The New Jerusalem, Pt. 1: Introduction

Judgment is past. The first things are gone. The new heavens and new earth are established. The King is enthroned. He announces the intention of God. The pre-sin Eden is reestablished and God is dwelling with His image-bearers, redeemed mankind.

Who will be there? Overcomers, not professors, not those who merely want to go to heaven but those who have suffered for Christ. It is those who have overcome sin, self, and the world. It is those who have taken up the cross and followed Him. It is the soldiers of Christ who have, through the power of the Spirit, bravely joined the battle and withstood the enemy. "The one who conquers shall have this heritage" (v. 7). None of this is by human strength, effort, or determination. It is by the gift of enabling grace alone (Phil. 2:12, 13). No one else will qualify (v. 8).