Revelation chapter 21. It is
a shame that in our day, This last book of the Bible has
been speculated on and sensationalized and used to the gain of those who have no understanding
whatsoever of it. If we want to understand something
about this book, we need to read the first verse. This book is not about beasts
or dragons or such as that. It is the revelation of Jesus
Christ. And it involves things that John
says God gave unto Him to show unto His servants things which
must shortly come to pass." And so He sent and signified. He signified. That means He used
symbolic language to tell us something about the
Lord Jesus Christ and his victory over all his enemies, and the
salvation of all his people. And he says, blessed is he that
reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy. In Revelation 21, I want to read
these first four verses. John says, And I saw a new heaven
and a new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared
as a bride adorned for her husband." Now there are many symbolic names,
descriptions that God gives of His people, of His church. They're called Zion. They're
called the church. They're called believers. They're
called God's elect. And they're likened to that new
Jerusalem. They're called a holy city. And they are, of course, the
bride of Christ. John says, I saw, as it were,
in this vision, this holy city, New Jerusalem, this people, and
they were as a bride, beautiful bride, prepared for her husband,
adorned. And of course, that adorning
is the adorning that he put on this bride, clothed her. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men."
His people are also called a tabernacle, which is simply a tent like the
tabernacle in the wilderness. And if you remember, that's where
God dwelt. And He will dwell with them And
they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, For the former
things are passed away." These verses, they ring out with eternity. They have the sounds of eternity. And nothing brings to our minds
the reality of eternity. than death. Death always is that
reminder that it is not the end. It is appointed unto man once
to die, and after this, and there is an after this, the judgment. The body goes back to the dust,
to the dirt, but that is not really who we are. We are, as
the Bible describes us, living souls. Eternity-bound souls. And I thought about this this
week. Two years ago, I had four family members in
the nursing home. This morning, I don't have any. And over just the course of the
last few months, I've conducted the funerals of three members
of my family. My father-in-law, my uncle, and
my mother-in-law this past week. And little did I know when I
began to Make a few notes as to what I might say this morning,
earlier in the week. Little did I know that this morning,
my dear wife would be in the hospital. I've wept. I've seen weeping. And these are the things that
are constant in this life. If we don't know it by now, what
would it take for us to see? These are not the exceptions
to this life. These are the things of this
life. And Job said it right when he said, Man that is born
of woman is but a few days and full of trouble. If not today, tomorrow. The psalmist, he makes this statement,
"'My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually
say unto me, Where is thy God?' He weeps in sorrow over all these
things. And men mocked him, and they
said, Well, where's your God now, David? This is all happening. "'I pour out my soul in me, for
I have gone with the multitude. I went with them to the house
of God with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude
that kept holy day. But why art thou cast down, my
soul?' and why art thou disquieted in
me? Hope thou in God, for I shall
yet praise Him for the help of His countenance." But while these things are the
reality, as we say, they are the truth about this life, The
weeping and the sorrows of God's people are just temporary. They're just temporary. And sadly,
on the other hand, these things are simply described as the beginning
of sorrows for those who believe not. but they'll soon come to an end
where God's elect, for those redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the psalmist says in another
place, they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He says again, weeping may endure
for a night, But joy comes in the morning. The Lord's people are just now
in the night. But there is a morning coming.
There is a joy in the morning. And this is simply the promise
that God gives to believers. This will not be the case with
every person. And it will not be to them because
of something they've done, or because of some goodness in them. This is a promise of grace. And
it's just like every other promise of grace. Those promises are
yes and amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we believe God's promises,
one of which is this, all the way back in the book of Isaiah. He will swallow up death in victory,
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces, and
the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the
earth, for the Lord hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that
day, Lo, this is our God, We have waited for Him. And He will save us. This is
the Lord. We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in
His salvation. We will. He is. Because His promises are yes. and sure, and fixed, and unchangeable,
and depending only on the Lord Jesus Christ." So that the people
of God, those who are truly believers in Christ, they're described
as having a good hope, not a wish. There's a big difference in a
wish. I may wish somebody to give me
a million dollars tomorrow. But a hope is based on expectancy. And on a solid ground of expectancy,
I don't hope that they will. I don't have hope that they will. But those in Christ are said
to have a good hope. He is Himself described as a
good hope. And that good hope in Christ,
who is all our hope of glory, is born out of two things. One of them is the sure knowledge
of faith. that we shall have nothing to
face in judgment. Nothing. Paul said we shall be saved from
wrath through Christ. We have hope because we look
to that eternity in the sure knowledge that He has put away. all our sins by the sacrifice
of Himself. You ask me, are you a sinner? Absolutely. You ask me, do I
sin virtually every moment in myself? You ask me, do I have
sins on me? No. I may have sin in me. that I don't have any sins against
me." Why? Because that's what Christ was
doing on the cross. And we cannot have any measure
of real hope until God has made sure in our heart that knowledge,
given us faith to believe that all our sins were put away by
Him. He bore them in His own body. on the tree, the penalty of them. And then secondly, our hope is
based on this, the sure knowledge of all that we will receive of
God's grace. There's one thing you learn,
if you have any sense about you in this world as you get older,
And that is, as far as this life is concerned, you don't have
much to look forward to. All those things you sought after,
all those enjoyments that you enjoyed, as this body gets to
be weaker and frailer and age sets in on us, the less we have
to look forward to in this flesh. But that's not the way it is
with grace. Because in Christ, those in Christ have a sure knowledge
of those things that they will receive, those eternal blessings,
that which is described as an eternal inheritance. He says
it is reserved in heaven for you. It does not fade away. It does not rust or corrupt. It is an eternal inheritance
because we've been made heirs and joint heirs with Him who
is Himself the heir of all things. Can you imagine that? Being a
joint heir with one who is described as the heir of all things. And this hope that we have in
Christ assures us that there will be nothing there of that
which has brought us sorrow and grief here in this life. I hear a lot of foolish descriptions
about eternity. And all they reveal is unbelief. People say things like, if there's
not a golf course in heaven, I'll be sad and cry. Well, you know nothing about
this book. There is only there those things
that delight those who have spiritual life. You probably wouldn't even
want to really go to heaven, because there it's all about
Christ. There, though it says, we shall
know even as we are known, My delight will not be in my
wife or my mother more than anybody else. I'll delight the same with
all the Lord's people and we will all delight in the Lord
Jesus Christ. And the reason is because our
hope is in Christ The one that Isaiah called, the man of sorrows. He described Him in this way,
He said, He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces
from Him. He was despised and we esteemed
Him not. He didn't deserve any of that.
So Isaiah says, "...surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried
our sorrows. Yet we did esteem Him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted." You see, Christ bore our sins
which are the cause of our griefs, the cause of our sorrows. And
sin is the reason for death. When in the garden God said to
Adam, in the day that you eat thereof, that is, of that tree
in the midst of the garden, you will surely die. He didn't physically die that
day. But when he disobeyed God, he
died spiritually. He died to everything that was
good and everything that pertained to God. And when he died, all
his race died in him. Oh, he did physically die. Why? Because sin always brings
forth death. because the wages of sin is death."
And he tells us in Luke 23, he said when he was here in this
earth, he said, daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but
for yourselves and your children. Weep not for me. And Christ did
not weep for Himself, because He had no sin. He knew no sin. He knew no possibility
of failure. He enjoyed perfect and constant
fellowship with the Father. He did always those things that
pleased the Father. So who did this man of sorrows
weep for? He wept over sinners like us.
He wept over a sinful people who came such as those in the
death of Lazarus. And in the face of what he was
about to do, which was to raise Lazarus from the dead, they all
sat around crying and weeping. When he began to even talk about
it, they said, Master, if you'd have been here, he wouldn't have
died. He wouldn't have died. And there
is the shortest verse in all the Bible. On that scene it says,
Jesus wept. He wept at the very sight of
their unbelief. He wept in light of their ignorance
as to who He really was. He wept at their attachment to
the physical and their lack of desire for the spiritual. He
says he wept. And then he said this, Lazarus,
come forth. And guess what? Lazarus came
out of the tomb. He who was dead was made alive. And that is simply a picture
of what's necessary for every one of us that he saves. We're
spiritually dead. We have no understanding of the
Scriptures. We have no interest in the things
of Christ. We trust in our own righteousness
and goodness like the Pharisees and despise others. He has to
come where we are in our deadness and say, come forth. He has to do something for us. He wept over their unbelief,
and He wept also, you might remember, in the garden. He wept at the thought of sin
being laid upon Him. But He's the only one that sin
could be laid upon. Number one, He's the only one
who had no sin of Himself. And he was the only one who could
bear that sin in his own body. That is, to the satisfaction
of divine justice. He had to be two things. Don't
ever forget this. He had to be a man to die for
men. He had to be a man in order to
have a body to die. That's the price of sin. But
he had to be God at the same time, so that in his death, this
glorious value and worth would be put to that death, so that
he would be able to redeem a multitude of sinners. Somebody said, well,
how in the world could the death of one man bring about the salvation
of a multitude of sinners? It was because of who He was. Like Paul said, God manifests
in the flesh. He cried out in tears from the
cross when all the sins of His people, as Isaiah says, were
made to meet on His head. Why were they? laid on Him as
Isaiah said. Because before the world began,
the Father appointed Him to be their substitute. Not to do something in general,
but to do something in particular. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. And He in that hour, took upon
himself to be our surety." That is, in that hour, the debt and
responsibility for the sins of his people, he assumed at that
very hour. And that's why when he came into
this world, he spoke often times and said, my hour has not yet
come. But it did come. And the one
who had become responsible, as the surety, the man who would
hang there on that cross as their representative, He paid that
debt in full. All the sin that was laid on
Him, that He was made accountable for, He suffered at the hand
of God's justice. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have by your wicked
hands taken and slain. Who killed the Lord Jesus Christ? Somebody said, The Romans did. Or the Pharisees did. Or some
of the other Jews did. Or the soldiers actually did. But in all truth, it was God
Himself. And that's why on that cross
He cries out, My God, My God, why hast Thou
forsaken Me? He didn't say that in order for
to ask a question. He knew why. He says that on
that cross, that you and I might know that our sins were actually
and really laid to His charge, and there, bearing the wrath
of God in our place, forsaken of God as it was, He put them
all away. Put them all away. And the sight of Christ, the sight of this sinless man,
the sight of God manifest in the flesh, the sight of that
bloody scene, which in one sense ought to bring
us to tears. is the very thing that gives
us present joy and hope and assurance of future joy. If you look by
faith and you behold Christ there on the cross, what an awful scene
it is to our eyes. Because the one who is suffering
there is not suffering for something he did, but for what I did, for what I am. And so the thing that in one
sense would make us the saddest, is also the thing that makes
us the happiest. Turn over to Revelation 5. Now, I said this is a book that
gives us symbolic language of spiritual things. But now, look
here in Revelation 5. John says, and I saw in the right
hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on
the backside sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof? This is the book of God's purpose. But it is most especially the
book of God's purpose of grace to His people. The salvation
of His people is not an afterthought with God, it's at the center
of His eternal purpose. To glorify Himself in saving
a people from their sins. Verse 3, it says, "...and no
man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was
able to open the book, neither to look thereon." And John says,
"...and I wept much." There was something about that
book that held out to John and all
the Lord's people a hope. They said there was nobody able
to open the book. This is God's purpose of grace
whereby He can be just in dealing with us in our sin and at the
same time justify us or declare us righteous. Nobody could open
this book. John said, "...and I wept much
because no man was found worthy." to open and to read the book,
neither to look thereon. And one of the elders saith unto
me, Weep not. Don't cry, son. Behold the line
of the tribe of Judah. The root of David hath prevailed
to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof." Those
are two descriptive names we find elsewhere in the Bible of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lion of the tribe of
Judah. He's the root of David. And I
beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four
beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb." You see
how that's a capital letter there? Stood a Lamb, as it had been
slain. having seven horns and seven
eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the
earth. And he came and took the book
out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne, and
when he had taken the four beasts and the four and twenty elders
fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps and golden
vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints. And
they sang a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof, for Thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth." He said, weep not. That purpose
of salvation toward us, that price necessary to our redemption,
that work that could only be accomplished by one, that worthiness
that was found in no other, was found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn back to Revelation 21. Look back at that fourth verse. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And there shall be no more death,
neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain,
for the former things are past. away. And he that sat upon the
throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith unto
me, Write." Now why in the world would he
say, write these things? Because this is the gospel that
is to be proclaimed. There are others to hear this.
Others who would be brought to believe this, for these words
are true and faithful. You see, this text does imply that there is much weeping in
the way to heaven, and there is. But God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes." You see, faith in Christ brings
to us and assures us of a complete deliverance from
all the curse of sin, the curse of the law, a deliverance from
all condemnation, but not from all pain and sorrow. And there are many things which
believers suffer in this world just like everybody else. Physical
pain, sickness, Troubles in the family, in the home, problems
in the workplace, financial troubles, bereavement, because this world
is a place of sorrow and of sin. And not only that, there are
many things that cause the Lord's people tears which the world
knows nothing about. We sorrow about our inward sin. When I say I'm still a sinner,
don't you think for one minute I'm proud of it. But God save
us from being like those who lie and say or imply that they're
not. We sorrow over our constant unbelief. Weak faith. We sorrow because
we're too prone still in this flesh to be angry. You can make me mad. I wish that wasn't the case,
but you can. We sorrow about this coldness
of heart that we often find a reality. injured pride, unruly tongues, bouts with depression, and more
failures than I could ever describe. And there are some precious tears
which we should hear that will be all wiped away in His presence. Tears of repentance. Tears of
sympathy and concern. Longing for a sinlessness in
this body. Desiring to see the Lord Jesus
Christ. But even now, God does much to dry our tears. You see, the believer's life
is not a morbid, sorrow-filled existence. Not at all. Because even in the midst of
our sorrows, even in the midst of our sins, God presently gives us great
joy, great comfort, great peace, great hope, Great rejoicing, because it's
in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read you a few verses
in Isaiah 43. He says, "'But now thus saith
the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Did you know they were the same
man? Jacob was Israel. Jacob is the description of what we
all are in ourselves. The very name means scoundrel,
conniver, supplanter. But God said, I'm going to call
you Israel, which means Prince of God. So he says to the Lord's
people, but now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear not. For I have redeemed
thee, I have called thee by thy name, and you're mine. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Siba for thee, since thou wast precious in my sight. Thou hast been honorable, and
I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men for
thee, and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west. He said, there'll be rivers and
sorrows and troubles and trials and failures and fall, but there'll
be one constant. He said, I'll be with you. And
I'll never leave you or forsake you. There'll come a time when
I'll wipe away all your tears. He gives us a measure of contentment
to His will. He enables us to pray in the
most tumultuous events and times, Thy will be done on earth as
it is in heaven. He teaches us to trust His providence. He reminds us of His precious
promises. He causes us to remember His
purpose. He blesses us with a sense of
His presence. He sheds His love abroad in our
hearts. He makes us to know sometimes
the purpose of our pain. And He causes us to set our affections
on things above. And as hard as it is for us to
imagine, He tells us and assures us that
there is an hour coming when we shall weep no more, when we
shall have no cause to weep. Because in the presence of God,
there is a sure, eternal, an ever increasing bliss. And the cause of that bliss is
God Himself. What was true for Abraham will
be true for all believers. God said to him, Abraham, and your exceeding great reward. And there is nothing in this
world or about this world that ever could begin to begin to
begin to begin to be even anywhere close. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. We might cry them today. We'll be crying them the rest
of our days in this world. He says, but there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, neither shall there be any crying, neither
shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed
away. And behold, I make all things
new. I look more forward to that hour
than every passing day when God will wipe away all our tears. because all reason for crying
will be gone. But thank God, in the midst of
all the tears of this life, there's one thing I don't have to cry
about, and that is the consequence of my sin. We shall be saved from wrath
through Him. Father, this morning we pray
that you would honor yourself, that you would give us faith
to believe what you have said, and that you would make these precious
promises to be sure to us by enabling
us to believe you, to believe on your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We ask everything in His name
and for His glory. Amen.