The Beauty of Heaven

Revelation chapter 21.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

You know, heaven's going to be amazing

for all of those who are in Christ Jesus

when we leave this life.

I believe that'll be instantaneous

based on what Scripture tells me.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

And I believe it'll be glorious.

I believe it'll be beyond our imagination

and it'll be better than whatever it is you expect.

It's going to be better.

It's better than any language can describe.

I want you to understand when Christ

or when God through his word

tries to tell us

how dark wickedness is

or how glorious heaven is

or how abundant, abundant life is,

it's limited

to our vocabulary

and our frail, fallible minds.

So we only get a glimpse

of the darkness as well as the light

because there's only so much

that we can fathom.

And it's important that we understand that

when we turn to a book like Revelation

and especially Revelation 21

because if you want to know

what we can know

about heaven here,

Revelation 21 is the best place to go.

And I began sharing that last week

and today I want to share with you

my favorite part of it.

There are a lot of thoughts about heaven

that are not biblical.

They're kind of cutesy.

They may be comforting.

They're just not biblical.

No one has ever died

because God wanted another angel

in his garden.

If that gives you comfort, I'm glad.

It's just not true.

It's not true.

Because we don't become angels

when we die.

You are not angelic here.

And if you don't believe me,

ask whoever you rode with.

And you will not be there.

We'll be complete.

We'll be perfected.

But we will not be angels

or as some people spell it, angles.

We will not be.

If you are a child of God,

you'll be glorified

and you'll be changed.

If you're a child of God,

you have something that angels do not have.

And that is redemption.

An old hymn says,

holy, holy is what the angels sing.

And I expect to help them

make the courts of heaven ring.

But when I sing redemption story,

they'll fold their wings

for angels never felt the joy

that our salvation brings.

We've got something they don't.

Instead, as Psalm 40, verse 2 and 3 tell us,

Psalms 40:2

we sing the song of the redeemed.

That he drew me out

from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

He put a new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the Lord.

The song of the redeemed

can only be sung by the children of God.

And you don't want to die

and become an angel.

And that's good

because you're not going to be.

Instead, the imperfect saint

will be made perfect,

glorified in the presence of God

with all of the advantages

that come with the promise of eternity.

But let's read about it.

Last week, we read the entirety,

I believe, of Revelation 21,

or at least, no, not all of it,

but almost all of it.

I just want to read a portion

this morning, though.

It's Revelation 21,

beginning in verse 22,

and it says this,

And I saw no temple in the city,

for its temple is the Lord God,

the Almighty, and the Lamb.

And the city had no need

of sun or moon to shine on it,

for the glory of God gives its light.

And its lamp is the Lamb.

By its light will the nations walk,

and the kings of the earth

will bring their glory into it.

And its gates will never be shut by day,

and there'll be no night there.

They will bring into it

the glory and the honor of the nations.

But nothing unclean will ever enter it,

nor anyone who does

what is detestable or false,

but only those who are written

in the Lamb's book of life.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus, I ask today

that you will give comfort

to the Christian today.

There may be some who are struggling,

dear God.

I pray, dear God,

that our future will be a comfort

even today.

Lord, for anyone here

who's never accepted you

as his or her personal Lord and Savior,

may today be the day,

oh God,

when you rip the veil off their eyes

and help them to see

what they can have

when they have you.

Lead us, Lord, today.

Help us to respond to you in obedience.

In Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

The promise of eternity

includes the beauty

of the heavenly city.

Verse 11 says,

the glory of God shines in that place.

Like Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration,

we shall shine like the sun

and be clothed in beaming white

due to the glory of God.

The gates of pearl

that I described last week,

the walls of precious stone,

12 stones, by the way,

all make for a scene

too beautiful for us to imagine.

The walled city,

look at the size

of that walled city.

It says that it is

12,000 stratia.

I told you that's about,

it is,

1,380 miles.

It's a cube

of sorts.

And described that way.

But I also talked about,

a little bit about numerology,

and I want to dig a little deeper

into that

just to,

just to wet you whistle,

and then I'm going to run from it.

But,

I mentioned four numbers

that are brought up,

at least in multiples,

multiple times in Revelation.

Three,

which represents the Trinity.

Seven is perfect

because it's creation.

Without the seventh day of rest,

the sixth,

six is,

makes it an unholy number,

and it's tripled at one point,

at least used triple times.

We don't do good enough math

to triple it six times,

so,

you just put six,

six, six,

but it means ultimate evil

is what it speaks of.

Ten speaks of the Ten Commandments,

represents,

symbolizes the Ten Commandments

because the Ten Commandments are,

it's not all the law,

but,

but when you think of the law of God,

you think of the Ten Commandments.

It was summarized that way

when Moses came down

with it off that mountain.

And then 12 is that number

that is complete

because it represents

the 12 tribes,

the complete people of God.

And so,

when you look at the,

in the count of the tribes,

it's 12,000

per tribe.

earlier in the book,

it mentions 12,000.

You add those 12 tribes together,

12 times 12

times 10

times 10

times 10

is 144.

when you look at 12,000 stratia,

the size of heaven,

it's 12

times 10

to the third power.

So it's 10,

12 times 10

times 10

times 10.

Do you get the,

the,

the,

the multiplicity

of complete numbers

being used over

and over

and over

and over

again?

The book of Revelation

is a coded

book.

It was written

to seven churches

in Asia Minor,

which represented

because of seven churches

and they encompass

most of Asia Minor,

it,

it really represents

the church.

it was written

to them

to give them hope

for the day

in which they lived.

It was not written

over 2,000 years ago,

almost 2,000 years ago

in order for America

to have a blueprint

of what's going to happen

tomorrow.

Okay?

Because if that was the case,

it wouldn't have wrote it

to seven churches

in Asia Minor

under the persecution

of the Roman Empire.

it was to give them hope

for that day.

And it was written

in a coded language

and they do a better job

of cracking that code

than we do,

but we can look back

into it and see

what those things represent.

So when we see,

I said all that to say,

12,000 stratia,

12 times 10,

times 10,

times 10.

Don't think it's,

it's ironic

that there's 12,000

in each tribe

that's represented as well

and that every gate

on the walls

of heaven

has a tribe

named over it.

The point is

there's room, folks.

There's room

for everybody there.

That's the point.

It is perfect.

That,

that walled city

is secure.

Those walls are thick.

The only way

you can get through them

is through that gate of pearl

and,

and they're beautiful

and they're open.

It says they're always open.

Open to all God's children

redeemed by the blood

of Christ

by their personal surrender

to his lordship.

There's room for all.

It's perfectly sized

for all.

So if you're a child

of God,

your reservation

is safe.

There is a place

that is saved

for you.

And if you have

never been saved,

I encourage you

to surrender your life

to the Lord Jesus today

and you can rest

in the security

of your eternity.

Now I want you

to understand something.

If this was all there is,

I mean that we died

and went away

and nothing was there

at all.

That was it.

It would be worth it

to give your life

to Christ today

and live the rest

of your days

for the honor

and the glory of God,

for what he gives us

in this life.

And that will always

be my focus

is the abundant life

that he offers us

in this life

unless I'm preaching

a series on heaven

and then I'm going

to talk about heaven.

But I'm telling you

it's worth it

to give your heart

and life to Christ

in this life.

But oh, my friend,

what you get with that

is an eternal package

because all of heaven

is given to us

and all of it's lit

by the glory

of God and Christ,

the lamp of his glory.

There is no sun there.

There is no stars there.

There is no night there.

We'll get into this

a little later,

but there's no sun

and no night.

There's no chronology either.

Figure that one out.

Eternity is not just

lasting forever.

It's a whole different

echelon of sorts.

Heaven is open.

Gates are open

to receive beautiful

beyond measure

and the light shines eternal

because the Lord

is all the light it needs.

Take a moment,

if you would,

to imagine

the beauty

of heaven.

Now, the reality

is that silence

is enough

uncomfortableness

for us, okay?

But my point

is this.

You can dream it up

all you want to

and you'll never

get a glimpse

of how wonderful

and glorious

heaven is.

Period.

I remember

years ago,

I was watching

WGGS

and somebody

on there,

they were raising

money that day

and somebody

was on there

and had

painted pictures

based on revelation

and based on some

things in the

gospels

of what heaven

looked like

and what hell

looked like

and you could

buy these

for just a

monthly gift

and get these

paintings

and maybe

that

was when I

realized

fella,

you ain't got

a clue

and then I

realized

in reality

even by the

power of the

Holy Spirit

inspiring John

on the island

of Patmos

to give us

the images

that he does,

we still

don't have

a clue.

It is beyond

what we

can imagine.

That's the beauty

of the city.

There's also

this beautiful

reunion of the

church.

It's described

in Revelation

Revelation 21:3

21 verse 3

as us dwelling

with him

and I spoke

last week

of an intuitive

knowledge

that we gain

when we

are made

like him,

when we are

beyond this

world.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 13:12

13 verse 12

says now

we see

but a poor

reflection

as in a

mirror dimly

but then

face to face

now I know

in part

then I shall

know fully

even as I

have

am fully

known.

We shall

know each

other.

We shall

know more

of him

and we shall

as the old

song says

understand it

by and by.

Scripture

is clear

that the

Christian will

dwell with

the Lord

worshiping

him.

we shall

be together

and thank

God for the

Christian

heaven will

be a reunion

like we've

never seen.

I talked

about all

of that

last week.

I want to

share with

you the best

part today.

I didn't

take the

time to

share it

last week.

I took

enough time

but I want

to share

with you the

best part

and what is

my favorite

part.

I believe

the real

beauty of

heaven and

that is our

unhindered

encounter with

the Lord.

our heavenly

father is

there.

The

creator

Jehovah

mighty God

Jesus said

our father

which art

in heaven

how it be

thy name.

Unable to

see him

now there

we will

bow before

his very

throne.

Not only

that but

Christ is

there.

Hebrews 9

Hebrews 9:24

verse 24

says for

Christ has

entered not

into holy

places made

with hands

which are

copies of

the true

things but

into heaven

itself now

to appear

in the

presence of

God on

our behalf.

He is

there and

he is

interceding

on our

behalf.

Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7:25

verse 25

says consequently

he is able

to save to

the uttermost

those who

draw near to

God through

him since

he listen to

this I love

this always

lives to

make intercession

for them.

So not

only does

Christ

represent

us

advocate

for us

pray on

our behalf

he lives

to do

it.

That's what

gets him

excited

is to

bring us

before the

throne of

God.

Now it's

exciting to

think about

the glories

of heaven

and I get

excited to

think about

seeing my

loved ones.

I get

excited about

the crown

that I can

lay at the

Lord's feet

and by the

way and I'll

get to this

later but any

reward you get

in heaven you're

just going to

lay it at his

feet so don't

get braggadocious

okay.

It all goes to

him.

He gets all

the credit.

But the

people and the

rewards of

heaven don't

even measure

when we

see Christ.

Man that's

where it's

at.

Honestly I

believe when we

see Christ

everything else

will pale so

in comparison.

We won't be

concerned about

the furniture or

the architecture or

the people around

us.

we'll be so

enamored with

the cause of

Christ.

Revelation 7

9 through 12

says this.

This image,

this vision that

God gave to

John of heaven

says after this I

looked and behold a

great multitude that

no one could

number from

every tribe,

from all the

tribes and people

and languages

standing before the

throne and before

the Lamb clothed

in white robes with

palm branches in

their hands and

crying out with a

loud voice,

salvation belongs

to our God who

sits on the throne

and to the Lamb.

And all the angels

were standing around

the throne and

around the elders and

the four living

creatures.

And they fell on

their faces before

the throne and

worshipped God.

Now I want you to

listen to this because

this is used again and

again in Revelation.

It is a seven, get

the number, a

seven-fold exaltation

of praise.

He said, amen,

blessing and glory and

wisdom and thanksgiving,

honor and power and

might be to our God

forever and ever.

Amen.

Ann Ross' cousin wrote

it beautifully when she

said, the bride eyes,

not her garment, but her

dear bridegroom's face.

I will not gaze at

glory, but on my king

of grace.

Not at the crown he

giveth, but on his

pierced hand.

The Lamb is all the

glory of Emmanuel's

land.

I'm like that little

boy who was trying to

learn Psalm 23 when he

was supposed to say, the

Lord is my shepherd, I

shall not want.

He said, the Lord is my

shepherd, that's all I

want.

Amen.

When I get to heaven, the

victory, the glory, and

the majesty will be

Jesus.

Paul got a glimpse of

it.

Paul got a glimpse of

his majesty on the road

to Damascus.

And you can understand

why he wrote that he had

a desire to depart and be

with Christ, which is far

better than anything this

life offers.

Christ Jesus is the

entrance to heaven.

that gate of pearl.

He is the beauty of

heaven.

He is the glory of

heaven.

You may look at me this

morning and say, preacher,

you know, if heaven's that

grand, I don't deserve to

go.

And you may expect me to

say, oh, but you're a dear

saint of the Lord.

You're a fine person.

You may be fine, folks, but

you don't deserve heaven.

You will not go to heaven

because you deserve it.

Because not a one of us

does.

You will go because you

accept it as a gift from

God.

I've received a lot of

gifts in my life that I do

not deserve.

They were given out of love.

However, I've never received

such a precious gift as

life eternal through Christ

Jesus, my Lord.

D.L.

Moody was a probably the

greatest evangelist, arguably

the greatest evangelist of the

19th century.

What God did to a man who

wasn't at school was

absolutely amazing how God

used him really across the

world in a time when it was

difficult to get across the

world.

There's a plaque on Court

Street in Boston that shows

where he got saved, working in

a shoe store when a fellow came

and shared Christ with him.

God did a work in D.L.

Moody's life and empowered him

with the Spirit of God and used

him mightily.

Traveled across the country,

leading folks to the Lord,

established what is now called the

Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

What we know of Sunday school

largely came from D.L.

Moody, promoting it, bringing it

forth.

Wonderful man, used eye

God.

He went to London.

Spurgeon used him some.

He was in London and was

preaching and there was a little

boy that had heard that D.L.

Moody, the great preacher, was

going to preach nearby in that

big city.

That little boy walked all the way

across London that day in order to

go see D.L.

Moody and to hear him preach.

When he finally got to the church

where D.L.

was to preach, he looked up on the

hill and that church was sitting on

the hill and the sun was glowing

off of those windows and he could

hear the voices singing inside.

He could hear the instrumentalist play.

He forgot how tired he was from that

journey and he ran up those steps and

he got to the front door and as he

reached for the front door, a big hand

put his hand on his shoulder.

Turned him around.

What do you think you're doing, boy?

He told him how he had traveled all

day to be able to hear D.L.

Moody and the doorman looked down at

his matted, sweaty head, his unwashed

clothes and his shoeless feet, his

unwashed face and those raggedy clothes

and he said, no, sonny, you're too

dirty.

Be gone.

Little boy was, took back, needless to

say, and went back down those steps but

as little boy would do, he said, there's

got to be a way in here.

So he went around back and looked and

checked every window and every door to

find some way to get in and there wasn't

another way to get in.

Dejected and beaten down and tired, he

sat down on the front step of that

church.

Just sat there crying.

Just then a carriage pulled up.

Beautiful carriage and a stately man

stepped out of that carriage, got out and

marched quickly up those steps and as he

got to where the boy was sitting, he

stopped and looked at the boy and ask him,

what's the matter, boy?

Little boy explained how he had traveled so

far to come and how they wouldn't let him in

because of the state of his circumstances

and the gentleman extended his hand to him

and he said, here, put your hand in mine.

And he walked in that church.

When they entered the back door of that

church, they walked down the aisle and

continued down to the front aisle until he

set the boy on the front row and then he

walked in up to the stage to get ready to

preach.

It was Dr. Dwight L. Moody.

When I die, I don't have the merit on my own to

walk through the gates of glory.

I wish I did.

But I won't.

I've not done enough.

No matter how long God allows me to live, I'll

never do enough to deserve heaven.

I will not approach the throne on my

perfection because I'm far from it.

I'm just a nasty, barefoot, wore-out youngin'

at the gate of glory.

However, there'll be one on a white horse

ride up called the Prince of Peace.

He'll get off and take my hand in his nail-scarred

hand and walk me to the very throne of God

on his shed blood, on his perfection as his gift for me.

Do you know him?

Have you ever put your hand in his?

Have you ever surrendered your life to him?

All of heaven waits for those who've given their heart and

life to the Lord Jesus Christ.

But if you haven't, and you don't, you'll have hell to pay.

With every head bowed and every eye closed, I ask this morning, do you know that you know?

Have you ever given your heart and life to the Lord Jesus?

I want you to know there's always an open invitation.

My number's on the front of the bulletin.

You can contact me anytime you want to.

But I want you to know today's the day of salvation.

If you'll admit your sin to the Lord and ask him to empower you and change your life,

you'll forever be changed in this life and in the next.

If you don't know the Lord or you're uncertain,

don't leave this room without taking care of those matters.

Maybe you're here and you're a Christian today.

But the reality is there's people all around you who do not know the Lord and they don't

know the difference from your life.

There's things in your life, whether they be private or public, that are shameful before

the Lord that you need to clear up.

And you can't do that on your own.

You have to surrender that to the Lord.

I encourage you to make what's wrong right in your life today by simply asking God to

do the same.

If I can help you with that, I'll be happy to.

Maybe you're here this morning and God's drawing you to this congregation.

You know that this is the place where God would have you to be, would have you to serve.

God's telling you that.

Don't you put that off a bit.

You come.

We'd love to guide you in that process.

Last week we celebrated several being baptized in a neat, wonderful service.

If you've acknowledged the Lord privately, but you've never done that publicly and never

acknowledged that through baptism, well, you come and we'll line that up.

We'll set that up.

It'll be the first step of obedience in your Christian walk that you need to take.

I have no idea what God's speaking to you about or what he's telling you, but I know this,

that you'll never be satisfied until you do exactly what he tells you to do.

And so I'll never ask you to do more than he tells you to do.

I'll never ask you to do less.

Just simply be obedient today as he speaks to your heart and life.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the clarity in which you give us.

It's as good as we can understand it about eternity, God.

I'm thankful also that you make it very clear how we get there.

And God, I pray today that Christians will celebrate their eternity by living their life for you.

And that those without you, dear God, will surrender their life to you, Father.

And that today we'll all be stronger because God's people have been obedient as you spoke to us.

Lead and work right now as we sing.

In Jesus' precious name, amen.