A Promise of Better Things to Come!
In John 14:1-4, the Lord comforts his disciples with promises of a new home, I believe this new home is the New Jerusalem which is described in Revelation.
“14 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
We have probably all heard the old saying, “Home is not a place, it is a person!” In my experience, I have certainly found this to be true; I am home when I am with my beloved wife of over 71 years.
By God’s grace, we have shared a dwelling for the last 48 years which we call our home, but the truth of the matter is, that dwelling is curiously unsatisfying when my wife is not there! It is the knowledge of her presence that makes that dwelling my home!
As Christians, I am confident our knowledge of the Lord’s presence will make the New Jerusalem feel like our home! When we are with him, we are home! Our knowledge of the Lord’s presence in our lives makes the struggles we face in the spiritual battle much more endurable.
I have chosen Galatians 2:20 as my favorite life verse:
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
By God’s grace, let each of us practice the presence of Jesus Christ in our lives, it is a vastly superior way of life!
John 14 concludes with promises of union with Father, Son, and Spirit; our eternal relationship with God is certain and secured by the power of God!
Glories Infinitely Beyond Our Ability to Even Imagine!
Image from Heavenly News with Kenute P. Curry
The Bible provides glimpses of the New Jerusalem along with the New Heaven and the New Earth which offer tantalizing previews of the glories to come. I honestly believe human language does not have the resources to fully describe the wonders we shall behold when we are there.
It is easy to imagine the difficulties a primitive native would have attempting to understand a modern metropolis using only his native language. There would be no words available to even begin to describe the strange scene. I believe the gap between where we are now and where we will be is infinitely greater!
The last two chapters of Revelation provide us with assorted images of our new home, just enough to stir up our appetite for even more information. For me, it generates excited questions on points not revealed; I truly look forward to this grand experience and rejoice in its certainty.
Sharing A Question on Which I Speculate
I have noticed in Revelation 21:22 that the Holy Spirit is not mentioned:
“22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
Since we worship a Triune God, I wonder why that should be. I’ll freely admit I have no answer for this but speculate on the significance of some other verses I’ve read in the New Testament.
The Lord Jesus clearly establishes the importance of the arrival of the Holy Spirit at the First Advent; in John 14:16-17 where it is written:
“16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. 17 He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”
In 1 Corinthians 12:13 it is written:
“13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.”
Today, in our social climate, the distinctions would focus on racial groups; the results, however, would still be the same, we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit!
In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 it is written:
“19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
From those verses, it would appear that Christians, collectively, are the temple of the Holy Spirit now and forever. What do you think the ramifications of those verses are in the context of the New Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit’s temple, and Christians?
I also encourage you to rejoice in what the Lord has planned; we are given a preview in Isaiah 65:17-19, NIV which I provide as a closing thought.
New Heavens and a New Earth
17 “See, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered,
nor will they come to mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I will create,
for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight
and its people a joy.
19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem
and take delight in my people;
the sound of weeping and of crying
will be heard in it no more.
Even so, come Lord Jesus!
davidbowerkingwood 
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