Revelations 19. I preached a
message on this years ago. I'm not for sure when, but I
remember preaching on it. I just want to leave you with
a thought that's found here in verse 1. Revelations 19. After these things, I heard a
great voice of much people in heaven. People in heaven. I often think
about this. People in heaven. Ain't that
wonderful? People in heaven. The way the
Holy Spirit writes these things. He didn't say to try on God in
heaven. That would have been no surprise
to us, would it? That's His throne. That's the Father's house. Naturally,
the Father's there. Naturally, the Son's there. Naturally,
the Holy Spirit's there. He didn't say elect angels in
heaven. Holy angels in heaven. We could have understood that.
That would have been no surprise to us. But He says you are much
people. People in heaven. People in heaven. In that indescribable world that
is above our world. Our Lord Jesus said, they that
shall be counted worthy to obtain that world. That's a high world. That's a holy world. That's a
world in itself, above this world. People in heaven. What is heaven? We don't know much about it,
do we? We know it's a place that nothing that can molest us will
be there. There'll be nothing there that
can bother our conscience. There'll be no sin, no doubts,
no tears, no heartaches. There'll be nothing but good
there. Nothing good will be lacking in that place. Holy heaven. Nothing but perfection dwells
there. And there are people there. People
in heaven. Heaven has been mindful of us. Heaven has been mindful of humanity. Heaven has not adapted itself.
for humanity. But heaven, through the Savior,
has adapted humanity for itself. Heaven has ever been mindful
of humanity. From all eternity, heaven has
been mindful of humanity. There is a book. There is a book
written. And in that book are contained
names of innumerable company of people. Names of people. Our Lord Jesus said, don't rejoice
that the devils are subject to you. These temporal gifts are
just that. They're necessary, but they're
temporal. Don't trust in your graces. They're necessary. Bless God for them. But we don't
trust in them. But rejoice in this, that your
names are written, where? In heaven. And how long have
they been there? before the foundation of the
world. Heaven has always been mindful of people. Much people
in heaven. The Bible will ever be mindful
of humanity. Not only in eternity past, but
in eternity future. Not only has heaven recorded
their names, but heaven has provided an eternal inheritance for them. And it's there in heaven. An
inheritance that's incorruptible, that's undefiled, and that fadeth
not away." And where is it? It's in heaven. Reserved there
in heaven. Do you believe there's much people
in heaven? I've been stressing that lately
to people I've talked to, that I wonder sometimes how you and
I would walk through this world if we lived in the faith. of
that world that's to come. And if we could believe that
now, as we're gathered here, as we are this evening, there
are people in heaven. What would it take to discourage
you if you were convinced that you had a place in heaven? Would
anything in this world get you down if you were living in that
faith of heaven? What in this world would appeal
to you? What would entice you of these
temporal, fading things of this world if you and I lived in the
faith of what this verse teaches us? There are people in heaven. Oh, wouldn't you love to live
in the assurance of that? In the God-given assurance that
there are people in heaven? What contempt would you and I
have for this temporal fading glories that we now presently
enjoy if we believe that in a moment we would enter that eternal life? What glories would appeal to
us in this present world if we had a hope in that eternal glory
that is in heaven? We know that if our earthly house
of this tabernacle were dissolved, We have a building of God eternal
in the heavens. We have it. If our breath leaves
this body, this instant, we have in heaven an eternal glory, a
house, a house not made with hands. And it's eternal in the
heavens. Father, I will that they whom
thou hast given me be with me that they may behold my glory. People in heaven beholding the
glory of the Son of God. When by His grace I shall look
on His face, that will be glory. That will be glory. Do you believe
that? Do you believe that? How often
do you think about that? Do you think about that every
day? Do you live in the faith that there is a heaven? Somebody
said, Bruce, we should be concerned about high doctrine. I tell you,
heaven's pretty high. I don't know how you're going
to get any higher than that. That's pretty high doctrine. Much people
in heaven. Brothers and sisters, heaven
is not a state of mind. Heaven doesn't exist merely in
our imagination. Heaven is only real if you believe
it. That's not so. Heaven is a real place created
of God. Glory is unexpressed. Unable
to tell it out. Eternal glory. And there's much
people there. Jesus is there in His humanity. Elijah is there, and Enoch is
there in their humanity. But heaven is not just a place
for a few choice prophets, or a few apostles, or some eminent
saints. But heaven is a place where much
people are. Much people in heaven. Many shall come from the east
and from the west. And they'll come from the north,
and they'll come from the south. And they'll sit down with Abraham,
and Isaac, and Jacob, where? In heaven's kingdom. In that
world that's to come. Christ is the firstborn among
how many brethren? Many. Many brethren. The Son of Man gave His life
a ransom for many. Christ is bringing many sons,
many sons, many sons to glory. Much people in heaven. What a wonderful thought. Much
people in heaven. Look over here in chapter 7. I think that being so, you and
I could ask this question. How did much people get to heaven? How did they get there? That's
a good question, isn't it? Look here in Revelation chapter
7, in verse 9. After this, I beheld and lo,
a great multitude which no man could number. They came out of
all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, And they
stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes and palms in their hands. And down in verse 13, And one
of the elders answered and said to me, What are these which are
arrayed in white robes? And whence come they? How did
they get you? Where did they come from? And
I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said unto me, These are
they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed
their robes, and made them white in the blood of God's Son. Therefore,
they are here. Therefore, they are before the
throne. And they worship God and serve Him in His holy temple. How did they get here? They washed
their robes. They washed their robes. This
is a metaphor for our conscience. The Lord condescends to speak
to us, Glenn, in language we can understand. If you were working
in a hog pen, and you worked there very long, I'd tell you
what you'd smell like. You'd smell like a hog, wouldn't
you? And you'd have hog manure all over you. And you wouldn't
enter anybody's house that you had any respect for. You'd be
filthy, wouldn't you? You'd need some place to wash
your shirt, to wash your pants, to wash your socks. It even gets
in your skin. You'd have to have some place
to wash. But when we look at this metaphor
here, it reminds us of our conscience. Our conscience is defiled. Our
hearts are filthy. We can never enter heaven that
way. So what do we do? We heard about
this fountain that was opened for sin and what? Uncleanness. Opened on purpose to worship.
And what did we do? We brought our filthy, vile,
polluted hearts. And we washed in this fountain.
Chapter 1 verse 5 says the Lord Jesus washed us in His blood.
And here in this passage it says we wash ourselves, which is true.
Both is true. Both is true. Over there in chapter
1 it shows the necessity of Him washing us. And then here it
shows our submission to that fountain. That we deliberately
saw our need of it, and we applied this precious blood through faith. We looked to this fountain, and
we believed this fountain, and we washed our conscience, our
vile, filthy conscience in this fountain. Oh, what a remedy. Isn't it encouraging,
brothers and sisters, to know there's a fountain to wash in?
And you know a man that washes in this fountain? The Bible says here that it made
their robes white. Washing in the red blood of the
Savior makes your robe white. And it's so white that when they
washed, they could stand before the throne of God. Now that's
clean, ain't it? If you can wash in this fountain,
and He'll so cleanse you from your filth that you can stand
before the eyes of an all-seeing God. And not only stand before
Him, but He can dwell in your midst. I tell you what, that's a pretty
impressive fountain, ain't it? I ain't found another like it.
Have you? They washed. They washed. That's the way they
got there. Is it encouraging for you and
I to know that there's people in heaven today that were once
vile and filthy, just like you and I were? It's encouraging to know there's
people in heaven today that was born in sin, just like you and
I are. That they lived in sin. That
they were sinners by choice and by nature. And yet they're in
heaven today because they washed in this fountain just like you've
done and just like I've done. They struggle with sin just like
you and I struggle with it. They weep over it just like we
do. It's the burden of their heart just like it was ours.
But here they are today as we're here. And where are they? They're
in heaven. They're in heaven. And you will be too if you washed
in this fountain. That's how they got there. They
washed. They washed. And something else is said of
them here. Not only that they washed, but they came out of
great tribulations. They suffered while they were
in this world. They came out of. They came out
of. The tribulations didn't bog them down. The world didn't overcome
them. The troubles finally didn't get
the best of them. They came out. They were tried
in their souls, but they came out. They were tried in their
bodies, but they came out. They were tried in their families,
but they came out. Oh, there was a time when heaven
seemed too high for them. You know there was. They got
in some dark valleys of humiliation, and they couldn't see out of
it. They got on some hills of difficulties. They thought, boy,
I'll never make it up this hill. Heaven seemed too high for them
then. They seemed too low, just like you and I feel sometime
now. But where are they? Where are they? They came out,
just like you're doing. Some of you have been coming
out for years, haven't you? And you know what you're going
to do? You're going to keep coming out. You're going to keep coming out. You're
going to face trials, and you're going to face struggles, and
you're going to keep coming through. You know why? Christ's grace
is sufficient. Jesus stood by me, and He strengthened
me. The Lord is my helper. That's
why we come through these things. That's why we come through. Someone
say, Bruce, there's surely got to be more to it than this. There's
got to be more to it than just washing in the fountain and following
the Lord Jesus and suffering for His sake. No, there is no
more than that. That's it. That's all the Bible
says here in chapter 7. They washed their robes and they
came out of great tribulation. They just followed the Lamb wherever
He led them. Whatever they suffered, they
suffered. Whatever they faced, they overcome it. They didn't
build any cathedrals. They didn't have any worldwide
missionary programs. The world didn't pat them on
the back for all their success. They were nobodies. They were
just family people. Common people like us who just
washed their robes and followed the Lamb. That's all they did.
Brothers and sisters, that's all you have to do to get to
heaven. That's all you have to do to get to heaven. We're all a Christian. There's
a man and a woman who is tried and they suffer and they fall
and they fail. But as long as there's a fountain
for them to wash in and refresh themselves in, they'll come out. They'll come out. And they'll go up to heaven. They'll come out and they'll
go up. Jack Shanks used to tell a story about the old mule. Some
of you may remember the old mule. Jack said that some Mexicans
one time had an old mule. And they took him up to get a
drink of water out of the big old well. And he looked over
in the well and fell in. And they couldn't get him out.
Down about 20 feet in the big old well and couldn't get him
out. And they said, well, let's just cover him up. The old mule,
don't leave him down there to starve to death for water. Let's
just cover him up. So they began to bring truckloads
of, wagonloads of dirt to cover him up. Jack said they'd dump
a big load in on the mule, and he'd shake it off and step up.
And they'd dump another load, and he'd shake it off and step
up. And after a while, the last load they dumped, he shook it
off and stepped out. And Jack said, that's the way
the believer is. We face tribulations. We face trials. But what do we
do? We shake it off and step up by
His grace until someday we'll step out of this life and all
its troubles and all of its trials, all of its heartbreaks and disappointments,
and this world is full of them. And we'll shake it off and step
out and step up to heaven. Much people there in heaven Look
back over at my text and close it. Revelation Chapter 19. Much people
in heaven, how did they get there? They simply washed their conscience,
washed their hearts in the blood, the redeeming blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And that made them white before
God. That enabled God to be in their
midst. God will be in your midst if
you wash in this blood. He can be in your midst in all
His holiness, all of His glory. And they just followed the Lamb.
The sufferings of Christ abounded in them. And they followed the
Lamb. That's how they got to heaven.
What do they do there in heaven? What do these people do in heaven?
Much people in heaven. Look in verse 1 of chapter 19.
They worship. They worship. How do they worship? Look in verse 1. They were saying,
hallelujah, salvation, glory and honor and power unto the
Lord our God. How does a man worship? I tell
you how they worship in heaven. When they ascribe all to God. All wisdom, all power, all glory,
all might is His. Look what they do in verse 2.
They justify the Lord for His judgments upon this rebellious
world. True and righteous are His judgments,
for He has judged the great horde. This world and all of its iniquity,
He has judged it, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication
and had avenged the blood of His servants at her hand. Oh,
this church, these people in heaven, they finally got to pass
the flesh, didn't they? With all its sympathies and its
sensitivity. And now, when God crushes this
world for its iniquity, they have no sympathy. They have no
fleshly sentiment left. They're holy now, body and soul. They see the judgments of God
as being good. And God brings judgment upon
the whore. And what do they say? Just and
true are thou. You're right. You're right. We
can see some of that now, can't we? Oh, some dear old soul or
some dear young person get an awful disease and they're taken
from this world. And we have to say, oh, that's
awful. Oh, I hope that wasn't God's
judgment. But what if it is? Oh, but there
it won't matter. We'll know it's God's judgment.
Old Brother Barnard used to say, when God sends men to hell, when
He assigns them there, the church will shout, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! It's God's judgment. And look
what he says in verse 6. Here's what they do in heaven.
They acknowledge God's sovereignty. They love His sovereign reign.
And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, and
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders. Boy, we sang here. It's off a weekend. But I'm telling
you, when the church is all gathered yonder, it's going to be like
great multitudes, the waters of Niagara, thundering. And it's going to be such a melody.
And here's what they're saying. Hallelujah! For the Lord God
omnipotent, He reigneth. He reigneth. We believe that
now, don't we? We rejoice in that now. That's
what heaven rejoices in. The sovereignty of the Lord our
God. And he says here in verse 7,
they're leaping. Oh, they're glad, they're happy.
Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to Him. For the marriage
of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. What are they doing there? In
a way that they did here, they married the Lamb. They married
their husband. As a woman, a virgin, would marry
a husband, they will marry Christ. Oh, we're married to Him now.
But our husband's away, and he's in a far land. But someday, the
church will marry him, as she was never able to marry here.
She'll see His face. She'll feel the kisses of His
lips. She'll know His love. Oh, He'll
reveal to her His heart like He never could here because of
the infirmities of this flesh. But there she will openly marry
Him. And she'll feel and know His
love through all eternity. Oh, heaven! Heaven, I want to
go there, don't you? I want to go. And I tell you
sometimes, the more I think sooner, the better, if God willed it
to be so. Lord bless His Word.