Brethren, I would ask you to open your Bibles, please, at least to begin with, to the book of Acts and the third chapter, Acts, in chapter three. Now, in this season known as Christmas, I would begin with this question, and that is, why did Christ come? Why was that baby born? in Bethlehem. Now, there are many ways that that might be answered, especially, of course, 1 Timothy 1, verse 15, Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners to save. But then you've got His words in John 10.10, how I've come that you might have life and that more abundantly. Or also His words in John 6.38, how He came to do the will of the Father even all of it, or also his words in John 18 and verse 37, and here's why it came, to bear witness to the truth. Or we could appeal to that first promise of his coming, going all the way back to Genesis chapter 3 and verse 15, how he would come as the seed of the woman to bruise or to crush the serpents head. John in his first letter put it this way in 1 John 3.8 how he came to destroy the devil and his works to triumph over sin and over Satan and to undo the fall. Well ultimately to restore perfect peace and harmony to God's universe and that forever and ever. We won't take time to turn there, but in the past we've seen Ephesians 1, 9 and 10, Colossians 1, 20. It talks about this being His great work. So, the point is, in thinking of our Lord's first coming, it's also right then that we should give attention to his second coming, what will then be. And that's why I've asked you at least to begin with, to notice Acts chapter three, and here in verse 21, you've got Peter preaching in that temple area, and referring to our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 21 of Acts three, whom heaven must receive, until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. Here's what he came to do. The restoration of all things. This is that great eternal purpose and it will be fully accomplished. It is certain, in fact, it is as certain as his first coming because of his first coming and that which he secured by his death, resurrection, and now lives forever to reign and fulfill that very purpose. And so it is, brethren, that we now resume our study of the eternal state of the redeemed, of those sinners saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 121, he it is who will save his people from their sins, and as we've seen, means from the penalty of our sins, suffering and dying and bearing the guilt and the wrath of God in our stead, but also from the power of our sins, breaking that yoke of sin's slavery, but then also ultimately from the very presence of sin there at last and indeed forever. Now, we've already seen that the eternal state of the Lord's people, well, it really begins at our resurrection when the Lord himself we won't take time to turn there. But like 1 Thessalonians chapter 4 how the Lord comes and He brings with Him the spirits of the just men made perfect. But then we are told verse 16, verse 17 how then He descends and they are raised from the dead. And those who are alive and remain are are caught up together with them in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15, our Lord comes and then also as a first fruit, he raises those when he comes. Or we can just take his words in John chapter 5, how an hour is coming in which all who are in the grave will hear his voice and come forth, some to a resurrection of life, some to a resurrection of condemnation. All will be raised at that time. But our concern is not now with all of humanity, but rather with the redeemed, the righteous, those whom He saves. Now, we understand that immediately upon dying, both saved and unsaved alike, they do have continued conscious existence, even in that disembodied state. Body goes to the grave, the ground, wherever it goes, and the spirit returns, we're told, in Ecclesiastes, to God who gave it. And so, as to the Lord's people, Paul can say in 2 Corinthians 5a, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Body wherever it is, but hey, we are souls present with the Lord. Mind you, also we can read 2 Peter 2 verse 9, as to the ungodly, the unsaved, they too have that continued conscious existence as they are held under punishment for the day of judgment. Now, come judgment day, raised and then judged and eternal punishment, but even in the meantime, there's that conscious being held under But again, that's not our concern right now. We're talking about the Lord's people. But the point is, this is called the intermediate state. That period between our death and Christ's coming. Intermediate, that is to say, it's only temporary because the eternal state, well it's just that. It's eternal when body and spirit are reunited and then we are forever with the Lord, those people whom he has redeemed. Now, we will not only be raised from the dead, but then at that time we will be glorified. Romans 8, 17 talks about how we will be glorified together with Him as joint heirs. Even the very body, this body, we were told the body of our humility will be transformed to be like unto His glorious body, where you'll see Him and be like Him. That doesn't only mean a glorified body, but it certainly does include that. And this body must be glorified, must be changed to be like unto His glorious body, because as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 50, flesh and blood in its present state, it cannot inherit the kingdom. Corruptible cannot inherit in corruption and therefore these bodies, even those who are alive and remain when he comes, those bodies too must be changed so that we might have a body suited to share his blessedness, his inheritance as joint heirs together with him. Therefore, the eternal state of the redeemed then is, as we've seen, physical existence. Bodies that are very real, as real as Christ's resurrected and glorified body, a body like unto his. And as such, that means that we will inhabit a very physical place. You're not going to be sitting around on a cloud somewhere playing a harp. Who ever thought of that anyway? That's not the case. But rather, as Peter says, we're looking for a new heavens, a new earth in which righteousness dwells. That's 2 Peter 3, 13, right after having said in verse 10 and following how the elements melt with fervent heat and so forth. Or please come to the book of the Revelation in chapter 21. Revelation in chapter 21. Now, I saw, John says, verse one of Revelation 21, a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them and be their God, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain. for the former things have passed away. Then he who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, right, for these words are true and faithful. And then he comes down, notice verse seven, he who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my people. That's the future, a very physical creation, a new heavens and a new earth. And again, as I've already said, it's the complete undoing of the fall. In fact, chapter 22 and verse 3, there will be no more curse. And then we can see like in Romans 8 at that time, verse 19 to 21, this present creation which is held in bondage to iniquity and to futility will then be released from that. And there will be then the triumph over Satan and sin. In 2 Peter 3.13, in which dwells righteousness. That is to say, only righteousness everywhere in all the inhabitants of that new earth when we indeed see Christ and are like him. And as the hymn writer put it, hymn 132 in our hymnal, sinless there forever, ye shall laud him ever. Well, we've looked in the past at just something about the New Earth, but we come back to it to look more closely as to what can we know about it. What will that New Earth be like and our life in it? Now, surely We've all wondered this. Maybe you've asked many questions about the eternal state of the Lord's people in that new earth. I mean, will there be mountains and valleys and plants and trees and rocks and streams? How about the Grand Canyon? Will it still be there? Will animals be there? And if so, will we be able to communicate with them and they with us? Will we literally eat? And if so, what? What will it be like? And will there be bathrooms there then? Well, however, such things might entice our attention. Our concern is more with what we can know for sure. But even in this, well, there are certain matters that make coming to a certainty quite uncertain. For instance, how much continuity or discontinuity is there between this present age and that which is to come? Or to put it another way, how similar is the new earth to this present world? Now it's obviously different wherein dwells righteousness, well that's very different from this present world, but is it different in every way? Is this present world as it now stands completely annihilated and totally replaced with something entirely unrelated to it? I mean, that would certainly, I think, come to mind when we just read there in Revelation chapter 21 how it passed away. Or when we think of the words in 2 Peter and chapter 3, let me just read them rather than making a hack at quoting them. 2 Peter 3 and verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat, both the earth and works that are in it will be burned up And therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?" Now that would certainly sound like everything's completely burned up and absolutely gone and replaced with something altogether different by way of the new heavens and new earth, right? However, we find other passages that actually speak of a continuity between this age and the next, this world and the new earth. More like present creation In fact, the words with which we began this study from Acts 3.21, how the Lord Jesus Christ remains in heaven until the restoration of all things, not the replacement of all things, but the restoration. The verb form of that particular noun is that which is used there in Mark chapter 3. You've got this man with a withered hand, and Jesus commanded him to stretch out his hand. He did, and we're told it was restored. Well, it doesn't mean, you know what? He just lopped that arm off, got a brand new hand, and there it is, that old thing completely. No, it's that hand. And it's the idea of brought back. That's the meaning of the words quite literally. So restored, restoration. Or, I've already referred to Romans 8, but let's come there. Romans chapter 8. Romans 8, beginning at verse 19, the earnest expectation of the creation, this present world, nature and all in it, eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation, we're talking about material creation obviously, was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Notice the wording that's used. It will be delivered, not simply destroyed, done away with, but it will be delivered from that bondage to corruption. And even the very language here in labor, birth pangs, it points to like a new birth. That's actually how our Lord spoke over in Matthew 19 of the new heavens and new earth. He called it the regeneration, the new birth. What's in birth pangs until that time. Well, that language tends to speak of this creation, but yet wonderfully changed again, set free, new birth. Now, from the wording also in 2 Peter 3, it points really to a destruction followed by a renewal, not a total annihilation and replacement. For instance, those words that I read in verses 10 through 12 about the heavens, the elements rather melting with fervent heat, that follows on that other instance of universal judgment, the flood. And we're told of that, that it perished, or the word could be translated, the world was then destroyed. Well, does that mean it was completely replaced? That it was completely obliterated and washed away? Or, with that universal judgment, it being destroyed, does that mean that it was then afterwards renewed after that thorough destruction? Well, the world before the flood and after was still the same world. And that in itself could be an argument for saying, and so too with this coming destruction, the same world. Well, I would think it's probably best to think of it in terms of what will happen with our own bodies. After death and returning to dust, these bodies will be raised. A new body. But it's still gonna be us. It's to be even this body made new. We won't take time to trace it out, but 1 Corinthians 15, it will be buried this way, it is raised this way. It will be raised, buried this way, it is raised this way. Paul makes it clear, it's the same one. Or even that language in Philippians 3, in verse 20, 21, how Christ when He comes is going to transform the the body of our humility, this body, to be likened to His glorious body. It's not, He's going to replace that old body. We'll just give you something altogether new. That thing's all been eaten by worms and gone to the dust. We'll just leave it there. It'll give you perhaps like, no, this body, raised and glorified, changed wonderfully so. Well, brethren, I would think That's the idea of that new heavens and new earth. There is a relationship. That is to say, it's made new, but not ex nihilo, not out of nothing. Rather, it's delivered from that bondage to corruption and that futility that was there. And actually, this is important. in this way. In the same way that our body is being resurrected, it's for an important reason that that is so. For instance, with regard to our bodies, well, God will not let Satan and sin and death have the final say about these bodies. He will not just leave them to the dust and create something brand new, but rather death is that enemy that Christ will destroy, and that, 1 Corinthians 15, is in connection with these very bodies being raised, the undoing of the fall and Christ's triumph over sin Well, I would suggest to you that the data that we have in Scripture about the new creation would point in that same way with regard to our world. We're told a number of times, Old Testament and New, that the earth is the Lord's. This earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Now, true, Romans 8, we've seen how at the fall, he himself subjected it all to that bondage of corruption and that futility, that curse, Genesis 3, 17, or actually 16 through 19. He subjected this world to serving man and sin and all the bondage to corruption and death and decay and the like. But come that day, Revelation 22, 3, no more curse. We sang about that in that Christmas hymn, Joy to the World. No more curse, but rather, again, Romans 8, this present creation is delivered from that bondage to corruption. This world is redeemed and made new, as it were. And in that way, there's that triumph over Satan, even as was foretold, how Christ would come and bruise the serpents or crush the serpent's head. He just came to destroy the devil and his works, and that would then mean not the total obliteration of this present creation, but rather the destruction followed by that renewal of this creation. Otherwise, who won? when the fall was brought in, Satan's temptations of Adam and Eve and the like. The writer, Anthony Hookama, in his book, The Bible and the Future, and I commend that book to you, if God would have to annihilate the present cosmos, that is, total obliteration, it's all together gone. Satan would have won a great victory. He was succeeded in so devastatingly corrupting the present cosmos and present earth that God could do nothing with it but to totally blot it out of existence. And then, Hokema says, but Satan did not win such a victory. but rather this world, the fullness of it being the Lord's, it will be redeemed, released, and restored, made new when Christ comes and brings about the restoration of all things. Now, I've said all that simply to say this, that there is a continuity between this present world and the next. But we're not told in Scripture exactly how much. Now, in a previous study, I pointed out two dangers in that connection. That is, the danger of thinking that the world to come is just too, too different from this present world so that we don't see it as a physical place and a physical life and body in it. So, in other words, it's all ethereal and not thinking in terms of it being the restoration of all things, sitting on a cloud playing a harp or whatever the case might be. But then the other danger is thinking of the world to come too much in terms of this present world, as if it's just this world replicated with a few tweaks. Well, that could actually cheapen or degrade our thoughts about the new Earth, where it's not seen as so incomparably better to this here planet. And now, and therefore, well, it can be a detracting from the new heavens and new earth and what Scripture says, or possibly even dulling what should be our desire, our longing. You know, we're described in Romans 8 as groaning for that time. Yes, nice enough, but it's not really that great of a place. Or as if the only thing really special about it is our living forever. No, that's not the only thing. That's not the chief thing. And therefore, brethren, we must be careful in our thinking not to fall into either of these pitfalls, if you please. To take care to think biblically about that future, about the new earth, and to go as far as scripture but only as far as scripture and no further. Simply trying to illustrate the point that there can be uncertainties about the future that make it difficult for us to be certain. And in that connection, yet another matter making for uncertainty is this. Scripture does speak of the new earth. It does, obviously. But when it does, how much of it is to be taken literally. I mean, most would agree that much symbolism employed in the book of the Revelation, of course, but Old Testament prophecies, or even the gospels and the epistles. But is it all symbolism? And what isn't symbolism? And how can we know for sure? Let me illustrate with this. Please come to Isaiah chapter 65, the book of Isaiah. The 65th chapter, we see in verse 17 of Isaiah, chapter 65, that God is going to have this new heavens and new earth. That's what we see. Verse 17, for behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. The former shall not be remembered or come to mind. Well, it's in that connection, notice the last verse of this chapter, verse 25. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together. The lion shall eat straw like the ox. and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt nor destroy, and all my holy mountain says the Lord. Well, let me give you another text here in Luke that says, I mean, Isaiah, rather, that says much the same. Please come to the book of Isaiah and chapter 11. Now, this is a messianic prophecy in the 11th chapter of Isaiah, verse 1. There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, et cetera. Clearly it's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we come to verse nine of this chapter, well, it talks about the end result of the Messiah's reign. When we're told they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. That's the end result. The earth having that kind of pervasive, true knowledge of the Lord. That's quite literal. But what about verses six through eight? Much like what we saw in chapter 65, talking about the new heavens, new earth, well here, the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb. The leopard shall lie down with the young goat. The calf and the young lion and the fatling together. And a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze. Their young ones shall lie down together. and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's, this venomous serpent, the viper's den. Now, in looking at these prophecies having to do with the new earth, Does this mean that there will literally be animals there then? That we're going to have wolves and leopards and lions and bears right alongside with lambs and goats and calves? And oh, by the way, snakes. That wouldn't necessarily be heavenly in the minds of some. Or for that matter, We're going to have young children messing about the whole of these snakes? Is this to be understood literally, or is this simply symbolic, graphic language underscoring what we have in both of these texts? They shall not hurt or destroy in my holy mountain, pointing to that peace, the harmony, and the no disruption of that, that that world that New Heavens is very different from this present world. Or we could appeal to Luke chapter 13, the Lord Jesus talked about people coming from the east and the west, north, south, and they come and they sit in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Well, is that telling us then that in the New Heavens, New Earth we're just going to be sitting around together? Abraham, Isaac, that's all we're doing, just sitting, hanging out. Or is the point of that language that all of the redeemed, even Gentiles, spread across the face of this planet will receive the blessedness right alongside Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob forever and ever? Well, obviously that's the point of that. Or please come to the book of the Revelation and chapter 19. Revelation and the 19th chapter where there we read of this great feast that's coming. And we see, well, we begin at verse seven. Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, and for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These are the true sayings of God. is a supper. Now, we do know there's symbolism employed. He explains to us, well, that fine linen, that's the righteous acts of the saints worked in them by God's grace, okay? So there's symbolism there. But what about a marriage supper? I mean, what you do at a supper, well, you eat. Well, does that mean there's literally going to be a feast, actual eating? we won't turn there, but in 1 Corinthians 6, 13, 14, where it's talking about the coming resurrection, and it talks about God destroying both food and the stomach, or at least the appetite for food, God destroying it. Is this going to be actual eating, or is this simply language designed to communicate the great joy, like a wedding feast? Abundant provision. Something so entirely desirable, again, like a wedding feast. Or how about coming to Revelation 21, which tells us about the new earth. Notice what is said there, Revelation 21.1. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and notice also there was no more sea." Literally? A dear brother I know in New Jersey, he was kind of disappointed. He loves going to the ocean. No more sea, really? Well, at the very least, it speaks to something very different from now, when you consider how much of the Earth's surface is covered by it. But not a few writers see this as a symbol, some graphic picture, though they're not really agreed in what the symbol communicates. Some say, well, that means no restless waves. You know, even like in Isaiah and elsewhere, the restless waves of the sea is used as kind of like the casting up of sin and so forth. Well, there'll be only peace, no more restless waves crashing against the shore. And others have said, no, it's the seas that separate us, right? You've got people on this continent and that continent, and there'll be no more separation. Or then you've got Albert Barnes and he says, oh, what it means is there'll be no uninhabitable place on the face of that new earth, like a sea, you can't live out there. Well, which is it? Or later here in Revelation 21, It speaks regarding that new earth as a holy city coming down as a bride adorned for his husband. And then verse nine, as the Lamb's wife, the church, in verses 10 and 11, is that great city having the glory of God. And we won't take the time to read it, but verse 12 through 21, the city is described in terms of all these precious and colorful gems, these stones, gates like pearls, streets there of gold, Is all of this literal? What are the dimensions of it? Roughly, it amounts to 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide. I think that would probably take us from the northern border down somewhere in New Mexico of our country, that far, and then from maybe the east coast into somewhere around Colorado. So, 1,500 miles either way. By the way, it's also 1,500 miles straight up. Is it literally a cube? Is that what it is, shaped in this cubicle-type fashion? Or is it simply communicating the glory of that place and the glory of Christ's bride, His church, in the newer world? Well, I hope I've made my point. We must be careful, brethren, not to impose literal meanings on all such statements as these, as if to say, well, here it is. That's the New Earth. That's all there is to it. It's just that. It's gems and so forth on the wall. And to do so, can detract and distract from the glorious truth that scripture conveys. If we're just looking at those figures, and therefore it causes us to think rather low of the new heavens and new earth. Much is symbolic. Well, Since it can be so difficult to sort out what's literal, what's symbolic, I guess that means we should just kind of leave it alone then, right? Don't worry about it. Well, no, no. We're given truth about the new earth in scripture, even by way of all of these symbols, so that we will think about it. Right? I mean, this is part of 2 Timothy 3.16, all scriptures God breathed, and it's profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction, and righteousness. Well, much in scripture does speak to that eternal blessedness, the new heavens and new earth, and the redeemed, the eternal state of the redeemed. And therefore, that is most certainly profitable. We should think about it, but we must think rightly about it. And to that end, well, we do well to ask this, why all of this symbolism as to our eternal state in the new world? We find it throughout Scripture. Why? Well, is it not because the reality is so far beyond us? though he can't really grasp or even imagine it as it really is. And therefore, God has condescended to speak in terms with which we can at least in some way identify, kind of like baby talk, if you please. or explaining to a young child something that's really beyond their ability to grasp. I'm sure we could illustrate by explaining how lights work, electricity. One thing that came to my mind, I remember when I was introduced to my twin two-year-old nieces, my brother was saying, now, as Dawn and Heather, that's your sister, well, Lee is my sister. Well, hold on, we got some gender confusion going on here, fella. You know, but obviously what he's doing, he's speaking in a language to let these little two-year-olds know my relationship to him in language with which they can identify. Well, the Puritan Thomas Boston said this, in consideration of our weakness is pleased to represent to us heaven's happiness under similitudes taken from earthly things. He then says, heavenly glory divested of earthly resemblances would be too bright for our weak eyes. It's so far beyond this. He's got his dog Baby talk to us. God employs these things so we can at least in some way identify. There's at least some And so, when the Bible speaks of that eternal state and the new earth as paradise, or as a kingdom that we inherit, or as a great city, or that which the patriarchs looked for, they were looking for a country, and God made a city. Well, which is it? And obviously in referring to that country, heavenly country, for which they look, it draws on Old Testament language about flowing with milk and honey. Or Scripture speaks of it, our Lord spoke of it, as His Father's house in which are many mansions or rooms. There are many word pictures that are given us, not so that we'll think only in terms of that which is said, as if it's literal, oh, yeah, mansion, lot of rooms, okay, got that, that's all there is. is spoken in these terms just to give us some idea. Something that we can begin to at least understand as to what it will be. And the important thing to remember about symbols is this. They are not exaggerations. It's not hyperbole where somebody is actually speaking in an exaggerated way. No. These symbols symbolize what is greater. Or to put it another way, these are but shadows which must, of necessity, fall short of the grand reality, which simply means that the new Earth is incomprehensibly greater than any of these symbols, more than all of these symbols combined. Take them all together? No, I'm sorry. It's just scratching the surface, if that. And therefore, you know, I've heard people talk so much about streets of gold over my years as a Christian. Well, my friend, streets of gold ain't nothing, okay? That's nothing. Paradise, Garden of Eden, no, no, no, no, my friend. It's much, much, much incomprehensibly greater than the Garden of Eden. And employing these many word pictures, God does not misspeak of ordinary stuff. You know, just in the old garden, there it is. You know, here's a tool shed. Here's, Jonathan Edwards said this. in the descriptions that are given of it in the scriptures. The images made use of to shadow it forth to us are the most glorious with which we are conversant in the world, like paradise, Garden of Eden. or a whole universal kingdom, or this vast city like that in Revelation 21, so large, golden streets, and all the walls of these precious... Remember, you've got a wall that's 1,500 miles this way, 1,500 miles that way, and all the way back, and by the way, straight up. And in that wall, you've got all these brilliant, precious, beautiful stones, and so forth. And so Edwards says, the apostle could find nothing on earth excellent enough adequately to represent its surpassing beauty. So when you see all the symbols, don't force a literalism on them. though we are seeing these things in Scripture, even then it says 1 Corinthians 13, 12, well we are seeing through a mirror dimly. Or 1 Corinthians 2, 9, eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it entered into the hearts of men what God has prepared for those who love Him. And by the way that statement in 1 Corinthians 2, 9 is talking about our present salvation. How much more that which is the end in view in that present salvation. Have you ever stood maybe in these mountains or maybe down, if you're on the west coast of Florida or west coast of the United States and you see this brilliant, wonderful sunset? And you're just in awe. Or maybe it's the majesty of some mountain. As many of you know, I'm from the state of Washington, where we got real mountains that you can't live on. At least our mountains here, you can live on them. But where you've got these things that are 12,000, 14,000 feet above sea level or whatever, I mean, that's a mountain. And you stand there when the clouds have not enveloped it and marvel. at the majesty of that part of God's creation. All right, you can relate to that. Randy Alcorn, in his book on heaven, says, if the present earth, so diminished by the curse, is at times so beautiful and wonderful, then how magnificent will the new earth be? There's a continuity but it's incomprehensibly greater. And that being so, brethren, we'll take care about thinking of it, the then world in terms simply of now. Take care about imposing literal meanings on what scripture says. And I would add to this, brethren, take care about speculations about the new earth and life in it. I've recommended Randy Alcorn's book, I've spoken highly of it, it is a good book. I must say, I don't get too excited though, because he tells you he's speculating, and he even makes a polemic for having a sanctified imagination. I must say, I'm quite, weary of reading such things, and concerned about giving an undue attention to such speculations, because to do so, in a sense, is to disparage that new Earth. from the true glory of it, and therefore to rob ourselves, perhaps, of a right contemplation and a right marvel. And rather, it's right to use the continuity that we see and the symbols that are employed as appetizers. In fact, Randy Alcorn, he actually says that, these things that we see around us, it should The appetite, you know, a mere sample. That's what an appetizer is to do, right? It's just to get the juices flowing and to make you want more. Well, so too, the symbols that we see, or even the continuity, this world to the next, the greatest things that we can see here, well, it's just a mere, very pitiful sample to point us to that which is incomparably better. To make us eagerly want more. more and more. These things are revealed in scripture. It's therefore profitable for us. Therefore, it's right that we should think on these things, the continuity, discontinuity, the symbolism, and the like. But brethren, how important that we do so in a right way. And I would simply say this, to rightly appreciate and use, say, the symbolic language that we have in Scripture describing the new earth, take care to see the bigger picture. Don't focus in on the minutiae. It's the big picture that we are to see. That's the great reality. For instance, I read there, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65. That's given us, not that we should all be caught up with, are there gonna be animals and snakes there? And how about little children putting their hole, messing around there where the snakes are? Is that gonna be? No. Seeing the bigger picture is so that we will see, as we're told plainly, that nothing to hurt or destroy in all of that place. You recognize just how wonderfully different that new earth is from this present evil age. Only peace and order and harmony and nothing to in any way disrupt that. Absolutely no consequences of the fall, of the curse. All gone away. Is that not desirable? Well, then use the symbol and say, oh yeah. Not focusing only on the symbol, but rather the greater reality. Or that great city there in Revelation 21. Don't be all intrigued about the color of each of those precious stones that make up the great foundation here, or the size of that pearl. Man, a gate! How in the world! Or, for that matter, those streets of gold. Or rather, seeing this, the beauty and the glory of our eternal state in an altogether glorious place as Christ's bride. That's to marvel at, not just to descend into the little thing, but the big picture, especially when it says there, that city having the glory of God. And there's no need for a temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, they are the temple there. As heaven and earth come together in that new earth, no longer two spheres, but joined together as God's dwelling place, permanently so, and again, no temple there needed, a place the glory of which is suited to the God of all glory himself, infinitely glorious in himself. And again, who cares about streets of gold compared to that? No, here's the true glory. See the big picture. God among his people. Well, we'll come back to it, God willing, in the next service, just a bit. But this is why the Savior came. the very name of Jesus, he it is who saves his people from their sins. Not just eternal punishment, rather he saved us for this eternal glory, a body like unto his glorious body in that new heavens and new earth. Well, how strong is your desire for this, my brother and my sister? How strong? Or maybe I should ask, how real is this to your faith? Or how much is it in your thoughts? You know, there's much in this world to grab and to hold our attention. Trials and griefs and heartaches, pains, sorrows, but also Earth's joys that can easily grab and hold our attention. And even, mind you, this time of year, time with family, time of celebrating and the like. But how much of all of this matters more than our glorious future? and how much is the greater consistently in your thinking? How much mental note do you take when you're reading your Bible and you see even these very graphic word pictures describing the glory and the blessedness of that place? Do you take mental note, do you? Are you living now? For then, are you living now in light? of that which is our future, and especially this. Are we seeing God's grace to us in Jesus Christ? Looking what he has prepared for us, his people. All that Christ did so that this should be our future. And it's all because of him. And you understand why after seeing these things there in Revelation 22, you've got John the Apostle in that prayer. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Longing for that day, longing for that Savior. And doing so with great confidence. sinner, and yet such a Savior, that I'm ready for that time. And this is certainly my future, all because Christ came to save sinners. He saved this sinner. I am His, and therefore rightly we now look for that new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells, altogether certain for us in Jesus Christ. Brethren, this is how we are described in Scripture. Even so, come looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior. Will my God grant that in the midst of all that can grab and hold our attention in this busy world, this fallen world, brethren, that we will have an eye, consistently so, to the great glory, the indescribable glory that is ours, all because Our Savior came to save sinners like us. What grace. If you're here without Christ, well, he has not saved you from your sin, as seen by the fact that you're living as a slave to sin. And that also indicates that you are under the wrath of a holy God. And your future will be tragically different from that of those whom Christ actually says. You will not hear the words, come blessed to my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the foundation of the world. Rather, that's Matthew 25, 34. Later, verse 41, Jesus will say to the ungodly, depart from me. You cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Remember what I said already about symbols are not greater than the reality, they can only give some kind of a shadow? Well, that's true not only of our eternal glory, that's true also of eternal punishment. It talks about everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. We don't need to get into arguments, is that literal fire, what do you think? Look, symbols are not greater than the reality, they're but a shadow of it. What do you want for your future? And if that symbol is that bad, the idea of a fire suited for Satan and his angels, what about your eternity? If you're without Christ, this is forever yours because of your sin. But you know what that word gospel means? The gospel of Jesus. You know the word gospel? It means good news. And I have good news indeed. Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. The very name Jesus, he it is who saves his people from their sin. That baby born was born to die to suffer the just in place of the unjust. But that same baby that was laid in the manger, oh, he was raised from the dead and is now ascended on high and ever lives to make intercession for all who come to God by him. It's this Savior that's referred to in Romans 10, 13, whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. He's rich to all who call upon him. If you're here without Christ, will you walk away from this? Will you reject the offer? Will you reject Christ himself? And if so, what does that deserve? What does that deserve? Even so, this is the Savior who says, anyone thirst? come to me and drink." The same Savior said earlier, those who come to me, no way will I cast them out. He commands, repent and believe the gospel. Repent, turn to God from sin through Jesus Christ. believing this glorious gospel, he saves sinners. Not because, oh look, they've done something wonderful, they've repented, no. Rather, they're looking unto Jesus, going to him. What about you? If you're without Christ, what will you now do? Right now, what will you do? Might God grant mercy. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we do thank you for so condescending to communicate to us something of that eternal glory that is ours all by your grace in Christ. More, we thank you for condescending and coming in the person of your Son. God manifest in the flesh to be our Savior. Lord, we thank you for delivering us from this present evil age. We thank you for delivering us from the slavery that was ours in sin. We thank you for delivering us from being under the very wrath of a holy God. But we thank you all that you've delivered us from that heart of rebellion. You've delivered us from even that hatred of you. And you've given us hearts to know you and to love you. And so it will be forever and ever. We'll grant that we would be occupied with these things. Lord, grant that these would be very real to our faith, and even when we read the symbols there in Scripture, Lord, that we'd see beyond the Scriptures, beyond the symbols, rather, to the glorious reality. Please help us to live to your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.