Participants: Ranko Stefanovic
Series Code: RCK
Program Code: RCK000026
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00:22 Welcome again to our program,
00:26 "Revelation of the Coming King." 00:31 This program is a part, as you know, 00:34 of a long series in which we have tried 00:38 to cover all chapters of the Book of Revelation. 00:43 I'm Ranko Stefanovic, 00:46 Professor of New Testament at the Seventh-day Adventist 00:49 Theological Seminary, Andrews University. 00:53 And I have really enjoyed 00:55 spending my time with all of you. 00:57 I'm always excited when we can take the Bible 01:01 and to study for ourselves. 01:04 The purpose of the Book of Revelation 01:07 is indeed to tell us that that a longer way to the day, 01:11 which is in the Book of Revelation, 01:13 described in terms of the Jewish wedding 01:16 that long awaited day when finally 01:18 we will see our Savior face to face. 01:21 Amen. It's a reality rooted 01:24 in God's promise, in God's promise 01:28 that He will come again 01:30 and bring the history of this world 01:32 to its end and to establish His kingdom. 01:37 We would like to remind you 01:39 that once this program is over, you can go and study 01:45 now the Book of Revelation for yourself. 01:48 We got very good guidelines and insights into how to do it. 01:55 But once this program is over 01:57 please take the Book of Revelation, 01:59 because the many more insights 02:01 you can get from this wonderful book 02:04 and to apply to your personal lives. 02:06 Please don't forget, this is the best textbook, 02:10 the infallible word of God which is actually 02:13 the best commentary on the book of Revelation. 02:17 It was 2,000 years ago, it was 100 years ago, 02:21 it is now, it will always be 02:24 until the second coming of Christ. 02:26 Nothing has ever, ever changed in this commentary, 02:30 because the author of this commentary is God himself. 02:33 But you need also some other tools. 02:37 There are people who invested a good part of their lives 02:41 doing research and using all their skills and the knowledge 02:47 in order to get a meaning of some difficult 02:50 portions of the Book of Revelation. 02:53 And the summary of that research 02:55 is actually found in this book titled, 02:59 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." 03:03 Actually, it is written by me with one simple purpose 03:08 is to help serious students of the Book of Revelation 03:13 who like to find the meaning of this wonderful book, 03:17 to provide them with the Old Testament, 03:20 New Testament background text and to provide 03:23 many other insights and tools as a help 03:26 as you're studying the Book of Revelation. 03:29 You can always go to certain portion of this commentary 03:35 and which--this is the verse by verse commentary, okay. 03:38 And then go to the text of the Book of the Revelation 03:42 and you will get so much help. 03:44 But please you have to do your part as you're digging 03:47 through the text of this wonderful book. 03:53 Our last lecture on the Book of Revelation 03:56 in which we cover chapters 21 and 22 03:59 of the Book of Revelation, you can find a great help 04:02 in this commentary from page 585. 04:07 You will see we have about little bit more than 50 minutes 04:11 for this lecture but here you have about 40 pages. 04:14 So how much you can find more 04:17 than what will be presented here. 04:18 I would like really to encourage you to go and to study 04:22 the Book of Revelation for yourself. 04:25 But there is something that is much more important 04:27 is that you-- that we seek 04:32 God and He to be present with us 04:36 and to give us his us His Holy Spirit, 04:38 because only the Holy Spirit can enable us, 04:41 give us that wisdom and understanding 04:43 into the meaning of this symbolic 04:46 text of the Book of Revelation. 04:48 And it is only the Holy Spirit who can help us 04:51 to apply the messages 04:53 of the Book of Revelation to our daily lives. 04:57 So may God bless each one of you as you're making 05:00 that great effort to study the word of God. 05:05 Keep in mind that the Book of Revelation 05:07 was not given to a group, selected group, 05:11 small group of scholars, 05:14 because according to Revelation Chapter 1 and 3, 05:16 the Book of Revelation is given to the church, 05:20 to every Christian and every Christian 05:23 can get that meaning that concerns his or her character 05:29 and how to prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God. 05:34 So we will ask God for His presence here in our midst 05:40 and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit 05:42 as we're trying to understand this wonderful message 05:45 of the last book of the Bible. 05:48 Our heavenly Father, thank you so much for Your promises, 05:54 that when we take Your word and study for ourselves 05:58 that You will be present with us. 06:01 Thank you for the promise of the Holy Spirit, 06:03 that the Holy Spirit will direct us into all the truth. 06:08 This is exactly what we are asking at this moment, 06:11 to give us Your Holy Spirit and help us to understand 06:15 these wonderful messages of the Book of Revelation. 06:18 Be with all of us. 06:20 And we're praying all of this 06:22 in the precious name of our Savior Jesus Christ, amen. 06:33 In our last presentation finally we came 06:39 to that point in this wonderful book 06:43 which is telling us about 06:45 the close in the history of this world. 06:49 And we saw that the Book of Revelation 06:50 is telling us that it is not some nuclear war, 06:56 some terrible fight, whether in Palestine 07:00 or some other parts of the world that will actually bring 07:02 the conclusion of this world's history. 07:05 Actually, it is God Himself 07:07 who will come to intervene on behalf of His people. 07:11 And finally there will be that long awaited 07:15 union between Christ and His faithful followers 07:19 which is portrayed in terms of that Jewish wedding. 07:23 We saw that at the second coming of Christ 07:26 two things will happen. 07:28 We will have that general resurrection of God's people, 07:31 those who are faithful to God. 07:33 They will resurrect, transform and be taken there 07:38 to the sky to meet Jesus and finally Jesus 07:42 will take them for a certain period of time 07:45 which is in the Book of Revelation 07:47 referred to as the "Millennium." 07:49 They'll be there. 07:51 They'll be involved in many activities. 07:53 We will be kept busy there while the rest of the humanity 07:57 will wait for that second resurrection 08:02 and the final judgment. 08:06 Friends, I just want to remind you 08:10 that our God is God of love. 08:13 He doesn't like to destroy anybody. 08:16 By the way, in the Book of Zephaniah 08:20 we read that when God will have to destroy sinners 08:23 and Satan himself for God it will be a very unusual work. 08:29 That's not in His nature. 08:32 You know you have maybe your old house. 08:36 In that house your parents lived. 08:39 You were born there. 08:41 There are many memories. 08:43 But finally, you see that that old house, it's useless. 08:46 It's not for use any longer. 08:48 You want to build a new house. 08:51 In order to build new house on that location, 08:53 you have to destroy the old house. 08:57 It's heartbreaking event for you. 08:58 You don't like to do it but you have to do it 09:02 in order to make something new, something more beautiful. 09:06 This is what we're talking about. 09:08 God will have to bring the history 09:11 of this world to its end. 09:14 And God will have to destroy this earth that suffers 09:20 so much under the burden of sin and Satan's activities, 09:24 because God wants to build something more beautiful for us. 09:30 He wants to build the home for us 09:32 where we will live through all eternity. 09:34 This is the purpose 09:35 of the Book of Revelation to tell us about. 09:38 This is the conclusion of this book. 09:41 And this is really 09:42 what the Book of Revelation is all about, 09:44 to tell us as we are suffering, 09:47 as we are under the pressure of some serious things 09:52 that make our lives bitter. 09:56 It's to tell us just wait, just wait, 09:59 this life is just temporary, 10:01 because God is preparing for us something more beautiful, 10:05 something better and we are waiting, 10:08 waiting for the day. 10:09 I cannot wait to see my Savior face to face. 10:15 So John, the revelator, as he is watching 10:21 how God terminates sin 10:23 and the cause of all sin Satan himself. 10:27 He is now in the conclusion 10:29 of that vision and I'd like to invite you 10:33 to turn to the Book of Revelation 21:1. 10:40 Friends, we are dealing with two chapters. 10:41 We will not be able to cover all verses, 10:43 but I would like that we see in a nutshell 10:45 what really Revelation, these last two chapters is all about. 10:51 John said, "Then I saw a new heaven 10:56 and the new earth. 10:59 For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, 11:06 and there is no longer any sea." 11:14 If we have just this one verse, 11:18 this one verse would be enough to tell us everything 11:21 what our future is all about. 11:24 John is talking that God will-- after the destruction of sin 11:28 and evil and the originator of that sin, 11:33 God will finally make a new heaven and the new earth. 11:39 We want to dig little bit into the text. 11:42 It talks here about the new heaven. 11:44 We have to understand something. 11:46 We're dealing here reading the Bible in English language. 11:50 We have to understand that among the Hebrews, 11:54 also in my own language, in Greek as well, 11:58 there are three heavens. 12:01 This is the way how they understood. 12:03 There are three heavens. 12:05 By the way, if you open 2 Corinthians 12:1, 12:09 Paul talks about how he was taken into vision. 12:13 He was taken to the third heaven. 12:16 What are you talking about? 12:18 Among the Jewish people the first heaven was sky. 12:23 From that first heaven, from sky, that rain comes. 12:26 Are you still with me? 12:28 There was the second heaven 12:29 which is really we call universe, okay. 12:32 So in English we have sky, we have universe. 12:34 In Hebrew there's first heaven, third heaven--second heaven. 12:39 And third heaven is actually the place where God dwells. 12:44 So when John here talks that God created new heaven 12:48 and the new earth, he really talks about the earth 12:52 and the atmosphere that surrounds our earth. 12:54 He talks about the sky. 12:56 So God will create everything new. 13:00 By the way, the text 13:01 that we have just read, it's nothing new. 13:06 John is using here the language of the Old Testament. 13:09 Because if you go here to the prophet of Isaiah, 13:13 the prophet of Isaiah, Chapter 65, 13:17 we read in verse 17, "For behold"--God says, 13:23 Isaiah, 65:17, "For behold, 13:26 I create new heavens and a new earth. 13:30 And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind." 13:34 You see, there is nothing new in the Book of Revelation. 13:37 That promise that God will create one day 13:40 new heaven and the new earth, 13:41 actually, God's promise already 13:43 known to the Old Testament prophets. 13:47 But finally now John is witnessing in the vision 13:51 the fulfillment of that promise that Isaiah prophesied, 13:59 new heaven and the new earth. 14:01 The keyword that we're using here 14:06 it's actually the Greek word koinos 14:14 which really means new. 14:16 But the problem is you see when you're dealing 14:20 with the translation we don't get the full meaning 14:23 of what is in Greek. 14:25 In Greek there are two words for new. 14:30 One is koinos and the other one is neos. 14:36 In Greek the basic differences between the two words, 14:40 even though the two words sometimes, 14:42 you know, in later development the meaning was overlapping. 14:46 Koinos, it means you have something 14:49 like you had the old house. 14:53 And you tear down that house and you build another one. 14:57 So that house is on the new location, that's koinos. 15:02 It means you have something new that replaced the old one. 15:07 So that new house is not really new. 15:09 It's what? 15:11 It's replacement for that old house. 15:15 The word neos, it means something really new in time, 15:19 something that is made for the first time. 15:24 The word koinos is used here to telling us 15:27 that our planet earth will be brand new, 15:32 but it will replace the old one. 15:34 You see the same God, the same God 15:38 that in Book of Genesis Chapter 1, 15:41 He created this earth. 15:43 The word bara is used. 15:45 He created everything out of nothing. 15:47 Now God recreates. 15:49 But this earth is not simply a renewal of the old earth. 15:53 It's a brand new and that's why John said here in the text 16:00 we'll see later, "What was before 16:04 will not be a reminder to us at all, 16:08 at all with the creation of the new earth." 16:11 But then John mentioned something else. 16:13 He said, "The first earth passed away" 16:15 and then he said "there is no longer any sea." 16:19 I know that we talk about that, 16:21 oh boy, at the beginning of this series, 16:24 but please allow me one more time to talk about that, 16:27 because in this phrase we have the summary of everything 16:32 that Revelation 21 and 22 is about. 16:38 Because I know I meet good Christians 16:40 and they come to this phrase and they like to debate, 16:43 what does it mean that on the new earth 16:44 we will not have a sea any longer? 16:46 And sometimes our English translation, 16:49 the Bible, it's very confusing, 16:51 "There is no longer any sea." 16:53 By the way, in Greek it sounds "and the sea." 16:57 And the sea, there is no any longer. 17:03 When John mentioned here that the sea 17:06 there is no any longer, 17:07 he had one particular sea in mind. 17:10 And that was the sea of his experience. 17:13 It brings us back 17:15 to the beginning of the Book of Revelation. 17:16 You remember John was on Patmos. 17:20 He was there in tribulation. 17:23 He was there in suffering because of his faithfulness 17:27 to the gospel and to Christ. 17:29 And he was surrounded by that sea. 17:31 By the way, I was on Patmos. 17:34 That's beautiful scenery, but, you know, 17:36 when you are on Patmos 17:38 and when you suffer all that beauty disappears. 17:41 That sea that is beautiful, it's melodic. 17:45 In the Book of Revelation the voice of Jesus, 17:48 the voice of God, said people, 17:49 always sound as the sound of many waters, 17:52 the sound of that sea that surrounded Patmos. 17:55 But all that beauty disappears because you suffer there 17:59 and that scene prevents you to get out of the tribulation. 18:07 That's why that sea in the Book of Revelation 18:10 receives negative connotations. 18:13 By the way, in the ancient world, 18:15 even we see that concept in the Old Testament. 18:18 The sea has very negative meaning. 18:21 It's the place where those monsters dwell. 18:24 In the Old Testament those monsters are the symbols 18:27 of the enemies of God's people. 18:29 They are always coming out of the sea. 18:31 No wonder that that terrible beast 18:34 that persecuted God's people during the medieval period 18:37 and will do it again prior to the second coming of Christ, 18:40 you remember that? 18:42 It's coming out of the sea. 18:45 It's the great prostitute that sits on many waters. 18:48 Are you with me? 18:50 But that sea made John to suffer there. 18:53 That sea for him meant separation, 18:56 the cause of all trouble that he experienced 18:59 while he was there on Patmos. 19:02 Everything that John saw from day to day, 19:04 from week to week, from months to months, 19:06 wherever he turned around it was that sea 19:09 that make his life bitter. 19:14 No wonder now John is watching 19:18 the new heaven and the new earth. 19:19 And what is the first thing that he notices, 19:24 that he observes that there is not there on that new earth? 19:29 There is no Dead Sea. 19:31 It's a particular sea. 19:32 It's not any sea. 19:34 It's that sea that make him suffer here in this life. 19:39 And he said the cause of my suffering has disappeared. 19:45 I cannot see it there on the new earth. 19:49 Dear viewers, yeah, 19:53 we would like to understand sometimes 19:57 some problematic statements of the Book of Revelation. 20:00 We would like really sometimes to deal with the things 20:02 that will not help us spiritually. 20:06 And maybe as long as we live 20:08 we will never be able to understand 20:10 every detail of the Book of Revelation. 20:14 For some insights we have to wait 20:16 until the time of the fulfillment 20:17 of the prophesy of the Book of Revelation comes. 20:22 But there is one thing we have to understand 20:25 is if you have anything in your life 20:29 that reminds you of that sea that John suffered, 20:35 maybe, doctor told you have few months just to live. 20:42 Maybe you don't know how you'll pay your bills 20:45 at the end of the month. 20:48 Maybe you have serious issues in your life 20:51 like family problems or you're in desperate situation 20:55 when you see how you're repeating 20:58 always mistake over and over again. 21:00 And sometimes you say I have to do away with my life. 21:06 I just want to tell you, keep on longer. 21:11 Your Savior has not forgotten you. 21:14 And He's reminding you here in the Book of Revelation 21:18 that the day is coming. 21:23 Then when you find yourself there on that new earth, 21:27 the first thing you will observe that 21:31 that sea by which you were surrounded in this present life 21:36 there is no longer there on the new earth. 21:39 This is what we are waiting for. 21:43 That's the reason I'm telling you 21:44 that this one verse we have the summary of everything 21:47 what chapters 21 and 22 are all about. 21:51 But then the text moves on. 21:56 "And I saw the holy city," verse 2, 22:00 "New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 22:06 made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 22:11 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 22:15 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men. 22:20 And He will dwell among them. 22:24 And they shall be His people 22:27 and God Himself will be among them. 22:33 And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 22:37 And there will no longer be any death. 22:41 There will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain, 22:46 for the first things have passed away.'" 22:51 Boy, I'm tempted to talk so much about this. 22:54 You'll notice here for the first things have passed away. 22:58 This repetition of that phrase that we have here in verse 1. 23:03 See the emphasis is that God creates everything new. 23:09 And everything that was before, okay, 23:15 that was distorted by sin 23:17 and all the suffering in our life, 23:19 everything will be passed. 23:21 Okay. The keyword is new. 23:25 Count how many times the word new is used in verses 1 to 5. 23:30 Friends, we are dealing about something new 23:33 that God will give to us. 23:35 Verse 5, "And He who sits on the throne, 23:38 He said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' 23:42 And He said, 'Write, 23:45 for these words are faithful and true.'" 23:53 You'll notice here few things. 23:56 In verse 4 as John observes the New Jerusalem, 24:01 we saw already that New Jerusalem 24:03 comes down to the earth 24:05 after the millennium, you remember that. 24:08 But John now wants to remind us once again 24:12 that actually that New Jerusalem has come from God. 24:16 By the way, when we go 24:18 to the Book of Hebrews Chapter 11 we are reminded 24:21 that all those great people of God of the Old Testament times. 24:26 They suffered a lot. 24:29 They faced many uncertainties in this life. 24:31 But there is something that kept them moving on. What is that? 24:36 According to Hebrews Chapter 11, 24:39 because they looked into that city 24:42 whose founder and builder was God Himself. 24:47 We understood already that in the Book of Revelation, 24:50 the New Jerusalem is God's answer 24:54 to all the problems and troubles that we have in this life. 24:59 New Jerusalem is God's solution to all human problems, Okay. 25:05 But you will notice here something else, 25:08 in verse 3 as John is observing New Jerusalem, 25:14 he hears the voice. 25:16 It said, "Behold, the tabernacle of God," 25:20 or we can use different expression, 25:23 the tent of God, "is among men. 25:27 And He will dwell among them 25:30 and they shall be His people 25:33 and God Himself will be among them." 25:35 Please, I want to ask you one question. 25:39 As we have read these words, 25:40 what suddenly come to you in mind from the Old Testament? 25:45 You remember when God said to the people of Israel, 25:48 I want you that you make a sanctuary, a tent, 25:52 because I would like to dwell among you. 25:59 That sanctuary was actually a symbol, okay, 26:05 a symbolic indication of God's presence among people. 26:10 But do you remember something else? 26:13 That it was only allowed to the priest 26:15 to come there in the presence of God. 26:18 Yet, even those priests 26:20 could not see God there in the sanctuary. 26:23 By the way, I cannot-- 26:29 not to mention the words of Moses, 26:33 because the Bible talks 26:34 that there was no person on this earth 26:37 who was able to talk to God as to his friend face to face. 26:41 Yet Moses, on one occasion he begged God, 26:46 "Please, would you show me your face?" 26:50 And God told him, "Sorry, Moses. 26:53 A mortal man cannot see My face and remain alive." 27:01 God says, "Moses, I'll do something special to you. 27:04 You'll just see Me from back. 27:06 You'll see My glory, but you cannot see My face." 27:08 Do you remember we talked about second coming of Christ? 27:10 That's what will kill the wicked at second coming of Christ, 27:13 because sinful human beings, they cannot see God's face. 27:19 But see, there is basic difference between New Jerusalem 27:23 because NewJerusalem is here 27:25 portrayed at the temple of the new earth. 27:30 It's God's tabernacle. 27:31 The function of New Jerusalem is the same 27:35 as it was the tabernacle in the Old Testament. 27:38 But there is a difference. 27:40 In the Old Testament the sanctuary 27:42 was just a symbol of God's presence. 27:47 However, New Jerusalem is not a symbol. 27:49 It's the reality of God's presence. 27:52 When you read--we cannot go through all those texts. 27:54 When you read later, John sees the throne of God. 27:57 If you go to the end of chapter 1, 28:01 you will see that actually 28:05 the throne of God is there in the temple. 28:08 You remember we talked at the beginning of this series 28:11 that actually New Jerusalem 28:12 is portrayed as the most holy place. 28:16 It's put in square. Actually, it's a cube there. 28:19 It's the same shape 28:21 as the most holy place of the earthly sanctuary. 28:25 But there is another difference is there. 28:29 Finally, this city that functions 28:33 as the temple of the new earth 28:35 in which 144,000 will actually serve God 28:39 according to Revelation Chapter 7, 28:41 it's not just a symbol of God's presence. 28:44 Finally, all God's people who come to New Jerusalem 28:48 will finally see God's face. 28:52 And that prayer of all faithful through history, 28:58 that was indicated in the prayer of Moses, 29:01 "Lord, please show me Your face," 29:04 finally, that prayer will be answered. 29:07 Finally, we will see His face 29:09 and God will finally be with His people. 29:13 His intention to be among the Israelites, 29:17 but He could not be fulfill that promise 29:19 because of their unfaithfulness to God. 29:22 Finally, God's promise would be realized with a New Jerusalem. 29:26 But now you have to realize something else. 29:32 In the presence of God, there is no sin. 29:39 If there is no sin, there is no sickness. 29:44 If there is no sin, there are no tears. 29:50 If there is no sin, there is no any suffering. 29:55 That's what we read actually in verse 4, 29:58 "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 30:03 There will no longer be any death, 30:06 no longer any mourning or crying or pain, 30:11 for the first things have passed away." 30:13 By the way, you'll notice that this is exactly 30:19 the repetition of what we've read 30:24 at the conclusion of chapter 7 with reference to 144,000, 30:29 that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 30:33 But, you know, as I am talking about this, 30:40 suddenly comes something to my mind. 30:43 You see, in the presence of God-- 30:46 Are you still with me? 30:48 no tears, no death, no mourning, no suffering. 30:54 Do you remember when you open the gospel of John Chapter 11, 31:00 do you remember when Lazarus died, you remember? 31:04 Do you remember his two sisters 31:07 who sent message to Jesus, "Lord, please come." 31:12 Our brother who you loved actually is sick. 31:16 But Jesus did not come on time. 31:18 Boy, I like that song the gator group is performing. 31:25 Even if God is 4 days late, He's never late, 31:31 because He is still on time. Amen. 31:35 Yeah, sometimes we're waiting when Jesus will come. 31:37 He will come in His own time. 31:38 But do you remember when Mary came there to Jesus 31:42 and she said, "Lord, if you were here 31:48 our brother would not die"? 31:50 Because Mary knew that in the presence of Jesus 31:54 death does not have a place. 31:58 That's the reason the New Jerusalem-- 32:00 because of the presence of God there are in the New Jerusalem, 32:03 there is no death, there is no pain. 32:07 Can I put it in different words? 32:08 The sea there is not there any longer. 32:12 This is actually the future that God is promising to us. 32:18 Now you can go on. 32:21 I would like us to focus especially to verse 7 here. 32:25 It says--I have here many references, okay. 32:29 It says, "He who overcomes will inherit all these things 32:35 and I will be his God 32:38 and he will be My son or daughter," okay, 32:41 son and daughter. It's verse 7 there. 32:45 As we read this text, 32:48 does something suddenly comes to your mind? 32:50 Let me read it one more time. 32:53 "He who overcomes will inherit these things. 32:57 And I will be his God and He will be My son." 33:04 What does suddenly comes to your mind? 33:07 Do you remember when we studied 33:08 the messages to seven churches? 33:11 How does each of those seven messages conclude? 33:15 The one who overcomes I will give him the white robes. 33:21 I will make him to be the pillar 33:24 in the temple of my God, New Jerusalem. 33:28 I will give him-- and you have a long list. 33:31 When you put all those messages together, 33:34 the long list, you see, there are the promises. 33:38 Now here in chapter 21 we have the fulfillment 33:41 of those promises telling us 33:43 that the overcomers finally are receiving all these things. 33:48 So really chapter 22 33:53 ties the content of this message 33:57 with the beginning of the Book of Revelation. 34:01 The beginning of the Book of Revelation 34:03 give us the promises, encourages God's people to be overcomers. 34:11 But the conclusion of the Book of Revelation is telling us 34:14 how finally God will fulfill those promises to His people. 34:21 And now we are coming here to the description of the city. 34:28 As John is watching New Jerusalem 34:31 you see-- let's put it here. 34:34 Just imagine that this is there New Jerusalem. 34:38 You want to portray that city. 34:40 Where do you begin with what you see? 34:43 What is the first thing that John sees? 34:45 First he sees the walls, okay. 34:49 And that's how he describes from verse 10 on. 34:52 He portrays the walls that he sees. 34:54 What is the next step? Finally, John enters the city. 35:00 What does he see there in the city? 35:02 First he sees the streets, okay. 35:05 He is walking there on streets. 35:07 Then he portrays a number of other things. 35:12 It's the great glory that beautifies the city. 35:16 Actually if you go there to the conclusion of chapter 21, 35:21 this is beautiful, from verse 22. 35:26 John said, "I saw no temple in it. 35:30 For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 35:36 And the city has no need of the sun 35:38 or of the moon to shine in it. 35:42 For the glory of God has illuminated it. 35:45 And its lamps is the Lamb. 35:48 The nation will walk by its light 35:51 and the kings of the earth will bring the glory into it. 35:56 In the day time, for there will be no night there, 36:00 its gates will never be closed and they will bring the glory 36:05 and the honor of the nations into it. 36:08 And nothing unclean and one who practices 36:12 abomination and lying shall ever come into it, 36:17 but only those whose names are written 36:20 in the Lamb's Book of Life." 36:22 What is the passport or the visa for New Jerusalem? 36:28 You have to be registered in the Book of Life. 36:31 Dear viewers, if your name is not there yet, 36:35 now is the time for the registration. 36:38 Registration is still open. Amen. 36:42 There is the deadline. 36:45 Praise God, we still have time. 36:47 If our name is found in the Book of Life, 36:51 it means we have the visa for that beautiful city, okay. 36:56 I know that sometimes Christians when they're reading this text 36:59 and I have many people who'd like to come to talk to me 37:02 and said, "Boy, what does it mean 37:06 that there is no sun on the new earth?" 37:09 Didn't God at the beginning create the solar system? 37:12 Does it mean the solar system will be removed? 37:14 Keep in mind that the text does not say 37:17 that on the new earth 37:19 there is no sun any longer, the solar system. 37:21 It says that the New Jerusalem, please understand, 37:25 is surrounded by such great glory of God's presence. 37:29 Unfortunately, John is lacking 37:31 any language to describe that glory. 37:35 There is only one way how to portray the glory. 37:37 Please, how would you portray the glory? 37:39 It's by precious stones, okay, 37:43 gold, all those precious metals, can you imagine. 37:48 And now you have the glory of God, okay. 37:51 The light is so great 37:55 that the light of the sun becomes insignificant. 38:01 You see, we have here lights. 38:03 What will happen if by some miraculous means, 38:07 we are able to remove all these walls 38:10 that we're surrounded and remove the roofs 38:12 and suddenly we're on the open space? 38:14 What will happen to these lights? 38:16 We will just see some spots. 38:18 These lights would lose any significance. Why? 38:21 Because there is much stronger light outside. 38:24 So the New Jerusalem actually does not have a need of the sun, 38:30 because that glory of God will provide such a light 38:34 that New Jerusalem is beautiful. 38:36 I see sometimes Christians, 38:38 they're talking about New Jerusalem, 38:39 they like to talk so much 38:41 about silver and gold and precious stones. 38:43 I say, poor people, they don't have this stuff in this life, 38:46 they hope they will have there. 38:48 Friends, New Jerusalem is not about gold and precious stones. 38:50 It's about God's glory and John is using the language 38:56 that in perfect language, human language, 39:00 to portray something that cannot be portrayed, 39:02 because Apostle Paul said, 39:04 do you remember that, in 2 Corinthians. 39:06 He said "What our eyes have not seen, 39:10 what our ears have not heard at all, 39:12 what even cannot come into our imagination." 39:17 I know people like to use imagination, 39:19 but even our imagination is not enough 39:23 to portray that heavenly city 39:26 and what God has promised to His people. 39:30 Let me just mention briefly 39:31 as you will be studying this text for yourself. 39:35 See John finds a human language inadequate, 39:38 imperfect to portray the city. 39:40 How does he do it? 39:45 We have to go to the Old Testament. 39:47 And he's using several sources to portray city. 39:50 Number 1, the New Jerusalem for John is portrayed 39:56 in the terms of the ideal city of the ancient world. 40:01 You know, the human beings were always thriving for that future 40:05 when finally there will be perfect world. 40:08 And they had cities. How did those cities like? 40:13 You will not be afraid in those cities. 40:17 You have security and safety in those cities. 40:20 That's why you needed those huge walls. 40:23 Are you still with me? 40:25 We are talking about ancient world, 40:27 you're surrounded by those walls. 40:28 That's how you have been. Without walls, no safety. 40:32 That's why Jerusalem is portrayed in that way. 40:35 I believe if John writes today 40:37 he would not talk about the walls 40:39 because that concept is not important for us today. 40:43 But he would say, "Boy, I saw angels in police cars 40:48 patrolling the streets, no drug dealers, no gangs." 40:54 You don't need to be afraid of anything. 40:58 So it's the concept of those ancient safe cities. 41:01 The second language that John is using is 41:06 the language of the earthly sanctuary, we saw it. 41:11 I'd like to remind our viewers 41:13 if you want to see more about that 41:14 that you take our third presentation 41:17 that we talk about the symbolic language 41:19 of the Book of Revelation. 41:20 We talk more about this language, 41:22 because the New Jerusalem is the temple of the new earth. 41:26 And the language of the earthly temple 41:29 from the Old Testament times and the sanctuary 41:31 is taken to portray New Jerusalem. 41:33 It's a perfect square. Actually it's cube. 41:40 In the most holy place, we see the cube format 41:45 of the most holy place with the Ark of the Covenant 41:49 that stood as a symbol of God's presence. 41:52 That's why in New Jerusalem John sees the throne of God 41:55 and everybody will have approach to that throne of God. 41:58 So it's the sanctuary, especially, 42:00 a sanctuary that it is portrayed 42:02 in the prophet Ezekiel from Chapter 40 to 48, okay. 42:07 And there is the third kind of language 42:11 that John is using to portray the New Jerusalem. 42:14 Have you ever thought of that? 42:16 It's the language of the Garden of Eden. 42:22 You remember the Garden of Eden 42:24 where God put Adam and Eve there. 42:27 God wanted that place to be the eternal home 42:34 for the humanity but because of the coming of sin, 42:38 Adam and Eve, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. 42:44 It is from that time on that 42:45 human beings could not see the face of God any longer. 42:49 When you open the Book of Genesis, 42:51 the end of Chapter 3, 42:53 it says, that God put angel guard is there 42:57 and human beings could not come 42:59 to the tree of life any longer there. 43:03 And that's what from the time on 43:05 that human beings always looking for that place 43:09 when God will restore that original home 43:14 that was given to Adam and Eve. 43:17 That's why New Jerusalem is also portrayed 43:19 in terms of that Garden of Eden. 43:24 So please would you go with me, 43:26 let us read it, chapter 22, verse 1, 43:31 "Then he showed me," Revelation 22:1, 43:35 "Then he showed me a river of the water of life, 43:40 clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God 43:45 and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street, 43:50 on either side of the river was the tree of life." 43:53 Do you say that? It's Garden of Eden now. 43:56 "Bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month 44:02 and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 44:09 There will be no longer be any curse." 44:12 Can I stop here for a while? 44:14 It's because of the curse that Adam and Eve 44:19 where expelled from the Garden of Eden. 44:21 It's because of the curse that human beings 44:24 could not go back to the Garden of Eden. 44:26 Now what happens here? 44:27 The curse is removed. Okay, The curse is removed. 44:33 "And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it. 44:38 And His servants will serve Him. 44:41 They will see His face 44:45 and His name will be on their foreheads." 44:52 On whose foreheads God's name will be written? 44:56 Friends, I want to remind you something. 44:59 It will not be written on the new earth. 45:01 It will be written when? Before Jesus comes. 45:04 Do you remember the seal of God? 45:05 That the faithful people who are sealed, 45:07 they will have the name of God on their foreheads. 45:11 Keep in mind, we have to do it before Jesus comes. 45:14 And that name will be always symbolic expression 45:17 to tell us that we belong to God and nobody 45:21 and nothing in this world 45:23 will be able to separate us from the love of God. 45:27 Please allow me to stop here just for few moments, 45:34 because there is beauty here 45:36 and this is the message very significant to me 45:39 in the light of my heavy accent. 45:44 And the text that is very much misunderstood. 45:46 You'll notice here that John talks in verses 1 and 2, 45:50 he talks about the river of water of life. 45:53 I have here, you can see that many Old Testament references 45:57 where you have almost repetition 46:00 what we have here in the Book of Revelation, okay. 46:02 You'll find it in my commentary when you study for yourself. 46:05 But then he said that in the middle of the main street-- 46:10 do you know that New Jerusalem has the main street? 46:14 I don't know what's the name of the street? 46:16 Is it the street of the Lamb? 46:20 You'll see that, okay. 46:21 It says, "There was the tree of life 46:26 on both sides of the river. 46:29 And the tree of life was bearing twelve kinds of fruits, 46:33 yielding its fruit every month." 46:37 Based on the Old Testament text and the New Testament text, 46:42 the purpose of that fruit as we are eating it, 46:44 like that tree of life in the Garden of Eden, 46:47 it somehow in symbolical way indicates our dependence of God 46:52 and the fact that there is no death any longer, 46:55 that we will live continually by eating that fruit 46:58 will show us our dependence of God. 47:00 To remind us always that that eternity 47:03 where, there is no death and pain 47:05 is not something to be just taken for granted, 47:08 that actually is the result what God did for us. 47:10 Are you still with me? 47:12 But then there is something else. 47:14 It says, "And the tree-- and the leaves of the tree 47:20 were for the healing of the nations." 47:26 I can read now to you what I find by different authors 47:30 who are commenting on this text. 47:33 They say, you know, we will have to eat those leaves 47:38 and put those leaves on our skin, 47:40 that's how we will not get sick any longer on the new earth. 47:44 As I read those text I ask myself question. Sick of what? 47:51 How can you get sick on the new earth 47:55 when there is no sin any longer? 47:57 Actually people started being sick after Genesis Chapter 3 48:01 with the entrance of sin. Now sin there is no longer. 48:03 What is that that we read in chapter 21, verse 4? 48:06 There are no tears any longer, there is no death, 48:09 there is no sickness, there is no suffering. 48:11 How people sometimes can read the text and read ideas. 48:14 We have to to read-- 48:16 When does it say that we have to eat those leaves? 48:20 It says that the leaves they serve them 48:22 for the healing of the nations. 48:23 I just want to tell you 48:25 I struggled here with these texts. 48:26 And I noticed something, that actually this text is not new. 48:30 It's a quotation from the Book of Ezekiel. 48:32 Would you turn with me to the Book of Ezekiel Chapter 47 48:39 where Ezekiel prophesied that on the restored earth 48:44 there will be that tree? 48:46 Are you with me? 48:47 It's Ezekiel 47:12. 48:54 Actually Ezekiel portrays that new temple. 48:57 John means that the new temple is New Jerusalem. 49:00 That's why he's quoting this text. 49:01 And he reads in verse 12, 49:03 please I would like you read into this text, 49:05 because I would like to ask you one question 49:07 to see if you have observed something here. 49:09 Verse 12, it says, 49:15 "By the river on its bank on one side 49:19 and on the other will grow all kinds of trees for food. 49:24 The leaves will not wither and the fruit will not fail." 49:30 You see that, friends. 49:31 Everything there in the Book of Revelation. 49:33 "They will bear every month, 49:35 because the water flows from the sanctuary." 49:38 Please, are you with me now? 49:40 "And the fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing." 49:47 Did you see that, what we have in the book of Revelation? 49:50 It's simply the repetition of this prophecy of Ezekiel. 49:53 But please when you look at the text-- 49:55 viewers, would you look there into the text? 49:58 Is there any difference between Ezekiel 50:01 and the Book of Revelation, talking about the leaves? 50:07 Let me remind you, I don't want to waste the time, 50:09 in Ezekiel you read 50:11 "And the leaves will be for healing." 50:14 Did you see that? 50:15 What do you have in the Book of Revelation? 50:18 And the leaves will be for the healing of the nations. 50:23 Actually John is taking that prophesy from Ezekiel 50:26 and he adds what? Why nation? 50:30 Do you remember when we studied that 50:33 the word for nations is the same Greek word 50:37 that can be translated as the Gentiles? 50:41 Which is the Greek word? 50:50 It's ethnos from which the word ethnic comes. 50:54 It really means nations. 50:57 What does it mean that the leaves of the tree of life 51:02 would be for the healing of nations? 51:04 It does not say that we will eat those leaves. 51:06 It simply says that the purpose of the leaves is. 51:09 I'm coming from very strange background 51:13 where I live with people who still kept 51:16 that ancient culture and practices and customs. 51:19 And I notice I was born after the Second World War 51:22 when people did many business outside of the house. 51:26 And that always brings me back to the Biblical time 51:29 when people doing all kinds of business. 51:31 Do you know where people were doing? 51:32 Usually under the tree, especially the fig tree, 51:38 because of those huge leaves to protect people from the sun. 51:41 People would go there and do all kinds of business. 51:44 By the way, if you read there when Adam-- 51:47 Abraham was visited by those three angels, he prepared food. 51:52 They were eating under the tree there. 51:53 Do you remember that? 51:54 You can see that people are doing. 51:57 And then something came to my mind, 51:59 for the healing of the nations. 52:01 Have you ever thought 52:05 when one day in the New Jerusalem, 52:12 black and white they meet, 52:17 Serbs and Croats from my country, 52:22 Arabs and Israelites who are faithful God's people, 52:26 people in Rwanda with those who killed 52:32 the members of their families, 52:34 because they're from different tribes. 52:36 Are you-- remember me? 52:37 But those people after that repentance 52:39 they became Christians 52:40 and they are there in front of them. 52:44 Do you remember how many different accents 52:47 we will have there in New Jerusalem? 52:53 There will be many wounds 52:55 in the hearts of the redeemed, many wounds. 52:59 Nationalistic, you know, nationalism, 53:03 what has done in the history of humanity? 53:07 Linguistics, friends, we are divided. 53:10 We are divided. 53:12 I go to some places, unfortunately, 53:14 I want to speak to the people, we need translator 53:16 and in translation many things are lost. 53:19 I cannot speak In English I have a heavy accent. 53:21 By the way, I go back to my country, 53:23 I go to Croatia, I have accent. 53:25 I go to Serbia, I have accent. 53:26 I go to Bosnia, they said, get out. 53:28 You don't belong to here. You don't speak like us. 53:31 Wherever I go I have accents. 53:32 Do you know when they will be there, 53:34 it is under the tree of life there. 53:38 All those nations that were divided 53:41 starting with Genesis Chapter 11, 53:42 you remember when God confused languages, 53:45 that were divided by nationalism different languages, 53:50 different accents, different cultures. 53:54 Finally, God's people there 53:55 coming from all those different nations, 53:59 finally, we meet together. 54:01 And it's under the leaves of the tree of life, 54:05 finally, all accounts will be settled. 54:08 And I imagine how those former enemies, 54:12 who did not like each other, could not stand each other 54:15 because of those different issues, 54:18 finally will give a hug to each other 54:21 and say, everything is over. 54:23 Friends, this is what the Book of Revelation is all about, 54:29 because you'll notice how many times the word ethnos, 54:35 nations and Gentiles are mentioned 54:38 there in the Book of Revelation. 54:40 Those nations are not Gentiles any longer. 54:44 They are now all the people of God. 54:49 Now the Book of Revelation concludes with that, 54:53 verse 17, "The Spirit and the bride say, 54:59 'Come and let the one who hears say come 55:04 and let the one who is thirsty come, 55:07 let the one who wishes to take water of life without cost. 55:11 I testify to everyone who hears 55:14 the words of the prophesy of this book. 55:16 If anyone adds to them, 55:18 God will add to them the plagues which are written in this book. 55:23 And if anyone takes away 55:25 from the words of the book of this prophesy, 55:28 God will take away his part from the tree of life 55:31 and from the holy city which are written in this book." 55:34 Friends, the Bible does not talk here about something 55:37 that we accidentally add few letters here 55:40 or, you know, this is not about that. 55:43 This is not about linguistic corruption etcetera. 55:45 This is if people are reading the book of Revelation 55:48 and try to add to the message of the Book of Revelation 55:53 something that is their own idea that is not there in the book. 55:58 And, friends, it's very dangerous thing 56:00 that you add something to the Book of Revelation 56:02 misleading people, deceiving people 56:04 and because of your message one day 56:07 they don't find themselves in the Kingdom of God. 56:09 It's a dangerous thing. 56:11 It's dangerous thing to tamper 56:13 with the content of the Book of Revelation. 56:16 We have to take this book, 56:18 understand as God's intend it to happen. 56:20 "He who testifies to these things says, 56:22 'I am coming quickly.'" We have to answer, 56:26 "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 56:27 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all of you. Amen." 56:31 Friends, and we come to the end, 56:33 but keep in mind the end never comes in the Book of Revelation. 56:38 You remember in the Book of Revelation 56:39 how many times we came to the end? 56:42 When we concluded chapter 7, 144,000, the end is there, 56:46 there before the throne of God, 56:48 but suddenly we have new beginning. 56:50 Then we go to the end of chapter 11. 56:52 It's the end, the second coming of Christ, 56:55 but then the Book of Revelation takes us to the beginning. 56:57 Chapter 14, 15, it's the end, but we have a new beginning. 57:01 The book of Revelation never ends. 57:03 And even here, as we conclude chapter 22, 57:07 the readers of the Book of Revelation 57:09 are invited to the beginning of this book 57:12 telling us Jesus is coming, 57:15 He is coming and He's coming, but we are still here. 57:20 We have to keep in mind that we live in the presence, 57:23 waiting for that future and the One 57:26 who promised, "I will be with you always 57:30 until the very end of the age." Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17