THE NEW JERUSALEM NOT LIMITED: The Hebrew Israelites failed to keep their covenant agreement with God, so he extended his covenant to every nation, tribe, people, and tongue. Therefore, people from all nations gather together and stand before God to worship their redeemer, where will they worship Him?
Sin, Evil, Death, Dying, and What Happens After We Die
This series has addressed the concerns we all have: the concern for sin, evil, death, dying, and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us, humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving, peaceful relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.
Here, we have addressed the origin of sin and look more closely at death and dying.
But, instead of looking at death negatively, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again.
Go back and review this series on Death, Dying and the Future Hope, and other series @ SabbathSchoolDaily.com
From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School (See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School)
Let Us Pray
God Almighty, Thank You for extending your grace to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, it is our desire to be among those who worship you in the New Heavenly, Jerusalem. In Jesus the Name Amen
Some people think of God’s sanctuary or temple as the same as heaven itself. But is it? The book of Revelation talks about a specific sanctuary or temple within the New Jerusalem.
In the New Jerusalem according to Revelation 4:2–6, and Revelation 15:5–8 is God’s throne, and coming from the throne is a sea of glass clear as crystal.
Revelation 4:2-6
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.
3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. (Revelation 4:2-6)
Revelation 15:5-8
5 After these things I looked, and behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened.
6 And out of the temple came the seven angels having the seven plagues, clothed in pure bright linen, and having their chests girded with golden bands.
7 Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
8 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power, and no one was able to enter the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed. (Revelation 15:5-8)
Moreover, Revelation 7:9–17 talks not only of a specific sanctuary/temple within the New Jerusalem, where God’s throne and the sea of glass are located, but it also speaks of all the saved from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. They will worship God there forever.
Revelation 7:9-17
9 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.
16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17)
Note that this vision describes events that are to take place at the close of the one thousand years after Christ’s second coming.
This we covered in Lesson 13 on the Judging Process. You can review this Lesson @ SabbathSchoolDaily.com
With Jesus leading us, all the righteous, will descend from the city down to this earth, on a great and mighty mountain, call Mount Zion on which sets the temple of God.
Revelation 7:9–15 talks about this vast group of people standing before God’s throne who “serve him day and night in His temple” (Revelation 7:15, NKJV).
However, John later in Revelation 21:22 wrote that he “saw no temple” in the New Jerusalem. Why is this?
Revelation 21:22
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21:22)
It is because the sanctuary/temple in heaven has always been the place where the heavenly angels and all the heavenly hosts in heaven worship God. But then sin came. And because of sin, things changed. After sin, the temple also became the place where God offered His mercy and grace to save humanity.
Richard Davidson, in the book “The Sanctuary: ‘To Behold the Beauty of the Lord” offers a further explanation for John’s statement in Revelation 21:22 in which John says he no longer saw a temple.
“When the sin problem is over, the heavenly sanctuary will once again revert to its original function. In Revelation 21:22, John the revelator reports that he no longer saw a temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. But does that mean there is no longer a house of the Lord where His creatures can come and have special fellowship with Him? By no means!”—Richard M. Davidson, “The Sanctuary: ‘To Behold the Beauty of the Lord,’ ” in Artur Stele, ed., The Word: Searching, Living, Teaching, vol. 1 (Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2015), p. 31.
The book of Revelation’s focus is on the One who is being worshiped and those who are worshipping Him. Their worship is centered on God and the Lamb as expressed in Revelation 5:13 and Revelation 7:10.
Revelation 5:13
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)
Revelation 7:10
10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10)
As always, Jesus is the reason for the worship, and it should be; because he is the one who has redeemed us.
The ones who are worshipping the Lamb are those “ ‘who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’ ” (Revelation 7:14, NIV).
Their lives are a testimony and a living witness of God’s redeeming and transforming power. This is why they sing praises to God with grateful hearts for who He is and for what He has done for them.
The people of Israel failed to keep their agreement with God, so he extended it to all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. Therefore, all nations gather and stand before God to worship their redeemer. Where do they worship Him?
Revelation 21:3 tells us, it says: “ ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God’ ” (Revelation 21:3 NKJV).
This verse is a reflection of numerous other passages such as Jeremiah 32:38, Ezekiel 37:27, Zechariah 8:8, and Hebrews 8:10.
Jeremiah 32:38
38 They shall be My people, and I will be their God; (Jeremiah 32:38)
Ezekiel 37:27
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Ezekiel 37:27)
Zechariah 8:8
8 I will bring them back, And they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be My people And I will be their God, In truth and righteousness.’ (Zechariah 8:8)
Hebrews 8:10
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Hebrews 8:10)
This offer is available to us, who are still here on this earth. It means that God will be our God, and we will be His people.
This should be a strong motivation for worshipping him now and living our lives in harmony with his divine will. So, let us not be like the Hebrew Israelites of old who fail to keep their covenant agreement with God.
The Bible talks of God being in an unapproachable light and it says that no one has ever seen God. Does this mean that in heaven the redeemed will never see God? Find out on Day 4 In the Presence of God.
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