The New Jerusalem

Transcript

GR 1571
06/06/10
The New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:9-27
Gil Rugh

We're in Revelation 21, we near the close of this great and final word from heaven. This is God's final word to His people and it is a word regarding end time events. And it’s fitting that we close out the last section, then we'll have the conclusion to the book. But the last part of the major division of the book focuses on the eternal destiny of God's people. Where will we spent eternity? We've talked about the kingdom, but we move out into the eternal phase of the kingdom and something of great interest to us as God's people. We sometimes get the idea we're going to heaven, we get the concept of heaven is some kind of spiritual place cut off from reality as we know it, something indefinite, spirit-like. But the reality of it is the Bible says for eternity we will dwell in a place of concrete existence and reality. And in effect heaven is such a place. And what we're describing in Revelation 21 in reality is heaven, the dwelling place of God and the people of God in eternity.

I just want to look at a few verses that prepare the way for this section. Start back in John 14. What we're really told is that there is a dwelling place, and ultimately that dwelling place is a city which has been prepared for God's people to be their residence in eternity. In John 14 as Jesus prepares His disciples for His departure, the crucifixion is impending. This is the last night that He has with His disciples. He will be crucified in the morning and the resurrection and ascension to heaven will follow.

He says in John 14:1-3: “Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so I would have told you, for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am there you may be also.” Remember that promise when we come to look at Revelation 21 in a moment. In effect Christ is saying, I'm preparing you a dwelling place in My Father's house and My intention is that you will dwell with Me in the place I have prepared for you in My Father's house for all eternity, which will be where He is.

Over in Philippians 3:20, the contrast that is drawn. In the preceding verses, verse 18-9: “For many walk of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction…” And these are people who set their minds on earthly things. By contrast we are a different people. Verse 20: “For our citizenship is in heaven from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” So our citizenship is heaven, we are a heavenly people as the redeemed living on earth. But our citizenship is heavenly. And we are looking for the Savior from heaven “who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory…” (Verse 21) How will that happen: “…by the exertion of the power that He has, even to subject all things to Himself” (Verse 21). And when we talk about the eternal glorious destiny of the believer, we are talking about something that is beyond the natural. Keep that in mind in this promise here. How will these bodies of humble state, these bodies of dust in the process of dying undergo such a transformation? It will happen by the exertion of the power that He has as the Son of God to bring about such a change. Keep that in mind because when we look at the eternal city there are some people who say it can't be literal, such a thing is impossible. But we're talking about the power of God to accomplish something. We are a people with heavenly citizenship and so we are looking for our permanent residence in the time when our Savior will come to take us to that.

This is not new. Come to Hebrews 11. And here we have a list of Old Testament saints who walked by faith, had their faith in the living God and walked, believing the promises that He had given. In Hebrews 11:8 we're talking about Abraham and he left his home by faith, and went out to receive for an inheritance a place which God had promised. And he didn't know where he was going, where it was, what it would entail. Verses 9-10: “By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations whose architect and builder is God.” His faith was in the promises of God and something beyond the transitory existence of this physical life. He was looking for the city “which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” We will get to those foundations shortly when we come to Revelation 21.

Come down to verse 16, talking about up to this point in the list, they all died and they didn't receive the promises. But verse 16: “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them.” So they are looking for a heavenly city and God has prepared it for them. So they experience physical death without getting all that God had promised, but that's not the last chapter. They died but the promise still holds that God has prepared a city for them.

Look over in Hebrews 12:22-4: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all and to the spirits of the righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant and to the sprinkled blood which speaks better than the blood of Abel.” And then we have the solemn warning. Verse 25: “See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking…” This is the danger of not believing the promises of God and thus coming under the judgment of God. But you see we have come to Mt Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. And there we have myriads of angels, to the general assembly, church of the firstborn and so on. All the residents will live in this coming heavenly city, the New Jerusalem.

Down in Hebrews 13:14: “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.” The things here, we have a temporary place but we are looking for something that is permanent, “the city which is to come.”

You come over to Revelation 3:12, promise given here to the church at Philadelphia. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God and My new name.” We noted this, we are promised permanent residence in the New Jerusalem. It was a promise given to the church specifically here.

So we come over to Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth…” Verse 2: “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…” This is the city whose architect and builder is God. So it comes down out of heaven from God “as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Verse 2) And John got an overview in these opening verses of the eternal state of the redeemed, a state of eternal glory and bliss. Verse 4: “…shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain…” All these things associated with the former life. Even as God's people; there is sorrow, there is pain, there is suffering; there is grief. Loved ones die, those precious to us get diseases, our children are afflicted, our parents are afflicted, our grandchildren. We can't escape it. But all that will be gone. So we experience temporary pain, temporary heartache and tears. But it is mellowed by the fact that it is temporary. We are someday going to dwell in a glorious city and none of these things will be part of it. We're going to heaven. And really heaven and the New Jerusalem are going to merge together as we see as we move along in a few moments. I was going to say “take it to the bank” but that's not a very secure statement anymore. “These words are faithful and true,” verse 5 says. So as awesome, as unbelievable as it seems, how do I get my finite mind around such promises? I don't. I believe it by faith. Not because I can grasp how this awesome city can really be prepared for me as my dwelling place along with other believers. I can't with my finite mind, but I know it's true. These words are faithful and true. John is told, write them down; put them in black and white. This is God's word, it will come to pass.

Verse 6: “…I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” What a great promise. Anyone can have it. Verse 7: “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.” The alternative is eternal hell, the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone: what a contrast.

So we are ready then for the unfolding of the beauty of the city that is promised as our eternal dwelling place. Verse 9: “And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me saying, ‘come here. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’” Interestingly these revelations continue coming from, remember the seven last judgments. We had the seals, we had the trumpets; we had the bowls. But we are still getting revelation out of the bowls, the bowl judgments. These are the angels who brought the bowl judgments. Now there is a specific purpose when we are told one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls. So these visions here are a continuation of what has been unfolded in these bowl judgments to complete the plan and program of God.

Verse 9: “…I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” This fits the picture of 21:2: “And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” Now back in Revelation 19:7-8: “Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” And there the bride is identified as us, the church, clothed in righteousness. Now it's the city and the connection obviously is this city is the dwelling place of the church, the bride of Christ. So it's a bride's city, connected with us.

There is a sharp contrast drawn in Revelation, and we're not going to go through a number of the details. But you remember in chapter 17 we had the harlot city, Babylon, the whore. Here we have the holy city, Jerusalem. And that harlot city, Babylon is associated with the unredeemed and the program of Satan. Here we have the holy city, the New Jerusalem as a city in stark contrast that God has prepared as the dwelling place for His people.

Revelation 21:10-1: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God…” That's a repeat basically of what we saw in verse 2. Now we're going to get details unfolded regarding this city. This was just seen coming down out of heaven, now John is taken to a vantage point where he can behold the beauty and splendor of this city. And as we noted, this is called the holy city Jerusalem. So even though verse 1 says we have a new heaven and a new earth, we just haven't taken a leap out into space and heaven is someplace not connected with anything we identify with. We have a new heaven and a new earth. So there is a connection with what has preceded. The city here is the holy city and we looked and saw Jerusalem in the Old Testament called the holy city, as well as the New Testament. So even though this is the New Jerusalem, the fact that it is called Jerusalem gives it a connection with the old city.

This city comes “down out of heaven from God,” (verse 10) He is the One who has created it. I take it this is where Christ went to prepare us a dwelling place. Then He will come and receive us to Himself so that we can dwell where He has prepared. Now the city is coming down from heaven to earth. It has the glory of God, not only because God is the architect and builder as we read in Hebrews, but it is the dwelling place of God. God Himself, His glory, His splendor and His brilliance fills this city, the “Shekinah glory” as we refer to it. The glory of the presence, God's presence fills the place.

Come back to Exodus 40. The tabernacle prepared in the wilderness was the place where the focal point of Israel's worship would take place, and in there you had the tent of meeting where God would meet with Israel really through their representative. We are told in verses 34-5: “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” The glory of God's presence, He manifested His presence here in a fuller way than any other place on the earth. And so here when His presence comes down His glory fills it. Moses, the man who spoke with God face to face, could not even enter to meet with God on occasions like this.

You come over to I Kings 8 and Solomon has constructed the temple, a permanent tabernacle. The tabernacle is a temporary structure, but now we have the temple, a permanent one. Not just tents put together to form the tabernacle, but this glorious temple has been constructed. And in I Kings 8:10-1: “And it came about when the priests came from the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand and minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” So you see the tabernacle where God would manifest His presence, when His presence came down, His glory filled it. Also when the temple was constructed, when the Lord came down to manifest the glory of His presence; His glory filled it. Now those physical people, even the priests, even Moses couldn't in their physical state endure the glory of the presence of the Lord.

But when we come to the New Jerusalem, now we have the ultimate tabernacle temple. Come back to Revelation 21. This is where God's presence is fully manifested. That's why I say this is really heaven, because what is heaven? Heaven is the place where the eternal, omnipresent God manifests fully His presence for His creation. Where is heaven? Heaven is the place that God has created to manifest His presence, where His angels are, where departed saints are. That place is going to come now to be in the New Jerusalem that will reside on the new earth.

So it has “the glory of God,” we are told in verse 11. “…her brilliance was like a very costly stone, a stone of crystal clear jasper” (Verse 11). God's glory is the brilliance of His presence, the light and the glory. It is overwhelming; it is dazzling. This causes some people to say this is impossible. We're not going to spend much time, but let me read you a couple of statements. I feel badly for these men. Here is what some commentators have said, and these are men who claim to be evangelicals and so on. “No man can suppose that this is literally true. The idea of a city literally descending from heaven is absurd.” Another, “literally there never was, is not now and never will be such a city.” Well I choose to believe God who said in 21:5,” …write for these words are faithful and true.” Now these men wrote but their words aren't faithful and true, but God's are. Who do you believe? Will there be such a city or not? Well if these words are faithful and true, I take it they will be. What is so amazing about the idea of a city literally descending from heaven is absurd? But do you think it would be difficult? If God wanted to pick up the city of Lincoln and elevate it 500,000 feet and then bring it back down, do you think He could do it? Then why would it be so difficult for God to build a city in heaven and then bring it down to earth? I'm not saying I understand how it can be done, but I don't have any trouble believing that the God who is omnipotent can do such a thing. Do you? So enough of that reading, I like to stay with what the scripture says and we're on safe ground.

What John has been shown here is a New Jerusalem and in verse 11 “…her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper.” Well at least now we know it is like jasper. The problem is nobody can agree on what jasper is. Some say it is the color of green, others say it is like a diamond. It is crystal clear and maybe it is like a diamond, the brilliance given off. I don't know for sure who is right on this, but it is a stone of dazzling appearance. And this characterizes the city because it has the glory of God. I mean, what brilliance, what splendor, what glory. It's like a stone, but a stone of absolute purity. It is crystal clear. I take it the description going on here indicates this city has real existence. It is not some kind of cloud-like mass that is there but it really doesn't have substance. It's like “…a very costly stone, crystal clear jasper.” We are going to live in this city, we are going to live there in glorified bodies and as we're going to see shortly, kings and nations will go in and out of this city and bring physical gifts into this city. This is a city that has tangible existence, it is real. Grab onto the bench right there, it will be real. I think we will walk around and touch some of the stones that we see described here, we'll walk on the streets that we're going to see described. It is a real city where God resides. Revelation 21:3: “…behold the tabernacle of God is among men and He will dwell among them and they shall be His people and God Himself will be among them.” He will be there with His people. Verse 22: “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” That's why I say this is really heaven; this is where God now will manifest the glory of His presence. When we get to 22:3-4: “…the throne of God and the Lamb will be in it and His bondservants shall serve Him; and they will see His face…” Won't this be something?

Revelation 21:12: “It had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.” So there is a great high wall around the city and there are twelve gates in this wall, three gates on each side as we'll see in a moment. Each gate has an angel at it. This plan corresponds to the millennial city that Ezekiel described in Ezekiel 48. Again you see a connection, just like we see a connection somewhat when we talk about the tabernacle and the temple in the Old Testament. Now we see the ultimate realization, the millennial temple in the millennial city. Ezekiel 48:30: “And these are the exits of the city on the north side, 4500 cubits by measurement.” There will be gates to the city, named for the twelve tribes of Israel. The city will be the place where the Lord is. And in the first phase of the eternal kingdom, in the millennial reign, that will be where the Messiah will reign. But you see a similarity. A city with a wall and twelve gates, and each named for the twelve tribes.

When you come back to Revelation 21 we have the names of the twelve tribes of Israel inscribed on the gates. It shows that Israel will have a part in this city and this city will be the dwelling place of resurrected saints. The bride of Christ, the church, has a special part; we'll say more about that in a moment. You'll note Israel does not lose its identity. We have twelve gates; each gate has a name of one of the twelve tribes. Israel has its identity down to being divided into the twelve tribes. It's just not people of God; it is Israel identified with this city.

Verse 13: “There were three gates on the east, and three gates on the north, and three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.” I take it there will be north, east, south and west in eternity. There are “three gates on the north side.” So it's not just like we're floating around in space and we've lost all perspective and identity. No. You'll be able to tell people, I'll meet you at Issachar gate on this side of the city. And it will have identity—north, east, south, and west, with three gates on each side.

Verse 14: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” Ephesians 2:20 tells us that the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, referring to New Testament prophets. So here you have the twelve apostles as the twelve foundation stones of the city. Their names inscribed on these twelve foundation stones which will be precious stones, as they'll be described in a moment. I take it that what we have here is the presence of the church for this city, in connection with the apostles. It's not just a blending, the people of God all meshed together and no identity. You have the twelve gates identified with Israel and their twelve tribes; you have the twelve apostles who are the foundation of the church. And this is the bride city, so fitting here that their names are inscribed on the foundation. Remember Abraham was looking for the city “that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” And here is this city with foundations. So even in eternity we have a distinction between Israel and the church. What do you mean there is one people of God? There is Israel, there is the church clearly distinguished, even as we have moved into eternity.

Verses 15-17 give you the measurements of the city. Verse 15: “And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city…” A gold measuring rod, of course it is precious. Everything about this city is precious. What are you going to do? Get a wooden yardstick? Get a tape measure? I mean, this is the New Jerusalem. If you're going to measure it, you measure it with something of value. You measure it with a gold measuring rod. And they're going to measure the city, its gates and its wall. I don't know how clear God has to be for us to lay it out. I mean He tells us the city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as the width. He measured the city with a rod. It is 1500 miles each way, length, width and height are equal (Verse 16). So we have a cube. He measured the wall, 72 yards, and I love this, according to “human measurements which are also angelic measurements.” (Verse 17) Aren't you glad that is put in? We'd say, this is an angel measuring this with a golden angelic measuring rod so we don't have any idea what it really measure. Well just for you human beings let me tell you these are human measurements, and that is also angelic measurements. So we know exactly the measurements rounded off as we transport it over into English and our measurements, 1500 miles each way. No doubt. Why is he telling us this if it is not a literal city with literal measurements? Why go to the trouble to tell us this is what it measures and then the wall is 72 yards? And there is a discussion; does this mean it is 72 yards high or 72 yards wide? We can't say for sure, most seem to go with 72 yards wide. And that would fit in Ezekiel's city. He gives and specifies the width of the wall in that millennial city. And that may well be the situation here.

Verse 18: “And the material of the wall was jasper…” Jasper is a key here. It's connected with God and His presence and His brilliance. This is not just a wall; this is a wall of jasper. The brilliance of this crystal clear jasper associated with the presence of God. “…and the city was pure gold like clear glass.” (Verse 18). I mean, how would you sit down and try to draw this city or paint it? I mean, you just couldn't get your arms around that. The gold is so pure it is crystal clear. There are no imperfections, it is pure gold; it is crystal clear jasper. The city is 1500 miles by 1500 miles by 1500 miles. That's huge. If you go to different commentaries or Bible encyclopedias also, they'll give you dimensions. One person said it would be like the base going from the east coast past Colorado. Another person in his book on prophecy said this city would have enough room to accommodate 100 thousand billion people. I don't have any idea. The point being, how is everybody going to fit? Well 100 thousand billion people in a city like this would handle a lot of people.

Now this is not the only thing. This is the city New Jerusalem on the new earth. You understand this is not all there is. This is the New Jerusalem that will be present on the new earth. That's why there are gates in this city. There will be people dwelling in this city, I take it glorified saints. But there will be people dwelling outside this city, also redeemed but in physical bodies. We'll say more about that as we move along.

This city is laid out like a cube and you know what that fits? You know what the Holy of Holies in Solomon's temple was? It was a square. I Kings 6:19: “…the inner sanctuary was 20 cubits in length, 20 cubits in width and 20 cubits in height…” So we have a cube of 20 cubits—30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet. So that gives you an idea. So what do we have now? The New Jerusalem is a Holy of Holies; it's the dwelling place of the glory of God. There you just had a little bit of the manifestation of the presence of God. Here you have the fullness of the glory of His presence among His people manifested.

The city was jasper, and in Revelation 4:3 we saw the One sitting on the throne, the Father, and we are told that He was like jasper. So here you have the presence of God, that brilliance like this precious stone, this diamond-like stone. It is the brilliance of His presence. And this city is where He manifests His presence. So is it any wonder that it is characterized in verse 11 as having the brilliance of a stone like crystal clear jasper? And the wall in verse 18 is like jasper. The city was pure gold like clear glass. Verses 19-20: “The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone…” Remember there are twelve foundation stones with the names of the twelve apostles written on them. And so you have the different precious stones of each of these foundation stones. Jasper is the first one, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, amethyst. Some of these stones we are more definite on the color, others we have less surety on what the particular stone is. The point is the awesome beauty of this city. The foundation stones under the city are of such glory, the color, the brilliance. I would be in awe of this city. What else could you say? I mean, it is a city of great beauty and splendor.

The amazing thing is this is where we are going to be living, this is home. Isn't it amazing that we get so caught up with the little things here? What are they? Can the most splendid mansion ever built hold a candle to this? This is where I'm going, this is what God has prepared for those who love Him, this is their dwelling in the glory of His presence—a city befitting the eternal God. And I am an heir and co-heir with Christ and that is what He has prepared for me. I should fret over the things of this life and be concerned that I am going to get everything that I deserve, and enjoy everything I can. God gives us good things to enjoy, but don't get distracted by them, don't get caught up with them. The people of this world, this is what absorbs them. As we read in Philippians, they set their minds on earthly things. We are a people, we enjoy things, we are physical creatures, we enjoy things of this life but we don't set our minds on those things. I mean, this is where I am going. I'm living in a shack, hardly even worthy of being called a shack when you look at the New Jerusalem. This is the foundation stones.

What about the gates? Verse 21: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each one of the gates was a single pearl…” I mean, we talk about pearls, precious pearls. This is magnificent. I take it these will be significant gates. We're not talking about little doors like you come into our houses, we're talking about the gates of this city and each gate is a single pearl. And remember inscribed here are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Verse 21 “…the street of the city was like pure gold, like transparent glass.” You know we go into our homes and tell people, take off your shoes, if you don't mind. I'm going to be walking on streets of gold. I mean, think about that. We worry about shall we put slate in, or wood, or marble, or carpet. Don't worry about it. Do you know what He has prepared for us? Pure gold, so pure it's like transparent glass. That's what I'm going to walk on. We talk about walking on streets of gold, that's literal. God goes through and tells us all the detail and then we have mindless people writing commentaries that say there'll never be a city like this. What do we miss out on? This ought to be on our minds. Why did God put it here? It helps elevate our minds from the things of this life, the things of this world. When you have tears and sorrow you can go back and be reminded that there is coming a time when there will be no tears and sorrow. When I think of the things of this life I think of the wonder that God has prepared for me, the splendor. And it puts things of this life in proper perspective.

Verse 22: “And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” What a Holy of Holies. I mean, that makes it a temple. Here is the presence of God and the Son of God, the Lamb of God. I mean, that's heaven for us. I don't have to leave this city to go and visit God in heaven, He's here. It has no temple, the city is the temple. You don't come into the New Jerusalem and say, “I'm looking for the temple.” When you are in the New Jerusalem you are in the temple because God's glory fills, His presence fills this.

Verse 23: “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it and its lamp is the Lamb.” You'll note here that the deity of Jesus Christ is so clearly set forth. In verse 22, there is “…no temple in it for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” That would be blasphemy if He is any less than God or its temple. The city has no need of the sun to illumine it for God has illumined it and the lamp is the Lamb. The presence of God the Father, God the Son, their presence brings a glory and brilliance. The light that fills the city, there is no need for any other light.

This picture, now we don't have a physical temple like a building, but in I Corinthians 3:16 the church is called the temple of God. Then over in I Corinthians 6:19-20 the body of the believer is called the temple of God. We are lights in the world. In Revelation 2-3, started in Revelation 1, then it is carried out in chapters 2-3, the letters of the church. But how were the churches represented in chapter 1? They are seen as lampstands, giving off light. That comes from what? We belong to God. So Paul wrote the Philippians in Philippians 2:15 and said we are lights in the midst of darkness because we belong to God and His glory shines out, His character shines out. Now we have the presence of God Himself and we dwell in that presence. The God who is light, the One in whom there is no darkness. Now we are in a creation that is untainted by sin, in a new heavens and a new earth that have never been touched by sin, inhabited by people who have been cleansed from all sin. There never are any sinful acts that have defiled this earth, this heaven. It is the presence of God, the dwelling of God.

Verse 24: “And the nations will walk by its light, the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” Note, in eternity there will be both nations and kings. They dwell outside this city, but this city gives off its light out there. These nations, the kings of these nations, the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. So all the glory is brought to God and given to Him. Wait a minute, we're in eternity, I thought everybody got a glorified body and now we're just out into eternity, whatever that is. Remember Revelation is following a chronological development and we move from the thousand years, the first phase of the eternal kingdom, all of a sudden now we have a new heavens and a new earth created, and a New Jerusalem coming down and the splendor of this Holy of Holies which really becomes heaven on the new earth where God the Father and the Lamb dwell. And the fullness of the glory of their presence illumines the city and the new earth. But there are nations and there are kings coming in through the gates of this city and I take it that in all probability we're talking about, and we'll talk about this in the opening verses of chapter 22, is in eternity we will have people who have received glorified bodies, we will have people who have gone into the millennium saved people, people who were born in the millennium who were saved by faith. You come to the end of the millennium, the first phase of the eternal kingdom, these people I take it, we often have assumed that they get glorified bodies, but the Bible doesn't say that. I take it these people dwelling on the earth outside the New Jerusalem are people in physical bodies. What would have happened to Adam and Eve if they had not sinned but had eaten of the tree of life? They would have lived forever, been fruitful and multiplied and filled the earth. So what we have is what God's original intention for His creation. So we have both going on here. The New Jerusalem is the dwelling place of the glorified saints, but the people of the world, the nations and the kings coming in and out of this city where we dwell permanently in our glorified bodies.

Verse 25: “And in the daytime, (for there will be no night there), its gates will never be closed.” In other words the gates are open in the daytime and that's all there is, daytime, because the light comes from the presence of the glory of God. And there is no dimming of that. So interesting the way it is put. “In the daytime the gates will never be closed.” And in parenthesis, there is no night, so the gates are open 24 hours a day. This is the freedom of access of people during this time to the presence of the Lord. It was limited in the Old Testament where you saw the high priest could come into the Holy of Holies just once a year on behalf of the people. Now you have unrestricted access in eternity to the glory of God's presence.

Verse 26: “and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” This stress, there are nations. We just don't go out into some kind indefinite time. That implies the distinction. Just like we had the twelve tribes clearly identified, so we had the church identified, here we have nations. And there will be rulers. And I take it, you and I, part of our responsibility will be to rule and reign as those who serve in the presence of the Lord. “They will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.” So now you have a new earth and a New Jerusalem on the earth, and you have the nations of the world out there.

Verse 27: “and nothing unclean, no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.” So you have this reminder. Revelation is a book about judgment. We had this reminder back in verse 8 that there is a free invitation to partake of the water of life, but if you don't partake of the water of life you will never partake of the city, the New Jerusalem. You will be consigned to the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 20:14) And only those whose names are in the Lamb's book of life will be able to go into this city. Why? Everyone else will be in hell. Revelation 20:15: “And if anybody's name was not found written in the book of life he was thrown into the lake of fire.” So we're told here there is freedom of access, but make no misunderstanding, this is a freedom of access for the redeemed. The rest are consigned to hell because their names are not in the book of life. So that constant reminder. Even when we talk about the greatness and the glory that God has prepared for His people, we are reminded this is just not speaking generally that all people are going to enjoy.

Now we have this glorious destiny. Any wonder the book of Revelation will say in Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say come, let the one who hears say come, let the one who is thirsty come, let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” The Spirit of God, the bride, the church of Jesus Christ is calling people to come. And there is eternal glory and splendor but you must partake of the water of life to become a partaker of the glory God has promised for those who love Him. For everyone else there is eternal condemnation and eternal hell.

You know that's a rather brief glimpse. That's the fullest description we get of our eternal dwelling place. I can't get my arms around such a city, and that's what I'm looking forward to. Helps put life in perspective, doesn't it? What's the week before you hold? What are the difficulties, the pains, the sorrows we go through? In a hundred million years it won't matter, I'll be walking these streets. I won't have any tears, no pain, no disease, no sorrow, endless joy. I mean, how is the stock market doing? I don't know; there won't be any stock market in the New Jerusalem; I won't have to worry about it. My investments are secure. That's why Jesus said, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where you don't take any losses. They are secure; they are kept by the power of God to be bestowed upon us in His time. And that's why we eagerly anticipate the return of the Lord to take us into the glory of His Father's presence and the place that He has prepared for us.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for this glimpse into eternity, the eternity that we will enjoy in the glory of Your presence, glory that is beyond what our finite minds can grasp. The description of a city prepared for us as a permanent dwelling, where You will dwell and we will dwell in Your presence. Lord, such glory is beyond us, but these words are faithful and true and we know that Your promises will come true. May we be faithful in our service for You day by day. May we not get caught up with the sorrows and the pains of this life and with the distractions of this world. May we not fix our minds on earthly things, but Lord, we have an eternal inheritance in the glory of Your presence and that is an eternal inheritance that will endure after these transitory, temporary things are long gone. Thank You for the greatness of our salvation, thank You that we can join with the Spirit in sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ in calling people to come and partake of the water of life at no cost. We praise You in Christ's name, amen.