25/11/18 Revelation 21:22-27 “The new Jerusalem continued”
Revelation 21:22 – And I saw no temple therein: for the
Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
temple – naos [used of the temple at Jerusalem, but only of the sacred edifice (or sanctuary) itself, consisting of the Holy place and the Holy of Holies (in classical Greek it is used of the sanctuary or cell of the temple, where the image of gold was placed which is distinguished from the whole enclosure)]
Almighty – omnipotent
Lord God Almighty – equivalent of Lord God of hosts or Lord God omnipotent
This is clearly not the millennium period we’re discussing today! Here there is no temple, and no need of the sun and moon (which may or may not still exist – the Bible doesn’t actually say!). This is not a patched-up re-creation, but a brand new creation that has come after the old has passed away.
The original creation was perfect, but the original perfect creation was then corrupted through the sin of Adam. That which is corrupted can never be perfect again. The only thing to do with such corruption is to dispose of and start afresh. Old things must pass away; behold all things must become new (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). That which is imperfect must give way to that which is perfect.
1 Corinthians 13:10 – But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
The old covenant had to be taken away before the new covenant could be established.
Hebrews 8:6-7 – 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Hebrews 10:9 – Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
So, no more old order; that has now passed away. The new (and perfect) order now takes the place of the old (and imperfect) order. There is no more need of an earthly temple, for, like the old covenant, it was only in place until the real temple takes place. How this actually works is not certain, but it’s the reasoning behind it that is important to us now.
There are already some clues that could help with this understanding. We are already called the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:27 – Now
ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And, we are
also the temple of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 – Know
ye not that ye are the temple (naos) of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you?
“temple” in Revelation 12:22 refers to the sanctuary, the holy place, the place of worship, and not the whole of the temple enclosure with all its courts etc. This may be similarly applied to God’s people (who are the body of Christ and the temple of the Holy Spirit).
Revelation 21:23 – And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb [is] the light thereof.
the glory – doxa (representing praise, honour and glory; splendid; brightness; magnificence; excellence; majesty; most glorious condition; most exalted state)
did lighten – photizo (give light to; shine; illumine)
no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it – This doesn’t actually say that there will be no sun nor moon, but instead is saying that the new Jerusalem will not depend upon the light of the sun and moon to provide light. Note the connection with the following:
Isaiah 60:19-20 – 19 The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20 Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
It’s not really all that difficult to see the truth of this verse. God is light.
1 John 1:5 – This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
He dwells in unapproachable light.
1 Timothy 6:16a – Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto;
And Jesus is the light of the world.
John 8:12 – Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
The gospel itself is light that illuminates the minds of the lost.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 – 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
How this works in practice is not clear, but that God Himself provides the light in new Jerusalem is clear, even if it is not clear how this actually happens. The fact is that it does happen; God’s glory cannot be hid from sight. In God’s people this glorious light should shine out into a dark world. The light of the Christian should not be hid from sight either.
Matthew 5:14 – Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Revelation 21:24 – And the nations of them which are
saved shall walk in (or
by) the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and
honour into it.
nations – ethnos (That is, ethnic groups)
saved – sozo (save; keep safe and sound; rescue from danger or destruction; save from perishing; deliver from God’s judgment)
walk – peripateo (walk; make one’s way; progress; regulate one’s life; conduct one’s self) Thus “peripatetic” (to constantly travel from one place to another for necessary reasons – such as work)
honour – time (the valuing by which a price is fixed or appointed; honour which is shown someone; of the honour which one has by reason of rank and state of office which he holds; deference; reverence)
All ethnic groups of those who are saved (those whose names are written in the book of life) shall be able to walk without losing their way for the light of God’s glory in new Jerusalem will light their way. There will be no darkness ever again. (Some commentaries say that “which are saved” is not in the original; yet it must be noted that only those who are saved will be in the book of life and only those who are written in the book of life will enter heaven. So, it doesn’t really change anything whether or not it’s included in this verse.)
The kings (leaders; rulers; princes; commanders; lords of the land) of earth represent the glory and honour of man in these nations. They have been bowed down to, worshipped, obeyed, given honour and praise, because of their exalted positions. Now the glory and honour that once was theirs is brought to God to whom all glory and honour will be given. No longer may anyone else have any right to any glory and honour at all. (This was satan’s problem: he wanted the right to some of God’s glory!)
Revelation 4:11 – Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Isaiah 42:8a – I [am] the Lord: that [is] my name: and my glory will I not give to another …. because Isaiah 45:5a – I [am] the Lord, and [there is] none else, [there is] no God beside me:
Revelation 21:25 – And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
The gates of new Jerusalem will not be shut ever. Gates were only shut at night, but there will be no night ever again in new Jerusalem. Gates are opened during the day, and because the day will last forever, the gates will never shut.
Thus, the gates will never be shut because the night will never arrive.
Nehemiah 13:19 – And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and [some] of my servants set I at the gates, [that] there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
Also note Isaiah 60:11 – Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that [men] may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and [that] their kings [may be] brought.
Revelation 21:26 – And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
And all who enter will bring all the glory and honour that was once given them by their nations (ethnic groups), but now is due the Lord God Almighty.
Revelation 21:27 – And there shall in no wise enter
into it any thing that defileth,
neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh]
a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
in no wise – ou (never; certainly not; not at all; by no means)
that defileth – koinoo (to make common; to be ceremonially unclean; unholy; defiled; profaned)
abomination – bdelugma (foul thing; destestable thing; of idols and things pertaining to idolatry)
worketh abomination – See notes on Revelation 21:8.
a lie – pseudos
Only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life may enter. Vs 24 says “them which are saved”, but effectively only those who are saved may be written in the book of life.
There shall by no means (emphatically said) enter anyone who is a defiler, or is defiled (unholy; profaned; unclean) nor anyone who carries out abominable acts, nor anyone who is a liar. A defiler was not only someone who committed unclean acts, but also one who caused, by their actions, others to be made unclean.
Haggai 2:11-14 – 11 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ask now the priests [concerning] the law, saying, 12 If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. 13 Then said Haggai, If [one that is] unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. 14 Then answered Haggai, and said, So [is] this people, and so [is] this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so [is] every work of their hands; and that which they offer there [is] unclean.
Christians, though still able to sin, are sanctified nevertheless.
1 Corinthians 6:11 – And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
While all people can tell lies, some (such as pharisees) are labelled as liars because of their father the devil.
John 8:44-45 – 44 Ye are of [your] father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie (pseudos), he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar (pseustes), and the father of it. 45 And because I tell [you] the truth, ye believe me not.
Christians may also commit such sins, but have imputed righteousness by faith in Christ who is their righteousness. It’s not because Christians are perfectly good, but because they have the righteousness of God imputed to them, that makes them acceptable to God.
1 Corinthians 1:30 – But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
2 Corinthians 5:21 – For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Now the truth about the calvinist god who decrees sin, yet punishes
those who do it.
From Sproul we read (in
Almighty over all, P 53-54) that “I am not accusing God of
sinning; I am suggesting that He created sin. … God
desired for man to fall into sin.”
From MacArthur
we read (in The Vanishing Conscience) that “Ultimately,
we must concede that sin is something God meant
to happen. He planned for it, ordained it – or, in the words of the Westminster
Confession, He decreed it.”
Edwin H
Palmer, a calvinist
writer, says (in The Five Points of Calvinism, P 25) that “It is even biblical to say that God has foreordained sin.”
Palmer was
educated at Westminster Theological Seminary and the Free University of
Amsterdam, and was even an instructor in systematic theology at Westminster
1960-64. This defines his calvinist standpoint.
Boettner
says (in The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination”) that “The Reformers recognized the fact that sin,
both in its entrance into the world and in all its subsequent appearances, was
involved in the divine plan; that the explanation of its existence, so far as
any explanation could be given, was to be found in the fact that sin was
completely under the control of God; and that it would be overruled for a
higher manifestation of His glory. ……
And since
the plan of redemption is thus traced back into eternity, the plan to permit
man to fall into the sin from which he was thus to be redeemed must also extend
back into eternity; otherwise there would have been no occasion for redemption.”
Vincent
Cheung says (in The
Author of Sin, P 4) that “Those who oppose me stupidly chant, “But he
makes God the author of sin, he makes God the author of sin.” However, a
description does not amount to an argument or objection, and I have never come
across a decent explanation as to what is wrong with God being the author of sin
in any theological or philosophical work written by anybody from any
perspective. The truth is that, whether or not God is the author of sin,
there is no biblical or rational problem with him being the author of sin.”
Cheung also
says on P 10 of that same book that “We are
not using the word "create" in the same sense as God's original
creation out of nothing, but we are referring to God's control over things that
he has already created. Although God must actively cause evil thoughts and inclinations
in the creature, and then he must actively cause the corresponding evil
actions, he does not create new material or substance when he does this, since
he is controlling what he has already created.
It is true that a person sins
according to his evil nature, but as Luther writes, it is God who "creates"
this evil nature in each newly conceived person after the pattern of fallen
Adam, whose fall God also caused. And then, God must actively cause this evil
nature to function and the person to act according to it.”
Piper says (in Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained That Evil Be? and quoting
from Jonathan Edwards) “Why Does God Ordain that there Be Evil?
It is evident from what has been said that it is not because he delights in
evil as evil. Rather he "wills that evil come to pass . . . that good may
come of it. ….. Thus it is necessary, that God's awful
majesty, his authority and dreadful greatness, justice, and holiness, should be
manifested. But this could not be, unless sin and punishment had been decreed;
so that the shining forth of God's glory would be very imperfect, both because
these parts of divine glory would not shine forth as the others do, and also
the glory of his goodness, love, and holiness would be faint without them; nay,
they could scarcely shine forth at all." That is, God has ordained sin in order that He may
produce good! And, without sin, God’s glory would be lacking (imperfect!). In
fact, God’s glory could scarcely shine forth at all without sin!
Piper also
says “Everything
that exists—including evil—is ordained by an infinitely holy and all-wise God
to make the glory of Christ shine more brightly.” (as quoted in http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/does-god-author-sin
August 29, 2007)
Calvin says (in Concerning
the Eternal Predestination of God) that “First, it
must be observed that the will of God is the cause of all things that happen in
the world; and yet God is not the author of evil. …… But where it is a matter
of men’s counsels, wills, endeavours, and exertions, there is greater
difficulty in seeing how the providence of God rules here too, so that nothing
happens but by His assent and that men can deliberately do nothing unless He
inspire it. ……. For the man who honestly and soberly reflects on these things,
there can be no doubt that the will of God is the chief and principal cause of
all things. …… But the objection is not yet resolved, that if all things are done by the will of God,
and men contrive nothing except by His will and ordination, then God is the author of all evils.
….. Many go astray in not holding that God wills what men by sinning do. ……
Must we then impute the guilt of sin to God, or invent a double will for Him so
that He falls out with Himself? I have shown that He wills the same as the
criminal and the wicked, but in a different way.” That is, Calvin’s
reasoning leads him to discover that God must be the author of all
evils, yet when God wills the criminal to sin, God is not guilty of the sin;
rather, the criminal is guilty of the sin he committed by the will of God.
And then,
from the Gospel Coalition (new calvinist “club”) we get the following:
“If God’s primary purpose in creation and redemption is
the display of his glory, what does that tell us about why he allowed the
fall? Both logically and chronologically, the fall comes between creation and
redemption. Without a creation there could be no fallen creation;
without a fallen creation there could be no redeemed creation. Salvation
presupposes sin; restoration presupposes a fall. Thus it’s
reasonable to infer that God’s primary purpose in allowing the fall was to showcase
his glory both in the original creation and also in his powerful and merciful
restoration of that creation from its rebellion and corruption.
But was redemption really
necessary for God to be glorified? Couldn’t an unfallen creation glorify God as
much as a restored creation?
….. The basic idea is this: While the fall was
a great evil, it made it possible for God to bring about even greater goods in
its wake: the God-glorifying goods of the incarnation,
atonement, resurrection, and all the salvific blessings that flow from them.
One might think an unfallen
creation would be preferable to a fallen creation—and all else being
equal, that’s true. But all else is not equal, for our world is not
merely a fallen creation. It’s a fallen creation into which the eternal Son of
God has entered, taking on human nature, perfectly expressing God’s likeness in
our midst, living a morally flawless life, making atonement for our sins
through his sacrificial death, rising in triumph from the grave, and ascending
into heaven, where he continually intercedes and secures for us an eternal
joyful dwelling-place in God’s presence.
A world with no fall and no salvation is altogether less
God-glorifying than a world with a tragic fall but also a wondrous salvation.”
(https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-did-god-allow-the-fall/)
In other
words, the sin of Adam (and consequently the rest of mankind) was necessary for
God to exhibit His full glory. Without sin, God is lacking in glory!! The
problem for the calvinists is that in making their god’s will unique in the
universe, they have to make him the reason for sin, effectively the only wilful
sinner. Otherwise there would have to be another will in the universe. To the calvinists
man is still a sinner, yet how can he sin wilfully unless he has some measure
of freewill.
Therefore, to
allow man as the author of sin would have to allow the free will of man to do
so. Therefore, the calvinist god logically has to be the only sinner in the
universe too.
And, did you
notice the lack of scriptural support for their claims? They claim sola
scriptura, yet use everything else but the Bible!
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