Summary:
Based on the description of the holy city and the city of Babylon in Revelation, teachings applicable to our lives today are drawn. Some examples:

• God’s servants shall have His name on their foreheads: Are others able to see that we belong to the Lord just by looking at us?
• The city of Babylon was beautiful: Will we also be enamoured with the world, or are we able to continue to hold on to our faith right to the very end?
• God cried out, “My people come out from her!” : God wants to be our Father. Are we willing to be children of God, to obey His words?

Rev 22:1-5 tells us about the New Jerusalem.

Rev 22:1
‘And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb’

In this new Jerusalem, there is a pure river of water of life. This is the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus said clearly in Jn 7:38,

“He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Jesus spoke these words concerning those who would receive the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told the disciples that a few days from now, they would be baptised by the Holy Spirit. Ten days after the Lord ascended, during the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples. They spoke in tongues, in an unknown language to men. This shows that being baptised by the Spirit is to receive the Holy Spirit from the Lord and to speak a tongue unknown to men.

But why is it that there are people who are not obedient to the Lord and do not receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit? The new Jerusalem, which is the holy city of God, has the abidance of the Holy Spirit. Many Christian denominations claim they have the Holy Spirit but they do not ask their believers to be baptised by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit abides with us and we must be baptised by the Spirit. Just like the church during the apostolic times.

This verse also tells us that the river proceeds from the throne of God and from the Lamb. Do we pray to God or do we pray to the lamb for the Holy Spirit? For those who believe in the concept of trinity, this is a question they want to answer: Do they pray to the Father or to Jesus for the Holy Spirit? But for all of us who believe in the one true God, we do not have this problem. There is no difference whether you pray to the Father or to Jesus, because Jesus IS our Heavenly Father.

Jn 10:30
‘I and My Father are one.’

When Phillip said to the Lord, ‘show us the Father and we will be satisfied’, Jesus answered, ‘You who have seen me have seen the Father. Why do you ask me to show you the father?’ The Lord Jesus is our Heavenly Father. Therefore the throne of God is one throne.

Rev 22:2
‘In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.’

On either side of the river of life, there was the tree of life which bore twelve fruits. For us as believers, not only should we be baptised by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of us entering the kingdom of God. More importantly, the Holy Spirit helps us bear fruit of the Holy Spirit. The verse records not just one, but twelve fruits. This shows that we must have complete and perfect, abundant fruits.
Therefore Peter in 2 Pet 1:5-7 says,
‘But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.’

He tells us repeatedly, that if we abide in all these, we will be fruitful. More importantly, v11 tells us,
‘for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’

The entrance will be supplied to us everlasting! In Revelation, this tree of life bears fruit monthly. But some of our believers do not bear fruit monthly. To some extent, they don’t bear fruit for many years. If this is the case, our Master will be disappointed. He comes to this tree and finds no fruit. If this is the case, our Master will be disappointed and will say, It has been three years, I’ve come to this fig tree to seek fruit but I have found not; cut it down, why should it waste this ground? But the keeper of the vineyard says to the master, leave it for one year. If it bears fruit, good but if not, we cut it down.

The Lord Jesus reminds us that we need to rely on the Holy Spirit to bear fruit of the Holy Spirit. We should not assume that as long as we have the Holy Spirit, then that’s enough. If we truly have faith, we should bear fruits of faith. If we have the Holy Spirit, bear fruit of the Spirit.

Moreover, the leaves of this tree were healing to the nations. The fruit represents life inside. The leaves represent what is outside, the conduct we have that people can see. The good conduct of Christians brings help and healing to others. Just like what Peter says, ‘wives be submissive to your husbands, that your unbelieving husband may be won over by your good conduct’.

Rev 22:3
‘And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.’

In the new holy city Jerusalem, there will be no more curse. Under the old heavens and earth, death is the curse of man. But in the new heavens and earth, there shall be no more curse. No more death. There will no more be an Adam who sins against God. The people dwelling in the new Jerusalem are victors. His servants shall serve Him, and shall see His face. Not only will we be seeing the Lord face to face in the future, under the old heavens and earth when we serve the Lord, we must also be seeing God. If we do not see God’s face, and only see the face of men, then we will have many issues because we look at the expressions of men. We esteem some, and despise others. We do not fear some, yet we fear others. This is because we see the face of men and not at the face of God. Hence many problems arise between men. In our service to God, what is most important is that we must see God. Then we will set our heart wholeheartedly, work and serve in accordance to His work. We will bring God’s favour on us and also be able to help the church.

Rev 22:4
‘They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.’

His name shall be on their foreheads. Those who are victors will have the name of the Lord on their foreheads. They have the image of the Lord just like the Lord Jesus. His name being written on their foreheads means that once you look at it you will recognise it. Everyone is able to look at him and acknowledge that he belongs to the Lord because of what he does. On the contrary, if the name is written on the palms, unless you open your palm, no one can see.
Is the name of the Lord written on our foreheads or our palms? Are others able to see that we belong to the Lord just by looking at us?

Rev 22:5
‘There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.’

In the holy city there is no need for lamps. Light from the lamp is manmade. Light from the sun is the light of the earth. Although these lights are bright, their brightness is temporary. At the end, they will lose their shine. Ultimately, even the sun and moon will not give forth light. What we need most is for the light of God to shine upon us, because that light shines forever.

We must truly consider - in our lives, what type of light do we require the most? Is it merely the light of the earth that shines upon us outwardly, but fails to shine inside of us? If that is the case, then inwardly, there will be darkness. We need the light of God so that even our insides will be illuminated.

“They shall reign forever and ever.”

Remember what the Lord said to the church in Laodicea. “Those who overcome, I will give to them the throne. Just like I have overcome and am sitting on the throne with the father.”

In our life of faith, we need to live a life of victory. After we have been baptised, we are those who have been saved. But if in our life of faith, we are unable to overcome these tribulations and temptations, then we will lose our life. We have to be vigilant, watchful and preserve ourselves. We have been saved but we need to be victorious as well. Only then we can reign forever in the new Jerusalem and holy city.

These are the contents of the New Jerusalem and the Holy City.

The other city in Revelation is the great Babylon.

Rev 18:1-2, 21
1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore.

This large city Babylon refers to this world. God has already appointed the day where He will destroy this great Babylon. Nobody knows when this day is. So if someone tells you when the world is ending, you do not believe them. There are some who call themselves prophets, who say that this world will be forever, and will not be destroyed. They also cite biblical verses to support their claim. Indeed, in the Old Testament there are a few places that say the earth endures forever. But the Lord has already proclaimed this judgement. “The heavens and earth will pass away, but My word will not pass away. Like the days of Noah so will be the coming of the son of man.”

So we have to listen to the word of the Lord and not of man. Revelation tells us clearly that this great city of Babylon has fallen. It is like this great millstone thrown into the sea never to be seen anymore. If we believe this Babylon will be destroyed one day, should we still pursue the things of this world?

Both Abraham and Lot saw the beauty of Sodom. Lot chose to pitch his tent closer and closer to Sodom. But Abraham chose to live a life dwelling in tents. Why did he choose to live a life of a sojourner and not live a life in a more permanent city? Perhaps when we are young, we have our ideals and we try to make it outside, but when we grow older, many choose to live peacefully. Perhaps that is what Lot was thinking. It is not that he had not given up the world before. It is not as if he had not lived a life of a sojourner. For the sake of his faith, he had also suffered.

But it is a pity that he was not able to hold on to the end. He chose instead to live in the city of Sodom. His faith had changed. He no longer believed in the Promised Land of God. He chose instead this great city which he could see.

The faith of Lot and Abraham is also reflective of our faith today. How many of us have already gone the way of Lot? How many continue to hold on like Abraham? Abraham continued to hold on to his faith unchanging because he believed that God was unchanging. Regardless of how the people and environment changed, his faith in God remained unchanged.

Sometimes we are affected by the people and environment around us. Such is our test. Under such circumstances, are we able to continue to hold on to our faith right to the very end? It is good if we have chosen to walk on the right path, but what good is it if we do not reach the destination?

This great Babylon “has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird”.

Though it mentions this, Babylon still was glorious and beautiful! If you continue reading, it has a lot of luxury, abundance and riches. But Revelation tell us that this great Babylon is the dwelling place of demons and every foul spirit. Isn’t this created by God? Our children’s songs tell us this world is created by God. Didn’t God give the authority to rule over this world to Adam and Eve? But it is a pity that when Adam and Eve sinned, the world was given to the hands of the devil.

Lk 4:5-7
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.
7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

The devil said to Jesus, “All this authority has been delivered to me. I give it to whomever I wish. If you worship me all will be Yours.” Jesus didn’t deny what the devil said. So who had delivered this authority to the devil? And why was it delivered to the devil? Let’s not misunderstand that God delivered this world into the hands of the devil. It was Adam who had delivered to the devil the authority God had given him to rule over this world. Because Adam submitted to the devil. You are a slave to whoever you submit yourself to. Adam submitted himself to the devil so became a slave to him.

John says we belong to God, but this world is in the hands of the evil one. Therefore the Lord Jesus called the devil the lord of this world. It is not that Jesus had made him lord of the world. But man had submitted himself to the devil.

The other reason is that the sins of man reached the heavens.

Rev 18:4-5
‘And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.’

What is the biggest reason for man’s sin? Some say that the love of money is the root of all evil. But actually it is pride that is the root of all evil. Some say that the biggest evil is to commit fornication. But pride is the biggest evil. The first to sin were the angels. The bible tells us that the angels sinned because they did not keep their own domain and wanted to be in the same position as God. In this world, the first to sin were Adam and Eve and they also sinned because of pride. They wanted to be like God.

Therefore, Proverbs tells us of seven things God hates, and pride is the first. When pride comes, shame follows. Pride is before all destruction. There are many types of strife in our daily lives. We strive for a name, to have a say, to keep our face. We strive at home, at work, even in church. All of this striving results from pride in our hearts. Man is not willing to surrender and give in. Man is unwilling to admit their mistakes. Man is unwilling to listen and heed the warnings of others. This all leads to more quarrels and strife.

Therefore we must learn from our Lord. If we are gentle and meek, we truly are blessed. Not only will we have peace and joy from God, we are also able to bring this peace and joy to the people around us. Let us heed the words of God. Let us not continue to sin against Him.

Rev 18:4
‘And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’

God cried out, “my people come out from her”. Some say that the words of God are too difficult to listen to and do not want to hear his words. But the reality is that the word of God is only spoken to his children.

“‘My people”
If we want to be God’s people, no matter how difficult it is to keep the word of God, we will want to keep the word of God through the help of the Holy Spirit. God will not make things difficult for us. This path of salvation He has made it plain for us to understand and walk in it. If it is difficult, then it is our lusts and flesh that prevent us from walking in it. That’s why God wants us to guard our hearts and take away this propensity to sin against Him. Let us obey the word of the Lord. Just like what Paul says in 2 Cor 6:14-18,

14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
“I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.”
17 Therefore
“Come out from among them
And be separate, says the Lord.
Do not touch what is unclean,
And I will receive you.” 18 “I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.”

God wants to be our Father - this is absolute. But is it absolute as well that we want to be His children? After we are baptised we are all children of the Lord. But how many, after baptism, do not want to be His children? Just like Adam is the son of God, but later, Adam didn’t continue to be a son of God because he disobeyed and submitted himself to the devil. God no longer was his father. God chased him out of the garden. He no longer was the child of God because he was unwilling to be a child of God. He gave up his right to continue to stay in the garden. This reminds us that God has saved us into the heavenly kingdom and has purchased us with his blood. Will we let him down for his precious blood by continuing to sin against Him?

Very importantly, let us make a resolution to be His children for the rest of our life. Some refuse to be called a son or daughter of their parents. Some decide to leave home and no longer return to their homes. Although some do not leave home, they seem to be a stranger at home. A prodigal son can also be staying at home. They are their parents’ child but are they truly children of their parents?

Today are we truly the children of God? Let us pray that God strengthen us, that we may be a child of God forever. One day, this great Babylon will be destroyed.

Will we be in the new heavens, in the new Jerusalem, or will we share in the same destruction as the great Babylon?