"22 I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; 4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. 5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever."
Show me a Christian who does not live for Christ, and I'll show you a counterfeit Christian who seeks only after his own pleasure, one who has no insatiable appetite for the Word of God, no passion for obedience to His commands. This is an ungrateful hypocrite that is laying up his treasures here on earth. Tragically, this may well apply to some of you. I beseech you to become serious about your walk with Christ. Ask God to examine your hearts and reveal to you His diagnosis of your true spiritual condition before it's too late. Far better to have Him reveal it now than when you are standing before Him in judgement and hear Him say "‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’"
It is very sobering to realize that people’s response to God’s gospel truth will ultimately determine their eternal destiny. My heart grieves for those who will fail to heed Scriptures warnings and repent. The Bible repeatedly warns sinners not to harden their hearts to the point where God judicially abandons them. Yet, tragically, those warnings often go unheeded, even by those who claim to know God.
Luke 13:24-25 teaches us "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’"
Still many continue to reject the opportunity to repent, therefore, to the opportunity to believe the truth is wasted. These truths will melt the hearts of the repentant and harden the hearts of the unrepentant. They will either become an instrument of salvation, or an instrument of eternal damnation. God will turn the hardened, unrepentant sinners over to the consequences of their own choices.
For this reason, I believe the truth must be proclaimed so the lost can hear them while there is still time. It is only the proclamation of the truth will alter their eternal destinies. Tragically, many are being deceived by false teaching, water down doctrine. Only those who place their truth in the One who can give them spiritual sight, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be able to see the truth. Those who willfully choose to remain spiritually blind who will never see and they will continue to seek fellowship with the darkness, because their deeds are evil, and coming to the Light would expose the evil of their deeds. They will only plunge into deeper darkness. Many teachers of God's Word do not see any value in talking about sin, repentance and hell because they believe it's not culturally relevant or politically correct.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, as always, we thank You for Your Word, for these glorious eternal truths that stir our spiritual affections. Lord, I pray, that by Your grace you might show all of us here the truth about our spiritual condition, as You see us, not as we see ourselves. Make clear the message of the gospel to those who are lost, and release them from the prison of their own sin. We pray for those have no desire to serve you. Disturb their peace, break the shackles of darkness, blindness, bringing them under conviction, until they turn to You in genuine repentance. We pray that You would cause the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ to shine in the hearts of those who are gathered with us today, that the one who seeks you with all his heart shall find you. We ask and pray this in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His glorious sake, and for Your glory.
Amen
Today's Message: The New Jerusalem - Part II
In our last message, we looked at the exterior design, the configuration of the city, its walls and all the precious stone which adorn it and the pearl gates. Now we’re going to go inside the city. What man lost in Genesis is regained by the Lamb. In the Garden of Eden
there was a river which flowed through the garden and a tree of life. I believe if the fall of man
were to have occurred today, I imagine that the American Civil Liberties Union
would immediately file suit against God and in defense of Adam and Eve. I am almost certain the premise of the lawsuit would allege that this sinful act was performed in the privacy of the garden, and by two consenting adults, resulting in an illegal eviction and an unfair curse. Further, we find that severity of the consequences imposed a man’s partaking of a supposedly forbidden fruit, which was placed in the garden, unreasonable
in the light of what seems to be a rather insignificant matter.
Open your Bibles then with me to to Revelation chapter 22 and I'd like
to invite you to read along with me verses one through five. I
personally, cannot wait to get to heaven and to see these things. I pray
that by the time we conclude our message, you will agree. Revelation 22:1-5
"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever."
Let's look at verse 1 and 2a, "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street." Allow me to point out that everything is crystal clear, in order that the glory of God shines through it all. John begins with "Then he showed me a river of the water of life," this is not a river like we know today. Because in order to have a river as we know it, you’d have to have a sea, and you will remember, there's no more sea. So this is not the river we see today. This is a different kind of river, crystal clear, because it's filled with the water of life.
I have had a number of people ask "What is the water of life?" We cannot be dogmatic, because Scripture does not give us the detail, except to say it’s the water of life, and it’s as clear as crystal, ever flowing and it’s ever cascading, coming down from the throne of God and of the Lamb. I believe that it's a symbol of pure, holy, eternal life flowing down through the city from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And, we know from Scripture that water symbolizes eternal life, because one must be born again of the water and the Spirit.We know that Jesus said to the Apostle Peter in the upper room before His arrest and crucifixion, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." So then, water symbolizes salvation and eternal life. Because He is the fountain; He is
the source of eternal life, it is the constant flow of everlasting life from God’s throne in
all the people in glory. This symbolically portrays the abundance of life which God and the Lamb will provide in the eternal city. Notice that the Lamb is still on the throne here in the eternal state.
Psalm 46 says "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God." I believe there is little doubt that this is what the psalmist had in mind.
Then verse 2 tells us, "in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Here, we see in paradise regained, both a river of the waters of life and a
tree of life. I'd like you to notice there is
no tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I believe because there is absolutely no possibly of man again seeking to be God, God alone will be man’s life and his source of the knowledge of good.
Though Jesus, in His glorified body ate, there is no indication from Scripture that He needed to eat to sustain His body. And, we know from Scripture, that believers will have a glorified body just like His after the resurrection. There's no mention of soil, so, this isn’t a tree like we now know. This is the tree of life. I believe these are symbols of the abundant life that will exist in the eternal state. And, all
men will drink of these waters and eat of this fruit as an act
of testimony and faith in the perpetuity or eternality of this abundant
life. It symbolizes blessing. When you have something that you desire, something that you really long for, and
God fulfills it, your life becomes rich and full and meaningful. That’s a
tree of life, which produces the best of life. All who are in heaven are going to be content, longing for nothing, because they lack nothing.
Notice the tree "bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." First, we know that time has no part of eternity, but it does remind us that there are cycles. As a footnote, the word "tree" in the original language is the word "xulon," which means a piece of wood or an object fashioned out of wood and was used of the cross. Therefore, I believe that the tree, its fruit and leaves may well be an eternal reminder of the cost of our spiritual blessing and eternal health.It doesn't say that we eat the leaves, only they are for healing, and since illness doesn't exist, I believe it's therapeutic. In fact, the word used here is "therapeian," I believe they symbolize the full enjoyment of life. Because there's no need to be healed of anything.
Verse 3, gives us a picture of what life is going to be like. "There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him." There's no longer any curse, no more tears, no more death, mourning or pain, because those are part of the curse and it's eternally removed. I believe this again stresses the absolute blessedness of this city and our eternal state in which there is absolutely no trace left of the curse. This is absolutely wonderful news for those who suffer everyday in pain. Next we see "and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it." There's no temple, however there is a throne.
We see at the end of the verse "His bondservants shall serve Him."Every person will be involved in a special vocation of service and activity for the Trinity. The Greek word used here is the word "latreuw," which is used primarily of divine service and worship. We should notice, that he word "Him" is the object of the word "serve." Today, our service is often distracted and activity for the Lord is not always for His advantage. In heaven, we’re going to joyfully do whatever He tells us to do.
This brings us to verse 4, "They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads." Though in Matthew 28:20, Jesus says "I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Quite often, in everyday trials of this life, fail to see the face of Jesus and look unto Him for comfort, and support. Now we can look at the blazing glory of God in all its fullness and we shall not die, because we too are holy. The days of Exodus 33 are forever changed. This is the fulfillment of Jesus' words in Matthew 5:8, when He said "They shall see God." Beloved, we will see the full blaze of His eternal glory. And every believer is going to follow the glory back to the face from Whom it radiates. Our Lord.
Notice, at the end of verse 4, "His name shall be on their foreheads." This is the mark of personal possession. We're slaves. This will be our identification and guarantee that we are the Lord’s and belong to the eternal city. We have been qualified to be there by the work of the Lamb. All of that is identified in what is written on us.
Then, in verse 5, John tells us "And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever." Here, we have another emphasis on the light, the illuminating character of the eternal city. It will be illuminated directly by God’s presence. I John 1 tells us that "God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." All of the previous sources of light that we have come to know, are superseded by the perfection and infinite light of the personal presence of God Himself. As I sit here at my desk writing this message, the sun suddenly began to shine brightly, glistening through the window. As beautiful as it is, it shall not compare to God’s glorious presence illuminating His holy city. Surely, those of us who stand continually before God and see His glory and the glory of the Lamb are truly happy.
Notice at the end of verse 5, John writes "and they will reign forever and ever." I believe this is of significant importance, if you will recall, because man chose to listen to the one of darkness, he lost his capacity to reign over the creation of God. Our reigning with the Lord in the eternal state is restored, and proceeds from our fellowship. We will not be just serving the Lord, we will also be reigning with Him. What an incredible truth!
This is the fulfillment of what Revelation 3:21 says, "To him who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne." It is unfathomable to me that we could attain to such glory, eternally embraced in the arms of the glory of God! When I look back upon on my failures in my life, it is just unbelievable to think that I may have even the lowest place in the kingdom of God, and yet, Scripture says we will be reigning. When compared to the torment in hell that we deserve, would it not seem
reasonable to show our love and gratitude by giving ourselves as a
living sacrifice to Christ, serving others, discipling others, sharing Christ, teaching, praying, giving.
May it be so..
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
Copyright © 2019-2021 All Rights Reserved