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NCE every condemned soul and spirit has been locked away securely (Revelation 21:8), then eternity for the redeemed will begin (Revelation 20:1 & 3-7). Forever and ever, the saints and angels will commune together in God's holy presence (Revelation 22:5). The dominating feature of our eternal future will be the place we commonly call heaven. John called it "New Jerusalem." Let's look at the description John presents for us.
The greatest characteristic of our eternal home will be the pleasure of basking in God's full presence (Revelation 21:3, 7 & 22). Connected to that will be the absence of sin and temptation - "God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes; and there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
Now, there will be both a new heaven and a new earth (Genesis 1:1 & Revelation 21:1 & 5). We should take this to mean a new universe; one untouched by sin and untainted by temptation (Revelation 22:3). And the new Jerusalem will evidently be inhabited by the church (Revelation 21:9). The new earth then will be filled with the saints from every other age, including millennium saints who will have escaped death altogether (Revelation 21:24 & 26-27 & 22:2). The significance of Israel in the new earth must not be overlooked either, because there has to be an ultimate fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham and of the words of Christ from Matthew 5:5.
Notice that the new Jerusalem is presented by John as a mountain with a square base (Revelation 21:10 & 16). We might do well to envision a gigantic pyramid so big that if it were to descend from the sky and land on Nebraska, it would cover most of the United States. This city will also be as tall as it is wide and deep: 1,500 miles! John's words in Revelation 21:11 make it sound like the whole city appears to be built out of clear crystal, but actually, there are many fine and pure substances that will be used in its construction.
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