Well, we're getting back to Revelation and two more chapters to go. My plan is just to get us through chapter 21 today and then next week, God willing, we'll get to chapter 22 and look at that river of life and the final instructions and also warnings really from our Lord. in chapter 22. It's almost like we've hit the pinnacle of the book. It's all glorious. It's all great. But you get to chapter 22 and the new Jerusalem descending out of the heavens. It's just a beautiful chapter. So I'm going to divide it into three chunks just to help me a little bit. And I don't have a whole lot to say about it. It kind of speaks for itself. I just want to point out what's there. It's basically going to be the sermon. So let me pray. Our Father and our God, we pause before we even begin our journey into chapter 21 here. Lord, asking your blessing on it. Father, it's a glorious truth, the new heaven, the new earth, Lord, the new Jerusalem. Father, and as much as human beings can understand eternity and what lies ahead for us, Father, we pray by your grace and your gifting that you'd enable us to understand that. Lord, that we could just look with expectant hope at the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and Lord, a future where sin has been cast out forever. And Lord, we thank you for that in Jesus' name, amen. So let me read, I'm just gonna read verses one to eight to get us started here. And I'm gonna look at a lot of other passages that speak very much of this very same event throughout the Bible. So this is Revelation 21, beginning in verse one. Now I saw 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. 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, write, for these words are true and faithful. And he said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Quite a passage of scripture. Robert mounts his commentary, he entitled, What Are We Waiting For? That's the title of the whole commentary on the entire book of Revelation. What are we waiting for? This is what we're waiting for. We've come to what we're waiting for. This is what's held out to us. Glory, the new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem descending from heaven. In Robert Mounce's commentary, he writes, the final chapters of Revelation are radically different from the scenes of judgment that we have just witnessed. Where sin no longer reigns, everything is totally transformed. The final two chapters of Revelation radiate with the joy of the coming age. They portray a new heaven and the new earth with only an occasional backward glance at those who have chosen to dwell outside the city of God. And even though I so often focus on God's sovereignty in election and salvation, the Bible equally lays forth man's responsibility to worship and praise the creator, Romans 1, rather than suppressing the truth and unrighteousness. And people aren't in the celestial city because they choose not to be there. So let me read you a couple of scriptures that speak of the same basic event here. It's interesting how many passages cover this. But this is 2 Peter, so not 1 Peter, but number two, 2 Peter 3, chapter three, verse 10 and following. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise. and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 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. Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." That's what we have to look forward to, guys. I was reading J. Vernon McGee this morning, and I always get a kick out of his style. I used to love listening to him on the radio. He was talking about how flawed everything is in this life. You've lived long enough, I've lived long enough to see there's a flaw in everything. And Jay Vernon was saying, you know, I'm not the husband I wanted to be. And I'm not the father I wanted to be. And I'm not the preacher I wished I was. And every sermon I preach is slightly flawed. It's not the perfect sermon. And he was going through this whole list. And he's like, but one day, the flaw factor will be gone. All of that. There'll be no more flaw, no more sin, no more effects of sin. It'll be flawless. A flawless new heaven and new earth, where even we have been glorified and made perfect by the grace of God. In the Old Testament, Psalm 102, verse 25 and 26, of old, you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you will endure. Yes, they will all grow old like a garment, like a cloak. You will change them, and they will be changed." Writer Hebrews quotes that in chapter one of Hebrews. If you want to read that this afternoon, it's an important psalm. Jesus said in Mark 13, this is the words of our Lord, verse 24, But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light. The stars of heaven will fall and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the earth to the farthest parts of heaven. And then in Matthew 24, the Lord said in verse 35, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. All of his promises are intact. The word of God is eternal, and he's going to give us and deliver us into a new heavens, a new earth, a new Jerusalem. And we'll talk about that more in a minute here, because there's some things I want to point out about that passage. But one more passage, Romans 8. verse 19 and following. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation 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. It's not just we who will be made new. All of creation is going to be corrected. Everything that's a problem in the created world. You read in the book of Genesis where, you know, by the sweat of the brow we raise up food from the ground. But those weeds, those thistles, the thorns, they come up with no problem. I don't have to plant any seeds to get those. They just come up wonderfully all by themselves. But that will all be corrected. And where God's taking this whole thing is not just back to the Garden of Eden. It's into everything that potentially the Garden of Eden could have been, had it really not gone off its course with the sin of Adam and Eve, our first parents. So let's look at this passage in Revelation. What is not there? Did you notice that when we read it? It really describes more of what's not there than what's there. So what's not there? Well, the sea is no more. There's no more sea. Ocean. The sea is gone. Symbolic, in my opinion, in the Book of Revelation of confusion, turmoil, sin, the effects of sin. When we were on that subject earlier where it was mentioned, remember John is getting this revelation on the Isle of Patmos. I told you my wife and I were blessed enough that we went to Patmos. And he's looking out at the churning sea continually. Landlivers, those that live on land, it's never a calm sea. It's always moving. My daughter sent me a picture that my granddaughter drew where she wrote at the top, Florida, because we were just in Florida with her. And she did a beach scene. She had a little arrow that said sand. And she was standing on the sand with bright red hair, because she has red hair. And then she had another arrow that said the sea. And the sea was this turbulent. I was amazed. Of course, you're always bragging on your grandkids, right? She's going to be an artist. But the sea was so churny and choppy, and I thought, That's what she remembers of the ocean was a churny, choppy, potentially dangerous place for little kids if granddad's not sitting there holding her hand. That's the symbolism here. There's no more sea. There's no more confusion. There's no more turmoil. In Isaiah 57.20, It likens the wicked to the sea. It says, but the wicked are like the troubled sea. That's like the churning sea, the churning ocean. The wicked are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. That's the symbolism here. Now whether we get to the new heavens and the new earth and say, oh, there actually isn't an ocean. I don't know. I tend to take a lot of these things figuratively, but we might get to the new heavens and the new earth and find out, wow, it was literal. There is no sea. We'll find out. Whatever it is, it's going to be perfect. You're not going to say, I want my seat. I mean, whatever God does, it's going to be perfect, absolute perfection. And you're going to be so satisfied in the new heavens and the new earth, the new Jerusalem, that nothing's going to trouble you. You're not going to be lacking for anything or wishing, oh, I only wish this was here. None of that's going to happen. None of that. What else is not there? Death. Death is not there. Death has been banished. There is no more death. There's no more dying. I was telling you, I was reading J. Vernon McGee, and he was talking about he had a friend who was an engineer, a highway engineer, who engineered much of the roads, the highways back years ago, that crisscrossed this country. And he said, what's the greatest problem when you're building your highways? And he says, is it when you hit a mountain, or is it when you hit a river, or a ravine, or what is it? And he said, graveyards. He says, they're everywhere. And it's hard to get anybody to allow you to move people that are in a graveyard. It's sacred ground. Graveyards are my biggest problem. This country is, you don't even notice them. But you can't drive from here to the next town without probably going by six graveyards, right? Our church is within almost walking distance of a graveyard. They're everywhere. There's going to be no more death, no more graveyards, no more undertakers. No more funeral homes. No more saying goodbye to anybody forever. Death has been banished. And this is a reversal of the curse, right? So let me take you back to Genesis. Where God told Adam, then the Lord God took the man, this is Genesis 2.15, then the Lord God took the man, put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. Where God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may eat, you know, freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. Death is a penalty. Jesus, the Bible says, became a curse. Cursed is everyone who's hung on a tree. Jesus took that curse upon himself for us, that one day we can live in a curse-free world, right? Genesis 3.19, after the fall, in the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread till you return to the ground for out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. That one day will be reversed, and never again will we see death. Or even the next thing that's missing is sorrow, pain, and crying. Sorrow, pain, and crying. And this again is a reversal of the curse. When they fall and God speaks to the woman in Genesis 3.16, God says, I will greatly multiply your sorrow. and your conception, in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." There's no tranquility. There's no paradise marriage out there. We all struggle in marriage. We all have to contend and really work at it because there's tension in all relationships because of the fall. And here when it says that, Her sorrow would increase, and in pain you shall bring forth children. I don't think it just means at the birth. It's a painful thing to raise kids. If anybody's got kids, they turn to adults and it's still a difficult thing. You're constantly praying for your kids. There's pain mingled in with everything. In the new heavens and the new earth, the new Jerusalem, there's not going to be any of this. It's gone. It's banished. No more crying. No more tears. No more pain. No more sorrow. Physical pain is gone. Emotional pain and trauma is gone. It's eradicated. It's banned by God Almighty. So paradise lost is now paradise restored. Isaiah 35.10 speaks about this. It says, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isn't that beautiful? Sorrow and sighing flee away. Gone forever. It's gone. The former things, Revelation 21.4, the former things have passed away. Behold, the Lord says, it's done. All things are new. All things are new and fresh. We get to start over. And I look at that. I don't like to speculate too much about glory, because the Bible didn't get into a lot of detail. But you look at the advances of mankind. I mean, God actually said that we have to go down there and take care of this tower of Babel. Who knows what they'll do next? That's my binoculars. interpretation of what happened. And God had to deal with it. But look at the advances of man. And this might not blow you away. It blows this guy away. I'm out of my property. I'm out of my deck. I'm looking out at the woods. I live in the woods. I'm just looking out at the woods. And to think somebody was also living on the woods, and now we've got places like New York City. It's like, where'd that come from? Well, they had to discover the metals, and learn how to make steel, and how to forge things. OK. But it still blows this guy away that human beings, through God's enablement, were able to come up with the technology to build a New York City, or a subway system, or airplanes. I was on the airplane the other day, and there was two military guys up in front of me. And I was just listening. They didn't know each other. They just got into conversation. We're talking about, you know, it's amazing to them that airplanes can fly. And I thought, me too. I still am amazed by it. And they were talking about those big jumbo planes that the military uses. They carry tanks and stuff on them. They said, it's just amazing to watch those go in the air. You think that thing's never going to go off the ground, and yet there they go. Now think of this, the new heavens, the new earth, no sin factor, and God is still allowing us to be productive, and he's using us for his glory. Where is that gonna go? I mean, I just think it's almost unfathomable to imagine what the new heavens, the new earth, and technology, and God honoring technology. I remember when they invented the little cell phones. Yes, I'm that old. I remember when they invented the VHS, the Betamax. I was around for all that, just like you guys were. And I remember when they invented the cell phone. I remember listening to a radio disc jockey. And he said, it took all of five minutes for somebody to figure out they could take that camera in the bathroom and take pictures of people. And I remember him, and he wasn't a Christian, he just said, it's amazing to me that it takes about five seconds for somebody to take some new technology and turn it to evil. And I thought, isn't that so? That won't happen in the new heavens and the new earth. Everything, whether we're allowed to have technology or whatever it is that we're going to do, it's all to the glory of God and the Lamb. Everything. Everything, every day, is nothing but for the glory of God and the Lamb. So who's not there? What's not there? Who's not there? Verse 8. Well, the cowardly top the list. Some look at this list here and see maybe an apostate portion of a church that maybe had gone to church but turned their back on Christ at some point. It doesn't say that specifically, but you certainly could read that into it. Jesus said in Mark 8, 38, For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous, sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with his holy angels." Anybody that was ashamed of Christ, anybody who was cowardly and caved to the world because of the heat that comes, and the ridicule that comes to us because we believe Jesus Christ is Lord. We believe he's coming again. We believe that there's gonna be a new heavens, a new earth, a new Jerusalem, and we will face the ridicule. We'll face the heat for that, but we're not gonna be cowardly, right? We're gonna take a stand for Jesus Christ. Secondly, unbelievers are not there. Maybe those who denied the faith, right? Like John wrote in 1 John, they went out from us, but they were not of us, right? A swath of the church that departed. But these are unbelievers. They're not there. The abominable are not there. And that's not the snowman guy. In the Greek, abominable has to do with being polluted by the world. As a matter of fact, Keismaker writes, they pursue a lifestyle that is diametrically opposed to biblical teaching. Just 180 degrees in the other direction of what God says in his word. They're not going to be there. They're not going to enter in. The murderers aren't going to be allowed into this city, the city of God. If you read 1 John, and I can't give you the address exactly, just read the whole book. John likens murder to hating the brethren. He says, if you hate your brother, and he goes right to the example of Cain and Abel. He says, why did Cain slay Abel? Because Abel's works were righteous and Cain's were not. And he says, anybody who would hate a brother in Christ, hate a brother, he says, that's equated to murder. You're a murderer in God's eyes. That's what the book says. Read 1 John. So it could be maybe those that were persecuting the saints that John and the Spirit have in mind here. The sexually immoral. aren't going to be there. Fornication and homosexuality is rampant in this country right now. If you didn't know that, it's because you must be hiding at your house or something. It's rampant. It's celebrated. People celebrating that kind of a lifestyle are not going to be there. They're not going to be there. And I understand people struggle with sin, and there's forgiveness by Christ in the blood, repent. And people struggle with these things. But when there's no struggle and celebration, that's not a sign of somebody that loves the Lord. They're not going to be there. It's plain. That's what it says. The sexually immoral are cast out. Sorcerers. In the Greek, that Greek word, I'm not going to try to pronounce it, but the root of that Greek word is where we get our word in the English for pharmacy. So farm is part of the word in the Greek. And the idea is drug-induced workers of magic arts. Philip Hughes writes, they allow their lives to be governed by potions and the stars and demonic magic instead of by God and his wisdom. It's opposed to the things of God. And if you don't think that stuff's going on, you need to open your eyes, because it goes on a lot more than you think. I remember a long time ago, I was pastoring somewhere else, and somebody came to me and said, they've got a witch going to that church. And we did. There was somebody coming here that was a Wiccan. And I thought, well, praise God. Maybe she'll hear the word of God and get saved. She ended up drifting off. But yeah, people practice Wiccan and whatnot. It's witchcraft. They won't be there. Idolaters. This harkens back to Romans 1, where it says that the fallen man worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator, who's to be blessed forever. Amen. It's idolatry. Matter of fact, that's how 1 John ends, right? You remember that book, and you get to the very end, where he says, little children, keep yourselves from idols. Idolaters won't be there. And liars. And I put in my note those who turn their backs on him who is the way, the truth, and the life. These are people who are opposed to Christ, and they kind of manifest that opposition in these various categories. They're not there. As a matter of fact, sadly, it says that they will have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, and that is the second death. And I'm not an annihilationist. I know some are. John Stodd is an annihilationist, if you know who John Stodd is. I don't hold that view. I see eternal existence separated from God and all the benefits that they enjoyed. Because even the ungodly, even those that don't love the Lord, benefit from His common grace. And when common grace is removed, maybe that's the very picture of the fire and brimstone, is just God's goodness and grace is just withheld from them. So the second section, verse 9 to 21, pretty big chunk here. Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Having the glory of God, her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone clear as crystal. Also, she had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. The city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, 12,000 furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal. Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, The third, Chalcedony. The fourth, Emerald. The fifth, Sardonyx. The sixth, Sardius. The seventh, Chrysolite. The eighth, Beryl. The ninth, Topaz. The 10th, Chrysoprase. The 11th, Jacinthe. And the 12th, Amethyst. The 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each individual gate was of one pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass." Wow. Do we take all this literally? Figuratively? A little of both? I tend to take most of this figuratively, but who knows? Some people take it very literal. We expect to see gates with one giant pearl as the entry gate. They're never closed anyway. We're going to find that out in verse 25. They're always open. So do you see the contrast before we start looking at the bits and pieces here? Do you see the contrast? That the Tower of Babel, man said, let's build ourselves a tower whose top goes into the heaven and make a name for ourselves. That was their sin. It was a sin of selfish pursuit. They didn't want to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth like God had commanded. And God broke that up. This is the exact opposite of that. This is God, his city that he created, that he built, descending to mankind out of the heaven. So at least see that. There's also a contrast between earlier where we saw Babylon, the city of sin and worldliness, where John was taken by the same angel out into the wilderness to see this vision. Where here, John's taken to a mountain to see the vision of the heavenly Jerusalem descending. So there's some contrast here between the worldliness of Babylon and the beauty of God's city of glory. So we have angels at the gates. sentries, guardians, probably, at the 12 gates. And the gates are never shut, verse 25 will tell us. All that are holy in Christ can enter freely here at this wonderful city. The names of the tribes, the Old Testament tribes and the New Testament apostles are listed. Old and New Testament. Probably represents Old and New Testament believers alike are those who have free entry into the city. Those who've been washed by the blood of the Lamb. Those who have their names written. We're going to see that in the Lamb's Book of Life. They're free to enter the city. The architecture is quite odd. You probably heard this before or saw it when I read it, but it's a perfect cube. So here you have a city that looks like a giant cube, is the way it's described. Warren Wiersbe, he describes, why would that be the description? And he takes a stab at it and says, the fact that it is equal on all sides indicates the perfection of God's eternal city. Nothing is out of order or balance. Perfectly ordered, perfectly bound. I like that. I think it's a good, if it's figurative, then I think that's why it's being conveyed to us in that way. It's also, if you remember back to Solomon's temple, and I'll read you in 1 Kings chapter 6, that the Holy of Holies was a perfect cube. So that might be some, you know, here's God's very presence with his people for all of eternity. And it's much like the Holy of Holies, which is God's presence with his people. 1 Kings 6.20, the inner sanctuary was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, 20 cubits high, overlaid with pure gold. It was a cube. And here, the city of God, the New Jerusalem, is a cube. So that might be the symbolism there. There's also some symbolism in the wall here. It mentions 144 cubits, which you have the 12 apostles, you have 12 tribes, 12 times 12 is 144. So you're back to all this symbolic language that we see in this style of writing. Holman writes this about the city, if it's literal. which I'm more leaning towards as figurative. But if you take a literal interpretation, this will give you a little bit more of a picture of what we got here. So Holman writes, each side of the city measured 12,000 stadia, about 1,400 miles. That would be the distance from Dallas to Los Angeles. Can you imagine that? And then that's cubed? Same height? Is that literal? If it's literal, how many floors going up into the sky? And this is descending from heaven, from God. He built this city. And I think all the stones, in my opinion, and I'm not going to go through and try. Some people try to find symbolism in every different type of stone. One thing you'll see here is it's very similar to the breastplate of the high priest. Stones are a little bit different. I think nine of the 12 or so are both on the breastplate, and mentioned here, some of the stones are a little bit different. So it's hard to say definitively, but it does conjure up a thought of the high priest and the breastplate, where he would seek the will of God in some form or fashion. But I think it does describe almost an indescribable beauty. of the city, whatever it is. And the Bible says that no mind has even conceived the things God has in store for the ones he loves. And I believe that. So even though he gives us these tidbits and tastes, this is kind of what it looks like. I mean, the stuff we pursue on this earth is just parts of the city. This stuff that people rob banks for to get gold is just the pavement and glory. It's all the ridiculousness. And that's why I think the writer says, Since all these things are going to be gone, how should you live your life? Well, we should live our life for things that are eternal, right? The Bible says in the book of Hebrews, we're going to receive a kingdom that can't be shaken. That's this kingdom. It can't be shaken. It's permanent. God lives there. So what is not there is not there because it's not needed. And let me read the last of the chapter, chapter 21, verse 22 to 27. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light. And the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day. There is no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life." There's no temple there. Can I go as far as to say there's no churches? You don't need church. The entire city is church. It's 24-7 church. I mean, the Lord is there. His glory is illuminating. And maybe that's part of the translucence and the transparency of all these stones is the glory of God shining through everything. Could you imagine that? Just rainbows everywhere. That's the picture in the presence of God. God and the Lamb himself is our light. It's church all the time. We don't need a temple. That is the temple. It says that God himself is the temple. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. We're truly worshiping for the first time without any taint of sin, purely giving our worship to the Lord, constantly. There's no sun or moon. Why? Because they're not needed. We don't need a sun or a moon. Remember in the book of Genesis, God talks about making the sun as light and making the moon as a lesser light. It's still reflected, the light of the sun, so we get some light at night and whatnot. We don't need that. It's not necessary anymore. The new creation doesn't need a sun or a moon. Isaiah chapter 60 verse 19 says, The sun shall no longer be your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you, but the Lord will be to you an everlasting light, and your God your glory. Your sun shall no longer go down, nor shall your moon withdraw itself, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. All tears are gone. God is the light. We don't need the moon or the sun. We also don't need locks or bolts. The gate's open all the time. It's always open. It's almost a symbol that we're always welcome there. The gate's always open. My door's always open to you. You ever hear anybody say that? It just means you're always welcome to come over and visit. No locks, no bolts. It's never night. We'll never see night again because God's glory will constantly be brilliantly shining. Read that in 1 John, right? God is light, right? And him is no darkness at all, right? 1 John 1. Nothing will ever defile the city. We'll never hear about problems on the other side of town. You came from the wrong side of the tracks. There are no wrong side of the tracks. It's all glorious, right? Nothing that opposes God will ever enter this city, and truth shall reign. That's why he mentions over and over, there's no lie. No liars, no lie. Truth shall reign, right? And I believe we'll enter the school of God when we get to glory, and we will spend all of eternity learning Him more deeply and fully, but never exhaustively, because He's God. And anybody that loves the Bible, loves the Lord through His Word, and loves studying His Word because you're studying God, that's what theology is, you'll be entranced in glory, studying God and learning from Him. Actually hearing Jesus tell you parables and stories and truth, sitting at His feet, at the feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, right? Hearing these things. It's going to be altogether marvelous. Hebrews 11.10 says that Abraham was waiting for that city, the city that we just read about, that we just described. It says, for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. That's this city. That's what Abraham was waiting for. It says of the patriarchs in Hebrews 11.13, these all died in the faith, not having received the promises. But having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth. They saw that city from afar, just like we are today. And they said, that's my home. This place is my home. I'm just a pilgrim. I'm just passing through here. One day I'll be in that home. I'm not there yet, but He's promised it to me. And because of Jesus and His grace and His cross and His resurrection, He's going to bring me there. One day. He'll have the city come to us, if you will. Hebrews 11, 16 says, but now they desire a better that is a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. Dr. Paul Kretzmann writes in his commentary, One thing stands out beyond the slightest doubt. There will be such glory, such beauty, such splendor, as cannot be reached even by the fondest of most daring imaginations of man. Everything will be light, clear, full of ineffable glory. All the ways of God will be manifest before our eyes, and one miracle after the other will be revealed to us. That's a good picture. One miracle after the other. You know, God loves surprises. I like, I can't remember the author's name, but he speaks of how God, when he created the world, said, won't the children love this? When they stand at the edge of this canyon, won't they glorify me when they stand there and see what I've created for them? Oh, look at this I made for the children. All these marvelous things. You don't think that's going to continue in glory? That God's going to say, I've got a surprise for you guys today. And something we could never imagine, he'll just do. And we'll praise him and give him glory for it. Jesus said in John 14, in my father's house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you. I love that he says that. If this wasn't true, I would have told you. I'm not going to lie to you. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." And I get great solace that I heard a theologian one time say, Jesus didn't pray prayers that didn't get answered. And if you want to read a great prayer, go to John 17, right? Great high priestly prayer. And in John 17, 24, Jesus prayed this, Father, I desire that they also, whom you gave me, may be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world. Jesus prayed that about you. And he prayed that about me. Father, I want you to bring them to where I am, that they can behold my glory. We'll behold his glory in the celestial city, because he is our light. And that's the Shekinah glory, the glory of his very essence, of who he is as God. Philippians 3.20 says, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Right? This isn't our home, guys. I praise God He gave me a house. I mean, I've got to stain it and clean it up. And I'm going to take a week off work just to try to keep it from falling apart. I've got work to do around the house. But that's not my permanent abode. That's just a little place that God's let me live in while I live in this earthly tent, waiting to be not unclothed, Paul says, but further clothed with our glorified selves, our glorified bodies. I want to read you a little bit of a quote, and this is where I'm going to close. We're just about done, so hang in there. But this is a quote from Thomas Boston, a great, great preacher of old. And he wrote a little pamphlet called The Glory of Heaven. And this is what he wrote, a little piece of it, anyway. Many of the saint's duties will be laid aside as one gives his staff out of his hand when he comes to the end of his journey. Praying shall then be turned to praising. And there being no sin to confess, no wants to seek the supply of, confession and petition shall be swallowed up in everlasting thanksgiving. There will be no mourning in heaven. They have sown in tears the reaping time of joy is come, and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes." No need of mortification there. Self-examination, that's at an end. They will not need to watch anymore. The danger is all over. Patience has had its perfect work. There's no use for it there. Faith is turned into sight. and hope is swallowed up in an ocean of sensible, full enjoyment. All the rebels are subdued, and the saints quietly sit on their throne, and so the forces, needful in the time of spiritual warfare, are all disbanded, and they carry on their triumph in the profoundest of peace. They will have an eternal rest with uninterrupted joy, for heaven is not a resting place where men may sleep out an eternity. There they rest not day or night, but their work is their rest and continual recreation, and toil and weariness have no place there. They rest in their God, who is the center of their souls. Here they find the completion or satisfaction of all their desires, having the full enjoyment of God and uninterrupted communion with Him. This is the point onto which, till the soul comes, it will always be restless. But that point reached, it rests. And he is at the last end, and the soul can go no further. It cannot understand, will, nor desire more, but in him it has what is commeasurable to the boundless desires. This is the happy end of all of our labors of the saints. Their toil and sorrows issue into a joyful rest." Let me give you one more scripture and then I'll close. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Our Father and our God, I pray that you'd use this text of scripture and what feeble words I added to try to explain it, Lord, and just let that marinate in our minds, Lord, that we would contemplate and meditate upon that place to which you are bringing us, Lord, that we would hold the things of this world loosely, Lord, that we would turn from those things that offend you, and set our sight on glory. We thank you for that, Lord. In Jesus name. Amen. Receive the blessing of the Lord. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Go the peace of Christ Jesus to a world that desperately needs to hear the gospel.