Revelation 21:22-27

Revelation chapter 21, verses 22 through 27. And I saw no temple therein, where the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it, and the gates of it shall not be shut. at all by day, for there is, or there shall be no night there, and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall, in no wise, enter into it anything that defauleth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or makeeth a lie, but they which are written, and the Lamb’s Book of Life. God blessed to us His sacred and holy word this morning. Now, in a previous study, we saw that the new heavens and the new earth is not a present reality for the people of God. Peter declares this is something we look forward to. We’re anticipating it. as we go through this Christian life. In association, he tells us, with the second coming of Jesus Christ. the present heaven and earth are going to pass away being purged by fire. all this is found in 2 Peter chapter 3. So the first eight verses when we looked at it about the new heavens and the new earth, that gives us the framework of what we’re talking about. We emphasize that the eternal state is in view. This is not a carnal or earthly kingdom. There’s no more death or sorrow. The wicked are all in the lake of fire, according to verse 8 of chapter 21, which indicates to us that the great white throne judgment has already taken place, as the last part of chapter 20 indicates to us. The church enjoys eternal glory. glory. There’s no sun or moon or night there. There’s no more curse, according to chapter 22, verse 3. All the righteous have access to the tree of paradise. The tree of life in paradise. Second Peter 3 is certainly the definitive, I think, passage for interpreting this section of scripture. It’s the inspired explanation. So that’s chapter 21 to 8. Then we looked at, we were starting to look at the Holy Jerusalem, the Lamb’s Bride, which is taken up in 21, 9 through 27. We broke that in the two parts. The first part is the view of the new Jerusalem in chapters 21 versus 9 to 21. We said this is not a literal city, but it is a picture. of the people of God themselves. It is the glorified church without any spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It’s called the Lamb’s wife, which should be, you know, when he says, I’m going to show you the Lamb’s wife, and then he shows him the Holy City, it should tell us that the Holy City is portraying the people of God. The foundations of the city are the 12 apostles, the names of the 12 apostles. So that should indicate to us something about the city. And the gates are the 12 tribes. They’re named after the 12 tribes. So all this is an indication that we’re getting a symbolic portrayal of the people of God. We talk about our origin. It comes down from heaven. God is the builder and maker of the church. When Christ comes, the church is caught up to be with the Lord. Lord, there’s a destruction it takes place, and then the heavenly Jerusalem descends. The people God come to the new glorified earth. Her description, we read that the glory of God adorns her. God’s protection secures her. These walls that are high walls. It’s made up of all nation. The gates. Three gates to the north. Three gates of the south, three gates of the east, three gates of the west, so that all people from all different directions can come into the city. Her size. Her huge size, we said, suggest a symbolic interpretation. It’s a perfect cube, just like the Holy of Holies. In fact, we could say, in a sense, it is the Holy of Holies for all eternity. It is the place where God dwells. and we find that actually God dwells among all his people, therefore, it is very large. Her splendor. There are precious stones and gold. All speak of the perfected graces of the church, the people of God. An illusion is made with all the gemstones to the breastplate of the high priest and the Old Testament. Christ is our high priest, and he is the one who is the representative of our mediator, our intercessor. And that brings us this morning to life within the New Jerusalem, and that’s what we want to pick up with verse 22. We read here about her temple. I saw no temple there in. For the Lord. God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. Now, the old Jerusalem, ancient Jerusalem, had a temple. But we know that it was destroyed by the Romans, and it’s never rebuilt. The new Jerusalem has no actual visible temple, like a building like that. But what we find here is that the physical temple in the Old Testament was God’s dwelling place. And so we find God saying in Exodus 258, let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. In the New Jerusalem, the radiance of God’s majesty and glory fills the whole city, fills all the people of God. It’s not limited to just one place in the city, but it manifests itself everywhere with all his elect people he’s there. So God and the Lamb’s presence make the whole city a temple, if you would, a holy place. It’s interesting. The book of Zachariah ends with this idea, but, you know, it’s holy. The city is holy to the Lord. Well, the whole city is holy because of this situation. Her light is spoken of in verse 23. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it. For the glory of God to lighten it. And the lamb is the light thereof. Now, we know that God created the sun and the moon and the stars to provide a light for this earth. There’s a light by day and the light by night, we’re told. The creation was originally. Originally, however, illuminated by the actual glory of God. When God said, let there be light, he had not created the sun yet. So prior to the creation of the sun, moon, and the stars, God was the light of creation. So it is within the New Jerusalem. It is illuminated by the one the scriptures declare is the light of the world. Indeed, Jesus Christ, the Lamb, is the light of the world. the light thereof. Now, if you want to hold your place here, but look at Isaiah chapter 60, verses 18 to 20. Isaiah chapter 60 versus 18 to 20. It says, Your violence shall no more be heard in the land, wasting or destruction within thy borders, thou shalt call thy wall salvation and thy gates prays. The sun shall be no more thy law. light by day, neither for brightness shall be the moon to give light unto thee. But the Lord shall be unto thee in everlasting light and thy God thy glory. The sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon withdraw itself. For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy morning shall be ended. No more tears, no more sorrow and so forth. all these things the same as we read here in the book of Revelation. Then the citizens. Hold your place there in Isaiah, though. The citizens of the city are found in verses 24 to 27. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it, and the gates of the earth to bring their glory and honor into it, and the gates of the gates of them. it shall not be shut all at all by day, for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. There shall, and no wise, enter into it anything that defauleth, neither whatsoever worketh abominations or makeeth a lie, but they, which are lit, written in the Lamb’s book of life. Those Gentile nations, from whom God saves his elect people will enjoy the light of God’s glorious presence. If you look at chapter 60 of Isaiah again in verse 3, we see this idea found here, and the Gentiles shall come to thy light and kings to the brightness of thy rising. They will honor, and worship Christ. Even kings will bow the knee before the Savior, as the scriptures indicate to us. You notice here that the nations are not conceived of being outside the city, but within the city. You’re either in the New Jerusalem, or you’re in the New Jerusalem, or you’re in the lake of fire. You either have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and therefore you are a citizen of the New Jerusalem, or your name is not written in Lamb’s Book of Life, and you are in the Lake of Fire, one or the other. The eternal peace of the inhabitants is indicated by the fact that the gates are never closed. There’s no night. The gates are open by day. Well, there’s no night, so the gates are always open, right? There are no enemies left. The New Jerusalem is the holy city, according to 21-2, and therefore no one who is spiritually unclean can enter into it, according to verse 27 of our text here in Revelation. There is no admittance for any of these individuals. Your name must be written. In the Lamb’s Book of Life, in other words, you have to be one of God’s elect people. So we have here the Holy Jerusalem, the bride, laid out for us here, and who this bride is or citizens is fully declared for us here. Any questions about this last little section? All right. Let me make some practical applications. from this. Text. The Bible says we look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness in 2. Peter 313. The scriptures teach those that wait in the Lord shall inherit the earth and blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Psalm 379, Matthew 5.5. What earth are you going to inherit? This present, sinful one, where this curse still resides, or a glorious, purified earth, without the curse where righteousness reigns? I read, where the earth groans and travails. bones and travails desiring to be delivered from the bondage of corruption in Romans chapter 8, verses 19 to 22. Your hope, then, is not in some imperfect earth that’s under a divine curse. You will inherit a renewed earth without tears, without sorrow, without evil, where righteousness presides. And thus we look for Christ’s second coming, which the scripture says in the book of Titus is our blessed hope. Our blessed hope is not some earthly utopia where somehow or other the Christianity resides, but the curse is still here. We look for a new heaven and a new earth. We’re told by some. that the Jews inherit the earth where the Gentiles get the New Jerusalem. Well, that’s not what the scriptures tell us. We all inherit the same thing. The second thing I would say this morning is this. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding an eternal weight of glory from Second Corinthians 417. You read through a book of Revelation, and there’s a lot about suffering, persecution, even martyrdom. But what does it hold before your eyes at the very end? It holds before you, the glories of heaven, the new heaven, the new heaven, the new earth, the place where there’s no sorrow, no curse, no night, everything’s perfected, including you. To encourage you, to remain faithful, for this is what awaits you. What you suffer now, Paul says, is not worthy to be compared to the glory of what you’re going to receive in eternity. We should not lose sight of that. As we go through this life, as we face the problems of the curse, as we face the problems of living among a sinful society, as we suffer for the cause of Christ perhaps, of our faith, the scripture holds before us, here is what awaits you. Having suffered, having wept, having endured the pain, having experienced agony even of death, as we go through this life and comes to an end, you shall find heaven all the more sweeter and precious. Whereas the sufferings of Christ abound in us, Paul says, So our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 2 Corinthians 1.5, he provides a great consolation for us. He reminds us of the promises that he’s given us. The third thing I suggest from this passage of scripture, this chapter, is found in verse 5. The second part of verse 5 will we read here, behold, I make all things new. and he said unto me, write, for these things are true and faithful. People often ridicule Christians for being simpletons, because they believe what the scriptures teach about this pie in the sky, this heaven and eternity, and so forth. Modern man thinks that earthly life is all there is. There’s nothing after this life. You die, and you go, into nothingness. God has anticipated all this rationalization, all this skepticism. And God tells John here right for these things are true and faithful. What I’m telling you about the new heaven and the new earth take to heart. I’m putting it down in the book so that you have before you everything I have told you and promised you about the new heaven and the earth because God knew how much it would mean to us and he wants us to know the meaning of what he has said and never to doubt it. These things are true and faithful. So he affixes his own infallible seal to the word of God here. These things are faithful and true. God stakes his reputation of the fulfillment of what he has promised. You can be certain that the glories I have talked about are real and certain. Let us not doubt than anything that God has said. Let us have confidence in his word. The fourth thing I would direct your attention to is verse 8 of this chapter. But the fearful and unbelieving and the abominable and murderers and whoremongers and sorcerers and idolterers and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death. Here you have before you, indirect proof of limited atonement. Universal toment tells us, it claims, that Christ died for every man and took away every man’s sin and then it says so that every man has the possibility of being saved. Christ’s death doesn’t actually take away sin. It just makes it possible for you to be saved. But we’re told that the only reason that anyone goes to hell today is because of unbelief. The Armenian teaching is all your other sins are really forgiven, but this unbelief problem is what hangs you up. However, one who reads Revelation 21-8 finds a veraer. variety of sins for which people are cast into the lake of fire, right? Unbelief is only one of many of the sins that these people are held accountable for. They’re going to be eternally punished for these things if we are too fearful to follow Christ openly. If we are abominable in a sense that we follow up, idols, if we’re murderers, killers of those who are the people of God, if we’re sexually impure, if we’re engaged in all kinds of satanic sorcery and things of this nature, these are the things God says, I’m going to hold you accountable for. You’re going to be punished for these things. It’s not just for rejecting of Christ. Therefore, Christ must not. have taken away all these sins by a sacrificial death in the place of every single human being that we’re told. These sins remain. People are punished for them because Jesus Christ didn’t die for these people. When Christ dies, he died for us. And it’s like we read in Revelation 1-7, or excuse me 1-5, he washes us from our sins in his own blood. Why is it called the Lamb’s Book of Life? Because those are the ones the Lamb died for. They’re the ones given to the Lamb. They’re the ones represented by the Lamb. They’re the ones that Christ is the mediator for. They will never be punished a second time. There’s no second punishment. They’re forgiven of their sins forever. but if your name isn’t in the Lamb’s Book of Life, then you don’t have a substitute and you will be punished for these sins for all eternity. And then last of all, we see the splendor of the bride of Christ in verses 9 to 21. It is difficult for us to comprehend and therefore it’s difficult to convey the spiritual splendor of the church, the glory that will adorn Christ’s church for all eternity. So, God portrays it with a word pitcher, or pictures, if you will, of precious metals in gemstones. This is an accommodation to our finite understanding, but the graces of God, of God, Christ actually are precious to us. To have all these graces perfected in us will make us sparkle like gemstones. I have not seen nor ear heard the glorious things that God has prepared for us as his people. Let us rejoice in that. And then we see the unity of the people of God. in verse 12. we read here about the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel being on the gates. In verse 14, we read about the 12 foundations and in them the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. The bride of Christ, his church, is composed both Old Testament believers and New Testament believers. Now, Dispensational, claim that Israel and the church are always kept separate. They’re never to be mixed. The two are like oil and water, according to them. However, the utter separateness of Israel and the church is proven to be false when we get the Revelation 21. But the glorious city has the Israel of God, as well as the apostles, all connected together. Oh, united. it. The Lamb’s bride is comprised of both. There’s one people of God. There’s always been one people of God. Thus, the promises that we see in Scripture from the Old Testament as well as the new apply to all of us. So that Paul could argue that even us are heirs of the Abrahamic covenant, the promise. that are given. It gives us an idea and an understanding as we go through scripture that all the scripture is for us. Not to separate the two to weigh, well, that’s the old, that’s for the Israelites, not for us. And this New Testament is for us. No, no. All of it is for us. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. It is profitable for us. Even as Gentiles today. Thus ends. my study here on Revelation 21. Any comments or thoughts as we close this section? Anything that you would like to add or perhaps any questions? You might have.