The text this evening is Revelation
chapter 21, verse 9, and we will go through Revelation chapter
22 and verse 5. The day of the Lord will come
as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass
away with a great noise. and the elements shall melt with
a fervent heat. The earth also and the works
that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to
be in all holy conversation and godliness? These things are going
to pass away. That ought to have an effect
on our lives. Looking for and hasting unto the coming day of
God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and
the elements shall melt with the fervent heat. Nevertheless,
we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a
new earth wherein dwelleth Righteousness. Here in Revelation, Chapter 21,
continuing through Chapter 22, the Apostle John is given a vision
of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, as he does, as he gives us this
description of the vision that God gave him. He gives us a beautiful,
symbolic picture of the church of God. in her final consummate
glory. But as we read of the picture
given here, and the final consummate glory of God's church, you have
to understand that John is speaking about that which is but the consummation
of our present standing and our present life in Jesus Christ
the Lord. We're told in Hebrews chapter
12, ye are come to the heavenly Jerusalem. We're told in Galatians
4 that Jerusalem, which is above, is the mother of us all. So it
speaks about God's church in this present tense. And yet when
we get here to Revelation 21 and 22, John tells us that he's
looking at these things that are done after the whole earth
has been made new by Christ Jesus. Judgment's over, and this is
the consummation of these things. So that as we read through the
passage, understand first, it is a symbolic picture. The language
is allegorical. It is intended to be understood
spiritually, not carnally, not physically. We're going to live
eternally on a new heavens and new earth. What that means, I
just don't know. I just don't know. It is a literal
place, literal life. These bodies, these physical
bodies shall be raised in immortality, spiritual bodies, and we shall
live in the new heavens and new earth forever. But John here
gives us this picture that God gave him in allegorical spiritual
language to make us understand. that the beauty and the glory
awaiting us in heaven is indescribable beyond words, indescribable beyond
imagination. This is that which awaits us. And yet that which awaits us
is our present possession, the inheritance we have obtained
in Christ Jesus, the Lord. I recall years ago, Brother Henry
Mahan and I were preaching together And someone asked Brother Bohan
how many children they had. His son, Robbie, was killed in
Vietnam in 1969. His daughter, Becky, was still
living. He said, I have three in Ashland and one in the city,
Foursquare. That's the way to look at the
glory we're about to read here tonight. It's present, a present
reality. Our Savior has gone and prepared
a place for us. And he's coming again to receive
us unto himself that where he is, there we may be also. That
as he enjoys all the glory he earned by his obedience and death
as our substitute, we shall have that same glory and shall enjoy
it just as he does in all its fullness. All things are ours
in Christ Jesus the Lord. Let us then be like Abraham while
we live on this earth. Many women looking for a city
whose builder and maker is God. I want by God the Holy Spirit
to entice your hearts away from the earth, to entice your hearts
away from time. to entice your hearts away from
all the limitations of this present existence to glory, to make you
thirsty for eternity, thirsty for heavenly glory, anxious to
enter into that glory awaiting us in heaven. I want to show
you 12 things in the passage before us. Obviously, I will
be very brief. I'm just going to call your attention
to what's stated in the scriptures here. We'll come back to it another
time, perhaps, and try to give you some further explanation. First, the church of God is described
as a city, the holy city, the New Jerusalem. In verse 10 of
chapter 21, He carried me away in the spirit to a great and
high mountain and showed me that great city, the whole of Jerusalem,
descending from God out of heaven. In verse 16, he speaks of it
again as a city four square. And then he speaks of it in verse
18 as a city of pure gold surrounded by a great and high wall. The
church of God is a community of men and women who have fellowship
with God in the Lord Jesus Christ. This community in its ultimate
fullness will be an enormous, flourishing city. Now the church
we speak of here is not this local church, as important as
this is, and the local church I can't overstate the importance
of it. This is where God meets with
his saints. This is where God sends forth
his word. This is where God has given his
ordinances of divine worship. Nothing on this earth is more
important to you and me than the gathering of God's saints
in public worship. But you could be a member of
this church or any other church and perish in your sins. Being
a member of a physical church will not benefit your soul unless
you know God, our savior. But the church John speaking
of here, this holy Jerusalem, this holy city, this church,
this is the body of Christ. This is the bride of Christ.
You don't join this church. You're born into it. You don't
decide to come in, you're brought in by the power and grace of
God. It's called a holy city because
this city has been purified, made holy by the blood and righteousness
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here we walk with God in sweet
fellowship, in perfect holiness. Not ours, not something we produce,
but His holiness, His righteousness. It's called the New Jerusalem
because it's been renewed and is constantly renewed. The Church
of God is His new creation. It is renewed by grace and constantly
renewed. He continually pours out His
Spirit upon us. He continually revives and refreshes
us with His Spirit. We believe and we prove this
day by day in our constant experience of grace. Do we not? You want
to believe God and you can't. And then He gives you His Spirit
and you believe. You read the scriptures and you
feel so utterly dead and lifeless. You wonder, why does this book
just read like a newspaper? You want to worship God and see
the Savior and hear God speak, and then He pours out His Spirit
and speaks to you by His Word, so that we are continually, day
by day, hour by hour, renewed by His Spirit. It's called the
great city. because it's made up of a great
multitude which no man can number. The New Jerusalem is a radiant,
highly valued city, a city of pure gold, it's described here,
because God considers his church the most precious, valuable thing
in his creation. And Rex and I say that I'm not,
we have a tendency to think about collective things with a little
personal distinction. Each of his own, each of his
own. God considers the most valuable,
precious thing in his creation. This city of pure gold, pure
gold. Four square, it's in perfect
symmetry. It's just as high as it is broad. It's just as wide as it is deep. Four square, 14 miles high, 1,400
miles high, 1,400 miles long, 1,400 miles wide with the measure
of a man. That is to say, this holy city is exactly according to the determination
of God our Savior in covenant grace. This man measures the
city and by the measurement of a man, it's given in perfect
symmetry, exact dimensions, not to describe physical dimensions
at all, but to show us that all who make up this church, all
who are God's elect, they are exactly the number ordained of
God to life eternal before the world began. Indeed, the church
was his. Before ever we were created in
time. Before ever we were born from
our mother's wombs and came forth from our mother's wombs. Before
ever we lived on this earth. The church of God was finished
before the world began. This new Jerusalem is altogether
perfect. The psalmist says, walk about
Zion. Go round about her. Tell her
the towers thereof. Mark you well her bulwarks. Consider
her palaces that you may tell it to the generations to come.
Tell everyone of the greatness and glory of God's work in the
saving of his people. All right, look at verse 9. This
holy city, the church, is described here as the bride of Christ.
And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. In this part of the country,
there are a good many folks who spell Baptist with a capital
B. And they think Baptists are the only true church, and the
Baptist will be the bride of Christ. And they're, oh, now,
you other folks, you'll get into heaven, but you won't be part
of the bride. You'll just be kind of guests. Gary Roper, I
heard him preaching years ago, he said they think we're going
to polish the spit to while they spit. But that's that's a pretty
good description of it. But that's nonsense. That's nonsense.
The bride of Christ is that body of his chosen to which he unites
himself and to which he unites her being made one with him. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians
five tells wives to reverence their husbands and tells husbands
to love their wives and he speaks of a man leaving his father and
his mother and He and his wife being joined to being one flesh
and he says this is a great mystery But I'm not talking about husbands
and wives. I'm talking about Christ in his
church This is a marriage of God to our flesh Christ became
one of us and makes us one with him in a blessed mystical union. And I can't think of a better
way to describe it, a mystical union, something revealed that
cannot be explained, that cannot be really understood, really
and truly one with Jesus Christ, his bride. So this holy city,
the new Jerusalem is his bride, Bought with his blood, robed
in his righteousness, made one with him who he's coming publicly
to wed in the last day. Number three, look at verse 11.
The city, the New Jerusalem, is a well-lit city, having the
glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious,
even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. and no fog, no mist,
no haze, no darkness. Verse 23, and the city had no
need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the
glory of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof. Verse 5 of chapter 22, and there
shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth them light, and they
shall reign forever and ever. God himself, as he's revealed
and known in Jesus Christ, the sin-atoning lamb, is the light
of the city. And Christ, the light, drives
away darkness and ignorance in the night of sorrow. It's only
in Christ that the glory of God is revealed. God, who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. And in this New Jerusalem, only
in Christ is God's glory revealed. And in Christ it is revealed. So that all the glory of the
triune God is revealed in the Son, the crucified Redeemer. He's the light. As we are born
into this kingdom, we're translated from darkness into light. We are now children of light. And we walk in the light so that
God gives us understanding in his word and in his ways so that
we have the mind of Christ. Believers understand the works
of God and the ways of God and in eternity. When all things
are made new, we shall walk in the perfection of that light
of the revelation of the glory of God. In John 1 18, we're told
no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten, which is in
the bosom of the father, he hath declared him. Jesus Christ, the
incarnate God, by his obedience unto death, by his accomplishment
of redemption, shows us God in his fullness. All his attributes
all his glory all his majesty when the scripture says he hath
declared him The word declared is the word from which we get
our word exegete or exegesis. You have studied the scriptures
here And I seek to find the meaning of the text in the words revealed
in the book And I bring out the meaning of the text to you. That's
what exegesis is, the expounding of scriptures. So the Lord Jesus
Christ, the incarnate God, is he in whom God is revealed. Christ shows us God. The incarnate God shows us all
the fullness of the triune God, and thus it is now and shall
be forever. Arise, shine, for thy light has
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. God is spirit. We cannot see a spirit, but we
shall see all the fullness of God in that man, Jesus Christ
the Lord. All of God, you can know. Now listen carefully to me. All
of God, you can know. All of God, you can hear. All
of God, you can see. All of God, you can touch. Jesus Christ is. God's spirit. God's spirit. He makes himself known to us
by becoming one of us in the person of his son. Number four,
look at verse 22. The church of God is the temple
of God. But here John tells us that God
is the temple of his church. I saw no temple therein in this
holy city for the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are the temple of
it. Now it is true. We are the temple
of God. The spirit of God dwells in us. But understand this, we dwell
in God. We live in the spirit. This shall
be made fully manifest in heaven's glory. We shall live forever
in the atmosphere of God. The radiance of God's being shall
fill the entire city of God. It should be fully manifest Everywhere
to everyone. God makes himself known now. And your knowledge of God, your
knowledge of God is not determined by your brilliance. We have folks
sitting here tonight who are very well-educated, very academic,
very smart folks, and some of us not so well-educated, not
so academic, not so smart. Your academic ability, your intellectual
abilities, your academic training doesn't give you any edge on
knowing God. Not the slightest. Not the slightest. God is known by revelation. God
is known by making himself known to you in the person of his son. And this revelation of God is
given to all his own alike. I don't mean by that, that here
presently, we all know God to the same fullness and same measure.
That's not possible. We're different human beings.
We have the light of the knowledge of God in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
We walk before him in faith and we enjoy his revelation of himself
in our experience of his grace. So we walk before him knowing
all things needful for our salvation. But in heaven's glory, we shall
know God fully. In the full radiance of his glory,
and all shall know him alike. All shall know, you'll need no
more prophet or preacher saying, know the Lord, for all shall
know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. We all
will walk before God in the light of his glory in the heavenly
Canaan in the new Jerusalem. And there will be no back settlements
there, no back streets, no dark alleys. Number five, the new
Jerusalem is a divinely secured fortress. Look at verse 12. Round about this city is a great
high wall. The wall has four sides. It's
an unseen wall. It's an unseen wall, but it's
a real wall and a secure wall. Look at verse 12. and had a wall,
great and high, and had 12 gates, and at the gates, 12 angels,
and the names written thereon, which are the names of the 12
tribes of the children of Israel. You mean nobody enters into this
city except Jews? That's right. Nobody but Jews. Nobody but the 12 tribes of Israel.
In fact, they're described in Revelation 7 as 144,000. That's all. That's all. 12,000 out of each tribe. That's all. What's it talking
about? A specific number given for a number beyond man's calculation. Speaking of a specific people,
because God's determined who they are. And they're all Jews,
not outwardly, but inwardly. Not the physical seed of Abraham,
the spiritual seed of Abraham. Read on. Verse 17. And he measured
the wall thereof at hundred and forty and four cubits, according
to the measure of a man, that is of the angel. And the building
of the wall of it was of jasper. And the city was pure gold, like
in the clear glass. The wall of our salvation is
God himself. This is what he says in Zechariah.
I will be under her a wall of fire round about and will be
the glory in the midst of her. So that with this wall surrounding
us all the time. Now. as surely as then. Now, as surely as then, we are
absolutely secure, absolutely safe from every foe, from every
danger, from every possible danger. There's no possibility of anyone
doing us harm. We are secured. God himself encamped
round about them that fear him. Number six, look at verse 14.
The foundations upon which this city is built are the 12 apostles
of Christ. And the wall of the city had
12 foundations and in them the names of the 12 apostles of the
Lamb. Verse 19, the foundations of
the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones.
The first foundation was Jasper, and the second, Sapphire, and
the third, Chalcedon, and the fourth, Emerald, the fifth, Sardonyx,
and the sixth, Sardius, the seventh, Chrysalite, the eighth, Beryl,
the ninth, Topaz, the tenth, Chrysoporus, the eleventh, Jacob,
the twelfth, Amethyst. The men and women come into this
city from all parts of the earth. They enter in to glory by the
preaching of the gospel of the apostles, their foundation. It says the foundation of the
city is the 12 apostles. Paul explains that to us. We
are built upon the foundation, Ephesians 2, of the apostles
and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone so that The gospel of Christ, the revelation
of God in Christ is the foundation on which God builds his church.
He is that foundation laid by God in Zion upon which he builds
his church in all ages of time. And we shall stand upon that
foundation to eternity. This great foundation reveals
all the glorious attributes of God described by these precious
stones. Number seven. The great city
has 12 gates of pearl. We won't read all of these passages
again, but look at verse 12. Had a wall great and high and
had 12 gates and the gates, 12 angels and the names of them,
the names written their own, which are the names of the 12
tribes of the children of Israel. On the east three gates, on the
north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west
three gates, verse 21. And the twelve gates were twelve
pearls. Every several gate was one pearl. And the street of the city was
pure gold, as it were transparent glass. A gate this way, and a
gate this way, and a gate this way, and a gate this way. north,
south, east and west, reaching to the four corners of the earth,
opened all the time so that God gathers his elect from every
part of the earth into this city. And the gates are always open. There's no night here. The gates
are always open. The gates are made of pearl. Each gate, one pearl, the pearl
of great price. Christ Jesus, our Lord. And he
and he alone is the door by which sinners enter into heaven's glory. He and he alone is the door by
which sinners enter in and find life and salvation. And in this
city is one street. Now, there again is a pretty
good indication of this being an allegorical picture. You got
a gate here and a gate here and a gate here and a gate here. And coming into the city, you
come in on a street of pure gold. That's just one street. There's
got to be four. No, he's giving us a picture.
It's an allegory. There's one street in the city
of God. One street that leads to the
throne of God. One street that leads to the
rivers of life. One street that leads to the
tree of life. And that one street is the gospel
of God's free grace in Jesus Christ the Lord. It is gold. Transparent gold. If you ever find any of that,
please let me know. Transparent gold, clear as glass. There's
no such thing, not on this earth. It's rich beyond estimation. Nothing so precious as the gospel
of God's free grace. And it's transparent. It's crystal
clear. It's crystal clear. and no hidden
meanings, no secret stuff, crystal clear. God didn't do his work
in a corner, he did it openly. And the word of the gospel is
proclaimed to men. Some might say, well, people
don't believe in election because they don't understand it. That's
the reason folks get upset with it. No, the problem is they do
understand it. That's the problem. Folks can't
understand limited atonement. Oh, yes, they can. Just preach
it and watch them get mad. They do understand it. They do
understand it. What they don't know, what they don't see, is
the glory and grace of God revealed in it. But the facts are crystal
clear. Crystal clear. There's not anybody
sitting here, not anyone sitting here, young or old, who doesn't
understand what man's depravity is. You've been taught it plainly. Nobody sitting here doesn't understand
what unconditional election is. You've been taught it plainly.
Nobody who doesn't understand what limited atonement is. Christ
effectually redeemed his people. Nobody who doesn't understand
the irresistible call of God's grace or the final preservation
of God's life. Those things are plainly revealed
all together without works. And that's what causes men to
get upset and angry. It takes man out of the equation
and gives all the glory to God. It's transparent gold. Crystal
clear and those who preach it preach it just that way with
plainness and with clarity look at verse 14 Blessed are they
that do his commandments. What's that? Believe on his son
first John 3 23 that they might have right to the tree of life
Right power authority to take the tree of life to eat the fruit
of this tree forever? Yeah, we're the sons of God.
To as many as received him, to them gave he power, the ability,
the authority, the right to be the sons of God. That they may
enter in through the gates of the city, for without are dogs. That's not talking about the
kind you go hunting with. That's talking about male prostitutes.
It's talking about false prophets and sorcerers, those who practice
witchcraft, speaking to those who peep, and whoremongers, the
vile, the corrupt, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever
loveth and maketh a lie. Number eight, the street of the
city. is the pure gold, transparent
as glass, and this street representing the way to God is that which
is presented by these angels, the messengers, these messengers
of God, who come and declare the gospel to you, saying, come,
this is the way, walk in it. Number nine, look at verse one
of chapter 22. This great city is supplied by
a river, the river of the water of life, the river of the water,
proceeding from the throne of God. He showed me a pure river
of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne
of God and of the land. There is a river, the psalmist
said, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the
holy place, the tabernacles of the Most High. This river is
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. All grace originates with God
on His throne and flows to sinners through Jesus Christ, the Redeemer.
Number 10. In the midst of the city is the
tree of life. Chapter 22 again, verse 1. He
showed me this river. And then in verse 2, in the midst
of the street of it and on either side of the river was there the
tree of life, which bear 12 manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing
of the nations. And there was no more curse,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and
his servants shall serve him. The tree of life, again, is our
Redeemer, set forth in his sacrifice as our substitute. The tree of
life is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, The leaves of this
tree, the doctrines of the gospel, the teachings of the gospel.
Folks get somehow bent out of shape with that word doctrine.
Doctrine means teaching. The doctrine of Christ is the
teaching of Christ. The doctrine of the gospel is
the teaching of the gospel. The leaves of this tree are for
the healing of the nations. So we come and preach the gospel.
You send me all over the world to preach the gospel. We do everything
we can to preach the gospel to men everywhere, because the leaves
of this tree are for the healing of the nations. You see, man
is born with a heart plague. a plague of death in his heart
that must be healed by the grace of God. With his stripes, we
are healed by the sacrifice of our Redeemer. We are healed.
And we proclaim this in the gospel. And God puts the leaves on the
world. He makes and heals the broken
hearted. The tree speaks then of the blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ and the sure accomplishment of salvation
by his sacrifice. Number 11, verse three. In the
New Jerusalem, God sits on his throne. Here in God's church, in God's
kingdom, his sovereignty is acknowledged, his will is obeyed, and his face
is seen. Every now and then, I'll get
a question, either by mail or someone personally will ask me
about what is considered the great controversy of the day,
the lordship question, lordship salvation. Folks have this notion,
you know, you can talk folks into making a profession of faith
and accept Jesus as a fire escape from hell and live like hell
for the next 20 years and then decide to make Jesus lord of
your life. What nonsense? Oh, no. In the
new Jerusalem, in the city of God, in the church of God, everybody
sees God on his throne. And everybody bows to the throne. Everybody acknowledges Christ
as Lord. Everybody surrenders to him. That's what it is to believe
him. Number 12, look at verse 24. The inhabitants of this holy
city, the new Jerusalem, are specified people. The nations
of them which are saved Shall walk in the light of it And the
kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it Verse
27 and there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth
Neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie Nobody will enter
the kingdom of god who defiles anything Our work's abomination. Our practice is deceit. Nobody. Nobody. But brother Don, that
shuts us all out. Oh no, no, no, no, no. You see,
Christ took away our sin before he gave us life. He took away
our sin before we were birthed into his church and kingdom.
And we enter into heaven's glory in the perfection of our Redeemer. Who are these people? They which
are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. I wonder if my name is there.
Let's see. This Book of Life of the Lamb
was written before the world began. It's the Book of Life
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The Book of Life
of the Lamb records the names of all who were chosen of God
in eternity, predestined to heavenly glory in Christ Jesus, and purchased
by the precious blood of Christ at Calvary in time. But how can
I know that my name's written in that book? The Word of God
declares, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved. The word of God declares he that
believeth hath everlasting life. The word of God declares plainly
that faith in Christ is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence
of things not seen. Bill Raleigh, knowing something
about the horrid evil of my heart, my sin, knowing something about
all my base corruption, I have absolute confidence I
shall enter into this city, that my name is written in the book
of life of the Lamb, and I'm chosen of God. I've been redeemed
by the precious blood of his Christ. Are you that good? No. No, I'm that bad. I'm that bad. I believe on the
Son of God. Will you enter into the city
at last? If you enter in now by faith,
you will enter in there forever by the power of His grace. God
give you faith in His Son. Amen.