Revelation chapter 21 begins. The creation of a new heaven and a new earth. This new heaven and a new earth will have as its focal point a new city called the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem will be the residence of God the Father and God the Son. It will also be the residence of all the glorified saints from the Old Testament time, Israel, down through the New Testament period in the church age. The new earth will be the residence also of a great host of people in addition to the glorified saints from Israel and the church, the tribulation. The new Jerusalem is of particular interest to you and to me as part of the church, because that is the destiny of those who have believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. If you have trusted Christ as your Savior, what we're going to consider today is a description of the place that Christ has prepared for you to live in the presence of his father for all eternity. In John 14, Jesus said, in my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. In Philippians chapter 3 and verse 20, Paul reminds the Philippians that their citizenship is not in this world. But their citizenship is in heaven, and it's from heaven that they are eagerly awaiting the return of the Savior. Turn back to the book of Hebrews, the 11th chapter. The New Jerusalem, which is the destiny of glorified saints for all eternity, is mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 as what Abraham, the Old Testament saint who lived some 2,000 years before Christ, had as the focal point of his life. In Hebrews chapter 11, beginning with verse 9, we're referring to Abraham when we say, by faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." Abraham had all the promises of God that he and his descendants would own and possess the land of Palestine. But Abraham never had a city constructed there. He lived his entire life in tents as a nomad. But he had his eyes fixed on the promise that God had given. He was looking for the city that God would provide, that God would build. That's where he would reside. Down in verse 16 of chapter 11, referring to other Old Testament saints. But as it is, they desire a better country. That is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. A city for them. A place for them to dwell together in His presence forever. In chapter 12 of Hebrews, verse 22, contrasting Mount Sinai, where the law was given, with now Mount Zion, Verse 22, But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. That's where we are going. That's where we belong. The heavenly Jerusalem. Note who is at the heavenly Jerusalem. Myriads of angels, the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. To God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant. You see who will be residing at the New Jerusalem? Myriads of angels, the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn. That's you and I, members of the Church of Jesus Christ. God the Father will reside there. The spirits of righteous men made perfect. Old Testament saints and tribulation saints, and Jesus Christ also, the One who has made provision by His blood for our redemption. In chapter 13 of Hebrews, verse 14, a reminder to us as the people of God, For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. You see, you and I are supposed to be living the way that Abraham did. Not that we have to live in tents, but we have to live with that mentality. We don't belong here. Our citizenship is not on this earth in this present world. What we have now is transitory. We're simply passing through. We are on our way anticipating a city that God has built for us. And we are to live accordingly. That's what we're talking about when we come over to Revelation chapter 21. In the time span, we have had the thousand year reign of Christ on the earth. The judgment of the wicked has taken place. Now as chapter 21 opens up, God creates a new earth and a new heaven. And then down out of heaven comes a glorious new city, the new Jerusalem, in verse 2. The splendor of a bride adorned for her husband. And it is this city that will be the residence of God and His glorified saints. Verse 3 said, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them. What an awesome concept! That we shall dwell in the very presence of God, for all eternity. It is this splendid new city and the glory that is characteristic of this city that is the subject of verses 9 down through verse 5 of chapter 22. So you begin with chapter 21, verse 9, down to chapter 22, verse 5. And it all ties into a description of this new Jerusalem. Characteristics of the city, the glory that is characteristic of this city. You know, in Second Corinthians, chapter four, the Apostle Paul concludes that chapter by talking about physical suffering. He's going to go on to talk about the death of a Christian. But at the end of chapter four of Second Corinthians, in verse 17, he says, for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Now, I want you to have that fixed in your mind, that what God has prepared for us is glory, weighty glory, that makes the sufferings of this life seem as nothing. It's a glory that is far beyond all comparison. There are some who study the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and say that could not be a literal city. They can come up with all kind of reasons why that couldn't be a literal city. But I want you to remember as we study it, that is a city prepared for a new earth and a new heaven. It is a city characterized by the glory of an infinitely glorious God. that we are destined to share in that glory, a glory which is far beyond all comparison. You see, the difficulty we have is how do we relate to this glory, which is beyond anything we could compare it to? Certain of the descriptive things here will be clear. But when we're done with our consideration of the New Jerusalem, you could not draw a picture of it. It cannot be reduced So what we can tangibly put together today, it just don't know how it had all been. But the one impression you have when you're done is this is a glory that I just cannot wait not only to see, but to be part of the new Jerusalem. Look at verse nine of Revelation 21. He's introduced this subject in the first eight verses of chapter 21, the general overview of eternity. Now, let's go back and concentrate on the New Jerusalem, which is the center of the new earth and which is the dwelling place of the glorified saints. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the lamb, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last place. Now, if you had just Jumped on our study of Revelation might seem the seven bowls, seven last plagues, seven angels. What are we talking about? But those of us who have studied Revelation know exactly what we're talking about, don't we? Yes, we do. In chapter 16 of Revelation, we had the seven last judgments poured out on the earth. By the seven last angels, So, chapter 16, verse 1, I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, go pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth. These seven angels went. Each had a bowl. Remember, when they turned over their bowl and spilled it out, the contents were judgment. When you get to chapter 17, verse 1, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me. So there's a continuity. All of what we're considering through chapter 22, verse 5, is connected to this final unfolding. of God's plan. That's why the same seven angels in chapter 16 are used. Chapter 17, verse one, one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters. And the great harlot was the harlot city, Babylon, subject of chapter 17 and 18, which was Sainton's final dramatic climactic attempt to counterfeit The New Jerusalem that God would construct on the earth. It's a harlot city, a city of boredom that we considered in some detail. Now, in chapter twenty one, one of those seven angels comes and says to John, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb. What a contrast with the harlot. Now, the bride city, as we noted, this is the New Jerusalem. was mentioned in verse 2 as coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband. That connects the thought back to chapter 19, verses 7 and 8, where the church was seen as the bride of Christ, adorned in white, depicting the righteous deeds of the saints. The church that is joined with Christ in the invitation in chapter 22, to come partake of the water of life at no cost. The New Jerusalem is adorned as a bride. It's the bride city. It is the residence of the bride, the church of Jesus Christ. This is the city where you and I will dwell in his presence. It comes down out of heaven in verse two. It's seen coming down out of heaven again in verse ten. And we noted in our previous study, this city may have already existed in the presence of God in heaven. Now it comes down out of heaven and will be established on the earth. It has foundations indicating it will be established here on the earth. Verse 10, he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. We noted even though we have a new earth, a new heaven, a new Jerusalem, there is connection to the old. It is called a new earth. a new heaven, a new Jerusalem. The old earthly Jerusalem in both the Old and New Testament, remember, was called the Holy City. The new Jerusalem is called the Holy City. Even though it is new, there are connections back to the old. In this new Jerusalem will be fulfilled all the promises, all the prophecies given concerning Jerusalem and the nation Israel in the Old Testament. We've seen that in the millennium. But that is not the end, because they were promised an eternal kingdom, and Jerusalem to be an eternal city. Now we come to the final realization of that. It's coming down out of heaven from God. The same thing that was said in verse 2. Verse 3, having the glory of God. God himself dwells in this city we saw in verse three. So his glory and his splendor fills the city. The glory here is indescribable. What do you say? It has the glory of God. This is the infinitely glorious God. This is the eternal God, the one who is glorious beyond description. This city has his glory. How do you describe it? It is described, but when it's all done, I say, well, I can't imagine. I can't even picture it. Well, there's a reason it has his glory. There's another reason that we're told it has his glory. God has been preparing the way for this city down through time. Turn back to Exodus chapter 40. Here we have had the tabernacle constructed when Israel come out of Egypt, they constructed a tabernacle according to God's instructions. This would be the worship center of Israel. This would be the place where God would manifest his presence among the nation. In the tabernacle, there was the place where God would meet with his people. There was the division into two parts, the holy place and the holy of holies. The holy of holies was the place of God's presence. It contained the Ark of the Covenant and the mercy seat. One note, verse 34. Verse 33 tells us he erected the court around the tabernacle, the place where God is going to meet with Israel. Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle and Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. You see there, this is the place where God is going to dwell among his people. where God will meet with his people. So here his presence is manifested in glory, so much so that even Moses can't come in when his glory is fully displayed. Come over to 1 Kings, chapter 8. Five or six hundred years have gone by. Solomon, the son of David, is now building his glorious temple as the center of worship in Jerusalem. And in first Kings chapter eight verse ten. It came about when the priest came from the holy place that the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand the minister because of the cloud for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. That's the picture. We come into the New Testament. You remember in John's Gospel, chapter 1, verse 14, the word referring to Christ became flesh and dwelt among us. That word to dwell is the word for tabernacle. The word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we beheld his glory. Glory is of the only begotten from the Father. What happened? Now the glory of God's presence among men dwelt in a human body. You and I, our physical bodies, we are temples of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verse 19. In 1 Corinthians chapter 3, the church as a group is the temple of God where he's manifest his presence in this day. All of this anticipating the time when the new Jerusalem will be on earth. And it will be the place of the full manifestation of the glorious presence of God, and we will be able to live in that presence because we will be in glorified bodies. Living in the presence of that glory, that's the picture as you come back to Revelation chapter 21. Verse 11, her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal clear jasper. There's a brilliance, a shining, a luminance that characterizes this city because of the presence of God. The description that begins here and continues down really through verse 21, but really down into chapter 22, has caused some commentators to deny that this could be a literal city. Let me read you some comments that I jotted down from different commentators who may be reliable believers. But when it comes to prophecy like this, they say you have to spiritualize it. Comments like this. No man can suppose that this is literally true. And the idea of a city literally descending from heaven is absurd. Why is that absurd? God says there's a city descending from heaven. Why would we say that's absurd? Well, he does. Another one writes, literally, there never was, is not now and never will be such a city. That depresses me only for a minute, because I think they're wrong. But, you know, if I stop and think I read this and I read the city, John saw a city, a city in which God dwells, so it's different from God, separate from God. It's not God. It's a city in which God dwells. It's a city in which the people of God dwell, as we'll see. So it's not the people of God that are described here because the people of God dwell in this city. It's the city that Abraham was looking toward. The Old Testament saints were looking toward the city in which the angels dwell, the church dwells, God the Father dwells, redeemed Old Testament saints dwell, Jesus Christ dwells. Now you tell me this literal city never will exist. I begin to get concerned about the rest of the word. Why wouldn't it? Well, how would we Picture such a city. Well, then we get into mind. Remember, we're going to glory beyond comparison. We're going to describe a city that is fit for the eternal dwelling of God himself. How are you going to fit that into my little mind or your little mind? These finite minds, we can't do it. I believe what John saw here was a literal city described actually and correctly. And it gives me some peek into the glory that God has prepared for those who love him. But no, I couldn't sit down and have an architect draw it out, an artist depict it. Why? As soon as you reduced it to that finite realm, you'd have boxed off the infinite glory that characterizes it. So it has the brilliance of a stone, crystal clear jasper. Precious stone. There's a radiance about the whole city. We'll see some of the details, but just describe the city as whole. It just glows because God is glorious. OK, verse 12, let's get into some of the details of the description of the city. It had a great high wall. Now, why the wall? All the wicked are gone. But you have to define off the city because this city does not encompass the whole new earth. This city dwells on the new earth. So there has to be some defining boundaries for the city. The walls mark off the boundaries of that city. We'll see more about the walls and their dimensions. It had great and a high wall going around the whole city. There are twelve gates going into the city. Twelve angels standing at each gate. Well, they're no wicked. Why do you need angels? Well, even today, if you go to certain parts of the world where they do ceremonial things, you have ceremonial guards to pick something of the royalty of the situation. That's the picture here. It's an awesome scene that angels attend in the presence of God. This is the city in which God dwells. Would you not expect the entrance to the city to have angels? present at each gate. It's an awesome scene. The gates have names written on them. There's 12 gates. Each gate has a name. Note this. Names are written on them, which are those of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel. Now you ought to mark that in your Bible, underline it or highlight it, however you mark your Bible. Here we have moved into eternity, but Israel as a nation has not lost its identity. Some people would have us believe today that God is done with Israel. The church is Israel today. It's a spiritual group, not a physical group, but I get into eternity. I find a city and has 12 gates on each gate is the name of one of the tribes of Israel. They have not lost their identity. In fact, this marks off the fact that this city. Is a city associated with Israel and the 12 tribes of Israel, so even in eternity. Israel maintains its distinct identity. There are three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south and three gates on the west, according to verse 13. One other thing that's noted here, then, even in eternity, we have directions north, south, east, west. Has nothing to do with the way I moved my hands when I said those, you know. But in eternity, we'll still have direction. You know, some people think we get to eternity. It's just one big blob. You know, it's just eternity. Everything's dissolved and we're there. But we'll be there, and there we'll look into gates, and there's going to be the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. And there we'll be able to say, oh, that's the north part of the city. That's the south part of the city. That's on the east side of the city. Oh, those gates, they're on the west side. There'll be directions that will be utilized. Verse fourteen, the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones. We're going to see has a huge area and the foundation under the city, and it can be one of two ways. There's twelve foundation stones. These stones will be described in verses 19 and 20. Each foundation stone is a precious stone. It could be there side by side, three on each side going down, so side by side, three precious stones on each side, or it could be they are layered. One layer of this precious stone, one layer of this precious stone, one layer of this precious stone. We're not told which way it is, but the fact of the matter is the foundation is 12 stones. So see, we get 19 and 20. They are precious stones. The names of the 12 apostles are inscribed on each stone. So you're going to have each of the 12 apostles. Inscribed is going to be Matthias is going to be Paul. I think it's probably Matthias, but either way, the twelve apostles are there. Ephesians 220 tells us that the church is being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. I take it the presence of the apostles here as the foundation of this city are an indication of the presence of the church here. Because they are associated with the founding of the church. the building of the church. It's their ministry that is foundational for the New Jerusalem, because what? The apostles were the eyewitness of the resurrection of Christ. They went to proclaim his death to pay the penalty for sins, to call people to repentance because the Savior, the Messiah had died, been raised from the dead. And it is the finished work of Christ that enables the creation to be redeemed. So it's fitting that the apostles form the foundation But they are men uniquely connected with the establishing of the church. You know, here we haven't had the twelve tribes and the twelve apostles just get blended somewhere along the line or just become a bland group of twenty four because there's one people. Just the twenty four represent all the people of God. No, we have twelve for Israel. We have the twelve apostles connection with the church. Don't think we get to eternity now, just everything's blotted clean and then it's just something we don't know anything about. We have real connections, a new earth, a new heaven, a new Jerusalem, gates connecting it to Jerusalem, foundation connecting it to the apostles in the church. Now it's going to be measured. Verse 15, the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its wall. Now, gold measuring rod. We do symbolic things today. We had groundbreaking a couple of weeks ago. We painted the shovels gold. Why do we do that? You're going to put the last spike in the railroad when it's completed. Well, it has to be made out of something special. The gold measuring rod. You see, this is the city, the dwelling of God. The city itself is pure gold. You don't measure it with a wooden stick to pick something of the value and importance of what is about to be measured. We're going to measure the city, its gates, its wall, everything's going to be included here. The city is laid out as a square. Its length is as great as its width. He measured the city with a rod, 1500 miles. Its length, width and height are equal. So now we find the city is a cube. Has the same dimensions on all sides and also its height. This is why some people get into the quandary and say, well, look, you know, you say how many square miles in New York City? But you don't ask how high is New York City. What do you mean how high? You mean how high is the highest building in New York City? How high is New York City? Well, I don't know. Maybe there is for airspace and so on a certain height. But this city is blocked off. The base, each side is equal and its height is equal. Now, some hold that it may be a pyramid, whereas then you would have the sides of the square base and then the height. Because in chapter twenty two, we find the throne of God and the river coming out from the throne running through the city. So it could be at the point of the pyramid running through the city. That may be so, but I tend to think that it is a cube as presented here. That would seem to be the idea in the way you read it. And there is an important connection in the Old Testament back to first Kings chapter six in connection with Solomon's construction of his temple. First Corinthians, chapter six. Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So remember, the inner sanctuary, where the Ark was, was you had the center of the temple, and the outer part of it was called the holy place. Then within was the Holy of Holies. That's the inner sanctuary where the Ark of the Covenant is. Note verse 20. The inner sanctuary was 20 cubits in length, 20 cubits in width, 20 cubits in height. And he overlaid it with pure gold. Note that the Holy of Holies in the temple constructed by Solomon, according to the plan of God, was a cube. The same around the sides, the same height. What that was was a little mini picture of the glorious holy of holies, the New Jerusalem, because that's what the holy of holies is, where God resides and manifest his presence among his people. Where will that be in the new earth? The New Jerusalem. That's where God resides. So I take it what we have here is the true holy of holies. And you'll note while you're in first Kings chapter six, the rest of verse 20, he overlaid it with pure gold. We're going to see this entire city, the New Jerusalem is pure gold. In fact, the city, the gold of the New Jerusalem is so pure that it's transparent like glass. Verses 21 and 22 of first King six, everything associated is gold. I think what we have there is a little mini miniature. 20 cubits by 20 cubits versus 1500 miles by 1500 miles in a cubit about 18 inches. So you get an idea of what the size of that holy of holies was. God dwells among men, among his people. This is the holy of holies. Heaven has come to earth. This is truly the city of God. These dimensions are staggering. Fifteen hundred miles. And how you have a city with 1,500 miles height and all that, I don't know. But keep in mind, we're on the New Earth. Glorified people are dwelling here. How that all works out, I don't know, but that doesn't intimidate me or surprise me. 1,500 miles, that's about from here to the West Coast or from Denver to the East Coast, gives you about how far the base of that is. It'll be a square and it'll be that high. Back to Revelation 21. Verse 17, the measurement of the wall is 72 yards. Now, you know, I love the way God deals with. What would come up and we know we'd come up with some people would say with these dimensions, well, you realize it was an angel measuring this. So that's why the dimensions are so large, because we're dealing with angels measurements. We don't have any idea how that relates to human measurements. Well, that question is resolved in verse 17. Human measurements and angelic measurements are the same. 1,500 miles in angelic miles is 1,500 miles in human miles. One commentator I was reading said that is 7 million feet. If you like to go feet rather than miles, the wall is 72 yards. What I read said that was 216 feet high. Well, if the wall is 7 million feet high. And the wall is 216 feet. That's obviously a little bit of difference. So probably what we're dealing with here is the wall's width, not its height. And that would have some support in the description of the millennial temple and city in Ezekiel 40 to 48. The temple and city in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 is not the same as this city. which has no temple, as we'll see. But the millennial temple and city anticipated this city. So the description in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 of Ezekiel, for example, in chapter 40 of Ezekiel, in the closing verses there, we find that the city had three gates on each side, 12 gates, each one named for a tribe of Israel. That's why some people say, oh, this must be the same city, that millennial city. No, this is the new Jerusalem. But it's connected. It's the new Jerusalem which connects it to the old Jerusalem. It just has a glory and splendor that totally overwhelms the old Jerusalem. But there are similarities. It has 12 gates around it, just like the millennial Jerusalem will have 12 gates around it. The 12 tribes of Israel will be named on those gates, just like that city did. And that city had a wall, and its width is laid out for us. And this city has a wall, its width is laid out for us. It's 72 yards wide, 216 feet wide. And the material of the wall was jasper. And the city was pure gold like clear glass. In chapter 4 of Revelation, verse 3, we will go back there, God sitting on the throne is described as like jasper. In verse 11 of chapter 21, this city had the appearance of crystal clear jasper. It seems the picture here is the radiance of that city. Here the wall is like jasper, crystal clear, transparent, and the glorious radiance of God shines through. So it's not a wall that closes off. or hides, but it's a wall that the wall itself radiates the splendor of this city. The city was pure gold. Remember in First Kings chapter six, the Holy of Holies, that cube, the tabernacle, what? Overlaid with pure gold. Now this whole city, 1500 miles by 1500 miles by 1500 miles, all pure gold. So pure it's like clear glass. The foundation stones are enumerated in verses 19 and 20. Every kind of precious stone. First foundation stone, Jasper, second, Sapphire, third, Chalcedony, fourth, Emerald, and so on. Again, we don't know whether these are vertical side by side around the city or layered one on top of the other. But the picture here is the different colors of these precious stones. In their complete purity, the colors radiating out, the beauty of it will be overwhelming. Remember in 1 Peter chapter 3, Peter writes that the different gifts we have among ourselves as believers are evidences of a multifaceted or multicolored grace of God. And here we see these multicolored stones, precious stones in the foundation. The multifaceted grace of our God displayed in its full beauty. You could get a dictionary or a commentary and go through. I'm not going to go through and try to sort out the different colors. Some of these stones we're not as sure on as others regarding their actual color, but the diversity of color. As the foundation for a city that's pure gold with a wall around it, that's crystal clear would be overwhelming. The gate into the city, verse 21, the twelve gates were twelve pearls. Each one of the gates was a single pearl. Again, some people say, well, you know, that's just not possible in a real city. Well, it may not be possible in a real city on this earth, but you get into the new earth. Would you say that it's not possible for there to be a gate made out of a solid pearl in heaven? Well, keep in mind, the New Jerusalem really brings heaven to earth. That our God would not have the gates into his city so magnificent? Why not? A single pearl forms each gate. The street of the city? Same as the rest of the city. Pure gold, so pure it's like transparent glass. It has the depth and the clarity. That's the city. Now, you get to that description so far and say, well, let's start to draw it. How would you? You know, everything you do begins to reduce it to the point that our finite minds can grapple with. And something of that glory that's described here is washed away. I'm not saying I have any problem with people who have tried to do that. I'm just saying it's impossible. Because that's the picture here, I think it's a literal picture of a little city when we see it, I see now I see it. Look, there's the foundation stones just as they were described. There's the gate solid, just like they were described. Look at that wall, just like it was described. But how I would reduce that now to a picture why that would put it down into the realm of the finite limited to this earth and the glory we're going to see as we saw in second Corinthians 417 is beyond compare. There's nothing to relate it to ultimately in its fullness. Verse 22, I saw no temple in it. Now, the old city Jerusalem had a temple in it, where God was worshipped. But this new Jerusalem has no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. You see, this whole city is the residence of God. His glory fills the whole city. The whole city is the Holy of Holies. This will be the focal point of worshipping. The eternal God for all eternity. And it's the place where you and I reside. You note here, the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple, it boggles my mind that some people do not see the deity of Christ clearly portrayed in Scripture. I mean, how would this read to say the Lord God, the Almighty and Gil Rue are its temple? I mean, it's either humorous or blasphemous. Let me just compare. I mean, the whole point is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Because they are God and God resides here, the city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine upon it for the glory of God has illuminated its lamp is the lamp. You need no sun. You need no moon. Because God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. And the beauty of His luminous character shines out and fills the city. You think in heaven they have to turn on lights? No. My God is there. He fills the place with His glory, the light of His presence. You know, there are analogies and pictures that prepare the way for this Throughout the Scripture, we don't have time to develop. In Matthew 5, where Jesus says, you are the light of the world. John talks about, he is the light. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. He came into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the light. In 1 John 1, he develops that analogy also. God is light and him is no darkness at all. We, representing God, we are the temple of God today, both as individuals, where our bodies are the temple, as we noted in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19, and the church in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, are described as the temple of God, where God the Holy Spirit resides. So we are to give off the light of the glory of his presence wherever we go. We make him known. We reveal him, but this is all anticipating the final realization. These are just many pictures of what is before, but is it a picture to be seen just like that little holy of holies portrayed the ultimate holy of holies that would reside on Earth someday is the New Jerusalem. So you and I individually and this church is to be a light in the world, giving off the light of the knowledge of God in every place. That's just a mini-picture of someday the full light of the glorious presence of God will reside on earth, unhindered and unveiled in any way. Let me summarize, verses 24 to 27. We're going to pick up some information on this next week, but I want you to have this completed picture. Verse 24 tells us that this city will give off its light to the whole earth. The nation shall walk by its light. The kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. So, you know, not everybody has this city as their permanent residence. There are nations and there are kings living outside the city, but the light of the city gives light to the earth. Now we know something else. We saw that Israel maintains its distinct identity even into eternity. The church maintains its distinct identity even into eternity. The nations will exist in eternity. They will have kings over them. Even that time when the Holy of Holies dwells on this earth, the magnificent New Jerusalem, there will be nations and kings on the earth. We'll talk about their identity in our next study. There'll be no nighttime, because the gates are never closed in the daytime and there is no nighttime, so the gates are always open. So you see, there's free access from the earth into this city. The nations and the kings will bring their offerings and gifts to honor and exalt God into the city where he resides. They'll bring the honor and the glory of the nations into it. But there's a reminder, nothing unclean, no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it. It doesn't mean they're on the earth and able to come in. This is the same kind of warning as we had back in chapter 21, verse eight, where all the wicked are cast into the lake of fire. The entrance into this city, life on the new earth is a privilege only of those whose names are in the Lamb's book. of life, we are told in verse 27. That's something of the picture. We'll develop it a little more in our next study, and then we'll move into chapter 22, and we get some concept of how are we going to function in eternity. The picture thus far is clear, is it not? I'm not saying we understand it all. We can put it all together. But do you come away with anything other than a sense that this is overwhelmingly glorious? That is going to go beyond what you could imagine or compare. Now, I want you with that to remember verse twenty seven, there will be people who will not have any part in this city. Remember last week we talked about two gates, two ways, two destinies. You think about that, believer, every person you come in contact with, we rub shoulders with people all the time. Are they on their way to the glorious New Jerusalem or are they on their way to the Lake of Fire? What a contrast. Every person in this auditorium on their way to the Lake of Fire or to the New Jerusalem. What a tragedy that some are closed out. Why? God has provided redemption and salvation. By having his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. He has said, Repent or perish. God today is calling all everywhere to repent. He has made a provision that is sufficient for you to experience his salvation, be forgiven your sins and have the anticipation of the new Jerusalem as your glorious destiny. The tragedy is there will be people who will never come into that city because they will be in the lake of fire. Why? They did not repent of their sins and believe in the Savior. For you and I as believers, What are we today? We are little temples, if you will. This church is a little temple. It is to be a symbol and a prefiguring of the new Jerusalem, because God dwells here, not in this physical building, but among us as his people. In us as his people. And we are to be giving off the radiance of the beauty of his character. We are to be living with the focus that Abraham had. He was not tied here. He was not focused here. He was looking for the city built by God. That's the way we are to be living. Holding everything loosely. Not absorbed or focused here. Focused on this glorious city. And giving off the radiance of the glory of the knowledge of God every place we go. To every place God sends us. To every person we have contact. It's to be the natural process. God resides here. Should his presence not fill every place we go? Sometimes there's a limiting barrier, you and I, but what a privilege, what a glorious destiny, you know, if I remind myself of that destiny, if I keep it before me, it puts this life in perspective. I have loved ones who have already gone. They're in the New Jerusalem, I take it in heaven. That's all right. They just got a little head start. But we're all going to be there together as the redeemed someday. Remember, when Christ descends in the clouds and catches us up to meet Him in the air, we shall ever be with the Lord. And He dwells in the New Jerusalem. That's glory. Makes the sufferings, the difficulties, and the things of this life seem as nothing. May God give us the grace, and may we avail ourselves of that grace to live consistent with the glory that he has prepared for us. Let's pray together. Thank you, Father, for who you are. Thank you for your greatness, your majesty, your glory. Father, our minds are so small. We grasp so little. Yet, it's fitting that we would dwell upon the glory that you've described. It would fill our minds with the beauty of the new Jerusalem. that our hearts would be thrilled with the anticipation of glory in your presence, of sharing in the glory of your presence with our redeemed loved ones. And Lord, we're burdened for those who are on the road to the lake of fire. Lord, by your grace, may they see themselves as lost, vile in their sin, May they repent of their sin and turn to Jesus Christ. Claim your mercy and believe that he died for them. That they might know what it is to be cleansed. To become the temple of the living God. And to have a destiny of indescribable glory. We give you all the praise for all that we are and all that we ever shall be in Christ's name. Amen.