The Gift of Revelation

     God is giving us a city.
     He is giving us a new Jerusalem as our inheritance for choosing His gift of salvation. It is the only ‘real’ estate in town. It is our eternal home.
     A city? Aren’t cities crowded, dirty and crime-ridden?
     Not this city. This city is described as new, holy, prepared, a beautiful bride the wife of the Lamb, shining with God’s glory, and brilliant like a jewel.
     In short, this city will be a sight to behold. A most beautiful place.
     But what will life be like there?
     In this city, God will live with us. There will be no tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain, thirst, immorality, or sin.
     Instead there will be true freedom, total satisfaction and eternal life.
     It will be a gift and an inheritance from a Father to His children.
     This week we will begin to look at a physical description of our future home, this new Jerusalem. On the surface it may seem like boring details, and some shrug it off as mere symbolism, but it is the inspired word of God, and worthy of our study.
     Enjoy!

Opening Discussion

-What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

Read

Here is this week’s study passage.
Please pray before you begin.

Revelation 21:12-17 (NLT)

12 The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels. And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates.

13 There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west.

14 The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

16 When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.

17 Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Study

Please read Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-15; 21:1-11.

Revelation 21:12-17 (NIV)

12 Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.

16 The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

Verse 12:

-Who is she? (verse 21:9-10)
-What did she have?
-How many gates were there?
-Who were at the gates?
-What were written on them?
-Whose names were they?

Verse 13:

-How many gates were on each side of the city?

Verse 14:

-What else did the city have?
-How many were there?
-Whose names were on them?

Verse 15:

-What did “he who talked” have?
-What was it for?
-What would be measured?

Verse 16:

-How is the city laid out?
-How long is each side? (See NLT version above.)

Verse 17:

-How thick was the wall? (See above.)
-To what are the angel’s measurements compared?

-What do we learn about God?
-Christ?
-The Spirit?
-The author?
-His readers?
-His purpose?
-What do we learn about our eternal home?
-Why are the size and physical details of New Jerusalem significant to us?
-How should that affect your walk with Christ?
-What has God shown you through this passage of Scripture?
-With whom can you share what you learned this week?

This Week’s Challenges

Challenge A-Reading

Continue reading the book of Revelation.
Read at your own pace.
Take notes as you go.

Challenge B-The Text

Read some or all of the verses below.
Note any similarities with this week’s passage.

Exodus 28:21;
Deuteronomy 3:11;
Ezekiel 40:3-5; 48:30-34;
Zechariah 2:1;
Matthew 16:18;
Luke 22:29-30;
Acts 1:26;
Galatians 2:9;
Ephesians 2:20;
Hebrews 11:10;
Revelation 11:1; 13:18; 21:9, 12, 21, 25; 22:14

Challenge C-Strand Challenge

Read

Genesis 22;
Psalm 22;
Romans 10:12-21.

Note any similarities between each and with this week’s passage.