Prayer – Lord, please show me something new about Heaven today. It
is a mysterious place…although You have revealed so many things about it. Help
me to share the Good News about salvation, eternity, and heaven facts with
others that there would be more and more people in heaven. Hallelujah!
So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he
showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. It shone
with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone--like jasper as clear
as crystal. The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by
twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the
gates. There were three gates on each side--east, north, south, and west. The
wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the
names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The angel who talked to me held in
his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact,
its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles. Then he measured the
walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used
by the angel). Revelation 21:10-17
Meditate. Consider what God has told us in scripture about Heaven.
Have you ever seen a building with walls 216 feet thick? Measure
out 216 feet to totally visualize the thickness of the walls of the New
Jerusalem. Crystal walls made out of jasper a brownish stone. That is intriguing—crystal
clear, brown- or rainbow-colored stones. 
Gate at the Garden of Gethsemane
Are there angels guarding this gate?
Now, imagine the size of the city 1,400 miles in each direction
completing a square or actually a cube. Just out of curiosity, I tried to find
a town or city 1,400 miles from where I live and that distance stretches all
the way to Worthington Minnesota and to Tucumcari, New Mexico. Those are a long
way away—days of driving! The New Jerusalem is going to be a big place. Lots of
room for you and me and millions of other people. This passage tells us that there
will be twelve gates with twelve angels guarding them. Why do they need to be
guarded? Will other people be trying to get in—is security needed? Other
translations do not use the term “guarding.” Will heaven be full? It is up to
each person to decide if they want to believe in Jesus as their Savior and
ultimately end up for eternity with Him. For now, it seems there will be room
for everyone. Jesus promised that.
"Don't
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more
than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told
you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I
will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” John 14:1-3
What have we learned about Heaven and particularly the New
Jerusalem? It is an enormous and beautiful place with more than enough room for
everyone.
Verse of Salvation ~ This is all the more urgent, for you know how
late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than
when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will
soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the
shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live
decent lives for all to see. Don't participate in the darkness of wild parties
and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling
and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And don't let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Romans
13:11-14
Knowing the Lord is what life is all about.
Knowing Him is Life.
© 2023 Text, photos, and
illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New
Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright ©
1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale
House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
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