August 22, 2023

Revelation 21:9-27 (HCSB)
The New Jerusalem
9 Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 He then carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a very precious stone, like a jasper stone, bright as crystal. 12 The city had a massive high wall, with 12 gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the 12 tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.      14 The city wall had 12 foundations, and the 12 names of the Lamb’s 12 apostles were on the foundations. 15 The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used. 18 The building material of its wall was jasper, and the city was pure gold like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone: the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 The 12 gates are 12 pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The broad street[i] of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary.  23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Each day its gates will never close because it will never be night there. 26 They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 Nothing profane will ever enter it: no one who does what is vile or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Jeremy Cannon
Imagine the feeling when you get something new. Whether it's a new pair of shoes, a new house, a new car, or even a new chance at life. What feeling does that stir up? Excitement? Joy? Happiness? I can remember as a child, each Friday when my mom got home from work, we would go to the local department store and I would get to pick out a new toy. I was filled with such joy and I could not wait to get home to show my friends what I got. But what happens over time to the new things we get? They get old, we lose interest, we no longer get SO excited to have them. That's how our relationship gets with God sometimes, if we are honest with ourselves. When we need Him and He comes through for us, or if we become a Christian for the first time, it's like getting that new toy. We are so excited and we want to tell or show it to anyone. But, as we go through our day to day struggles, and it seems like we have to deal with problems on our own, we lose our interest in what God is really trying to do in our lives. In this set of scripture, John is describing something new to us. A new city that is filled with beauty and perfection. A Heaven that is for us. A gift given to us, from God, through the blood of His only son, Jesus Christ. It is a gift we should take seriously, a gift we should accept, and a gift we should get extremely excited about. God is good, and He is giving us a gift that will last for eternity.