take your bibles now and turn
with me to revelation chapter twenty one my text this morning is twenty
five verses long begins in verse nine of revelation chapter twenty
one and it ends in verse five of revelation chapter twenty
two I'm not going to make it through these twenty five verses
I already know that but we'll go as far as we can go and We'll
break it up into two messages or even three if needful. Now
the subject of these verses is the church as God sees her. I don't want necessarily, I've
been deceived by these eyes, by these ears. And I don't want
to be deceived. I want to see things as God sees
things. And that's the subject of these
verses. It's the church, as God sees
her, glorified. Glorified. We don't think of
ourselves glorified, do we? We got too much sin around us
and too much sin in us. But God sees his church glorified. Sanctified. Justified. and complete, 100% complete in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The description given to John
is a symbolic picture of the church in its glorified state
before God. Now remember, these things are
symbolic. And what I want us to do is to
go through these verses and consider how God views His elect. Verse 9, Revelation chapter 21,
verse 9. And there came unto me one of
the seven angels, which had the seven vows full of the seven
last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither. I will
show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. Now the first thing that
I want you to see is that all that's written here is heard
and seen by divine invitation. The scripture says over in 1
Corinthians chapter two, it's a quotation from the Old Testament
and it says, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, mankind. the things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. And this is what he's talking
about here. This is what I want you to see, is that all that's
written here is heard and seen by divine invitation. These seven
angels, these messengers were sent specifically to the Apostle
John. I'm not told that anybody else
on the Isle of Patmos saw what John saw. God sent John a messenger. A messenger. The revelation of
Jesus Christ and his church is made known to God's elect by
his messengers according to the good pleasures of his will. This is how God what pleased
God, the way that pleased God for them to hear and to see through
his message. I want you to see something here.
John was in the Spirit on the day he saw these things. That's
what it said, he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, on the Isle
of Patmos. But his being in the Spirit did
not cause the message of the angel to be unnecessary. Are
you with me? Now this is what people are telling
me today. God reveals these things to his
spirit and his messengers are not needful. John was in the
spirit on the Lord's day. But being in the spirit did not
make the message of the angel unnecessary. It was just as necessary
as if he weren't in the spirit. He was necessary. You saying
that God's Spirit's not sufficient to reveal the glory of God in
Christ? Not at all. Not a matter of can,
it's a matter of will. It's a matter of will. What will
God do? That's what I want to know. God
can do anything. With God, all things are possible.
But what will God do? What's God's will in the matter?
Of his own will, James said, begat he us with the word of
truth. And God's spirit works with and through his servants. He proves this over and over
by plain declaration and by example. Secondly, the revelation of Christ
and his bride is something that requires obedience on the part
of the sinner. The angel said, come. Come up here. Come. You come with me. You come with
me. I'm going to show you the lamb's
wife, his bride. I'm going to come up hither.
I remember when I joined the Navy back in 1968, from the day
I arrived at boot camp, my sole duty was one of obedience. They didn't want my opinion on
anything. They didn't want me to think
it over. Whatever they told me, that's what I was to do. Obedience. I was told where to sit and when
to rise. I was told when to march and
when to stop, how to stand, when to eat, how to eat, and how much
to eat. I knew nothing about military
life and they knew it. And so I listened to everything
I was told and did the best I could do to do it. Believers are God's
servants and need his instruction. They've already been shown that
with their conviction of sin. They know their inability. See,
this is the problem. A lot of men want to skip that
part of God's work. They want to skip that conviction
of sin. Conviction of sin is necessary. Until you realize your inabilities
and realize your ignorance and realize that you're in darkness,
that you're in need of these things that God supplies, you're
not gonna follow Him. You're not gonna follow these
things. They need his instruction. And the one great evidence of
God having done a work in them is their obedience to God and
his servants. Paul said to the Galatian church,
he said, I know your election, or to the church at Thessalonica,
he said, I know your election of God. Because my message didn't come
unto you in word only, it come in power and in the Holy Ghost,
and you become followers of us and the Lord. You become followers. That's
what that angel came to John and I don't think he was wearing
a uniform or had so many stripes on it and he just told John,
John knew that that messenger was of God and that messenger
said come up hither and he went with him. He went with him. I'm not told anywhere where John
resisted what the messenger told him to do. Third thing I want you to see
is how all this came to pass. It says in Revelation 21.9, the
angel talked with me. He talked with me. I was talking
to Eric Lutter this week who just took pastorship of the church
up in Ozark, Missouri. And he was talking to me about
how strange it was for people to call him pastor now and look
to him as pastor. And getting up to preach and
all these things. And I said, Eric, I've been studying
over here in the book of Revelations. And I said, it says here that
when the messenger of God came to John, he was sent to John,
John was called to him. It says he talked with him. He talked with him. He did not commune with him by
telepathy or by way of dreams and visions. He talked to him. And the angel didn't scream at
John. He talked to him. He talked to
him. He didn't scream at him. like
he was a hardened rebel, but he talked to him. Peter tells
us to feed the flock of God, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, and not as lords over God's heritage, but
as examples of his saving grace. Talk to him. Just sit down and talk to him.
And that's what that angel did. And shouting, while it's an effective
tool to wake men up, it's got no power to accomplish anything
in the believer. That's the Lord's work. That's
the Lord's work. So the angel came to John and
he talked to him. What did he talk about? Well,
here it is. He said, I'll show you the bride.
The bride, the lamb's wife. Now Christ and his bride are
one. They're one, and this is all
the way through this book of Revelations, that's what he's
telling us. They're one. Our great and eternal Father
chose a people in His Son, predestinated them unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to Himself. By an eternal covenant of grace,
He declared His elect to be in union with His Son, one with
Him from all eternity. He appointed His Son as surety
of this covenant and guarantor of this covenant, and He guaranteed
everything that that covenant required. When the Son of God
was made flesh, He came in union with His people. He was one with
them in their flesh, bone of their bones. Huh? Flesh of their flesh. They were in Him as He obeyed
the law in every jot and tittle. They were one with Him as He
was put to death as our substitute. They were one with Him when He
was buried. And they were one with Him when
He rose from the dead and ascended into glory, and one with Him
when He sat down at the right hand of the Father. This is the
very focal point of our hope, is that we're one with Him. We're not waiting to see if we're
gonna be saved. We're looking to Christ who's
already saved us. Isn't that what Paul told Timothy?
God has saved us. He saved us. When did he do that?
When he put us in Christ before the foundation of the world.
And then he called us. He saved us because he made us
one with Christ, and then he called us. Not according to our
works, but according to his own purpose and grace which was given
us in Christ Jesus before the world began. In order to see the church as
God sees her, you must see her in him. On one occasion he said,
talking about the father, they said, show us the father and
that'll satisfy us. That'll satisfy us. He said,
if you've been so long time with me and you've not seen the Father,
he that seeth me has seen the Father. We're one. Well, he that seeth Christ, he's
seen his bride, because they're one. That they may be one, that's
what he prayed in his high priestly prayer, even as we are one, talking
about the Father. Revelation 21.10. And He carried me away in the Spirit
to a great and high mountain. And He showed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Now I want you to turn with me
to Galatians chapter 4. This is the fifth thing I want
you to see, that the Lamb's Wife is likened to a great city. Now you remember what I told
you at the beginning. All this is symbolic. It's all
symbolic language telling us about the Bride of Christ. The
Bride of Christ is a community of men and women who've all been
reconciled to God. and brought into fellowship with
God, and brought into fellowship with one another. You know, a city's not like a
village. I live in Taylor, 500 and some
population, it's not a city. It's just a little town, just
a little town. A city, a big city, has all that
its citizens require. A big city. Has clothing, food,
protection, schools, power, government, medicine. Has everything they
need. Of course, I'm not talking about
physical needs. I'm talking about their spiritual
needs. We're clothed in this new Jerusalem with the righteousness
of Christ. I don't have to go anywhere else.
I don't have to go to Samaria to find a righteousness. I have
righteousness in the new Jerusalem. I have the righteousness of Christ
governed in this city by the Lord of hosts. I'm fed in this
city the body and blood of Christ. I'm preserved in this city by
the power of God through faith. I'm taught of God and I'm healed
from all my spiritual diseases. He's the great physician. He's as well, he doesn't need
a physician, but he's the sick. But I don't have to leave New
Jerusalem to find it. Everything I need is right there.
And then, sixthly, this great city has a great name. It's called
the Holy Jerusalem. Now, Hagar and Sarah had boys. That's what we're gonna read
about over here in Galatians. They had boys by the same man,
Abraham. And these two sons and their
mothers are an allegory which are typical of the two covenants
of works and grace. Hagar is symbolic of Mount Sinai,
which is in Arabia, which is connected. It's connected, he
tells us here in Galatians 4. It is connected to earthly Jerusalem. It's fashioned hard upon earthly
Jerusalem. And both she and her children,
the legalistic Jews, are in bondage even to this day. in bondage to the law with a
nature which cannot obey it in any way which is pleasing to
God. In Galatians 3.10 it said, for
as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse,
for it's written, cursed is everyone who continueth not in all things
written in the book of the law to do them. But, now here's what I want you
to see, Galatians chapter four, verse 26. But Jerusalem, which
is above, there is a Jerusalem over in the Middle East right
now, present, passing hard on Mount Sinai. They're in bondage. That nation as a whole is in
bondage. But Jerusalem, which is above,
is free, which is the mother of us all. God's children are
born of the promise of God, just as Isaac was. Here's what God
said, at this time I'll come and Saber's gonna have a son. And he waited till that was absolutely
impossible. And then he came and she had
a son, Isaac. He was the heir. God's children
are born of the promise of God. Now watch this, Galatians 4.28.
Now we brethren, as Isaac was, are children of the promise. God said to Abraham, at this
time I'll come and Sarah's gonna have a son. A son by promise,
a son by God's sovereign, immutable grace. Holy Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
which Paul tells us in Galatians 4.26 is above, holy by sanctification
of the spirit and belief of the truth. Holy because she's one
with Christ and holy in her holy representation in Christ. Holy
by a new birth and a new nature and holy having left behind that
old corruptible flesh. Jerusalem is above where she's
sealed with Christ in the heavenlies. Both sealed and seated with him
in the heavenlies. And to see this Jerusalem in
such a way as to make us rejoice, we must see her descending out
of heaven. Not rising up from the earth,
but descending from God out of heaven. You see what he's telling
y'all? Talking about the the lamb's wife, the bride. You're
not going to see her rising up in the earth, you're going to
see her descending out of heaven from God. Victorious, complete, blessed,
preserved of God. And her dissension is from God
out of heaven. It's according to his eternal
purpose and decree, and it's by his command and according
to his will. And then watch this. Here's the
next thing, Revelation 21 verse 11. Having the glory of God. That which set earthly Jerusalem
apart from the rest of the world was the temple. where the glory
of God was set before men in time. That's what set her apart
from everything else in the world. When they went to worship, they
went to Jerusalem. Had to pack up their stuff, I
don't care where you live, you had to pack up your stuff, go
all the way to Jerusalem. This is where the glory of God
was set before men in time. showing to all who gathered there
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And so long
as that old temple was yet standing, they carried out the ceremonies
which God ordained, and they observed these things, he tells
us in Romans chapter three, verse 24, if you'll read those passages,
they observed these things by faith. By faith. When they saw that priest go
in beyond that veil, they saw Christ going in to glory. They
observed these things by faith. And these things, he tells us
in the book of Hebrews, pointing back to those old sacrifices,
were figures for the time then present, patterns of things in
the heavens, and shadows of good things to come. All of which
Christ fulfilled by his person and work. That which sets apart
the heavenly Jerusalem is the glory of God. The glory of God. This glory radiates within this
heavenly city. And it's the glory of God in
His Son, our Redeemer. That's the light that lights
heaven. Be no need of the sun anymore. This earthly sun will
be gone then. Our light is Christ. Christ. You cannot see the bride of Christ,
the holy Jerusalem, apart from the glory of God in Christ. Men
who talk about seeing Christ and accepting Christ and all
this kind of nonsense that they go through, you can't see that
and not see the glory of God. This is how he sets his son apart
from everything else, everybody else. He was the brightness of
the Father's glory and the express image of his person. And Paul
tells us pretty clear over in 2 Corinthians 4, He said, God
who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in
our hearts, allowing us to see the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And this glory takes in her eternal
election, predestination, all the appointments of Christ, including
his incarnation. This glory takes in every aspect
of our salvation. And in so doing, it radiates
the glory of God's mercy and grace. And then he tells us this,
her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper
stone, clear as crystal. Now the common color for jasper
is red. It can appear in all colors.
But the rare thing of Jasper, what makes it a valuable gem
is to find it clear. Clear with this. So the gospel
here is likened unto a transparent gem. And it's set to us as clear
because the gospel has nothing to hide. It has nothing to hide. The gospel is preached that men
might know and that men might hear and that men might see. We don't try to preach the gospel
in a way that clouds men's minds or puts a veil over things. That's
not what I'm attempting to do. I want to set things before you
clear. I want you to see. That's why it don't bother me
so bad when somebody gets mad and leaves. They heard what I
said, that's why I'm up here. I want you to hear what I have
to say. I want you to believe, but will you believe or not,
I want you to hear. I want you to hear. Gospel has nothing to hide. God's
glory, his character, his justice, his righteousness, his love,
his mercy, and his grace. And whenever God commands his
church to be seen of men, it's always to the glory of his revelation
of Christ. There are two great distinctions
between the heavenly Jerusalem and the earthly Jerusalem. God's
glory and the glory of man. God's glory is seen in the New
Jerusalem. When John saw that New Jerusalem
that holy Jerusalem descending down from God out of heaven,
he saw the glory of God. Earthly Jerusalem is all about
the glory of man. And then here's the next thing.
The eighth thing that I want you to see here is that the church,
this heavenly Jerusalem, is a walled city. You're not gonna climb
in. over this wall. It says it has
a high wall. The wall goes all the way around
the city. It's great and it's high. But
the wall, now watch this, has 12 gates. You don't have to climb
over the wall. All you have to do is go through
the door that God's already put there. Don't need to climb over. These are open doors. Open doors. They're on every side. Every
side. There's 12 gates, three on each
side. 12 angels. 12 messengers. All the way around. You know what they're saying?
Come on in. Come in. Come in. No matter which
door you come to. Come in. A wall great and high, having
12 gates, 12 angels, and names written thereon, which are the
names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. Now remember,
we're still looking at the heavenly Jerusalem. And the heavenly Jerusalem
is populated by spiritual Jews. The scripture tells us plainly
that he's not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that
circumcision which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew
which is one inwardly and circumcision is that of the heart and in the
spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but
of God. That's the true Jew. The heavenly
Jerusalem is populated by spiritual Jews. Are any of them natural Jews? Some of them. Some of them. But not all of them. The natural
Jew and the Gentiles make up all the nations and people of
the earth out of which God has chosen a people. for the glory
of His name. In Romans chapter 9 verse 23,
Paul tells us that God is going to make known the riches of His
glory on the vessels of mercy which He had aforeprepared unto
glory, even us, Paul said, whom He hath called not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles. Just like he said to Hosea, I'll
call them my people, which were not my people, and her beloved,
which is not beloved. And it shall come to pass that
in that place where it was said unto them, ye are not my people,
there shall they be called the children of the living God. These
names which are written above these gates are not all Jews. But they are. They're spiritual
Jews. Our name are written on his shoulder
and over his heart to bear us up before God. And our names
on those doors, on those gates that lead into that city, there
you find your name, your name written there. The heavenly Jerusalem is surrounded
by a high wall, but there are gates on every side of the city
with the names of his elect inscribed. and they're open unto them forever. Never a time when that door's
shut. Never a time when the sun goes down. Because he's the light. He's the light. All right, may
God give you some understanding of what I've just taught you.