Charles Stanley (August-21-2021) Daily Devotional: Our Heavenly Home
Revelation 21:22-27 – 22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
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Revelation 22:1-6 – 1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever. 6 And he said to me, These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must soon take place.
Have you ever come home after traveling and experienced a feeling of security and delight? There’s often a reassuring sense of comfort upon opening the door to familiar things and the awareness of being where you belong.
The apostle John was given glimpses of our future home, the new Jerusalem. You may be surprised to know that there were no church buildings in John’s vision, “for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22). No longer will denominations divide up the body of Christ. Nor will the sun or moon shine on the city in that day, “for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23). Imagine—no need for electricity.
Another feature of our future home is that its gates will always be open. Since sin won’t be a factor, locks will not be necessary. In fact, nothing tainted will ever enter that future residence—not even death or decay. The abundant life we look forward to in Christ will be pure and unmarred.
That feeling you have when you open your front door is but a hint of what we’ll feel upon arriving at the heavenly place our Father has prepared for us. All will be restored, and we’ll at last truly be home.
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