Everything is new. God made everything completely and proclaimed, "It was very good." Genesis 1:31. After sin entered the earth, He had to deal with it. Jesus' work of salvation, judgment, and re-creation occurs in stages. His work is finished at each stage, except for the final stage, when everything is remade.
Peter also depicted the end of the old earth of sin and the creation of "a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness"
2 Peter 3:13 - “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
Revelation 21 Verse 1 to 8
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
In ancient Jerusalem, God could demonstrate His presence to His people through the Temple (1 Kings 8:10–11; 2 Chronicles 5:13–14; 7:2–3).
The city was defined as "holy" (Daniel 9:24), but over time, the spiritual degeneration of God's people became so severe that Jesus declared the Temple a "den of thieves" (Matthew 21:13) and predicted the city's destruction (Luke 21:20).
Now God promises a new kind of Jerusalem, which John describes as the “new Jerusalem.”
Death, hospitalizations, and diseases will no longer be a problem. On the new Earth, there will be no crime. “Murderers . . . liars” and the like “shall in no wise enter into it,” neither anything that defiles (Revelation 21:8, 27).
The power of the Holy Spirit enables the Christian to live a life that is both triumphant and happy. Although he may be prone to making mistakes (1 John 2:1), his everyday life demonstrates a significant amount of spiritual development.
Revelation 21 verse 9 to 21
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
According to verses 12–14 and 19–21, the city had twelve foundations made of precious stones and twelve gates made of pearls. The foundations bore the names of the apostles and the twelve tribes. The angel that measured the size of the city. The measurements speak of multiples of 12.
Both the Old and New Testaments use the number twelve to symbolize God's people:
God selected the 144 thousand people from the twelve tribes of spiritual Israel, granting them access to the city through its gates (Revelation 7:4, 15).
Jesus is the cornerstone of the church that God established in the New Testament, while the apostles served as the church's foundation (Ephesians 2:19–20).
The High Priest's breastplate was foursquare and included 12 gold-set stones with the names of each tribe etched on it (Exodus 28:15–21).
A cubit is approximately 18 inches, which means that the wall is approximately 216 feet high (Revelation 21:17). As a result, the city is a solid cube of golden construction, measuring 1,500 miles in all directions. That would be the height of a 20-story tower, plus a little. And this only includes the wall that surrounds the city.
The new Jerusalem is a real and literal city “whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:10).
•Jasper, an opaque form of Chalcedony, is typically linked with brown, yellow, or reddish tones.
•Sapphire - Azure or sky blue color. It is translucent and quite hard.
•Chalcedony - A misty grey color flecked with blue, yellow, or purple.
•Emerald - A vivid green stone without any mixing, one of the most attractive of all gems.
•Sardonyx - Made out of sardian and onyx stone, it resembles a man's nail, hence the name. It is reddish, almost white.
•Sardius - The same as the blood-colored sardine stone, also known as cornelian.
•Chrysolyte means "golden stone." - It is a deep green with a hint of yellow. It is a species of topaz.
•Beryl - Beryl is a very hard mineral with a green or bluish-green tint.
•Topaz - Topaz is an extremely hard and translucent stone named after "Topazos," a small island in the Arabian Gulf. It is usually yellowish and translucent, but it can also be greenish, bluish, or brownish.
•Chrysoprasus - Its name is derived from chrusos, "gold," and lithos, "stone" and means "golden stone." The ancients used the word to describe all jewels that were golden or yellow. It is supposed to be predominantly green and occasionally transparent. This is a "modern" chrysolite. The ancients believed the word to refer to a "yellow" stone.
•Jacinth - A purple or violet-colored stone, thus the name. However, contemporary terminology refers to a bright reddish golden color similar to a flame.
•Amethyst - A violet-colored stone that borders on purple.
Revelation 21 verse 22 to 27
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
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.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The earthly sanctuary symbolized God's dwelling place. Adam and Eve's sin led to their expulsion from Eden and God's presence. When sin is abolished, the church will be able to return to His presence, and no edifice will be required to represent God's abode.
We will walk in God’s glory (light) shining from the Lamb (verses 24-27), and hence darkness (night) will not exist. Through all the eternal ages, we will walk in the light of the Lamb and grow and develop more and more into the likeness of God as the light of His character dawns on us as eternity rolls on.