The New Jerusalem by Uriah Smith

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jul 4, 1878

The New Jerusalem.

By Uriah Smith

REV. 21:1. "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."

The New Heaven and Earth. By the first heaven and first earth, John unquestionably means the ones which now are. Some have supposed that when the Bible speaks of the third heaven, in which are paradise and the tree of life, 1 Cor. 12:2; Rev. 2:7, it refers to the heaven which is yet future, and does not prove that there is a paradise and tree of life literally in existence at the present time. They base their view on the fact that Peter speaks of three heavens and earths; those before the flood, the ones which now are, and the ones which are to come. But all theories based upon this one fact are overturned by this first verse of Rev. 21; for John here reckons but two heavens and earths: the ones which now are, he calls the first, so that the future new heavens would be the second, and not the third,

as Peter reckons. Hence it is certain that Peter did not design to lay down a numerical order, that we should speak of the one as the first, the other as the second, and the last as the third. The object of his reasoning was simply to show that as a literal heaven and earth succeeded to the destruction of the earth by the flood, so a literal heaven and earth would emerge from the renovation of the present system by fire. There is no proof therefore that the Bible, when it speaks of the third heaven, refers simply to the third state of the present heavens and earth, for then all the Bible writers would have been uniform in their reckoning on this point. Thus the arguments of those who would endeavor to disprove the idea of a literal paradise and tree of life at the present time, fall to the ground. We believe the Bible recognizes three heavens all existing in the present constitution of things; namely, the first heaven which the fowls of the air inhabit, the second, the region of the sun, moon, and stars, and the third, high above them all, where paradise and the tree of life are found, where God has his residence and his throne, to which Paul was caught up in heavenly vision, to which Christ ascended when he left the earth, where he now shares the throne of his Father as priest-king, and where the glorious city stands awaiting the saints when they enter into life. Blessed be God that from that bright land intelligence has been brought to this far off world of ours; and thanks to his holy name that a way has been opened from the dark places of earth, which leads like a straight and shining path of light up to those blest abodes.

Verses 2-4. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.

In connection with the view which John has of the holy city coming down from God out of heaven, a voice is heard, saying, The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. The conclusion naturally follows, that the tabernacle here mentioned is the city. This same city is called in John 14, the Father's house in which there are many mansions. If an objection should arise in any mind that this is too permanent a place to be called a tabernacle, we reply that the word tabernacle sometimes has the signification of a permanent dwelling place. And it seems that the great God takes up his abode on this earth. We do not suppose that God is confined to this, or any other one of the worlds of his creation; but he here has a throne, and earth enjoys so much of his presence that it may be said that he dwells among men. And why should this be thought a strange thing? God's only begotten Son is here as a ruler of his special kingdom; the holy city which is called the Father's house, and which, it is natural to suppose will be the most beautiful and glorious place in the universe, will be here; the heavenly hosts take an interest in this world probably above what they feel in any other; yea, reasoning from one of the Saviour's parables, there will be more joy in heaven over one world redeemed, than over ninety and nine which needed no redemption.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. He does this not literally; for there will be no tears in that kingdom for him to literally wipe away; but he does it by removing all the causes of tears.

Verses 5, 6. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

He that sits upon the throne is the same that is mentioned in verses 11, 12, of the preceding chapter. He says, I make all things new, not I make all new things. The earth is not destroyed, annihilated, and a new one created, but all things are made over new. Let us rejoice that these words are true and faithful. And when this is accomplished, "It is done." The dark shadow of sin has forever passed away from the universe. The wicked, root and branch, are wiped out of the land of the living, and the universal anthem of praise and thanksgiving, Rev. 5:13, from a redeemed world and a clean universe, goes up to God. U. S.