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Future-Town - Part 1
Revelation 21:9-21
Skip Heitzig

Revelation 21 (NKJV™)
9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls 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."
10 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,
11 having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
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:
13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.
14 Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
16 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.
17 Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.
18 The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.
19 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,
20 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.
21 The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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From the Edge of Eternity

Our English word town is related to the German word zaun (tuin in Dutch). The original idea behind the meaning referred to a space that a fence or wall would enclose. The town of the future described in this chapter, also enclosed by a wall, will be so magnificent that even John's depiction leaves us scratching our heads. This is God's revelation of the future Eternal dwelling of all believers. Let's do a walk-through today.

What happens when a believer dies? What will heaven be like? What about infants and children who die? When do our bodies get resurrected? What will they be like? These questions and more occupy our thoughts from time to time. In this new series, From the Edge of Eternity, we will follow a believer from death into the different stages of eternity: the Intermediate State, the resurrection of the body, the Kingdom Age and the Eternal State. Since forever is a long time, it only makes sense that we both understand and prepare for this "ultimate journey".

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Outline

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I. The Making of the City (Vss 2, 10)


II. The Meaning of the City (Vs 9)


III. The Magnificence of the City (Vss 11-14)


IV. The Measurement of the City (Vss 15-17)


V. The Materials of the City (Vss 18-21)



City Planning:

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?

2. How certain are you that you're walking on the road that leads to heaven? Why should this be your ultimate concern?

Transcript

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20080824 "future-town" revelation 21:9-21 from the edge of eternity CD 15
Well, ready to learn more about heaven? Let's go to Revelation chapter 21. Let's pray together. Father, we have learned so much over the past fifteen weeks, things that many of us either have never considered or heard before or we're being refreshed and really it's sinking in to what it's going to be like even though it's just in part the description of what heaven is going to be like. I pray Lord that with each week, with each discovery, the way we live on earth would reflect our eternal destination. In Jesus' name. Amen.
Well there was a woman who died after a long illness and she died and she went and stood before the pearly gates of heaven and she was waiting for Peter of course. And before Peter got there she peeked her head in and saw how beautiful it was. And by the time Peter got there she said, "Wow this place is really fabulous. How do I get in? Peter said, "Well you have to spell a word." She said, "Okay, what word?" Peter said, "Spell the word love." She though and she said, "Okay. L-O-V-E." "Welcome," Peter said, "you're admitted into heaven." So she gets there, she loves it, she spends six months there and one day Peter found her and said, "Look I'm going to be out for the day, could you just take my position just for the day at these gates?" So she was watching the gates of heaven one day and her husbasnd arrived at the heavenly city. And she turned and said, "Honey what a surprise to see you. How have you been?" And he said, "Oh I've been doing pretty well since you died. I married the beautiful young nurse who took care of you while you were ill. Then I won the lottery and I sold our little house that you and I lived in and bought a huge mansion. My wife and I traveled all around the world. We were on vacation and I went water skiing today. I fell, the ski hit my head and here I am." And then he said, "How do I get in?" And she said, "Well you have to spell one word." He said, "Okay, what's the word?" And she said, "Czechzlovakia." 
Aren't you glad that our salvation and therefore heaven is by God's grace not by having to answer a question or spell a word or do a work but we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb without spot or blemish. Getting into heaven and getting others into heaven ought to be our primary goal in life. After all, it's forever we're talking about. And that's where Revelation chapter 21 comes in. Revelation chapter 21 there is a shift in dimension, we leave time all together and we shift into the eternal dimension. In verse 6, God who sits on the throne says, "It is done." Now that immediately takes our mind back to Jesus on the cross who said, "It is finished." This is after all of redemptive history is over and God can now say, "It's done. Everything I've wanted to accomplish is over including the salvation of souls, including the judgment of the world, including the consignment of Satan and those who committed evil with him, including the kingdom given to Israel for a thousand years, it's all accomplished. Time has run its course. The seven-year block called the tribulation is past, the thousand-year kingdom, past; time designations like BC or AD are all gone. This is the eternal state. 
Now I remember being in school and the teachers would talk about time as almost linear. In fact, when we talked about people's lives we would draw a line on a chalkboard and little dots would represent periods in their life. So here's the line and then you have the first dot, that's birth. And the next dot could be the person's marriage; third dot, kids; fourth dot, bankruptcy; fifth dot, death. And that's the life. And if you wanted to depict eternity, I suppose you just have the line go on and on and on, as if it's just time after time after time, when perhaps the best way to think about eternity is remove the line altogether. We're dealing with an entirely different dimension. Think about it, our bodies are different at this point. The environment is different, there's no sun, there's no moon, there's no sea, there's no sorrow, there's no death, there's no pain. Everything is new. That's why in verse 5, again he said, "Behold I make all things new." So just keep this in mind, at this point everything we know about this present life is gone. It's new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem. This is forever, this is eternal. So, what will this eternity now be like? What will this new city of Jerusalem be like?
Chapter 2, we would say in real estate terms is the walkthrough. This is the walkthrough to the new city of Jerusalem. He begins by giving us the elevation and outside view and then he proceeds to an inside view, which we'll get to next week. Today we just want to get sort of the outside view, the splendor, the magnificence of our future home. Now God has long desired for this city. This has always been his plan from the beginning. It says in Hebrews that Abraham longed for a city that has foundations whose builder and maker is God. And this is that city.
Okay, so as we go through it, keep this in mind. Architecturally, this is very different than any town you have ever seen. This is so modern, this is beyond modern, this is future-town. This is the new Jerusalem. What I'd like you to do is open your Bible, you probably already have it, to chapter 21. And first of all, go back to verse 2 for a moment. Though principally, we're going to look at verses 9 through 21. Let's consider the making of this city, because it says, "Then I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared." That's the word I want you to notice, it's prepared. And over in verse 10, it's descending out of heaven. So obviously thought has gone into this city, planning has gone into this city. It's never going to outgrow its infrastructure, it's perfectly planned because it is prepared. Now something we know about God, he's always prepared, he's never haphazard. When he first created this present universe, it wasn't haphazard. There were definite sequential days of creative activity, where this came into view and this came into being, etcetera. And Jesus promised this, he said, "In my Father's house there are many mansions. I'm going to prepare a place for you." So this is the place prepared. Now some people because of this word and because it descends out of heaven, sort of like a gift where God is saying, "Here." Some believe that this has been prepared during the millennial kingdom, those thousand years on the earth. And there's a whole study that we could even delve off into there but it's pure conjecture. We don't know if God instantly makes it or if it's prepared over a thousand years, but here it comes to the new earth. It is prepared, just like hell is prepared by God for whom? The devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41. So the new Jerusalem is prepared for all of God's saved people. 
It goes by the name new Jerusalem but it has a couple of nicknames. Now you know a lot of cities have nicknames. New York is called The Big Apple; Chicago, The Windy City; Los Angeles, The City of Angels; Santa Fe, the City Different (aptly named). These are nicknames. Well the New Jerusalem is called in verse 2 The Holy City. In verse 10, The great city; in verse 11, having the glory of God. 
I remember the first time I was in my 20s when I saw the old Jerusalem, the one that is there now in Israel. It was so breathtaking, I don't know how to describe it, except that I had the feeling I belonged there, I had the feeling that I'd be back there again. A few years later, I'd married Lenya and I brought her there. And she looked at Jerusalem, her first time of viewing it, she just wept. Different reactions but breathtaking reactions. Nathan was just a little kid but he said, "Dad, Jerusalem's like our second home, huh?" And there's all sort os mystique and opinion and literature written about Jerusalem, there always has been. In the Jewish Talmud, the ancient sages used to say, "God gave ten measures of beauty to the whole world, nine of them were taken by Jerusalem and one was dispenses through the rest of the world." They went on to say, "Ten measures of knowledge was given to the whole world, Jeruslaem took nine of them and one was given to the rest of the world." But they also say, "Ten measures of suffering has been given to the world and Jerusalem has taken nine. And the rest of the world has taken that one." But the sages used to sayof Jerusalem, "He who breathes the very air of Jerusalem will become a wiser person." Now you know why I keep going back. I want it to rub off. It truly is though, amazing, and wondrous to stand on the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem, just stand there and look, just to take it all in, to look over the city with the temple mount and to think about its history and to imagine its future. Because Jerusalem has such a focal point in the Bible. I want you to consider this: Jerusalem is the geographic center of the Earth biblically. Now hear me. There's a text in Ezekiel chapter 5 verse 5 where God says, "This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the midst (or the middle) of the nations and countries all around her." Right in the middle. If you were to look at a map, you would discover that Jerusalem in Israel is located on a land bridge that connects Europe and Africa and Asia. North in the Bible is north of Jerusalem. When it speaks about south in the Bible, it's always south of Jerusalem. East and West, that same reference point. So it's the geographic center or the earth biblically. But it's more than that, it's the salvation center of the earth spiritually. There's no other place on earth where the salvation of souls has been purchased except just outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem at a place called Golgotha. Remember the little conversation Jesus had with the woman at the well of Samaria. And she's arguing about places and she says, "We worship in this mountain but you Jews say Jerusalem is the place where we ought to worship." Remember what Jesus said? He said, "You don't even know what you worship, we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews." It's the salvation center of the earth spiritually. Third, Jerusalem is the storm center of the earth prophetically. The Bible predicts a time in the book of Zechariah, it predicts a time when all of the nations of the earth will gather together against Jerusalem. And world leaders know this, they know that the hotspot to look at is the Middle East, especially what goes on in the city of Jerusalem.
But fourth, Jerusalem is the glory center of the earth ultimately. Jesus Christ will come back for a thousand years he will occupy this city and rule from this city and he will fulfill Isaiah chapter 2, "The law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." But all of htat will take place and has taken place in the past and in the future up through the millennial kingdom. Now we're dealing with a whole new creation, yet called Jerusalem. This is New Jerusalem, this is eternal Jerusalem. It's a city. Now the fact that it's a city tells us something about our eternity. It tells us that in our eternity, we're going to be very social. Some of you go, "I don't like the idea of being in a city. I kind of htough heaven would be like I have fifty-two thousand acres all to myself and tell everybody else to bug off." Well keep in mind you're going to be in a redeemed body. You're going to think very differently than you do now, you're not going to be under the same pressure. And part of your eternal dimension will be a city. It will be very very social. It's going to have all the advantages, all the culture, it will have none of the disadvantages of modern cities. There's gong to be no pollution, no garbage, no crime, no sirens, no traffic accidents, no one driving while they're talking on cell phones or putting make-up on (I don't know if you've seen a lot of that, I've seen people do a lot of things while they should be driving). 
Now consider with me the meaning of the city. Notice this description in verse 2, "Prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband." What a description. Look over at verse 9, "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls 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." Strange way to describe a town, as a bride. John is describing something visually. Now keep in mind, John is just seeing this and writing down what he sees in his vision. And what he sees of this city is that it's pure, brilliant, bright, beautiful, breathtaking, graceful. And the description that he sees is it's like a bride. It's like a bride. Notice the word adorned in verse 2, it's the Greek word cosmeo. What word do we get from cosmeo? Cosmetics. It means to beautify or to make attractive. John is saying, "Let me just tell you something, this town is decked out." And when that city comes from the sky, it's like all of your attention is drawn, like a bride. I've done lots of weddings now and I love doing weddings, because I always tell people, "I have the best seat in the house. I get to see the faces of people as the bride comes in." This is how a wedding usually works: first of all everybody's attention is drawn to the platform as I come out with the groom because the groom's typically very nervous, kind of rubbing his hands, a little bit sweaty, shaky. And then the bride is announced, there's a change of music, everybody rises, turns backwards. And that bride, beautifully bedecked comes down the center aisle and everybody looks at her. And then I, I'm often looking at the groom who's going Cool. There's only one wedding that I remember where the bride didn't get the center of attention and that's because as soon as the groom saw the bride he fainted. Now all of the attention was directed at the groom. But we got the guy back up, he looked at her again, he fainted the second time. So the rest of the wedding, what a scene, he was seated while his bride was very aptly standing next to his side. This is John's description visually, this city is breathtaking. Also, I would say this is description metaphorically. Now hear me, in the Bible the closest relation on earth is a marriage relationship. It's where people really get to know one another in the most intimate way and so very often, Paul included, would describe the relationship of God's people, the church, as a bride and a bridegroom. In II Corinthians 11 verse 2 he writes, "For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy for I have betrothed you (or engaged you) to one husband that I might present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."
And I think a few weeks back we told you that there's three different phases to the old Jewish weddings. First was the betrothal, it lasted a year, it was the engagement process. At the end of htat year, at some point though they didn't know exactly when, the groom would dhow up at the bride's house, unexpectedly, make his announcement and take her from her house to his house. Which brought us to the third phase, that was the wedding ceremony and then the marriage feast. Right now we as the church, as God's people, are in phase one. We're spoken for, we're engaged, at the moment of our conversion we're engaged to Jesus Christ and we are waiting for him to literally sweep us off our feet at any moment in something called the rapture of the church where he'll take us to heaven to his kingdom. So this is the courtship phase, we're getting to know him. Now I will be honest with you, my own courtship was not the model you want to follow. I dated my wife for a couple months. I wasn't really sure about the relationship, I mean I was Joe Single, I just was a mess. And I flaked out of the relationship. I didn't really communicate adequately with her, I just sort of didn't call her, just sort of walked off the face of the map and kind of left her wondering. And then after a couple years went by, the relationship was kindled up again and I asked her to marry me. And even that didn't go very well, I wasn't like the Mr. Romantic. I remember when I asked her to marry me, I was talking really weird, like, "You know life has many roads, and there's green lights and red lights, and you don't know if you should turn right or left." And she's thinking, "What on earth is he telling me?" And then she discovered, "I think he's about o ask me to marry him." Now I never remember popping the question, honestly. She said I did but I don't remember asking her the question. What I do remember is kind of an interruption. She said, "Skip, Skip, Skip. I said yes." I said, "To what?" "Well you just asked me to marry you and I said yes I will marry you." And this I remember, I said, "Now wait a minute. This is a huge decision, we have to talk about this." I mean I was so flaky. I guess I'm bringing myself up as the negative example to say Jesus Christ isn't flaky, he's absolutely sure, he's certain you're the bride for him. And, he knows all about you and he still wants you. That's beautiful. That's love. Here's my question: do you have a personal, close relationship with your groom-to-be like a bride-to-be should have? I'll ask it another way, are you flirting with the world? Are you going out on Jesus? Is there something in your life that needs to be eradicated, removed, cut out, you need to return to your first love, the first love of a spousal? So I think this meaning here of the bride is simply to say, in this city, future-town, your love with Jesus and for Jesus will be real, fresh and absolutely complete. The best description, it's a bride adorned for her husband.
Go down to verse 11, let's read a few verses and note now the magnificence of this city. Notice, "having the glory of God and her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; also she had a great 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 Israel (so four sides, three on each side; three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, three gates on the west). Now the wall of the city had twelve foundation and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." As I work my way through the passage, which I did, I noted some very descriptive adjectives, like holy, glory, great, high, clear, pure, precious, magnificent. I'll never forget my first view of New York City. I was in Hoboken, New Jersey, ever seen the view form Hoboken looking toward Manhattan at night, it was one o'clock in the morning. Wow! It was brilliant, magnificent, sparkling.
Now in verse 11 it says, "having the glory of God." This I believe is the most significant feature of future-town, of New Jerusalem. This is the most striking and overarching characteristic, God's glory is there. Now John obviously wants to tell us about the light because notice he says, "And her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." Now by reading that I don't think you'll understand what he's saying, I'm going to help you. The word light here is the Greek word phostar which means an illuminator or (get this) a source of light. A sourc eof light, light is emanating from it, it's something in which light is concentrated and from which light is pouring out of. So it's not like, "Well here's something really cool and light's bouncing offof it, ambient light from another source, John wants you to know that it's like this huge diamond with light cascading out of it, emanating from it.
Notice it says "it's like jasper." Now that may not help us, if you're a gemologist you'll be a bit confused because modern jasper is an opaque stone. And notice what he says, "It's like jasper stone, clear as crystal." This is clear. And so most commentators will say probably what John was describing is a diamond because it's clear as crystal, that an ancient jasper was very different than a modern one or it's simply an ancient description of what would be a diamond, it's clear as crystal.
Now the best diamonds are the clearest diamonds. I've had a little education over the year, you know being married. The first diamond I ever bought was out engagement ring, I spent a whopping maybe two, three hundred dollars on it. And it had a diamond in it, they told me it did. I know that if you took a little microscope or even a little glass you could see the diamond, it was there. But if you put it under a microscope, because I saw it sometime later, it wasn't clear, it was more yellowy and a little bit opaque and they told me it wasn't a great diamond. Believe me, I've been educated. Diamonds that are good are clear and the clearer they are, the better they are and the more expensive they are. So I've gotten an education since then.
Verse 12, let's peek at this magnificence. Notice there's twelve gates, twelve foundations, and an angel posted at each gate. Now the angel isn't to guard the bad guys, there are none present. And the gates are never shut it will tell us later on. I see these angels sort of like ushers, passing bulletins out, greeting you as you leave, "Hey welcome home," when you come there. If you're leaving for the day or for a million years, "Have a nice trip." But there's twelve gates and there's twelve angels so you're going to get to know these guys pretty good or these beings pretty well. 
Now it gets more wild, begin with me at verse 15 and I want you to consider now the measurement. How big is this place? Let's look at it, verse 15, "And he who talked with me had a gold reed (that's a ;measuring stick) to measure the city and its gates and its wall. And the city is laid out as a square (mark the word square, I'll get back to it) its length is as great as its breadth, and he measured the city with the reed twelve thousand furlongs (or stadia in Greek) its length, its breadth and its height are equal, so it's a cube) And then he measured the wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits according to the measure of a man, that is of an angel. So obviously the Spirit of God wants us to know how big it is because we're given an exact measurement. Now notice it says, it's square. The Greek word is tetragonas or four-cornered, a perfect cube, a tetragon, perfect cube. Now a furlong is six hundred feet or an eighth of a mile. Twelve thousand furlongs is fifteen hundred miles. So he's looking at something in his vision that the angel says, "Let me tell you how big this baby is. It's fifteen hundred miles wide, it's fifteen hundred miles deep and it's fifteen hundred miles tall. It's a perfect cube. 
I was studying the Old Testament a little bit this week and I discovered that the cube goes all the way back, at least in my thinking, to a little room in the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies, it too was a perfect cube. The Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant was, where God dwelt with his people, was fifteen feet wide, fifteen feet deep and fifteen feet high. This is like that on steroids. Fifteen hundred miles as a cube. Notice the walls, verse 17, they turn out to be seventy-two yards or 216 feet. Now notice it doesn't say that's how high they are, they may be that high or they may be 216 feet thick, deep. After all, this is a fifteen hundred mile city, 216 foot thick walls is not a big deal. And why are they there? For protection? No, you don't need any protection, I think for adornment, not for security but for beauty, walls look cool. Now the whole point of this is if I can be so base as to paraphrase it, John is saying, "God's town is really huge." And we're given the measurements. Fifteen hundred miles, you know how far that is? That's from Maine to Florida, that's from Dallas to Philadelphia, that's from Albuquerque to Spokane. If you were to drop this city, given it's measurements, in the United States it would go from Canada to Mexico. It would go from the Appalachian Mountains to the border of California. Absolutely huge. There would be two million, two hundred and fifty thousand square miles, that's just the first level, remember it's high as well as that deep. It would be forty times the size of England, ten times the size of France or Germany, fifteen thousand times bigger than the city of London, and that's just the first level. You put all the levels together, you have something the size thereabouts of our Moon. It's huge. 
Irwin Litzer who wrote a book One Minute After You Die said this, "Now this city could be composed of 396 thousand stories at twenty feet per story, with each area as big as one-half of the United States (that's each level) divide that into separate condominiums, you have plenty of room for all those who have ever been redeemed since the beginning of time." Okay, James MacDonald who did a little thing on heaven said, "If today we went by the modern grid, there's ten to twelve city blocks per mile (okay, and this is all supposition but it's fun) you with a standard grid, ten to twelve city blocks per miles, that means you could have forty-five million miles of road, that's just he first level. That means you could have 675 billion miles of streets. But don't worry these are safe streets, these are clean streets. Verse 21, they're of gold, they're clean. Let's talk mansion for a moment, shall we? Let's say you have four mansions to a street because everybody gets a corner, you want the corner lot, you get a view. You'd have more than one billion mansions on the first level. So let's say you get to heaven and you go, "I'd like the mansion tour." You could go to Beverly Hills, hyou want to take the mansion tour. You get to heaven, "I want to take the mansion tour." Well if you saw sixty mansions an hour, twelve hours a day, it would take you six million years to get the mansion tour. So I think Jesus knew what he was talking about when he said, "In my Father's house there are many mansions. If it wer enot so I would have told you. He had all this in his mind. And he gives it to John in the book of Revelation. 
And that's not meaning that we're all going to be there all at the same time because there's gates and people coming and going and there's a whole new earth and new heaven. And we're going to be in new bodies and if you remember back in that study we're able to move not just horizontally but vertically. And so guys like Henry Morris, the scientist, assumes that with this cube configuration there's going to be vertical as well as horizontal passageways. 
Well let's close this off, verse 18 to 21, with the materials of the city. Okay, this is all what John is seeing, this is so cool, "and the construction of the wall was of jasper (remember that's clear as crystal like a diamond) and the city was pure gold (get this) like clear glass. Now I don't know if you're having trouble like I am and have been, trying to get my mind around this description, but it defies description) And 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,t he fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh crysallite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth crysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass." Well obviously human language comes short in describing our eternal dwelling, I don't care if you use Greek or Aramaic or Hebrew or English or Spanish or German, human language falls short. This is what he saw, this is what it looked like to him, but this is sort of hard to figure out. I mean look at this, "the city was pure gold like clear glass." That doesn't make sense, ever seen gold like that? Gold is opaque, you can't see through it, it has a very dense high specific gravity. But it's like pure glass. This is translucent or even transparent glass. Now you might hear that and complain, "Man, there's no privacy in heaven." Like, you have anything to hide in heaven? You won't care, you'll be in a brand new environment with a new resurrected body. Look at some of these stones, sapphire, it's blue. Now just listen to this description, chalcedony is greenish-blue; emerald a deep green; sardonyx is white with reddish-brown streaks going through it; sardius is blood red; crysalite yellow; beryl is sea gree; topaz yellow green; crysoprase is a golden apple green. Beautiful. Jacinth is deep violet, amethyst a rich but lighter purple. Just, it would make the rainbow look dull, it's so manificent. Keep in mind, light is emanating from this city.
Verse 21 is where we close, I want you to get this, "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Now listen, each individual gate is of one pearl. The streets of the city pure gold like transparent glass." Now doubt verse 21 is where we get the whole idea of the pearly gates of heaven. But these aren't just pearly gates. Each gate is a solid pearl. Now let's just say the walls are 216 feet high, seventy-two yards, let's just take that as that's how high they are. Imagine a pearl 216 feet high. It must have been some big oyster. Of course this is a God-made new creation.
Now I looked at this and I thought, "you know there could be no more perfect symbol to represent the entrance into God's presence than a pearl. And here's why, you know how a pearl is formed? It's formed by an irritant, a foreign body gets into an oyster like a little piece of sand? And it irritates the oyster and the oyster's response to the irritation is a pearl. It sends out this fluid called nacre N-A-C-R-E, and it covers the sand and then it covers it again with that luminescent flesh that hardens into a beautiful pearl. So a pearl is a precious stone formed by suffering caused by an outside source. Now that's an apt emblem is it not of entrance into the eternal city? Because what injured Jesus Christ? Our sin. We are the irritant that God made beautiful, so that going in and going out of that city forever and ever, we will be reminded of this truth, that access to glory is only through Calvary, only by the cross, only by our sin which irritated him that has been cleansed and we made beautiful to stand in His presence. By the way, that's the only way you get into heaven is with that truth. It's the only way you see the kingdom of heaven. There's nobody in heaven who has never come to a place where they said, "I'm a sinner and I need forgiveness of my sins and I need salvation that comes through the blood of Jesus Christ." There's nobody proud in heaven. Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn over their sin, theirs, they will be comforted.
There was a little boy, he was obnoxious, precocious, bugged his mom. One day his mom just said, "Look how do you expect ever to get into heaven?" He said, "Well," he thought about it, "I'm just going to go in and out and in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door every time I go in and out and somebody's going to say, "Either stay in or stay out," and I'll get in.
There's a lot of people who think getting to heaven is that easy. And actually for us it's very easy. For him it was very costly. The thing that makes it hard for us is that we have to humble ourselves and admit, "My sins are an irritant, they need to be forgiven, I need to be cleansed, I must come to Christ his way."
Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, you love people, you love people enough to build something like this, you've made this Earth, it's inhabitable, every day and the Creation around us is a gift, oh what a gift, like this huge box, this huge present that comes out of the new heaven toward the new earth called new Jerusalem. How magnificent, breathtaking. It's a gift that has to be received and it's received here on this earth while we have the ability to choose our destiny, choose our future. And we remember the Lord Jesus said, "Very few enter therein and very many are on the road to destruction." And so Lord with each message on heaven, our supreme desire is that not only will we be there but others that we know and love, maybe that we've invited to church, will also be there. So we pray for them, pray for them just now, we pray Father for those who may be sitting here today who have yet to make a commitment to Christ, yet to invite Christ in as Savior and as Lord. We pray hat that issue would be settled, now. In Jesus' name.

Additional Messages in this Series

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4/27/2008
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The Ultimate Journey
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
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What happens when a believer dies? What will heaven be like? What about infants and children who die? When do our bodies get resurrected? What will they be like? These questions and more occupy our thoughts from time to time. In this series, From the Edge of Eternity, we will follow a believer from death into the different stages of eternity: the Intermediate State, the resurrection of the body, the Kingdom Age and the Eternal State. Since forever is a long time, it only makes sense that we both understand and prepare for this "ultimate journey."
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5/4/2008
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View From Death's Door - Part 1
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, "A grave, wherever found, reaches a short and pithy sermon to the soul." He's right! Cemeteries remind us of our future on this earth--the only real estate we'll hold onto for awhile! But what happens to a believer after death? What about those who have died already? What are they doing now? Today and next week we will look at the experience of the death of the believer and what takes place afterwards.
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5/11/2008
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View from Death's Door - Part 2
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
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How can mortal man penetrate beyond the grave and find assurance and peace for his own heart? Philosophers won't help--they've been for centuries discussing life and death without any resolve. Scientists don't want to tread into the area of wrestling with such questions. Paul solved the problem when he wrote, "For this we say to you by the Word of the Lord." We don’t need to wonder or speculate. Why substitute human speculation when we have divine revelation?
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5/18/2008
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Groaning for Glory
2 Corinthians 5:1-8
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What sort of existence and experiences are departed believers enjoying right now? Is the heaven we go to when we die our final destination? Paul described it as "far better" (Phil. 1:23) but it's going to get even much better! Paul lightly touches on what happens when a Christian dies and awaits the resurrection, but it's enough to give us confidence. Let's consider today the "intermediate" or temporary transitional heaven before the resurrection of our bodies.
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5/25/2008
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Rise and Shine!
1 Corinthians 15:3-4;15:20-28
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My mom used to saunter into my room to wake me up in the morning with a sweet call to "rise and shine!" One day our Savior will give a call for all His children to do the same! This week and next week we will be considering the resurrection of our bodies. Why is resurrection even necessary? What will our resurrected bodies be like? What capabilities will they possess? Will babies always be babies and the elderly always remain elderly when resurrected? As we begin, know this: the idea of resurrection isn't just a New Testament idea; it began long, long ago!
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6/1/2008
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Getting the Body You've Always Wanted
1 Corinthians 15:35-50
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I know I've gotten your attention with the title! This is one of our culture's driving goals--to look trimmer, healthier, younger and stronger than we are. The solution happens to be in the future with the resurrection of our bodies--it will be the body you've always wanted. Scripture gives some wonderful descriptions of the future strength, beauty and permanence of our resurrected body. Let's consider what the Bible says about how you'll look then.
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6/8/2008
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Jesus, Friend of Children
Matthew 19:13-15
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Today's subject is a tender one. The death of infants and children is the greatest fear of any parent. Does the Bible speak clearly about what happens when they die? It certainly does and it also gives great comfort to many who suffer the horrible loss of a little one. In this series on Eternity we must consider this subject since it affects so many and will also help us understand the fate of those who, like children, have diminished capacities.
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6/22/2008
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A Sneak-Peek Into What's Up There
Revelation 4:1-3
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In the early morning of his last day on earth, Dwight L. Moody, awoke suddenly and said, "Earth recedes; heaven opens before me." Those near him thought he was dreaming. "No, this is no dream, it is beautiful. It is like a trance. If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here. God is calling me, and I must go." After that sneak-peek of heaven, Mr. Moody entered his heavenly home. Today lets begin to consider our future home by glimpsing God’s heavenly Throne Room.
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6/29/2008
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What on Earth is Going On in Heaven?
Revelation 4-5
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The above title is more than just a play on words. Although there will be many activities going on in heaven, worship is one of the few things that we can do "down here" on earth that we will also do "up there" in heaven. That means that one of the ways you can get closer to heaven is to engage in biblical worship right now. Let's tag along with John for his extended tour of heaven.
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7/13/2008
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Gold, Silver, or Bronze?
2 Corinthians 5:9-11
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Next month, the eyes of the world will be on the Olympic Games in Beijing. Athletes from all over the world will compete, hoping to win the gold, silver or bronze medals that rank them as being some of the best on earth. This image of receiving an award from a judge on the raised platform of the Olympic Games is what Paul had in mind when he wrote about the future judgment of believers for their works on earth. Let’s see what this means.
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7/20/2008
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Heaven on Earth - Part 1
Revelation 20:1-3
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Mankind long ago gave up on the idea of a future Utopia. The idea of perpetual peace and undisturbed harmony became the stuff of fairy tale books. But that is precisely what God promised He will bring to this earth one day. And even though Satan has exercised a temporary authority over God's creation for several millennia, the story isn't over yet. Jesus Christ, who came two millennia ago as Savior, will return to rule as Sovereign for a thousand years. And no, this won't just be a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of His followers. This will be a literal dominion over a renewed earth. Let's explore this 1000 year phase of your eternal future.
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7/27/2008
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Heaven on Earth - Part 2: The Bad Guy is Bound
Revelation 20:1-3
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This world has been so tainted and marred with sin and Satanic deception that it's impossible for us to even imagine what it would be like with Him out of the way. Thankfully we have a clear description of what that will be like during the 1000 year reign of Christ in the Kingdom Age. Today we see the drama of Satan's arrest and incarceration, as the ultimate "bad guy" gets put away to make way for this future era of peace, prosperity and righteousness.
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8/10/2008
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Heaven on Earth - Part 3: When Politics are Perfect
Revelation 20:4-6
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It's the political season in our country and both sides are ramping up their platform to get as many votes as possible. The country is sharply divided on the two candidates but one thing is certain according to a recent poll: Americans consider both candidates to be risky if elected president. In Christ's Kingdom on earth, Christ will reign and all those who help Him administer will be in a glorified state, thereby minimizing any risk for shady politics. Get ready--you’re going to be part of the future political agenda of the King of Kings.
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8/17/2008
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Six Things That Will Surprise You About Heaven
Revelation 21:1-8
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I began this series talking about all the things I heard people say at funerals about the afterlife, from turning into angels when you die to having to answer Peter's questions at the gates of heaven. I have discovered that most people's (even Christians) ideas about what heaven will be like are vastly different that what Scripture reveals. We turn now to the Eternal State--after our initial experience of the Throne room of heaven, after our bodily resurrection at the Rapture, after the Millennial Reign of Christ. Here's a few things that might surprise you further:
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9/7/2008
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Future-Town - Part 2
Revelation 21:22-22:5
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Today we will conduct a walk-through of your ultimate destination as a believer. We will walk with John as he describes what he saw as he was shown the New Jerusalem. It will be a social environment with such unique features, you'll have to bend and stretch your imagination just a bit. I will sum up this future cityscape by describing five conditions that will exist in God's Town
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9/14/2008
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Living Between Two Worlds
Philippians 1:19-26
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After studying about the believer's death, resurrection and heaven for four months now, maybe you can relate to these words by Puritan author, Thomas Watson, "Spiritual things satisfy; the more of heaven is in us, the less earth will content us." Knowing what we know now about the believer's future world, how can life be different in this present world?
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There are 16 additional messages in this series.
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