📖 Ufunuo — Somo la Kina — Sehemu ya 15: Mbingu Mpya na Nchi Mpya📖 Revelation Intensive — Unit 15: The New Heaven and the New Earth

Somo: Ufunuo wa Yohana 21-22Text: Revelation 21-22

Mbingu Mpya na Nchi MpyaA New Heaven and a New Earth

Maono ya mwisho ya kitabu hiki ndiyo mazuri kuliko yote. "Kisha nikaona mbingu mpya na nchi mpya; kwa maana mbingu za kwanza na nchi ya kwanza zimekwisha kupita" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:1). Uumbaji wote wa sasa utafanywa upya; hata jua linaloangaza ulimwengu huu linang'aa kwa kuchoma nishati yake, na siku moja ya mbali nishati hiyo itakwisha, lakini tumaini la muumini halitegemei uumbaji huu unaopita, kwa maana Mungu ameahidi mbingu mpya na nchi mpya ambazo hazitazeeka kamwe. Yohana anauona mji mtakatifu, Yerusalemu mpya, ukishuka kutoka mbinguni kwa Mungu, umewekwa tayari kama bibi-arusi aliyekwisha kupambwa kwa mumewe. Kisha sauti kuu inatangaza kiini cha yote: "Tazama, maskani ya Mungu i pamoja na wanadamu, naye atafanya maskani yake pamoja nao" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:3). Na ahadi ambayo imewafariji watu wa Mungu katika kila kizazi cha mateso inatamkwa: "Naye atafuta kila chozi katika macho yao; wala mauti haitakuwapo tena; wala maombolezo, wala kilio, wala maumivu hayatakuwapo tena; kwa kuwa mambo ya kwanza yamekwisha kupita" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:4). Mbinguni ni mahali pa furaha kamili, ambapo visababishi vya kila chozi — dhambi, ugonjwa, huzuni, kutengana, na mauti — vimeondolewa milele.The last vision of the book is its most beautiful. "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away" (Revelation 21:1). The whole of the present creation will be made new; even the sun that lights this world shines by burning its fuel, and one distant day that fuel will be spent, but the believer's hope does not rest on this passing creation, for God has promised a new heaven and a new earth that will never grow old. John sees the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then a loud voice declares the heart of it all: "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them" (Revelation 21:3). And the promise that has comforted the people of God in every age of suffering is spoken: "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away" (Revelation 21:4). Heaven is a place of perfect joy, where the causes of every tear — sin, sickness, sorrow, separation, and death — are gone forever.

Tazama, Nayafanya Yote Kuwa MapyaBehold, I Make All Things New

Kutoka kwenye kiti cha enzi, Yeye aketiye juu yake anasema: "Tazama, nayafanya yote kuwa mapya" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:5). Hafanyi tu vitu vipya; anayafanya yote kuwa mapya. Kisha anasema, "Imekwisha kuwa! Mimi ni Alfa na Omega, Mwanzo na Mwisho. Mimi nitampa yeye aonaye kiu, kutoka katika chemchemi ya maji ya uzima, bure" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:6). Kwa wote waliochoka na walio na kiu, toleo hili bado linasimama, kamili na la bure, kunywa maji ya uzima bila gharama. "Yeye ashindaye atayarithi haya, nami nitakuwa Mungu wake, naye atakuwa mwanangu" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:7). Lakini kifungu hicho hicho kinazungumza waziwazi juu ya hatima nyingine, kwa maana waoga, wasioamini, wachukizao, wauaji, wazinzi, wachawi, waabudu sanamu, na waongo wote, sehemu yao ni "katika lile ziwa liwakalo moto na kiberiti; hiyo ndiyo mauti ya pili" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:8). Uumbaji mpya ni kwa ajili ya wale waliomjia Mwana-Kondoo; ziwa la moto ni mwisho wa wale waliokataa kuja. Kwa hiyo hata katika tukio hili la utukufu mwito wa injili unasikika, kwamba yeyote mwenye kiu aweza kuja na kunywa na kuishi.From the throne, He who sits there speaks: "Behold, I make all things new" (Revelation 21:5). He does not merely make new things; He makes all things new. Then He says, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts" (Revelation 21:6). To all who are weary and dry, the offer still stands, full and free, to drink of the water of life without price. "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son" (Revelation 21:7). But the same passage speaks plainly of the other destiny, for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the abominable, murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars have their part "in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). The new creation is for those who have come to the Lamb; the lake of fire is the end of those who would not. So even in this scene of glory the call of the gospel is heard, that whoever thirsts may come and drink and live.

Bibi-Arusi, Yerusalemu MpyaThe Bride, the New Jerusalem

Mmoja wa wale malaika saba waliokuwa na vile vitasa sasa anamwonyesha Yohana bibi-arusi, mke wa Mwana-Kondoo. Inashangaza kwamba malaika wa aina ile ile aliyemwonyesha Babeli yule kahaba mkuu sasa anamwonyesha mji mtakatifu, kwa maana Yerusalemu mpya ni kila kitu ambacho Babeli haikuwa: safi pale Babeli ilipokuwa imeharibika, mwaminifu pale Babeli ilipokuwa ya uongo, wa milele pale Babeli imeanguka milele. Mji unashuka ukiwa na utukufu wa Mungu, nuru yake kama jiwe la thamani kuu la yaspi, safi kama bilauri. Una ukuta mkubwa mrefu wenye milango kumi na miwili, na juu ya milango majina ya kabila kumi na mbili za Israeli; na ukuta una misingi kumi na miwili, na juu yake majina ya mitume kumi na wawili wa Mwana-Kondoo, ukiunganisha majina ya kabila kumi na mbili za Israeli na mitume kumi na wawili wa Mwana-Kondoo, na kuuonyesha Yerusalemu mpya kwa namna inayojumuisha upana wote wa watu wa Mungu waliokombolewa. Mji umepangwa mraba, mchemraba mkubwa wa dhahabu safi kama kioo safi, ukuta wake wa yaspi, misingi yake kumi na miwili imepambwa kwa kila aina ya jiwe la thamani, milango yake kumi na miwili kila mmoja ni lulu moja, njia yake ni dhahabu safi. Picha hii ni ya mji wenye uzuri, thamani, na usalama usioweza kufikirika, makao ya milele ya waliokombolewa.One of the seven angels who had the bowls now shows John the bride, the Lamb's wife. It is striking that the same kind of angel who had shown him Babylon the great harlot now shows him the holy city, for the New Jerusalem is everything Babylon was not: pure where Babylon was corrupt, faithful where Babylon was false, eternal where Babylon has fallen forever. The city descends having the glory of God, her light like a precious jasper stone, clear as crystal. She has a great high wall with twelve gates, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; and the wall has twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, bringing together the names of Israel’s twelve tribes and the Lamb’s twelve apostles, portraying the New Jerusalem in terms that encompass the sweep of God’s redemptive people. The city is laid out foursquare, a vast cube of pure gold like clear glass, her wall of jasper, her twelve foundations adorned with every kind of precious stone, her twelve gates each a single pearl, her street pure gold. The picture is of a city of unimaginable beauty, value, and security, the everlasting home of the redeemed.

Mungu na Mwana-Kondoo Ndio Nuru YakeGod and the Lamb Are Its Light

Yohana anaona kile ambacho mji hauna, na kila kisichokuwepo ni utukufu. "Nami sikuona hekalu ndani yake; kwa maana Bwana Mungu Mwenyezi, na Mwana-Kondoo, ndio hekalu lake" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:22); hakuna haja ya mahali patakatifu ili kumkaribia Mungu, kwa maana Mungu mwenyewe yupo katikati ya watu wake. Na mji ule "hauhitaji jua wala mwezi kuuangazia; kwa maana utukufu wa Mungu huuangaza, na taa yake ni Mwana-Kondoo" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:23). Mataifa ya waliookolewa yanatembea katika nuru yake, na wafalme wa dunia wanaleta utukufu wao ndani yake. Milango yake haifungwi kamwe, kwa maana hakuna usiku huko wala adui wa kuogopwa. Na hakitaingia ndani yake kitu kilicho najisi, wala mtu afanyaye machukizo na uongo, "ila wale walioandikwa katika kitabu cha uzima cha Mwana-Kondoo" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 21:27). Swali lile moja la kiti kikubwa cheupe cha enzi linarudi hapa katika mji wa furaha: iwapo jina limeandikwa katika kitabu cha Mwana-Kondoo. Wale walio wake wanaingia kwa milango iliyo wazi na kukaa milele katika nuru ya Mungu.John notices what the city does not have, and each absence is a glory. "I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple" (Revelation 21:22); there is no need of a holy place to draw near to God, for God Himself is there in the midst of His people. And the city "had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it, and the Lamb is its light" (Revelation 21:23). The nations of the saved walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it. Its gates are never shut, for there is no night there and no enemy to fear. And nothing unclean, nor anyone who works abomination or a lie, will ever enter it, "but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life" (Revelation 21:27). The one question of the great white throne returns here in the city of joy: whether a name is written in the Lamb's book. Those who are His enter the open gates and dwell forever in the light of God.

Mto na Mti wa UzimaThe River and the Tree of Life

Katikati ya mji Yohana anaona mto safi wa maji ya uzima, wenye kung'aa kama bilauri, ukitoka katika kiti cha enzi cha Mungu na cha Mwana-Kondoo, na mti wa uzima upande huu na upande huu, uzaao matunda kumi na mawili, ukitoa matunda yake kila mwezi, "na majani ya mti ule ni ya kuwaponya mataifa" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:2). Kile kilichopotea katika bustani ya Edeni kinarejeshwa na kupitwa, kwa maana "wala hapatakuwa na laana yo yote tena" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:3). Watumwa wa Mungu watamtumikia na kuuona uso wake, na jina lake litakuwa katika vipaji vya nyuso zao, nao watatawala milele na milele. Hili ndilo tumaini la kweli la muumini, nalo linafikia hata mwili, kwa maana mwili wa ufufuo utakuwa kama mwili wa Kristo aliyefufuka, ambaye bado alikuwa na alama za msalaba lakini aliweza kuingia chumba kilichofungwa, halisi na anayetambulika, aliyebadilishwa na mwenye utukufu, asiyekuwa tena chini ya udhaifu, maumivu, wala mauti. Kuna habari ya kweli ya kijana mmoja aliyekuwa akifa kwa ugonjwa usiotibika. Mchungaji wake alikuja kumtembelea, na walipokuwa wameketi wakizungumza kijana huyo alianza kulia. Mchungaji alitoa leso yake na kwa upole akayafuta machozi, kwanza katika jicho moja kisha katika jingine. Kijana alitabasamu na kusema kwamba wakati ujao machozi yake yatakapofutwa, yatafutwa kwa mkono wa Baba yake wa mbinguni. Hiyo ndiyo ahadi ya sura hizi ikifanywa kuwa ya binafsi.In the midst of the city John sees a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and the tree of life on either side, bearing twelve fruits and yielding its fruit every month, "and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations" (Revelation 22:2). What was lost in the garden of Eden is restored and surpassed, for "there shall be no more curse" (Revelation 22:3). The servants of God will serve Him and see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads, and they will reign forever and ever. This is the believer's true hope, and it reaches even to the body, for the resurrection body will be like the body of the risen Christ, who still bore the marks of the cross yet could enter a closed room, real and recognizable, transformed and glorious, no longer subject to weakness, pain, or death. There is a true account of a young man dying of a terminal illness. His pastor came to visit, and as the two sat talking the young man began to weep. The pastor took out his handkerchief and gently wiped the tears, first from one eye and then from the other. The young man smiled and said that the next time his tears were wiped away, they would be wiped away by the hand of his heavenly Father. That is the promise of these chapters made personal.

Tazama, Naja UpesiBehold, I Am Coming Quickly

Kitabu kinapokaribia mwisho wake, maneno yake yanatiwa muhuri kwa uhakikisho mzito: "Maneno haya ni amini, na ya kweli" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:6). Mara tatu katika sura hii Bwana anasema, "Tazama, naja upesi" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:7, 12, 20), na baraka inatamkwa juu ya yeye ayashikaye maneno ya unabii wa kitabu hiki. Yohana anapoanguka tena ili amsujudie malaika, anakatazwa tena na kuambiwa, "Msujudie Mungu" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:9). Tumaini la kurudi kwa Bwana limewaimarisha watu wake hata katika mauti yenyewe. Kuna habari ya kweli ya mzee mmoja ambaye mkewe wa miaka hamsini na saba alikuwa amefariki; aliposimama kando ya jeneza lake na kuulizwa kama alitaka kumuaga, alijibu, "Hii si kwaheri; nitamwona tena." Baada ya muongo mrefu wa upweke naye pia alifariki, akiwa na umri wa miaka tisini na miwili, akitamani kumkumbatia tena, na katika mazishi yake ujumbe ulikuwa tumaini la mbinguni. Tumaini kama hilo ndilo sababu kitabu kinamalizika kwa mwaliko ulio wazi: "Na Roho na Bibi-arusi wasema, Njoo! Naye asikiaye na aseme, Njoo! Naye mwenye kiu na aje; na yeye atakaye, na ayatwae maji ya uzima bure" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:17). Yesu anajiita "Shina na Mzao wa Daudi, ile Nyota yenye kung'aa ya asubuhi" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:16).As the book draws to its close, the words are sealed with a solemn assurance: "These words are faithful and true" (Revelation 22:6). Three times in this chapter the Lord says, "Behold, I am coming quickly" (Revelation 22:7, 12, 20), and a blessing is pronounced on the one who keeps the words of this prophecy. When John once more falls down to worship the angel, he is again forbidden and told, "Worship God" (Revelation 22:9). The hope of the Lord's return has steadied His people in death itself. There is a true account of a man whose wife of fifty-seven years had died; as he stood at her casket and was asked whether he wished to say goodbye, he answered, "This is not goodbye; I will be seeing her again." After a long decade alone he too died, at the age of ninety-two, longing to hold her once more, and at his funeral the message was the hope of heaven. Such hope is why the book ends with an open invitation: "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Revelation 22:17). Jesus calls Himself "the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star" (Revelation 22:16).

Amina; na Uje, Bwana YesuEven So, Come, Lord Jesus

Kitabu kinafungwa kwa onyo la kutoongeza wala kupunguza maneno ya unabii wake, kisha kwa mazungumzo ya mwisho kabisa. Bwana anasema, "Naam; naja upesi," na kanisa linajibu kutoka moyoni, "Amina; na uje, Bwana Yesu" (Ufunuo wa Yohana 22:20). Hivyo kitabu cha Ufunuo kinamalizika si kwa hofu bali kwa tumaini. Miji miwili imewekwa mbele ya msomaji, Babeli yule kahaba, aliyeanguka milele, na Yerusalemu mpya yule bibi-arusi, anayeng'aa milele, na kitabu chote kinauliza nafsi ni ya mji upi. Kinaliita kanisa kuvumilia katika dhiki, kukataa chapa ya mnyama, kushika imani ya Yesu, na kutamani kurudi kwa Mwana-Kondoo. Kwa wale walio wake, siku inakuja ambapo mwili uliochoka na kuvunjika utabadilishwa kwa mwili wenye utukufu na uhuru, ambapo Mungu mwenyewe atafuta kila chozi, ambapo laana itaondolewa na mauti hayatakuwapo tena, na ambapo waliokombolewa watauona uso wake na kutawala pamoja naye milele. Kwa muumini anayeomboleza kitabu hiki kinasema kwamba kuachana kaburini si kwaheri bali ni usiku mwema, na kwamba wakati ujao machozi yatakapofutwa, yatafutwa kwa mkono wa upendo wa Baba wa mbinguni. "Amina; na uje, Bwana Yesu."The book closes with a warning not to add to or take away from the words of its prophecy, and then with the last exchange of all. The Lord says, "Surely I am coming quickly," and the church answers from the heart, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). So the Revelation ends not in fear but in hope. The two cities have been set before the reader, Babylon the harlot, fallen forever, and the New Jerusalem the bride, radiant forever, and the whole book asks to which city a soul belongs. It calls the church to endure through tribulation, to refuse the mark of the beast, to keep the faith of Jesus, and to long for the Lamb's return. For those who are His, the day is coming when the tired and broken body will be exchanged for one that is glorious and free, when God Himself will wipe away every tear, when the curse will be gone and death will be no more, and when the redeemed will see His face and reign with Him forever. To the grieving believer this book says that parting at the grave is not goodbye but good night, and that the next time tears are wiped away, it will be by the loving hand of the heavenly Father. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

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