p. 14 | THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 19, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 25.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

INTERNATIONAL SERIES

LESSON, 12—JUNE 23.—A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH.

Lesson Scripture, Rev. 21:1-7, 22-27, R.V.

Golden Text: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things.” Verse 7, A.V.

1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth are passed away; and the sea is no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for 2 her husband. And I heard a great voice out of the throne 3 saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God; and He shall 4 wipe away every tear from their eyes; and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more; the first things are passed away. And He that 5 sitteth on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He saith, Write; for these words are faithful and true. 6 And He said unto me, They are come to pass. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of 7 life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son. . . . And I saw no 22 temple therein; for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, 23 are the temple thereof. And the city hath no need of the sun; neither of the moon, to shine upon it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamp thereof is the Lamb. And the 24 nations shall walk amidst the light thereof; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory into it. And the gates thereof 25 shall in no wise be shut by day (for there shall be no night there); and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the 26 nations into it; and there shall in no wise enter into it anything unclean, or he that maketh an abomination and a lie, 27 but only they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) What did the prophet see in the vision presented in this lesson? Why should there be a new heaven and a new earth? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What next did the prophet see? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) What did he hear? What did the voice say of the dwelling-place of God? Verse 3. Note 3. (4) What will then be done for sorrowing humanity? Why will there be no more of these effects of sin? Verse 4. Note 4. (5) What was the prophet then bidden to behold? What was he bidden to do? Verse 5. (6) Who did the voice declare the speaker to be? What promise did He make? Verse 6. Note 5. (7) What promise is given to the overcomer? Verse 7. Note 6. (8) Why was no temple seen in the city? Verse 22. (9) How was the city lighted? Verse 23. (10) Who will walk in this light? Verse 24. Note 7. (11) What is said of the gates of the city? Verse 25. Note 8. (12) What shall be brought into the city? Verse 26. (13) What things shall not enter the city? Who only shall enter? Verse 27. Note 9.

NOTES.

1. As the sinner, by entering into covenant relation with Christ and being cleansed of sin, becomes a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), so this sin-cursed earth, by being purged and transformed thru the action of God’s purifying fire, will come out a new earth. The atmospheric heaven, also, of which Satan is the “prince” (Eph. 2:2), will be purified and made new in the great “day of the Lord.” See 2 Peter 3:10-14.

2. The New Jerusalem is “the bride, the Lamb’s wife” (verses 9, 10 of lesson chapter). When Christ shall have received His kingdom from the Father (Dan. 7:13, 14), of which the New Jerusalem is the capital, then will the saints be called to the “marriage supper of the Lamb.” Then will be the great celebration described in Rev. 19:5-9.

3. “Tabernacle,” in verse 3 is used in the sense of dwelling-place, and not as a place for priestly service, as in Heb. 8:1-3. The sanctuary service is all ended before Christ takes His kingdom, and the New Jerusalem has no temple (verse 22 of lesson).

4. Wiping away tears in the new earth signifies not that there will be tears there to wipe away, but that all cause of tears will have been annihilated when former conditions, including sorrow and death, have passed away.

5. Promises to the thirsty soul are numerous in the Scriptures. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters,” etc., is a prophetic promise to be fulfilled in Christ. Isa. 55:1. Among the blessings pronounced in the Sermon on the Mount is, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled.” Matt. 5:6. Again Jesus says, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:14. “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Rev. 22:17.

6. “Shall Inherit These Things.”—The Common Version reads “all things,” and this agrees with Rom. 8:32: “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” The Christian is a joint-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:16, 17), and He says of His inheritance, “All things that the Father hath are Mine.” John 16:15.

7. “The Kings of the Earth.”—The earth will be peopled by the Israel of God, the spiritual seed of Abraham; and the twelve apostles are promised twelve thrones over the twelve tribes. See Gal. 3:29, and Matt. 19:28. The names of the twelve tribes are on the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, and the names of the twelve apostles are on the twelve foundations of the wall. Rev. 21:12-14. The twelve apostles will be the “kings of the earth.”

8. Free Access.—The gates of the city will never be closed. They “shall in no wise be shut by day,” and it will be day all the time in the city. Nor will the view of the city be excluded at any point, notwithstanding the great height of the wall; for the wall is of jasper, the finer specimens of which are transparent.

9. “Shall in No Wise Enter.”—It must not be inferred that there will always be in existence on the outside of the city those things which are forbidden to enter. Before the wicked are finally destroyed, and the earth purified, the city will have come down upon Mount Olivet (Zech. 14:1-9), and after the resurrection of the wicked, Satan will gather them around the city in an attempt to take it by force. But none of them will be able to enter it, and at this time will be their final destruction by fire from heaven. See Revelation 20; also article, “A New Earth,” on page 7 of this paper.