“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Revelation 21:23)
The city is the New Jerusalem. It’s a holy city. It’s an eternal city that will descend from heaven. John describes the vision. “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,” (Revelation 21:10) The earth and the heavens as we know them now have been destroyed. They are no more. And the New Jerusalem has no need of the sun nor the moon. There will be a new earth. And it’s to the new earth where the New Jerusalem will descend. “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1)
John doesn’t describe the new earth, but I imagine that it will be like God intended for the earth to be had Adam and Eve not sinned and had they eaten of the Tree of Life before they sinned. The earth would have been populated with people who were without sin. The earth would not have been cursed. Death which comes with sin would not exist on the earth.
God is with us in the New Jerusalem. Emmanuel, God with us. And He lights up the New Jerusalem. It’s His glory and His splendor that give the New Jerusalem its light. “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1John 1:5) As people who live on this dark planet, we have no understanding of the light of God. We know it as a fact but have no understanding of it. “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:4-5) Today, those who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior, those who have received the Holy Spirit have the light. Yet we don’t fully understand it. Jesus said, “Ye are the light of the world. ...” (Matthew 5:14) We are light in a dark world, but we really don’t have a true understanding of what this means because of its eternal meaning, its divine meaning that pertains to God’s world. We just know it’s the life of the Lord in us. “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:4)
Modern man has no idea of the glory of His majesty. The Israelites saw a glimpse of it and were afraid. “And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” (Exodus 24:17) One thing we do know is that our human earthly bodies cannot be sustained in God’s glory. Moses asked God to see Him. “And he said, I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory. And He said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me, and live.” (Exodus 33:18-20) That is why when we are raptured, our bodies will be changed into bodies that can be in God’s glory. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (1Corinthians 15:51-53) This body is a mortal body, meaning that it’s subject to death. But to stand in God’s glory, we need an immortal body which brings us back to the subject of the New Jerusalem and a question about our bodies. Will all who live and go into the New Jerusalem have immortal bodies? God’s glory is there. And a mortal body cannot live in God’s glory.
All these questions and speculations are too much for our human brains. We can just believe God’s Word. We can’t even handle the things of tomorrow. How can we think we will handle the things of eternity? We believe and accept God's Word on faith. God in His Word has given us just enough to give us hope of a beautiful future in eternity with Him. His Word is confirmed to us by the Holy Spirit Who indwells. And the only thing we can say is, “Holy is the Lord, Who is too wonderful for words.” We can sing with David, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.” (Psalms 139:6)
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