The New Jerusalem: A City of Holiness and Beauty - Glorious Hope | Studies in Revelation

Revelation chapter 21 and beginning at verse 9.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full

of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, come, I will

show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain and

showed me the holy city, Jerusalem.

Coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its

radiance, like a most rare jewel, like a Jasper, clear as crystal.

It had a great high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve

angels.

And on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of

Israel were inscribed.

On the east, three gates, on the north, three gates, on the south,

three gates.

And on the west, three gates.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations.

And on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the

Lamb.

And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure

the city and its gates and walls.

The city lies four square, its length the same as its width.

And he measured the city with his rod.

12,000 stadia.

Its length and width and height are equal.

He also measured its wall 144 cubits by human measurement, which

is also an angel's measurement.

The wall was built of Jasper, while the city was pure gold, like

clear glass.

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every

kind of jewelry.

The first was Jasper.

The second was sapphire.

The third, agate.

The fourth, emerald.

The fifth, onyx.

The sixth, carnelian.

The seventh, chrysalate.

The eighth, beryl.

The ninth, topaz.

The tenth chrysopras.

The eleventh jacinth.

The twelfth amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates

made of a single pearl.

And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

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 it 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 will be no

night.

There they will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.

But nothing unclean will ever enter it.

Not anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those

who are written.

The Lamb's book of Life.

Amen.

This is the word of God.

Well, for those of you who find yourself here on a regular basis,

I hope that by now you will know that before I went into ministry,

I worked in tourism.

Tourism is the business of fun.

I didn't get much fun and it was all business, but.

But you had to work hard because you had lots of people coming

your way.

And it was always quite repetitive because one of the jobs

that I had to do was a tour guide.

I loved it and I took people around Armagh City either on bus

tours or walking tours, and I've even offered to groups in the

church to take them to Armagh and still give them a guided tour.

But strangely enough, no one has ever taken me up on that offer.

Well, I would take groups around Armas City and tell them of

the Georgian history and architecture, or in the place where

I worked, St. Patrick's tree.

And I would explain the history of the centre of the city,

going back into the early Christian settlements that were there

with the coming of Patrick the missionary to Ireland.

But particularly on walking tours, as we would go round the street

corners, visitors would see hidden gems or amazing Georgian architecture,

and you would see their faces beam with their discovery.

Particularly for our friends that come across the Atlantic from

America, they hadn't seen architecture like this and so prolific,

just one building after the next.

And they were just in awe of the architecture of these buildings

and what was commonplace and familiar to me because I passed it

every day was new and it was fresh to someone else.

I suppose in one sense, it's much like being taken on a viewing

of a home.

You phone the estate agent and you say, I'm interested.

And you arrange a time to go and see this house that you find

there's anticipation of seeing what could be your future.

Only when viewing a potential home, you start to think of what

life would be like living there and what would fit in this

room or in another.

And before you know it, you've started finding yourself living in

that place long before you've made an offer or anything like that.

But so much of revelation has been about what John sees.

Yes, of course, he hears, but he sees.

It's a vision that's been given to him.

And we have the advantage and the privilege of having it all written

down for us.

And we can read it again and again, but for him, it was new and

an amazing sight.

And this evening we come to what John sees in the New Jerusalem.

Last week, as we looked at the start of chapter 21, we saw the new

heaven and the new earth.

Excuse me, the new earth.

And verse one is such an amazing verse to read because it

says, then I saw a new heaven and A new earth for the first heaven

and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.

John sees everything new.

And in this newness, he sees Jerusalem, a new Jerusalem coming

down.

Let's remind ourselves how he described it in verse two.

And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven

from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

It seems today we've spoken a lot of images that go throughout

Scripture, and here's another one, as we mentioned last week.

One of those other familiar images of what God's the relationship

between God and his people is like is between the bride and the

bridegroom, with Christ being the bridegroom.

And now we see the bride adorned for her husband.

And it might be strange to us that the bride is actually the city.

Now, all too often we've recognized the bride as the church,

his people.

But now the image is given to John that the bride is this new Jerusalem.

And so we get to see now, in verses 9 to 27, greater detail of

what this new Jerusalem is like and the significant details

that are there for us.

And the first person that we come to is one of the angels holding

the seven bowls from chapters 15.

But this time he shows John a beautiful and entrancing vision,

summoning him to come to see the bride, the wife of the lamb.

And earlier, John had referred to the bride and the marriage supper

of the lamb in chapter 19 and compared the new Jerusalem to a bride

dressed for her husband.

He now sees the church as a bride of unrivaled beauty as he sees

Jerusalem before him and what and how it is built.

And so verse 10 tells us that John is carried away in the Spirit

and has a high vantage point from a mountain looking down so he

can see what is before him.

And recorded for us.

And as in verse two of this chapter, the new Jerusalem is linked

with the people of God because once again, the city designates both

a people and a place.

Everything said about Jerusalem and Zion in the Old Testament

is fulfilled in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city where God dwells.

And this city stands in contrast to the other city in Revelation

that we've been looking at, that city of Babylon, the harlot

city which John was earlier carried away in the Spirit to see.

And in contrast, in contrast to the harlot, to the prostitute,

Jerusalem is clean and holy and stunningly beautiful.

Beautiful, not a prostitute, but a faithful bride.

Listen to how verse 11 describes the beauty of the city

having the glory of God, its radiance, like a most rare jewel,

like a Jasper, Clear as crystal.

Tonight.

I want you to understand the sheer beauty heaven.

Heaven is not an eternal church service where after 45 minutes,

you start to feel your back getting sore because of our wooden

pews.

It's not going to be a place where you're up and down because

of singing hymns.

There'll be no more hymn books.

There'll be no more PowerPoint.

There'll be no more concern if the electricity is going to stay

on for us.

Heaven is truly beautiful and stunning, and it is unlike anything

this earth can ever offer.

A number of weeks ago, I told you that I grew up with a picture

at home simply called Paradise.

And in many ways, it looked like a place in Tuscany.

It had a beautiful patio on which you walked out onto.

You saw a pavement of gold and you saw gardens that were beautiful

and you saw a still river just going down.

That, for me, growing up, was the best image that one artist could

provide to paradise.

But as we read chapter 21, we discover God's word far outshines

whatever we can imagine heaven to be.

See the beauty of heaven.

This heavenly Jerusalem is breathtaking.

It shimmers quite literally with the glory of God.

Its radiance and its quite literally loveliness are comparable

to jewels of exquisite color and brightness.

The city is like a rare piece of Jasper and shines as clear as

crystal.

In verses 12 and 13, John continues to describe the city, telling

us that it has a massive high wall and it has 12 gates.

And in the ancient world, a wall protected a city from enemies.

So this high wall symbolizes the city's safety from all enemies.

And this is good news for God's people as they finally have

the city of refuge that they have sung about in the Psalms all

their days.

They know complete security and complete safety in God's presence.

And John continues to tell us that the Wall also has 12 gates,

three each on the east, north, south and west.

And this is a clear picture of what Jesus tells us in Luke chapter

13:29, where the people from the north, the east, the south and

the west will enter the kingdom as they know salvation in

Jesus Christ.

This is what Jesus says in.

In Luke 13.

And people will come from east and west and from north and south,

and recline a table in the kingdom of God.

And listen out for this whenever I invite you to come to

this table next Sunday morning that is open to the nations coming

from the east and the west and from the north and from the south,

invited to come to this table here and now, but to the heavenly

city and that is the urgency of mission.

It is the urgency of why we still must go and still must support

God's work across the world so that the untold millions will hear

the good news of the gospel and come to salvation.

Did you know that there are still people groups yet undiscovered?

As soon as or as early as 26 years ago, a MAF pilot was flying

over Ayan Jarra, part of what is now Indonesia, and happened to

see just some huts in the year 2000.

And 26 years later, after first contact, there is now an established

church amongst those people, the Moi people of Ayinjara.

And they have elders and they have just dedicated a full New Testament.

There are still unreached people who must hear the good news

of the Gospel so that those from the north, the south, the east

and the west will come to know the Savior.

And it's not just far away.

We have people groups on this island who know nothing of what it

means to trust in the Savior.

They're blind and they're in darkness and they too must hear.

For this is a city that is open to the nations to find their

refuge and salvation in Christ and in him alone.

And at the gates of These cities are 12 angels, again suggesting

the city is protected from anything that would destroy it.

And on the gates are inscribed the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

And the number 12 tells us that the Old Testament people of

God are in the city.

The promise that Israel would be restored has been fulfilled in

the people of God.

And the grafting of Jew and Gentile are shown here now in the

presence of Jesus Christ in the eternal city.

And the number 12 continues as we're told in verse 14.

For there we read that the city has 12 foundations.

And engraved on each of them are the names of the 12 apostles.

And in Ephesians, chapter 2 and verse 20, Paul calls the apostles

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

and New Testament prophets the foundation of God's new temple, the

cornerstone of the church of Jesus Christ.

And so John is likewise teaching that the one people of God

is grounded on the apostolic testimony.

There are not two separate ways of belonging to God, one for

Israel and another for the church in Christ believing Jews and

Gentiles are brought together as one people of God.

As the promises of the new covenant reach their glorious fulfillment,

there is yet a salvation conclusion for the Jews that we are

not fully aware of.

And Paul teaches us this in Romans chapter 11 and verses 25 and

Romans 11 · chapter mention

25.

That is still to come.

But here we see in John's vision the final conclusion of the

full people of God in the new Jerusalem, with a foundation that

is built on the testimony and witness of Jesus Christ.

And verse 15 moves to a different view.

And the angel now has a measuring rod in his hand to measure

the city.

This measuring rod is made of gold.

And he measures the gates and the walls.

And verses 16 and 17 tell us the measurements of this city.

The city lies four square, its length the same as its width.

And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.

Its length and width and height are equal.

He also measured its wall 144 cubits by human measurement, which

is also an angel's measurement.

Now, if you're a person who likes facts and figures, well, then

this probably fascinates you.

But there is significance in what we're reading.

The city is built foursquare, having the same length and width.

And when measured, this city, we're told, is 12,000 stadia.

The size of the city dwarfs any conceivable city that is known

to humankind and is far larger than the country of Israel itself.

In other words, John is not saying that the city is literally

1500 miles as some have measured it.

Instead, he's communicating that the city is a perfect place

to reside.

This symbolic nature is evident from the next phrase.

For the city is a perfect cube.

Its length, width, and height are equal.

And this reminds us, or should remind us of the most holy place

in the temple, which was also a perfect cube.

First Kings, chapter 6 and verse 20 tells us 20 cubits long,

1 Kings 6 · chapter mention

20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high.

So this tells us that the city is literally.

Is not literally 1500 miles, but that it is like a massive, most

holy place, the place where God dwells.

And so the city is where God dwells.

The entire universe is like the whole.

The most holy place of the temple.

You see the Old Testament foretelling of what the new heavens

and the new earth, the new city Jerusalem will be like.

God had it designed perfectly in the tabernacle and into the temple

so that we would know that when we go to be with him, it is

truly his place of dwelling and it is a holy place.

Now, John goes on to say that the wall is 144 cubits by human measurement,

but it's also the measurement of an angel.

Now, referring to the measurement of an angel, we might

think is very strange.

Why would he need to say this?

Well, John doesn't expect us to say, well, of course that makes

sense.

It's the measure angels use, because none of us would be aware

of that.

Instead, by appealing to the measurement employed by angels, he

is signaling to us, his readers, that this is symbolism,

for none of us knows angelic measurements.

The great height or thickness of the wall symbolizes absolute safety

and security.

No one can breach or get over the top of this wall.

The city is a walled city, like most cities in the ancient world,

and is therefore impregnable.

It is a place of safety for us and pause for a moment because we

live in a world that is full of trouble.

All you have to do is read the newspaper.

All you have to do is watch the news or go onto social media.

And you have one side, particularly here in Northern Ireland,

pitting themselves against another.

And there's a cry of hypocrisy of all political parties against

the other.

This world is a troubling place.

It's hard to find safety, it's hard to find security in a physical

place.

Even our homes can be places of distress.

But yet we're shown a picture here this evening that should give

us hope.

It should give us glorious hope that there is a place to which

we can go to where we won't have to worry about fractured relationships,

where we won't have to worry about sickness or disease, where

there won't be tears or sadness or sorrow, because it is

the place where the most holy dwells.

It is quite literally his home.

It is beautifully stunning, and as Jesus tells us, he has gone

there to get it ready for us.

O troubled soul, take heart this night, that this journey won't

be long until we are in Christ, fully there, and knowing

the safety and security of this place that we will call home.

And as much as we look at the walls of this city and their strength

and the security and refuge they bring, verses 18 to 21 describe

for us the materials that are used in the building of the city,

its walls, its foundations and its gates.

And they're all precious, precious stones.

In verse 18, we're told that the wall was built with pure Jasper

and the city was pure gold.

And the added description that's given to us is the gold is

like pure glass.

Now, this was something that John's readers would have been unable

to understand because glass, for them, as little of it as there

was, would have been dull because the process required to make

it pure was time consuming and costly.

And really, they didn't have the technology for it, so they always

looked at glass and it was dull.

Both the wall and the city, by being described this way in a way

that the people of John's Day couldn't even imagine is telling

us of how indescribably beautiful this city is, glimmering,

gleaming, shimmering with his beauty.

And those who dwell in the city will be ennobled by its superb

artistry, its craftsmanship, its eye catching splendor.

Because the city itself reflects the glory and the beauty

of God.

And why wouldn't it?

Don't we all craft our homes and decorate them by our own choice

and our own preferences?

And so how much more God does it not for his own glory in one sense,

but that his glory might be seen by us, and that we around us

will see his beauty at every corner.

And the foundations of the walls are now described to us in

the stones used for the 12 foundations.

And as we read the list in verses 19 to 21, we're once again

shown the beauty of the city.

And it echoes Isaiah's description of future Jerusalem.

And for he says in Isaiah 54, 11, 12, I will set your stones in

antimony and lay your foundation with sapphires.

I will make your pinnacles of agate, your gates of carbuncles,

and all your wall of precious stones.

And the stones that are given to us, there are 12 of them.

For the 12 foundations are supposed to remind God's people that

they're the same stones that are on the high Priest's grave breastplate.

So therefore they're symbolizing the tribes of Israel

whom the high Priest represented before the Lord.

And each gate of the city is made of a single pearl, and the streets

are of gold, comparable to what we've described as transparent

glass, which would have been unknown in John's day.

And so these symbols communicate the perfection of the

new creation, the glory of God in it, and the purity of his people.

And so, as we come to the last verses of this chapter, we're shown

how different this Jerusalem is from the Jerusalem known in John's

or to John's readers.

Verse 22 tells us, and I saw no temple in the city, for its temple

is the Lord, God, the Almighty and the Lamb.

It's quite striking that he sees no temple in the city.

For John's day, and even for Jews today, the Temple was the centerpiece

of the city.

It was a city on a hill, but it was lit by the lamps of that temple

to be a light to the nations.

But there is no temple now.

And instead of the temple, there is Almighty God and the Lamb,

you may recall in the image of the new creation in chapter seven

and verse 15, John had said that believers serve God day and

night in his temple.

And so we have no contradiction here.

The whole new creation is God's temple, in which his people

serve almighty God and the Lamb as they abide together.

And if you'll recall a few weeks ago, the whole point of seeing

this is about Eden restored.

For Eden was the place where God walked with Adam and Eve.

It was the place of perfection and holiness as they worshiped him

and lived for him.

And so Eden restored is now what we have.

For God's presence is there.

It is his temple.

And therefore no physical temple, as would be known to John's

readers, is required.

Verse 23 tells us more of what there's not.

We're told that there's no need for the sun nor the moon to

shine, and the reason being that the glory of God is enough.

It's his radiance that shines as we gaze on his perfect holiness.

And throughout the book, we've seen the sun being reduced at different

times, demonstrating punishment on sinful and rebellious

humanity.

But now there is no fear of this punishment, because God is all

we need to sustain us, to give us the light we need.

And verses 24 to 25 tell us 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 will be no

night there.

Now, we've already seen in this chapter that the gates of the

new Jerusalem are on all four sides of the city, allowing for the

nations to come in.

Now we're told of their entry into the city.

Everyone in the heavenly city will be illuminated and strengthened

by the Lord.

The kings of the nations will also bring their glory into the city.

John is here saying that every good and beautiful thing from the

old creation will be in the new creation.

Nothing of beauty will be lost.

Instead it will be present in a perfected and incorruptible way.

But the greatest news is the sanctuary this city provides as its

gates are never shut.

Ancient cities closed their gates for security reasons, but in

this city there is no need.

The imagery speaks of peace and blessing in the city in which

God's glory shines.

And as the chapter finishes, we read this in verse 27.

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 you see everything good and nothing defiled,

or anyone who does what is detestable or false will be in the

city.

This is a warning.

There are many Old Testament prophecies that say that nothing

unclean will be present when God brings His kingdom.

Isaiah 30:5 looks forward to return from exile and the coming

Isaiah 30:5

of the kingdom, declaring that the unclean will not be on the highway

to Zion.

No one uncircumcised or unclean will enter the city of God.

Joel also promises that in the day of the Lord, Jerusalem will be

holy and strangers will not enter.

Only those whose names are inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life

will be in the city.

They will enter the gates of the city because they have washed

their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

They have trusted in Jesus and know the forgiveness of their sins

as they live for him here on earth, awaiting his return and the

fullness of his glory.

In 1892, a new song called the Holy City was written.

And for us it has been made most famous and through the singing

of Sir Harry Seacombe.

And this is what its closing verse and chorus say.

And once again the scene was changed.

New earth there seemed to be.

I saw the Holy City beside the tideless sea the light of God was

on its streets the gates were open wide and all who would might

enter in and no one was denied.

No need of moon or stars by night or sun to shine by day.

It was the new Jerusalem that would not pass away.

It was the new Jerusalem that would not pass away.

And then the chorus Jerusalem, Jerusalem, sing For the night is

o' er hosanna in the highest Hosanna forevermore.

Isn't Revelation 21 a wonderful sight?

This is the city of Eternal Promise for those who trust in the

Lord, those whose names are inscribed in the Lamb's Book of Life,

and who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

This is the city of Eternal Promise.

And if you are eagerly awaiting it.

And by the way, I've seen some people smile as it's been described

around the building this evening.

And that is lovely to see.

And you are eagerly awaiting it.

Don't give up in your wait.

It is coming.

But make sure that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of

life, for we once again have been warned.

And do you see what God is doing with this as he gives it to

John?

He is giving us every opportunity to repent of sin, that

while there is still time, we can come to the Savior for salvation.

You see, tonight you have been shown what your new home could look

like if you trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.

In one respect, it's house viewing.

And for some of us, it is our home.

But for others, it could be, trust in Christ and be assured of

life eternal in the new Jerusalem that is stunning in its

beauty, in its refuge, and in its peace.

For this is what Jesus says in John, chapter 5 and verse 24.

John 5 · chapter mention

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my words and believes

him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death

to life.

This is what we're seeing in Revelation 21, and that promise fulfilled

for the people of God.

But as we finish, let me remind you of what it is.

And once again the scene was changed.

New earth there seemed to be.

I saw the holy city beside the tideless sea.

The light of God was on its streets.

The gates were open wide, and all who would might enter in.

And no one was denied.

Revelation 21 assures us that this night the gates are open wide

for those from the north, the east, the south and the west.

For those who live against the shore of Anna Long, or up in the

mountains to the north towards Newcastle or the south through Ballymarton

to Kilkeel, the gates are open wide for each of us to know this

as our home.

So why will you settle for anything less than what we're told,

where God's people will join in eternal praise of his name and

we will know his goodness.

Please respond well to Jesus this night.

Go out with great hope in a city that is yours and in a savior

this night that you can know for all eternity.

Let us pray.

Our Father God, we thank you for the vision that we're given here

in Revelation, a vision that we smile at because we know it to

be our eternal home when we place our trust in Jesus.

So may we cry the amen with the heavenly Host that it is done.

And give to the Lamb upon the throne the blessing and honor and

glory and power that is due his name.

For he has won.

He has conquered.

And so with every tribe and every tongue, we join the anthem

of the angels in the triumph of the Son as we declare hallelujah.

And so, Father, may we respond to Christ.

And may we know this heavenly city to be ours.

And may we be eager for others to know it as well, so that they

too will come and put their trust in.

In the Savior.

And it's in Jesus name we pray.

Amen.