(The following is the December 29 devotional from my Next Step Devotions book. Before reading it, I suggest you read Revelation 21 and pay close attention to verses 9-27.)

When God makes all things new, we’ll experience what John describes as the new Jerusalem that comes “down out of heaven from God, arrayed with God’s glory” (vv. 10-11). He describes the walls, gates, and dimensions of the city. “The twelve gates are twelve pearls; each individual gate was made of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass” (v. 21).

The surroundings are not the highlight of the chapter, though, since God himself is present. “I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it” (vv. 22-26).

Our present earthly life depends on Earth’s distance from the sun. With the slightest variation, we would either burn up or freeze. God knew what he was doing when he aligned the sun, moon, and planets as he did. But a day is coming when the new Jerusalem will need no sun or moon because the glory of God will be more than enough to illuminate it at all times forever. We won’t require buildings to worship God together because “the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”

When God created our world, he declared it very good (Gen. 1:31). Even marred by sin and the effects of the fall, our world is remarkable and glorifies God by its existence. But as wonderful as this world is, a better one is coming. It won’t circle the sun but will have the Son at its center. It will literally be Heaven on Earth.

Next Step:
What is the most beautiful architecture you’ve seen? Imagine how it will pale compared to the new Jerusalem described in Revelation 21.