Sunday School Lesson Outlines

Heaven Series - The New Jerusalem

In the book of Revelation God showed John many things about the end times. Great things and scary things. Can you imagine how spellbound John must have been. You talk about too much information - the book of revelation is information overload. And then John had to try to describe something from the future in the terms of his day. What a task was before him. What an honor for him. God even showed him what our new home would look like. He fulfilled the prophesy Jesus spoke:

John 14:1-3 "Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father''s house are many dwelling placed; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I got to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." NASB

God shows John heaven in it's eternal state. John actually saw the city and it was inhabited by the saints of all ages and God Himself was present. Heaven is a literal place, with material, dimensions, appearance descriptions, and inhabitants.

Revelation 21:12-13 "It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west." NASB

The idea of three gates on each side of the square city allows us to believe the saints and angels can go in and out. The gates represent the twelve tribes of Isreal.

Revelation 21:14 "And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." NASB

The foundation represents the twelve apostles of Jesus. After all, these first twelve men carried the gospel to the world. The first missionaries. They are the men Jesus chose to be the foundation of his ministry on earth.

Not only did the foundation have twelve layers for each apostle name but it was beautiful.

Revelation 21:19-20 "The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper [multicolored]; the second, sapphire [dark blue]; the third, chalcedony [sky blue color with stripes]; the fourth, emerald [bright green]; the fifth, sardonyx [red and white]; the sixth, sardius [reddish color]; the seventh, chrysolite [golden color]; the eighth, beryl [sea green]; the ninth, topaz [yellow or blue most common]; the tenth, chrysoprase [apple green]; the eleventh, jacinth [violet]; the twelfth, amethyst [clear purple]." NASB

The beauty must have been overwhelming and beyond anything John could imagine or dream. Another amazing thing God made was huge pearls for the gates. Each gate is one large pearl.

Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. NASB

This must have been hard for John to try and describe. We think of gold as something hard and solid that you can't see through, yet the Bible says it is pure gold, transparent like glass. Gold does signify righteousness. Some things our finite minds cannot comprehend. The beauty that God can create is definitely one of those things. But John does the best he can.

Revelation 21:22 "And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple." NASB

There is no need to go to church to worship God when we get to heaven. He will be right there for us to sing praises to.

Revelation 21:23 "And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb." NASB

This is also referenced in

2 Samuel 22:29 "For Thou art my lamp, O Lord; And the Lord illumines my darkness." NASB

This was also prophesied in

Isaiah 60:19 "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for b rightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the Lord an everlasting light, And your God for your glory." NASB

Another vision hard to express and no way to imagine, but we know it will be awesome.

There are many more descriptions of The New Jerusalem in heaven and also the new earth. We could talk for weeks about the awesome beauty about mansions, angels, measurements, the crystal seas, etc.

This will be a beauty that none of us can fathom. John was truly blessed. I would say before I close; you need to reexamine your heart and be sure you are an over comer (a believer - a Christian). At the final judgment there will be only two types in this eternal order.

• The Over Comers - believers - God's TRUE children
• Those that are cast into the lake of fire

Be Aware and Be ready.

Revelation 21:7-8 "He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." NASB

Do not take these words out of context. We are all sinners - we have all lied - even David murdered someone and God said he was a man after God's own heart. So don't say there is no chance of a homosexual or adulteress, etc. getting into heaven. God knows the heart and if it's genuine. We don't always get the answers right and sometimes don't hear the still, quiet voice leading us on the narrow road - but if you have truly placed God as a leader in your life, you will begin a personal relationship Him and will take over as you let him and you become a new creature. Change doesn't happen overnight. Sometimes it takes a Revelation!

If you die in the middle of the night tonight - will the next person you see be Jesus?

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