The sun and the moon have been destroyed, and no new stars and satellites will be made. This devotional reading looks at why they will not be needed in New Jerusalem.
Nuggets
- Darkness will not be present in New Jerusalem because the Light will be shining forever.
- Sin and nighttime will not be present in New Jerusalem.
- Artificial light – even natural light – will not be needed in New Jerusalem.
- Eternity will last forever.
It is hard to know if we should call it Heaven or if we should call it New Jerusalem. But nowhere in Revelation 21 or 22 is Heaven mentioned.
A new heavens and a new earth appear. New Jerusalem comes down.
No Heaven.
Let’s keep going on Revelation 22 to see what we can learn.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Eternity Begins series
Darkness Is Banished from Heaven
“And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22: 5 ESV)
Darkness will not be present in New Jerusalem because the Light will be shining forever.
Sin and nighttime will not be present in New Jerusalem.
We know that the sun and moon were destroyed. When the new heavens and earth arrived, it did not have either one.
Let’s look at this in the Oxford Jewish Bible. “And there shall no longer be Lailah, and they have no need of the ohr (light) of a menorah and the ohr (light) of the shemesh (sun), because Hashem Adonoi will give forth ohr (light) on them, and they shall reign l’Olemei Olamim” (Rev. 22 5 OJB emphasis added).
So, let’s have a Hebrew lesson.
- chosek is darkness
- owr is enlightenment
- yom is day
- Lailah is night
The menorah is a seven-branched candelabrum used in temple worship. We’ll get to the temple in a couple of devotions.
The night will be no more because the Light is here – permanently. In other words, there will be the eternal day.
Okay. What popped into my mind is the eternal Sabbath. Remember, God ended each day of creation with the evening and the morning were day one through six. When it came to day 7 — the establishment of the Sabbath — there was no such pronouncement.
We are to continually have an attitude of worship that lasts throughout eternity.
Now, there will be no night. There will be no rest. There will be continual enlightenment. There will be continual worship.
Well, yes, because we will be in the continual presence of the Light — Jesus our Savior and Redeemer.
In other words, the Son will be our sun.
Bonar put it this way. He wrote, “The light of heaven and earth, of all things material, and all things spiritual, is to come from the face of Jehovah Himself — the ONE sun of the universe, the ONE SUN of the soul!”
Resource
Oh, yes. That definitely means we are getting new bodies. I took a couple of naps today, even though I got a decent night’s sleep last night.
Our new bodies won’t need physical rest. We will have all the rest we need in God.
Scott wanted us to think what night was tied to in this life. He argued that it was tied trouble and imperfection as well as labor.
Resource
That is logical. Many sinful things are done under the cover of darkness.
Melvill attributed the absence of darkness to the absence of the veil. “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known (I Cor. 13: 12 ESV).
Resource
I can see that. God won’t be hiding anything from us.
No Candle or Sun
“... They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light ...” (Rev. 22: 5 ESV)
Artificial light – even natural light – will not be needed in New Jerusalem.
We have to remember that, in John’s day, there were two things that produced light: the sun and something on fire. Usually, that something would be a candle. However, outside fires — what we would call a bonfire — would provide light as well as heat.
Those are going to be gone, as they won’t be needed.
Robe felt that we won’t need light in Heaven because we will have happiness. This happiness is constructed with knowledge, purity, and joy.
Resource
These all come from God.
- “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 1: 7 ESV).
- “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (Jas. 4: 8 ESV).
- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Rom. 15: 13 ESV).
They Will Reign Forever
“... and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22: 5 ESV)
Eternity will last forever.
Yeah, I have problems with this verse.
Let me try to process it. “… They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22: 5 ESV).
Do both of the words they refer to mankind? Well, Peter does call us a royal priesthood (II Pet. 3: 9).
Yes, the first they refers to mankind no longer needing natural or artificial light. We have the Light of the world.
Yes, we are princes and princesses because we are God’s children. But we don’t become kings and queens until They die, or They give up being King.
But I don’t see God or Jesus abdicating any of their power and authority to us.
Would the verse better read, “… They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and [They] will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 22: 5 ESV emphasis added).
God’s Word already says They will.
- “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11: 15 ESV).
- “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom” (Heb. 1: 8 ESV).
- “But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice” (Ps. 9: 7 ESV).
We already talked about the thousand-year reign only being a select group. There are some other verses we need to review.
- “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (I Pet. 2: 9 ESV).
- “The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself” (II Tim. 2: 11-13 ESV).
- “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5: 17 ESV).
I just have a problem with — if we all are to reign — who are our subjects? That would mean we would all have our little kingdoms. I don’t see Heaven divided that way.
Okay, research time. What do others say.
(This is all going to be quotes from various people, so I can process them altogether. I know it is a lot. Bear with me.)
- “And on what thrones shall we sit in heaven? over whom shall we be invested with dominion? I connect the different parts of the verse; and I read in its last clause, only differently expressed, the same promise, or prophecy, which I find in all the rest. I shall reign over the secrets of nature; all the workmanship of God shall be subject to me, opening to me its recesses, and admitting me into its marvels. I shall reign over the secrets of Providence; my empire shall gather back the past, and anticipate the future; and all the dealings of my Maker shall range themselves in perfect harmony before my view. I shall reign over the secrets of grace; the mediatorial work shall be as a province subject to my rule, containing no spot in all its spreadings which I may not explore. I shall reign over myself: I shall be thorough master of myself: no unruly desires, no undisciplined affections: I shall not be what an earthly king often is, his own base slave: no war between the flesh and the spirit, no rebellion of the will, no struggle of corrupt inclinations; but with all that true royalty, the royalty of perfect holiness, I shall serve God without wavering, and find His service to be sovereignty.” (Melvill)
- “Scripture does indeed largely promise [honor] to man. Never does it flatter him; this is part of its Divine manner. But of hope and promise it grudges nothing to him if only he will seek it in the way of Christ. … Even in this present world the true servant of God, in proportion to the reality and simplicity of his servitude, receives also some foretastes of his royalty.” (Moule)
- “5. In what way did they reach the throne? They fought their way to it. 6. How extensive is this dominion to be? He that [overcomes] shall inherit all things. Heaven and earth are theirs. ‘Heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.’” (Bonar)
- “A bright future is this for every one who has received the testimony of the Father to His beloved Son; for on our reception of that testimony does our right to that Kingdom depend. It is so fair a prospect that it cannot fail to influence us now.” (Bonar)
- “Your reign in heaven will consist in your sharing, and communion with Jesus Christ, in all His communicable glory, according to your capacity. Your reign in heaven will consist in your immediate subjection unto God and the Lamb. Your reign in heaven will consist in an equality with the angels of God in glory and happiness. Your reign in heaven will consist in a satisfying possession of all happiness in God.” (Robe)
- “The original cause of your future reign in heaven is the sovereign, rich, free love, and grace of God the Father.(2) That you shall reign in heaven is owing to the mediation of Jesus Christ our Lord.(3) That you shall reign in heaven will be owing to the effectual grace of the Holy Ghost. He calls you effectually to this kingdom and glory.” (Robe)
Resource
So, what did I get out of all that?
- This is a reward for disciples’ seeking Christ and enduring in this life. It is our inheritance.
- Our reign is based on grace.
- Saying we have a reign will not sever our subjugation to God and Jesus. We will still have communication with and responsibilities to Them.
- This will put us on equal footing with the angels.
- We’ll reign over ourselves.
- We will reign over nature.
- It says we will reign over secrets of providence.
Personally, I think that is a way of saying the secrets will be made known to us. If only disciples and angels will be in Heaven with God and Jesus, then all will know them. They won’t be secret anymore.
The way I see it is that our reign in Heaven won’t be that much different than here. Now, we are stewards and caretakers of the planet. We are to deny ourselves to follow God’s way and serve others.
There, we will be caretakers of our residences — whatever form they take. We will be serving others. We will be in better control of ourselves since we will no longer sin.
Making the Connections
Scott made a sad but true observation about mankind. He noted that many are glad to hear the Savior died for them.
The part that trips them is that Jesus died as payment of our sins. To show are gratitude toward Him, we need to turn away from those sins.
They think either something should not be considered a sin, or that the repenting they have is not acceptable.
They just don’t want a relationship with God.
Scott discussed goats masquerading as sheep. He wrote,
“They have light, but it is to guide them through darkness, for life here is, and must be, ‘this night’ to the Christian, though he sees afar off the rising of the dawn. He is here in much ignorance of God’s character, works, and ways. He knows enough to save him, but not enough to satisfy him.”
Resource
Knowing God is never going to be enough. We are going to have to be obedient to Him.
Satan loves to try to get us to doubt our salvation. We’ve got to stand firm in God.
How Do We Apply This?
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
- Walk with God.
Father God. Wherever we spend eternity is fine – as long as we are where You are. Thank You for being the Light. Thank You for being our salvation. We look forward to the day we meet You face to face. Amen.
What do you think?
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