Monday, March 7, 2022

City of God - Part One - A NEW PLACE

 

Title and other images:  Wikimedia Commons

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone.  And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people!  He will live with them, and they will be his people.  God himself will be with them.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever.”  And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”  And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”  And he also said, “It is finished!  I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End.  To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.  All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.  “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death.”  Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me!  I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.  It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal.  The city wall was broad and high, with twelve gates guarded by twelve angels.  And the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were written on the gates.  There were three gates on each side—east, north, south, and west.  The wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.  The angel who talked to me held in his hand a gold measuring stick to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.  When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long.  In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles.  Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick (according to the human standard used by the angel).  The wall was made of jasper, and the city was pure gold, as clear as glass.  The wall of the city was built on foundation stones inlaid with twelve precious stones:  the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst.  The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl!  And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass.  I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.  The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.  Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there.  And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.  Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.  Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  It flowed down the center of the main street.  On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month.  The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.  No longer will there be a curse upon anything.  For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.  And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.  And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.  Revelation 21:1 – 22:5

For a change we are not going to deal with judgment and penalty.  All the way through Revelation there have been plagues, death, and slaughter.  Today we turn our attention to happier things.  We are like the little boy who was offered his pick of the puppies in the store window.  When asked which he would choose, he pointed at a hyper little mutt that was jumping around and shaking its' back end like a snake's tail, and said, I want the one with the happy ending!   Well, we finally got there… the happy ending; we look at the City of God.

What heaven is like is a favorite topic for Christians and unbelievers as well.  One man said:  Heaven is a little like South Florida, great climate, and everybody's got relatives there. 

New Things

We should make the distinction between Heaven and the New Jerusalem.  Heaven is God's throne.  New Jerusalem is going to be a city, a real place, a wonderful new city that Christian believers are going to occupy.  In this chapter John is using fulfillment language to describe the indescribable.  Fulfillment language is futuristic and dogmatic.  It simply takes what the Bible has said will come about, and describes it as already having happened.  The prophets used this manner of communicating about the future.  They spoke of future events so forcefully it put them in the past tense.  We have an expression we use:  You can take that to the bankWe say that when we're certain something is going to happen, it is a done-deal.  John knew New Jerusalem is more than a blessed hope; it is a certainty.

New is not restricted to a sense of time in this passage, but includes new in the sense of kind.  When God makes us new creatures in Christ, we are not just starting over in time, we are changed in kind.  We are transformed into something else.  Old ways of thinking pass off the scene, we love differently.  We are being conformed to the image of Christ.  That is how you can tell the difference between someone who truly got saved, and someone who is just playing church or someone who got religion.  Someone who truly has been born again, received new birth, is a changed person, not just a clean slate.  You see a new her or him!

One rabbit to chase as we begin.  You cannot preach on heaven without certain things getting in the way.  One question that haunts people, especially people who are grieving over deceased loved ones, is:  Will I know him/her in heaven?  Will I know my wife, husband, brother, mother...when I get to heaven?  I want to give you what I consider the best answer I've ever discovered on that subject.  That great Baptist preacher, G. Campbell Morgan was asked that question:  Will you know your wife over there?  Morgan replied:  I do not expect to be a bigger fool in heaven than I am here, and I know my loved ones here.[1]

Over the next three sermons we will look at this passage under the general heading, City of God.  Three topics are in view,

     ·       The New Place for the People of God,

     ·       The New People in the City of God, and

     ·       The New Fulfillment of the Purpose of God. 

This morning we look at a New Place for the People of God. 

If you will, recall our time reference:

·       Armageddon is over, Satan has been defeated and thrown into the lake of fire. 

     ·       The Great White Throne judgment is past, and all who rejected Christ are now in the lake of fire with the Devil. 

     ·       The millennial rule of Christ has been consummated, and time has ceased.

     ·       believers are perched on the edge of eternity. 

Now John has a new vision; he is shown the New Jerusalem, a new earth and heaven. Behold, says God, Almighty, I make all things new...

A New Size

The new city is immense.  It is also different in kind, it isn’t a flat parcel, it’s cubical.  We are so accustomed to square miles as a measurement, it is hard to envision a city that large.  The angel tells John the city is 1500 miles long and wide, but also 1500 miles high! 

This is probably one of those things John had trouble understanding and describing, as he had never encountered anything this wonderful.  After all, he'd never even seen a toaster, how could he comprehend a multi-level city, suspended in air?  Would John understand the least bit about our orbiting satellites?  He had described the entire world viewing events, television.  But he didn't know anything about electronic circuitry and broadcast patterns.

An interesting fact about this shape, is that it is the same as the altar in the Temple (Exodus 27).  An altar is a place of worship.  Scripture tells us there is no  temple in this new city.  There is no need for a representation when you have the real thing.  You can say that because Jesus is the center of this city (Revelation 21.22).  How big is it?  It's big enough! 

A New Spot

Where will this city be?  Although many honest people disagree about the location, I will add my thought to the pot.  I believe this city will be akin to our orbiting satellites, suspended in a stationary orbit, directly over the old Jerusalem.  It is in my mind's camera that I see the two cities connected by what Scripture calls a street of gold. 

Again, John is using the only language he has available.  He cannot imagine teleportation, or beaming up and down (e.g., Star Trek).  I believe the golden street is figurative, a first century picturesque description of incredibly fast communication and transportation between the two cities. 

Imagine, if you will, planet earth and old Jerusalem.  Hovering overhead is a great transparent city.  It is as wide, long, and high as half the North American continent.  There is a great, wide, golden pathway of translucent electrons, emanating from the throne of that city, from the person of Jesus, the Lamb.  It extends all the way to the Old Jerusalem.  In that stream of Christ-lit golden mist, believers, kings and rulers of heaven and earth, are traveling and talking.  What are they doing?  They're walking in the light of the Lamb, they're bringing glory and honor to the Lamb (Revelation 21:24).  Eon upon eternity it never stops. 

A new size, spot, and...

A New Start

Genesis 1:1 tells us in the beginning, God created the heaven and earth.  Holy Writ ends with God recreating that which has been soiled by evil.  The new city of God is set in a new heaven, not physically, but a heaven untouched by sin.  If God is going to dwell with man in earth, sin cannot be part of the equation.  The city is said to be foursquare (Revelation 22:16).  To the Greeks, foursquare means good. 

That's what a clean start is all about.  It is a good thing to start anew.  The Psalmist tells us God's mercies are new every day.  The Prophets also tell us God does new things.  How different from the epitaph written over so many church doors:  We've never done it that way before.  God is the author of new things!

The clean start means many old things will have passed away: 

     ·       Holiness will be restored to the physical environment. 

     ·       Death, tears, and murder will all be faded memories. 

In this account the jewels mentioned as the construction materials of the new city's walls, are in exact reverse order of the jewels as they appeared on the breastplate of Israel's high priest, and the ancient zodiac.  As a representation, that means the reversal of man's way. 

There's going to be a clean start.  God will reverse the old things – they will pass away:  New will be holy, and pure.  New will be life and joy. 

Not only will there be a new size, spot, and start, there will be...

A New Sight

There will be a new sight aestheticallyRevelation is a message alive with colors, light, jewels and shining things.  John said the city was ...as a bride adorned for her husband.  As a Pastor I have performed scores of weddings.  I have never yet seen an ugly bride.  There is just something about that moment.  The groom's mama may be looking at the guy and think he's cute, but every other eye in town is on the bride.  New Jerusalem's bridal appearance means it is different from any other city that's ever been seen.

There will also be a new sight environmentally.  These verses tell us that we will know a new heaven and new earth.  I do not believe that these will be so much new in location, as in purity.  Now, before you lump me in with the kind of fruitcakes who want to preserve the spotted owls at a cost of $100,000 each, while children go hungry, please understand, we do have a problem with our ecological balance in this world.  It is a sin-touched world, and that makes it a polluted world.  In God's creation, over which we are to be good stewards, we have instead polluted streams and rivers to the point that walking on water is hardly a miracle anymore in some places.   Our atmosphere is in trouble too.  One eighth-grader changed his poetry recital accordingly:  I shot an arrow into the air...and it stuck!  That will change in the New Jerusalem:

Nothing evil will be allowed to enter…. Revelation 21.27a

God is going to see to the purity level.  It will be a wonderfully-clean place to live. 

A New Security

There will be a new security internationally.  Throughout the ages nations have fought over territory and resources.  New Jerusalem will be a place where all the nations will finally live in harmony. 

Politicians in every century have tried for peace.  We have had wars to end all wars, and government programs to end poverty, racism, and hatred.  What a welcome new sight to tired eyes when the lion nations lie down with the lamb countries.  There will be no bomb shelters, DMZ's, and checkpoints. 

The gates of this city are wide open day and night!  There is no fear.  There was a lady in Memphis who was so concerned about her safety that she finally bought a pistol and learned how to use it.  She carried it in her purse.  She came out of the mall one day.  There was a man sitting behind the steering wheel in her car.  She pulled the pistol out and pointed it at him, Get out of my car, she yelled.  The man got wide-eyed, opened the door, and ran.  She was shaken, but got in the car.  When she put the key in the ignition, it didn't work – it wasn't her car![2] 

The City Hall in the New Jerusalem will not issue permits to carry guns.  There won't be any guns – not on the streets, and not in schools.  There won't even be any police.  There won't be child and spouse abuse.  There will be no locks on doors.  You won't even need a pin number for your ATM card.  You won't have an ATM card.  Everything will be free because Jesus will see to every need we have.  There's going to be...

A New Glory

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  It flowed down the center of the main street.  On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month.  The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.  No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.  And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.  And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them.  And they will reign forever and ever.  Revelation 22.1-5

Best of all, we are going to get the one thing in New Jerusalem that's been missing from this life, the sight of Jesus' face.  There is no temple in the new city.  The reason is that Jesus and His Father ARE the temple; they are the center of it all.  Their presence simply inspires worship, love, and obedience.  The New Jerusalem will be a wonderful place.  Can you imagine moving into the New Jerusalem?  It's a new home we're talking about.  New in time, new in kind.  It's going to be so different.  Can you imagine,

     ·       Living without shame, guilt, and sadness for past sins?    

     ·       Living without sinful thoughts?

     ·       Doing good things, just because doing good feels so good? 

     ·       Living with complete trust towards other people? 

     ·       Never losing your temper?

The New Jerusalem will be like that.  It will be a wonderful place to live. 

A little girl was walking with her father in the country.  There were no neon signs, no automobile headlights, or streetlights.  It was a crisp evening.  As she looked into the deep blue velvet sky, studded with an array of diamonds that put the most dazzling Tiffany display to shame, she said:  Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what do you think the right side will be like? 

We certainly have only a meager understanding of what our new home is going to be like.  But some people are willing to settle for so little. 

Paul Azinger is a professional golfer.  He is a dedicated Christian man.  Some years ago he had a major struggle with lymphatic cancer.  He wrote about it, and how his priorities have changed so dramatically:

My friend Mike got on an airplane one day and saw one of the strangest things he had ever seen in his life.  The man sitting next to him in first class was dressed in a bathrobe and slippers.  The man's seat was a beautiful leather chair, but my friend's was simply made of fabric.  The man said to my friend:  ‘I see you have noticed my chair.  This chair is made of the finest leathers money can buy.’  Then my friend noticed that the man had a mahogany tray table.  Again, the man said, ‘Ahh, you have noticed my gorgeous tray table.’  My friend looked up and saw that the guy had a ceiling fan.  The rich man was also surrounded by a VCR, TV, a CD player, and a computer.  My friend was flabbergasted.  He asked the rich man:  ‘Why would anyone go to the expense to have all these things installed in an airplane?’  The man replied bluntly:  Because this is my home.’  My friend thought, ‘What a shame!  A place that was intended to be a journey, he has made his home.’[3]

How appropriate for us to remember that the place we're now living in and on, is not our home.  We're looking for a new home, a New Jerusalem, the City of God.

Glory…all Glory!

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen!  


[1]J. Vernon McGee, First Corinthians, 157

[2]From a sermon by Dr. Frank Pollard, The Baptist Hour, BHa7-94TV

[3]Paul Azinger, Zinger, (Zondervan, 1995),  216. 



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