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The New Jerusalem

Isaiah 60:19-22
The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever.
They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation.
I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."


Comment

The New Jerusalem of Revelation 21

While Isaiah himself was not given all the details of how the story ends, what he refers to here is quite similar to the New Jerusalem of Revelation 21. Notice the similarities.
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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." Rev 21:3,4

"I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 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. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 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."Rev 21:22-27

However the "New Jerusalem" is not actually a physical city. Rather it is the Church - the Bride of Christ.
"I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband." Rev 21:1

"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."  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." Rev 21:9

Then will all your people be righteous

Now much as it is all well and good that there's no suffering, but what I find very significant is the fact that there will be no sin. That is, all will behave in a righteous manner. How is that going to be accomplished? It must be that God will sanctify us in such a way that we will be permanently and completely purified from all innate sinfulness.

The least of you will become a thousand

Christians may often underestimate their impact upon the society. I suspect that apostles had no idea the degree to which they would impact the world. Billions have been influenced by the writers of the Bible. And we all become partners with them as we communicate the Bible to the society at large and to the coming generations. The least among those born of God will impact at least a thousand people. If you've been born of God, do not underestimate what God can do through you.


The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources