Topic: The Lamb is the Light of Jerusalem
Revelation 21:10; Revelation 21:22-22:5, Matthew 5:14-16
This is part of John’s vision of the holy city (Revelation 21:2), “that great city, New Jerusalem” (Revelation 21:10). New Jerusalem is so vast that John had to be placed on “a great and high mountain” in order to see it. Ezekiel had a similar experience (Ezekiel 40:2).
New Jerusalem descends out of heaven from God (Revelation 21:10). The dimensions of the city are magnificent and its beauty almost beyond comprehension. Unlike old Jerusalem, there is no need for a temple because the ultimate sacrifice has been made in the Person of the resurrected Lamb (Revelation 21:22). The cubed shape city is itself the dwelling place of the Lord God Almighty, and here God Himself sets His tabernacle with men (Revelation 21:3).
The Lamb is ranked beside the Lord God Almighty as the Temple and the Light in the city of New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22-23).
It is not just that God pitches His tent among our tents, but rather that His presence permeates all. There is no longer any need of sun or moon (Revelation 21:23)—the two “great lights” which He created “to rule over the day and over the night” (Genesis 1:16). Instead, the glory of God—“who is light and in whom is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5)—enlightens the city and “the Lamb is the light.”
Where is the Light now? Jesus told his disciples they are the light of the world (Mathew 5:14-16). A light bulb is never to be congratulated on its ability to shine! It bears some responsibility of course. It may fail to give expression to the electricity to which it is connected, but the visible light that emanates from the bulb has its origin in the electrical source. Take the same bulb and detach it from the electrical supply and there may be nothing wrong with the bulb in itself, but it is completely incapable of shining. Trying to shine by imitating other light bulbs will not help. It will only shine by deriving its light from another source. Whether it is the light that comes from the wick in an oil lamp or a wick in a candle, the consistency of light does not come from the wick itself. Left to its own resources, the wick would burn itself out very quickly. Its constancy comes from the oil or the wax from which it derives its energy. There is only one possibility of being ‘the light of the world”, and that is through a relationship with Jesus Christ which allows Him to be in us, what He was Himself, here on earth.
Let the Lamb shine through you today!
See you Sunday,
Dr. Scott Kallem