[0:00] for a little bit while longer amen amen it's good to be saved is it not boy what a great feeling it's good to be able to sing that be able to let it known it's good to let that out don't keep it in let it out let the world know at least let me know amen let the lord know you're thankful all right let's get into the bible then revelation chapter 20 20 let's go to 20 i mentioned in sunday school that i finished reading through the scriptures again and as i just yesterday was closing the book of revelation and read through this last couple chapters i was just my mind was kind of quickly drawn to a message that i preached seems like forever ago it's been a long time um at least a dozen years or better and i just like the thoughts from it just came alive to me so quickly i just felt like i think that's what i'm supposed to preach tomorrow and that's just how that goes sometimes and so i abandoned my prior line of thinking yesterday afternoon and thanks to the fireworks and silmar our dog was a little bit active last night and wouldn't settle down so it caused me to be up and to just be reviewing these thoughts again and making sure that i was prepared to preach it today so this is what we're going to go with in uh in bible school i remember just being instructed in a few things and one of them was to always remember that the folks you're preaching to are folks that have problems their share of problems sometimes folks are going through divorces and it's tough and it hurts and it's just a mess in their heart and life and it's a struggle other times folks are going through uh losing loved ones uh parents or spouse or children or just close family members and some folks are dealing with diseases and cancer and sicknesses and just struggling with bills and jobs and just there's there's just people with problems and that's that's universal and if that's not how you feel today i don't have any problems well then just praise the lord for that but just know that they're coming you're not going to escape this life without problems paul says that there are light afflictions and he says they're but for a moment so that's something to keep in mind but you're going to have those problems and i believe in in good preaching i like to hear straightforward direct preaching i like it it's reproving rebuking and exhorting with all long suffering and doctoring that just feeds my soul i enjoy it and even when i'm wrong and i need to hear it and smack me around a little bit from the scriptures i need it and the new man inside of me says yes let's let's do this but uh sometimes you can't always have it that way or sometimes i guess it's it's needful to give something else when paul taught the church at thessalonica about the rapture and about the coming of the lord jesus christ to that church he told him about people that have that are dead he said that they sleep in jesus and he warned him not to sorrow when he told him about christ coming back he said wherefore comfort one another with these words and so there is a and i'm reminded of a revelation i mean romans 15 verse 3 where he's told that the the comfort of the scriptures there's things that god does give us to comfort us and so it's not always that we need to be blasted for our sins although we need it it's not always that we need to be built up in our doctrine although we very much need it sometimes you just need comforted sometimes you just need to be encouraged and that's my goal today and i i look back over the week and i even recall early in the week i think monday and tuesday just in my office on my knees at the chair just saying god i just like to preach something comforting
[4:05] that's what i was on my heart just i just want to deliver something that's just a help and nothing ever happened like that through the week and then just yesterday this popped and i thought that's god's answer in my prayer i also prayed something else i said lord i haven't seen any visitors in this church for a little bit and he answered that one too so praise the lord for both counts amen from me amen so today i just want to be a blessing to you and remind you that this filthy world that we live in it's not your home this is not your place and if your heart's a little bit attached or a lot attached i'd like to help you maybe untangle maybe unloose and just let go of some things and get your eyes where it belongs something that i was instructed in in school was a phrase that dr ruckman said all the time it's not down here it's not down here and i want to remind you that there's something better for you and i hope that you're not in love with this world you're commanded in the scriptures to love not the world neither the things that are in the world and i hope that's not the case and if that is the case i want to remind you god has something better for you something that you could fall in love with and anticipate and look forward to and set your heart on and your mind on and i want to remind you maybe if you're dealing with something and you're struggling if there is something hard that's in your life or pressing in your spirit then i just want to be a blessing to you and remind you hey it's not going to be too much longer remember paul said it's it's but for a moment and then it's all good the happily ever after is true for us it really is and it's going to be a reality and so i want to preach to you about a city about a city that russ started preaching on in the song service in sunday school the city that we read about at the end of this book and the city is called new jerusalem now the bible is a big book it's 66 books collected into one and of the chapters there's 1189 chapters 1189 chapters in this book and at the very beginning we're introduced to a creation from genesis chapter one two and three and and before we even get out of genesis we begin to see god just fast forwards through generation after generation and pops on to a man named abram and he takes him out and he calls him out and promises and some things to him makes a covenant with that man and makes a great nation of that man abraham he records then the history of that nation of his miraculous dealings with them of his their kings of their judges and moving into their prophets and of the things that god has revealed to that nation and to those prophets about the future that god has planned for that nation and as we read about those things we get some light as to just the future and understanding the things that are about to transpire lord willing in the very near future we read as we continue through this bible going chapter by chapter we read about when the word became flesh and dwelt among us and how man in that time beheld his glory the glory is of the only begotten of the father and we read about the three and a half years of the ministry of jesus christ on earth and of his healings of his preaching we read about his death and his resurrection and ascension the pot the apostles that he called and and empowered and taught and commissioned and how they went out and preached and taught we read about paul's epistles to the church and to a body a group of believers and a very interesting and isolated thing in scripture of you and i coming to christ by faith having never seen him having never witnessed his miracles not believing on him as our messiah but rather as our savior and coming to the cross of jesus christ receiving forgiveness of sins and an inheritance incorruptible and getting so much out of that and as we continue reading we come to the close of the book reading about future events that are being revealed uh just to name a few the
[8:06] rapture of the church the judgment seat of christ to follow the time of jacob's trouble on earth the tribulation time the second coming of the lord jesus christ and establishing his kingdom as he rules and reigns a thousand years of peace as the devil's bound and we read that in revelation chapter 20 there's a great white throne judgment in revelation 20 where we're right about at and you'll notice verse number 11 of revelation 20 the bible says and i saw a great white throne and him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them there's the destruction of this earth in peter he describes it as the elements melting with a fervent heat he describes those elements dissolving and being no more and that's what's taking place here in revelation 20 verse 11 when god takes off his veil reveals his glory and the elements the physical elements cannot exist and as they just vanish they dissipate they're gone and it's part of his intentions and verse number 15 of that chapter the last verse we read whosoever was not found written in the book of of the life was cast into the lake of fire the wicked are banished to outer darkness to what appears and is understood as this the bottom of all of god's creation the lake of fire now that last three minutes was just a super fast glimpse of eleven hundred and eighty seven chapters of scripture of the past of a touch on our present and of the future that's coming.
[9:52] And God, before he closes the book, before he closes his revelation to man, he tacks on two more chapters. Two more chapters. He's entering eternity, but he tacks on just two more quick things.
[10:06] A glimpse. And I don't know why he decides to do this, but I can be encouraged by it. I can say that, well, I'm thankful that he does. It can be a help to me when I go through something, knowing that it's going to end, knowing that it's easier to bear, knowing that there's something so much better out into the future.
[10:26] In this life, we know heartache, and we know trouble, and we know tears and death and pain. And then we're introduced in chapter 21 that that's going to be no longer.
[10:38] And he's going to put all that away. He's going to wipe it away. Here we know that we're surrounded by a spirit that hates Jesus Christ, that cusses him, that demotes him, and to us he's our blessed and lovely Savior.
[10:54] But we're fighting against a spirit in this world that hates the Lord Jesus Christ, a devil that will want to ruin our lives and destroy us, a world that he's been running as the God of this world, and a world that's full of disease and plagued with discouragement and trials, the sufferings of this present time.
[11:15] But this world's not our home. And Paul calls this the heavenly Jerusalem. It's the best that's yet to come. And I want to take a look at this city this morning with you and hope that it encourages you and just get your mind off of this life for a little bit and helps you to look out into the future through the eyes of faith, believing every word that God has written to us.
[11:38] Before I read any of the scripture, there's a poem I came across it several times, even recently, that says, just think of stepping on shore and finding it heaven.
[11:50] Just think of taking hold of a hand and finding it's God's hand. Just think of breathing new air and finding it's heavenly air. Of feeling invigorated and finding it's immortality.
[12:03] Of passing from storm and tempest to an unbroken calm. Of waking up and finding it's home. One day that's going to be real to every believer.
[12:15] To wake up. If Christ tarries, we'll pass. We'll fall asleep, as the Bible says, and we'll wake up and find it home. In Revelation 21 and 22, we're going to read about my home.
[12:30] And I can't wait. I've got a bigger house that I'm living in now than I've ever lived in in my life. But it can burn, as far as I'm concerned, compared to what I've got coming to me.
[12:42] Look with me at the first 10 verses of Revelation 21. After this lake of fire, after the wicked are cast into it, the Bible says, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
[12:53] For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
[13:05] And I heard a great voice, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. And God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, no crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.
[13:22] And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. He said unto me, It is done.
[13:33] Amen. That's a good one right there. It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
[13:44] He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake, which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
[14:00] And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
[14:12] And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.
[14:25] And her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. We'll stop there, and begin reading further in a moment.
[14:36] Let's pray together. Lord, we anticipate the truths of this book, believing everything you state here to be accurate and true. Lord, I pray that you'd instill this thought in our minds, in our spirits today, and comfort us, knowing that you've got something figured out, you've got it all laid out.
[14:54] We don't have to worry a bit. Lord, as we're trusting in Jesus Christ, for the salvation of our souls, we also trust you to take us to this place, to rid us of sin, of disease, of the flesh, of the lusts of our flesh, the trials of this life, to wipe that whole slate clean, to put us in a place of perfection, and of beauty, and of glory, and of innocence, and of holiness.
[15:22] God, inside of me, I long so strongly to be there. every time I disappoint you, every time I face anything in this world, and in this flesh, anytime there's disappointment, it just brings it that much realer to me.
[15:40] I want to be there. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Father, I pray that you'd speak to our hearts, that you'd encourage us in this faith, and may these words be a blessing to the folks today.
[15:52] We pray in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Amen. Amen. This new city, this new Jerusalem, the city that John saw, he describes it, and I want to give an outline to you, describing this city, as number one, by saying that this city is a great city.
[16:08] It is a great city. In verse 10, it says, He carried me away in the spirit, to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city. Just how great is this city, you wonder.
[16:19] Verse number 12 says, It had a wall, great and high, and had twelve gates, and the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of twelve tribes, the children of Israel. A great wall, for this city, great and high.
[16:32] But that's not all. Verse number 15 and 16, says, He that talked with me, had a gold reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth four square, and the length is as large as the breadth.
[16:46] And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. Now, twelve thousand furlongs comes out to pretty close to fifteen hundred miles, one direction.
[16:58] And this city sits four square. So we're dealing with a city that is fifteen hundred miles square. That comes out to two point two five million square miles of real estate.
[17:11] That's a great city. That size of the city, a city, is half the size of this country. The United States of America on this Continental 48 here.
[17:22] Half of the size of the United States of America is this great city. Fifteen hundred miles square. The base of that city. But it also says, and this I can't speak to very accurately, the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
[17:41] There's a height measurement equal to the length and breadth, which is given as twelve thousand furlongs. So if that's the case, you can picture a cube if you want.
[17:55] Others suggest, and a little deeper study may reveal it to be a pyramid-shaped city. At any rate, it's got some square footage, to say the least. This is a great city.
[18:07] The Lord Jesus Christ said, in my Father's house are many mansions. And He said, I go to prepare a place for you. And so this city, prepared, where did I read that?
[18:19] It's prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, in verse two. It's a city that's a great city, or a holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. There's something else.
[18:31] I'm missing the phrase there. I know it's in there. I'll probably read it later. But the Lord Jesus Christ says He's preparing a place. Peter calls it an inheritance incorruptible, reserved in heaven for you.
[18:46] And one day, by the grace of God, is going to be moving day. And we're going to not pack up our belongings here, but we're going to go to a place furnished for us.
[18:57] Furnished in eternity. Furnished with God knows what. I don't know what. But one thing to understand is, in understanding your Bible, is God revealed, I don't even know how to say this.
[19:13] It's beyond me. But heaven's not so far-fetched. It's not so mysterious and out of touch. There's so many things in the Scripture that are relatable to us that exist there.
[19:27] And I don't want to make heaven dumbed down to just being like our neighborhoods. It's going to be far better. And I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared, there's the word, for them that love Him.
[19:43] But what He's got going on, I don't think is going to be so foreign like, oh, what do I do with that? Or what do I do there? I think you're just going to be at home. And you're going to say, this is it. This is living.
[19:54] This is the way it should be. One day you're going to move in to the praise and glory of God. And that's where my affections are. That's where they're to be. Set your affections on things above, Paul said.
[20:07] Now that's a great city. And if you want to think LA is a great city, and it's got some size to it, and you can go over into China and see some massive cities, but they don't even touch. This city.
[20:19] You've never seen anything like it. You may think, well, I don't like city life. I want to get out in the country. I want to live where it's quiet. No, I think you'll be quite content when you see this city.
[20:29] I don't think you're going to have that thought come across your mind at all. And there's great reasons why. This is a great city. Look back at chapter, or at verse number 11, and notice number two, this is a glorious city.
[20:41] 21, 11 says, having the glory of God. What does that mean? The next part says, and her light. Her light.
[20:53] The glory of God is a reference to the brightness of this city. It's a bright city. In 1 Timothy chapter 6, God is described as a God that dwelleth in the light that no man can approach unto.
[21:08] In Matthew chapter 17, and two other gospel writers as well, write about the mount of transfiguration where Jesus Christ shined. His face did shine as the sun. His raiment was white as the light.
[21:19] And Peter said that we were eyewitnesses of his majesty, for he received from the Father honor and glory. And glory. John said we beheld his glory.
[21:31] The glory is of the only begotten of the Father. That's what he's talking about when he saw Jesus Christ transfigured and bright. It's a reference to his brightness. Look at chapter 18 and verse number 1 for a cross reference here.
[21:46] Revelation 18 verse 1, And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. This city is a glorious city.
[22:00] Having the glory of God, the Bible says. It's a bright city. And it gets no brighter than God's glory. Moses prayed back in Exodus 33.
[22:11] He said, God, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And God, and I'm paraphrasing, he said, you don't want me to do that. You couldn't handle my glory.
[22:23] No man will see my face and live. And he passes by and he covers him and he says, you can see my hinduropars, but you're not going to see me. You wouldn't be able to handle it. Look at chapter 21 again in Revelation and verse number 23.
[22:40] This is a glorious city. What's the source of its light? Verse 23, it says, The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it.
[22:51] Why? For the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof. This is a glorious city. Back in chapter 1, it describes Jesus Christ in his second advent form and it describes his garments being bright.
[23:08] It describes his face shining as the sun in Revelation 1, verse 16 and 17. And when John saw it, he says in chapter 1, he fell down on his face as he were dead.
[23:20] Daniel did the same thing in the book of Daniel. He falls on his face when he sees the glory of God. Take a look at Ezekiel chapter 1. Keep your place in Revelation. Ezekiel chapter 1.
[23:35] Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself. You can get that place and hang on to it for a little bit. I don't want to get there quite yet, but back in Revelation 22, verse 5, I'll just read this to you.
[23:51] It says, And there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun. For the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.
[24:02] It's a glorious city. Now, my mind just drifts off a little bit. The Bible says God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. And this is going to be quite a sight for one thing.
[24:14] Christ, his bright light, there'll be no night there. It's a glorious city. And I just, this is where I don't understand the future and the nature that we'll have, our glorified bodies.
[24:28] But I believe, and the way I understand it, that we have a power grid here. It's electricity. And I don't know if you've ever heard this, any of the, it's not conspiracy stuff, it's just, it's satanic in the electricity, and that he's, he's, that's of man, and it's, what it is, I believe is a counterfeit of God, of the glory of God.
[24:53] That city doesn't need light, and it doesn't need a power grid, it's got God powering the city. And if that, so I'm trying to tell you that, heaven's not so far from earth.
[25:03] I mean, the things will not, will make clear sense. You're not going to be blown away with just, the operation of some things. And God, in his glory, is a, a being that has need of nothing.
[25:17] He is, he rejuvenates himself in his power. He doesn't have to plug in. And we are going to, I believe, feed off of that power, be glorified through him.
[25:30] I don't say just reflect his glory like a mirror, but almost soak it up, in our being. And that'll be what powers you. You get away from God, you're going to lose, you're going to just, drain.
[25:45] You're going to need his glory. His glory in that city, is going to power the city. He's, his being, as we'll see later, is, if you can picture the sci-fi movie, of some creature, of some creature, with this glow, and, and things rolling, and this like, fiery insides, of just pure energy, that's God.
[26:06] That's God, and his power. And so, just throwing out some thoughts there, that, it's kind of tough to, put into words for me, for sure. But in that city, and in my glorified body, I'm going to shine too.
[26:19] And I'm going to shine, and I'm going to have power. And anyway, this is a glorified place. It's a great city. It's a glorious city. Keep your, stay in Revelation for the moment, and look at chapter 21, and verse number 19.
[26:34] Thirdly, I want to say, that this is going to be, a glistening city. A glistening, or we could say, a glimmering, or glittering, or whatever word, you want to come up with there. There's going to be something, to this city.
[26:47] I believe this city, is going to sparkle, and going to shine, in an undescribable, and an unmatchable way. You've never seen anything like it.
[26:58] Here we fill, our concrete with stone, quarry stone, or whatever it is, you all use here. And you fill that up, kind of a filler. Take the place, and, but not there.
[27:08] Look at verse 19. The Bible says, and the foundations, of the wall of the city, were garnished, with all manner, of precious stones. The first foundation, was jasper.
[27:23] Jasper's got the red color to it. The second, sapphire, there's blue. The third, a calcinedine, which is, it's a crystal-like stone. It's got a variety of colors. The fourth, an emerald, so there's green.
[27:36] We've already got red, blue, green, some of these major colors, that are on the spectrum. The fifth, a sardonyx, which is, a brownish red, or even, it's white.
[27:48] So some of these stones, as we know of them, have a variation to their colors. The sixth, sardis. I have written down that that's a ruby red, but also, there's a, a yellowish green one too, I believe.
[28:01] The seventh, a chrysolite. And that, or maybe that's the yellowish green one. Sorry, that's a golden color. They call it the gold stone. The eighth, a beryl, which also has a variety of colors.
[28:16] I have a note somewhere. A silver or white like metal, like aluminum, but also has hints of bluish green, or yellow, or sometimes pink, or a deep green. So, that's nicknamed the frozen fire, is that stone, the beryl.
[28:31] The ninth, a topaz. You probably know that one. The tenth, chrysoprasus. The eleventh, adjacent. The twelfth, an amethyst. That's the purple or violet one. And, and what I, what you see here in these stones, it seems as though all the colors of the spectrum are represented in the color and the design that God puts in the foundation of this wall.
[28:56] What do you know about precious stones? You won't have to. What do you know about it? What does a jeweler do to a precious stone?
[29:07] What does he attempt to do to that stone? He cuts it. He cuts it. He cuts it specific patterns and ways to do what? For the light to go inside and to come back at you more ways than it came in.
[29:24] To reflect or refract or I'm not sure if there's a better which terms right there. Help me out sometime. The light goes in. You go to a jewelry store and look at that diamond that you're thinking of buying and what you probably don't pay.
[29:37] I don't know why I caught this when I was doing some diamond shopping years ago. I walked in and you just feel like, boy, it's awful warm in here. It's awful bright in here. I looked up and I saw like this.
[29:48] Light, light, light, light, light, light. All over lighting aimed right down at the jewelry. It hit me right away. I guarantee I take this light out there and it's not going to be so, this diamond out there is not going to look so good.
[30:05] They put those lights there because they know that light goes in and it comes out. And when you're in that jewelry store, that diamond never looked better. You come up here on the stage where there's a lot of little lights and you hold your diamond, you'll see a lot of reflection going on or whatever it is.
[30:21] And so they take those stones and they cut them to get that. Now, I don't think God's just mining some random stones in heaven and just use that one, throw it in. If man figured this out, how to play with light and how to get something better out of it, don't you think God knows what he's doing with it?
[30:39] As a matter of fact, when you read about men in the Old Testament and they're fashioning things for the temple and for all of the artifacts for the priests and there's stones put inside that breastplate, the Urim and the Thummim, there's a word I've lost, and there's 12 stones in that thing.
[30:57] It says that God gave this man the spirit of wisdom and of knowledge to work in this way. So whatever man has, it was given by God how to handle these things. So I'm telling you that this city is going to shine.
[31:11] It's going to be a glistening city like something you've never seen. Now, the Bible we read that John is on the outside of the city.
[31:25] It says that he showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. However, on the inside of the city is the throne of God. Revelation 22, verse 3.
[31:37] There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. So on the inside is the bright light. On the outside is all the stones.
[31:49] What do you think John's seeing when that thing's dropping down out of heaven? He's got to be seeing the greatest light show that's ever existed, ever and ever will.
[32:02] I can't say much more about it, but that to me is what's going on. Look back at Ezekiel now. Ezekiel chapter 1. You know what the Bible says in Revelation chapter 4?
[32:15] John gets caught up to the throne and he sees around the throne. What's he see? Anybody remember Revelation 4?
[32:28] Okay. I'll read it. Immediately I was in the spirit. Behold, a throne was set in heaven. One sat on the throne.
[32:39] And he that sat was looked upon like jasper and sardine stone. And there was a rainbow round about the throne. There was a rainbow. When John sees the throne, he sees a rainbow.
[32:52] All right, Ezekiel chapter 1. And Ezekiel gets a vision just like John does. Let's start in verse 26. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne as the appearance of a sapphire stone.
[33:09] And upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw the color of amber as the appearance of fire. He doesn't say he's burning on fire, but that's the image.
[33:22] That's the description that he tries to put words to what he's seeing. The color of amber, that orange, yellow, bright, glowing, as the appearance of fire round about within it.
[33:34] From the appearance of his loins even upward and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw it where the appearance of fire and it had brightness round about. That's why I say God is powering the whole thing.
[33:47] He's seeing this just pure energy in this being that's on the throne. And in verse 28, as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about it.
[34:01] This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And what do you know? When I saw it, I fell on my face. Down he goes. Drops.
[34:12] What did Peter, James, and John do when they were up on that mountain in Luke chapter 9 when Christ transfigured before them? They got knocked out cold. Their bodies just couldn't handle it.
[34:24] Knocked them out. Anyway, this is a glistening city. Whatever's going on there, this is the best I can put together on it. It's going to be a wonder. The brightness of God's glory reflecting through the foundations of that city, producing the most brilliant color, show that you've ever seen.
[34:43] And I don't know how true my thoughts here are or not. I don't understand all of this by any means, but I believe that glory of God, that's going to be more than bright. It's going to be colorful. And it's going to be beautiful because God's there.
[34:55] And that's what he surrounds himself with. We read it a few times, and there's others. It's color and beauty. You look in the world that he made, in this fallen remnant of the world that he created, and you see color.
[35:09] If you're into flowers, you've got to appreciate God's abilities. The colors of the flowers, they blow me away. To look deeply into any flower, even the weeds, and to see the pure color that comes from them.
[35:25] And to think, where did that come from? From some little DNA? From some little program inside that seed? It's a shame that the perverts of our day have stolen, don't think it's not satanic at all, have stolen something that God has trademarked to himself, and have declared it to be their colors, the rainbow.
[35:49] Don't think it's not satanic at all. If you're not aware, and in your Bible, and walking in the new man, if you're not doing that, you're just missing a whole lot.
[36:01] This world is so filthy, and it's so against God. And while you think it's just the way it is, you've got to get your head off your phone, and get your head away from this world, and start seeing that this is so devilish out here.
[36:13] He's got such a stronghold and influence, and it's just pulling it, pulling it further and further. When I mentioned the grid, and the power grid, that kind of thing, I don't know much about all of that.
[36:24] But I realize, this is man's accomplishments, through somebody who's been influencing him, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. And tell me, besides convenience and having lights, I'm thankful for this, because I don't have it yet, the ability to have light.
[36:41] But one day I will, and I won't need this stuff. But you think about what damage this stuff has done to the church, to Christians, how far away they are from their Bibles, from holiness, from God, and even knowing God, because they're stuck on their TVs, and on their computers, and on their phones, and just living in the power grid.
[37:02] All right, maybe that's too much for some of you. Maybe I'm sounding spooky. But wake up. That's what you need to do. Get in your Bible a little bit more, and shut it off. You learn to shut it off, it'll start to reveal itself a little more.
[37:16] God's got something better for you, Christian. Let's just say that way. We're going to fast forward, and come back to Revelation chapter 21. And number four, this is a golden city.
[37:29] Oh my, you've never seen anything like it. This is a golden city. Verse number 18. The building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like under clear glass.
[37:47] We only think about the street, singular, of the city. The city is a golden city. I'm not overemphasizing. The city is coming down, and it is gold.
[37:59] It's the foundations of the city that's got this color flying off everywhere. But the city itself, with the light inside, and it has this transparent glass, just have to pause there, think about it, and then move on.
[38:14] Because what can we say? What can we compare it to? 1,500 miles squared of pure gold. 2.25 million square miles, and going up, of pure gold.
[38:26] Pure gold. You've never seen anything like it. Verse number 21 says, the 12 gates were 12 pearls. Every several gate was of one pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold.
[38:37] Of course it was. Why would it be anything else? Why would it be anything less? Gold represents deity. And God's holiness. He's always calling for pure gold.
[38:50] In the Old Testament, the best thing he could come up with, the best man could come up with, and fashioned was gold that they could mine out of the earth, and they would purify it. And they'd purify it, and purify it.
[39:01] And they'd make beaten works of gold for those instruments that God was going to surround himself with inside the tabernacle, and even overlaying many things with pure gold. Of course his city's going to be pure gold, but it's going to be better than...
[39:15] I'd love to have seen Solomon's Temple, but when I compare it to this one, eh. Now Solomon's Temple would blow anything this earth's ever done out of the water.
[39:28] Twice. But compared to this city, my new favorite word, meh, meh. Eric Benning has a shirt, says meh, I need to get one of those.
[39:42] This is a golden city. It's not gold that's been mined from the earth, by the way, though. I don't know where it came from, but this is called the Holy Jerusalem.
[39:53] What a city it's going to be. And I can't imagine it beyond what I'm talking here, but that's why the Bible says, I have not seen, because you haven't, nor ear heard, because you haven't, nor has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him.
[40:11] It's a golden city. Quickly now, it's a gated city. It's a gated city. In verse 12, it had a wall great and high and had 12 gates. 12 gates on this city.
[40:24] In verse 13, there's three on the east, there's three in the north, three in the south, and three in the west. And this number 12, there's a good study associated with it. I mentioned Israel in Sunday school, and I can't really get into it here, but there's 12 gates, there's 12 tribes, 12 stones, there's 12 foundations, there's 12 apostles.
[40:47] The priest in Exodus had 12 stones in his ephod. 12 gates here. A little bit more detail in chapter 22, verse 2, there's 12 trees.
[40:58] Or there's, let me read that here. There's the tree of life which bear 12 manner of fruits. Sorry, 12 fruits. And it's doing it in 12 months.
[41:11] And that 12 is a strong number in the Bible and very often associated with Israel. And this gate, though, or these gates of the city in verse 21, it says the 12 gates were 12 pearls.
[41:25] Every several gate was of one pearl. That's hard to comprehend that. It's hard to really get a picture of this because I'm thinking these pearls weren't harvested in the ocean.
[41:39] And so where and why and how? But we know what pearls are. And when we see those, we're going to know. It's going to make sense. It's going to match what we know, but we're going to understand even further where they came from and why.
[41:53] And why what we have down here is such a minuscule dot of what God has prepared. And we enjoy some things down here, but it's nothing to compare to what He's prepared for us.
[42:07] In that city, it's going to have 12 gates and they're all going to be pearls. And the pearls are going to be round, I suppose. I don't know how they're hinged to this wall. I don't know if it's operating like that.
[42:19] I have no idea. It describes them as being open. Where's that at? Verse 25, The gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there.
[42:32] So it doesn't describe these gates as being closed, but it is nevertheless a gated city. The wall of the city is 144 cubits tall in verse 17.
[42:43] And so I just, I don't know, but possibly the gate matches the wall. Maybe not, but that's 216 feet high. I don't know if it's 216 feet wide.
[42:56] I don't know. But that's got to be one big pearl because it's one big city. Even the gates of the city are amazing. It will be something to behold.
[43:06] And you know what, Christian? I wouldn't miss it for the world. Did you hear that? I wouldn't miss it for the world. Amen. This is what God's prepared for us.
[43:16] Hallelujah. One final thought is it's a guarded city. It's a guarded city. In verse 12, it says, it has a wall great and high and then 12 gates and the gates 12 angels.
[43:28] 12 angels. What are they doing there? What are they guarding this thing for? Look at verse 27. Here's a little light and we've got to close. And verse 27 says, there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.
[43:52] This is going to be one amazing place, Christian. It's something to look forward to. And in this life, we're told to keep the faith, to walk by faith, to fight the good fight of faith.
[44:10] And what's waiting on the other side is something that's worth it. The Saul writer said, it will be worth it all when we see Jesus. And Jesus Christ is going to be in his city, sitting on his throne, the light that no man can approach unto.
[44:25] But in this city, we'll be able to approach unto it. Here in this world, folks cuss the Lord Jesus Christ and take his name in vain, but there in that city, they'll crown him.
[44:41] And here in this world, they reject him, but there in that world, they'll respect him. In this world, he was mocked, but there he'll be magnified.
[44:52] In this world, he was whipped, but there he'll be worshipped. In this world, he was bruised and buffeted, but in that world, every knee shall bow.
[45:04] It's going to be a place I want to be. It's a city, but it's a guarded city. And some folks won't have their name in that book. And they'll never get into that place.
[45:15] And while I'm preaching about home, it's not everybody's home. As a matter of fact, come back to chapter 20, and verse 15. God's prepared another place, which is going to be home for a lot of people.
[45:32] In chapter 20, verse 15, whosoever is not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Whosoever is not found written in the book of life, they're not coming into that city, but they're getting cast into a lake of fire.
[45:44] That's going to be home, not so sweet home, for eternity, where the fire is not quenched. And some folks think, well, not a big deal, I'll put it off, or I'll just not worry about it.
[45:58] You better start worrying about it if you haven't considered where your home is. If your name's not written in the Lamb's book of life, if you don't belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, if you've never received His salvation that He offers freely to you, if you'll trust Him, if you're trying to work your way to heaven, if you're trying to do something to please God, or just saying, I think it'll all work out, I've never killed anybody, I'm probably okay, you're going to be in for a surprise.
[46:26] You should have read this Bible. You should have found out what God said, because God's going to send an awful lot of people to a lake of fire, and they won't have this home.
[46:37] I don't want you to go there. I don't know who you are, I don't know your heart, but I don't want you to go to that place when you can go to this one. Let's bow our heads together, and let's be in the attitude of prayer for a moment.
[46:52] I want to encourage you this morning, Christian, what God has prepared for you. I want you to get your minds out of this world, realize there's something far better. But if you're here and you're not saved, and you've never trusted Christ to be your Savior, if you've never, what the Bible calls, obeyed the gospel, that is, exercised faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He died for your sins, and that only He alone can take away your sins.
[47:20] If you've never been washed of your sins, you can understand what it is to be forgiven this morning. You can know forgiveness of sins, you can feel it, you can know you're a child of God, you can know heaven's your home.
[47:33] If you've never done that, today's be a great day. Be a great day to walk in here not sure and leave certain that you're going to heaven. I don't want you to go to hell, I don't want you to go to the lake of fire, not when this great city is something that you could attain by the mercy of God.
[47:54] If you're not saved today, today could be your chance. Father in heaven, I pray that you'll work in our hearts and just bury deep inside of us a longing to be with you and to live this life for you, knowing the best is yet to come.
[48:08] I pray you'll help us get our thoughts off of the foolishness of this world and the folly of it all. Lord, just help us to endure, whether it's afflictions, whether it's discouragement, whatever the case is, God, just resolve in us a desire to go forward.
[48:25] But Lord, if there's one here that's never been born again, never trusted Christ to be their Savior alone, and God, I pray that you'd reveal that to them, give them courage to do something about it.
[48:36] With your head still bowed and your eyes closed for just one more moment, is anybody here that says, I don't know for sure that I'm going to heaven. I don't know that that city's my city. I don't know that my name's been written in that book of life.
[48:49] Would you slip your hand up? No one's looking. Nobody's looking but me. Would you just slip your hand up quick and put it back down and say, I don't know that my name's written in that Lamb's book of life. You can know today.
[49:03] Well, if you're saved and you're all claiming to be born again, praise the Lord for that. Be encouraged of what God has prepared for you. Let's lift our heads and stand together.
[49:14] We're going to sing 127. We'll sing about our Savior. 127 in the hymnal.