1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.

— Revelation 21:1-2

25 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

26 And the inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

27 And they crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left.

28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”]

— Mark 15:25-28

11 Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.

12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

13 So, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach

— Hebrews 13 :11-13

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

In Revelation 21 we see along with the New Heaven and the New earth, a “Holy City, the new Jerusalem” descending from heaven as the centerpiece of God’s new creation. John saw the city “prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Chapter 19 speaks of the wedding of the Lamb, who sacrificed to make His bride-His people-ready. In Chapter 21, the bride is the Holy City-the community of the Lord’s people, the Church.

God dwells with His redeemed people, who enjoy a perfect relationship with Him and with one another. Thus, the new Jerusalem incorporates both God’s people and a place. Jerusalem, the treasured city where Jesus was accused, condemned, and taken outside its walls to die, becomes a renewed earthly city where those for whom He died will live forever.