Revelation chapter 21. And our text for this morning is the verse 4, a verse that has brought encouragement and solace to many a child of God as they look forward to one day being in heaven. We are told, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away." There is a hymn that we often sing, and it is called, What Must It Be to Be There? The hymn was written by a young lady called Elizabeth Mills, who died when she was just 25 years of age. She now knows what it is to be there and in that place, that place that the child of God calls home. The words of the hymn are these, We speak of the land of the blessed, that country so bright and so fair, and oft is its glories confessed, but what must it be to be there? We speak of its pathways of gold, its walls decked with jewels so rare, its wonders and pleasures untold, but what must it be to be there? We speak of its peace and its love, the robes which the glorified wear, the church of the firstborn above. But what must it be to be there? We speak of its freedom from sin, from sorrow, temptation, and care, from trials without and within, But what must it be to be there? Looking at those words written by Elizabeth Mills, which are indeed based on Scripture, we can only say heaven must be a wonderful place. A place the Lord has gone to prepare for us and indeed a place where the apostle Paul longed to be. For he told the believers at Philippi, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, having a desire or a longing to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better. Far better than anything Paul had experienced upon earth. That was the longing of his heart. It was his desire to be in heaven with Christ. And of course, Christ is what makes heaven what it is. What would heaven be without Christ? We couldn't really call it heaven. We couldn't really call it home without the Lord Jesus being there. For John, when the door was opened in heaven, Revelation 4, verse 1, he was permitted to see and to behold the wonder of heaven. Some things John found difficult to describe. Some things he saw that he found difficult to put into words. But he did enough to reveal to us the wonder of heaven. So in seeking to keep it simple, I want today to consider the wonder of heaven and some of those things which make it a wonderful place. First of all, Surely that which will fill us with wonder will be the splendor of heaven. The splendor of heaven. John saw something of the splendor of heaven. All of the castles, palaces, and architectural wonders designed and constructed by man upon the face of this earth will be nothing. Nothing compared to the wonder of heaven. After all, the Savior said, I go to prepare a place for you. Therefore, we know that the Lord Jesus is the One who doeth all things well. And in looking at the splendor of heaven, let us consider the appearance of heaven. How it appeared to John. How it will appear unto us. John here describes heaven, verse 2, as the holy city. New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. This was how John described heaven. As a bride adorned for her husband. And surely that speaks to us something of the beauty of heaven. A bride adorned for her husband. This is the city which Abraham had his eye of faith upon when the Lord called him out of Ur of the Chaldees. Hebrews 11.10 tells us, He looked for a city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God. And again in Hebrews 12, We read there in Hebrews 12 and 22, But ye are come unto Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, unto an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, And to God the Judge of all. And to the spirits of just men made perfect. The heavenly Jerusalem. That great city. And as John describes this city, he calls it the holy city. Verse 2, Revelation 21. He called it the holy city. What does that tell us about the city? It tells us it's a godly city. Because it's holy. There's not a city in this world that could be given that name. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were ungodly. The city of Babylon was ungodly. The city of Corinth and Ephesus were ungodly cities. Modern-day cities are filled with violence, with vice, with vanity. There are certain streets and areas in every city that you would like to be found in. And the dead of night, your life would be in danger. But the city that the Christian will dwell in for all eternity is the holy city, the New Jerusalem. It's a godly city. I know they used to talk about Toronto the good. Well, with events that take place in that city, At the beginning of July, the Sodomite parade, you can no longer call Gerontim the good. It is the same with cities all over the world. It will be different in heaven. Praise the Lord. We will not have to face such evil, such corruption, such violence. We will be in heaven The Holy Spirit. Revelation 21, verse 27 tells us, And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. So, no one will enter into that city, and no wise enter in anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, nor worketh a lie. We will not have to contend with such things because we will be in the holy city, the new Jerusalem. As well as it being a godly city, it is a great city. John was given a view of heaven. He describes it as that great city, the holy Jerusalem. Then he gives us the size of the city. Now, we cannot take this literally, but I believe he has given us a size, a measurement to emphasize the vastness of heaven. Because in verse 16, Revelation 21, And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed. Twelve thousand furlongs, the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. So the city is foursquare. The measurement, twelve, thousand furlongs. You have eight furlongs to a mile. And that means the city of heaven, the New Jerusalem, is 375 miles high. 375 miles. One city. The walls, we are told, are 216 feet high, given that a cubit is 18 inches. So, the city towers immensely above the walls. The description given by John is to emphasize, as we have said, the vastness, the immensity of the city, the size of the city. This is in keeping with what the Lord Jesus told his disciples. He said to his disciples, in my Father's house are many mansions. When we looked at those words, we discovered the word mansion means abode, a dwelling place. And the Lord Jesus said, In my Father's house are many dwelling places. And since there are many dwelling places, it would indicate to us the vastness of the city. The New Jerusalem for a city 375 miles high would have many dwellings in it. Many mansions, isn't it? You know something, believer? One day we are going to occupy one of those mansions. But there is a place in heaven reserved for us. There is not but one empty seat in heaven. Every Christian, every soul that the Lord saved by His grace will be in heaven. We are not going to get lost somewhere along the way. As I have already said, we are as sure of heaven as if we were already there. It is something to look forward to. We next notice the glory of the city. We are informed, verses 10 and 11, that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. You look at verse 23, And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moonshine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it. And the Lamb is the light thereof. Christ is not only the light of the world, praise the Lord, He is the light of heaven too. But we are told that the glory of God will be in that city. How often in our places of worship, how often in our prayer meetings have we prayed with Moses, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. Haven't we asked the Lord often to reveal His glory to us? Come and fill Thy house, Lord, with Thy glory. And when Moses saw the glory of God, saw something of the glory of God, we are told the skin of his face did shine. Exodus 34, 29. You know, believer, we at long last, when we get to heaven, will see the glory of God. And as the face of Moses shone, my higher faces will shine, dwelling there in the presence of God, beholding His glory. beholding the glory of Christ. The glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. We are going to see the glory of God one day. It is also a garnished city. Our present city of Jerusalem there in Israel Again, we ought to continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Of what's going on in the Middle East at this present time. We need to pray for God's own ancient people. That particular Jerusalem there in Israel, it is often called Jerusalem the Golden because it sits on a hill And when the sun shines on the city, you would think the city was made of gold. It's called Jerusalem the Golden. And as far as the New Jerusalem is concerned, why the sun is always shining, that's good to know. The sun is always shining because the Lamb is the Lector of. And He's the Son of Righteousness. But John tells us how the holy city is beautifully garnished with precious stones. Verse 18, And the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was pure gold like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. And you have twelve precious stones mentioned there to the end of verse 20. In verse 21, And the twelve gates were twelve perils. Every silver gate was of one peril, and the street of the city was pure gold, as if it were transparent glass. What a beautiful place heaven must be. Do you notice something? We're told the streets are of pure gold. That's where the gold ought to be, under our feet. In this world, man allows silver and gold to go to his head, and it governs everything he does. But in heaven, the gold will be in its proper place as far as we are concerned. It will be under our feet. Because the streets of the New Jerusalem are paved with gold and they shine like transparent glass. O, the splendor of heaven! Nothing like anything we have seen in this world. And wherever you have traveled, and whatever you have seen, and whatever has taken your breath away, it will be nothing. It will be as a drop in a bucket compared to the glory, the beauty, and the wonder and the splendor of heaven. And dear Christian, we're going there someday. We will see it all. The appearance of heaven, at least as you consider the assembly in heaven, Since he sought to convey to us the vastness of heaven and his measurements of the city, he tells us about the saints who will reside there. Before we look at that, I want you to remember and call to mind the Great Commission. The Lord sent out his disciples before he ascended to his Father. With these words he said, Go ye into all the world, all the world, all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16, verse 15. Matthew adds, The Lord said, Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Teach all nations. Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel. And when we look at the assembly in heaven, we can see how God blessed and used the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Because look at Revelation chapter 7. In Revelation 7, in verse 9, here's John and he sees the assembly in heaven. And how does he describe it? Verse 9, And after this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, listen, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the lamp, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God." Mark those words. The Lord said, Go into all the world. The Lord said, Take the Gospel to all nations. And what do we read? In Revelation 7, verse 9, we find that believers from all nations will be in heaven. What does that tell me? That tells me there is power in this old-time gospel message. When our missionaries go out to all nations They don't need to bring another message. They don't need to change their message. No, they go to all nations to reach the lost and they do so with the Gospel. The same Gospel that's preached at home is the same Gospel we endeavoured to preach abroad. We don't need to change it. Why? Paul says it's the power of God unto salvation. It's the power of God. And we see the power of the Gospel here. And our missionaries and servants of the Lord who go elsewhere, they see the power of the Gospel there too. As sinners are saved from all nations, kindreds, and tongues. See? In this day in which we live, far too many people, far too many churches want to change. They want to remove the gospel. They say it's outdated. It's old-fashioned. So, what do they do? They introduce a new message. They introduce new methods. That's not what we want. That's not what we need. Here's the proof that we don't need anything else but the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because in heaven there will be those, and there are those, who have been saved out of all nations, kindreds, people and tongues. Don't need any new message. Don't need any new methods. God has ordained it through the foolishness of preaching. Preaching what? Preaching the gospel. And Philip went to Samaria, Acts 8. What did he preach? He preached Christ unto them. What happened? Revival came. Philip wasn't interested in changing anything, in a new message, or a new method, or a new means. He just preached the Gospel. And by the grace of God, that's what we'll continue to do here. It will always be the old-time gospel message. The tax from the wall behind me will always be the message. We preach Christ crucified. That's what Paul preached. Christ crucified. 1 Corinthians 1 verse 18 Paul says, For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us it is the power of God. Why would you set aside the power of God for some man-made method or message? No, it's the power of God. That's what we need. That's what sinners need. That's what Canada needs. needs the preaching of the gospel, which is the power of God. What do we need today? We need men, not new methods. We need men who are full of the Holy Ghost, who will stand up and unashamedly declare the whole counsel of God, and preach the blood, and preach Christ, and preach the cross. Oh, if we had a band of men like that, what I believe, I believe we would see revival come to Canada. And my house in Egypt will keep a hold of the power of God as contained in this glorious book, the Word of the Living God. You notice then, the appearance in the assembly, then you have the anthems in heaven. Surely one aspect of the splendor of heaven will be the singing of the angels and the saints of God. I remember being in a church in the States one time. There was a choir that sang at that particular service. And I never forget the hymn they sung. There is singing up in heaven such as we have never known, where the angels sing the praises of the Lamb upon the throne. Their sweet harps are ever tuneful and their voice is always clear. Oh, that we might be more like them while we serve the Master here. Holy, holy, is what the angels sing. And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring. But when I sing redemption story, they will fold their wings. For angels never felt the joys that our salvation brings. John was informed and has informed us. And I beheld and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne. Revelation 5, 11. Many angels, but that's not all. And the Apostle Paul, he went a bit further from speaking about many angels in heaven. Hebrews 12 verse 22, He said, But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. Innumerable! I thought to myself, well that's bound to be true. Of course it is. But had the Lord told us that He would give His angels charge over us? And if angels are given charge over God's people, that means there must be an innumerable company of angels in heaven. And John said, and I beheld and I heard the voice, we pointed out this last week, John didn't say, the voices of angels. He said, the voice. And in Revelation 19, he spoke about the saints singing. And they sing with one voice. There is harmony in heaven. Sing with one voice. And we'll sing holy. Holy is what the angels sing. And I expect to help them make the courts of heaven ring. Dear Christian, if we cannot sing here, we can certainly sing there. We'll sing in harmony. Nobody will be out of tune. will sing with perfect voices and perfect pitch when we gather together to sing the praises of the Lamb. Revelation 14, And I looked, and behold, and I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father's name, written in their foreheads. And they heard a voice from heaven and the voice of many waters as the voice of a great thunder. And they heard the voice mark the repetition of the word voice. There is unity and harmony. The voice of harpers harping with their harps. And they sung as it were a new song. before the throne and before the four beasts and the elders, and no man could learn that song, but the 144,000 are representatives of all the saints in glory which were redeemed. from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was not found guile. And they are without fault before the throne of God." What a choir! what glorieth anthems. Notice what it says. And they sung a new song. They sung a new song. A new song before the throne, before the four and twenty beasts and the elders. And no man could learn that song but those who are redeemed. Only the redeemed will sing that song. Only the redeemed will sing that new song. And what is that song? They will sing to the glory of the Lord. Notice, it's the redemption song they'll sing. It's not a rock song. It's not a reggae song. It's not a rap song. It's a song that brings glory to God. Some places of worship today, that's what they have brought in. Moved the pulpit over to the side. Built a stage. got the drums in and the electric guitars and all the rest of it. And they sing rock songs, called Christian or non-Christian about them. I don't see anything like that in the Scriptures that we'll be doing in heaven. They all sing with sweet voices. Worthy, worthy is the Lamb. So, it is in heaven. So, it will be for us to behold some of the splendors of heaven. Very quickly, I want us to look at the saints in heaven. When John speaks about the saints in heaven, he actually gives us a glimpse of what we will be when we Get there. First of all, we'll be changed, saints. That's for sure. The Lord has made it known to us that He will change us. He's made known to us what His will is for our lives. For in Romans 8, And there in verses 29 and 30, For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son. That's God's will for his people, were to be conformed to the image of his Son. that he might be the firstborn among many brethren, moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified." See? In the mind of God, we're already glorified. And the Lord will change us. The conscientious Spiritual believer will strive to be conformed to the image of their Savior. That's what we all ought to strive for. Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. Be transformed. We are to be more like Christ. every day than we were the day before. That's our desire. And Paul tells us that that change will take place. We will be like Christ when the Lord changes us into the image of His person. At last, we will be like Him. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 50, and there we read, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot enter, inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, And the twinkling of an eye at the last trump, for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. And this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." We'll be changed then. 1 John 3, verse 2. We are the sons of God. And John tells us that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. That raises a question that has often been raised. Will we then know one another in heaven? If we're all going to be changed into the image of God's Son, if we're all going to be Christ-like, will we then know one another in heaven? Yes, we will. How do I know? You recall the day the Lord took Peter, James, and John up the Mount of Transfiguration. You can read about it in Luke 9, verses 30 and 33. The Lord was transfigured before them and stood there with two Old Testament saints. They were two Old Testament spirits. Unrecognizable. They were two men. That's what the word is. Two men. Moses and Elias or Elijah. They were recognized. They're given the name. The name they had when they served the Lord years before. Moses and Elias. We'll know one another in heaven. We'll recognize one another. We'll recognize our saved friends who have gone before. We'll recognize those loved ones, those family members who have gone before and died in Christ. We'll recognize them. What a reunion that will be. You think also of the communion of saints. The change in the saints. The communion of saints. Revelation 21 and verse 3. We're told something about the communion we will enjoy with the Lord when we reach heaven. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. We'll have a presence of the Lord that we've never known here on earth. He'll be with us, and we will be with Him. And what communion we will have with the Lord, and what communion we will have with other saints. Ephesians 2, verse 6, "...and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." The very thought of sitting together speaks to us of communion. We'll enjoy communion with Old Testament saints. Matthew 8 verse 11 tells us we will sit down with Abraham. Not with some unrecognisable spirit. We'll sit down with Abraham. We'll see Moses. We'll see Elijah. We'll see Daniel. We'll see Elijah and Elisha. and Isaac and Jacob. See all the saints and Paul and James and John and Barnabas. Best of all, we'll see the Lord. Best of all, we'll see the Lord and we'll recognize Him. How will we recognize Christ? By the nail prints in His hands. The last place you have the comfort for the saints. We read it there in verse 4, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away. Talk about the wonder of heaven. Does this not emphasize the wonder of heaven? These are things that we live with every day. at some time or another, tears, death, sorrow, crying, pain. When we get to heaven, the former things will have passed away. We'll never again shed hot, bitter tears. There shall be no more death. How different it will be from here. where death is such a common occurrence, it spares no one. Here, where our best friends die, where the wise, the good, and the useful, and the lovely die, our fathers, our mothers, our wives, our husbands, our sons, and our daughters die. But when we get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be when we all see Jesus will sing and shout the victory for There shall be no more death. No shrines. No coffins. No funeral processions. No graves. No tears. No heartache. No pain. No pain. We all know dear saints who suffer pain all the time. They hardly know a day's health. They hardly know a day without pain. The Lord said, there'll be no sorrow, there'll be no crying, and there'll be no more pain. No heartache. No more pain of the mind and the body. There'll be no more pain. What a wonder! The Lord says, I make all things new. We've considered the splendor of heaven, the saints in heaven. Next week, we'll consider the greatest wonder of all in heaven, the Savior. Until then, may the Lord bless the Word. May it sink into our hearts. May we take encouragement from it. Let's bow in prayer. O loving and gracious God, we come to Thee again, the precious name of the Savior. Lord, we thank Thee for what Thou hast prepared for us in heaven. We thank Thee, dear Lord, again for the promise that thou hast given to us. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there, there ye may be also. I thank you, Lord, for the great prospect that one day we'll be with Christ. which indeed is far better. Lord, courage us through thy word today. Bless it and use it. O Lord, may we find comfort from it in our days of sorrow and suffering and pain. Be with us now, Lord, the rest of this Sabbath. Be with us, Lord, as we part the one from the other. Grant us all traveling mercy. And dear Lord, return us this evening to thy house to once again engage in the worship of our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide and remain with us now and forevermore. Amen.