Revelation 21: 22-27
John has just described the spectacular beauty of this capital city on the new planet God will create in the new universe to replace this one. Now he's giving us some insight into how life will be in that city.
(22) I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
A temple is the "house" of a god. Our God Himself lives in the city with His family, so He Himself is the "temple."
(23) And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Since God is light and He is right there, there's no need for any other source of light. It doesn't say there isn't any sun or moon, just that the city doesn't need their light.
(24) The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the Earth will bring their glory into it.
The nations of this New Earth will walk by its light, they will live their lives following the light of truth of God, and their leaders will share whatever it is they do in this new world with the residents of the capital city.
(25) In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed;
The door will be constantly open for all to come and go. I wonder, why have gates if they'll never be closed, but who am I to question! There will be constant interaction among the citizens of this New Earth, between the nations and the Lord's family. How wonderful!
(26) and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;
And whatever the work entails in this new world, everyone will be pleased to share with one another all the good and beneficial and fun and prosperous things they do and have. It looks like a wonderful paradise, where everyone lives out the love that our God is!
(27) and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it,
All of these beings have been cast into the Lake of Fire that burns eternally.
but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The Lamb's book of life contains the names of all of those who have been redeemed by the Lamb or have chosen the right and pure decision from the start. All of these beings have been sealed by God, to never again be vulnerable to making wrong or detrimental choices, but to see the right choice every time, in the light of God's truth.
This is what God has planned for us, what He wants to give us. As humans, we have been drawn toward what is not right, but what seems to be good in the immediate circumstance. This is the human DNA that we inherit from Adam, who permanently damaged it by his wilful disobedience to the only rule he had to follow. He blew it, and we all suffer the result.
God knew this would happen. He made Mankind with the ability to live forever if he obeyed, and ate of the Tree of Life. But when he disobeyed, God caused his humanity to be able to die, so that He could send a Redeemer to rescue him.
God would not allow Adam to turn around and eat of that Tree of Life after he sinned, or he would have to live forever in sin. That's why God drove them out of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3: 23) and placed a flaming sword to guard the way back to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3: 24), so that the human race could be rescued, cleansed, and redeemed to a new, spiritual body:
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last Trumpet; for the Trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. (I Corinthians 15: 50-53).
We are looking at how we will be living after our perishable body has put on the imperishable, spiritual body; after our mortal has been swallowed up by immortality. We will still be who we are, but much more.
We will have new names, and new identities as children of the Almighty God. We will have positions of great authority as the Royal Family of God. And all the troubles and sorrows and disappointments we are wading through in this present vale of tears is preparing us for this momentous assignment to be elevated in humility, not pride; and to love and share freely as our Father does.
This new creation will have no curse on it, so it will not run down, or wear out, or diminish in any way. (We won't have to keep cleaning our houses constantly, because they won't get dirty!)
O my Father, You are more generous and gracious than I can comprehend. How You think about me is amazing! Father, I know how frail and fragile I am in this mortal body. I know how easy it is for me to slide into not doing everything You want me to accomplish for You while I am still here.
My Father, You left me here to accomplish things that You want done! You brought me through everything I've lived through so far, to be prepared to do Your will. You have peculiarly equipped me to get done what only I can do, and You will give me the power and ability to do it and get it done. I only need to obey and follow you, and not turn to any other pleasure or worldly pursuit, but to continually study Your love-letter to me, instructing me and follow You in the way You want me to go.
My dear Father, You are the One who is working in and through me, and yet You will reward me for what You do! This is amazing! You are amazing, Daddy! It's like You are placing my little feet on Your feet, taking my hand in Yours and Your arm around my back, and waltzing through this life! You are doing the dancing, but You are complimenting me on my grace and skill in performing!
O Father, please send out all Your children now into all the world, while every living person has the ability to freely choose to turn to You and accept Your gracious and generous gift of rescue! Please teach all of Your family to grow in the maturity we need, and to reach out to grow the numbers of Your uncountable holy ones from this plane. Draw to Yourself all of Your embryonic children to birth into Your great family, to grow into the full stature of the Son of God.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus is our Christ, the Lord God Almighty, sovereign King over all Creation; to the everlasting glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever. Amen.
Even so, come on, Lord Jesus, quickly!
