Well, come with me to Revelation
chapter 21 that Peter read for us just a little bit earlier,
where we're looking at heaven. Basically, this is what this
chapter's about. The bride, the Lamb's wife, the
new Jerusalem, heaven. But let's just think for a moment.
Why did the Lord Jesus Christ come into this world? Well, he
came preaching the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is
at hand. The Kingdom of God is at hand.
And he came with that message in contrast to this world and
what it thinks of and what it values. This world and the kingdom
of Satan, which is what this world is, the kingdom of Antichrist. Lord Jesus Christ came preaching
the kingdom of God. That was his message. The kingdom
of God is at hand. Repent, for the kingdom of God
is at hand. He came to seek and to save That
which was lost, is what it says. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. Do you know the majority of people
in this world do not know that they're lost. Lost regarding
what? Lost regarding God. Lost regarding
heaven. Lost regarding the kingdom of
God. Lost regarding the truth of God. They're lost. They don't
know the way to God. They know nothing about Him.
He came to seek and to save that which was lost. That's what He
came for. Has God shown you that you are
lost and on that wide road to eternal hell? Except He saves
you. That's where you're going along
with the rest of humanity. It's a broad way that leads to
destruction. You're on that road. You are
lost unless God shows you you are lost and comes to save you
and rescue you from it. Why did he come into the world?
Why did Jesus, who is Jesus, God manifests, for in Him dwells
the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Why did He come into this world?
Why did God become that which He wasn't before in time at Bethlehem
when He became man, when He inhabited a body? Why did He come into
this world? Why did Jesus come into this
world? The angel told Joseph. He came
to save His people from their sins. Call His name Jesus, for
He shall save His people from their sins. He didn't say, He
shall try to save His people from their sins. He shall save
His people from their sins. Every last single one of them
shall be saved from their sins. Every last single one of them
shall be fitted for the kingdom of God. What's the ultimate objective
of it all? What is the ultimate objective
of the mission of Christ into this world to save his people
from their sins? If you turn to John 17, the great
high priestly prayer the night before he was crucified, verse
24, he tells us exactly what the objective was of his coming. He prays in that prayer, Father,
And this is the disciples, the apostles, are there with him
in this room, and they're listening to what he's saying. And John
records his words, Father, I will that they also whom thou hast
given me be with me where I am. that they may behold my glory,
which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation
of the world. This is the will of God, for
Christ is God. This is God. He's prayed already,
restore the glory to me. It was only for a little while
that he was made lower than the angels for the suffering of death,
for the salvation of his people. But he says, Father, restore
the glory to me that I had with you before the world was. And
He wills. If God wills, I put in a little
piece in the bulletin, if God wills, who can possibly stop
it? Father, I will that they also. Who? Whom thou hast given
me. Who's He talking about? That
multitude, which no man can number. chosen in Christ as Ephesians
1 verse 4 says, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world, chosen in Christ, ordained to eternal life as Acts 13 48
says, those whom thou hast given me, the people, the The sinners
that God the Father gave to God the Son before the foundation
of the world, united with Him, put in union with Him, betrothed
to Him, betrothed as a bride is betrothed to her husband,
betrothed to Him from before the beginning of time. He says,
I will that they, every last one of them, what? Be with me. where I am, be with me in heaven,
be with me in that glorious kingdom of God, that they may behold
my glory, that they may behold the redemptive, gracious glory
of our God in Christ. This is His will. So how can
it not come to pass? You see, many say, well I don't
believe that stuff, you're entitled to go along with it if you want,
it's rubbish as far as I'm concerned. You know, if they're right, if
in this life that is all that there is, just what we get in
this life, well, is not the philosophy right that you should get out
of it whatever you can? As Paul says to the Corinthians,
in 1 Corinthians 15, 19, he says, if in this life only we have
hope in Christ, and then that's it, finished, we're no better
than anybody else, he says, we're of all men most miserable. I'm
a believer if that's your philosophy, then Paul agrees, we're of all
men most miserable to put our trust into things of eternity
if there isn't such a thing. But that isn't the case. That
isn't the case. Heaven is real. Eternity is real. What does the old catechism say?
The chief end of man, the chief objective of man is what? To
glorify God and listen, to enjoy Him forever. to enjoy God forever. You know, this is the great reward
of sinners saved by grace. In Genesis 15 verse 1, God says
to Abram, when he called him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and
he was going to make a great nation of him, he said, fear
not, Abram, I am thy shield. You're in an enemy country, but
I am thy shield. I am thy exceeding great reward. Do you have any sense of it?
Do I have any sense of it? God as our great, exceeding great
reward. Are we doing what Jesus encouraged
in the Sermon on the Mount? Seek first the Kingdom of God. What do you seek in this life
as you go through this life? Oh, good experiences in this
life. No, seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these other things that you need will be added to you.
Where are you going to lay up treasure? In your bank account,
in your possessions, in the things... You know what they say, it's
so true, there are no pockets in shrouds. You can't take any
of it with you when you leave this life. Lay up treasure in
heaven, in heaven. Look for that eternal city, that
eternal city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
You see, sin mars everything in this life. You say, I'm finding
it difficult to see this. Sin mars everything in this life.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verses 9 and 10, Paul writes this, as
it is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them
that love him. But God has revealed them unto
us, His believing people, by His Spirit. He reveals the truth
of heaven, of eternity, to His believing people, and it's His
Spirit that does it. God has told us of his eternal
kingdom. Jesus came preaching the nearness
of his kingdom. You know, Paul said to the Athenians
about God, in him we live and move and have our being. He's
not far from each and every one of us. And you, unbeliever, he's
not far from you. He's there. In him we live and
move and have our being. He set hope in his people's hearts. God set hope in the hearts of
his believing people. What hope? A heavenly hope. Colossians
1 15. There is a hope laid up for you
in heaven. And it isn't a, I hope it might
happen, but then again it might not. It's a certainty. It's an
anticipation of that which will surely come. We hope to be with
Christ and be like him. This is what John says in his
first epistle. In chapter 3, verses 2 and 3,
he says this, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does
not yet appear what we shall be. Do you want me to explain
to you exactly how heaven will be? I don't know. It doesn't
yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall
appear, we shall be like him. for we shall see him as he is.
And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself,
even as he is pure. Do you have this hope in yourself? Do you have it? This hope, it's
the gift of God to have that. The object of his believing people's
affections is in Colossians 3 and verse 2, where it says, set your
affections on things above, not on things on the earth. Set your
affections there. Do you know there's so many professing
believers, professing Christians, who live their lives as if everything
they ever aspired to and wanted is here in the flesh, in this
world, in their houses, their possessions, their family, everything
else around them. their talents, it's as if that's
it. But believing people's affections
should be on things above, where Christ is. Old Job, the oldest
book in the Bible, his affection was set on heavenly certainty. Let me remind you of that in
Job 19. You know it, it's the season
where they sing Handel's Messiah in the choirs. And these verses
is one of the sections of Handel's Messiah. Job 19 and verse 23. Job 19.23, oh, this is Job in
great suffering of flesh, wishing that he could die because he's
in such suffering of flesh. And he says this with his so-called
comforters around him, saying, it's your own fault because you've
been a sinner. And he says, oh, that my words were now written.
Oh, that they were printed in a book. Well, they are, Job.
We've got them here. That they were graven with an
iron pen and lead in the rock forever. Listen. For I know that
my Redeemer liveth. What's this Redeemer, Job? The
One who's redeemed me from the curse of the law. The One who's
redeemed me from my sin and their consequences. The One who's paid
the price of release of liberty from the curse of sin. I know
that my Redeemer liveth and that He shall stand at the latter
day upon the earth. Oh, that day is coming when He
shall stand upon the earth. And though After my skin, worms
destroy this body. You know, we're all dying. All
of us are dying. All of us are dying. Though after
my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. That's the hope of believers.
So in Revelation 21 and 22, in vision, in spiritual metaphor, In symbolism, and we know it's
symbolism because the pictures it paints, as far as this space-time
creation are concerned, are absolutely impossible. It's the symbolism
of impossible pictures. In those things, in these chapters,
the truth of God's eternal paradise is unveiled. Have you ever thought
how The book of God begins in Genesis 1 and 2 with the paradise
of God with no sin. Genesis 1 and 2 completely without
sin. There's Adam and Eve and the
creation in perfect harmony in paradise. And the last two chapters
of the book are God's eternal paradise accomplished. So let's
see the celestial city. We touched on this last week.
In the first eight verses of chapter 21, we see what John
saw. The new heaven and the new earth.
For the first earth, where we are now, was passed away, and
there was no more sea. There was no more of that tumultuous
mass of humanity, which is what the seed pictures from which
the kingdom of Satan arose in Revelation 13. And he saw the
holy city, the new Jerusalem, which is actually a bride adorned
for her husband. This is the bride of Christ,
the Lamb's wife coming down. This is the celestial city, the
heavenly Jerusalem that is described in this chapter. Bunyan called
it that, the celestial city, but it's all in accordance with
God's Word. You know what Hebrews says in
chapter 13 of Hebrews and verse 14, here in this life, in this
world, oh that we might get hold of this as believers, here we
have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. a far better
one, just like the one that Abraham looked for, as I've already said,
in Hebrews 11 it says, he looked for a city which has foundations,
whose builder and maker is God. Not a city of this world, of
this space, time and creation, but Here we have no continuing
city, but we seek one to come in the heavenlies. A city of
peace, of safety, of comfort, of sinless bliss. We can, in
our sinful flesh, we can scarcely imagine it. Of intimate, endless
communion with God. What is it? To enjoy Him forever. Intimate, endless communion with
God. To enjoy Him forever. Everything
that afflicts us in the flesh in this life, remove from us. Read Don Faulkner's article in
the Bulletin. Look at verse 4. 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." What a wonderful promise
to heavy-laden sinners, burdened with the consequences of sin
in the flesh. He promises the water of endless
life. You know, water is such a picture
of the life of God in the soul of man. In John 7, Jesus says,
if you've got a thirst for this water of the life of God, come
to me and it will be like a spring, a fountain within your very being. Look at verse 6, He said unto
me, Who is it that's speaking? It is done. It's accomplished.
I am Alpha and Omega. I am the cause of all things,
and I am the completion of all things, the beginning and the
end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst for this life of God, of the fountain of the water
of life freely. I will give it to him. It's free. Come, everyone that thirsts.
Isaiah 55, drink of the water of life freely. We're joint heirs
with Christ because he will give it all unto all of his people. Joint heirs with Christ. But
you know, all of these wonderful promises, he that overcometh
shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall
be my son. This intimate communion with
God. But look, it's only for God's
redeemed children. Verse eight, not the fearful
and unbelieving and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,
and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which
is the second death. No, not any who bear the mark
of the beast. You know, there was a mark in
Revelation 13, a mark in their hands and in their foreheads.
The works that they do, the thoughts that they think, are in accordance
with the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of this world. No,
no, no. Not for them. This is for those who've been
redeemed, who've been plucked as brands from the burning, out
of the fire of the justice of God, saved by the Lord Jesus
Christ, washed clean from their sins, made the righteousness
of God in Him, redeemed from the curse of the law in Him.
No. This is for believers. So then,
in verse 9, one of the destroying angels, this is one of the seven
angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues
in Revelation 16, he says, come here and I will show you the
bride, the Lamb's wife. And that's what I've entitled
this message, the bride, the Lamb's wife. He comes and shows
more of that new kingdom, that new city, that bride, the Lamb's
wife. The Lamb's wife is that which
Ephesians chapter 5 alludes to in verses 25. Husbands, love
your wives. even as Christ also loved the
church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse
it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present
it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or
any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.
This is that which John saw coming down from God out of heaven,
the new Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem, you see, he
says, he's been talking about husbands and wives, but in verse
32 he says it's a great mystery, but what I'm really speaking
about is Christ and his church, his church, Ecclesia, his elect
people, whom he redeemed with his blood. But in verse 10, to
see this bride, this wife of the Lamb, verse 10, He carried
me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed
me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of
heaven from God. To see it, you need a vantage
point. You need a vantage point to see
this bride. Why? Because the bride is a great
city. This Jerusalem Which one are
we talking about? I'm not talking about that pile
of stones in the Middle East, which is in such perpetual political
turmoil. No, no, no, no. That was only
ever a picture in Old Testament days, but not now. No, I'm talking
about the heavenly Jerusalem. I'm talking about the one that
Galatians 4.26 means when he says, Jerusalem which is above
is free. This is free Jerusalem, free
from sin. The Jerusalem of God, the true
Jerusalem, the true peace with God, Jerusalem, peace with God. She comes down from God. And
she has the glory of God, verse 11, having the glory of God.
And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper
stone, clear as crystal. Pure light. You know the Scriptures
speak of the light of the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 4 verse
6, the light of the glory of the knowledge of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. This is true light. We struggle
to grasp physically what these means, because we are creatures
of space and time. But this is eternity. This is
outside of time. This is the life of God. We don't
know what we shall be, but we shall be like Him, for we shall
see Him as He is. Look at the dimensions of this
city. Verse 12 to verse 17, a great and high wall, 12 gates, names
written, which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children
of Israel. On the east, three gates, three
gates on the north, three gates on the south, three gates on
the west. And the wall of the city had
12 foundations, and in them the names of the 12 apostles. There,
it's quite clear, isn't it? The foundations of the wall are
the names of the apostles of the Lamb. And he talked with
me. this angel. And he had a golden reed to measure
the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the
city lieth four square, and its length is as large as the breadth.
And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs,
the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal."
Twelve thousand furlongs! That's 1,500 miles. It's a cube. 1,500 miles. We're talking about
a huge city. There's no city on earth even
today that comes remotely close to anything like that, but a
city that is a cube. Not a square, not a flat, not
an area. And he measured the wall thereof.
Oh, a cube that's got a wall. Cube that's got... Where's this
wall on this cube? You see, you can't fit it together,
can you? It's an impossible picture. You cannot... You cannot translate it into
things that you can draw on a sheet of paper, as many people trying
to interpret this book have tried to do. And you come up with nonsense.
It just doesn't work, because it's a vision of things outside
of this space-time reality. The building of the wall of it
was of jasper. The city was of pure gold, like
clear glass. It can't be literal. Try and
get a city planner to draw this. It's just a vision. It's a vision,
a glorious vision. But what ideas does the vision
contain? It's this, that the heaven of
God, the bride of Christ, the kingdom of God, is huge. It's 1500 mile cube, 220 foot
high wall, 12 gates, angels, tribes, foundations, apostles. clearly not literal in terms
of this space-time creation. So what does it picture? A wall
speaks of completion. When Nehemiah rebuilt the wall
around Jerusalem, there was a point when it was completed. And in
Isaiah 60 in verse 18, we read, Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation. These walls picture salvation.
And their gates, praise. A cube speaks of the Holy of
Holies, which was in the tabernacle, the pattern given to Moses. The
Holy of Holies, where nobody could go except the high priest,
and then only once a year, with the blood of an acceptable sacrifice.
That was a cube. The measurements of it in the
Holy of Holies, in the tabernacle, and then later in the temple,
was a cube. And what did it speak of? It
spoke of the intimate presence of God. The intimate presence
of God, with nothing in between, nothing stopping. Verse 3 of
chapter 21, I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold,
The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with
them and be their God. Its size speaks of a multitude
which no man can number. The number 12 is in there. 12
is 3, the number of God, times 4, the number of creation. When
God works on this creation, we have the election of grace, the
remnant according to the election of grace. 10 speaks of fullness
in this creation. It all pictures that which is
innumerable, even to the eye of redeemed saints. But every
one of them is particular to God. The 12 tribes, the Israel
of God. The angels at the gates, they're
the gathering angels who have harvested the redeemed of God
from the world, as other pictures in the New Testament show us.
The 12 foundations of the wall are the apostles. It's clear
there, we don't have to try and interpret it, it tells us that
it's the apostles. What is it about the apostles?
The church in the New Testament, Acts 2.42, they continued steadfastly
in the Apostles' doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of
bread, and in prayers. The foundation of the Kingdom
of God is the Gospel of Christ. That was the Apostles' doctrine,
the Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Christ is the Gospel
of salvation accomplished. It's the gospel of satisfaction
made. It's the gospel that for a multitude
that no man can number, God is just in that their sins have
been punished and paid for in the substitute, who is the Lord
Jesus Christ. And thereby, those who were sinners
are justified from all things that would condemn them. There
is therefore now, says Romans 8 verse 1, there is therefore
now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Look at the materials of this Bride of Christ, this heavenly
Jerusalem, this Jerusalem above which is free, in verses 18 to
21. We have all of these precious
stones, jasper, gold, as clear as glass, all manner of precious
stones, jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, Sardius, Chrysolite,
Beryl, Topaz, it is hard to pronounce this next one, Chrysoprasus,
Adjacent, and the Twelfth and Amethyst. What's it picturing?
It's picturing value. It's picturing preciousness.
It's enthralling to look at. The vision that John must have
had is enthralling to look at. There's a mesmerizing beauty.
Any of you This is a very weak illustration, but any of you
that have been to the Tower of London, and have been into the
place where they keep the crown jewels, and you've looked at
the crown jewels in the light in that room, and you have to
admit that it is mesmerizingly beautiful. Those sparkling diamonds
and different colours, it's all there, but how much more must
this be? And gold speaks of faith. In
1 Peter 1, verse 7, Peter talks about believers' faith being
tried, their faith which is more precious than gold. Only those
who have true faith, and that true faith is the gift of God,
not of yourselves, says Ephesians 2, verse 8. Only those who have
true faith, and what do they have faith in? What do they have
faith in? They have faith in the faith
of Christ. That's what they have faith in.
They have faith in the faithful accomplishment of redemption
of Christ. The work He came and faithfully
did. Their faith is in the faith of
Christ. That's why the King James Version
is right when it talks about the faith of Christ and not our
faith in Christ. They have true faith in the faith
of Christ. In this life, these ones only,
those who have that faith in this life as sinners saved by
grace, only those will enter this eternal city. Only those. Jewels speak of shining light.
Pearls speak of one pearl. Do you remember Jesus speaking
of that parable of the man seeking for jewels and he finds pearls
and then he finds one pearl. which is so valuable that all
the other pearls Basically, he throws them away. The pearl of
greatest price, Matthew 13, 46. The pearl of great price. It speaks of Christ and it speaks
of the way in because each pearl is a gate. It's the way in. And
who is the way in to the kingdom of God? I am the door, said Jesus. I am the door of the sheep. I
am the door. Whoever comes through me, he
is the one that's in my kingdom. And then the temple in verses
22 to 27. I saw no temple therein. In this
vision, there's no vision of a temple. Why? Because the Lord
God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. The Old Testament
temple was where, in picture, God dwelt on earth with his people,
his Israel, in Jerusalem, in that physical city in the Middle
East, in symbolism. It was only a very small part
of Jerusalem, an even smaller part of the land of Israel. And the way into it, the way
into it was barred. It was only, as I've already
said, by the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement,
with an acceptable sacrifice. But the New Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, the bride of Christ, the new
Jerusalem, is all temple. It is all temple. God and his
people in perfect, sinless, uninterrupted fellowship. Verse 24, the nations
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it. The
nations, God saves his people from every tribe and tongue and
kindred. This is the elect of God, an
innumerable multitude. from every tribe and tongue and
kindred. And walking speaks of an experience
of existence. It's real. They walk in the light
of it. And the kings of the earth do
bring their glory and honor into it. Who are those who are the
kings of the earth? It's not talking about earthly
fleshly monarchs. No. It's talking about those
who are redeemed from the earth. And as the Word of God tells
us, are made kings and priests unto God. Revelation 1 verse
6, Revelation 5 verse 10. They're made kings and priests
to God by the salvation accomplished by Christ. The glory and the
honor of the nations must be the glory of God with which he
endows his redeemed people. What does he endow them with?
The robe of righteousness. Or as Isaiah 61 verse 10 says,
you've clothed me with the garments of salvation. This is glorious. in its freedom from any form
of idolatry, any form of spiritual adultery. This temple just speaks
of uninterrupted communion between the redeemed of God and the God
who has redeemed them in Christ. What a contrast to Babylon. But then there's a warning in
verse 27. Again, as in verse 8, In verse 27 we read, And there
shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which
are written in the Lamb's book of life, only them. Nothing outside
of Christ shall enter. Nothing. There's a parable where
In parable, somebody who clearly isn't in Christ and clearly is
not equipped to be there by the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus
Christ tries to enter into the marriage supper of the Lamb and
he's cast into outer darkness, showing that nothing outside
of Christ shall enter, only those he has cleansed from sin with
his precious blood, only that multitude that no man can number,
chosen in him before the foundation of the world. There is nothing
that leans on the flesh that is allowed therein, because all
of our righteousnesses, all that we try to do to earn favour with
God and qualification for this kingdom with God, all of it is
filthy rags in his sight. The true circumcision, the true
people of God, the true bride of Christ are those who worship
God in the Spirit, who have no confidence in the flesh, and
who rejoice in Christ Jesus. I got that the wrong way around,
didn't I? Rejoice in Christ Jesus in the middle, and then no confidence
in the flesh. It's only the multitude redeemed
from the law's curse by Christ that are there. As Paul, as he's
writing Philippians chapter 3, these people, all his believing
people, have one overriding ambition. Paul says in Philippians 3 verse
9, what's your ambition, Paul? My ambition is that I may win
Christ. What is it to win Christ? It's
to be found with this multitude in this glorious city of God,
this bride of Christ, that I may win Christ and be found in Him. not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law but that which is through the faith of
Christ the righteousness which is of God by faith it's apprehended
by faith but it's righteousness which is as a result of the faith
of Christ in redemption and thereby with that if you're found there
in him having That righteousness which is through the faith of
Christ, you will find yourself accepted in the Beloved. And
if we believe these words of this book, you will hear the
words, because Jesus has promised it, and He cannot lie, you will
hear these words in Matthew 25 that we read right at the start,
which will be these, Come, ye blessed of my Father, Inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. In my Father's house are many
mansions. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and
take you to be with me, that where I am, you may be also.
This is my will. Father, I will that those that
you have given me, this multitude, shall be with me where I am and
shall be home. Behold my glory. Do you have
this hope in you? Do you know, as Job did, that
you shall see your Redeemer in your resurrected flesh? The worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Each night,
as you go to bed, can you say with the psalmist, I will both
lay me down in peace and sleep, for thou, Lord, only, makest
me dwell in safety. Amen.