Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP190013A
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00:31 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:34 I'm Jill Morikone and we are so excited that you have 00:36 been with us through the journey of the Book of Revelation. 00:40 We are on the very last lesson; lesson #13, 00:44 "I Make All Things NEW" 00:46 And I want to encourage you, I know we're at the very 00:48 last lesson, but it's still not too late, you can download 00:52 your own copy of the Quarterly, "The Book of Revelation" 00:55 by going to: ABSG.Adventist.org 01:00 That stands for Adult Bible Study Guide.Adventist.org 01:05 and you can follow along with us or maybe next quarter 01:09 would be up too and you can download the first copy of 01:11 next quarter and get ready for next week as well. 01:13 I want to introduce our panel at this time... 01:15 To my left is Pastor John Lomacang, it's a privilege 01:18 to have you here... Good to be here always! 01:20 Sitting to the left of you is my sis, Shelley Quinn, 01:23 and thank you so much for 01:25 being here too, Shelley. Oh, I love it! 01:26 Sitting to your left is our president and founder, 01:29 Danny Shelton - it is always a privilege, Danny when you can 01:32 be on Sabbath School Panel... Thank you, it's good to be here. 01:34 And then Ryan Day, who is no longer the new kid on the block, 01:37 we love doing Sabbath School Panel with you as well. 01:39 Amen, it's good to be here. 01:41 Before we go any further in our study of the word of God, 01:44 we always like to open up with prayer and Pastor John, 01:47 would you pray for us? Sure. 01:48 Loving Father... We have week- to-week called on Your 01:52 Holy Spirit to be our guide and, Father, today, we pray 01:56 that the prayer that You have encased in Revelation 01:59 we pray that today we will hear what the Spirit 02:02 has to say. 02:03 Guide our minds and even the listeners and the viewers 02:06 that tune into this program, may the whole message of 02:09 Revelation bring us back to the central figure, 02:13 the person of Christ Jesus today. 02:15 Bless each one of us in our presentation and may all the 02:18 glory and honor go to You. We ask in Christ's name... Amen 02:22 Amen! Amen! Thank you so much. 02:24 Revelation is really a love story. 02:27 It's about God the Father and Jesus, the Holy Spirit, 02:30 the Godhead who are the Bridegroom, 02:33 who love their bride which is the church, the pure church 02:38 represented all throughout Revelation. 02:41 But we have a third player; there's the Bridegroom 02:44 and the bride... and then there's the enemy, Satan, 02:48 and as you read the entire Book of Revelation, 02:51 you see God's efforts to save His bride, to cause efforts 02:55 to transform them and to call people to be His bride. 02:59 Then you see the bride making decisions - am I going to make 03:03 a choice to follow or am I going to make a choice 03:05 to be married to the bridegroom or not? 03:07 And then you see Satan getting his hands in there 03:10 and working in that situation. 03:11 We know we started Revelation with the seven churches 03:15 and that time period from AD 31, the apostolic period 03:18 all the way through the time of present day, 03:21 the time of the end. 03:23 Of course, we discussed the seven seals which really 03:26 follows the very same time period. 03:28 And the fifth seal in particular, the saints 03:31 who were martyred said, "How long O Lord are we going 03:35 to suffer under that persecution from the enemy." 03:39 We went into the seven trumpets and that follows 03:42 the same basic time period... these are redemptive 03:45 judgments of God - the Bridegroom for His bride, 03:49 "Please come back to Me, repent and return to Me." 03:53 Then of course, we had that little narrative in the middle, 03:57 Revelation 12 and 13, with the beast and the dragon 04:00 and some history there and then we come to the 04:02 seven last plagues that are poured out. 04:04 Now these are just at the very end of time, after intercession 04:09 has ceased and these are judgments poured out 04:12 without mercy. 04:14 They're not redemptive because everyone at this point 04:17 has already made a choice, either for or against 04:20 the Lord Jesus Christ. 04:21 Of course last week, we talked about the fall of Babylon 04:24 in Revelation 18 and that was an incredible study. 04:28 This week, we pick up with "I Make All Things New," 04:31 and this is probably my favorite part of the entire 04:34 Book of Revelation because it ends with the second 04:38 coming of Christ, the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, 04:42 and the new heaven and the new earth. 04:44 So let's pick up with Revelation 19, we're going to read 04:47 actually the first nine verses and then we'll unpack it. 04:50 That's my portion on Sunday, "The Wedding Supper 04:52 of the Lamb," hence the reference to the bride 04:55 and the Bridegroom, "The Wedding Supper of the Lamb." 04:58 Now at the beginning of this in Revelation 19, all of heaven is 05:03 exulting that Babylon had been finally 05:07 defeated in Revelation 18. 05:09 After these things, (this was after that final fall 05:12 of Babylon), I heard a loud voice of a great multitude 05:15 in heaven saying, "Alleluia, salvation and glory and honor, 05:19 and power belong to the Lord our God for true and righteous 05:23 are His judgments. 05:25 He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth 05:28 with her fornication. 05:29 He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her." 05:33 Again they said, "Alleluia, 05:35 her smoke rises up forever and ever." 05:38 And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down 05:42 and worshipped God who sat on the throne saying, 05:44 "Amen, Alleluia." Then a voice came from throne 05:48 saying, "Praise our God, all you His servants and 05:51 those who fear Him, both small and great!" 05:54 Now all of this section here 05:57 reminds me of Revelation 4 and 5, 05:59 you know that enthronement of the Lamb there by the right 06:03 and of the Father after AD 31 and Christ's ascension, 06:06 and there's such a praise and worship for what God has done. 06:11 Verse 6... "I heard, as it were, the voice of a great 06:15 multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the 06:17 sound of mighty thunderings, saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord 06:22 God Omnipotent reigns. Let us be glad and rejoice 06:26 and give Him glory for the marriage of the Lamb has 06:29 come and His wife has made herself ready." 06:33 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, 06:37 clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts 06:42 of the saints." 06:43 So what I'm going to focus on 06:45 here is first the proposal, that is the Bridegroom 06:48 to the bride, then we'll see the preparation on the 06:52 Bridegroom's part - that's the promise; 06:55 then we'll see the preparation on the bride's 06:57 part and that is the provision. 07:00 So we're going to do the proposal, the promise, 07:02 and then the provision. 07:04 So the proposal talks about Christ and His bride, right? 07:07 And they're ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb. 07:10 Now before you get married, you gotta have a proposal. 07:12 At least any good woman wants a proposal! 07:15 You want the proposal from who, you know, you're going to marry. 07:18 In Jewish tradition, when a couple was engaged, 07:22 they called it "betrothed." 07:24 The groom paid the dowry and, at that point, they were 07:28 considered legally married, even though they didn't 07:30 live together - they were still considered legally married. 07:33 The bridegroom went to prepare a place for the bride. 07:37 The bride got ready to be married. 07:41 On the cross, Christ paid the dowry for you and for me. 07:47 On the cross, He paid the dowry... and we can't 07:49 live together yet because we are 07:51 separated from here to heaven. 07:53 But the Groom went, that's Christ, to prepare 07:57 a place for us, the bride. Amen! 07:59 And our job, right now, is to prepare to be married 08:03 to the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen! 08:05 That's the proposal. 08:07 So let's look at the preparation that the Bridegroom, 08:09 that's the Lord Jesus Christ, is doing for us right now. 08:12 We know He's preparing a place for us in heaven now, 08:15 and that's in John 14, you know where I'm going. Yep. 08:17 John 14:1-3... Now this took place right after John 13 08:24 is the last supper, remember the foot-washing experience 08:28 and Jesus had talked to His disciples about going to the 08:30 cross - of course they don't understand it; but there's a 08:33 lot of hurt and confusion and they don't know what's 08:36 going on and He gives this beautiful, beautiful promise... 08:39 John 14:1-3... "Let not your heart be troubled, 08:43 you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house 08:48 are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. 08:52 I go to prepare a place for you and if I go and prepare 08:56 a place for you, I will come again and receive you 08:59 to Myself that where I am, there you may be also." 09:03 So He's saying, "I'm going and I know it's hurting you, 09:05 but let Me tell you this, I am going to prepare 09:09 a place for you, My bride and I will come again." 09:14 Let's look at the provision. 09:16 This is the preparation on the bride's part. 09:20 Now you notice in verse 8, we're back to Revelation 19:8. 09:24 "To her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean 09:29 and bright for the fine linen is 09:31 the righteous acts of the saint." 09:33 Now the word for "clean" in the Greek means "pure, 09:37 unstained, guiltless, innocent." 09:42 Many times we talk, within the Seventh-day Adventist 09:46 Church, that there are two different garments 09:48 that we could put on, but I'm going to submit 09:51 to you today that there's actually three garments 09:53 and the third garment is what is being talked about 09:56 here in Revelation 19. 09:58 So the first garment is the self-righteousness of man, 10:02 and we know all about that garment because I've tried 10:05 to walk and live in that garment and it doesn't work very well. 10:07 We know Isaiah 64:6 says... "All our righteousness 10:11 is as filthy rags." 10:14 The self-righteousness of man always falls short 10:18 of the perfect standard of the law. 10:20 It can never achieve salvation, we know that. 10:24 Philippians 3:9... "And be found in Him, not having 10:27 my own righteousness, which is from the law, 10:30 but that which is through faith in Christ, 10:33 the righteousness which is from God by faith." 10:35 Now there, there are two righteousness' 10:37 talked about, right? 10:39 First is my own righteousness which isn't worth anything, 10:41 and the second is the righteousness from God 10:44 by faith - that is the second garment. 10:47 So the first one is my own self-righteousness 10:49 which is worth nothing. 10:51 The second garment is the imputed righteousness of Christ. 10:57 Genesis 15:6 is the same as Romans 4:3... 11:02 Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him 11:06 for righteousness. 11:09 Now we know that's that righteousness by faith. 11:12 It was accounted to him... in Greek it means 11:14 to recon, to consider or to impute. 11:16 So this is the imputed righteousness of Christ. 11:20 This is when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord 11:22 of your life at that moment. 11:24 And Zechariah 3 talks about when Joshua stood there, 11:29 the filthy garments of your sin are taken off and Christ 11:33 clothed you with His righteous white robe. 11:37 So when the Father looks at us, He doesn't see our sins 11:40 and our mistakes and any of that. 11:41 That's covered with the blood of Jesus. 11:43 He sees the perfect righteousness of His Son. 11:47 2 Corinthians 5:21 talks about the double imputation. 11:52 He made Him - God made Jesus who knew no sin, 11:55 to become sin for us. 11:57 So He took our sin, as it were, was imputed to Him, right? 12:00 He took my sin that we might become the righteousness of 12:05 God in Him. 12:06 He gave us his righteousness, now that's the second garment. 12:10 The third garment is the garment we see right here. 12:15 In Revelation 19:8, it says, "The fine linen is the 12:20 righteous acts of the saints." 12:22 The word in Greek, "dikalomar" is the word used for 12:26 righteousness all the way through Scripture, but it ends 12:29 with "mar" indicating that it's a living concrete expression of 12:33 righteousness... What am I getting at? 12:34 This is not the imputed righteousness of Christ, 12:37 this is the imparted righteousness of Christ. 12:41 That is Colossians 1:27... "This is Christ 12:44 in you, the hope of glory." 12:45 This is not the garment we just put on, 12:47 and that is beautiful, and at that point we are saved, 12:51 we are justified. 12:52 This means we have allowed the Lord Jesus Christ 12:55 to walk into our heart; to transform us from the 13:00 inside out. 13:01 Romans 6:6-7, "... Knowing this, our old man is crucified 13:05 with Him, the body of sin would be done away with, 13:07 we should no longer be slaves of sin. 13:09 For he who has died has been freed from sin." 13:12 So when we die to the old man of sin, Christ comes 13:15 in and He dwells with us. That's right. 13:18 Galatians 2:20... "I have been crucified with Christ. 13:20 It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me." 13:24 And the life that I now live by faith in the Son of God 13:27 who loved me and gave Himself for me." 13:30 That's how the fruits of the spirit are evident 13:34 in the life of the bride of Christ. 13:37 So during this time as the bride prepares for the marriage 13:41 supper of the Lamb, Christ has already given us 13:43 the imputed righteousness and He has justified us, 13:46 but during this time, our job is to submit to Him, 13:50 to allow Him to dwell in us so He can impart to us 13:54 his righteous white robe. Pastor John. 13:57 Amen! Wow! Jill, you always get that fire started! 14:02 You know what's so beautiful about what we're covering 14:04 here... "I make all things new." 14:06 We have covered so much in this lesson that 14:10 we just can't wait for things to be new! 14:12 I mean, we've walked through some scenes that have 14:15 almost left the smell of smoke on us... when we've stepped 14:19 into the Battle of Armageddon; when we've stood there in the 14:22 scene and watched the things unfold around us; 14:24 we have been in the dark places of the Dark Ages; 14:27 we have seen the catacombs; we've seen the persecution 14:30 of the saints; we've heard them cry out for justice, 14:33 and now the Lord is about to deliver. 14:35 That's what so beautiful about this, you see there's a 14:38 point at which the Lord says, "Enough," and the "enough" 14:42 is not because He is angry but because He loves His 14:45 bride so much, He cannot stand another moment 14:49 without His bride. 14:51 The New Jerusalem is going to be 14:53 beautiful and Ryan is going to talk about 14:54 that, I'm not going to even mess with that. 14:56 But when Revelation 19 pulls us in, it pulls us into a 15:01 scene and I just want to add something... 15:04 You know, you introduced us to this and since I have this 15:07 section, I want to kind of put two things together. 15:09 There are two suppers, two suppers! I like that! 15:15 Two suppers - look at Revelation 19:9... Two suppers. 15:19 You talked about this, you mentioned this... 15:21 It says... "Then He said to me, "Write: Blessed are those 15:25 who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb, 15:28 and He said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." 15:32 But now I'm going to deal with the other one... 15:34 Revelation 19:17-18... "Then I saw an angel standing 15:39 in the sun and he cried with a loud voice saying to all 15:43 the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, 15:46 "Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, 15:50 that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, 15:53 the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses, 15:56 and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people 15:59 free and slave both small and great." 16:02 In one case, we get to eat, in another case, 16:04 we are eaten. 16:06 Now this is a sad picture. 16:08 As amazing as the connection is, I want to sit down and partake 16:14 of heaven's menu - I don't want to be on the menu! Amen. 16:18 Can we all agree on that? Laughter... 16:20 I don't want to be on the menu! 16:22 I want to sit down and eat of heaven's menu, 16:25 is that okay Jill? Absolutely. 16:27 That invitation is a powerful invitation, but as you pointed 16:32 out and I want to just reiterate this 16:33 in the transition... 16:35 We cannot come into the marriage supper without the 16:38 garment of His righteousness. That's right. 16:40 So if you remember anything about Revelation, 16:43 Revelation is Jesus' determination to sustain 16:47 His righteousness in the midst of a perverse and wicked 16:51 generation. 16:52 He wants the light of His glory to be shining 16:55 through His church, and you know what? 16:57 There are some people that say, (I heard years ago), 17:00 "Well, we say people die and go to heaven." 17:02 You know, only those who want to be there 17:04 are going to go there because heaven will be torment 17:08 to those who have not accepted Christ. 17:10 Why would I want to be where I have not even desired to be? 17:14 So this idea that everybody goes to heaven, you know, I 17:17 hear at funerals - "They're in heaven; they're in heaven; 17:19 they're in heaven; they're in heaven; they're in heaven, 17:21 and we look at their lives and they lived such wicked lives. 17:23 Even though we're not the judge, we're thinking... 17:25 "All you have to do to get to heaven is die!" 17:28 No, you've got to live righteously. 17:31 The Bible says in Titus, I believe it is... 17:33 "The grace of God that bringeth salvation has appeared 17:36 to all men, teaching them that denying ungodliness, 17:41 we should live soberly godly and righteously 17:44 in this present age, looking for and hastening 17:46 the coming of our Lord." 17:48 So the whole preparation to be at the table to eat, 17:52 rather than on the table to be eaten, 17:55 is that we must accept the righteousness of Christ. 17:58 But look at this military scene, it's amazing to me. 18:02 Revelation 19:11... "Now I saw heaven open and behold, 18:08 a white horse..." This is where Jesus has already taken 18:11 off His priestly garments, now He's putting on 18:14 His military garments, and if you've looked at any 18:18 of the battles of history in the Bible, throughout 18:21 antiquity, Alexander the Great; the great Babylonian armies; 18:24 the Egyptian armies; these armies were arrayed with 18:28 some of the most amazing weaponry, but the only weaponry 18:33 that is needed in God's army is His word! Amen! 18:41 You see why the word of God? 18:43 The word of God was the weapon that the Old Testament 18:46 church continued to find victory in. 18:50 They continued to go to God's word. 18:51 The New Testament Church continued 18:53 to refer to God's word. 18:54 Jesus, in His onslaught, when the devil came to Him, 18:57 He said, "It is written," the word, and the only way that 19:00 we're going to make it through the final battle, 19:02 I love the way Ellen White says this... "Only those who 19:05 are fortified by the word of God..." 19:07 Fortify doesn't mean you snack on the word of God. 19:10 It means you eat the word of God. 19:12 It means you feast on the word of God! 19:14 It means the word of God is your meditation. 19:17 David said it this way, "Thy word have I done... what? 19:20 "Hid in my heart," and you've got to hide it there 19:22 because in Amos there's a famine coming. 19:25 The devil knows - the reason why he tries to keep us 19:28 away from the word, it is the only preparation. 19:31 You could have the righteousness of Christ, but if you're not 19:34 being fed by the Word of God, you have no offensive 19:37 weapon in the final battle against truth and error. 19:40 Look at the array, it's beautiful! 19:42 It says in verse 11... "I saw heaven open and behold, 19:45 a white horse and He who sat on him was called... what? 19:48 "Faithful and true." 19:49 My Redeemer is faithful and true! Amen! 19:52 "And in righteousness, He judges and makes war." 19:54 This is not the war of anger, this is war to annihilate sin. 19:57 Now I want to make that very clear... 19:59 Some people think that God hates sinners... NO! 20:02 "For God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world, 20:05 but that the world, through Him might be saved." 20:06 We're already condemned. 20:08 He didn't send Jesus on a condemnation mission, 20:10 He sent Him on a rescue mission. 20:13 He sent Him not to condemn us, we're already condemned. 20:15 That's why He said to the woman caught in adultery, 20:17 "Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more." 20:20 "Where are your accusers?" 20:22 Well, that's going to be asked there again. 20:26 Where are YOUR accusers? 20:27 And then when we stand in this setting... "Where are 20:30 your accusers," they won't be there 20:33 because the accuser of our brethren who accused us 20:36 before God day and night has been cast down. 20:38 Amen to that? Amen! 20:39 So the Lord is now coming to eradicate sin and the 20:43 unfortunate part of that is those who refuse to be 20:47 covered by His garment of righteousness, 20:49 no longer have a garment of protection. 20:51 You know, when I saw, years ago, the mad cow disease... 20:54 remember that - mad cow disease? 20:55 I heard some of the stories of farmers... they wept! 21:00 As they used their bulldozers and their tractor equipment 21:04 to compile their livestock, their goats, their sheep, 21:07 their cattle - they said they wept! 21:09 Because they said they almost named some of their cattle 21:12 when they run to them in the mornings to get fed 21:15 and they thought... 21:16 They said, "We didn't kill our cattle because we hated them, 21:20 or our sheep or our goats, but we didn't want their 21:23 contamination to spread." 21:25 And in the heaven that is being prepared for us, 21:29 the New Jerusalem and in the earth made new, 21:31 affliction will not rise up a second time. 21:35 So if you ever hear somebody say, "There's a possibility 21:38 that sin will rise up a second time," that's heresy, 21:42 false doctrine and it's completely against the potent 21:46 character and the righteousness of Jesus. Amen! 21:48 It won't rise up again. 21:50 The Bible says in verse 12, "His eyes were like the flame 21:52 of fire and on His head were many crowns and He had a 21:56 name written that no one knew except Himself. 21:58 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood and His 22:01 name is called, "The Word of God." 22:03 "And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, 22:06 white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 22:08 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword that with it 22:13 He should strike the nations and He, Himself, will rule them 22:17 with a rod of iron. 22:19 He, Himself, treads the winepress of the fierceness of 22:22 the wrath of Almighty God." 22:24 Verse 16... "And He has on His robe and on His thigh 22:29 a name written, "King of Kings and... what? Lord of Lords." 22:34 You know what's so beautiful about this scene - is Revelation 22:38 1 Thessalonians, Matthew, they all unite on this beautiful 22:44 scene of the closing work of the great controversy. 22:48 I cannot think, when I read this, I can't think that 22:52 Jesus is angry on His course. 22:55 I think He is more excited than we are! Amen! 22:58 Because He has pleaded His blood for His people throughout 23:02 millennia - He has pleaded in behalf of 23:07 those who are going astray. 23:08 He wants to save us more than anything and now 23:11 He's coming to get us. 23:13 And I could see the constellations, the stars, 23:16 the planets, all moving out of their way, 23:18 and I believe the thundering of the earth... 23:20 I believe the reason why islands are going to be moving, 23:22 and the mountains are to be shaken, is if the mountains 23:25 were shaken at the approach of one angel, at the resurrection 23:29 of Jesus - if one angel caused an earthquake, come on now... 23:33 Ten-thousand times 10,000 and thousands of thousands, 23:38 this planet - if it were not for divine intervention, 23:42 would be shaken out of its course. 23:43 Every island, every mountain shall be moved but the beauty 23:47 of it is - while the wicked are running in... 23:50 the righteous are running out! That's right! 23:54 Saying, "Lo, this is our God, we have waited 23:58 for Him and He will save us." 23:59 "Lo, this is our Lord, we shall be glad 24:03 and rejoice in His salvation." 24:05 I'm looking forward to the end of the Battle of Armageddon. 24:08 Amen! Amen! What a powerful study, Pastor John. 24:11 Thank you so much, I'm so glad Jesus is coming again! 24:14 We're going to take a break and we'll be right back. 24:22 Ever wish you could watch the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel 24:24 again or share it on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter? 24:28 Well, you can! By visiting 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.com 24:33 A clean design makes it easy to find the program 24:37 you're looking for. 24:38 There are also links to the Adult Bible Study Guides 24:41 so you can follow along. 24:43 Sharing is easy, just click "share," and choose your 24:46 favorite social media. 24:47 Share a link, save a life, for eternity! 24:54 Welcome back, we're in the midst of an incredible study 24:56 at the end of the Book of Revelation, 24:58 and Shelley, pick it up with the "Millennium." 25:00 Yes I do and I am so excited about that. 25:02 Revelation 20 talks about a thousand-year period, 25:07 and the word "millennium" is not actually in the Bible, 25:11 but the word "millennium" means "a thousand years." 25:15 So this Revelation 20, thousand years generally 25:19 it's referred to as "the millennium" and it is one of the 25:22 most important end time events that there are. 25:26 Now there are some Christians who teach that Christ is going 25:30 to be on the earth and the righteous and the wicked 25:33 are going to live side-by-side during this thousand years... 25:36 There's absolutely no evidence for this in the New Testament. 25:39 As-a-matter-of-fact, Jesus said that He is going 25:43 to send His angels and the righteous and the wicked are 25:45 going to be separated just like the sheep and the goats 25:49 are separated at the end of time. 25:51 So we just saw, Revelation 19, Jesus is riding out of heaven 25:55 on a horse and He is coming to rescue His people. 25:59 He is coming to put an end to sin and to defeat His enemies, 26:04 and the wicked are slain at the second coming and their 26:09 corpses are lying all over the earth - we saw that in 26:12 Revelation 19:18- when it says that the birds 26:16 of the air are going to eat the flesh of the kings 26:20 and the generals and the mighty men - all the flesh of 26:23 all the people free and slave, small and great. 26:27 So the second coming, when Jesus comes again the wicked are 26:33 slain, but what happens? 1 Thessalonians 4:16... 26:37 What happens to the righteous? 26:38 It says that He is going to come with the sound of a mighty 26:43 trumpet and that the dead in Christ shall rise first, 26:48 and then we who are alive and remain are going to be caught up 26:51 into the air and so shall we always be with the Lord. 26:54 So the righteous, whether the righteous dead or the righteous 26:58 living are caught up and, you know, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, 27:04 explains this is when we put on immortality - when the sound of 27:11 that last trump. 27:12 So what we find then is immediately following Christ's 27:18 second return, we find this millennium period and the 27:23 thousand years begins after the return of Christ. 27:27 Let's look at Revelation 20:1-3. 27:31 Revelation 20:1-3... "Then I saw an angel coming down 27:35 from heaven having the key to the bottomless pit, 27:38 and a great chain in his hand. 27:40 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, 27:43 who is the Devil and Satan, and he bound him for a 27:46 thousand years and he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut 27:50 him up and set a seal on him so that he should not deceive 27:54 the nations anymore until a thousand years were finished. 27:57 But after these things he (Satan) must be 28:01 released for a little while." 28:03 Interesting - bottomless pit, word in Greek is "the abussos." 28:08 And this is the abyss, it's the same word that is used 28:13 in Genesis 1:2 when it's talking about the creation 28:16 of the earth when it says that the world was void 28:20 and without form - so when Christ returns we know that 28:24 in Revelation 6 and Revelation 16, it describes this horrible 28:29 earthquake and when Christ returns, He kills everybody, 28:33 the whole world is just in chaos... 28:36 So what we find here is the prophecy of Jeremiah 4:23-26 28:43 has been fulfilled - let me read that. 28:46 Jeremiah 4:23-26... "I beheld the earth and indeed it 28:51 was without form and void. 28:54 And the heavens, they had no light. 28:56 I beheld the mountains and indeed, they trembled. 28:58 And all the hills moved back and forth. 29:01 I beheld, and indeed there was no man, and all the birds 29:06 of the heavens had fled. 29:07 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, 29:11 and all its cities were broken down at the presence of the Lord 29:16 by His fierce anger." 29:18 So after Christ returns, here is the chaos that we 29:24 see on earth and when it talks about Satan being bound 29:30 for the thousand years, he is chained by circumstances. 29:35 The earth has been depopulated the wicked are all slain; 29:40 the righteous are all going up to heaven with Him. 29:43 So Satan and his unholy alliance are just here 29:47 on earth - there's nobody to tempt! 29:49 This is symbolic that he is chained by circumstances. 29:54 Now, when it says then that... let me go on with verse 4. 30:00 "And I saw thrones (he is telling us what's on earth, 30:05 but now he's putting his focus in heaven), I saw thrones 30:09 and they sat on them and judgment was committed to 30:12 them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been 30:15 beheaded for their witness to Jesus 30:17 and for the word of God, who had not worshipped 30:20 the beast or his image. 30:22 They had not received his mark on their foreheads or on 30:25 their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ 30:29 for a thousand years. That's right. 30:31 But the rest of the dead, (those wicked who were slain), 30:37 did not live again until the thousand years were finished." 30:43 This, who is in heaven, this is the first resurrection, 30:47 and then he says, "Blessed and holy is he who has part 30:53 in the first resurrection." 30:55 Jesus taught two general resurrections; in John 5:28-29, 31:00 He says, "Do not marvel at this, the day is coming when 31:04 when all who are in their graves will hear My voice; 31:09 some will come up to the resurrection of righteousness; 31:12 some to the resurrection of condemnation." 31:15 So there's a thousand years between these two 31:18 and that is the millennium period. 31:21 So let's look at Revelation again - I just want to repeat 31:25 verse 6, it says... "Blessed and holy is he who has 31:30 part in the first resurrection over such the second 31:35 death has no power, but they shall be priests of God 31:40 and of Christ and they shall reign 31:41 with Him for a thousand years." 31:44 So here we see in verses 4 and 6 of Revelation 20, 31:49 what are the righteous doing in heaven? 31:51 They are reigning with Christ through this thousand years. 31:54 You know, what's going to happen - throughout history 31:58 Satan has maligned the character of God. 32:02 He has told all of these lies. 32:03 What's going to happen when we get up there; 32:06 the books are going to be opened and we're going to 32:09 have the opportunity, the redeemed will be looking 32:13 at the records of history. 32:14 We'll understand - I mean, don't you have some questions 32:18 for God... "Why did You let this happen, God?" 32:20 We're going to understand how God led us throughout our lives, 32:25 and when we look at those records, we would have had it 32:28 in no other way, but we'll also understand why some people 32:32 are there that we are surprised to see there and why some 32:35 that we expected to be there didn't make it. 32:37 So we'll see the fairness of God's decisions and all 32:41 the questions of His justice will be settled forever, 32:45 and once that's settled, the redeemed are ready to witness 32:51 the administration of God's justice in His final judgment. 32:54 So Revelation 20:7-15 says, "When the thousand years 32:59 have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 33:04 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the 33:08 four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them 33:12 together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea." 33:17 So here Satan was confined by circumstances, but that 33:22 second resurrection when the wicked come up, 33:25 he's got somebody to tempt again, right? 33:28 So at the close of the millennium, if you want to say 33:32 Satan is released from his prison because now he's got 33:36 some people he can deceive further. 33:39 And it says, "They went up on the breadth of the earth 33:41 and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. 33:44 And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them." 33:48 In Revelation 21:2, John says, "He sees the holy city, 33:53 the New Jerusalem, coming down to earth..." 33:56 So we're seeing something here that's kind of a 33:58 simultaneous act that the second resurrection happens; 34:03 the New Jerusalem is down on earth and Satan is now 34:06 tempting them and leading them in this final rebellion. 34:10 Verse 10 of Revelation 20... "The devil who deceived them 34:14 was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the 34:17 beast and the false prophet are. 34:19 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it 34:23 from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. 34:26 And there was no place found for them. 34:29 And I saw the dead, small and great standing 34:31 before God, and books were opened." 34:34 This is the final judgment scene. 34:37 The reason they are raised at the end of the thousand years, 34:41 the millennium, is so that they can be judged for their 34:46 evil deeds and condemned once and for all. 34:49 And in verse 14... "Then Death and Hades were cast 34:53 into the lake of fire. 34:54 This is the second death. 34:56 Anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life 34:59 was cast into the lake of fire. 35:02 Amen! Wow, this is an incredible topic, 35:06 and for me, talking about heaven is one of my very favorite 35:09 topics ever! 35:11 Today we're going to find out a little bit. 35:12 Mine is: "A New Heaven and a New Earth" 35:14 Well, you can understand why we need a new earth, 35:17 but why do we need a new heaven? 35:18 What does that mean, a new heaven and a new earth? 35:21 But when you think about the story of man, it's not very 35:24 good, without a Savior there's nothing. 35:27 In fact, Job says it best in 14, he says, "Man that is born 35:31 of woman is of few days and full of trouble. 35:33 He cometh forth like a flower and is cut low and fleeth also 35:37 as a shadow and continueth not until the heavens be no more." 35:41 That's kind of a short description of a short life 35:45 with nothing at the end of it. 35:48 But praise God, that as Christians we have hope 35:52 of life everlasting through a resurrected Savior. 35:56 I mean, to me, that's great news. 35:58 And where do I base that? 36:00 John 3:16... "For God so loved the world that He gave His 36:03 only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him, 36:07 should not perish but have everlasting life." 36:11 Now that came from Jesus Himself, so we have to be 36:14 excited about that - so this is not fictitious, this is real, 36:20 heaven is real, so it's all about choices today. 36:24 And so what I want to talk about is... 36:27 Well Jill, you read a Scripture too and when I think 36:29 about heaven I always think about my dad. 36:33 My dad who is now resting in Jesus - he had a few 36:36 favorite Scriptures and one of those was John 14... 36:39 "Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe 36:41 in God, ye believe also in Me. 36:43 In My Father's house are many mansions... " 36:44 that you just read a while ago. 36:46 I mean, beautiful Scripture, so we want to think about 36:49 that every day. 36:51 Ellen White says, We should contemplate the goodness 36:54 of God for a while because when you think of the 36:56 love versus what a lot of people see - is this God 37:01 who is in heaven; He's distant; you have no 37:04 relationship and He's looking down with condemnation, 37:06 writing everything bad, when you all are telling us... 37:09 "No, that's not true, God, John, is a God of love." 37:12 You said that He wants to enjoy His creation for eternity. 37:19 And what an absolute blessing that we can be a part of it. 37:22 Jesus promises His followers that, "Yes, when this life 37:26 is over, it's not the end, it's the beginning." 37:28 I've put some notes here. 37:30 When Jesus comes back to planet Earth at the second 37:32 coming, life for the Christian starts an incredible journey 37:37 that will never end. 37:38 1 Corinthians 2:9 paints a beautiful picture. 37:41 It says... "Eye had not seen, (another one of my dad's 37:44 favorite Scriptures), nor ear heard, neither has it 37:47 entered into the heart of man the things that God 37:50 has prepared for those who love Him." 37:52 Isn't that an amazing Scripture? 37:54 I mean, you can't help but get all excited and you get 37:57 pumped up when you say it, but after sin is eradicated, 38:00 the earth will be transformed into the 38:02 home of the redeemed. 38:04 But the question here today, we want to answer, 38:06 is where will this be? 38:07 We have no idea. 38:09 People think, right now, hell is going on somewhere in the 38:11 middle of the earth and heaven is out here somewhere, 38:14 and we don't even know and we're finding out 38:16 there's more than one heaven! 38:18 So that's important because some of the Scriptures, 38:21 Revelation 21:1-2 says... "And I saw a new heaven 38:24 and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth 38:27 were passed away, and there was no more sea. 38:30 And I, John, saw... what? The holy city, New Jerusalem 38:35 coming down from God out of heaven prepared 38:37 as a bride is adorned for her husband." 38:40 I'm going to go to another Scripture quickly here. 38:42 2 Peter 3:10-13... "But the day of the Lord will come 38:47 as a thief in the night in which the heavens 38:50 shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall 38:53 melt with fervent heat. 38:54 The earth also and the works that are therein shall be 38:57 ... what? Burned up. 38:59 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, 39:02 what manner of persons aught ye to be in all 39:05 holy conversation and godliness. 39:07 Looking for and hastening unto the coming 39:10 of the day of the Lord, wherein the heavens shall be 39:13 on fire shall be dissolved, (that's interesting), 39:17 and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." 39:20 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for the 39:23 new heavens and the new earth, (here we go again), 39:26 the new heavens and the new earth, 39:28 wherein dwelleth righteousness." 39:30 So what does the Scripture really mean when it says... 39:33 "The heavens and the earth passed away." 39:36 Well, we should talk about it a little bit. 39:38 And let's go to Revelation 20, I'm doing a lot of scriptures 39:43 because it's pretty well self-explanatory, 39:45 then we'll talk about it a little bit. 39:47 Revelation 20:11 says... "And I saw a great white 39:51 throne and Him that sat on it from whose face the earth 39:55 and the heaven fled away; and there was 39:58 found no place for them." 40:00 Now that's amazing... it says the heaven and earth 40:03 couldn't face Him - they fled away when this second coming. 40:08 Now what in the world does that all mean? 40:10 Let's find out, it's not that I've put in here - have no fear, 40:13 as those commercials on television says, "There's more!" 40:16 So this is not the end of it, we're going to find out. 40:19 The word "new" in the Greek, I think is "kainos," (that's the 40:25 best I can do with it), refers to something new in 40:28 quality and not in origin and in time. 40:31 So now we're starting to find out what happens 40:33 before the New Jerusalem comes down to earth, 40:36 it will be purged with fire and restored to its original state. 40:40 Okay, the fire that destroys Satan followers will also 40:45 cleanse the earth for the righteous... think about 40:48 that application. 40:50 So God will restore the earth to its original beauty, 40:53 making the earth new again. 40:56 We're going to go, I think it was read already, 40:58 Revelation 21:3-5... "And I heard a loud voice 41:01 from heaven saying, "Behold the tabernacle of God is 41:04 with man and He will dwell with them and they shall be His 41:08 people. God, Himself will be with them and be their God. 41:11 And God will wipe away every (listen to this)... 41:14 God will wipe away how much tears? 41:16 Every tear from their eyes. 41:18 There shall be no more death, no more sorrow, 41:22 no more crying. 41:23 There shall be no more pain, for the former things 41:26 have passed away. 41:28 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make 41:31 all things new." 41:33 Is this incredible or what? 41:34 "He said to me, "Write, for these words 41:37 are true and faithful." 41:39 So we're talking about these heavens - the former, 41:41 everything passed away, but I want to talk a little 41:45 bit to you here, the few minutes I have, 41:47 about how many heavens there are. 41:50 Well, the Jews saw three heavens, maybe that's 41:54 what I see too here. 41:55 The Bible writers refer to three different areas 41:58 when using the word "heaven." 42:00 The first heaven consists of the earth's atmosphere. 42:03 That's where the clouds are and the birds are flying, 42:06 and so remember in Genesis when God created the heaven 42:09 between the waters, okay, that's the atmosphere. 42:12 You'll also remember, in 2 Peter 2, the apostle writes 42:16 that the heaven shall dissolve. 42:18 So it's talking about the first heaven - the atmosphere 42:21 around the earth and not where God dwells. 42:23 The second heaven, then, is where the sun, the moon, 42:26 and the stars, and the galaxies all hang suspended 42:30 by God - isn't that amazing! 42:32 They're all just hanging there suspended. 42:34 Now the third heaven is the dwelling place of God... 42:37 So when Paul said he was caught up into the 42:39 third heaven, he's referring to the paradise, 42:42 the very dwelling place of God, so when we say... 42:45 "Our Father which art in heaven," 42:47 that's the place that we're talking about. 42:49 So, to me, where is heaven? 42:51 God's home will be among His people. Amen! 42:54 So it says, "The sorrows of the world will be passed away 42:58 and will no longer come to mind." 43:01 There are so many beautiful Scriptures that we can go on. 43:03 I've got a couple of minutes left, I'm going to hit a couple. 43:06 This is Isaiah 65:17-19... "For behold I create new 43:11 heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not 43:14 be remembered, nor come into mind. 43:16 But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which 43:19 I create; for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, 43:22 and her people a joy. 43:24 And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my 43:27 people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more 43:30 heard in her, nor the voice of crying." Amen! 43:34 Some years ago, I was thinking about heaven, John, 43:37 and I wrote a song entitled, "Heaven Means Home to Me," 43:41 and as I thought about it, it's very interesting 43:44 and you put it into what we've just been reading, 43:46 the Lord gave me the words, I know that, 43:48 I couldn't come up with them, but I said in this song, 43:51 I was sitting around one evening playing the guitar, 43:53 "I'm longing for a place I've never been, yet it's a place 43:57 I call home." 43:59 Now that sounds, in the human mind, the fleshly mind, 44:04 that doesn't make sense... "I'm long for a place 44:06 I've never been, yet it's a place that I call home 44:09 where the Lamb is the light in the midst of the night, 44:13 heaven means home to me." 44:14 So the chorus is: "Heaven means home to me; 44:16 Where Jesus is; That's where I want to be. 44:19 No more dying up there; This old world can't compare; 44:22 That's why heaven means home to me." 44:25 I had a friend that used to play music with my dad years ago 44:28 and he wasn't a Christian, and he always wanted me 44:32 to go out and play in the clubs with my dad and when 44:35 Melody was young, he said, "You gotta forget about 44:38 all this stuff, you could make some good money," 44:40 and I said, "Jack, you know 44:42 we're Christians and we don't do that." 44:44 But he said, "Danny, let me ask you a question... 44:46 I've been wanting to ask you this for a long time." 44:48 "What if you get to the end of the road and you find out 44:53 there's no God? 44:54 What if you get to the end of the road and there's nothing?" 44:57 I said, "Well, two things I can think of... 44:59 One is, if that's the case, then I won't know it, right? 45:04 But let me ask you this question... 45:06 What if you get to the end of the road and there is a 45:08 heaven and there is a hell, there is a God and you've not 45:12 prepared to meet Him?" 45:13 So my question today is... for each and every one of us, 45:16 "Does heaven really mean home to us?" 45:19 "How much do we love Jesus?" 45:21 Let's submit and commit our lives to Him today. 45:24 Amen! Amen! AMEN! Praise the Lord! 45:27 Appreciate you setting that up for me. 45:28 Well, put on your seatbelts because I'm going to take you 45:33 on a nice little tour through this New Jerusalem. Okay! 45:37 And I'm so excited about this, pray for that clock because 45:40 I don't have enough time to say all that I want to say. 45:43 Anyways, I want to start with the verse that we have 45:46 mentioned this entire time, probably multiple times 45:49 throughout this particular lesson. 45:51 John 14:1-3, notice what the Bible says... 45:55 "Let not your heart be troubled, (this is Christ speaking, 45:58 a beautiful promise) you believe in God, believe also in Me. 46:01 In My Father's house are many mansions. 46:03 If it were not so, I would have told you. 46:06 I go to prepare a place for you, (now I want you to remember 46:10 those words), I go to prepare a place for you, 46:13 and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again 46:16 and receive to Myself that where I am, (this is the key), 46:20 there you may be also." 46:22 You know, the Bible can be summed up in just those few 46:24 words if you really wanted to sum it up. 46:26 God desires to be with His people and He's been so long 46:29 separated from His people, I'm waiting for that 46:32 heavenly reunion, Amen? Amen! 46:34 And He has such a beautiful thing waiting for us, 46:36 I want to take you on a little tour of the Scripture; 46:39 some of the details pertaining to this New Jerusalem, 46:42 and the wonderful things that God has prepared for us. 46:44 I'm going to begin in Revelation 21:9, and really quickly 46:49 while you're finding that... 46:50 You know, I remember reading a text, I believe it's in 46:52 Hebrews 11, where it talks about Abraham. 46:55 Now we're talking about WAY BACK in the day...Abraham, 46:58 but the Bible says, Paul wrote under the inspiration of the 47:01 Holy Spirit, that Abraham looked forward to a new city, 47:05 a heavenly city. That's right. 47:07 Well this is that city - the New Jerusalem. 47:10 I'm going to start in verse 9, notice what the Bible says... 47:12 "Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls 47:14 filled with the seven last plagues came to me 47:17 and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you 47:20 the bride, the Lamb's wife." (And then we have this 47:24 beautiful description of the city.) 47:25 So Revelation 21:10, we'll continue on down... 47:28 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high 47:31 mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, 47:35 descending out of heaven from God." 47:37 When I read this text, I think of when Christ was 47:41 taken to the highest pinnacle by Satan and Satan 47:44 offered him the kingdoms of the world, but yet 47:47 we see here, God is offering us the true kingdom of God. 47:50 He's taking John in vision to a high mountain. 47:53 He's showing him the great city, the holy Jerusalem, 47:55 descending out of heaven from God. 47:57 Notice verse 11... "Having the glory of God, her light was 48:01 like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, 48:05 clear as crystal." 48:06 Now I have to re-mention what you said earlier... 48:08 I think it was either 1 or 2 Corinthians 2:9, where it says, 48:12 "Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, nor has it 48:15 entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for us." 48:18 You know, I read through these texts and I try to 48:20 kind of paint in my own mind, a picture of what it looks like. 48:24 I think of verse 11 here... I could just imagine as John was 48:27 seeing that New Jerusalem, come down out of heaven. 48:31 It says it was like jasper stone, clear as crystal. 48:34 Could you imagine all of the incredible holy lights that were 48:37 being refracted and reflected and bouncing just off 48:40 every little thing - just a marvelous sight. 48:42 In fact, Satan is going to get to see that because remember, 48:46 he's in darkness for a thousand years. That's right. 48:48 You could imagine, he's roaming around in complete 48:50 darkness, probably can't see his hand in front of his face, 48:53 but yet, at the end of the thousand years, 48:55 a BIG night light is turned on and he can just see it 48:58 coming down out of heaven from God. 49:00 It's going to be incredible when we get to see this. 49:03 Notice verse 12... "Also, she had a great and high wall 49:07 with 12 gates and 12 angels at the gates and names 49:10 written on them which are the names of the 49:12 12 tribes of the children of Israel. 49:15 So for every tribe of Israel, there will be, obviously, 49:19 a gate and, of course, you will notice as we go into verse 13, 49:23 notice what it says... Three gates on the east, three gates 49:25 on the north, three gates on the south 49:27 and three gates on the west. 49:28 So this is actually kind of set up like the camp of Israel. 49:31 If you go back and study the Old Testament, 49:33 all of the 12 tribes of Israel, there were camps, and of course, 49:37 the camp was kind of set up in like a square 49:39 or kind of like a cube. 49:40 The city itself, as you're about to see, the New Jerusalem 49:44 City is actually a giant cube. That's right. 49:47 And of course, just kind of like the camp, not a cube, 49:49 but more of kind of a square formation... 49:52 There were three tribes over here, three tribes in the 49:54 north, three tribes in the south, three tribes in the west, 49:57 and so you will see that that's exactly 49:59 how these gates are set up. 50:01 Verse 14, I know I'm going fast, but I'm getting somewhere 50:04 quick because we're going to get to the good 50:05 stuff, well all of it is good, 50:06 but there's some even better stuff, I think. 50:08 Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them 50:12 were the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. 50:14 Now that has to be cool, I can imagine James and John, 50:17 and Bartholomew, and all of the 12 disciples - they're 50:20 going to get to walk into this city and they're going to see 50:22 their name inscribed, like that's powerful! 50:25 But all the 12 foundations, according to the 50:28 12 apostles, that's awesome! 50:29 They, of course, were the leaders of the 50:32 New Testament Church, so that's so fitting. 50:34 Notice verse 15... "And he who talked with me had a golden 50:37 reed to measure the city, and its gates and its walls." 50:40 Now, in Revelation 11:2, there's a mentioning of a 50:45 measuring - of course, the measuring of the 50:50 city there, but notice this is the measuring of the reward 50:53 of those found worthy in the judgment. 50:55 So now this is the reward of those people, 50:57 there's a measuring reed pulled out; 50:59 God is revealing to us our reward. 51:01 Notice verse 16... "The city is laid out as a square. 51:05 Its length is as great as the breath and the measure 51:10 of the city with the reed, 12 thousand furlongs, 51:13 and the length, breath and height are equal." 51:16 Now 12 thousand furlongs, I did a little bit of research 51:18 on this... that's equivalent to about 1,378 miles. 51:24 Now, the text doesn't state whether or not 51:27 it's the circumference or if it's just the city on one side, 51:30 but if it is the circumference, each side would be about 51:33 345 miles long. Wow! 51:37 Now I've never been to New York, I've heard that it's 51:38 called "The Big Apple," I've never been there. 51:40 I know Pastor John is from New York and I've heard 51:43 you can get lost in New York. 51:44 I could imagine how big and marvelous this city is going 51:47 to be - it's incredible. 51:49 Verse 17... "Then he measured its wall: 140 cubits, 51:53 according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel." 51:56 Now a little bit of research done here... 52:00 The basis of the New Testament cubit was about 17-1/2 inches. 52:04 And that would mean the walls are about 210 feet high. 52:08 So this is not your normal average city. 52:11 This is an incredibly huge city, and here's what's cool too... 52:15 This is verse 18... "The construction of its walls 52:17 was as jasper and the city was pure gold like clear glass. 52:23 So you could imagine, everything is like translucent 52:26 and clear, and pure, and it's just amazing the scene 52:30 that you... actually, I'm reminded of when that 52:33 New Jerusalem City comes down, all of God's people are on the 52:36 inside - all of the wicked are on the outside. 52:39 You see that picture in your mind for a moment. 52:43 You know, the Bible says we're going to 52:44 behold the judgment of the wicked. 52:45 You know, I can imagine people standing on the outside 52:48 wishing that they were in there for a moment like 52:50 you know what looking people 52:51 in the eyes... "You know that guy gave me a 52:53 Bible Study, I should have listened." 52:54 I can't say that that's exactly how it's going to be, 52:57 but that's the image I get in my mind... that those who are 53:00 on the outside - they're going to wish that 53:01 they were on the inside. 53:03 They're going to wish that they would have given their 53:04 heart to Jesus for all that God has prepared for us. 53:07 Verse 19... "The foundations of the walls and of the city 53:10 were adorned with all kinds of precious stones, 53:13 and, of course, it lists all of these precious stones, 53:15 and there are 12 different stones, of course, 53:17 and it reminds me of the breastplate that the high 53:20 priest wore representing each tribe of Israel. 53:24 And, of course, verse 21... "The 12 gates were 12 pearls; 53:29 each individual gate was of one pearl and the street of the 53:32 city was pure gold like transparent glass. 53:37 I could only imagine the size of the oyster 53:41 that that thing came out of or the size of the clam 53:43 that the pearl came out of. 53:45 That's a huge pearl, but the Bible says that it will be 53:48 made of a single pearl, each individual gate. 53:50 I want to go on through to chapter 22 or actually 53:56 read through to the end of the chapter there. 53:57 "But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty 54:01 and the Lamb are its temple. That's right. 54:04 And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon 54:08 to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. 54:12 The Lamb is its light." 54:14 I mean, we have all this list here... I want to read it all, 54:17 but it's true... you notice verse 25... "And the gates 54:20 shall not be shut at all by day, there shall be no night there." 54:26 No night... it reminds me of that song... "No more night, 54:29 no more pain... beautiful song. 54:32 There's going to be no night there. 54:33 The light of the city is going to be Jesus Christ. 54:35 And I want to skip to verse 27 54:36 because I am quickly running out of time. 54:38 Notice verse 27 and this will probably be my last point. 54:41 "But there shall by no means enter in anything that defiles, 54:47 or causes any abomination or lie, but only those 54:50 who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." 54:52 I just have to say... the reason why there's 54:55 going to be nothing enter into the Kingdom of God 54:57 of defilement, no sin will enter the Kingdom of God. 55:01 If God allowed sinners into the Kingdom of God, 55:03 they would be miserable; they wouldn't be happy. 55:06 And you, for sure, wouldn't be allowed into the city 55:09 because then you would get sunburn... "son-burn," S-O-N, 55:14 Son-burn because the Bible says that the light of Jesus is 55:17 constant. 55:19 You know the glory of God, sin diminishes 55:21 in the presence of God. 55:22 You know, I want to encourage my brothers and my sisters 55:25 at home, read these chapters. 55:27 Continue to read through chapter 22 there, 55:29 it is beautiful, you know, "No more night," there's a 55:31 beautiful pure river of water that 55:33 proceeds from the throne of God. 55:35 We're going to get to eat from the Tree of Life. 55:37 I have to believe there's going to be basketball size avocados 55:40 on that tree! 55:41 All of the wonderful things that God has prepared for us. 55:44 And so I pray that each and every one of us will 55:47 humble ourselves, seek God and may we all be 55:50 in that city together with Jesus one day. 55:52 Amen! Amen! Thank you so much Pastor John and 55:55 Shelley, and Danny, and Pastor Ryan. 55:57 What an incredible study! 55:59 I want to be there and we hope and pray that you want 56:03 to be there; you want to be a part of the 144,000; 56:06 you want to be a part of the sealed who will stand 56:09 on that sea of glass! 56:11 I want to give each one of you a moment to share 56:13 something in closing here. 56:14 A final invitation, Revelation 22:17... "And the Spirit 56:19 and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears 56:22 say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. 56:26 And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." 56:30 The invitation is open today, don't squander the invitation. 56:34 This is the moment of salvation. Amen and Amen! 56:37 I just forgot what my thought was... listening to you. 56:39 Essentially, when we go to heaven, we're not going to be 56:43 floating around, playing harps... 56:46 When Christ returns and takes the redeemed back, 56:50 we're there for a thousand years looking at the 56:54 records, then He comes back, He makes this earth a 56:59 lake of fire and the second death is when people are 57:04 thrown into that lake of fire and then we've got 57:07 a city home and a country home, we'll go out. 57:10 All I have to say is this earth is a wicked place. 57:13 It's so wicked that even when Jesus comes back, 57:16 the earth can't stand His brightness, even the atmosphere, 57:19 the first heaven is all destroyed because of sin. 57:22 Today it's a matter of choice. 57:23 Who are we going to serve? 57:25 Let's serve Jesus today. Amen! Amen. 57:27 Ezekiel 33:11, God says, "I have no pleasure in 57:30 the destruction of the wicked, but that the wicked will turn 57:33 from their evil ways and live." Amen! 57:36 "Great Controversy," p. 678... "The great controversy is 57:39 ended. Sin and sinners are no more." 57:43 The entire universe is clean. 57:46 That is the inheritance of the saints and just, right now, 57:50 make a choice and accept Jesus into your heart. 57:53 Next week we begin a brand new Quarter: "Family Seasons" 57:57 Bye, bye. |
Revised 2024-08-26