Revelation Chapter 21 "A New Thing"

Lesson for May 22, 2011          Revelation 21:1-8, 22-27Revelation 21
 1And 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.

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

 3And 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.

 4And 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.

 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

 6And 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.

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

 8But 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 burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

 9And 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 shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

 10And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,

 11Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

 12And 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:

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

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

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

 16And the city lieth 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.

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

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

 19And 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;

 20The 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.

 21And 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.

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

 23And 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.

 24And 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 honour into it.

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

 26And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

 27And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

New Order of Things

Revelation 21 (Amplified Bible)                                                   Revelation 21
 1THEN I saw a new [a]sky (heaven) and a new earth, for the former [b]sky and the former earth had passed away (vanished), and there no longer existed any sea.(A)

    2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, all arrayed like a bride beautified and adorned for her husband;

    3Then I heard a mighty voice from the throne and I perceived its distinct words, saying, See! The abode of God is with men, and He will live (encamp, tent) among them; and they shall be His people, and God shall personally be with them and be their God.(B)

    4God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more, neither shall there be anguish (sorrow and mourning) nor grief nor pain any more, for the old conditions and the former order of things have passed away.(C)

    5And He Who is seated on the throne said, See! I make all things new. Also He said, Record this, for these sayings are faithful (accurate, incorruptible, and trustworthy) and true (genuine).(D)

    6And He [further] said to me, It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I [Myself] will give water without price from the fountain (springs) of the water of Life.(E)

    7He who is victorious shall inherit all these things, and I will be God to him and he shall be My son.

    8But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practicers of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)--[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death.(F)

    9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues (afflictions, calamities) came and spoke to me. He said, Come with me! I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife.

    10Then in the Spirit He conveyed me away to a vast and lofty mountain and exhibited to me the holy (hallowed, consecrated) city of Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God,(G)

    11Clothed in God's glory [in all its splendor and radiance]. The luster of it resembled a rare and most precious jewel, like jasper, shining clear as crystal.

    12It had a massive and high wall with twelve [large] gates, and at the gates [there were stationed] twelve angels, and [on the gates] the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were written:(H)

    13On the east side three gates, on the north side three gates, on the south side three gates, and on the west side three gates.

    14And the wall of the city had twelve foundation [stones], and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

    15And he who spoke to me had a golden measuring reed (rod) to measure the city and its gates and its wall.(I)

    16The city lies in a square, its length being the same as its width. And he measured the city with his reed--12,000 stadia (about 1,500 miles); its length and width and height are the same.

    17He measured its wall also--144 cubits (about 72 yards) by a man's measure [[c]of a cubit from his elbow to his third fingertip], which is [the measure] of the angel.

    18The wall was built of jasper, while the city [itself was of] pure gold, clear and transparent like glass.

    19The foundation [stones] of the wall of the city were ornamented with all of the precious stones. The first foundation [stone] was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony (or white agate), the fourth emerald,(J)

    20The fifth onyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.

    21And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each separate gate being built of one solid pearl. And the main street (the broadway) of the city was of gold as pure and translucent as glass.

    22I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Omnipotent [Himself] and the Lamb [Himself] are its temple.

    23And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the splendor and radiance (glory) of God illuminate it, and the Lamb is its lamp.(K)

    24The nations shall walk by its light and the rulers and leaders of the earth shall bring into it their glory.


    25And its gates shall never be closed by day, and there shall be no night there.(L)

    26They shall bring the glory (the splendor and majesty) and the honor of the nations into it.

    27But nothing that defiles or profanes or is [d]unwashed shall ever enter it, nor anyone who commits abominations (unclean, detestable, morally repugnant things) or practices falsehood, but only those whose names are recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 21:1 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
2. Revelation 21:1 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
3. Revelation 21:17 Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible with A Commentary.
4. Revelation 21:27 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.

Cross references:

1. Revelation 21:1 : Isa 65:17; 66:22
2. Revelation 21:3 : Ezek 37:27
3. Revelation 21:4 : Isa 25:8; 35:10
4. Revelation 21:5 : Isa 43:19
5. Revelation 21:6 : Isa 55:1
6. Revelation 21:8 : Isa 30:33
7. Revelation 21:10 : Ezek 40:2
8. Revelation 21:12 : Exod 28:21; Ezek 48:30-35
9. Revelation 21:15 : Ezek 40:5
10. Revelation 21:19 : Isa 54:11, 12
11. Revelation 21:23 : Isa 24:23; 60:1, 19
12. Revelation 21:25 : Isa 60:11

Death will be no more

New Jerusalem

Thankful Worship (Amplified Bible Version)

Revelation 7:9-17 (Amplified Bible)
9After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
    10In loud voice they cried, saying, [Our] salvation is due to our God, Who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [to Them we owe our deliverance]!
    11And all the angels were standing round the throne and round the elders [[a]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] and the four living creatures, and they fell prostrate before the throne and worshiped God.
    12Amen! (So be it!) they cried. Blessing and glory and majesty and splendor and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and might [be ascribed] to our God to the ages and ages (forever and ever, throughout the eternities of the eternities)! Amen! (So be it!)
    13Then, addressing me, one of the elders [[b]of the heavenly Sanhedrin] said, Who are these [people] clothed in the long white robes? And from where have they come?
    14I replied, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are they who have come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.(A)
    15For this reason they are [now] before the [very] throne of God and serve Him day and night in His sanctuary (temple); and He Who is sitting upon the throne will protect and spread His tabernacle over and shelter them with His presence.
    16They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun smite them, nor any [c]scorching heat.(B)
    17For the Lamb Who is in the midst of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to the springs of the waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.(C)

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 7:11 George R. Berry, Greek-English New Testament Lexicon.
2. Revelation 7:13 George R. Berry, Greek-English New Testament Lexicon.
3. Revelation 7:16 George R. Berry, Greek-English New Testament Lexicon.

Cross references:

1. Revelation 7:14 : Gen 49:11; Dan 12:1
2. Revelation 7:16 : Isa 49:10; Ps 121:6
3. Revelation 7:17 : Ps 23:2; Isa 25:8; Ezek 34:23

What is the difference between PRAISING and WORSHIPPING God?

What is the difference between
PRAISING and WORSHIPING God?

First, let's look at the dictionary definition of worship and praise. The following is from the New Illustrated Webster's Dictionary (c.1992):

Worship - 1. The act or feeling of adoration or homage; the paying of religious reverence, as in prayer, praise, etc. 2. The act or feeling of deference, respect, or honor toward virtue, power, or the like. 3. Excessive or ardent admiration; also, the object of such love or admiration. 4. A title of honor in addressing persons of station.
Praise - (verb): 1. To express approval and commendation of; applaud, eulogize. 2. To express adoration of; glorify (God, etc).
Praise - (noun): 1.Commendation expressed, as of a person for his virtues, or concerning meritorious actions; utterance of approval; honor given; also, applause. 2. Thanksgiving for blessings conferred; laudation to God; worship expressed in song. 3. The object, ground, reason, or subject of praise.

By comparing the two definitions, we can first see that praise is part of our worship of Almighty God. We express our approval, thankfulness, and respect for Almighty God by offering praises to Him. Praises then become part of our worship of the Great God. Worship involves more than praise. In our worship of God, we show our love through obeying His commandments, living the way of life He has revealed through His written word, the Bible, communicating with Him in prayer, meeting and fellowshipping with other believers, and in offering praises to Him.

 

Be Like Jesus

Philippians 2:1-11 (King James Version)

                                                                       Philippians 2

 1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

 2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.