May 20, 2001 Revelation 21:10-14,22-23
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13 There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14 The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.
When I was a kid we used to draw up on a piece of paper the way we wanted our homes to look. We would have little streams and bridges running through the middle of our homes, and then cut out a little character and walk them through the home. It was neat to try and dream up the ultimate house. It’s fun to dream about living in the ultimate dream home - you know - the kind with a big screen TV, a hot tub, the works. Even though we may never own it, it’s fun to dream anyway.
Did you ever dream about what heaven will be like? The picture downstairs pictures Jesus walking with two children up to a gloriously gold and white palace. There’s not many drawings of heaven, because it’s hard to picture - isn’t it? But that’s what John does in today’s text.
The Perfect Portrait of Paradise Is Painted for You
I. Showing you it’s security system
If you were to plan the ultimate retirement home - what you would really need - with all of that expensive equipment - is a security system. I can guarantee you that every new home out at McFarland Farm will have security systems. Not only that, but they will also have a gate at the entry way where only certain people can enter. You need security!
That’s one of the first things that John notices. God carried him up to a high mountain - and he noticed the Holy City, Jerusalem come flying down out of the sky. As this city was coming down, he noticed the huge walls that surrounded the city. John later on says that these walls were 1400 miles high and 200 feet thick. It was like a perfect square - with three gates on each side. If you are familiar with Old Testament history, you will notice immediately the similarity between this City and the way the Israelites encamped in the wilderness. Three tribes would be on the north. Three on the south. Three on the west. And three on the east. It would be perfect protection in the middle of the desert - to have the people surround the temple in a perfect square. Not only were there huge walls around the city, but there were also 12 angels standing at each gate - keeping any intruders from coming in. In other words, heaven will be secure! No intruders will be able to come in.
But the main question is - how will we get in!?! We certainly couldn’t climb over 1400 mile high walls! We couldn’t break through walls that were 200 miles thick! We couldn’t overpower holy angels! There isn’t a gate that says, “pretty good people” above it. There isn’t a gate that says, “popular people here.” Sometimes even we have a hard time understanding this as well. We still have a part of us that thinks that just because we go to church and go to the Lord’s Supper we deserve to be called Christians. There is no gate that says, “churchgoers enter through here.” Instead, God has the name of the 12 tribes of Israel on the 12 gates. The only way you can get in is if you are an Israelite. Now there’s only one problem. We aren’t Jewish. We are Gentiles. But when you read the book of Romans, Paul explains what an Israelite really is in the sight of God. An Israelite is one of Abraham’s spiritual descendant. We become “Israelites” in God’s eyes when we believe in God’s promise of the Savior - just as Abraham and the Jews did. So these gates with the Israelites’ names above them can give us comfort. No matter what tribe we are from - North, South, East, and West - Indian, African American, Caucasian, as long as we believe in Christ, we can enter heaven. No matter what religion we are, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, those who despair of their own works and believe in Christ will be in heaven.
The real neat thing about it - is the whole concept of the name - Israelites. You don’t choose your nationality. It’s something you’re just born into. The concept that we are Israelites gives all glory to God. Israelites in the Old Testament didn’t choose to be Israelites. They were born into it. In the same way, at first we were born dead in our transgressions. We didn’t choose to be New Testament Israelite believers. Instead, God brought us to life - adopted us into His family, when His Holy Spirit entered us at our baptism. He changed us from Danny Devil to Christopher Christian. God chose us to be His children through the Word of God. And now God says to us in Ephesians 2:19 you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household. We can find great security in knowing that we - as adopted New Testament Israelites - are allowed into the Heavenly Kingdom - into a heavily fortified mansion that the devil can not penetrate.
II. Showing you it’s foundation
In Los Angeles there are many fine homes with great security systems. But one problem they had several years ago were with mud slides. Many rich and expensive homes were ruined when the ground that they were built on literally slid out from under them - destroying them. That’s another thing that’s necessary for a dream home - to have a solid foundation. Jesus even made mention of this in a parable where he warned not to build your house on the sandy land. It might look kind of nice - but when the wind and the waves come in - it will blow right over. You need a solid foundation.
That’s what people are searching for in this life. A solid foundation. We want to make sure that we have enough money saved up for retirement. We want to make sure that we have a nice house to live in. Some people are working very hard to achieve these goals. But the problem is - while they are slaving to put their future in cement, they are losing the very foundation of their present lives. Their marriages are suffering because of their overloaded work hours. Their health is deteriorating because they aren’t getting enough sleep. And the older you get, the worse your foundation gets. When you start suffering health problems - the foundation of - “I can take care of myself starts to shake.” When your parents die, the foundation of family is gone. For instance, just this past year my parents moved out of their house and moved up north. The house that I grew up in - learned to walk in - learned to talk in - played basketball at - is now sold. It wasn’t that big of a deal. It hit me more when my grandparents died. The places that I grew up and visited - my foundations in this physical life - were gone. In other words - I realized that I needed something MORE SOLID. Something that lasts FOREVER.
The only forever foundation is found in the vision that John has. As he sees this kingdom coming down from heaven - he notices not one foundation - not two - but TWELVE foundations! Twelve! That’s solid! That’s earthquake proof! And what is written on the 12 foundations? The names of the 12 apostles. If I were to ask you who the twelve apostles were, most of you would probably have a hard time naming them. The fact is, some of them are not mentioned more than once in the Bible. This says something in itself. It wasn’t the men that made the foundations so strong. It was their testimony. They were the apostles of the Lamb. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. So the truth is, there is only one foundation that we can stand on as Christians - the foundation of Jesus Christ.
What a comfort this is! The foundation of Jesus Christ is solid. It’s solid - first of all - because it’s perfect and complete. When I trust in my own self - I’m never done working. And my work is never good enough. But Jesus said - it is finished - on the cross. His work of living a perfect life - and dying an innocent death in our place was complete. When Jesus raised from the dead - we were assured that our salvation was paid for in full. It’s solid.
Think about it in comparison with the things of this world. Even if, God forbid - your spouse says to you, “I don’t love you anymore - I’m leaving.”, you’ll still know that Jesus will never leave you. Even if, God forbid - one of your children were to die today - Jesus will never die. Even if you were to lose your job, you could still keep working for Jesus. His Word will never go away. We can always turn to him. That’s something that’s solid. And it lasts forever. It gives us comfort in knowing that the portrait of paradise has a firm foundation. That’s what makes us sing -
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare to make no other claim,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
III. Showing you it’s splendor
There was a movie made long ago called the “Money Pit.” In it, the husband and wife thought they had found the ultimate place to live in. The inside and outside of the house was beautifully decorated with rich ornate woodwork and the like. After walking through it once they decided it was the home for them. But once they paid for it and they moved in, everything started falling apart. Pretty soon, their dream home ended up costing them more than they ever expected - making it a money pit. That’s what happens to homes made in this world. In my home in Norton, the water softener broke, the furnace died, the roof got old, and the basement sprung a leak - all within the span of a few years. I realized then that you have to really examine a house before you buy it. On the exterior it might look real nice, but the inside might give you another story. There might be termite problems - plumbing problems - electrical problems - that could easily be overlooked.
Up to this point in the portrait of paradise - everything has been perfect. Perfect security with a perfect foundation. But what about the inside. In this vision - as the holy city of Jerusalem passed John from heaven to the earth - he was then able to look down into the city from the top of the mountain - and what did he see?
Vs. 22 says, I did not see a temple in the city. This was surprising to John - and it should have been. John, like the rest of the disciples - was a Jew. He grew up expecting to see a temple at Jerusalem. After all - it was at the temple that they could make their sacrifices to God to get right with him. At the temple they could hear the Word of God. At the temple they could find fellowship with other believers. This was the place where they could listen to and approach their God! But this portrait of paradise had no temple!
Did you ever stop to think about what won’t be in heaven? God’s Word mentions a few things that WON’T be in heaven. No marriage for one. (Matthew 22:30) No unbelievers. Which means if Uncle Fred was not a believer, he won’t be there. If your spouse was not a believer, she won’t be there either. What else? We don’t know for sure. No more TV? Probably not. No more drag races? No more pro football? No more water skiing? Fishing? Cars? Planes? Pet dogs? Who knows for sure? It’s hard for some to think about life without sports - without TV - without cars, etc. That bothers some people. In fact, it bothers them so much that they say, “if my husband isn’t going to be there, then I don’t want to go either.” Maybe you are having a hard time with that as well. Will it be hard for you to leave your house behind? Your children? Your entertainment? If so, you need to remember what Jesus said in Luke 9:62 - “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” If your job, your entertainment - your spouse - or even your children - mean more to you than your salvation does - that’s idolatry. If it bothers you so much that you don’t want to go to heaven without someone or something - then you don’t belong in heaven. That thing or person has become your god. God didn’t design us to serve the things of the world.
At first, it seemed to bother John that there was no temple there in heaven. That’s what he grew up with. But then he realized why there was no temple. I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. It had no temple because the Lamb - Jesus Christ was there in the flesh! They didn’t need to make sacrifices to get to God - because THE perfect sacrifice was right there in front of them. When John realized this - it made him completely at ease.
We have often been sinfully attached to this world. Deserving hell. But the comfort in life is that Jesus didn’t look back. He put his hand on the plow of salvation - kept focused on the cross - went through hell - died - rose from the dead - and ascended into heaven. He did all of this as our substitute - never looking back - so that we - who love to look back - would be forgiven. He did this in our place - so that in God’s eyes - it would appear as if we were always clinging to Him, when in reality - we weren’t. He promises us that our sins of clinging to the things of this world have been forgiven - and then heaven is free of charge through the blood of Christ.
Therefore, when we see this picture of heaven - it makes letting go of this world all the easier. Revelation paints a picture of paradise with more crying. No more pain. No more tears. No more saying “it’s too hot!” or “it’s too cold.” With no day and night there will be no more deadlines to meet! No more backaches. No more headaches. No more sin! And most importantly - we know that our Savior Jesus will be there with us - face to face. The beauty of heaven will make us forget about the past! The comfort that we feel after taking the Lord’s Supper will be with us every minute and every second of our lives. His glory will light up our lives for eternity. When we remember this - the Holy Spirit enables us to let go of the things of this life - and look forward to eternity with Him in heaven. With this view of the INSIDE of heaven - it makes us want to be there all the more.
There’s a guy on TV - who died a few years ago - who used to be able to paint the perfect picture. I can’t remember his name - but he was a white guy with a big afro - kind of funny looking sight. Anyway, he could paint the most amazing pictures. With a soft voice he’d whisper, “let’s put a little happy cloud here. This spot could use a nice little stream, and how about a stream over here.” It was amazing how he could paint a paradise out of the top of his head.
The Holy Spirit does the same thing for us today. He paints a perfect portrait of paradise in just a few verses. With this picture he assures us of perfect security, a solid foundation, and a wonderful place to live. The only difference is - even though this picture is symbolical - it’s a picture of a real things! Real security! A real foundation! A real presence with the Lamb! Look forward to the day that God calls you from this veil of tears to His perfect paradise prepared for you! Amen.
