Wendy Powell, Community Outreach Pastor
The Bible is a story of a and his .
Revelation 21:1-10, 22-27
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” 9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Jesus has been revealed to us in John’s vision as:
The Lamb who is our
The Lion of Judah who is our
The Rider who is
God’s kingdom is a place where:
We are on God, focused on him in worship
The old order of things has
God and
God’s kingdom is a people. We were always meant to be his…
—with an incredible shared inheritance
Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us to be his very own through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault—we who stand before him covered with his love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to! Ephesians 1:4-5, New Living Translation (NLT)
What a foundation you stand on now: the apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone of the building is Jesus Christ himself! We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a beautiful, constantly growing temple for God. And you also are joined with him and with each other by the Spirit and are part of this dwelling place of God. Ephesians 2:20-22, NLT
, playing an active part in the kingdom advancing
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Revelation 12:10-11
Small Group Questions
- Since this week’s chapter mentioned the lake of fire, how do you feel about the hot weather snaps we’ve been having? Like ‘em, love ‘em, hate ‘em?
- Has the book of Revelation been a big part of other churches you’ve belonged to, or was it largely ignored? How has that affected your personal study of the book?
- In the area of biblical literacy, what or who has helped you learn how to read the Bible and understand it?
- God’s Kingdom is described in Revelation 21 as a place where God is worshiped, the old order of things has passed away, and Jesus rules and reigns. What other ways is the Kingdom of God described in the Bible?
- Three metaphors are used in Revelation 21 to describe God’s people: bride, children, and dwelling place. Can you think of other places in the Bible where another metaphor is used to help us understand what it means to be the people of God?
- How can we pray for you right now and throughout the week?