Nothing But The Dead & Dying Back In My Little Church (Revelation 3:1-6)

Thanks to procedural cop shows, we have become armchair coroners.

When a body is found by our favorite CSI team we anxiously await the liver temp. We watch as they look for lividity, for ligature marks, petechial hemorrhaging, subdural hematomas, and signs of blunt force trauma. Are there signs of a struggle? Then let’s get that DNA under the fingernails off to the lab.

In His letter to the church at Sardis, Jesus performs a spiritual autopsy.

He notifies them, “You are dead” (v1). He then reveals their cause of death, telling them He did not find their “ways perfect before God” (v2).

As autopsies go, it’s unique in that they were “dead,” and simultaneously they were “ready to die” and could still “hold fast and repent” (v3).

We can’t help but think they were dying and would eventually die unless they repented. But the text is clear: They were really dead and they were ready to die.

We’re going to learn that, in the Bible, a really “dead” dead man is strangely alive.

Rev 3:1  “And to the angel [i.e., the human “messenger”— the pastor] of the church in Sardis write, “These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.

The Holy Spirit is not “seven spirits.” Seven communicates fullness and completion.

In chapter one, Jesus explained, “The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches” (v20). Jesus’ words remind us of two gifts that He has bestowed to us:

1. He has bestowed to each of us personally the gift of the Holy Spirit’s in-dwelling.
2. He has bestowed to the Church corporately gifted men to keep us continuing in the Spirit rather than the flesh.

• The fact that they had a good reputation means that they had started well seeking the guidance of the Spirit.
• The fact that they were not living up to their reputation indicates that they had drifted away from the Spirit and were working in their own energy.

The believers in Sardis, except for a small remnant, were no longer depending on the life-giving Holy Spirit. Having begun in the Spirit, they were attempting to be perfected by their own effort and energy, inviting the means and methods of the world.   

Every church faces the constant pull to import the world’s means and methods. If you want to see what working in our own energy looks like, visit a church that is in a building project that is beyond the reach of their finances. The things that are done to guilt God’s saints to contribute would be comical if they weren’t so carnal.

Jesus concluded they were “dead.” However, He addresses them throughout as believers.

In the Bible, a dead man can still hear God’s voice, repent, walk, sin, and believe.

Do you remember telling folks that they left their lights on after they parked their car? It would run down their battery to the point where they needed a jump and then a recharge. In the Bible “dead” conveys being disconnected from the power source, no longer responsive, no longer producing what it was designed to produce.

When Jesus says, “You are dead,” He is saying that you are disconnected, unresponsive, unproductive.

He is not saying, “I’m done with you,” or, “You have lost or forfeited your salvation.” When you trusted Jesus, He gave you eternal life. Regarding eternal life, there are different qualities. In the Gospel of John, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (10:10). “More abundantly” carries the sense of Overflowing… Surplus… Beyond what is necessary..

Excess in the best sense. It is not merely longer life, but richer life. Not just duration, but depth.

Comic fans remember when Superman stepped into that chamber and walked out merely Clark. He wanted love. He wanted ordinary. The world quickly learned what “powerless” costs.

We do it the same way. We crown something or someone else. “Dead” and “about to die” describe a heart running on substitutes.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Like more abundantly. He never shuts the current off. We reach for the switch.

Rev 3:2  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.

We are not told, so it is no good speculating, which of their “works” was “ready to die.” I’d like to think that they received this word from the Lord and the leadership got together to do a spiritual survey of their works.

By “perfect” Jesus means works inspired by Him, revealed to us by the Holy Spirit.

I started researching the times that the Holy Spirit ‘spoke’ to the churches in the NT. It was a lot!

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is explicitly said to speak in clear, intelligible ways:

1. He spoke to Philip, telling him where to go (Acts 8).
2. He spoke to Peter, instructing him to go with the men sent to him (Acts 10-11).
3. He spoke to the church at Antioch, directing the setting apart of Barnabas and Saul (Acts 13).
4. He spoke to Paul and his companions by forbidding and permitting their travel plans (Acts 16).
5. He testified to Paul about coming suffering (Acts 20).
6. He spoke prophetically through Agabus about Paul’s arrest (Acts 21).
7. He spoke to the whole church at the Jerusalem Council when it was decided that Gentiles need not follow Judaism to be saved.
8. He spoke to the churches through Christ’s messages in Revelation (Rev 2-3).

If you survey saints like A.W. Tozer, Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, J.I. Packer, Andrew Murray, they all mentioned one thing that is necessary to hear the Spirit speaking. It’s sort of a launching-off point if you want to hear God‘s voice. It is expectation.

D.Martyn Lloyd-jones wrote, “We must not only read the Word of God; we must wait upon it, with the expectation that God will speak.”

What does expectation look like? The following suggestions are not a formula. They’re just to give us a little jumpstart:

• Have confidence God will speak and come believing God is present and communicative.
• Have a listening posture and slow down to hear before you speak.
• A yielded will means that obedience is already settled before the answer comes.
• Always be anchored in Scripture expecting God to speak through His Word, not merely through feelings.
• Have patient attentiveness, waiting without pressure or frustration.
• Be sensitive to quiet guidance.

Do we know what “works” of ours are less than “perfect before God?”

Rev 3:3  Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.

“How” they received was by hearing the Word of God. It alone is the power of God unto salvation.

Do you ever stop to marvel at what is “received?” The moment you are saved, you receive the following:

• The permanent in-dwelling of God the Holy Spirit.
• Forgiveness of sins.
• Justification before God.
• The imputed righteousness of Christ.
• Reconciliation with God.
• Redemption from sin’s penalty.
• Adoption as a child of God.
• New birth (regeneration).
• Sealing by the Holy Spirit.
• Union with Christ.
• Eternal life.
• Peace with God.
• Access to God’s grace.
• Freedom from condemnation.
• Citizenship in Heaven.

We just quote from John 10:10. It’s also the verse which talks a out the thief in the night. Jesus is not the thief in the night. That would be vulgar. Jesus explicitly contrasts Himself with thieves: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life…”

When Jesus tells Sardis that He will come “like a thief,” He is not talking about the Resurrection & Rapture of the Church. He is issuing a disciplinary warning to the Church on Earth prior to the Resurrection and Rapture.

The “life” in question isn’t your eternal life. It is your more abundant eternal life.

Rev 3:4  You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

When I played Little League, I proudly wore the uniform of the Mustangs. I had to try out and earn a place on the roster in order to receive my uniform.

Accepting Christ holds no tryouts. You can’t earn it. It’s all of grace. He makes us “worthy” thru believing.

The white garment is an illustration of our salvation… But it is more than illustrative. The white garment is real as well. It is something we will be wearing. It is our wardrobe for eternity

Those who are dead, who have ruined their reputation and that of the Church are those who have “defiled” their garments.

Rev 3:5  He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Jesus gave the disciples a master class in defiled robes. On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. At one point, He told them, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean… (John 13:10).

They were clean all over, meaning they were saved. Their mission, the Great Commission, however, was on Earth, in their bodies of flesh.

Out in the world, Christians become defiled:

• You are passively defiled by being bombarded with filth.
• You are actively defiled when you disobey the Lord.

In the Upper Room, the disciples needed their feet washed. Jesus did the washing. He does the washing. It’s the washing of water by the Word of God.

It is put more intimately in Ephesians, where we read, “Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”

We will return to Earth with Jesus in His Second Coming. “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her, it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints…  And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.”

In Heaven are real books, real ledgers, not a metaphor. Thus we must conclude that “blot out” is something that can happen to a name.

These books are tied to the final judgment of Christ-rejectors.

In the Revelation 20:12 the apostle John wrote, “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

Listen: This judgment is for unbelievers, for those who ultimately and finally reject the Lord. Believers are judged in order to give us rewards. It happens in a different time & place. It can only happen after the resurrection and rapture of the church, but before we return with Jesus in His Second Coming. Hence, a pre-tribulation rapture.

• Are you an unbeliever? Then you need to be terrified.
• Are you a believer? Jesus speaks this as a word of assurance, not anxiety. He promises the overcomer will not, cannot, have his or her name blotted out.

Rev 3:6  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’

In light of what we’ve learned in this letter to Sardis, can we say that the Lord has been speaking to us both individually and corporately?

What did He say to you? To us?

Are you… Am I… Are we “dead and ready to die?” Some of us must be. Repent!

I believe for the most part you have the characteristics of the remnant. Jesus is daily washing you as you walk with Him. Don’t drift back into the world.

Corporately, as I look around, our church is filled with life – the life of the Spirit, given by Jesus. It’s not just that we have added a lot of new activities. It’s that people’s lives are being radically transformed.

Is something wonderful happening?

There is a saying from the 16^th century that caught-on among Calvary Chapel pastors. Think about it, and about what it means for you, and for us.

“Why not here? Why not now?”

Revelation 22:6-21 – Famous Lasting Words

I never realized how many jobs there are for ‘keepers.’

There tavern keepers, lighthouse keepers, innkeepers, zookeepers, housekeepers, doorkeepers, crowkeepers, peacekeepers, wardrobe keepers, timekeepers, key keepers, animal keepers, lockkeepers, flame keepers, record keepers, water keepers, and vine keepers.

There are pond keepers, park keepers, and prison keepers.
There are barkeepers, beekeepers, and bookkeepers.
There are groundskeepers, gatekeepers, greenskeepers, and goalkeepers.
There are scorekeepers, shopkeepers, stockkeepers, supply keepers, station keepers, and storekeepers.
Hagrid was groundskeeper, gamekeeper, and Keeper of Keys for Hogwarts.
Dr. Strange is the stone keeper in the MCU.
Horror fans know the Crypt Keeper.

Did I miss any? I missed at least one.

Jesus has given us a job as ‘words keepers.’

He said, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” Then [an angel] said to [John], “I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book…” (22:7&9).

Jesus provided a job description for words keepers:

“Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book” (v7).
Do not “[take] away from the prophecies of this book” (19).
We’re to make sure people “hear” the words (v18).

This book and its words, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, needs keepers in every generation. We have the watch.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Are Appointed To Be A Words Keeper, and #2 You Are Anointed To Be A Words Keeper.

#1 – You Are Appointed To Be A Words Keeper (v6-9)

“Keep the words of this prophecy.” We immediately hear it as a general appeal to obey the Bible. That isn’t quite what is meant. There was no 66-book Bible when John wrote. It is the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, its “words,” that we are to “keep.”

“Keep” can mean obey, but it can also mean “guard” and “maintain.” Jesus gives us the responsibility to guard and maintain His Revelation.

Rev 22:6  Then he said to me, “These words are faithful and true.” And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place.

“Faithful and true” as opposed to false prophecies circulated by others. If I see one more History Channel program about Nostradamus, I’m going to go insane with rage. They spend hours trying to massage a few of Nostradamus’ weird quatrains to fit specific events while the Bible has been 100% accurate in predicting the future.

God is gracious to include us in His councils by showing us the future. He reveals the future to strengthen us in the present. Also, it is an act of intimacy between friends to share secrets.

Rev 22:7  “Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Jesus thrice says He is “coming quickly” (v7, 12 & 20). He was not talking about His Second Coming. He will first return in the clouds to resurrect the dead in Christ and transform living believers to take us to Heaven prior to the seven year Great Tribulation.

The Second Coming is preceded by all the events in chapters four through eighteen. Jesus’ return to take the church to Heaven has no preceding events. It could happen at any moment. It is imminent.

An imminent event is certain to occur at some time, but we are uncertain at what time. It may take place within a short time, but it does not have to do so to be imminent.

We become discouraged that the Lord has yet to come for us. It doesn’t alter that He can at any moment.

This is the sixth of seven blessings conferred in the Revelation. Do you recall the first? It was in chapter one. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (v3). I realized this week that the Lord kept this promise to our congregation. A few months ago the Lord provided the funds to retire the mortgage on our property.

I receive it as a fulfillment of the first blessing.

Rev 22:8  Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things.
Rev 22:9  Then he said to me, “See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

John knew better, but he found himself worshipping an angel for the second time. The angel corrected him for his own good.

When we worship together, it is essential we “worship God,” and not someone or something else. I don’t want to go too far afield, but I will give one example. Be careful you are not worshipping ‘worship.’ The singing in churches is trending towards a performance, like a concert. Churches hire professional musicians, some of whom are not believers. I’m not criticizing talent or saying smaller is better. You can sing old songs, new songs, acapella, plugged, unplugged, big team, small team, no team. As long as you are following God’s definite leading and not trying to copy or entertain.

As it turns out, the church needs this exhortation to keep the words of this book. The Revelation is always on any list of the most neglected books in the Bible. We need to encourage the reading and the study of these words.

#2 – You Are Anointed To Be A Words Keeper (v10-21)

Part of our job description is to partner with God the Holy Spirit to spread the Revelation. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come” (v17).

The Spirit is God the Holy Spirit Who indwells us. The bride is the church.

We are therefore anointed by God the Holy Spirit to invite everyone to “come” to Jesus Christ and be saved.

Rev 22:10  And he said to me, “Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.

The Revelation was for immediate circulation. We saw it taken to the seven churches of Asia. It remains an active prophecy for the Church Age.

I want to emphasize one final time that the Revelation is not what scholars call “Apocalyptic literature” that can be written off as primarily allegorical. It is called “prophecy” no less than four times in chapter twenty-two. It is an almost entirely unfulfilled future prophecy.

Futurists like ourselves are criticized for being escapists. Not so. Being words keepers lights a fire in us to see others saved. It is when we “seal” these prophetic words that our focus becomes man-ward, inward, and earthly, rather than God-ward, outward, and heavenly.

The “time” period in which the prophecies of this book will take place was “at hand.” It may seem a long time has passed. If there were another way, a faster way, God would have implemented it.

Rev 22:11  He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”

There comes a time in every life when it is too late to receive the forgiveness of your sins. For most, that time is at your death.

The word “unjust” reminds me that I am a sinner, unable to stand before the just judgment of God. He can, however, justify me based on Jesus taking my place on the Cross. He can declare believing sinners “righteous,” just-as-if-we’d never sinned.

I stand before the Lord dressed in “filthy” garments. Jesus takes my filth upon Himself and exchanges it for His “holiness.”

Rev 22:12  “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.

Does this sound at all like the Second Coming? No, it does not. Jesus was talking about the rapture.

“Work” is singular. It refers to the sum of your life’s spiritual work. We describe people sometimes by saying that something was their life’s work. Infuse your work with Jesus.

Rev 22:13  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

Jesus identified Himself using three strong statements that only God could claim.

I’ll give you three words to aid in thinking more deeply on your own about the titles:

As “the Alpha and the Omega,” Jesus communicates.
As “beginning and end,” He completes.
As ‘the First and the Last,” He creates.

Rev 22:14  Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

This is the seventh and final blessing. You’re not blessed only if or because you “do His commandments.” You “do His commandments” by His power because He blesses you. It is a response.

Some translations have the phrase “wash their robes” instead of “do His commandments.” It is not an appeal to do your own spiritual laundry. Jesus said in Ephesians that He was the One doing the washing, the cleansing, to one day present you without spot or blemish to His Father, in Heaven.

These are His blessings showered upon you.

The “Tree of Life” from the Garden of Eden was transplanted earlier in this chapter in New Jerusalem. Eternity is not a return to the Garden of Eden. New Jerusalem is our address, not Eden. We won’t be walking around naked all day eating fruit and conversing with animals. It won’t be a time of testing.

Rev 22:15  But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

No one will be lurking “outside” trying to break into your mansion. They are forever outside of New Jerusalem, having been cast into and confined in the Lake of Fire.

One commentator said, “It is the hopelessness of the final state of the wicked which is here pictured. The states of both the evil and the good are now fixed forever. There is no word here about a ‘second chance’ hereafter.”

A words keeper is sensitive to a few perversions:

“Dogs.” In the New Testament, the apostle Paul calls the Judaizers “dogs” (Philippians 3:2). Judaizers insisted you be circumcised or you were not saved. We’d expand this to include all false teachers and their teachings.

“Sorcerers” can be translated evil powers. We must maintain a healthy skepticism and test everything according to the truth.

“Sexual [immorality]” is anything and everything sexual outside of God’s loving boundaries in biblical marriage. We like to explain biblical marriage by saying it is a covenant of companionship between one biological man and one biological woman in a monogamous, heterosexual commitment for as long as either spouse lives.

“Murderers.” Jesus taught that if you are angry or even insult your brother, you are guilty of heart-murder. Anger and abuse are killers on many levels.

“Whoever loves and practices a lie.” Ananias and his wife Saphira lied to the church in the Book of Acts. God killed them for it, with Peter mediating.

Rev 22:16  “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

We haven’t heard “churches” since chapter three.
In chapters four through eighteen the church is not on Earth while the Great Tribulation is wrath-ing on the earth.

As the “root… of David,” Jesus preceded David.

As the “offspring of David,” He came through David’s line as a descendant.

Jesus precedes and follows David because He was God before David and came as God in human flesh after David.

The “bright and morning star” is the herald of the new day. Satan aspired to that title, but it belongs to Jesus. A continuous new day is coming.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

The “[Holy] Spirit” and the “bride,” the church, are God’s agents to invite lost men to receive Jesus Christ as their Savior in the age in which we live.

“Whosoever desires” may come to Jesus and be spiritually satisfied by drinking the “water of life.

Who is it that “hears… thirsts… and desires?” We would say it is all men everywhere.

No one can hear or thirst or desire unless God takes the initiative. He has taken the initiative. God acts upon hearts by grace to free the human will so we can by faith choose Jesus.

God the Holy Spirit prays. I believe it is His only recorded prayer. Since He is in you and aids you in your prayers, you, too, pray, “Come.”

Rev 22:18  For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;
Rev 22:19  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Believers have sincere differences interpreting the Book of the Revelation. Those who disagree with us on certain future things are not adding to, or subtracting from, the Revelation.

I do think that if you make a conscious decision to neglect the Revelation that the Lord might consider it a subtraction.

One way of adding to the words is to elevate the prophecies of others to have the same or greater weight as the Revelation. When Jesus wrote to the church in Thyatira back in chapter two, He warned them to quit listening to Jezebel “who calls herself a prophetess” (2:20).

Mormonism is guilty of both adding and subtracting. They’ve added books as if they were inspired, and in so doing subtracted from the truth of the inspired Bible.

Jesus didn’t give us a complete words keeper checklist for determining if we or someone else is adding to or subtracting from the Revelation. We must, however, be vigilant regarding this book in particular and the Bible in general.

Rev 22:20  He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The big question here is, “Who is Shirley?”

Jesus proclaims no less than three times that He is coming. Week after week, for almost 700 Sunday’s we’ve heard, “Ready or not, Jesus is coming!” I don’t think it is too repetitive anymore than Jesus did.

“Amen” is a word of agreement. We agree with the Lord that His coming is imminent.

“Even so, come Lord Jesus!” Have you ever come out of an event, like a movie or a play, and given a short assessment of what you just experienced?

“Man, that was great!” or, “I loved it!”

“That was awful!” or, “Can I get a refund?”

“Even so, come Lord Jesus!” is the reaction of a words keeper upon reading this book.

Rev 22:21  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Words keepers are gracious. We have received grace and having experienced it cannot help but want it for others.

At age 92, he might be the most famous groundskeeper in the world. George Toma has been the head groundskeeper for all 55 Super Bowl games, dating back to 1967. Toma was honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2001 as the recipient of the Daniel F. Reeves Pioneer Award. He was inducted into the Major League Baseball Groundskeepers Hall of Fame on January 8, 2012, as one of its charter members. That same year, Toma was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame.

The average, everyday believer in Jesus is the least famous, most important ‘keeper’ on Earth. Your rewards will come later from your rewards keeper, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Final words have weight. They are powerful. They motivate, they comfort, they inspire.

The final words in red in the canon of Scripture: “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Make Earth Great Again (Revelation 21:24-22:5)

“I sometimes think we really shouldn’t have even done it. There was a lot of pressure on us at that time to do one big last show, but big is always bad in comedy.”

The show was Seinfeld, and Jerry Seinfeld shared that regret in an interview.

Series-ending episodes are more often than not panned by critics and fans alike.

You’ll find The X-Files, Star Trek Enterprise, Lost, and Roseanne on that dubious list.

Who can forget the last episode of beloved Little House on the Prairie? Spoiler alert: The little house was reduced to smithereens, along with the rest of Walnut Grove. In the TV special, The Last Farewell, the residents destroy their property to stop it from falling into the hands of a sinister development tycoon. Fans hated it.

The Revelation has come to its last episode.

There is more to chapter twenty-two, sixteen verses, and one more Bible study, to be exact. Nevertheless, in verse five, John says, “and they shall reign forever and ever.” It brings to a conclusion the future Revelation he has received. The rest is encouragement, application, and exhortation for the church through the ages.

The final episode has us checking out activity on New Earth and strolling around New Jerusalem. All is good.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Will Have A View Of The Perfect Earth, and #2 You Will Have A Vista Of The Pure River.

#1 – You Will Have A View Of The Perfect Earth (21:24-27)

Luxury hotels often offer you a view for a premium. If you can afford a room at Disney’s Grand Californian, you may as well shell out the extra dough for a view of California Adventure.

Think of yourself in your mansion in New Jerusalem, enjoying a perfect #PastorsPour, looking out over the renewed planet orbiting below.

Rev 21:24  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.

The “it” is the fantastic New Jerusalem described earlier in the chapter. The city comes down from Heaven to hover over New Earth.

John told us a couple of times that there is no sun because the Lord is the light for the new heavens and New Earth.
The citizens and governments of New Earth “shall walk in its light,” and that light is the radiant glory of God.

There are “kings” over “nations” on New Earth.

John Walvoord wrote,

If Abraham is to remain Abraham throughout eternity and David is to remain David… So also will it be with those who are saved among the Gentiles. There is no indication that nationality of individuals will be stressed, but the fact that they belong to a nation is revealed in the description of New Jerusalem.

Jesus will return to Earth to end the seven-year Great Tribulation. We call His return the Second Coming. The Lord described one of His first acts upon returning. Matthew quotes Him in his Gospel:

When the Son of Man comes in His glory… then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left… Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…” Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

“Sheep” and “goats” are designations for humans who survive the Great Tribulation. Jesus separates believers, the “sheep,” from nonbelievers, the “goats.” Nonbelievers are removed from Earth to await their final judgment.

Believers who survive the Great Tribulation will be the initial citizens of the Kingdom of God on Earth. We call His kingdom the Millennial Kingdom, or the Millennium, because it will last one thousand years.

Human beings who live during this thousand years are the true Millennials.

These surviving believers from all over Earth will retain their ethnicity. They will return to their nations. “Kings” will govern them under our supervision. They will engage in commerce. It will be Earth on spiritual steroids.

Millennials will start having children. They and their offspring repopulate Earth. Conditions on Earth during the Kingdom Age will be pretty near perfect. Resources will be abundant. The ensuing population explosion won’t need Thanos to correct it.

It is impossible to calculate the final population of the Millennium. There are too many variables. I did find one interesting article. The author postulated how quickly Earth might be repopulated after a disaster nearly wipes out the population. He said,

Humanity could bounce back surprisingly fast. At the turn of the 20th Century, the Hutterite community of North America achieved the highest levels of population growth ever recorded, doubling every 17 years. It’s a tough ask, but if each woman had eight children, we’d be back to seven billion people in just 556 years.

The Millennium is one thousand years. The potential population of the Kingdom is staggering.

Millennials will be born in unredeemed human bodies, dead in trespasses and sins, and will need to be born again to have eternal life.

Fast forward to the end of the thousand years. Multitudes of Millennials will reject Jesus, refusing His salvation. Worse, they will be led in a rebellion against Jesus by the devil.

For the sake of argument, let’s say that the majority of the people born in the Millennium reject the Lord and perish eternally. I think I’ve given you enough information to conclude that there will still be billions of believers organized into nations with leaders over them. Billions is a conservative estimate. It could be trillions or more.

We know one more thing about these people. Their human bodies must at some point be transformed into glorified bodies. The apostle Paul said, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (First Corinthians 15:50).

“The kingdom of God” Paul in this verse is not the Millennial Kingdom. It is eternity. Millennial believers cannot be anywhere in eternity without a glorified body.

These surviving Millennial saints will be transformed and will be at least some of the people that are inhabiting New Earth in their various “nations,” ruled by “kings.”

Rev 21:25  Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there).

No ancient city’s “gates” were open 24/7. Too dangerous. It would be like having no border crossings, having a completely open border. In eternity, however, there are no threats. Folks come and go as they please.

Rev 21:26  And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

The “glory” of the “nations” is mentioned for the second time. It reminds me of scenes in movies when emissaries from foreign lands bring gifts to the monarch. If my memory serves, there is a scene like that before Moses appears before Pharaoh in The Ten Commandments. Representatives from the nations on New Earth will bring their gifts to the Lord.

Rev 21:27  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.

Read this verse as if you are in the first century. It is a reminder, a warning even, that people who defile, cause abominations, or lie, will be excluded from Heaven. There won’t be anyone like this; no sinners at all. It is, therefore, an evangelistic call. Get saved before it is too late.

The Book of Life is mentioned for the sixth time in the Revelation. It initially contains a list of the names of all those Jesus died for. Who are they?

God so loved the world that He gave Jesus, Who is the Savior of all men, especially those who believe.

The “world” encompasses everyone ever conceived.

“All men” is the human race. God loves them all, and Jesus died to save them all.

Not all will be saved.

God removes the names of human beings who die in nonbelief, having rejected the gift of salvation. Their names will be, the Bible says elsewhere, “blotted out.”

This is the first time the book is called “the Lamb’s Book of Life.” This last mention seems like it is a presentation. The final draft of the Book of Life is in the hands of the Lamb, Who alone made it possible for anyone to be saved. It’s the conclusive record of the result of His work.

Your name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life. It is there right now. It will only remain in the Book of Life if Jesus is your Lamb.

Someone must die for you to have a relationship with God. That Someone was Jesus. Until He came from Heaven to Earth, lambs and other animals were acceptable, but temporary, sacrifices. Jesus died in your place as the final sacrifice, the one that all the lambs anticipated.

The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life. Believe God that Jesus was the God-man Who died for you, then rose from the dead.

#2 – You Will Have A Vista Of The Pure River (22:1-5)

You’ve been out on your porch looking over the hustle and bustle of activity between the nations of New Earth and New Jerusalem. Time to take a stroll to see what is happening in the city.

Rev 22:1  And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Bottled water is classified as either still or sparkling. Heavenly water is something beyond those descriptions. It is “clear as crystal.”

I see no reason to think of this as a metaphor. This is water, in a river, from which you will be able to drink. Robert Thomas writes, “Unlimited access to this life-giving water will assure residents of New Jerusalem of an everlasting enjoyment of life.”

The source of this river is “the Throne of God.” At the very least, this tells you it can never run dry. It will never be diverted, never dammed up, never be corrupted.

More than that, it will satisfy you. The prophet Jeremiah said of Israel, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water” (2:13).

A cistern was an earthen reservoir to hold run-off and rain. Think of the ponding basins that are on properties. Would you rather drink from the stagnant waters of a ponding basin or from the river of water God offers?

Israel consistently chose the stagnant water. Religion, philosophy, psychology, politics, education – all offer to satisfy your thirst. F.B. Meyer wrote, “God has set eternity in our heart, and man’s infinite capacity cannot be filled or satisfied with the things of time and sense.”

Captain Barbosa said, “The drink would not satisfy, food turned to ash in our mouths, nor the company in the world would harm or slake our lust. We are cursed men, Miss Turner.”

The human race is under a curse. Jesus reverses the curse. Only Jesus can satisfy our thirst.

Rev 22:2  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.

There are two main views on the description of the tree in relation to the river:

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “The picture presented to the mind’s eye would appear to be that of a wide street, with a river flowing down the center, like some of the broader canals of Holland, with trees growing on either side, all of them of the same kind, all called the tree of life.”

John Walvoord wrote, “The visual picture presented is that the river of life flows down through the middle of the city, and the tree is large enough to span the river, so that the river is in the midst of the street, and the tree is on both sides of the river.”

We remember the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lost access to it by being exiled from Eden when they disobeyed God by eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

From the account in Genesis, it would seem that there is only one Tree of Life. It was initially in Eden. God has it in His heavenly nursery, waiting for its transplanting in New Jerusalem.

I can envision a Tree of Life replanting ceremony. Maybe Adam and Eve can throw in the first handfuls of dirt.

I always think of eternity as timeless, but it isn’t. There won’t be a lunar calendar because there is no luna, but there will be a twelve-month calendar in eternity. No night, always day, yet we will somehow understand and track the passage of time.

In every survival show, the people keep track of the days until their experience comes to a welcomed end. In New Jerusalem, “when we’ve been there ten thousand years… We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise than when we first begun.” We will keep track of time looking forward.

I don’t know if you realize it or not but in eternity, we will be fruitarians.

There will be no death, so no butchering animals. No roadkill. Housekeeping will stock a lifetime supply of Cool Whip in every mansion.

The citizens of New Earth will especially desire the “leaves.” The “leaves” are, literally, health-giving. No illness at all in eternity, so I’m not sure how the leaves impart health. I remember the Star Trek episode in which the crew was influenced by plants that shot spores on them. They became euphoric. Of course, in a world with Captain Kirk, you need your pain, so he found a way to break the effect and ruin it for everyone.

The following three verses ought to bring tears of joy.

Rev 22:3  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.

If not yourself, you know someone who has had cancer. If it is a tumor, a surgeon cuts it out. You want to hear him say, “I got it all; you are cancer-free.”

New Earth, New Jerusalem, the universe, will be curse-free.

You will “serve Him.” Think about Jesus before you think about yourself. On Earth, He was the servant of all. He said of Himself that He came to serve, not be served.

Jesus didn’t become a servant when He became human; He was already a servant.

He voluntarily submitted to the plan to become human, to become the God-man, and die on the Cross for a lost and perishing people who would initially reject Him.

Jesus didn’t quit serving when He ascended into Heaven. He serves us, works on us, and in us to change us from glory to glory into His image.

In the Book of Ephesians, we are told that Jesus washes us by the water of His Word. In westerns, the hero will come into town, check-in to the hotel, and take a bath. He sits in the tub, and every once in a while, someone brings in a fresh bucket of hot water and pours it in.

Jesus is the one bringing buckets of the water of the Word. The creator of all things serves joyfully as a water boy.

However we serve, it will be a joy to be like our Lord.

Rev 22:4  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

You can see anyone’s face in pictures. Not possible when John wrote the Revelation. This is a declaration we will be face-to-face.

Forehead tattoo? Maybe. Here is another suggestion. The Message Version of the Bible reads, “they’ll look on His face, their foreheads mirroring God.”

In the Old Testament, Moses met with God. Afterward, his face would “mirror God.” It would glow for a while with the glory of God. Moses would wear a veil so the Israelites wouldn’t see the glow fade and become saddened.

The apostle Paul used Moses as an example. He wrote to the church in Corinth, saying, “Moses… put a veil over his face… Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away… we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (Second Corinthians 3:13-18).

As we grow, we glow!

Supernaturals can probably see the glow. You don’t want to look to them like a flashlight needing batteries.

There are times your countenance might reveal to human onlookers the Lord at work in you.

This glow might be what John described. His “name” on your “forehead” could be His glory in your countenance being mirrored.

Rev 22:5  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.

John wrote in his Gospel: “[Jesus] was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (1:9).

Jesus came to offer salvation to the the whole human race, “every man coming into the world.” In the end, those who believe God walk the streets of New Jerusalem, the nations of New Earth, and who can say where else in the universe.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is among the greatest works of literature. Tolkien never lets us down. The ending is no exception. Sam returns home and says humbly, “Well, I’m back.”

The words in verse five, “And they shall reign forever and ever,” are an “I’m back” ending. We will be back to where we began, face-to-face with our Creator. What was lost in Eden is restored in eternity.

You are writing your story as you walk with the Lord. If you were to die today, or be raptured, what would the last line of your life be?

Goin’ Up to the City in the Sky (Revelation 21:9-23)

It has a distinctive name: The Nightingale of Kuala Lumpur.

It is a red burgundy one-of-a-kind gown that is worth $30 million. Malaysian designer Faiyzali Abdullah incorporated chiffon and silk, Swarovski (swaa raav skee) crystals, and 751 diamonds weighing over 1100 carats. A 70-carat teardrop diamond further adorns it.

Egyptian designer Hany El Bahairy created the world’s most expensive wedding gown, $15 million. Several hundred diamonds and precious stones cover the dress. Ivory tulle and silk organza are the fabrics from which it is sewn. The diamonds and stones form intricate patterns from head to toe, glittering over the bride.

You’re probably more frugal. brides.com can help. They have a list of dresses under $100.00 that they say “will make you feel like a million bucks.”

The world has yet to see the most beautiful bride in the most breathtaking setting.

We get a glimpse of her in our verses: “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. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal” (21:9-11).

It reads as if this were the moment in an earthly wedding when the bride appears and those gathered see her for the first time.

In case you don’t know, the church is the bride.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Glorified Will Highlight New Jerusalem, and #2 Jesus’ Glory Lights New Jerusalem.

#1 – You Glorified Will Highlight New Jerusalem (v9-21)

Fancy villas, high-rise apartments, lakes, parks, and sprawling road networks. These cities in China have it all. Just one element is missing: People. About fifty such ‘Ghost Cities’ lay desolate across the country.

New Jerusalem would be no more than a Ghost City without its inhabitants. Believers in their resurrection bodies are the highlight of the city. Its true beauty is us made beautiful by Jesus.

Rev 21:9  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.”

It is not uncommon for a person to retire then enjoy a second or third career.
The seven angels who poured out the seven last plagues had a short ‘bowling’ career. One of them retired to become a tour guide.

Pray about how you might serve the Lord in your retirement.

“Lamb” is the preferred description of Jesus in the Revelation. He is “the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world” by His sacrifice on the Cross. He is the only one worthy of taking the scroll from His Father and bring the current dispensation to its end.

What Jesus called “My church” (Matthew 16:18) was a mystery until He and the New Testament apostles revealed it. The church was born on the Day of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus sent God the Holy Spirit to empower and give boldness to believers to preach the Gospel until He comes to resurrect the dead in Christ and rapture living saints.

One of many illustrations describing the church is that we are the bride of Jesus. The angel invited John to take a look at the church, “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

This is important: John saw the church collectively. He saw us all together, all at once. The city adorns the collective bride.

Just as a bride is adorned with her gown and jewelry, so is the
church adorned by New Jerusalem.

Rev 21:10  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,

Jesus promised He would occupy Himself building mansions in Heaven for us. When the heavens and Earth are remade New Jerusalem will be moved from its construction site in Heaven to the atmosphere above Earth.

Rev 21:11  having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

There is something beautiful about an aerial view of a great city lit up at night. All the Earth’s cities combined are barely a match compared to New Jerusalem. It shines “having the glory of God.”

I gotta home in gloryland
That outshines the sun
Way beyond the blue

Rev 21:12  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:
Rev 21:13  three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west.

The ministry of angels changes dramatically throughout the dispensations of human history. They are everywhere during the Great Tribulation performing incredible deeds. Afterward they stand honor guard in New Jerusalem. There is no reason, no need, to guard. It is a ceremonial posting.

God gifts each of His believers. It doesn’t mean our gifts are ours to exercise when, where, and how we will. You will have postings that test your obedience.

Regardless your gifts, you are first a servant:

A servant does whatever they are asked.
A servant sees a need and meets the need.

The gates have the names of the “twelve tribes of Israel.” In verse fourteen, we will read, “the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The apostles, along with prophets, laid the foundation for the church.

Israel and the church are two distinct entities in God’s plan.

Israel and the church are not one and the same. Roman Catholics and most Reformed Christians, and others, are confused. They teach that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. Not true, proven here.

You cannot understand prophecy, and you will be led into misinterpretation unless you keep Israel and the church separate in God’s plan.

The apostle Paul wrote, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew” (Romans 11:1-2).

Commentators and critics make a hullabaloo about the “twelve tribes.” The original twelve were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.

I said ‘original’ because Joseph had two sons while serving as Prime Minister of Egypt. Jacob rewarded Joseph with a double portion of land by adopting Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, like his own (Genesis 48:5). This adoption technically split the tribe of Joseph in two, making thirteen tribes. The various lists of the twelve tribes in the Bible don’t always match.

Bottom line: We are never told why these lists differ. It is need to know, and we don’t need to know.

Rev 21:14  Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

More commentator-confusion surrounds the twelve apostles. Jesus chose Judas Iscariot to be one of the twelve. After his betrayal and suicide, the eleven drew lots to pick Matthias as his replacement.

Some commentators think they were premature because it seems evident that God meant for Paul to be the twelfth apostle.

After Matthias is chosen, the group of apostles is called “the twelve.” God the Holy Spirit considered Matthias the bonafide twelfth apostle or He would not have inspired the writer of Acts, Luke, to use the title.

Peter and Andrew; James and John; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, the son of Alphaeus; Jude, aka Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot; and Matthias.

Is it possible that the great apostle Paul will not have his name commemorated in the city? Yes. Let it be a lesson to us. Paul said of himself, “For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God” (First Corinthians 15:9). Our rush to honor him for his work reveals a wrong tendency to desire recognition and position. It is a sign we are looking at outward things, whereas the Lord looks at the heart

Rev 21:15  And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.
Rev 21:16  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.
Rev 21:17  Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel.

The angel’s third career is as a surveyor. Although an angel, he uses the “measure” of humans. It solves a great debate. We won’t be using either the metric system or imperial measurements. Cubits and furlongs are in your future. Better read up on it.

The New Jerusalem’s length, height, and width are equal. It is either a cube or a pyramid. A cube is more reminiscent of the Tabernacle and Temple.

Let’s do some math together. New Jerusalem measures about 1400 miles in every direction. One human being takes up minimum space of about 2’ by 2’ by 6’, or 24 cubic feet per person.

Mathematicians calculate that six billion people can ‘fit’ in one cubic mile.
If the city had twenty billion residents, each person would have a cube of space that is seventy-five acres in every direction.

A few more calculations:

New Jerusalem is a multi-story city. In The Return of the King, the city of Gondor is an excellent example of a multi-story city. If each ‘story’ in New Jerusalem were 10’ high, it would have 792,000 floors.
Suppose the mansions on each floor were 250,000 sq.ft. There could be more than one quarter million mansions per floor.
At a vantage point 5000 miles away, New Jerusalem would appear more than 130 times larger than the moon.
The ground coverage would equal the combined areas of all but nine of the states in the United States. Some scholars suggest the city sits on Earth, not hovering in the heavens. It’s pretty obviously too big to be on Earth.

It’s big and will be no Ghost City. A lot of people have gotten saved, and many more will get saved before the city makes its dramatic descent.

The first high-rise building in the Bible was the Tower of Babel. Nimrod & Co. started construction on a brick and slime structure to reach the heavens. He wasn’t building a stairway to Heaven. The finished would be a place to observe and worship things in the heavens.

Archaeologists call these ancient towers ziggurats. They good-guess that the tallest of them was just under 200’.

The tallest building in the world is Khalifa Tower in Dubai. It is just over half a mile tall at 2,722’. It has about 163 stories.

It wouldn’t be a lawn ornament in New Jerusalem.

Rev 21:18  The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

Striking, vibrant colors will be produced as light passes through and reflects off gems and precious metals.

“Pure gold” is said to be “like clear glass.” In verse twenty-one we will read that “the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.”

Rev 21:19  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,
Rev 21:20  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.

I don’t see any reason to get bogged down explaining all these individually. It’s going to be purdy.

Rev 21:21  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.

Oysters that big scare me… But I suppose they’ll be friendly. This description is probably where we get the idea that Peter will meet us at the “pearly gates.” It won’t be Peter; it will be Jesus.

Notice it says, “the street,” singular. No cul-de-sacs, only one winding ribbon of road climbing up 792,000 stories. Once again, think Gondor.

The building materials are precious gems and minerals. What do we do with precious stones and gold today? Or, better yet, what do wives want their husbands to do with them?

They are in the jewelry that we give to the one we love.

New Jerusalem is precious gems in a pure gold setting. The city is an immense jewel that will surround the bride.

Extravagance is a trait of romantic love. You want to be able to give your loved one something amazing. It’s not because you are materialistic, but because you are romantic.

When given to the one you love, things of great value show you care more about him or her than the things in all the world. If you could, you’d give your loved one the world – because the one you love has more value to you than everything valuable in the world.

Charles Spurgeon said, “Let me revel in this one thought: before God made the heavens and the earth, He set His love upon me.”

You, glorified, will be the highlight of the city.

#2 – Jesus’ Glory Will Light New Jerusalem (v22-23)

We’ve encountered several 12’s. There are a lot more 12’s in the Bible, 187 of them to be exact. In most of those instances, the number 12 conveys God’s perfect government:

The 12 Patriarchs of the 12 tribes were the leaders governing Israel.

The 12 apostles had the authority to lay the church’s foundation, govern it, and establish its future governing leaders.

The 12’s of New Jerusalem tell us that it will be more than big and beautiful. It will be perfectly governed.

Rev 21:22  But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

The sense I get of John’s statement, “I saw no Temple in it,” is that he was looking for one. The Temple at Jerusalem had been a constant in his life. For many years he had visited it at least twice annually as was required of every male Jew.

The lack of a Temple in New Jerusalem would have been a stunning realization for John. Stunning in a good way because he was immediately inspired to understand that “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple.”

God met with Adam and Eve face-to-face. Adam and Eve’s sin broke their face time with God. The penalty for sin, for them and their offspring, was and is death.

The sacrificial death of an animal as a substitute could temporarily restore fellowship. The Law of Moses eventually codified a system of substitutionary sacrifice. God put His glorious presence in the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple. He met with His people through a mediator after the shedding of blood.

The New Testament Book of Hebrews proves that Jesus was better than the Temple system of sacrifice in every way. He is our mediator, and since we are in Him, we have immediate access to come boldly to God the Father.

Please do not get involved with rites, rules, and rituals that distance you from the intimacy made possible by Jesus shedding his blood.

Rev 21:23  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.

Who doesn’t enjoy a good sunrise or sunset? Better get that out of your system.

The city will be constructed so that the light of Jesus Christ will reflect throughout it. It will be like no light we’ve ever experienced before. No one will miss darkness.

I was watching an old Pawn Stars episode. They discussed how they were fooled when cubic zirconia first hit the streets in the late 1970s.

John knew his gems. He knew as well that the Lord would never build with sub-standard, faux materials. He mentioned “pure gold” when, in fact, on Earth gold cannot be 100% pure.

Neither ought we to build with “wood, hay, stubble,” but with “gold, silver, precious stones” (First Corinthians 5).

How?? Do everything as unto the Lord, in His empowering, and you are building with the best materials.

You earn rewards from the Lord while building. John earlier likened your rewards to adornments you add to your white robes of righteousness. He wrote, “And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (19:8).

Be beautiful. Walk with Jesus and receive His rewards for stuff He asks you to do, then enables you to perform.

Gals, you will never wear The Nightingale of Kuala Lumpur.

Guys, you’ll never build anything like the Khalifa Tower.

Compared to New Jerusalem, building for Jesus far exceeds anything mankind could ever accomplish.

It isn’t the city that looks mahvelous. It is the church within it that the city adorns.

One final thought, this from A.W. Tozer:

“An infinite God can give all of Himself to each of His children. He does not distribute Himself that each may have a part, but to each one He gives all of Himself as fully as if there were no others.”

Surfless City, Here We Come (Revelation 21:1-8)

“Have you ever seen it, Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?”

The city of Gondor was in Boromir’s heart as he was dying from many orc arrows. He wished for its glory to be renewed with the return of the rightful king.

We look forward to the city whose builder and maker is God and to the forever rule of the rightful King of kings.

The “holy city,” New Jerusalem, will come “down out of Heaven from God.” It will be a permanent, prominent feature in eternity.

Before an angel reveals to John what and who is in New Jerusalem, he tells the wide-eyed apostle what and who is not.

I’ll organize my comments around two points: #1 You Will Never Sorrow In The Golden City, and #2 You Will Never Sin In The Golden City.

#1 – You Will Never Sorrow In The Golden City (v1-7)

If you could live anywhere on Earth, where would it be? You can’t say Riverdale; that’s too obvious.

The place you’ve chosen isn’t free from tears, death, sorrow, crying, and pain.

On the other hand, New Jerusalem will be absent from all those and every other experience that is a result of sin wreaking havoc on God’s creation.

Where the Savior is there can be no sorrow.

Rev 21:1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Heaven with a capital “H” is God’s domain. The heavens above us – the earth’s atmosphere and what we call space – will pass away.

The apostle Peter was inspired to write a description of the “first heaven and the first earth” passing away:

But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men… the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up… all these things will be dissolved…(Second Peter 3:7, 10&11).

Newsweek posted an article titled, Who Will Control the 21st Century? Whoever Controls Space. Go, Space Force.

Who controls space? One of Satan’s titles is “prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2). The atmospheric heavens and space are where he operates.

J.R.R. Tolkien might have described the devil’s presence in the heavens as “fell.” It is a favorite word of his, an old use of the word, meaning fierce, ferocious, deadly, savage.

Our prayers rise as incense through the devil’s war room. He must be incensed!

Now for the really big question of the day. Why is there “no more sea?”

We are genuinely troubled by the disclosure that there are not going to be any oceans. Especially those who believe surfing is next to godliness. Maybe you can be like the Silver Surfer, tooling around the universe on your longboard.

Nowhere are we told why there is “no more sea.”

Anything we say would be a guess we can’t substantiate. We can suggest why its absence troubles us.

Some instinct in us causes us to refer to beachfront property, or tropical islands, as Paradise.

Not even close. Jesus told the believing thief crucified with Him, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). Geographically speaking, the thief would be in Hades, in the comfort section called Abraham’s Bosom. It is where the souls of the righteous waited for the coming of the Lord to lead them to Heaven. Jesus would descend there after His death to lead all the righteous to Heaven.

I think it is OK biblically to say that Paradise is being with Jesus. Paradise has never been a place; it is a Person. Luther said, “I would not give one moment of Heaven for all the joy and riches of the world, even if it lasted for thousands and thousands of years.”

Rev 21:2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

New Jerusalem is, quite literally, the crowning jewel of the new creation. In subsequent verses, we’ll see that it is made chiefly of gems and precious stones. Gold paves its streets, hence, The Golden City.

It will come “down out of Heaven from God.” It could not be built on-site because of the devil’s temporary hold on the heavens. It has been under construction in Heaven and will be moved into position when the prince has become the pauper.

The New Jerusalem is being “prepared” in Heaven “as a bride adorned for her husband.” The Contemporary English Version of the Bible reads, “It was like a bride dressed in her wedding gown.”

The New Testament uses marriage as an illustration of our intimacy with Jesus. He is the Bridegroom, and we are His bride. A bride desires to look her best. Hair, make-up, jewelry, maybe a veil, and a bouquet adorn her. Her gown is her primary adornment.

Just as her gown and other preparations adorn a bride, so is the bride of Jesus adorned by New Jerusalem. Looking at the bejeweled city, you see the bride “having made herself ready” (19:7).

Before we get lost in the beauty of New Jerusalem in subsequent verses the Lord establishes that it is merely a showcase for His bride.

The Lord is excited to put us on display. It gives Him pleasure to draw attention to His finished work in us. I dare say that the church is a trophy bride.

Jesus saved us. He committed Himself to setting us apart, to performing a good work in us every moment of every day. He is described as washing us by the water of the Word of God. We will be presented without spot or blemish to our heavenly Father.

I can only imagine how beautiful each of you will be in eternity, let alone myself.

Rev 21:3 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.

The “tabernacle” was the tent in the wilderness where God was present among the Israelites.

It consisted of two chambers, the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, separated by a thick veil. It was 45’x15’, or 675sq.ft. People who get deeper into the dimensions suggest that New Jerusalem may be a pyramid shape. The earthly tabernacle, however, was a cube. It doesn’t matter; it’s simply interesting.

God will “dwell” with mankind. After Adam and Eve sinned, everything in the Bible is God providentially forwarding His plan for redeeming the human race to restore the fellowship our parents forfeited for a fig.

Charles Spurgeon wrote,

I do not think the glory of Eden lay in its grassy walks, or in the boughs bending with luscious fruit-but its glory lay in this, that the ‘Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day.’ Here was Adam’s highest privilege, that he had companionship with the Most High.

We talk about serving God… Fearing God… Obeying God… Submitting to God… Praying to God… Giving to God. Those should all be done in the context of enjoying God.

You say, “It’s hard to enjoy in my suffering, in my struggles.” Hey – that’s when you can enjoy God the most. To paraphrase the Twilight Zone movie, “Do you want to hear something really scary?”

Consider enduring suffering without God.

C.S. Lewis said, “Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4 ESV).

The apostle Paul was told by God that his suffering would not end. He was to endure it. Paul reacted, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (Second Corinthians 12:9-10).

Fellowship with God makes all the difference.

Revelation 21:4 “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Planet Earth is overrun by “death,” “sorrow,” and “pain.” It produces “tears” and “crying.” Jesus will “wipe away every tear.”

Have you ever had someone wipe away your tears when you were crying? It’s a tender gesture that only someone very dear to you should attempt. It is symbolic of their desire to alleviate your sorrow.

Jesus’ death on the Cross in your stead makes Him your tear-wiper.

“Every tear” emphasizes each one – not just crying in general. Just as the hairs of your head are numbered, so your teardrops are counted. God saves them in a bottle (Psalm 56:8).

Tears, death, crying, sorrow, and pain epitomize the human experience. We live our lives. One day we’re not feeling so well. We get the news: Your condition is chronic, maybe terminal.

Many tears lead up to death. So much crying and sorrow follow death. “How great the the pain of searing loss.”

You have a friend in Jesus. He sent the Holy Spirit to be in you and with you, calling Him the “Comforter.” He wipes away your tears as you realize life is but a vapor. One day the blurring of your vision from tears will clear forever. You’re in Heaven.

Looking back at the Cross, I can look forward with overcoming faith to my final redemption and the forever city. There is no greater realization, no better life verse, than “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).

One writer said, “God never said that the journey would be easy, but He did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.”

Revelation 21:5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”

“Behold” is a magnificent command.

We can become more attuned to hear God say to us, “Behold.” He daily gives us observations and opportunities to behold. They are subtle, and we must expect them.

The apostles Peter and John daily walked by the beggar at the gate called beautiful. One day the Lord had Peter and John behold him. They “fixed” their eyes on him. The Lord had them “behold” him. God used them to heal him (Acts 3).

“All things” will be made “new.” The word is fresh, brand new. Everything about the new creation will remain fresh, always brand new to us.

Consumers love ‘new car smell.’ Alas, it doesn’t last. I should tell you that there is some evidence that new car smell may be toxic. It is produced by “offgassing of volatile organic compounds.” Sorry to ruin that for you, but hey – I care.

New Jerusalem ‘smell’ will last.

“And he said to me, ‘Write, for these words are faithful and true.’ ” John may have been so overwhelmed that he stopped taking notes.

John’s ministry on Patmos was to record the Revelation of Jesus Christ. There was work to do.

Have I stopped taking notes? Have you?

I don’t mean writing insights in the margin of your Bible or keeping a notebook. I mean stopped using your gift or gifts.

Christians grow weary in well doing, or apathetic waiting for the coming of the Lord. We fall asleep on the job.

Awake! Arise! Stir up your gifts.

God is “faithful.” We fail; we fall. Other people let us down, and we them down. He Who began this good work in us will see it through to the end.
God is “true.” There is a use of the word “true” we have lost. It means to make level, square, balanced, or concentric. Bicycle wheels have adjustments on each spoke. A cyclist adjusts them to ‘true’ the rotation of the wheel. God is a ‘truer,’ and you are being ‘trued.’

I’m getting ahead of myself but let me say this about our mansions in the heavenly city. They each will be ‘trued’ to your personality. Everything they are made from and all the things in them will display the Lord’s knowledge of the desires of your heart.

Benny Hester sang, “Though some know me well, still nobody knows me like You, Lord.”

Revelation 21:6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

Jesus identifies Himself as the “Alpha and the Omega” four times in this book. They are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It is a way of saying that we ought to listen, get counsel, and seek guidance from Him.

Everything needed to live a godly life is in His Word, ready to be applied by God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promises “the water of life freely to him who thirsts.” He first made that offer in the Gospel of John. It is the offer of the Holy Spirit to those who receive Him as Savior and Lord.

“Thirst” is a longing we all identify with. The Bible tells you that God has put eternity in your heart. You have a deep longing that can only be satisfied by being filled with God the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 21:7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

We use the word “overcome” to describe great effort with constant failure. We think ‘Overcomer’s Anonymous,’ populated by folks desperate not to relapse, working on their steps.

Believers are Overcomers Victorious.

First John 5:4 says overcoming is having “faith” in Jesus Christ. You are an overcomer by virtue of receiving Jesus and having the indwelling Holy Spirit.

You give-up overcoming when you give-in to your flesh.

You are a son who will “inherit all things.” Only in our case we get to enjoy it all with our heavenly dad.

Our first bullet point is that in New Jerusalem, we will never again “sorrow.” Replace “sorrow” with anything hurtful, hopeless, hateful, helpless, debilitating, depressing, discouraging… You get the idea.

#2 – You Will Never Sin In The Golden City (v8)

The list of words and phrases that are considered inappropriate or offensive grows daily. Some I understand. But these? Hysterical… ghetto… mumbo jumbo… fuzzy-wuzzy… peanut gallery… gyp… paddy wagon… long time no see… man hours… ethnic restaurant… and hun.

Check out the eight terms in our next verse:

Revelation 21:8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Not only do the descriptors offend, but the verse finishes by saying the person is going to “fire and brimstone.”

I am not suggesting that we be insensitive. Let’s just say I grew up in an insensitive home. There are words that are highly charged with racism, sexism, ageism, and the like.

Also, just because the Bible uses a word or term, it doesn’t permit us to use it maliciously.

There is nothing insensitive or malicious about the use of words in verse eight. They might get us kicked off of media just for reading them, but they are there for at least two good reasons:

First, the terms are representative of some of the ways sin manifests itself. Eternity will be free from these sins (and from sinners). It will be glorious.
Second, a person who recognizes him or herself in these words and terms is being evangelized.

Have you ever lied? Then you are a liar. You can’t go to Heaven, not on your own. You must receive Jesus. These words convict you of sin so that you will seek the Savior.

A third reason John was instructed to write these words has to do with their meaning in the context of the Revelation.

“Cowardly,” in the context of the Revelation, refers to the people who refused to follow Jesus because they were afraid of persecution and martyrdom. Spiritual cowardice is evidence there is no indwelling Holy Spirit to supply boldness.

“Unbelieving” reminds us of the great lengths God went to save people during the Great Tribulation. Those who remain lost were willfully unbelieving.

“Abominable” reminds us of the mid-tribulation event Jesus called the abomination of desolation. The abominable are those who worshipped the Beast.

“Murderers” of the two witnesses and of faithful believers who refused the Mark of the Beast were abundant in the Great Tribulation.

We saw rampant sexual immorality, sorcery, and idolatry, especially in the discussion about Babylon in chapters seventeen and eighteen.

With that, “It is finished!” The great Romance of Redemption ends its lengthy run on the stage of the universe and Forever begins.

No sin & no sinners. Admittedly it is hard to wrap our heads around that. I mean, if Satan sinned, and Adam and Eve sinned, why won’t we?
Ask and answer this: “Can Jesus sin?” No, no, no, of course He can’t sin.

Neither will we sin anymore forever.

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (First John 3:2).