“They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever“
22:4
They shall see His face,
The saints will have the freedom to be in the presence of God. They will have immediate admission to God’s glory. We will see the Lamb face to face (Re 22:3). That will be a joy! After all our service for Him, we will meet Him face to face.
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
and His name shall be on their foreheads.
God’s name on our forehead means that we belong to God. It will be quite evident publicly that we belong to God.
Presently Christians are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). God seals us until the day we go to be with Him. The seal today is invisible, but the seal on that day will be apparent for all to see.
22:5
There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light.
John again repeats that there will be no night in the New Jerusalem. The light of God’s presence is all they need (Re 21:23,25).
And they shall reign forever and ever.
There will be no end to the saints’ reign in the eternal state (Daniel 7:18,27). This is another indication that this is the eternal state.
Principle:
Heaven transcends any earthly reference points.
Application:
None of us can comprehend how wonderful Heaven is. It will transcend all of our expectations.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
We will experience nothing of the pain we face here. As the hymn says, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”
The idea of Heaven boggles the mind. Every person who belongs to God should take an interest in the subject for one day we will move there, and since we are going to move to a new location, we should research that community to find out as much as we can about it. Our home in Heaven will exceed our wildest dreams. If this earth is a beautiful place even under the curse, what will Heaven be like?
Are you still accepting questions? I have one concerning this scripture. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever“
Will there be the need for the sun and moon on the earth? This passage is talking about the New Jerusalem not needing the sun or moon for the reasons mentioned above but what about the earth outside of the Great City?
Elizabeth, this passage is not talking about the Millennium but the eternal state where there will be no need for natural light. The light of God’s presence will shine everywhere.
Thank you for responding, for some reason I got the two confused.
I have another question. If Christians are going to live in the New Jerusalem, who will occupy the earth?
Rev 21:24 says them which are saved from the nations will occupy the New Jerusalem but if we are kings and priests, (Rev 5:10) how can we rule over ourselves? It also says in Rev 5:10 we will reign on the earth?
By the looks of this scripture, Jesus will appoint kings over the earth because they are bringing gifts into the city but who will they rule over. Perhaps, the answer is in the rewards, just guessing, need help, plz and thank you. 🙂
Rev 21:24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
Elizabeth, it is precarious to be dogmatic about the details of which you speak because there is very little specificity in Scripture about the issues. My view is that the heavenly Jerusalem is in existence during the millennium as a satellite city over the earth. There is limited communication between the heavenly Jerusalem and the earth, where the kings of the earth are referenced.
Thank you for responding. Can you tell me why you think that the New Jerusalem will be a satellite city over the earth. Where is that in scripture?
Rev 21:2 among other passages: https://versebyversecommentary.com/1999/02/02/revelation-212-2/
Thank you
Hi Dr Grant,
In verse 4 it says we will see him face to face (yes that will be a joyous time) so does that mean God will have a human form like the rest of us? I have never thought of God in human form just in spirit.
An eternal brother!!!!!!!
Don
Dr Grant can you please address Don beck’s question I am also wondering about this please and thank you
Don, Mark,
Don, I apologize for missing your question.
Mark and Don, the resurrected humanity of Jesus is in heaven, and it is the physical presence of the Son of God that we will see. His body is also a pattern for our bodies in heaven. We will have a physical body made in the likeness of Christ’s resurrection body (Php 3:21 and 3:21b). See that study beginning here: https://versebyversecommentary.com/1996/02/11/philippians-321/