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The City of the Future - Revelation 21:9-22:5

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There is no architect or builder like God himself. Even the patriarch Abraham "was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb. 11:10) he didn't find it in his lifetime. "You won't find you're "happily ever after" here either, but the New Jerusalem will be God's answer for man's longing to live in a perpetually peaceful stare.

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5/18/1997
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The City of the Future
Revelation 21:9-22:5
Skip Heitzig
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There is no architect or builder like God himself. Even the patriarch Abraham "was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God." (Heb. 11:10) he didn't find it in his lifetime. "You won't find you're "happily ever after" here either, but the New Jerusalem will be God's answer for man's longing to live in a perpetually peaceful stare.
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66 Revelation - History's Last Chapter - 1996

66 Revelation - History's Last Chapter - 1996

The book of Revelation exalts Jesus Christ as the soon-coming Lord over the earth. Skip Heitzig explains the amazing and mysterious prophecies that form God's final word to mankind.

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Outline

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  1. The view from the outside (vs. 9-21)

    1. The meaning of the city

    2. The magnificence of the city

    3. The measurement of the city

    4. The materials of the city

  2. The view from the inside (21:22-22:5)

    1. The marvels of the city

      1. Adoration of the city

      2. Alighting of the city

      3. Access into the city

    2. The main street of the city

Apply This Stuff:

  1. God's plan was to create a community of believers who love and care for each other. Isolation was never a part of that plan. The church was intended to be as close to that ideal as is possible on this side of heaven. What's your involvement like in the lives of other Christians?

Transcript

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Cities have nicknames. New York is called The Big Apple. Chicago is The Windy City. New Orleans is The Big Easy. Albuquerque is The Duke City. Santa Fe is The City Different. Appropriately named. And then there is Jerusalem. A city set apart from all other cities. It's called the City of God, the City of the Great King, the City of Peace, in the Bible. It has been called by others the City of the Soul or even the City of the Book because of the Bible. The first time I visited Israel and I've been there 18 times, the very first time it felt like home. And I remember when my wife saw Jerusalem for the very first time from the Mount of Olives. She wept. It's such a moving thing to see that city. The holy city of Jerusalem where Jesus walked and where also He was crucified. Jerusalem really can't be compared with any other city like Rio or Paris or Rome or New York or London. It is very different in a lot of ways. It is a place that Jesus visited. Seven times, the Bible records, that He visited Jerusalem. And yet with all of its earthly beauty and charm, one day He stood and wept over that city because He saw the future destruction of that city. And of course not only was Jerusalem destroyed as Jesus predicted, but 36 times it's seen war. 17 times it has been reduced to ashes. 18 times it has risen from the ashes and yet it always seems to be on the brink of some catastrophe, some war. Every time we have a tour to Israel somebody toward the end gets cold feet. I'm not gonna go this time. I'm gonna wait till things get better over there. Have they ever that you remember? It's always on the brink of something. Jerusalem is the geographic center of the earth biblically. In the Bible, when it talks about north, south, east, west, it's always reference point is the city of Jerusalem. A map will show you that Israel and Jerusalem is on a land bridge that connects Africa, Europe, and Asia. God said in Ezekiel 5 behold I have set Jerusalem in the midst of the nations and all of the nations round about her. Not only that but it is the center of the earth spiritually. It's the salvation center. It's where Jesus was crucified. It's the only city on earth where Jesus was crucified, where the sins of the world were put upon the Son of God. It is also the storm center of the world prophetically. Every statesman, every world representative, realizes that we better watch the Middle East. What happens in Africa or even the Soviet bloc or even Eastern Europe won't cause or not cause world peace but that Jerusalem is the center gem in what is at stake concerning world peace.

Zechariah said I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all peoples. And year by year it's becoming that, isn't it? In the end times, we know that Jerusalem will be the very vortex of activity. But then also, and this is really where our study begins, Jerusalem is the glory center of the world ultimately. Jesus will rule and reign from Mount Zion in the millennium, the thousand year reign of Christ on earth. The nations, it says, will flow to Jerusalem. The law will go forth from Zion and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Not only in the millennium, but then after the millennium when a new heaven and a new earth are created we see this New Jerusalem descending from heaven toward the new earth that God created. That's mentioned up in verse 2 and we pick up our study today in verse 9. Before we jump into it, though, let me just say that right now in Jerusalem there is a kingless throne. It's called the throne of David. It hasn't been occupied for 2500 years even though God promised that somebody from the lineage of King David would sit upon the throne to rule and reign. There's a kingless throne in Jerusalem today waiting to be occupied. Also today, in heaven, there's a throneless King. Jesus Christ. And when the kingless throne and the throneless King come together, and one day they will, that's where you will have utopia. That's where you will have millennium and even after that the new heaven and the new earth. And that's what we look at today. It's the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven.

Today we're gonna look at verses 9 of chapter 21 through chapter 22 verse 5. It is a pretty straightforward description. We don't have to give much comment on it. It's simply a description of this future city. It's described from the outside and then it's described from the inside and so we want to take a tour of this city. You say how are we gonna take a tour of heaven in this length of time? Well, listen. They do world news in twenty-five minutes. I think we can at least take some kind of an overview tour of this. As a reminder, at this point, the rapture has happened, the tribulation is over, the judgments are over, the millennium is over, and a new heaven and a new earth are created. And what we have described is simply part of eternity. It's called the New Jerusalem. It's a city that comes out of heaven to the new earth. It's only part of it. It's not all of it. It is what is described and Jesus promised us this, remember? He said in My Father's house there are many mansions, better translation is rooms. In fact, mansions has gotta be the worst translation of all of that verse that I've ever seen because, think of it, it doesn't even make sense in English. In My Father's house are mansions. How do you have mansions inside of a house? Better translated abiding places, spaces, rooms. And what is promised by Jesus in John 14 is described by John in this vision given to him from Jesus Christ. We get the description.

Verse 9. First of all we see the meaning of the city. "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls," we haven't seen him for a thousand years and now he's back, "filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God." Now this is a strange way to describe a town, a city, as a bride, as a wife. We know that's a metaphor already. We know that that is a description of the people of God so why is the city called the bride? Simply because it's described by the character of its occupants. This is the bride city. This is the place that Jesus has prepared for His people. He promised it and now it is described. One of God's favorite names for you and for me is His bride. Isn't that a great term to describe people? Think of it. Marriage, the closest possible relationship on earth, at least it's supposed to be that way, is the very metaphor that God chose to describe His people. In other words, God wants intimacy. God doesn't want distance. The term, the bride of Christ, for God's people closes the gap that exists. So many people have a long distance relationship with God. It's God at a distance. They don't even talk about God as my Lord, my Savior. It's always the good Lord. That's sort of a giveaway that there's a distance between that person and God. Well the good Lord said in the good book, instead of my Lord, my Savior. God wants intimacy with His people. Back in verse 2 we see this. "I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."

What kind of closeness are you enjoying with your Lord now? What kind of intimacy? What kind of day-by-day fellowship and walk do you have right now? Are you preparing for this time? Perhaps if Jesus could write you a personal letter it might sound something like this: I had to write to tell you how much I love you and care for you. Yesterday I saw you walking and laughing with your friends. I hope that soon you'd want Me to walk along with you too so I painted you a sunset to close your day and whispered a cool breeze to refresh you. I waited. You never called. I just kept on loving you. As I watched you fall asleep last night, I spilled moonlight onto your face trickling down your cheeks as so many tears have. You didn't even think of Me. I wanted so much to comfort you. The next day I exploded a brilliant sunrise into glorious morning for you but you awoke late, rushed off to work, and you didn't even notice. My sky became cloudy and My tears were the rain. I love you, oh if you'd only listen. I really do love you. I tried to say it in the quiet of the green meadow and in the blue sky. The wind whispers My love throughout the treetops and spills it into the vibrant colors of all the flowers. I shouted to you in the thunder of the great waterfalls and composed love songs for birds to sing for you. I warm you with the clothing of My sunshine and perfume the air with nature's sweet scent. My love for you is deeper than any ocean, greater than any need that is in your heart. If you'd only realize how I care. My Dad sends His love. I want you to meet Him. He cares, too. Fathers are just that way. So please call on Me soon, no matter how long it takes, I'll wait because I love you. Your friend, Jesus.

He calls you His bride. And you know what's amazing to me? After 2,000 years of the church on the earth, after 2,000 years of watching us, He still calls us His bride. And He will call us His bride into eternity. I don't know too many husbands that would have that same romantic term for their wives years after they were married. I've watched marriages deteriorate. I've seen women referred to as the old lady or just her. God calls you His bride still on into eternity. 2 Corinthians 11 and this is in the Living Bible, this is what Paul says reminding us that we're the bride of Christ: I am anxious for you with a deep concern of God Himself, anxious that your love should be for Christ alone, just as a pure maiden reserves her love for one man only, for the one who will be her husband. Are you preparing for the bride city? Are you getting ready? Are you flirting with the world rather than loving Jesus only? Notice also this great Jerusalem is called the great city. I want you to just think about that. Your eternity will be corporate. It will be social. No getting off in a corner by yourself away from people. you are destined to live in a city with other people because God made us to be social creatures, to need one another, to be with each other. Also this shows me that heaven, in the Bible sense, is a real place of real activity with real people. not like the Hindu concept or the New Age concept of nirvana where your soul fades and merges into one great soul. You will be busy, you will be traveling no doubt, it's implied by these verses, and you will be serving Him it says in verse 3 of chapter 22. It says this great city is descending out of heaven. Now that's the second time we read that. It's repeated from verse 2. Meaning this is not a creation. This is a presentation of something that already exists. God makes new heaven, new earth, and then voila, out of God's heaven comes this descending city, the New Jerusalem.

I think the New Jerusalem is the Father's house. It's what Jesus promised in John 14. I am going to prepare a place for you. Now there has to have been a place already existing for Him to go to and prepare. It would make sense then that this New Jerusalem is the Father's house and that when you die now you go in Spirit to that place until it is presented in the eternal state. So it comes out of heaven. Some people see it as a satellite revolving around the new earth. Perhaps it does. Perhaps it fixes, settles into the new earth somehow and it becomes permanent. We don't know. It'll be awesome, whatever it is. So that is the meaning of the city. Let's now look at the magnificence of it. Verse 11. It says, "having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." The chief characteristic of this magnificent city is it has the glory of God. Nothing like that could be said of any town, city, which we've ever seen on this earth. That's the overarching characteristic. It has the glory of God flashing into all places. And notice how John describes it. He says her light was like a most precious stone. He chose a very interesting word. The word light, phostere, illuminator, illuminator. It describes something in which light is concentrated and from which light radiates. Like a light bulb. It's not light shining on it, refracting or reflecting. It's light coming, originating, from it. Let's move ahead to verse 23, chapter 21: "The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light." So rather than the moon having the reflection of the sun, rather than the sun generating light by combustion, the source of light is the Lamb. It's God Himself and it radiates into all of eternity. And John says it looked to me like a precious stone. When I looked at it from afar it's like this gem coming out of heaven. Like jasper.

When you think of jasper in modern terms, you think of an opaque whitish yellow kind of a stone but ancient jasper was crystal clear, probably referring to a diamond. That's what was so dazzling to John. It's like this huge, and I mean huge, we'll see in a minute, diamond descending out of heaven coming to the earth with walls and with gates and angels. But clear as crystal this radiating iridescent diamond. I remember my first experience with diamonds. Now I know nothing much about diamonds. I know a little more than I did but when I asked my wife to be my wife, I knew that I had to go out and get a ring. It's part of the deal. So I went hunting for rings---diamond rings. Man are they expensive! I got an education. I must've spent $300 on that ring. That's about all I had. It wasn't a very big diamond. In fact, today we have taken her ring and that diamond, that tiny little diamond, is in my ring. I got her a new one since then. A very tiny little diamond. It's not really white. It's yellowish white. What did I know? Values of diamonds are determined by size and clarity, not only cut. So the bigger it is, the clearer it is, it's graded and when it's the clearest possible diamond, no flaws, just crystal clear, it's called a perfect gem and it's perfectly ridiculous what it costs. I've never seen the value of a diamond. I've never understood it. All I know is you get a good one it's like wow. And John sees this cube, 1500 miles high, wide; we'll see that in a minute, diamond coming out of heaven. Like this gem. The bride city adorned for her Husband. Beautiful, beautiful city.

You know that God loves beauty? We're gonna see that in the description of this city. You look around and you know that God loves beauty. In eternity, God will demonstrate His beauty by these kinds of things that only tickle the imagination. But you know as I look outside or I go to the mountains or go to the beach and I see what God has made, I think God loves creative beauty. And think of it this way: God spoke into existence the present heavens and earth in six days. He said light be---light was. This be---poom---it happened. Six days' work. Pretty good for six days work. Pretty good for a week. Now compare that to what Jesus said in John 14. I am going to prepare a place for you. He's been working on this place for 2,000 years. If the earth looks this good after a week, imagine what this new city of Jerusalem is going to look like. It's described for us. It's like a diamond from the outside. In verse 12: "Also she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb."

So that's sort of a general description. It had four sides and it was set out like the tabernacle in the Old Testament where you had three tribes on each side and you've got three gates with the names of the tribes of Israel all centering toward God who is in the center on the throne. Then you've got foundations of the gates with the names of the twelve apostles on them. Now there are angels there standing guard, in a sense. They're not protecting us. I just think they're there to welcome us. I think we'll be going in and out and as we come in they'll say welcome. Like an usher or a greeter. And when we leave have a nice trip. Where you going by the way? Oh I'm going to go out to this galaxy or this new part of the new earth. Well great. Have fun. It says in Hebrews 1 that angels are simply servants of God's children and they'll be standing at the gates.

The twelve gates have the names of the tribes of Israel. Why? Because that's our heritage. That's the foundation of belief. The Messianic age was predicted and promised to Israel. The prophets came from Israel. The Old Testament and the New Testament are so combined, the foundation of the New Testament is the Old, and God had a unique covenant with the twelve tribes of Israel. And to show our spiritual heritage for all of eternity, there will be the tribes of Israel inscribed on the gates of the New Jerusalem. By the way, the reason I love Israel so much and travel there so much isn't because it's just cool that Jesus walked there but God does have a covenant with the Jews that is still in place today and He bears testimony to that in eternity. Then there are the twelve foundations with odd, beautiful stones that they're made out of. It is has the names of the twelve apostles. Now this celebrates the covenant relationship God has with the church---the New Testament. In fact, listen to what Paul said in Ephesians 2: therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints, members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles. Our faith is built upon the doctrines, the teachings, the eyewitness accounts of the apostles at the time of Jesus Christ. They wrote the first documents of the church and doctrines of the church. They organized the first assemblies. They were among the first martyrs. From a human standpoint, this is the foundation. Brings up a vital question I'd like to pose to you: is your faith apostolic? Is it built upon the apostles' doctrines? You know why I bring that up? Because I'm hearing a sentiment in our country more and more. Jesus is cool. He's ok. But His apostles mess things up. Paul and Peter and all of the subsequent writings we don't follow. We just like what Jesus said. We like the red letters. God would disagree with that. In Acts chapter 2 they taught the church the apostles' doctrines. And for all of eternity in that city the foundations of that city will have the names of the twelve apostles that God will honor. And Jesus even promised them that. Your faith must be apostolic.

So we've seen them the meaning of the city. It's the bride of Christ. It's described in terms of its occupants. We've seen the magnificence of the city. Let's look at the measurement now in verse 15: "And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal." Now this is very different from the Jerusalem I have visited some 18 times. This is a big, big, big place. It's four square, it says here. The Greek word tetragonas, a tetragon---four-sided. Four sided. It's a perfect cube is probably the best way to look at it. It's twelve thousand furlongs. A furlong is 600 feet. That would make the city 1500 miles wide, 1500 miles deep, and 1500 miles tall. 1500 miles the distance from Florida to Maine. This would be 2 million 250,000 square miles or 150,000 times the size of London. Henry Morris, who is a scientist from Southern California, said this city could house well over 20 billion people if only 25% of the city was given over to residents. If 75% of the city was given over to streets, infrastructure, public buildings, whatever that means. But if you have 25% of this city only for people living in it, you could fit easily over 20 billion and each person would have a cube that would be 75 acres on all faces. Now it seems that the street, since it is as tall as it is wide, that you won't just be moving horizontally but omni-directionally. It seems that way the way it's laid out.

Notice the wall next. The construction, verse 17, of the wall: "Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits," a cubit is 18 inches, that's 72 yards or 216 feet, "according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was jasper," once again clear, diamond-like wall. "The city was pure gold, like clear glass." Now think of that. 216 feet---sound high? Not really. In fact, it sounds short. If you think of a city reaching up 1,500 miles to have a wall that's 216 feet, it sounds puny. It doesn't say that it's that high, though, does it? It just says how many cubits it is but it doesn't say it's that high. I think easily he could be giving the measurement of depth. It could be 216 feet deep and it could be, to match the city as almost all ancient cities were, the wall jetting up with its gates 1,500 miles. Since the exact measurement isn't given of its height, it just says 216 feet, so no wonder John saw this thing and it's like this brilliant diamond, these clear walls and gates, and then this jasper gem, this stone of the city. Now someone is gonna come along and say, no doubt, this isn't literal and he doesn't really mean that and verse 17 was written for those kinds of people. "Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel." You know somebody would come and say, well now, man's measurements and angels' measurements must be totally different. You know, a cubit is a cubit to a man or an angel. It's a cubit. And just for those spiritualizers who would say it doesn't really mean that, it must mean something else, you know, there's enough precision and detail built into this description, it causes me to say this is what God wanted to say and if it doesn't mean what it says then I have no idea what it means. And somebody will come along and say it means this and 500 people say it means 500 other things. I think this is what it means. I think it's this cube, this beautiful iridescent, translucent diamond.

Notice everything has perfect symmetry, order, balance. You know that's the mind of God? God is a God who brings order, symmetry, and balance. He did it in creation, didn't He? There was chaos and then God created the heavens and the earth; brought order to chaos. That's what God does. He doesn't bring chaos to order. And you can tell a person's life whose touched by God. More and more that life should reflect the mind of God: symmetry, order, balance rather than chaos. It's the mind of God; it will be in the city of God. So that's the meaning, the magnificence, the measurement of the city, let's go look at the materials. Look back at verse 18: "the city was pure gold, like clear glass." What does that mean? Have you ever seen gold that you can see through? Gold is opaque, not transparent or translucent. So this is gold that you can see through. You've never seen it before but you're gonna live in it. Radiating from the Lamb, radiating from God, going through the translucent, transparent gold of the streets, of the city, through the clear diamond-like walls. Now somebody's gonna read this and say the thing that bothers me is there doesn't seem to be much privacy. If light is at its center, the Lamb, the Father, and it goes through streets and through the city and through the gates and through the walls and illuminates all of creation---no privacy. You're not gonna need any. It's not gonna be a point, obviously. It's certainly nothing to worry about. The foundation stones are given and I'm not gonna describe all of them. I tried to do that in first service and I don't think it's really important, all that, just there's a whole lot of colors. That's enough to say. Let's read it. "The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst."

I want to draw your attention to verse 21: "The twelve gates were twelve pearls". Now no doubt this is where the idea of the pearly gates comes from. But notice it's not pearly gates---they're pearl gates. One solid pearl. "The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl." Now if the walls, 1,500 miles high, that's a big pearl. And that would be some oyster. Of course, this is a pearl of God's own making. I don't think it came from a gigantic oyster. But it does interest me that the entrances and the exits of this city are one huge pearl. Twelve of these things around. Three on each side. A pearl is the only stone, precious gem, that is formed by living flesh. That can't be said of any other stone, any other gem. It's a gem formed by living flesh. In fact, it's formed by irritation. An irritant, a piece of sand, a foreign body, wedges itself into the body of the oyster. The oyster must respond to the irritation. It does so by sending out secretions called nacre and as the nacre spreads over, it covers the sand and another layer and another layer and eventually over time you have a beautiful pearl. So that which was an irritant, that which caused suffering, becomes something beautiful and valuable. That's what an oyster produces. The pearl is the answer of the oyster to an irritation. The New Jerusalem is God's answer to humanity that has crucified His Son.

He covers it. He lavishes beauty upon it. And how like God to have the gates of this city pearls. Reminders of how God took lives like ours and covered them and made them beautiful. These magnificent gates speaking of magnificent suffering, showing us that the only entrance to God's presence is by the suffering of the Lamb of God. I think it's a testimony for all of eternity. He was bruised for our transgressions, wounded for our sins and there are those pearls. One of my favorite hymns speaks of the love of God. I don't know too many hymns but one of them that I love, it says so much, speaks of the love of God in Christ. And I think these pearls are sort of like the hymns of eternity. The hymn says could we with ink the oceans fill and were the skies of parchment made were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade to write the love of God would drain the oceans dry nor could that scroll contain the whole through stretched from sky to sky. The love of God in sending His Son to take creatures like us and save us and forever that reminder. We get in; we come close to God, by the work of Jesus Christ.

Well that's the view from the outside. Ready to take a quick tour inside? Let's look inside. The marvels of this city are given in verse 22: "But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." These are the marvels of the city. First of all, in looking for a place to worship, the adoration of the city. He looks for a temple. Why? Because every ancient city had many temples. The city of Jerusalem had a temple. But this New Jerusalem has no temple. Doesn't need a temple. Doesn't need a church. Doesn't need a cathedral. Doesn't need a home Bible study meeting place because God is ever present, personally with His people, and Revelation 7 says He will spread His tabernacle over them. He will expand His temple so that the entire universe is His temple. You can't get away from God's presence. To have a church or cathedral or PA system in eternity would be a distraction. There will be perfect communion. No temple needed.

The light, we've already seen, that's in verse 23. Notice it says though the Lamb is its light. Now in eternity Jesus Christ, the Lamb, will be having the glory that He had before He came to earth. Remember He prayed, Lord, give to Me the glory that I once had with You before the world was? Here the prayer is answered. Light emanates not only from the Father but from the Son. The Lamb is its light. When Jesus was on the earth, He was God, He was deity, but the deity was veiled. It was not void---it was veiled. He still created miracles. He could still read minds but it was veiled. So much so that every now and then the veil was lifted and it blew the disciples mind. The Mount of Transfiguration they see Jesus transfigured in brilliant light like the light of the sun, transfigured with Moses and Elijah. And it's really not a wonder that Jesus shined on the Mount of Transfiguration. The marvel, the wonder, is that He didn't shine all the time because He was veiled. In eternity, the veil is lifted and the Lamb is the light of eternity. Notice the access of this city to everyone. All the nations. It says all the nations will walk in its light and they bring their glory into it, verse 26. Let me tell you what that means. The word nations is ethnos, ethnic groups. The nations. Gentiles, Jews, people from every tribe, every tongue, every nation gather together. In other words, heaven is not limited to one group. There is no prejudice in heaven. There's no class warfare in heaven. There are not black, white, yellow, rich, poor---just all of the people of God without any division. All as one.

You know, in the days after the Civil War, when there was a lot of tension, mega tension over color, at an upscale town in Richmond, Virginia was a church service and the people were coming forward to celebrate communion and row after row of people, that's how they did it back then, the row would come forward and have communion, kneeling on the steps and then go back, and then the next row would come. All people filing next to each other, kneeling next to each other, in harmony and communion, having the Lord's Table. A black man got up and walked down the aisle---alone. As he walked down the aisle, people sort of gripped their pews, felt tension. Nobody would come with him. Nobody would kneel with him. Then one military man in a uniform got up, he was tall, stately, walked to the front and knelt with that black man to have communion. When he got up, the people realized who that man was. It was General Robert E. Lee. The general said we're at the Lord's Table. We are one. There is no division at the Lord's Table. In heaven, there will be no tension. There will be no shame. We will all be one walking in the light of the Lamb.

Look at the first five verses of chapter 22 and see the main street of the city. Every city has a main drag and so does this one. It was already mentioned back in verse 21. But now it says "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him." eternity won't be boring. You'll be busy. What will I be doing? Serving. How will I serve Him? I don't know. But you will be. There'll be plenty of variety. There are twelve different fruits on these trees that yield fruit monthly. "They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever." When you read that, tree of life, what does that remind you of? Genesis 3. That's where we first saw the tree of life in the Garden. Now creation restored, re-creation, there's the tree of life. Do you realize that the history of the world hangs on three trees? The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the tree of life, and the tree that Jesus was crucified on.

The first tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was the place where salvation was sort of lost for man, where the reins went back to Satan, where man sinned and that tree took away man's spiritual life. The second tree, the tree of life, was kept from man lest he live forever in his sin. But that third tree, the cross of Jesus Christ, was the tree that brought us back to life and now, in the end, in heaven, there is the tree of life standing and restored. Notice twelve kinds of fruit. One for each month. You say now wait a minute. It thought you said this was eternity. The eternal state. It says month here. See? We found something---it says month! Well you know I think that's put there just to show us there are going to be cycles. It's going to be different. Twelve different cycles or phases and it's put in anthropomorphic terms. Terms that men relate to. God, eternity, things that we can't relate to, have to be described in terms that we can relate to. And so it simply says one for each month, regular cycle of provision filled with variety. Next question would be, wait a minute it says there's no curse, why do they need healing? It says it's for the healing of the nations. There's no death, no curse, no disease. Why do you need healing? The word healing is therapy. It's something that adds vigor to life, health to life. It's like taking vitamins. You don't take vitamins to cure a disease. You take them to add a supplement to your life, to add vigor, enhance your life. So it means health-giving, life-giving. It will enhance your eternal life.

So what a city. Really you can't say anymore. We could talk and conjecture about the rest but it's just described inside and outside. That's the Father's house. That's where Jesus prepared for you to walk in with Him. What a city! Better than Rio, better than Rome, better than London, better than Santa Fe, Los Angeles. Have you chosen this city? Jerusalem has always been the choice of God, why not the choice of man? When you choose God, He has in store for you this city. And this city will always satisfy you. Why? Because it says there's the river of water of life, clear as crystal. It doesn't say there's H2O there. This is called the river of water of life, whatever that is, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God. It could have spiritual significance. Jesus said a man must be born again of water and the Spirit. Jesus said, in John chapter 7, to all of the people in Jerusalem on the feast, that if you believe in Him out of your innermost being will flow rivers of living water. Do you ever have water dripping out of your body? That's not the intent. It's spiritual refreshment. And when you come to Jesus Christ, there's spiritual refreshment. A satisfaction that comes because, whatever you drink of in this world, you'll always thirst again. Paul Harvey, on the radio, told his radio audience, described how an Eskimo kills a wolf. He said first the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood and another until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade standing up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it tasting the fresh, frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge of the blade is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder, the wolf licks the blade in the Arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf doesn't notice the razor sharp sting of the naked blade on his tongue nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his own warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more until the dawn finds him dead in the snow. Satan will come along and feed your taste, your craving of sin. He'll put something in front of you and go, lick this. And we go, okay. Because he knows that once we taste of it we'll crave more and more. We're never satisfied. We always have to have more. It becomes ensnaring and entrapping. But a life following Jesus Christ satisfies you now. Life-giving water comes from you to others and in eternity will be this water of life. It speaks of the satisfying nature of a relationship with God. If you don't have that today, you can come to the waters. The invitation is open. One day it will be too late, but it's not too late now. This is time and space. We've just spoken about eternity. In time and space you've got a choice. In eternity, you never will. But God has given you this opportunity and if you don't know Jesus Christ, come to Him.




Additional Messages in this Series

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6/9/1996
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Good News from a Bad Place
Revelation 1:1-8
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6/16/1996
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Catapulted into the Future
Revelation 1:9-20
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6/23/1996
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When Love Grows Cold
Revelation 2:1-7
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6/30/1996
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Postcard to Those in Pain
Revelation 2:8-11
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7/7/1996
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The Curse of Compromise
Revelation 2:12-17
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7/14/1996
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Corruption without Discernment
Revelation 2:18-29
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7/21/1996
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Church of the Living Dead
Revelation 3:1-6
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7/28/1996
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Body Building - God's Way
Revelation 3:7-13
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The human body has become the obsession of our modern culture. Much like the ancient Greeks, people are madly trying to fit the contemporary ideal of what is an acceptable shape and size. The church is metaphorically called the "Body of Christ" and His desire is to see it built up spiritually. The church of Philadelphia is a good model of a healthy, faithful church. Their example provides for us a template to follow in building up the Body - God's Way!
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8/19/1996
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Taking Your Spiritual Temperature
Revelation 3:14-22
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Ever since we were kids our moms stuck thermometers in our mouths whenever she suspected that we were sick. If our body temperature of 98.6 had climbed up just a few notches, it was always a good indication that an unhealthy condition was present. There is also a spiritual temperature that reveals the condition of our souls, and when the thermometer reads Lukewarm it indicates that something is wrong; it indicates the presence of danger. Let's see how Jesus, the Great Physician, treats his patient with this malady.
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8/25/1996
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Peeking into the Portals of Heaven
Revelation 4
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9/1/1996
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History's Greatest Real Estate Deal
Revelation 5:1-7
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9/8/1996
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Worship His Majesty - Part 1
Revelation 5:8-10
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In heaven there won’t be just three services in the morning and one at night with a midweek tacked on. There will be no need to be sensitive to time so we can go to lunch. Words will not have to be printed nor projected. Worship leaders will have no need prompting people to sing. It will be an all-consuming experience that will involve our total cooperation and enthusiasm.
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9/15/1996
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Worship His Majesty - Part 2
Revelation 5:11-14
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9/29/1996
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Four Riders with Bad News
Revelation 6:1-8
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10/6/1996
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The Cries of Heaven and Earth
Revelation 6:9-17
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10/13/1996
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A Blessed Interruption in a Tough Time
Revelation 7
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10/20/1996
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Trumpets of Doom
Revelation 8
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10/27/1996
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When All Hell Breaks Loose
Revelation 9:1-12
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11/3/1996
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Angels of Mass Destruction
Revelation 9:13-21
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11/10/1996
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A Big Angel with a Little Book
Revelation 10
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11/17/1996
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Two Powerful Preachers
Revelation 11:1-14
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11/24/1996
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Light at the End of the Tunnel
Revelation 11:15-19
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12/1/1996
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The Panorama of Spiritual Warfare - Part 1
Revelation 12:1-6
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12/8/1996
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The Panorama of Spiritual Warfare - Part 2
Revelation 12:7-17
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There aren't many people who like to fight. Confrontation is something most would like to avoid. But in the spiritual realm it's unavoidable. The question isn't, "Will I engage in spiritual warfare?" Rather, the question is, "How well will I fight?" As we saw last week, the war in the heavens makes its way to the theater of the earth. Let's see what else it entails.
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12/15/1996
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The Coming Global Leader
Revelation 13:1-10
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12/22/1996
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Evil's Right-Hand-Man
Revelation 13:11-18
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12/29/1996
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The Lamb Who Shepherds His People
Revelation 14:1-5
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After all that john has seen in his apocalyptic vision, seeing the docility of a lamb standing with his overcoming sheep is a welcomed sight. Although the dragon pursues god's people relentlessly, although the beasts are bent on ruling the earth, the ultimate winner will be the lamb and his followers.
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1/5/1997
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Angels Set The Record Straight
Revelation 14:6-13
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1/12/1997
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It's Harvest Time!
Revelation 14:14-20
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One of the most common ways to make a living in ancient times was to "work the land." The early rains of October/November and the soft latter rains produced the wheat and barley harvest later on. Also, when vintage season began, almost the whole village could be found in the fields harvesting the crop. Such images would also provide a poignant way of depicting the final judgment of the earth, as in this section.
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1/17/1997
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Getting Ready for the Grand Finale
Revelation 15:1-8
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1/26/1997
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What's in the Bowl? - Part 1
Revelation 16:1-11
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We now come to the "seven last plagues" of God in the Great Tribulation that is coming upon planet earth. These judgments come in the form of "bowls" being poured out swiftly and completely-the judgment will be swift and thorough. Yet through all the mercy as Well as wrath of this awesome era, people will persist in having a hardened heart. Open your heart 'right now to these truths.
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2/2/1997
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What's in the Bowl? - Part 2
Revelation 16:12-21
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What will the end of the world be like? What are the final events just before Jesus returns and takes over to set up His millennial reign? That's what this section tells us. There will be increased warfare activity in the Middle East, massive deception, and unheard of destructive cataclysms on earth. In the midst of foretelling these events, Jesus has a word of encouragement.
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2/9/1997
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The Coming World Religion
Revelation 17
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It was Karl Marx who stated, no doubt cynically, that religion was the opiate of the masses. The fact is, he was right-it is! People are driven to worship something or someone. This desire will be exploited to the hilt in the Tribulation period and will be under the umbrella of the world dictator-the Antichrist. What are its roots and how does it end?
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2/16/1997
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Get out of Babylon!
Revelation 18
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Someone once said, "Money can't buy you friends but your enemies treat you a little better." Though meant to be tongue-in­cheek, that won't happen when the entire world economy collapses. God's shakedown of the earth will include everything that the Antichrist's kingdom will embody, from the sacred to the secular.
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3/2/1997
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Marriage Made in Heaven
Revelation 19:1-10
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3/9/1997
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The Return of Jesus Christ - Part 1
Revelation 19
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Even in the dome of our capitol in Washington there is an inscription which seems to point to the return of Jesus Christ. It says: "One far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." It is that event which we will be studying in the next two weeks. This is what all Christians of all ages have looked forward to - His return and reign of His creation.
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3/16/1997
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The Return of Jesus Christ - Part 2
Revelation 19
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Even in the dome of the capitol in Washington there is an inscription which seems to point to the return of Jesus Christ. It says: "one far-off divine event toward which the whole creation moves." it is that event, that Christians of all ages have looked forward to-his return and reign of his creation. We will conclude our study of the return of Jesus Christ, today.
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4/6/1997
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Paradise Regained
Revelation 20:1-3
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4/13/1997
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The Devil's Last Stand
Revelation 20:1-10
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A typical question is, "Will evil ever get its reward?" What ever happened to ethics and justice? Well, we see here that God will not turn His back on this issue. He will deal with the source of all evil (the devil himself) and then judge those who revel in it. This section gives tremendous hope to anyone concerned about injustice in our world.
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4/20/1997
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Life, Death, and Resurrection
Revelation 20:5-6; 20:11-15
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5/4/1997
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All Things New - Part 1
Revelation 21:1-3
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5/11/1997
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All Things New - Part 2
Revelation 21:4-8
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"It's like nothing you've ever seen or experienced before." That's how John describes the emotional experience of heaven. So that we can relate, he tells us that all of the pain, sorrow, and moaning we've endured here won't be there. By the way, only those who want to go there will go there. Heaven is not a destination by default, reservations are made here and now!
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5/25/1997
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He's Coming - Now What!?
Revelation 22:6-21
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There are 43 additional messages in this series.
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