Features of New Jerusalem: Part 2

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

In the previous post, we began to explore some key features of New Jerusalem. We continue this study now.

New Jerusalem is arrayed with God’s glory. 

John writes of New Jerusalem, “Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (21:11). The most significant quality of New Jerusalem is stated at the outset: it is the radiance of God, the sign of his visible presence. 

As in the burning bush, the pillar of cloud and fire, the Shekinah glory in the holy of holies, and the brilliance of Jesus’ presence on the mount of transfiguration, God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Isaiah foretells the work of the divine warrior who penetrates the earth’s spiritual darkness (Isa. 59:17-21). As a result, Isaiah exults, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD shines over you” (Isa. 60:1). 

In a similar fashion, Ezekiel sees the glory of God returning through the eastern gate of the temple, from which the glory had earlier departed. He describes it in these terms: “I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice sounded like the roar of a huge torrent, and the earth shone with his glory” (Ezek. 43:2). 

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A Book of Remembrance: Malachi 3:16

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 11: A Book of Remembrance: Malachi 3:16.

At that time those who feared the LORD spoke to one another. The LORD took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the LORD and had high regard for his name. “They will be mine,” says the LORD of Armies, “my own possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him (Mal. 3:16-18).

This is the only reference to “a book of remembrance” in Scripture. However, it bears some similarities to “the book of life” (Ps. 69:28; Isa. 4:3), “the book” (Dan. 12:1), “the book you have written” (Exod. 32:32); “your book” (Ps. 139:16), “my book” (Exod. 32:33), and other books we’ve examined so far in that it distinguishes the righteous from the wicked. 

A heavenly scribe, in the presence of God, writes of those who fear the Lord and highly regard his name. A day is coming when this scroll is opened to show everyone “the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him” (Mal. 3:18).

Let’s begin with a summary of the book of Malachi. Then, we’ll break down Malachi 3:16 – 4:3 to better understand this “book of remembrance.”

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Features of New Jerusalem: Part 1

This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon. 

In the previous post, we began to focus on John’s vision of New Jerusalem and the new heavens and earth (Rev. 21-22). Now, we begin a series of posts that explore some key features of New Jerusalem.

New Jerusalem is a holy city (Rev. 21:2, 10). 

Humans have built many great cities over the centuries, from ancient Babylon to modern-day Tokyo. But New Jerusalem is unique in that it is a city built without hands. The writer of Hebrews tells us Abraham saw New Jerusalem from afar. He may have lived in tents as a foreigner in the Promised Land, but “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). 

New Jerusalem is a holy city because it is the city of God. It is his home, his dwelling place, and he invites us to live there forever with him. It is a holy place because God is holy – set apart, unique, perfect, and righteous. God’s otherness sets him apart from all creatures. He is eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, unchanging, and transcendent. Wherever God visits creation, that place is holy ground, as Moses and Joshua experienced (Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15). 

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Some to Eternal Life …

This is another in a series of excerpts from The Book of Life: What the Bible Says about God’s Registry of the Redeemed from High Street Press and available at Amazon. This except comes from Chapter 10: All Found Written in the Book Will Escape: Daniel 12:1-3.

In previous posts [Read #1; Read #2], we began to examine Daniel 12:1-3, breaking down the elements of these verses so we can better understand “the book” to which Daniel refers. We complete our observations here.

Daniel sees that people are resurrected one day. But what then?

… some to eternal life, and some to disgrace and eternal contempt. 

Notice first that everyone’s resurrection results in “eternal” existence somewhere. The Hebrew phrase hayye olam (eternal life) appears here for the first time in the Old Testament. Its Greek counterpart (zoe aionios) occurs numerous times in the New Testament, perhaps most notably in John 3:16: “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life” (emphasis added).

While followers of Jesus possess eternal life, those who reject him are neither annihilated nor sent to temporary punishment until their sin debt is paid. The wicked possess eternal existence in hell – Daniel depicts it as “eternal contempt” – but not eternal life. Jesus makes this clear in the parable of the sheep and goats, who symbolize the righteous and the wicked. 

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UFOs, Aliens, and the Bible

This is the fourth in a series of articles on what the Bible says about UFOs and aliens.

Read Article 1; Article 2; Article 3

If creatures commonly identified as aliens truly are demons, as we claimed in the previous column, then the Bible has something to say about how we are to deal with them. For starters, Scripture is replete with warnings against an unhealthy fascination with the unseen realm. 

One of the earliest warnings comes in the Lord’s instructions to the Israelites, who are about to enter the promised land:

“When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable customs of those nations. No one among you is to sacrifice his son or daughter in the fire, practice divination, tell fortunes, interpret omens, practice sorcery, cast spells, consult a medium or a spiritist, or inquire of the dead. Everyone who does these acts is detestable to the LORD, and the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you because of these detestable acts. You must be blameless before the LORD your God. Though these nations you are about to drive out listen to fortune-tellers and diviners, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do this” (Deut. 18:9-14). 

Common religious practices among Israel’s neighboring peoples included:

Child sacrifice – particularly to the god Molech.

Divination – attempting to discover hidden knowledge through supernatural means like reading entrails, casting lots for spiritual insight, or interpreting natural phenomena as divine messages.

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