When John begins to describe this in chapter 21, the thing that impresses him most about Jerusalem is that God dwells there. He writes, “I saw the Holy City,” he says, “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (vv. 2-3).
When John begins to describe this in chapter 21, the thing that impresses him most about Jerusalem is that God dwells there. He writes, “I saw the Holy City,” he says, “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (vv. 2-3).
It’s really not possible to come to this chapter at this point in the Bible, right at the end, without realizing that when John has this vision of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven, this is in contrast to practically all of the great themes preceding this that have to do with our normal, earthly expectations. Jerusalem is certainly contrasted with Babylon, which is mentioned just a few chapters before. Babylon stands for everything that is human in opposition to God.
A funeral service of the Book of Common Prayer is a very beautiful thing—both in its simplicity and in the wise way it uses Scripture. The Old Testament readings have to do with many of the psalms. There is the twenty-third as you can imagine, as well as the forty-sixth, which tells us that the Lord is our refuge and our strength.
The reason why you and I do not love is that we are not aware of love, and the reason we are not aware of love is that we do not think often enough of Jesus. As we learn how He loves us, we will learn to love Him and each other.
Whom do you think of when you read these verses? “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Do you know anyone like that?
The second section of the chapter deals with love’s nature. In the Greek language there are three main words for love. C.S. Lewis wrote a book in which he added another word, but generally speaking the common words for love are: eroo, from which we get our word “erotic”; phileo from which we get the word “philanthropic”; and agapao, which refers to the divine love. All three types of love are known to the biblical writers. But it is interesting that when the Bible writes about love, it uses only two of these words.
Paul teaches the importance of love by contrasts. He says that if he could speak with the tongues of men, or even angels, but without love, it would be nothing. Or prophecy: “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge” but if I do not have love, it is nothing. Or faith: “If I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” Finally, “If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
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