That Laura, was Jesus Christ speaking of His Second Coming and taking possession of His throne on this earth!
Rev. 21:9 And 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.
Here comes one those angels from chapter 16 again. Do you think it was the same one who came and talked with John in verse 1 of chapter 17? Perhaps, but it could just as well be one of the other six who gives this magnificent tour. And so the angel told John, who as far I know hasn't taken a lunch break yet, to come and he will show him the beautiful bride, the Lamb's wife.
[10] And 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,
Next we will read about the beauty and splendor of this great city, the holy Jerusalem. And since Almighty God dwells there, guess what? We will be reading about HEAVEN! It's coming here!
We are now in the eternity. The Millennium is over. All that which offends has been consumed away for ever and ever in the lake of fire, to be remembered no more. And our Father has prepared a great and beautiful city which He now brings to earth and places squarely on the spot He picked out to be the headquarters of the universe for all eternity, Jerusalem (read Ezek. 16).
Earlier we saw John being carried away in the spirit by one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues to be given a grand tour of the Eternal City, New Jerusalem.
[10] And 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,
Do you look forward to this great city? Our forefathers did! Yes, they were well aware of the Eternal City and the very vision of it increased their faith. Abraham looked forward to it:
Hebrews 11:10
For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
And not only Abraham, but Enoch and Noah and all the patriarchs desired that heavenly city.
Hebrews 11:16
But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city.
And now we are privileged to be given a first hand description of some of the beauty and details of that great city. Of course its number one attribute is that our Father will be there.
Rev. 21:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
The glory of God is that beautiful multicolored sparkling rainbow, the "shekinah" glory, that surrounds our Father. Do you remember we read of that glory and the jasper, etc. in the 4th chapter when John described God's throne and He that sat on it?
Rev. 4:3
And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
And so it is written that our Father will be with the beautiful new city descending out of heaven.
Rev. 21:12 And 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:
We are reading the actual description of the eternal city. Think about it! It is so easy for us to read parts of the Bible such as this as if it was story, and miss the reality of what is written. This is for real. It shall descend from heaven and contain twelve gates, one for each of the 12 Tribes of Israel. And the rest of the nations will be there also as we shall see in verse 24.
[13] On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
All that Revelation tells us is that there will be twelve gates, three on each of the four sides, and they will contain the names of the tribes of Israel. If we want more details all we have to do is read the rest of the Bible, it's all there. Ezekiel, for example, tells us whose name is on which gate:
Ezekiel 48:31-35
And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. [32] And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan. [33]And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun. [34] At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
And the name of the entire city for all of eternity is "The LORD is there", Yahveh Shamma.
[35] It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
That Laura, was Jesus Christ speaking of His Second Coming and taking possession of His throne on this earth!
…
Yes, Charlie, heaven will be here on earth.
And 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. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And 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. And 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. And 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.
- Revelation 21:1-5 (KJV)
