John having seen, back in Revelation
21, holy Jerusalem. The thing that makes this wonderful
is that the Lord is revealing in this vision through His messenger
the way that the bride really is. Verse 12, John saw, and it says
concerning the great city, and had a wall great and and had
twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written
thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children
of Israel. And on the east three gates,
on the north three gates, on the south three gates, on the
west three gates. And the wall of the city had
twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb." Now, there is no doubt that what John is seeing
is symbolic. He is seeing this as a vision,
but it is an accurate vision, setting forth and describing
exactly the way that the bride really is. The Scripture said she had a
wall, great and high. Now, there is
no doubt that we can see the glorious of the Lord Jesus Christ,
not only as she is revealed here, but as she is right now, the Bride having been given a
new heart, a new creation, a new life. The life, the creation,
the new heart, the new mind, the new man, the rebirth, that
is possessed by the believer right now is the life that you
will go through eternity with. That new creation created in
Christ Jesus, the only difference will be this
old man is going to be put off, the body of this death. Paul
says, ìWho shall separate me from the body of this death. John said concerning her, she
had a wall great and high. Now, when we began this study,
the thing that I think we all agreed upon was this. There is
so much speculation about the book of Revelation. People say,
well, I think it's this, and I think it's... And I'll be the
first to admit, there are some areas that I just... I'll tell
you. I'll tell you what I believe
this is. But my prayer, my point, my striving
after, is to not just take some speculation, but let's go to
the Scriptures and find out what does the Word of God say about
this. and look and search and ask and pray, Lord, would you
teach us? Now, this Scripture says that
she had a great wall high. What is this wall? What is this? Well, turn to Isaiah 26. Let's
just find out. What does the Word of God say
about this? She had a wall about her. What
does the wall symbolize? What does it set forth? Isaiah chapter 26, verse 1, says,
ìIn that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah. We have a strong city. Salvation
will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.î What does the Scripture
say that the city that John saw? that had great walls about it.
What are the walls? Well, Isaiah says, under the
inspiration of the Spirit of God, that sets forth her salvation. He is our salvation. Jesus, the Savior, thou shalt
call His name Jesus. Why? He shall save His people
from their sins. Salvation. He is The wall. He is the wall. You say, well,
salvation is the wall. Christ is salvation. He is the
resurrection. He is the life. He is the light. He is the Lord. He is the Master. He is salvation. He is God's salvation. He has been set forth, marked,
to be the Savior, the Defender, the Protector of His Bride, the
City in this life and in the life to come. She stands in Him. Look at Job chapter 1. Turn to
Job. The best way to prove Scripture
is by Scripture. Someone told Brother Henry one
time, came up to him and said, ìIíve got a question about so
and so.î He said, ìWell, letís just Let's just take the Word
of God and find out. This woman, it was a woman, Henry
was saying, she said, well, I'm not interested in what that says.
I want to know what you say. Well, he said, well, if we're
not going to talk about this, I don't have anything to say.
How am I going to prove anything? The Lord Jesus Christ, the Defender,
Protector of His Bride in this life, He is her presence now
and forever. Job chapter 1. It says in verse
6, ìThere was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves
before the Lord, and Satan came also among them. And the Lord
said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the
Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from
walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Hath thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like
him in the earth, a perfect upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord,
and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? Has not thou made an
hedge about him, about his house, about all that he hath on every
side? Thou hast blessed the work of
his hands, and his substance is increased in the land." Who
is the hedge? Do you think that there was a
kind of a hedge, a physical hedge around Job and his land? No.
The Lord is Job's hedge. The Lord is the hedge. of His
people. He is the wall. 2 Samuel 22 says,
The Lord is my rock and my fortress, my castle and my deliverer. John looked and he saw this great
city and she had a wall about her. Christ Himself is truly
the wall of our salvation. Why can Satan not get to God's
people? They have a wall. They can't get in. He can't get
there. We are lively stones built upon
Christ, the foundation of the spiritual house. So John says
he looked and he had a great wall, great and high, and had
twelve gates. Twelve gates. Well, turn to Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 60. Isaiah 60. We'll do a little turning, but
I'll tell you this. When you look at it, when your
eyes look upon Scripture, you can say this. Well, that's what
it means. It wasn't something Marvin just
made up, you know. I want you to look at it. It
had twelve gates. What are the twelve gates? Well,
Isaiah chapter 60. Verse 18, Isaiah 60, 18, ìViolence
shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting or destruction
within thy borders, but thou shalt call thy walls salvation,
and thy gates praise.î John saw the city, the great city. And the walls that he saw set
forth the salvation of God's people, the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. What were the gates that John
saw? Well, Isaiah said that they were praise, praise, violence. He says, ìWrong, false, unrighteousness
shall no more be heard in thy land.î Why? Well, the Scripture
says, ìRighteousness dwells therein.î The walls, the salvation, the
saved, the delivered. And she had gates about her.
What were they? Praise. Praise. Thanksgiving. Psalm 100 verse
4 says, Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him, and bless
His name. What is the praise? of God's
people. Let me ask you this. Who is the
praise of God's people? Is it the verbalization of that,
you know, the speaking forth? It's out of the abundance of
their heart. Their mouth speaks great thanksgivings unto Him
who is worthy of their praise. We are permitted by the mercy
and grace of God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
To enter into His holy place, into His presence and acceptance,
Hebrews 10, 19 says, having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Christ. We enter in with praise and thank-giving
for Him who is the absolute mercy and grace of God bestowed upon
God's people. These twelve gates, I'm going
to deal with why does it say twelve? Why are there twelve
of them? In a few minutes it talks about
twelve foundations. Why twelve? Let's just take it
one word at a time. Let's just look at it. She's
got walls that are the salvation, that is the salvation. He is
the salvation. It had gates. I know it had twelve.
We'll look at that in a second. But the gates says that there's
praise. Praise for Him who is worthy
of our praise. Twelve gates says that there
is praiseworthy entrance into His presence because our entrance
was not of ourselves. It is by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Though twelve gates are revealed to be in this city, They all set forth the one entrance
into the city, the door. The Lord Jesus Christ, our God,
our Master. That's what Bro. Scott just read.
John 10, 9, he said, I am the door. Are there twelve doors? No. No. There's one door. The Lord Jesus
Christ. By me, if any man enter in. He shall be saved, shall go in
and out, and find pasture. But why twelve gates? Why does it say twelve gates? Well, I'll tell you why, and
then the Lord will improve it by Scripture. To set forth the
distinguishing grace of God in the calling out of His elect.
Why are there twelve gates in this city? Well, look at it. It says, verse 12, And had a
wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates
twelve angels, of which we'll look at in a minute, and names
written thereon, that is, on those gates, which are the names
of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. The children of Israel
set forth the spiritual Israel. You know that. Not all of Israel
is Israel. Just because they are born in
Palestine does not mean that they are all the elect of God.
The spiritual Israel. The children of Israel set forth
that spiritual, that church, the bride. And their names are
written thereon. There is a name written over
every gate. Every gate has a name written
on it. that these twelve tribes, the spiritual Israel, are going
to be specifically and effectually called, and they are going to
enter in exactly where the Lord has ordained that they enter
in, the Lord Himself. All of God's sheep enter in by
the gate, the door, the entrance that is particular to Him. Every gate sets forth the praiseworthy
entrance of Christ Himself." Here is what he is saying. This
is my gate. Where did he enter in? I entered
in by the gate that had my name written on it. I entered by my
calling. I know my sheep. In John, I read
when Brother Scott was reading that in John chapter 10, John
10, verse 3, I think. I was looking at it as you read
it there, and I thought, that's what I want to say right there.
John 10, verse 3, "...to him the porter openeth, and the sheep
hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name." Called
them out by name. Called them particularly. Look at Ezekiel 48. Ezekiel chapter
48. Ezekiel 48 verse 31. Ezekiel 48 on page
1103 if you've got a Cambridge. Ezekiel 48 verse 31. The gates of the city shall be
after the names of the tribe of Israel. And you realize and you know
that this means the spiritual history. Three gates northward,
one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi. On the east side, 4,500 and three
gates, one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of
Dan. At the south side, 4,500 measures,
three gates, one gate of Simeon, One gate of Issachar. One gate
of Zebulun. On the west side, 4,500 with
the three gates. One gate of Gad. One gate of
Asher. One gate of Nephtali. And it
was round about 18,000 measures. And the name of the city from
that day shall be, the Lord's there. Here was the description
of the city. It had a great wall. It had 12
gates. Over every gate there was a name
that was written over those gates. had twelve angels. Every gate
had an angel back in Revelation 21. Knowing that God's prescribed
means of calling out His elect, we see the significance of these
angels, the messengers, the preachers. Angel. That angel means the messenger
is what it means. Jeremiah 3.15 says, I will give
you pastors. according to mine heart, and
shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." These angels
that stand at every gate. And over the gate there was a
name. There was a name. Gad. That is a particular gate. All set forth Christ. All set
forth to one door. But it's particular. I think
I'm going to go in over here, Neal. No? No? You're going in
exactly. Where? when and how I prescribe
to you. Had an angel standing there.
These messengers, types of watchmen that the Holy Spirit has set
up for the comfort and instruction and feeding of God's sheep. Listen
to this, Isaiah 62, 6. I have set up watchmen upon thy
walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace. These
watchmen, day and night, Ye that make mention of the Lord keep
not silence." You preach. You call. God has set up watchmen,
messengers, pastors, exactly where God is pleased to call
in, call out His people. Specific angels at specific gates
that all set forth the Lord Jesus Christ setting forth the sovereign
hand of God that orders all things in providence to the calling
out of His people. The Lord causes our paths to
cross with exactly the messenger that He has ordained. You think,
well, it was just lucky. Man, I tell you, I sure was lucky.
I got over there and got to sitting on the brush of God, you know,
all these years. Ephesians 1.11, it says, "...in whom also we
have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated, determined
the destination beforehand, according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will." John looked,
and there was a great wall of salvation. High, twelve gates. Those twelve gates was the praiseworthiness
of Him who is the door Himself. Twelve angels. God has specifically
set forth a messenger that would direct, be the means, let me
say it like that, of direction to that gate. that all set forth
the person of Christ, but had a name written over every one
of them. And he called them out by name. Darrell Hardman. Scott Richardson. He calls them. Had a preacher there. Had a messenger
there. And they entered in to that gate
who was the door to them. You see what I'm saying? Not
twelve doors, but a door to you. A specific had their name written
on it. Where are you going to enter
in? I'm entering by Christ. Exactly the way God ordained
that you would. Verse 13, on the east, three
gates. On the north, three gates. On
the south, three gates. On the west, three gates. That
is to say, from every nation, every tribe, every tongue, God
shall call His own to Himself. Luke. Turn over to Luke. Here
again. Luke. Chapter 13. Luke 13. It was a city. Great city. High
city. Tall city. Twelve gates. Twelve
preachers. Twelve messengers. Twelve angels.
Names written over each of those gates. North, east, west, and
south. Luke 13. Verse 29, the Lord said, speaking
of His own, and they shall. Boy, don't you love that word.
They shall. They shall. Not maybe. Not I hope. I died and shed my
blood for them. I hope they make it. They shall come from the east,
from the west, from the north, from the south, and shall sit
down in the kingdom of God." Isaiah 43. Turn over. Isaiah 43. Isaiah 43. The symbolism here
is too great to not look at the Scriptures for the definition.
Isaiah 43, verse 5. Isaiah 43, verse 5, Fear not,
for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
Give up, and to the south, Keep not back. Bring my sons from
far, bring my daughters from the ends of the earth, even every
one that is called by My name. For I have created him for My
glory. I have formed him, yea, I have
made him." John said, I looked, and there was this city. Wall. Gates. There was a wall. Three gates on each side. North,
East, West, and South. before the four angels in Revelation
7 that held the four winds of this earth, the winds of false
religion, as Paul says, every wind of doctrine. Before those
four winds could be sent forth to blow upon the earth and upon
the sea, the elect servants of God, those from the four corners,
were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.
of God, the mind of God, and His name was written on their
foreheads. God's got a people. This city
faces north, east, west, and south. Three gates on each of
them. Over those gates, the names specific. Who's going to enter
into those? I'll tell you the names who's
written over the gates. That's who's coming in. God knows
them by name. He calls them out by name. He's
elected them specifically. It's in a preacher there. He'll
call them in just exactly the way that He's going to. Verse
14, And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in
them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Here, without a doubt, is the
city that Abraham and all that have been regenerated, like him,
by the Spirit of God look for. Look at the terminology. And
the wall of the city had twelve foundations. The Scripture says in Hebrews
11.10, For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God. He He expected is what that word
means. He looked for a city which hath
foundations. I looked that up. It means laid
down substructure. It's okay. Laid down substructure. He looked for a city that hath
foundations, whose builder, whose creator, and whose maker, that
is, whose mechanic. He who purposed it and he who
did it is God Himself. Abraham looked for a city that
had some laid down substructure, some foundations. The foundations
of this city, you know without a shadow of a doubt, are actually
found to be manifested in set forth in the person, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is the only foundation of His church. There
is not but one foundation. There is one foundation. There
is one. He is the chief cornerstone upon
which the faith, hope, peace, joy of His people is found. One foundation. One. But the foundations of which
Abraham looked for in this city set forth actually the promises,
the manifestations of Almighty God set forth in the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ who is the one foundation. Almighty
God has everlastingly loved His elect. He has everlastingly loved
them. Oh, what a foundation. What a
promise. What a manifestation. The eternal
election of grace in the blessed substitute and surety. God has
elected a people, chosen in Christ Jesus. What a foundation. Boy, you can rest in that. You can rest. the surety of the
sheep from the time who said that the Lord was the surety
which was everlastingly. God has never looked to the sheep
to answer. He looked to the surety. Oh, what a foundation. What a substructure. The obedience of the Lord Jesus
Christ in life. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased. Here He was, me in Him. Obeying
Almighty God. He obeyed Him perfectly. And in Him, so did I. Well, what foundation? Have you
ever obeyed God? In my blessed Savior, I have.
Are you perfect? In my Savior, I am. Have you
ever wronged God whatsoever? In my blessed Substitute, I haven't.
Yes, He is. So are we. In Adam, there is
none good in me. There is nothing good in me.
But, boy, what a structure. What a substructure. What a foundation. In life and in death. In death
Himself. We looked at this last Wednesday
night, hanging on the cross. The question I asked last Wednesday,
was that the Son of God? Yes, it was. Is He holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners? Yes, He was. He was produced. He was produced. He was constructed. He was made to be sin. He was made sin. Sin embodied. What hung on that cross? The
sun? Yes, sin. Sin was on that cross. Did God deal with the source?
of the rebellion in his people. Yes, he did. Yes, he did. Someone
says, I don't believe for one second that Christ was made sin.
And I'll tell you this, if he wasn't made the source of rebellion
against God and God didn't put it away in him, then the source
of it is still going to be dealt with. Oh, I believe he put away
and paid for all my sins. Let's talk about the source.
If the source has not been dealt with, then you have no hope whatsoever. He was made sin. Look the words
up and tell me what they mean. He was made sin. The embodiment of. My God, my God. David said, I've
never seen the righteous forsaken. The Lord Jesus Christ said, why
have you forsaken me? I'll tell you why. He was made
sin. Sin was upon that cross. And God dealt with it. Oh, what
a foundation. Are you telling me that God has
dealt with the source of my rebellion? Yes, He has. If Christ died for
you, He did. The justification of all God's
people freely by His grace, by the blood of His Son, by the
God-given faith of the elect, I know this, there is one foundation,
but we behold him and we see in him the manifestations of
God Almighty's mercy and compassion. This city has got some foundations
in him who is the foundation. We ourselves, we are no more
strangers and foreigners, but we are fellow citizens. Fellow
citizens, with the saints, with the household of God, we are
built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. That wall
that John saw, what is that? That is the salvation of God's
elect, Christ Himself, the Savior. The twelve gates that speak of
the praise of Him who is our peace as an entrance for all
of His elect from the four corners of the earth. The twelve gates.
Twelve angels, messengers, or preachers that have one message.
Christ and Him crucified. Watchmen who are called to comfort
God's people by the preaching of the glorious gospel of the
free grace of God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. twelve
foundations that speak of the attributes, the promises, the
manifestations of the one foundation which is laid, Christ Jesus the
Lord. Those names written over those. Oh, what a precious promise. Those twelve names of the twelve
apostles that are written in those twelve foundations. Why
the names of the twelve apostles? The twelve apostles again. Does
that mean that only the twelve apostles are ever going to be
saved? Well, obviously not. There is a number that no man
can number. I will tell you it is greater than twelve. God is
a people. The Scripture says that on those
foundations, on those manifestations of the one foundation Himself,
on those twelve foundations, and in them, those foundations,
the election, the obedience, the death, all that can be said
of Christ Himself, in them the names of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb. Those twelve apostles are symbolic. Again, let me show you this. Turn over to Exodus 28. Exodus
28. Exodus 28, verse 21. When that great high priest entered
into that holy place, he had a breastplate on, and it had
twelve stones. Twelve stones. Were there only
twelve believers? Is that what it means? No. It's
talking about the twelve tribes. All of God's people. Those twelve. Exodus 28, verse 21, ìAnd the
stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve,
according to their names, like the engravings of a signet. Every
one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.î
Twelve precious stones, symbolic stones that were engraved with
the names of Godís tribes, Godís people. upon the heart of the
high priest as he ministered in that day, a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ, whose heart is for His people, His bride. In Joshua 4, verse 3, let me
just read this to you. Joshua 4, verse 3, And command
ye them, saying, Take ye hence out of the midst of Jordan, out
of the place where the priest's feet stood firm, Twelve stones. You shall carry them over with
you and leave them in the lodging place where you shall lodge that
night. And in verse 9 of Joshua 4, And Joshua set up twelve stones
in the midst of Jordan. These twelve stones, one for
each of the twelve tribes, set forth the blessing for the people
that came out of the river of adversity. Jordan River. the river of judgment by the
great Joshua himself, the Lord Jesus Christ. Elijah, in 1 Kings
18.31, he took twelve stones according to the number of the
tribes of the sons of Jacob, upon whom the word of the Lord
came, saying, Israel shall be thy name. Those twelve stones,
and I'll tell you what happened on this day. Elijah took twelve
stones according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he put
on that the sacrifice, the bullock. He poured twelve barrels of water
on it. Do you remember that story? How
the false prophets, false priests, they tried to get God to call
down fire from heaven? There were twelve stones on that,
and that sacrifice was laid on that, and all that water was
poured out, and God answered by prayer. The point of the matter
is this. Those twelve stones represent
God's people. for whom God would call out,
for whom God has everlastingly set forth the Lord Jesus Christ. These twelve foundations back
in Revelation 21 have written in them the names of the twelve
apostles. The picture, just like in Exodus
there was the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. Joshua took
out twelve stones according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
Elijah took twelve stones and built an altar according to the
twelve tribes of Israel. John saw in this great city,
he said, there was a wall that had twelve foundations, and in
them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. All that
God has done, He has done for His people according to His purpose. with the names of the twelve
apostles of the Lamb, a picture of all God's elect, engraved
in the twelve foundations, we see that all of the promises,
all of the attributes, all the manifestations of the grace and
glory of God toward men are for those whose names were found
written in those foundations. God has everlastingly loved a
people. What a foundation! Got their
name written on it. The Lord Jesus Christ has come
into this earth and lived perfectly before Almighty God. God's elect
has written Him that. All of the foundations are done
according to God's purpose. He does what He does because
He has a will. And He does all things. according
to His will. John said, I saw a city. The
glory of God was on that city. Her light was as a stone. Precious. She had a great wall
about her. Salvation. Had gates. The praise of Him who is worthy. On those gates it had a name.
of every one of the tribes of Israel. Three of them faced north,
three south, three east, three west. And there was a messenger
by every one of them. God didn't leave it to them to
find their way. He sent a preacher. Paul said,
I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's the power of God. God said,
I'll send you pastors according to my will, according to my purpose.
And on those names, they enter in. Every gate sets forth the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And John says there
were twelve foundations. That was the city that had foundations
that Abraham looked for. The foundations that built the
manifestations of the one foundation, Christ Jesus, the chief cornerstone. And in all of those foundations,
the attributes and the manifestations of God's purpose, They were for
a specific people. Apostles' names written in them.
I'm doing this for my sheep. I'm doing this for my elect.
I'm doing this for those that I love. When the Lord Jesus Christ
went to the cross, did He lay down His life for everybody?
No, He did not. No, He did not. He said, I lay
down my life for the sheep. You remember that Scripture?
I'll just have to quote it for you because I don't know exactly
where it is. It's either John 6 or John 10, but I can find
it. You remember that one that said
this? These Pharisees came to the Lord and they said, how long
do you make us to doubt? Won't you tell us plainly? He said,
I told you. But he said, you believe not because you're not
my sheep. You're not my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. You're
not my sheep. He has elected his sheep before
the foundation of the world. He does all that he does on purpose
for his sheep. for the glory of His Son. God
does what He does on purpose. And He is going to bring glory
to Himself.