is the Elect Remnant, the Assembly (Church) of the Firstborn (Heb.12:23), the children of the First Resurrection. They - and hopefully us - live inside this perfect cube symbolically-speaking since the Temple is now the Son of Elohim (God) Himself, the "sun of righteousness" (Mal.4:2) whose glory the firstborn believers share being after the brightness or glory of the sun (1 Cor.15:41)!

The 'second-born', second-resurrection qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones) - the formerly disobedient believers who have finally become reconciled with Yahweh after the Cosmic Jubilee, who in brightness and glory are compared to the reflected light of the moon by Paul - they live not in a 'cube' (symbolically-speaking) but in a rectangularly-shaped 'room' (symbolically-speaking) corresponding to the Holy Place, which is separate from the Holy City (which, remember, is now the whole planet with Yahweh as King of His global Kingdom) somewhere (we're not told where), with all the 'rest' - the formerly unsaved - dwelling symbolically-speaking in the vast open space that was represented by the 'Outer Courtyard' of the Tabernacle and Temple, and is symbolised by Paul as being like the twinkling stars of earth's night sky in brightness or 'glory'....wherever that is (and again we're not told where, because the Book of Revelation is only interested in the Bride (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the believers). Using the biblical symbolism of marriage, this would make the Bride a 'full-wife' [5] and the other or Torah-disobedient 'second resurrection' believers equivalent to a 'secondary wife', 'concubine' or 'lower Order wife' [6] (without inheritance rights) like Abraham's wife Hagar or Jacob's wives Bilhah and Zilpah in the Old Covenant.

So I repeat - the whole 'Holy-of-Holies-shaped-cube-city' has become Yahweh-Elohim's dwelling place that becomes 'filled' with the children of the First Resurrection and their numerous descendants multiplied over a thousand years or however long that actually is (it could just as well be tens- or hundreds-of-thousands of years too). Or to be more exact, the very centre of Elohim's (God's) Temple, the Holy of Holies, the place where Elohim (God) dwells le-olam-va-ed, throughout the æons of the æons, forever and ever...and ever. May I also remind you that this city, which will finally encompass the whole earth in the post-millennial world, should not be visualised as 'resting on the surface' of the earth like a literal city as this would be physically impossible, and would destabilise the whole planet. Rather, we should be viewing this more like the spiritual core of the earth which thereby becomes wholly qadosh, holy or set-apart.

All of this is why the Qadosh (Holy, Set-Apart City) "has the glory of Elohim (God)" (Rev.21:11). That doen't just mean that this is a wonderful thing to look at, though that is clearly true as well. It means that Yahweh's glory - Yahweh the Father's own glorious Presence - is there, gleaming from every stone and jewel and shining from the pure gold of the street. And that is why, too, the city comes 'down out of heaven from Elohim (God)' because this great new reality, the place of Elohim's (God's) dwelling on earth, can never be something that humans make (because that takes us back to Babylon - to Babel!), but remains always and for ever the gift of Elohim's (God's) ahavah (love) and chesed (mercy) and grace (undeserved loving-kindness, unmerited favour). This is my dream and hope, and hopefully this is your dream and hope too.

So, when Yahweh finally speaks, it is to declare not only that He is making all things new, but, as in chapter 1, verse 8, that He is Alef and Taw (Tav), Alpha and Omega, A and Z, the Beginning and the End - everything. Only in the light of who Elohim (God) is - the Sovereign Creator, Source and Goal or all things - can we find the comfort we need, the long-promised Mayim chayim or Waters of Life (Rev.21:6; 22:1,17) of which Yah'shua (Jesus) spoke in John 4 and elsewhere. Only then can we hear the promise, echoing the promises of the letters of Revelation, chapters 2 and 3, made to the one who overcomes or conquers. Mark that well - you have to be in the business of overcoming the carnal, Adamic, fallen fleshy nature - by living a life of surrendered obedience to Elohim (God) - else you can have no part in this City...in this Millennial and subsequently post-Millennial World. That much is crystal clear and yet it is one of the most glossed-over truths in Christendom which has been taught, 'Once Saved, Always Saved' - just sit back and don't bother to 'do' anything, don't bother about the mitzvot or commandments of Torah, don't bother to make the effort to become an overcomer, because that (their lying teachers have told them) has all been 'nailed to the cross' when it's the penalties of disobedience that have been nailed to the cross when sinners genuinely repent (Col.2:14). Don't listen to these deceivers who reveal by their false teaching that they are not of the Holy City but of the very 'Babylon' they profess to oppose!

That is why we must take very seriously indeed the warning given in today's segment, which is addressed to the believers of today and in every age, that in the Messianic Community of the future there will be no cowardice, unbelieving, faithless, covenant-breaking, untrustworthy, unsubmissive, word-breaking, abominable, corrupt, unclean, depraved, polluted, immoral, defiled, whore-mongering, obscenity-loving, sexually immoral, fornicating, sex-trafficking, lewd and adulterous, occult-practicing, drug-taking, idolatrous, witchcraft-practicing, deceiving, untruth-spreading, false, lying people living in this holy space - not a trace of them will be found - for they will have been cast into the Lake of Fire for a very, very long and painful period of time after which, through Yahweh's grace (for they surely deserved an eternal hell or even annihilation), reconciliation will have been made and they will occupy some place elswhere of minimal glory equal to what little light they did originally possess. That is the picture we are unambiguously presented with in today's segment and elsewhere both in the Book of Revelation and throughout the Bible.

All the sinful characteristics I have just listed from chapter 21, verse 8, are basically a variation on the BIG LIE. These are all basically people who dislike, or even hate, Yahweh our Heavenly Father and Elohim's (God's) world, and have decided - by an act of free will - that they will live the Lie, and will act to make the world the way they would want it instead. That's what's going on here and throughout the entire Bible Story. In the New Creation, there is no room for anti-creation. How could there be? In the world of Life, there is no room for death. And that is why these second resurrection people, who have chosen to be the way they want to be, cannot live there - ever - even after final reconciliation with the Creator, for they can never dwell in His Presence else they would be consumed or annihilated, since their light does not match Yahweh's and is not therefore adapted to Him. Hence they are kept separate out of Yahweh's kindness toward them in allowing them to live on.

So the picture we are gazing at in these end chapters is most certainly a vision of the ultimate future. Yet, as we have seen from the letters to the seven congregations of the Roman Province of Asia Minor at the start of this book, there are signs that this reality keeps peeping through even in the present world of death and tears, of cowards and liars. Just as nothing we do in the present is merely relevant to the present, but can carry implications into Yahweh's future, so nothing in the vision of the future is merely future. We have an obligation to bring a glimpse of that future into the present so that the unsaved can see it, desire it and embrace it. And because the central reality of Yahweh's future is Yah'shua (Jesus) Himself, and because Yah'shua (Jesus) is not merely a future reality but the One who lived and died and rose again and even now reigns in glory and holds the seven stars in His hand (Rev.1:6,20; 2:1; 3:1), the reality of the New City, though still a matter of tiqveh or hope, is something to be glimpsed at in the present and grasped, especially in the ways sketched out for us in this Book of Revelation, namely, through worship and witness.

The New City is not just a dream, a comforting future fantasy. It's not those. Those who follow the Lamb and obey the Father's mitzvot (commandments) already already belong to that city, and already have the right to walk in its streets, so that when they die, that's where they will instantly find themselves. Yahweh could well have abandoned His Creation in disgust because of Babylon's wickedness, just as He might have abandoned the Israelites in the wilderness because of the abominable, idolatrous sin of the Golden Calf and their orgy-making round it. But out of sheer mercy He will come to dwell with His people, and that mercy will flow out to flood the whole world. But that takes us into the third and final part of the description of this glorious, unparalleled new city which we will be studying next week.

Which conveniently leads me to that third, 'startling statement' I mentioned to you last week but postponed tackling until we had covered today's material which I hope will encourage you to 'hang on', persevere and see matters to their conclusion in your life. Here it is once again:

• 3. The spelling-out of the practical implications for the readers of Revelation (and note, if you will, that John has had to be reminded to keep writing down what he is hearing because "these words are trustworthy and true" (Rev.21:5, NIV),

Which again brings me back to the ever-so-important commandment to be an overcomer. This is not a passive, armchair-type Gospel as I have said so many hundreds of times in sermons to you, but one of active or proactive faith, i.e. faithfulness - consistency and loyalty to Messiah and His Truth - the opposite of the faithlessness of the cowardly and all the rest in that horrific list. I repeat, to inherit a place in the New Earth-to-come and enjoy a full family relationship with Heavenly Father in the middle of it, means embracing the 'ovetrcoming life' now. Get started and/or keep going! You've been shown the negative side of not doing this which leads to the Second Death, i.e. going through terror of dying, not once, but twice (Rev.21:8), so what will you choose?

Which brings me to my last point for today and it is this: the stark warning given in today's passage is not for unbelievers but for WAYWARD BELIEVERS, Christians and Messianics who have lapsed in their faith and obedience. Remember that most of Yah'shua's (Jesus') warnings about hell were addressed, not to unsaved sinners, but to His own talmidim (disciples) - US.

With this sobering thought, along with the great Hope that I trust will adhere firmly to your minds and hearts, we will end today's teaching. May I suggest, as a reminder, that you make what I call an 'OTO' placard or a framed picture which you can prominently display in your home as a daily reminder of the things we have talked about today and thoughout this course? (O-T-O are the first letters of the words Obey, Trust and Overcome) It's up to you, of course:

Next week will be the penultimate lesson in this grand series when we will be taking up from the last segment of chapter 21 and starting chapter 22, the last chapter of all. Until then, may Yahweh bless you and give you much grace and hope, is my prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') name. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] Brian K. Blount, Revelation: A Commentary (Westminister John Knox, Louisville, Kentucky: 2009), pp.371-2
[2] A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[3] See the important four-part series, Second Exodus Lineup
[4] See Book of Revelation XXXVII: The Seven Shofar Judgments VI - Interlude II, Part B - The Two Witnesses: Part I - Measuring Rod & Temple (Revelation 11:1-2)
[5] All of whom are plural wives like the wives of the 12 patriarchs of Israel whose names are inscribed on the gates of the Holy City
[6] A designation used in the Holy Order's Books of Abraham (3-12 Abraham)

Acknowledgements

[1] Tom Wright, Revelation for Everyone - The New Testament for Everyone Commentary Series, Vol.19 (SPCK, London: 2011)
[2] N.T.Wright & Michael F.Bird, The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature and Theology of the First Christians (Zondervan Academic, SPCK, London: 2019)
[3] E.W.Bullinger*, Commentary on Revelation (Kregel Classics, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1984)
[4] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary (JNT Publications, Clarksville, Maryland: 1992)
[5] ESV Study Bible (Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois: 2011)
[6] The NIV Study Bible (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 1995)
[7] Ed. J.R.Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (MacMillan, London: 1909)
[8] David Pawson, Unlocking the Bible: A Unique Overview of the Whole Bible (Collins, London: 2007)

*E.W.Bullinger was a brilliant Anglican clergyman and scholar whose works merit careful study by serious students of the Bible. He was, however, seriously in error in at least three main areas, namely, (1) he believed the 'Church' has been raptured before the Book of Revelation opens, (2) he believed that the 7 churches in Revelation 2-3 are 7, literal Jewish churches or assemblies yet to come, and (3) he believed in a pre-tribulation, pre-millennial rapture.

• C. The Far Future
  • C1. Chapter 19
    
    • C1.1. Yahweh's Victory Celebration (19:1-10)
    • C1.2. The Beast Defeated (19:11-21)
  • C2. Chapter 20
    
    • C2.1. The Millennial Reign (20:1-6)
    • C2.2. The Final Judgment (20:7-15)
  • C3. Chapter 21:1-21
    
    • C3.1. The New Heaven & Earth (21:1-5)
    • C3.2. The New Jerusalem (21:6-21)
  • C4. Chapter 21:22-22:21
    
    • C4.1. New Jerusalem (21:22-22:7)
    • C4.2. 'I am Coming Soon' (22:8-21)