“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” Revelation 21:22-26.

The above is a continuation of the Apostle John’s description of the New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven after the old heaven and earth are destroyed and new eternal heaven and earth are created.

In this final state we find the believers, saints of God, in a place where a holy God can dwell among His children and interact with them face to face.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:13.

This has been His intent all along.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-7.

The new heavens and the new earth are the beginning of the “ages to come”.

We are told that there will be no need for the sun and the moon “for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light”.

While some say that the sun and moon will cease to exist; that is not what it says, they are merely not needed for it is the glory of God and of Jesus which light it. Indicating that the light of God will be brighter than that of the sun and will surround the whole earth, for the night will cease to exist.

It may be possible that, outside the sphere of the earth, the countless heavenly bodies will continue to revolve in their clockwork cycles for eternity.

“And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light…” it is easy to forget that the earth is not just composed of Christians and Israelites.

There are six groups to consider; the godly line of Adam and Eve before the flood, those who chose God over idols after the flood (Job for example), Israelites and those who followed God through their evangelism, those who became Christians during the church age (present age), tribulation saints, and millennial saints.

“And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light…” There are two other groups which deserve serious consideration though they are part of the nations.

Children; every child that dies before the age of accountability is covered by the blood of Christ, every one! They will walk in the streets of the New Jerusalem.

By the age of accountability it means when the child is mature enough to accept or reject Jesus Christ as their Savior they become accountable for their choice.

This age can be variable from soul to soul, even perhaps into their teens and could even depend on their mental capacity.

All children will be in heaven whether they were aborted after conception or at any point thereafter.

Whether they were cut up after the abortion and used for parts, or sold to perverts alive, or sacrificed to Satan, or killed to extract adrenochrome, all children will be in heaven.

These sins do not fall upon the children; they fall upon the perverts who commit them. This also goes for pedophiles. All sex with children is rape whether it’s the first time or the fiftieth, every time it is rape!

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6.

The second group would also be part of the nations mentioned earlier.

There are many people who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ but they are folks who look around them and think, “Beauty, love and order would not have been created by the angry gods my people serve. Yet there is a Creator who loves me enough to give me so many good things, I will seek Him out.”

“…what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…” Romans 1:19-20.

“Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, ‘Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.’” Acts 17:22-24.

As we consider these things one view might go something like this; the bride, the Lamb’s wife will reside in the city, the Israelites will surround the city in their homes, and the other four groups (nations) will surround the tribes of Israel.

If you have trouble with this, do not worry, many others believe that all six groups and the angels will reside within the city itself, this indicates that none of us is alone when we try to understand prophecy.

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or that causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” Revelation 21:27.

This is the second of three such statements made in chapters 21-22. This repetition emphasizes the absolute holiness of the eternal state. And the references to those outside, and those who will not enter, speak of the people who inhabit the lake of fire, they are not in the new creation, so they cannot enter.

These lists should also be a comfort to the righteous because it is evil-doers like these who have made the lives of godly men and women unbearable throughout time by taking away their freedom, their possessions or by torturing and killing them.

It is the abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars who have delivered up both the godly and the innocent to unrighteous judges, torturers, inquisitors, and those who hate them, by lying about them, or by spreading evil gossip about them.

The English dictionary defines the following words as:

Abominable, very hateful; detestable; loathsome; whatever is odious to the mind or offensive to the senses.

Sorcerers, an enchanter; conjurer; magician; usually done with the aid of poisonous or hallucinogenic drugs.

Idolaters, a worshipper of idols, one who gives divine honors to statues, images or anything made by hand; anyone who worships anything other than God.

Liars, anyone who knowingly utters falsehood in order to deceive another; anyone who tells a falsehood without knowing it and without the intention to deceive is not considered a liar.

“…only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” shall inhabit the new heaven and the new earth.

“…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” Romans 10:9-10.

Revelation 21:22-27 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 3-22-17, updated on 12-5-22.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.