I'd like to start this morning by simply rereading our verses from last week, Revelation 21:1-8. They start, with what John "sees":
(1) and I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven and the first earth departed,
and the sea wasn't in it any longer,
(2) and the city-- the holy one-- a new Jerusalem-- I saw descending from heaven from God,
having been prepared like a bride adorned for her husband,
Starting in verse 3, John "hears" three things from God himself, that interprets what he saw:
(3) and I HEARD a great voice from the throne, saying,
"LOOK! The tabernacle of God [is] with the people,
and He will tabernacle/dwell with them,
and they, his peoples, they will be ["his peoples" is focused],
and God himself, with them, He will be ["with them" is focused],
(4) and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,
and death, there will no longer be,
Neither mourning, nor wailing, nor pain will any longer be.
The first things departed (same verb as vs. 1),"
(5) and He SAYS,
"Write that these words, faithful and true, they are ["faithful and true" is focused],"
(6) and He SAID to me,
"It has happened.
I [am] the Alpha (the "A") and the Omega (the "Z"), The Beginning and The End.
I, to the thirsty, I will give water from the spring of water of life, freely/as a gift.
(7) The one conquering will inherit these things,
and I will be to him, God,
and he will be to me, a son.
(8) Now, to the cowards and the faithless and detestable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idol-servers and all liars-- their share [will be] in the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
So in these 8 verses, we have this picture of God creating a fresh start for all of creation. There will be a new heaven and earth. And the main thing we need to see, and hear, is that this marks a new type of life between God and humans. The new Jerusalem is a place, where God will come and dwell among his peoples, plural.
And who gets to live in this place? God offers this life to those who conquer fear, and faithlessness, and detestable things, and immorality, and idolatry. Those who fail to conquer, end up in the lake of fire, which John calls the second death.
So if you want to live with God in the new Jerusalem, in a place where there is no suffering, or pain, or death, you need to conquer now. There are two possible paths that we can take in life, and they have two very different ends. And Revelation encourages us to look far enough down the road, that we make the right decision. Verses 1-6 paint the picture. And verses 7-8 give us a clear, straightforward application. Aim to live with God in the new Jerusalem.
With this, we come to verse 9. Here, we will find much of the same symbolic language, but God bends the language. The symbolism shifts beneath our feet, in a way that reminds us to be careful not to press the details literally, or chronologically. These are pictures, designed to grab our attention, and encourage us to faithfulness.
Verse 9:
(9) and he came-- one of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues--
and he spoke with me, saying,
"Come!
I will show you THE BRIDE-- the wife of the Lamb--,
So, we were told in verse 2, that the new Jerusalem descended from God like a bride. Here, an angel speaks to John, calling him to come, and see "the bride, the wife of the Lamb." So what we should expect to see here is the church. Right? I promise I'm only sort of messing with you. We, the church, are the bride of Christ.
Verse 10-14:
(10) and he brought me away in spirit/Spirit to a great and lofty mountain,
and he showed me THE HOLY CITY JERUSALEM,
descending from heaven from God,
having God's glory-- its radiance [is] like a precious stone, like a jasper shining/clear like a crystal,
(12) having a great and lofty wall,
having twelve gates,
and at the gates, twelve angels,
and names having been written upon the gates,
which are the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel,
from the east, three gates,
and from the north, three gates,
and from the south, three gates,
and from the west, three gates,
(14) and the city wall having twelve foundations,
and upon them [are the] twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,
What is the bride of the Lamb? The holy city Jerusalem, descended from God. So the new Jerusalem isn't just a place where we get to live with God. The new Jerusalem, is also a way of describing God's people. The symbolism works two ways (sort of like in Revelation 17:9-10, where the seven heads meant two different things).
And what we see here, is that God's people is made up of both ethnic Jews and Gentiles. The gates have the names of the sons of Israel, which is a symbolic way of including all of the OT saints. The city wall has twelve foundations, with the names of the twelve apostles. I'm not sure what it would look like, literally, for a city to have twelve foundations. But the picture, and the numbering, are a symbolic way of describing the NT church. So the new Jerusalem is a symbol for the entirety of God's people, descending from heaven. When we see this radiant city, shining with God's glory, we are seeing ourselves, as we one day will be.
The other thing I should point out, before we keep going, is that there are lots of ways into this city. In every direction, there are gates. And we will find ourselves coming back to this later, so keep it in the back of your minds.
Verse 15-16:
(15) and the one speaking with me had a golden measuring rod,
in order that he could measure the city and its gates and its wall,
(16) and the city as a square is laid out, ["as a square" is focused],
and its length is the same as its width, [1 Kings 6:20; Ezekiel 41:4]
and he measured the city with the measuring rod at 12,000 stadia.
The length and the width and its height, equal, they are ["equal" is focused],
So what John sees, is that the new Jerusalem is a perfect cube, with every direction going in 12,000 stadia. We can convert that number to miles, if we want. Some of your Bibles do that. But the numbering is symbolic. 12 is a loaded number-- the number of the tribes, and apostles. It's the number of the gates, and the foundations. 12 is a number that just sounds right. And 1,000 is a number symbolizing completeness, 10 cubed.
Probably, the fact that the whole city is a perfect cube is supposed to make us think about the original temple in Jerusalem (or the new temple described in Ezekiel 41:4). The holy of holies was a perfect 20x20x20. Any time you were as close to God's presence as you could possibly be, you were in a perfect cube. And in this new Jerusalem, the same thing holds true. The entire city of Jerusalem, is like the holy of holies. So right now, we relentlessly pursue God's presence. But one day, God will fully dwell among us, on a daily basis.
Verse 17-22:5, I'm going to simply read, and then say a few things after:
(17) and he measured its wall at 144 cubits-- a human measure, which is the angel's--
(18) and the material of its wall [is] jasper,
and the city [is] clean/pure gold, similar to clean/pure glass.
(19) The foundations of the city wall, with every kind of precious stone, they are adorned--
the first foundation, jasper, the second, sapphire, the third, chalcedony/agate, the fourth, emerald, the fifth, sardonyx, the sixth, carnelian, the seventh, chrysolite, the eighth, beryl, the ninth, topaz, the tenth, chrysoprase, the eleventh, jacinth, the twelfth, amethyst,
(21) and the twelve gates [are] twelve pearls.
Each one of the gates was from a single pearl,
and the city street [is] pure/clean gold, like transparent glass,
(22) and a temple, I didn't see in it.
For the Lord, God, the Almighty, its temple, He is, and the Lamb,
(23) and the city doesn't have need of the sun or of the moon,
that they would shine in it.
For God's glory illuminates it,
and its lamp [is] the Lamb (contrast 18:23),
(24) and the nations walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it,
(25) and its gates will absolutely never be shut by day.
For night, there isn't there,
(26) and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it,
(27) and nothing will absolutely ever into it [that's] unclean, or the one practicing/doing detestable things and falsehood, but only the ones having been written in the book of life of the Lamb,
(22:1) and he showed me a river of living water (or: "river of the water of life"), clear like crystal,
coming out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
(2) In the middle of its street, and on both sides of the river, [is] the tree of life producing 12 fruits,
in every month yielding its fruit,
and the leaves of the tree [are] for the healing of the nations,
(3) and every/any curse, there will no longer be,
and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it ["in it" is focused],
and his slaves will serve/worship him,
(4) and they will see his face,
and his name [will be] upon their foreheads,
(5) and night, there will no longer be,
and they won't have need of the light of a lamp or the light of the sun,
because the Lord God will illuminate for/over them,
and they will reign forever and ever.
If we take these verses as a whole, what John sees, big picture, is a different type of society. Right now, the big cities tend to be Babylons. They are self-serving, and proud, and idolatrous. They export violence, and immorality, and detestable things. They soak up the earth's riches, and they focus on wealth and pleasure.
This new Jerusalem is set up very differently. If you're an English Literature nerd, you could think of this as a tale of two cities. The new Jerusalem will be marked by unparalleled wealth, far surpassing Babylon (contrast Revelation 17:4). The kings of the earth will bring their glory-- their wealth-- through its gates (contrast Revelation 17:2). And they, in turn, will be blessed. On the tree of life, there are leaves that gives healing to the nations.
Now, we could stop, and ask ourselves where these kings come from. Weren't they all killed, when they rode horses into war against the Lamb (19:19)? Weren't they all killed a second time, after satan deceived them at the end of the 1000 year period (Revelation 20:7-10)? Is the world, in fact, divided up three ways, into the wicked, the righteous, and neutral?
But here again, we have to remind ourselves that we are seeing a symbolic picture. In this new society, governments do what's right. They walk by the light of God's glory. They bless us, bringing us their wealth and glory. And God blesses them, healing them, by giving them leaves from the tree of life.
What we are seeing here is an astonishing picture, of a perfectly functioning city. There's no seedy area of town, because nothing unclean is allowed in it. You don't have to worry about drug dealers, or the wrong kind of clubs. Everyone is righteous. Everyone does what's right.
And in this place, there are two main things that we do. The first is in 22:3: "We will serve God." The second is in 22:5: "we will reign, forever." I'm not going to pretend to know what exactly that looks like. I feel like there's a lot that John didn't see, and I wish God had colored in more of John's picture. But a world where we get to live with God, and serve him, and where we reign forever, in a perfectly functioning community... that's a good picture.
The closest thing I've experienced to this was when I was a counselor at a Christian summer camp. The staff lived in peace, with hardly any exceptions. We served and worshipped God together. Society was perfectly ordered around God, and his presence. All of life was lived with an awareness that we were God's slaves, working in partnership with each other.
So that's the picture God shows John of a new Jerusalem. God will someday live among his people, blessing them, in a perfectly ordered society.
Now, why does God show this to John? What's the application that God wants for us?
If we resist the urge to break up this part of Revelation, and keep reading, we will find this entire section works the same way as the beginning of chapter 21. Revelation 21:1-6 painted a picture, and verses 7-8 gave a clear, simple application.
Here, as we keep reading, we will see that Revelation 21:9-22:5 paint a picture, and 22:6-21 give a clear, simple application. So what I'd like to do, for the rest of our time this morning, is basically let God, and the Lamb, explain the take-away from this picture.
Verse 6:
(6) and he said to me,
"These words [are] faithful and true,
and the Lord-- The God of the spirits of the prophets-- sent his angel to show his slaves what must happen
soon,"
(7) "and LOOK! I am coming quickly! [so Jesus' angel is quoting Jesus' words to John]
Blessed [is] the one keeping/obeying the words of the prophecy of this book,"
(8) and I, John, [am] the one hearing and seeing these things,
and when I heard and I saw, I fell down to worship/bow down before the feet of the angel showing me these things,
(9) and he says to me,
"Don't do that!
Your fellow slave, I am, and one of your brothers-- the prophets.
To God worship/bow down,"
(10) and he says to me,
"Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book.
For the time, near, it is. ["near" is focused].
(11) The one doing evil should still do evil,
and the dirty/defiled one should still be dirty/defiled,
and the righteous one should still do/practice righteousness,
and the holy one should still be holy.
(12) LOOK! I am coming quickly!,
and my reward/repayment [is] with me to repay to each one, in according to his work (singular).
Let me pause here, for just a second. In my opinion, verse 11 is the scariest verse in the entire book. If we've managed to get this far into Revelation, and we are still doing the same stupid, evil, dirty stuff, then there's something seriously wrong with us. If that's you, the angel encourages you to keep on doing what you're doing. If you've living wickedly, just keep on doing what you're doing. If you're practicing detestable things, keep on doing it. The idea here is like when you're driving on the freeway, and someone blows by you going 100. You find yourself talking to them, telling them, "Just keep on doing that." Because you know a cop is totally going to catch them. No one gets away with that forever. There's only one end.
So if that's you, driving 100 through life, doing all the wrong things, just keep doing what you're doing. And if this warning doesn't have the opposite effect, and make you tap the brakes, then that's your choice. But it's a scary verse.
On the flip side, if you are living a righteous and holy life, just keep on doing what you're doing. Your road ends with God. You will be part of God's people. You will live with God, serving him. Be encouraged; don't grow tired; don't lose your first love. Keep seeking God, and the life he gives.
Verses 13-15:
(13) I [am] the Alpha and the Omega (the "A" and "Z")-- the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
(14) Blessed [are] the ones washing their robes [Revelation 3:4; 6:11; 7:9-14],
in order that their authority will be over the tree of life,
and [that] through the gates, they may enter into the city.
(15) Outside [are] the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idol-servers and everyone loving and doing falsehood.
Here, we see what Jesus actually wants. If you take this picture of the new Jerusalem seriously, what will you do?
Wash your robes. Clean up your life. Repent. Live in a way that you have authority to eat from the tree of life. Live in a way, that you are given access to the new Jerusalem. Live in a way that you get to be with God, forever.
What you don't have to have happen, is the fate of the people in verse 15. The final picture Revelation paints of the wicked, isn't of them being killed by the sword coming out of Jesus' mouth, or drinking from the cup of the wine of the wrath of God and the Lamb, or even of them being thrown into the lake of fire. The final picture we see, is of people being excluded, and left out. Of God not wanting anything to do with them.
When I was in elementary school, we played tackle football during recess, even though it was against the rules (#rebel). We had two captains, who would take turns picking who was on their team. The kids who were fast, and big, and had good hands, were picked first. And eventually, it narrowed down to the kids that no one really wanted. Every day at recess was humiliating, for the one kid that no one really wanted. And that one kid knew exactly where he fell in the pecking order.
That's a bit like Revelation 22, only what we see here, is worse. There are people that God doesn't want around, forever. He doesn't want to spend time with them. He doesn't want them on his team. If they'd repented, and lived faithfully, it'd be a different story. God doesn't want anyone to perish. But they rejected him, and so He rejects them. God picks his team, who gets to be with him. And he picks those who conquer. Everyone else is just left out. [And my guess is that people who prefer language about "being eternally separated from God" over language about "the lake of fire" are building off Revelation 22 instead of Revelation 21:8. They are using a different set of symbols. But it's maybe more accurate to say, "eternally excluded by God"].
Let's add verse 16:
(16) I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify/witness to you [about] these things for the churches.
I am the root and the descendant of David-- the Bright Morning Star,"
All of this addressed, first of all, to the churches. This message is for us. The focus is on us. God has called us to become a kingdom of priests, but some of us don't live like it. We should hear these verses as God's invitation to wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb through confession, and repentance. God shows us far enough down our road, so that we can understand where our path ends.
Verse 17:
(17) and The Spirit and the Bride say,
"Come!,"
and the one hearing should say,
"Come!,"
and the one thirsty should come.
The one desiring/wanting should take the water of life freely.
(18) I testify to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this book:
If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues written in this book,
(19) and if anyone removes from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share from the tree of life and from the holy city-- the ones having been written about in this book.
(20) The one testifying [about] these things says,
"Yes, come quickly!
Amen, come, Lord Jesus!."
(21) The grace of the Lord Jesus [be] with all.
If we've washed our robes, and are conquering, our hearts' cry should be, "Come Lord Jesus." Come, rescue us from our enemies. Come, make this world into a well-ordered society, that blesses us, and that we can bless. Come, turn us into a new Jerusalem, a new holy of holies. Come, be our light. Come live with us, forever.
[I think verses 18-19 are most directly applied to teachers. I have to resist the urge to alter the message of the book by bending its words, softening it. I should encourage those who need encouraging. I should challenge those who need challenging.]
Translation:
(9) and he came-- one of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues--
and he spoke with me, saying,
"Come!
I will show you THE BRIDE-- the wife of the Lamb--,
(10) and he brought me away in spirit/Spirit to a great and lofty mountain,
and he showed me THE HOLY CITY JERUSALEM,
descending from heaven from God,
having God's glory-- its radiance [is] like a precious stone, like a jasper shining/clear like a crystal,
(12) having a great and lofty wall,
having twelve gates,
and at the gates, twelve angels,
and names having been written upon the gates,
which are the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel,
from the east, three gates,
and from the north, three gates,
and from the south, three gates,
and from the west, three gates,
(14) and the city wall having twelve foundations,
and upon them [are the] twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,
(15) and the one speaking with me had a golden measuring rod,
in order that he could measure the city and its gates and its wall,
(16) and the city as a square is laid out, ["as a square" is focused],
and its length is the same as its width,
and he measured the city with the measuring rod at 12,000 stadia.
The length and the width and its height, equal, they are ["equal" is focused],
(17) and he measured its wall at 144 cubits-- a human measure, which is the angel's--
(18) and the material of its wall [is] jasper,
and the city [is] clean/pure gold, similar to clean/pure glass.
(19) The foundations of the city wall, with every kind of precious stone, they are adorned--
the first foundation, jasper, the second, sapphire, the third, chalcedony/agate, the fourth, emerald, the fifth, sardonyx, the sixth, carnelian, the seventh, chrysolite, the eighth, beryl, the ninth, topaz, the tenth, chrysoprase, the eleventh, jacinth, the twelfth, amethyst,
(21) and the twelve gates [are] twelve pearls.
Each one of the gates was from a single pearl,
and the city street [is] pure/clean gold, like transparent glass,
(22) and a temple, I didn't see in it.
For the Lord, God, the Almighty, its temple, He is, and the Lamb,
(23) and the city doesn't have need of the sun or of the moon,
that they would shine in it.
For God's glory illuminates it,
and its lamp [is] the Lamb,
(24) and the nations walk by its light,
and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it,
(25) and its gates will absolutely never be shut by day.
For night, there isn't there,
(26) and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it,
(27) and nothing will absolutely ever into it [that's] unclean, or the one practicing/doing detestable things and falsehood, but only the ones having been written in the book of life of the Lamb,
(22:1) and he showed me a river of living water (or: "river of the water of life"), clear like crystal,
coming out from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
(2) In the middle of its street, and on both sides of the river, [is] the tree of life producing 12 fruits,
in every month yielding its fruit,
and the leaves of the tree [are] for the healing of the nations,
(3) and every/any curse, there will no longer be,
and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it ["in it" is focused],
and his slaves will serve/worship him,
(4) and they will see his face,
and his name [will be] upon their foreheads,
(5) and night, there will no longer be,
and they won't have need of the light of a lamp or the light of the sun,
because the Lord God will illuminate for/over them,
and they will reign forever and ever.
(6) and he said to me,
"These words [are] faithful and true,
and the Lord-- The God of the spirits of the prophets-- sent his angel to show his slaves what must happen soon,"
(7) "and LOOK! I am coming quickly!
Blessed [is] the one keeping/obeying the words of the prophecy of this book,"
(8) and I, John, [am] the one hearing and seeing these things,
and when I heard and I saw, I fell down to worship/bow down before the feet of the angel showing me these things,
(9) and he says to me,
"Don't do that!
Your fellow slave, I am, and one of your brothers-- the prophets.
To God worship/bow down,"
(10) and he says to me,
"Don't seal up the words of the prophecy of this book.
For the time, near, it is. ["near" is focused].
The one doing evil should still do evil,
and the dirty/defiled one should still be dirty/defiled,
and the righteous one should still do/practice righteousness,
and the holy one should still be holy.
LOOK! I am coming quickly!,
and my reward/repayment [is] with me to repay to each one, in according to his work (singular).
(13) I [am] the Alpha and the Omega (the "A" and "Z")-- the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
(14) Blessed [are] the ones washing their robes,
in order that their authority will be over the tree of life,
and [that] through the gates, they may enter into the city.
(15) Outside [are] the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and the murderers and the idol-servers and everyone doing and doing falsehood.
(16) I, Jesus, sent my angel to testify/witness to you [about] these things for the churches.
I am the root and the descendant of David-- the Bright Morning Star,"
(17) and The Spirit and the Bride say,
"Come!,"
and the one hearing should say,
"Come!,"
and the one thirsty should come.
The one desiring/wanting should take the water of life freely.
(18) I testify to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this book:
If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues written in this book,
(19) and if anyone removes from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share from the tree of life and from the holy city-- the ones having been written about in this book.
(20) The one testifying [about] these things says,
"Yes, come quickly!
Amen, come, Lord Jesus!."
(21) The grace of the Lord Jesus [be] with all.
