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SERIES: THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST, WEEK 84

TITLE: A BIG BEAUTIFUL CITY

TEXT: REVELATION 21:15-21

INTRODUCTION: (1) YEARS AGO WHEN I CAME TO KNOW CHRIST AS MY LORD AND SAVIOR, WE SANG A SIMPLE CHORUS ABOUT HEAVEN IN OUR YOUNG PEOPLE’S GROUP.

* THE WORDS WERE, IF I REMEMBER IT RIGHT WERE: “HEAVEN IS A WONDERFUL PLACE, FILLED WITH GLORY AND GRACE, I’M GOING TO SEE MY SAVIOR’S FACE, HEAVEN IS A WONDERFUL, HEAVEN IS MARVELOUS, HEAVEN IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.”

** NOW THAT LITTLE CHORUS THAT I GENERALLY REMEMBER AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, CAME TO MY MIND THIS WEEK STUDYING REVELATION 21:15-21.

*** FOR THE TRUTHS ABOUT THIS TEXT WHICH DESCRIBE THE NEW JERUSALEM, THE ETERNAL ABODE OF THE REDEEMED-HEAVEN, COMMUNICATES THAT HEAVEN IS A WONDERFUL, MARVELOUS, GLORIOUS AND BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

**** IN FACT, THE NEW JERUSALEM IS A PLACE, A HEAVENLY CITY THAT EXCEEDS MY WILDEST IMAGINATION OF WHAT HEAVEN WILL BE LIKE.

(2) FOR WE WILL WALK ON PAVEMENT THAT IS GOLD, THAT WILL BE CRYSTAL CLEAR IN PURITY AND THAT AS A PRECIOUS METAL IN OUR WORLD TODAY SELLS FOR OVER $900.00 AN OUNCE THAT HAS IMPURITIES.

* WE ARE GOING TO WALK ON A COMMODITY THAT PEOPLE WILL KILL OVER TODAY TO OBTAIN.

** BUT BEYOND THAT THERE WILL BE 12 PEARLY GATES AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE CITY IS MADE UP OF 12 PRECIOUS STONES.

*** THE MATERIAL OF THE CITY’S MASSIVE WALL IS MADE OUT OF JASPER.

**** AND THE CITY IS ABSOLUTELY HUGE, IT’S GIGANTIC, IT’S MASSIVE.

(3) AND THE BEAUTY AND SPLENDOR OF THIS BEAUTIFUL PLACE WILL MAKE THE TAJ MAHAL LOOK LIKE A CONDEMNED BUILDING, A DUMP.

* BELOVED, THE NEW JERUSALEM WILL BE FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL TO THE EYE THAN ANYTHING WE HAVE EVER SEEN.

** AND ON TOP OF THAT IT WILL REFLECT GOD’S GLORY AS A DIAMOND REFLECTS THE LIGHT OF THE

S U N SUN.

*** AND THAT CITY WILL BE A TRIBUTE TO GOD’S WISDOM, POWER AND LOVE.

**** FOR ONLY AN ALL-POWERFUL GOD COULD CREATE AND PREPARE A PLACE SUCH AS THIS.

(4) AND ONLY AN ALL-WISE GOD COULD DESIGN AND ENGINEER SUCH A CITY.

* AND ONLY A GOD OF LOVE WOULD GO TO SUCH LENGTHS TO PROVIDE AN ETERNAL DWELLING PLACE FOR PEOPLE HE HAS SAVED BY HIS GRACE.

** I MEAN THINK ABOUT IT, THIS CITY WILL BE OUR HOME FOREVER. AND MOST OF US HAVE BEEN IN OR LIVE IN BEAUTIFUL PLACES THAT ARE VERY COSTLY.

*** BUT GOD IN HIS LOVE WOULD PURCHASE OUR SALVATION AT THE PRICE OF HIS SON’S LIFE ON OUR BEHALF AND THEN PREPARE A PLACE SUCH AS THIS BEYOND THAT!!

**** AND I CAN’T GRASP THAT AND CERTAINLY I DON’T DESERVE THAT.

(5) FOR TO SAVE ME FROM GOD’S WRATH AND HELL BECAUSE OF MY SIN IS MORE THAN I COULD EVER DESERVE.

* BUT TO GIVE ME SUCH AN ETERNAL HOME ON TOP OF THAT IS MIND BOGGLING.

** AND TO THINK, CHRISTIAN, WE WILL LIVE THERE FOREVER.

*** AND TO BE A HOMELESS PERSON IN HEAVEN WOULD BE GREAT, JUST TO BE THERE, BUT TO ENJOY AND WORSHIP OUR SAVIOR AND TO ENJOY THINGS WHICH PEOPLE GIVE THEIR LIVES FOR TODAY, PRECIOUS JEWELS, PEARLS, DIAMONDS AND GOLD, WELL, IT’S FLAT OUR AMAZING.

**** IT WILL BE HEAVENLY!

(6) AND WE USE THE ADJECTIVE FORM OF HEAVEN TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING GREAT OR TASTY AS HEAVENLY.

* WE SAY THIS STEAK IS HEAVENLY OR THIS DESSERT IS HEAVENLY, THE SCENERY IS HEAVENLY. THERE’S EVEN A FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM CALLED HEAVENLY HASH.

** BUT HEAVEN IS FAR MORE THAN AN ADJECTIVE, IT IS A REAL PLACE.

*** AND TODAY IN OUR STUDY OF GOD’S WORD, WE WILL LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS HEAVENLY PLACE CALLED THE NEW JERUSALEM.

**** THUS I’VE TITLED MY MESSAGE, “A BIG BEAUTIFUL CITY.”

(7) AND UNDER THAT TITLE AND THEME WE’LL LOOK AT JUST TWO POINTS TODAY ABOUT THE NEW JERUSALEM, NO. 1 ITS MEASUREMENTS, VV. 15-17; AND NO. 2 ITS MATERIALS, VV. 18-21.

* AND WITH THOSE TWO POINTS AS OUR GUIDED TOUR OF THIS BIG BEAUTIFUL CITY, LET’S LOOK AT V. 15 PLEASE WHERE WE’LL START TO SEE THE CITY’S MEASUREMENTS.

I. ITS MEASUREMENTS, (READ V. 15)

A. NOW THE ONE WHO SPOKE WITH JOHN AND WAS HIS PERSONAL TOUR GUIDE WAS ONE OF THE 7 ANGELS WHO POURED OUT ONE OF THE 7 BOWL JUDGMENTS, GOING BACK TO V. 9 OF THIS CHAPTER.

* AND HAVING ALREADY INTRODUCED JOHN TO THE WALL, GATES AND FOUNDATIONS OF THE CITY, THIS ANGEL NEXT MEASURES THE MAJOR DIMENSIONS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

** AND HE MEASURES PARTS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM, ITS GATES, ITS WALLS AND THE CITY WITH A GOLD MEASURING REED OR STAFF OR ROD.

*** NOW REEDS OR RODS WERE A STANDARD OF MEASURE IN THAT DAY LIKE A YARDSTICK TODAY AND WERE ABOUT 10 FEET LONG.

**** AND THIS REED OR ROD WAS MADE OF GOLD WHICH WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR THIS GOLDEN CITY THAT REFLECTS THE GLORY OF GOD.

1. SO THIS ANGEL WILL TAKE THE TIME TO MEASURE OUT THIS CITY, AND SINCE HE USES A MEASURING ROD AND SINCE THE MEASUREMENTS ARE RECORDED, THERE IS NO REASON NOT TO TAKE THEM AS LITERAL MEASUREMENTS.

* HENRY MORRIS IN HIS COMMENTARY ON REVELATION SAYS AT THIS POINT IN LIGHT OF THAT: (AND I QUOTE)

** “WITH ALL IT’S DETAILED MEASUREMENTS AND DESCRIPTION, MOST COMMENTATORS STILL REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT THE ACCOUNT MEANS WHAT IT SAYS, SEEKING BY MANY VARIED STRATAGEMS OF INTERPRETATION TO MAKE IT ALL AN ALLEGORY OR A PARABLE OF SOME KIND. ALL SUCH DEVICES FLOUNDER, OF COURSE, UPON THESE VERY DETAILS OF MEASUREMENT AND DESCRIPTION. “ (END QUOTE)

*** AND I COULDN’T AGREE WITH HIM MORE. WITH THAT SAID, WE START TO GET SOME DETAILS OF THESE MEASUREMENTS BY THE ANGEL WITH A GOLDEN REED OR ROD IN V. 16, SO LOOK AT V. 16 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 16. NOW THE RESULTS OF THE ANGEL’S MEASURING REVEALS THAT THE CITY IS LAID OUT AS A SQUARE OR IS FOURSQUARE.

* FOR THE WORD SQUARE IS TRANSLATED FOURSQUARE IN THE KJV AND ESV AND THIS GREEK WORD LIT. MEANS FOUR ANGLED, A TERM WHICH CAN BE USED FOR A SQUARE OR A RECTANGLE, IN THIS CASE A SQUARE.

** AND THE LENGTH, BREADTH AND HEIGHT OF THIS CITY ARE EQUAL AND THE NORMAL DEDUCTION OR CONCLUSION IS THAT THE CITY IS A CUBE WHICH IN THE ANCIENT WORLD WAS THE SHAPE USED TO COMMUNICATE PERFECTION.

*** BUT EVEN OF MORE RELEVANCE THAN WHAT THE ANCIENT WORLD RECOGNIZED IS THE FACT THAT THE CUBE IS THE SHAPE OF THE HOLY OF HOLIES IN BOTH THE TABERNACLE AND TEMPLE.

**** FOR I KINGS 6:19 & 20 SAYS:

V. 19 – “THEN HE PREPARED AN INNER SANCTUARY WITHIN THE HOUSE IN ORDER TO PLACE THERE THE ARK OF THE COVENANT OF THE LORD.”

V. 20 – “THE INNER SANCTUARY WAS TWENTY CUBITS IN LENGTH, TWENTY CUBITS IN WIDTH, AND TWENTY CUBITS IN HEIGHT, AND HE OVERLAID IT WITH PURE GOLD. HE ALSO OVERLAID THE ALTAR WITH CEDAR.”

1. SO THE SHAPE OF THE HOLY OF HOLIES, WHERE GOD WOULD DESCEND IN THE SHEKINAH WAS A CUBE.

* AND OF COURSE ONE OF THE GREAT FEATURES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM THAT WE HAVE STUDIED ALREADY IN REVELATION 21 IS THAT IN IT, GOD WILL DWELL WITH HIS PEOPLE.

** REVELATION 21:3 SAYS: “AND I HEARD A LOUD VOICE FROM THE THRONE, SAYING, “BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE OF GOD IS AMONG MEN, AND HE WILL DWELL AMONG THEM, AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE, AND GOD HIMSELF WILL BE AMONG THEM.”

*** NOW THE SHEKINAH, THE VISIBLE PRESENCE OF GOD CONTINUALLY DWELLS IN THE NEW JERUSALEM, A NEW HOLY OF HOLIES IN A SENSE THAT EVERY BELIEVER ENTERS INTO, NOT JUST ONCE A YEAR BY THE HIGH PRIEST.

**** WITH THAT SAID, OTHER SHAPES OTHER THAN A CUBE HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED LIKE A PYRAMID.

2. BUT WHEN ALL THE POSSIBILITIES ARE EXAMINED, IT IS STILL BETTER TO SEE THE CITY WHERE GOD DWELLS AS FULFILLING THE O.T. TRUTH OF A CUBIC STRUCTURE.

* NOW THE ACTUAL DIMENSIONS OF THIS CITY ARE BOTH BREATHTAKING AND AWESOME.

** FOR THE MEASUREMENT GIVEN IS 1,500 MILES IN THE NAS AND 12,000 FURLONGS IN THE KJV AND NKJV, 12,000 STADIA IN THE ESV AND 1,400 MILES IN THE NIV.

*** AND IN THE GREEK IT SAYS 12,000 STADIA. AND A STADIA IS EQUAL TO 582 FEET TO ABOUT 607 FEET, PROBABLY CLOSER TO 607 FEET.

**** AND BY THE WAY THE WORD STADIA IS RELATED TO OUR ENGLISH WORD STADIUM, A PLACE WHERE ATHLETIC EVENTS TAKE PLACE.

***** WELL IF YOU MULTIPLY 1 STADIA AS BEING 607 FEET TIMES 12,000 YOU COME UP WITH 7 MILLION 284 THOUSAND FEET OR THE DISTANCE OF AROUND 1,500 MILES, WITH A MILE BEING 5,280 FEET.

3. NOW THE END OF V. 16 SAYS ABOUT THE CITY THAT “IT’S LENGTH AND WIDTH AND HEIGHT ARE EQUAL.”

* NOW AS A SQUARE WITH ITS LENGTH THE SAME DISTANCE AS ITS WIDTH, YOU COME UP WITH ABOUT 2 MILLION TO 2.25 MILLION SQUARE MILES OF SURFACE AREA.

** AND TO PUT THAT IN PERSPECTIVE AND IN TERMS WE CAN RELATE IN COMPARISON, THIS AREA WOULD COVER ALL OF THE STATES IN THE U.S. EXCEPT MONTANA, UTAH, NEVADA, ARIZONA, WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, ALASKA AND HAWAII, ACCORDING TO SMITH.

*** A FURTHER COMPARISON WOULD BE ITS AREA WOULD COVER ALL THE WAY FROM CANADA TO THE GULF OF MEXICO AND FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN TO COLORADO ACCORDING TO HENRY MORRIS.

**** AND ONE MORE COMPARISON, YOU COULD GO FROM ROME IN THE WEST TO JERUSALEM ON THE EAST AND FROM THE BALTIC SEA IN THE NORTH TO THE SOUTHERN BOUNDARY OF THE SAHARA DESERT IN AFRICA ACCORDING TO J. RITCHIE.

4. NOW MY POINT FROM ALL THESE COMPARISONS IS THIS CITY IS GIGANTIC, AND IT WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM HOUSING ALL THE REDEEMED, ALL CHRISTIANS FROM HUMAN HISTORY, FROM THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT ERAS THROUGH THE TRIBULATION AND MILLENNIUM.

* THIS WILL BE TO USE URBAN LANGUAGE OF OUR DAY “GIMUNGUS.”

** AND ONE OTHER QUICK OBSERVATION BEFORE I MOVE ONTO V. 17 AND THAT IS SIMON KISTEMAKER MAKES THIS OBSERVATION ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM IN HIS COMMENTARY ON REVELATION.

*** HE SAID AND I QUOTE: “NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE HOLY OF HOLIES IN SOLOMON’S TEMPLE WHERE GOD DWELLED AMONG HIS PEOPLE ON A SINFUL EARTH, AND THE HOLY CITY JERUSALEM COMING DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN, WHERE GOD DWELLS WITH HIS SINLESS PEOPLE. THE SIZE OF THE CITY IN HUMAN COMPUTATIONS IS STAGGERING INDEED.” (END QUOTE)

**** AND THE SIZE OF THIS CITY IS STAGGERING AND I LIKE HIS COMPARISON BETWEEN GOD DWELLING AMONG SINFUL PEOPLE, TO DWELLING AMONG PERFECTED PEOPLE.

5. FOR YOU SEE IN THE ETERNAL STATE IN THE NEW JERUSALEM, THERE IS NO MORE SIN, THUS NO MORE TEARS, NO MORE DEATH, NO MORE MOURNING, NO MORE CRYING AND NO MORE PAIN, REVELATION 21:4.

* AND GOD WILL DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE, NOT IN A ROOM, BUT IN A CITY, FOR THAT WHICH IS PERFECT IS COME AND THAT WHICH IS IN PART IS DONE AWAY WITH, THE OLD ORDER OF THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY.

** AND WITH THAT SAID, ONE MORE MEASUREMENT IN THIS BIG BEAUTIFUL CITY, LOOK AT V. 17 PLEASE.

C. READ V. 17. NOW THE ANGEL WITH HIS MEASURING REED OR ROD MEASURES ONE MORE THING FOR JOHN AND THAT IS THE NEW JERUSALEM’S WALL.

* AND THIS WALL, WHICH ACCORDING TO V. 12 IS “A GREAT AND HIGH WALL” WHICH MAY BE AN ETERNAL REMINDER OF OUR SECURITY IN CHRIST AND THAT HE IS OUR SALVATION AND PROTECTOR.

** BUT THE GREAT AND HIGH WALL MEASURES OUT TO 72 YARDS OR 144 CUBITS. AND A CUBIT WAS ABOUT 18 INCHES, FOR IT WAS THE MEASUREMENT FROM A MAN’S ELBOW TO THE END OF HIS MIDDLE FINGERTIP, APPROXIMATELY 18 INCHES.

*** AND IF YOU MULTIPLY 144 TIMES 18 INCHES YOU COME UP WITH 2,592 INCHES OR 72 YARDS OR 216 FEET.

**** AND THIS IS PROBABLY THE WIDTH OF THE WALL. FOR THE WALL WOULD NOT BE A HIGH WALL AT 216 FEET IN A CITY THAT REACHES 1,500 MILES IN HEIGHT.

1. BUT A HIGH WALL WOULD NEED TO BE A THICK WALL AND 216 FEET WOULD BE A THICK WALL TO SUPPORT A GREAT AND HIGH WALL.

* BUT REGARDLESS OF ITS HEIGHT OR WIDTH, THE LITERALNESS OF THE NUMBER 144 CUBITS OR 72 YARDS OR 216 FEET IS VERIFIED HERE.

** FOR AT THE END OF V. 17 IT SAYS: “ACCORDING TO HUMAN MEASUREMENTS, WHICH ARE ALSO ANGELIC MEASUREMENTS.”

*** AND THAT LIT. MEANS, A FURLONG IS A FURLONG, A YARD IS A YARD, A FOOT IS A FOOT, WHETHER FOR HUMANS OR ANGELS.

**** BELOVED, THE EXPRESSION MEANS THAT AN ANGEL DID THE MEASURING, BUT FOLLOWED HUMAN NORMS OR STANDARDS IN DOING SO.

2. THESE ARE HUMAN MEASUREMENTS, LENGTHS OR NUMBERS OR FIGURES DETERMINED BY STANDARDS AMONG HUMANS, MEN, EVEN THOUGH A NON-HUMAN, AN ANGEL DID THE MEASURING.

* SO THOUGH MEASURED BY AN ANGEL, A HUMAN NORM OR STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT WAS USED.

** SO WE MUST TAKE THESE MEASUREMENTS TO MEAN WHAT THEY SAY AND NOT SYMBOLIZE THEM.

*** AND THE MEASUREMENTS SHOW THAT THIS IS A HUGE CITY.

**** BUT NOT ONLY ARE THESE MEASUREMENTS STAGGERING AND IMPRESSIVE, BUT SO ARE THE MATERIALS USED IN MAKING THIS CITY, OF WHAT IT IS COMPOSED OF, WHICH LEADS US TO OUR 2’D POINT TODAY, IT’S MATERIALS, LOOK AT V. 18 PLEASE.

II. ITS MATERIALS, (READ V. 18)

A. NOW NOT ONLY IS THIS CITY BIG, IT IS BEAUTIFUL ALSO. AND FIRST OF ALL, THE MATERIAL OF THE WALL IS MADE OF JASPER, LIT. THE WALL WAS MADE UP OF, WAS BUILT WITH, THE CONSTRUCTION OF IT WAS OF JASPER.

* AND WE FOUND IN OUR STUDY EARLIER IN REVELATION 21:11 THAT A JASPER IN THAT DAY WAS A CRYSTAL CLEAR STONE, A VERY COSTLY STONE, LIKE A DIAMOND IN OUR DAY.

** WELL, HERE IN V. 18 THE WALL IS MADE UP OF THE SAME MATERIAL, SO AS YOU LOOK AT IT, SINCE IT IS CRYSTAL CLEAR, IT IS TRANSLUCENT, TRANSPARENT AND PERMITS LIGHTS TO SHINE THROUGH IT.

*** SO THE WALL OF THE CITY WILL REFRACT AND REFLECT THE BLAZING BRILLIANT MAGNIFICENT GLORY OF GOD THROUGHOUT THE NEW JERUSALEM, AND THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH.

**** FOR REMEMBER BECAUSE GOD IS TABERNACLED, DWELLS IN THIS CITY, IT HAS THE GLORY OF GOD THERE ALWAYS, THE SHEKINAH OF GOD, THE BLAZING LIGHT OF HIS GLORY SHINES CONTINUALLY IN THE WALL WHICH REFLECTS IT.

1. IT WOULD BE A GLORIOUS SITE, I MEAN IMAGINE A 216 FOOT WALL BUILT WITH DIAMONDS AND HAVING A BRIGHT LIGHT REFLECTING AND REFRACTING OFF IT CONTINUALLY.

* THIS WOULD BE A GLORIOUS AND STUNNING SITE TO SEE.

** BUT NOT ONLY WAS THE WALL MADE OF JASPER, “THE CITY WAS PURE GOLD LIKE CLEAR GLASS.”

*** AND THIS STATEMENT MEANS THAT THE CITY SHONE LIKE A MASS OF PURE GOLD.

**** AND THIS CONTRASTS WITH THE JASPER LUSTER OF THE WALL OF THE CITY.

2. FOR THE ADDITION OF THE WORDS “LIKE CLEAR GLASS” SPEAKING OF GOLD PICTURES IDEAL GOLD SO PURE THAT IT IS TRANSPARENT.

* THIS GOLD IS REFINED TO THE PLACE THAT IT IS WITHOUT IMPURITIES AND FLAWLESSLY PERFECT.

** AND OBVIOUSLY WE KNOW OF NO GOLD IN OUR WORLD REFINED TO THIS DEGREE, BUT IT WILL BE IN HEAVEN.

*** FOR IT WILL BE REFINED TO THE PLACE IT WILL BE LIKE PURE OR CLEAR GLASS, GLASS WITH A GOLD CAST TO IT.

**** GOLD IN APPEARANCE BUT LIKE CLEAR GLASS IN SUBSTANCE.

3. AND IT APPEARS THAT’S WHAT THE CITY’S BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES WILL BE MADE UP OF FOR THE CITY WAS MADE UP OF PURE GOLD, LIKE CLEAR GLASS.

* AND CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT? YOU LOOK AT THE STRUCTURES, THE BUILDINGS, THE MATERIAL OF THE CITY PROPER IS MADE UP OF PURE GOLD, LIKE CLEAR GLASS.

** AND THIS WILL BE BREATH TAKING, YOU WILL NEED GLORIFIED EYES TO BEHOLD THIS CITY WITH NATURAL GLORIFIED SUNGLASSES.

*** FOR A NATURAL EYE WOULD PROBABLY GO BLIND LOOKING AT IT, IT WOULD BE LIKE LOOKING AT THE SUN DIRECTLY.

**** BUT THE DESCRIPTION OF THE MATERIALS CONTINUES IN V. 19, LOOK AT V. 19 PLEASE.

B. READ V. 19. NOW IF YOU RECALL FROM OUR LAST STUDY IN REVELATION, WE LEARNED IN V. 14 OF REVELATION 21 THAT: “AND THE WALL OF THE CITY HAD TWELVE FOUNDATION STONES, AND ON THEM WERE THE TWELVE NAMES OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES OF THE LAMB.”

* NOW THESE 12 FOUNDATIONS OR 12 LAYERS OF THIS FOUNDATION HAS THE NAME OF EACH OF THE 12 APOSTLES ON IT AND EACH LAYER IS ADORNED OR GARNISHED OR DECORATED WITH A PRECIOUS STONE.

** AND REMEMBER, YOU CAN SEE EACH LAYER OF THE FOUNDATION OF THIS CITY FOR IT COMES DOWN OUT OF HEAVEN FROM GOD AND SITS ON THE NEW EARTH.

*** AND A CITY OF THIS SIZE NEEDS A HUGE FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT IT, AND THIS ONE HAS 12 FOUNDATIONS THAT YOU CAN SEE.

**** AND THE FIRST FOUNDATION WAS MADE UP OF JASPER, A DIAMOND LIKE PRECIOUS STONE THAT IS CRYSTAL CLEAR, LIKE A DIAMOND.

1. AND LET ME PAUSE HERE AS WE RUN THROUGH THESE FOUNDATION STONES AND SAY THAT IT IS DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY EACH STONE AND ITS COLORS, FOR SOME OF THE STONES HAVE CHANGED IN NAME THROUGH THE CENTURIES.

* SO SOME OF THEIR IDENTIFICATIONS ARE UNCERTAIN BUT THROUGH MY STUDY THERE IS SOME AGREEMENT IN WHAT THEY ARE.

* SO HERE WE GO, THE SECOND FOUNDATION WAS MADE UP OF A PRECIOUS STONE CALLED A SAPPHIRE WHICH IS A BRILLIANT BLUE STONE.

*** THE THIRD STONE AND FOUNDATION IS MADE UP OF A CHALCEDONY WHICH IS A BLUE GREEN STONE PROBABLY FROM THE CITY OF CALCEDON IN TURKEY.

**** NEXT THE FOURTH STONE IS AN EMERALD WHICH MOST AGREE IS A RADIANT GREEN, A BRIGHT GREEN, A SHINING GREEN.

2. AND THE FOUNDATION STONES OF THE 5TH THROUGH 12TH LAYERS ARE GIVEN IN VERSE 20. LOOK AT V. 20 PLEASE.

C. READ V. 20. NOW THE FIFTH STONE IS A SARDONYX, A STONE LAYERED WITH RED AND WHITE SO THAT IT HAS A BROWNISH RED SHADE.

* NO. 6 IS A SARDIUS OR AS THE NIV AND ESV CALL IT, A CARNELIAN, WHICH IS A RED QUARTZ STONE.

** NO. 7 A CHRYSOLITE, A GOLD COLORED STONE, WITH SOME YELLOW IN IT.

*** NO. 8 IS A BERYL, A STONE FOUND IN VARIOUS COLORS WITH SHADES BLUE, GREEN AND YELLOW.

**** NO. 9 IS A TOPAZ, A GOLDEN GREENISH COLOR, SOME SAY A YELLOW GREEN STONE.

1. NO. 10 IS A CHRYSOPRASE OR AN CHRYSOPRASUS, A YELLOW GREEN, A GOLDEN GREEN.

* NO. 11 IS A JACINTH BELIEVED TO BE AN AQUAMARINE OR TURQUOISE COLOR, OTHERS SAY A VIOLET COLOR ALTHOUGH THE MODERN EQUIVALENT IS A RED OR REDDISH BROWN STONE.

** AND THEN NO. 12 IS THE AMETHYST, A PURPLE STONE.

*** NOW IN SUMMARY OF THESE MANY COLORS, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A QUOTE FROM JOHN WOLVOORD’S COMMENTARY ON REVELATION, FOR HE SAYS SOMETHING THAT KIND OF PULLS ALL THESE COLORS AND IDEAS TOGETHER.

**** HE SAID AND I QUOTE: “THOUGH THE PRECISE COLORS OF THESE STONES IN SOME CASES ARE NOT CERTAIN, THE GENERAL PICTURE HERE DESCRIBED BY JOHN IS ONE OF UNMISTAKABLE BEAUTY, DESIGNED TO REFLECT THE GLORY OF GOD IN A SPECTRUM OF BRILLIANT COLOR. THE LIGHT OF THE CITY WITHIN SHINING THROUGH THESE VARIOUS COLORS IN THE FOUNDATION OF THE WALL TOPPED BY THE WALL ITSELF COMPOSED OF THE CRYSTAL-CLEAR JASPER FORMS A SCENE OF DAZZLING BEAUTY IN KEEPING WITH THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE BEAUTY OF HIS HOLINESS.

2. THE CITY IS UNDOUBTEDLY FAR MORE BEAUTIFUL TO THE EYE THAN ANYTHING THAT MAN HAS EVER BEEN ABLE TO CREATE, AND IT REFLECTS NOT ONLY THE INFINITE WISDOM AND POWER OF GOD BUT ALSO HIS GRACE AS EXTENDED TO THE OBJECTS OF HIS SALVATION.”

* NOW I LIKE THAT WALVOORD NOT ONLY COMMUNICATES THE INFINITE WISDOM AND POWER OF GOD IN WHAT THE LORD DOES IN MAKING THIS BIG BEAUTIFUL CITY, BUT ALSO, THAT HIS GRACE IS EXTENDED TO THOSE HE HAS SAVED FOR HIS GLORY.

** FOR TRUE BELIEVERS WILL ENJOY THE GLORY AND BEAUTY OF THIS CITY FOREVER. WHAT A GIFT TO US, WHAT A BENEFIT, WHAT A BLESSING.

*** AND GETTING BACK TO THE 12 FOUNDATION STONES, THEY WILL BE A SPECTRUM OF COLORS OF BREATHTAKING BEAUTY THAT BRING FORTH THE GLORY OF GOD FLASHING FROM THE NEW JERUSALEM THROUGHOUT THE NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH.

**** BUT THERE ARE TWO MORE BEAUTIFUL MATERIALS USED IN THE NEW JERUSALEM FOUND IN V. 21. LOOK AT V. 21 PLEASE.

D. READ V. 21. NOW AS WE LEARNED LAST TIME IN OUR STUDY OF REVELATION, THERE ARE 12 GATES IN THE WALL OF THE NEW JERUSALEM, 3 GATES ON EACH SIDE, 3 ON THE NORTH, 3 ON THE SOUTH, 3 ON THE WEST AND 3 ON THE EAST.

* NOW STATIONED AT EACH OF THE GATES IS AN ANGEL, AND THE NAMES OF THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL ARE ON EACH GATE. SO THERE IS A DAN GATE, A NAPHTALI GATE AND SO ON.

** NOW THE MATERIAL OR SUBSTANCE OF EACH GATE IS A GIGANTIC PEARL, EACH OF THE GATES WAS A SINGLE PEARL.

*** AND PEARLS IN JOHN’S DAY WERE AMONG THE MOST VALUABLE OF WHAT WOULD BE CALLED A PRECIOUS STONE.

**** I MEAN PEARLS WERE THE TREASURE OF WEALTHY PEOPLE AND WERE VALUABLE BECAUSE OF THEIR GREAT BEAUTY.

1. AND IN THAT DAY THEY COULD NOT BE PRODUCED ARTIFICIALLY, NOR COULD THEY BE IMPROVED ON BY HUMAN SKILL.

* AND J. RITCHIE IN HIS COMMENTARY ON REVELATION MADE THIS INTERESTING POINT ABOUT A PEARL THAT IS APPLICABLE HERE.

** HE SAID AND I QUOTE: “THE FACT THAT THE REMOVAL OF THE PEARL FROM THE OYSTER CAUSED DEATH MAY HAVE A SCRIPTURAL LESSON IN IT AS IT IS RECOGNIZED THAT THE REDEMPTION OF MEN DEMANDED THE DEATH OF CHRIST. PERHAPS THESE FACTS SUGGEST WHY GOD CHOSE THIS MATERIAL FOR THE GATES OF THE CITY.” (END QUOTE)

*** AND ALTHOUGH THIS IS ONLY SPECULATION WITH NO CONTEXTUAL SUPPORT, WE KNOW THAT A GATE IS A LARGE DOOR, IT’S AN ENTRANCE INTO SOMETHING.

**** AND WE KNOW FOR SURE IN OTHER SCRIPTURE, JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY DOOR INTO HEAVEN FOR JESUS SAID IN JOHN 10:9 (READ IT).

2. NOW THIS IS NOTHING TO DEBATE ABOUT, BUT CERTAINLY IS A POSSIBILITY, THAT A PEARL IS USED FOR A GATE.

* THEN QUICKLY, ONE LAST MATERIAL AND THAT IS, THE STREET OF THE CITY WAS PURE GOLD, LIKE TRANSPARENT GLASS.

** NOW NOT ONLY ARE THE BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM MADE OF THIS KIND OF PURIFIED GOLD, BUT ALSO THE STREET.

*** AND THE WORD STREET IS SINGULAR IN THE GREEK AND LIT. MEANS A BROADWAY, A BROAD STREET, MAYBE THE MAIN STREET OR ARTERY OF THE CITY POSSIBLY NEAR THE THRONE OF GOD, FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER OF THE CITY.

**** OR IT CAN BE A STREET SINGULAR THAT MAKES REFERENCE TO ALL THE STREETS OF THE CITY.

3. AND REGARDLESS IF IT IS ALL THE STREETS OR ONE MAIN BROADWAY, THE BEAUTY OF A STREET OR STREETS OF GOLD IS MAGNIFICENT, AS GOD’S GLORY IS ABLAZE WITH TRANSPARENT GOLD LIKE GLASS ON THE STREETS.

* BELOVED, NO CEMENT, CHIP AND SEAL, ASPHALT OR DIRT STREETS THERE, THE GLORY OF GOD WILL SHINE.

IN SUMMARY AND WRAP UP: (1) THE CITY WE HAVE LOOKED AT TODAY, THE ETERNAL HOME OF ALL BELIEVERS, HEAVEN, IS A BIG BEAUTIFUL CITY.

* SO HEAVEN IS A WONDERFUL PLACE, FILLED WITH GLORY AND GRACE, I’M GOING TO SEE MY SAVIOR’S FACE, HEAVEN IS WONDERFUL, HEAVEN IS A MARVELOUS, HEAVEN IS A BEAUTIFUL PLACE.

** AND AS WE WOULD CLOSE OUT THIS CHORUS IN SINGING WHEN I WAS FIRST SAVED, THEY WOULD ADD THE SONG “BUT UNTIL THEN.”

*** AND THE CHORUS OF THIS SONG SAYS: “BUT UNTIL THEN MY HEART WILL GO ON SINGING, UNTIL THEN WITH JOY I’LL CARRY ON, UNTIL THE DAY MY EYES BEHOLD THE CITY, UNTIL THE DAY GOD CALLS ME HOME.”

**** AND BELOVED UNTIL THEN, UNTIL THE DAY WE SEE THAT GLORIOUS CITY BEFORE US AND SEE OUR SAVIOR FACE TO FACE AS THE SURE HOPE THAT GETS US THROUGH EVERY TRIAL, EVERY HEARTACHE, EVERY PAIN, EVERY PERSECUTION, EVERY DEATH OF A LOVED ONE AND SO ON.

2. AND UNTIL THEN, WE HAVE SOMEONE TO LIVE FOR AND EVEN DIE FOR, THE ONE WHO DIED FOR US. LOOK FORWARD AND LIVE FOR CHRIST TOTALLY UNTIL THAT DAY-TRUE BELIEVER.

* I CLOSE WITH THE LAST VERSE OF A HYMN TITLED, “ALL IS WELL.”

** IT SAYS: “WE EXPECT A BRIGHT TOMORROW – ALL WILL BE WELL;

*** FAITH CAN SING THROUGH DAYS OF SORROW, ALL, ALL IS WELL.

**** ON OUR FATHER’S LOVE RELYING, JESUS EVERY NEED IS SUPPLYING,

3. OR IN LIVING OR IN DYING – ALL MUST BE WELL. (LET’S PRAY)