Apocalypse: The Revelation of Jesus Christ
05/29/2005 - Welcome Home
We're in the midst of a record breaking housing boom right now. This week I read that last year housing prices increased on average by 15%. That's better than a money market account! The normal increase is 3 to 4% a year. Last month, April 2005, existing homes sold at the fastest pace ever in United States history. Real estate is the hottest market to invest in right now. Money is cheap and real estate is getting more expensive by the minute. And lots of people are trying to make a killing by purchasing houses, fixing them up a bit, and then flipping them to make a quick buck. But experts agree that it's a bubble that at some point will burst.
But no house down here, no matter how spacious, no matter how expensive, can begin to compare with the heavenly home that God is preparing for those who love him. In John 14:2-3 Jesus said, In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
This morning I want to act as your realtor and take you on a tour of the house that God is preparing for his people. Nobody buys a house sight unseen, not even in this crazy real estate market. Everybody wants a walk through to see where they could be living before they sign the bottom line. And that's what I want to do today, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and the pictures we have in Revelation 21. I want to give you a walk through tour of your heavenly home.
This morning we continue are series called Apocalypse: The Revelation of Jesus Christ with a teaching I've called "Welcome Home." If you have a Bible turn with me to Revelation 21.
Now last week we talked about the three stages of heaven for the believer in Jesus Christ. The first stage of heaven happens at death or at the rapture whichever comes first. To be absent from the body is to present with the Lord, says the apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:8. As believers, when we die, we go immediately into God's presence and join the crowd that we've seen worshiping the Lamb all through the book of Revelation.
The second stage of heaven is when God's kingdom comes to this earth. That's what Jesus taught us to pray for and to seek after and to live for. That's what the prophet Isaiah talked so much about. Last week, we referred to that kingdom as the millennial kingdom, the kingdom that will come to this planet after the Great Tribulation and last for one thousand years as talked about in Revelation 20.
And now we come to the third and final stage of heaven revealed to us in Scripture. This stage of heaven will come at the end of the millennial kingdom, after the Great White Throne Judgment, when God finally destroys this earth with fire and creates a new heaven and a new earth that will last forever.
The apostle Peter talks about this in 2 Peter 3:10 when he writes, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Verse 12 says, That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.
Let's start the tour of that new home of righteousness, that spectacular new heaven and new earth, by looking at Revelation 21:1-5, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with people, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Stop right there. This new heaven and new earth has a new city, the holy city, the New Jerusalem that drops down out of heaven like a beautiful bride walking slowly down the aisle to meet her groom. The New Jerusalem will be one of the places we'll call home for all eternity.
But when you think about heaven and the home that God is ultimately preparing for you would you have expected it to look like a city? I wouldn't. We know they'll be plenty of gorgeous scenery there too. "Paradise" was the word Jesus once used to describe heaven, but paradise will also have a city.
We don't usually go to the city to feel close to God, do we? We go to the beach or the mountains or the country to feel close to God. We want to be surrounded by creation, not by people and concrete and steel. Yet in the new heaven and new earth God gives us a city.
Why? What do cities do? Cities bring lots of people close together. But on earth they also bring other things together like crime and fear and poverty and violence and all the other expressions of sin. Cities are where rapists prey on women and children get caught in the cross fire and suicide bombers destroy lives, but not so in the heavenly city. It's a perfect city where we will all finally live together in perfect community with each other. We'll all get along and experience deep, open, intimate, joy filled, trusting relationships, like Adam and Eve enjoyed with each other before the fall.
I love what Dr. Gilbert Bilezikian says, "Community is not the most important thing God is doing, it is the only thing, ultimately, that God is doing in history, because it is the only thing that will remain for eternity."
That's what Jesus had in mind when he said, In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
In John 14, Jesus isn't talking so much about building our dream house as he's saying that when we get to heaven we'll finally be home. No other word in the English language moves the human heart as deeply as the word "home." It's the place we all long for. It's the place to belong and to feel safe and to be loved. Those are the deepest yearnings of all our hearts and when we finally get to heaven we'll be satisfied because we'll finally be home, home forever in the presence of the God who loves us the most.
Notice that right in the middle of the city is God. You don't have to get away from people to get close to God. He's right with his people. The community that we'll have in heaven will be so intimate and God himself will be so close to each one of us that he'll wipe away every tear from our eyes. In our heavenly home there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. All things will become new. You can bank on it.
Did you notice that verse one said, there was no longer any sea. That's a bummer for those of us who like to swim and relax at the beach. Is John saying that there won't be any water in heaven to enjoy? No. In Revelation 22, John talks about the river of the water of life as clear as crystal flowing from God's throne.
No, when John says that there will no longer be any sea I think he means that we will no longer be separated from each other. Remember, John is in exile, imprisoned on the island of Patmos, completely surrounded by water when he's writing this. Because of the sea he is completely cut off from the people that he loves the most. And everyday he looks out over the water and wishes he could go beyond it to talk to and embrace those he loves and cares about. John was a prisoner of the sea.
So when he says that there will be no longer be any sea, he's saying that the day is coming when we will no longer be separated from one another. We will be delivered, not just from the physical barriers that separate us, but from the ethic and social and economic and emotional and spiritual barriers as well. No more abandoned children or broken homes or lonely hearts. The sense of oneness and community that the Trinity enjoys will finally be ours as well. That's the picture of the New Jerusalem.
And that picture takes on shape and color in this next description. Let's continue the tour in verse 6, He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To those who are thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7Those who overcome will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." 9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
As we tour this city the first thing we notice is that it's brilliant. It's like the emerald city in the Wizard of Oz, shining with the glory of God like a precious jewel. It's the kingdom of light. And after our eyes get adjusted to the light we see this great, high wall with gates surrounding it. In John's day, every city had a wall with gates. And each gate had a name.
Today, the old city of Jerusalem is still surrounded by a wall built centuries ago that has eight gates with names like Zion Gate and Dung Gate and Damascus Gate. But this New Jerusalem has twelve gates, three gates on each side, each with the name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel. The wall of the city has twelve foundations and on them were twelve more names, each with the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, the twelve tribes and the twelve disciples.
What's the significance of that? Well, it's possible that the twelve apostles represent New Testament believers and the twelve tribes of Israel speak of Old Testament saints. In other words, God's people from all time will be united together in this wonder filled community called heaven. This is a city that brings together God's marvelous, redeeming work throughout all of history!
Stop and think about these names that are there. If you were one of those twelve sons of Israel you would see your name on a gate leading into heaven. If you were one of the twelve guys who walked with Jesus, the apostles, you would see a foundation stone with your name on it. There's incredible symbolism here, of course, but there is also a practical side to all of this that reminds me of how gracious God is.
Peter who denied Jesus three times and continually put his foot in his mouth has a foundation stone in heaven with his name on it. James and John who proudly went to Jesus one day and demanded, "We want to sit on thrones right beside you" have their names on foundation stones in heaven. The eleven brothers who tried to kill Joseph in the Old Testament and then sold him into slavery have their name on gates leading into heaven. You know what that's called? That's called amazing grace!
Normal human beings with normal human frailties and yet their names are right there entering into heaven. That shows that God can use ordinary, normal human beings in incredible ways that impact eternity more than we can ever imagine. Your life is impacting eternity more than you imagine. I guarantee you that. But we can't see it like we'd like to see it. Only heaven will reveal it!
Verse 15 continues with the dimensions and the materials used for this city, The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using. 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
Not only is this city brilliant, but it's huge. The wall is over 200 feet thick and measures 12,000 stadia in length, 12,000 stadia in width, and 12,000 stadia in height. That's the equivalent of almost 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles high. Fifteen hundred miles is the distance from Philadelphia to Dallas, Texas. This is a huge city.
Now obviously there's more symbolism going on here and I don't pretend to understand it all, but it's interesting to me that the dimensions of the city form a perfect cube. In the Tabernacle and later on in the Temple in Jerusalem, the holy of holies, the place where God dwelled, was shaped as a perfect cube, thirty feet, by thirty feet, by thirty feet. I think any Jewish reader would have seen this right away - another perfect cube. The dimensions of this city remind us that God lives there and the size tells us that there is plenty of room in God's heaven for everybody.
The gates are all made out of giant pearls, one huge pearl for each gate. These are the pearly gates you've heard so much about. Pearls were a symbol of wealth and value in John's day and still are. The Bible talks about the pearl of great price that was the most valuable jewel that could be found in that day. This is a place of great value. The wall was made of jasper, which comes in a variety of colors, the street of gold, the foundations of precious jewels. There is beauty, there is wealth, there is value in the New Jerusalem.
But there is something strangely missing in the New Jerusalem. Look at verse 22, I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
There will be no temple there. In John's day God's temple took up one-sixth of the area of the whole city of Jerusalem. It dominated the Jerusalem skyline.
But in the New Jerusalem there is no temple. There is no need for a temple. God and the Lamb are there in person. There's no need for the sun or the moon to shine either. It's light is the Lord. God's glory is all the light we'll need in heaven. And because it's a safe place and there is no danger, the gates are open 24/7 so that God's people, those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life, can come and go as they please exploring the rest of the cosmos and all the breathtaking beauty of this brand new creation of God.
If you're a follower of Jesus Christ you're going to be there because that's where Jesus will be for all eternity. You wouldn't want to be in heaven unless you're a believer because it's all about Jesus, the Lamb is its lamp. So if that's what's going to happen then, and it will, what does that mean for us right now?
In one of his letters the apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:17, The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.
For me the question comes down to investments. How do I want to invest my one little life? If you had the opportunity to invest in two stocks, one that was guaranteed to steadily decline - day after day, month after month, year after year until eventually it went bankrupt, or another stock that was guaranteed to keep rising in value - day after day, month after month, year after year for eternity, which stock would you invest in? You'd invest in the one that pays dividends for eternity.
That doesn't mean we don't care what's happening in our world right now. We care a lot about the here and now because God is doing a lot of eternal things right now. And seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteous is intended to motivate us to make this world a better place, even though we know it won't last forever. Jesus was all about helping the hurting and relieving suffering and showing compassion to the poor. Those two are not in conflict. In fact, it seems to be that knowing we have such a magnificent eternal home helps to loosen our grip on this world so that we can serve God more fully in whatever we do.
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.