{"id":19218,"date":"2018-03-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-21T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-038\/"},"modified":"2018-03-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-03-21T05:00:00","slug":"the-coming-kingdom-038","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/the-coming-kingdom-038\/","title":{"rendered":"The Coming Kingdom 038"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[470],"sermon_service_type":[474],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19218","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-the-coming-kingdom","sermon_service_type-wednesday-evenings","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"The Coming Kingdom 038","sermon_date":"20180321","sermon_month":"3","sermon_year":"2018","sermon_notes":5595,"sermon_slides":5596,"sermon_mp3":5597,"sermon_id":"321181815320","series_or_event":470,"service_type":[474],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"21-22","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nThe Coming Kingdom\n\n3-21-18\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Revelation\u00a0 21-22\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lesson 38\n\nLet\u2019s open our Bibles if we could to the Book of Revelation, chapter 21, as you guys all know we\u2019ve been continuing our study on the doctrine of the kingdom.\u00a0 We\u2019re in chapter 14 of my book so basically in this part of the study we\u2019ve been looking at what does the Word of God say about the kingdom.\u00a0 It\u2019s been sort of a long bus ride, if you will, through the Bible and we would expect to go through the Bible in a study like this because the kingdom, as I\u2019ve tried to explain is the dominant theme of the Bible.\u00a0 And we went all the way through the establishment of the kingdom for a thousand years and now we\u2019re on number 17, after the thousand years.\n\nSo here\u2019s our standard prophecy chart, if you just go to the far right you\u2019ll see the kingdom, the thousand year kingdom, Revelation 20 and then after that will come the eternal state.\u00a0 So we\u2019re in Revelation 21 and 22 which is a description of the eternal state.\u00a0 And I find that most Christians hardly know anything about the eternal state which is unfortunate because we\u2019re going to be there for how long\u2026 that\u2019s not a trick question.\u00a0 So the eternal state is really the last stop, if you will, on the ride covering the kingdom.\n\nSo to help us grow in our understanding of the eternal state I\u2019ve sort of divided it into five parts.\u00a0 The first point we made, we were talking about how the eternal state is only going to come into existence after God has restored authority over planet earth.\u00a0 So kind of the goal of history is how God restores what was lost in Eden and that is going to be accomplished in the thousand year kingdom.\u00a0 The eternal state comes into existence after that so with that goal in history won for God, God is now free to start over.\n\nSo we move from there into the new creation and that\u2019s Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 One of the points we\u2019ve tried to make is that this new creation that\u2019s coming is not a renovation but it\u2019s an ex nihilo<\/em>, something out of nothing, brand new creation.\u00a0 Your renovation is the thousand year kingdom; that\u2019s when this earth is renovated but the eternal state, and I think I gave five reasons for that , is something totally new.\u00a0 It\u2019s still a world like this one but it\u2019s a brand new world.\u00a0 It\u2019s a brand new heavens and new earth.\n\nAnd then number 3, we looked at the fact that the eternal state, a lot of people look at it as very symbolic but the reality is it\u2019s very literal.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because terms are used in these final two chapters of the Bible that we would interpret literally anywhere else.\u00a0 So it\u2019s a literal time period and one of the things to understand is the throne of David continues, not just into the thousand year kingdom but also into the eternal state.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because David was promised a throne that would last forever; forever is longer than a thousand years, right. \u00a0So somehow the Davidic throne has to continue on into the eternal state.\u00a0 And right now and even through the millennial kingdom there\u2019s a difference between Jesus\u2019 throne and the Father\u2019s throne.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 throne is on earth in Jerusalem, that\u2019s the throne He\u2019ll be seated on throughout the thousand years.\u00a0 The Father\u2019s throne is in heaven.\u00a0 So in Revelation 3:21 you see the distinction in those two thrones.\u00a0\u00a0 [Revelation 3:21, \u201c'He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.\u201d]\n\nBy the time we get to the eternal state those two thrones merge together.\u00a0 So the Son\u2019s throne merges into the Father\u2019s throne and it\u2019s in that sense that the Davidic throne continues.\u00a0 It continues on, just in another form.\u00a0\u00a0 So we tried to make that case a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 And some folks have asked me, number 5, what\u2019s the eternal state going to be like?\u00a0 What are we going to be doing?\u00a0 And I\u2019m glad\u00a0 you asked that question because here are six subparts answering that question.\n\nOne of the things we have talked about is how the eternal state is different than the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 And I gave you this chart and this chart showing you the difference between the two.\u00a0 And this is one of the problems that I have with so-called progressive dispensationalism that they\u2019re now teaching at most of our seminaries that used to teach traditional dispensationalism, including my alma mater, Dallas Seminary.\u00a0\u00a0 Notice that these guys are taking the millennial kingdom and the eternal state and sort of bunching it altogether.\u00a0 The progressive dispensationalists have one dispensation at the end they call the Zionic dispensation and they include the millennial kingdom and the eternal state as the same dispensation.\u00a0 And I really have a difficult time with that, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what the Bible teaches at all because there\u2019s a world of difference between the thousand year kingdom and the eternal state.\u00a0 And so a chart like that and a chart like the prior one that we walked through the last time I was with you was designed to reveal that.\n\nI\u2019ll explain in a minute why the eternal state is not even a dispensation.\u00a0 So if you care about details you start to see the thousand year kingdom and the eternal state as very different concepts that God has revealed for the future.\u00a0 And I think that\u2019s where we made it to last time.\n\nAnd now under the eternal state\u2019s description we\u2019re on part B here, the significance of the eternal state.\u00a0 Why is the eternal state significant?\u00a0 And I have three reasons for that: number one, the eternal state is a reminder that evil is finite.\u00a0 Finite means what?\u00a0 Limited.\u00a0 When you look at Revelation 21 and 22 you\u2019re reminded of a time period when evil itself will be taken out of this universe completely.\u00a0 And you say well why is that a big deal? It\u2019s a big deal because as a Christian one of the things God asks us to do, or commands us to do, is to share our faith with unsaved people.\u00a0 And if you start sharing your faith with unsaved people one of the questions you\u2019re going to get back in response is well if God is a God of love then why did my son or daughter get born with a birth deficiency?\u00a0 Or if God is a God of love why a loved one that I know just die of cancer?\u00a0 Or if God is a God of love why did someone I know just get hit by a car in the crosswalk?\u00a0 Because we\u2019re living in a world with evil in it, right?\n\nAnd so people, the natural question they have is well if God is a God of love why do all these bad things happen.\u00a0 And actually most Christians have a difficult time answering that question.\u00a0 But if you understand the doctrine of the eternal state\u00a0 you have an answer.\u00a0 The answer is yes, bad things happen in this world.\u00a0 What does Paul say?\u00a0 He doesn\u2019t say all things are good in Romans 8; he says God uses all things together for good.\u00a0\u00a0 [Romans 8:28, \u201cAnd we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.\u201d] There\u2019s a big difference.\u00a0 So we\u2019re living in a world where bad things happen.\n\nBut the doctrine of the eternal state reminds you that evil is on a leash.\u00a0 There was a time in history before evil existed.\u00a0 That would be what?\u00a0 Genesis 1 and 2.\u00a0 There will be a time in history when evil will not exist?\u00a0 When is that?\u00a0 Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 So if you want to understand what\u2019s normal you don\u2019t study what\u2019s happening today. What\u2019s happening today is an abnormality because of the creature\u2019s rebellion against the Creator, in Genesis 3, that brought all these bad things into our world.\u00a0 So the world that we\u2019re living in is not as God intended it.\n\nGod\u2019s intention is found in Genesis 1 and 2 and it\u2019s found in Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 Everything in between is abnormal.\u00a0 Do you see that?\u00a0 So when someone confronts you, if God is a God of love why do bad things happen, the answer is well, it\u2019s to acknowledge that we live in a world where bad things happen but it\u2019s also to acknowledge that what is happening now is not the design of God.\u00a0 That may seem like a very simple point but as far as I can tell that point is completely unique to the Judeo-Christian worldview.\n\nOnly with a knowledge of the Bible would you have an understanding of that because every other worldview out there that I can think of, whether it\u2019s reincarnation of evolution or whatever, teaches that what is happening now has always been and will always be.\u00a0 Even believers in reincarnation, they basically believe you come back into this life but in a different life form.\u00a0 And every other worldview out there teaches that what is happening now has always been and will always be.\u00a0 And how different it is for the Bible reader to have Genesis 1 and 2 in your Bible and Revelation 21 and 22 in your Bible and be reminded of the fact that God created this world without evil in it and when God brings forth the new heavens and the new earth evil itself will be pulled out of it.\u00a0 And so that\u2019s one of the great things you can learn simply by studying the doctrine of the eternal state in Revelation 21 and 22.\n\nAnother theological significance of the eternal state is to recognize that the eternal state is not a dispensation.\u00a0 So there\u2019s the big \u201cD\u201d word again that scares us all.\u00a0 What is a dispensation?\u00a0 A dispensation is basically a time in history where God has certain rules. We\u2019ve done a lot of teaching on dispensations at this church.\u00a0 And in each dispensation God is putting humanity through a test of some kind.\u00a0 And what happens in every dispensation is man fails and God uses that failure to usher in a higher dispensation.\u00a0 And so by the time you step back in and a traditional dispensationalist like myself would see seven tests.\u00a0 We have innocence, conscience, human government, Israel under promise, then Israel under Law.\u00a0 Israel under Law is the longest biblical dispensation; most of your information in the Bible covers that dispensation.\u00a0 But then you have the age of the church, that\u2019s our dispensation, number 6.\u00a0 And then number 7 will be the earthly kingdom.\n\nAnd what you see in all seven of these is\u2026 and by the way, the plan of individual salvation is always the same no matter what dispensation you\u2019re in.\u00a0 That never changes, man is always saved by faith alone in God\u2019s provision, Old Testament saints looking forward, New Testament saints looking backwards to what Jesus did.\u00a0 But in every single dispensation man fails and God ushers in a superior dispensation and so by the time you step back and look at all seven who gets the glory in all of this?\u00a0 Not man because he\u2019s failed in every single one of them, but God gets the glory because God\u2019s purposes in history are to glorify Himself.\u00a0 We call it the doxological purpose of God.\n\nBut the eternal state is not a dispensation.\u00a0 Why do I say that?\u00a0 Because there\u2019s\u00a0 no test.\u00a0 Every other dispensation, the seven that come before the eternal state, there\u2019s always some kind of test held out to man that he fails but by the time you get to the eternal state the tests have all run their course, God is glorified and so you can\u2019t call the eternal state a dispensation.\u00a0 This kind of teaching is lost n progressive dispensationalism where they take millennial kingdom and eternal state and lump it as one dispensation.\u00a0 The problem with that is (a) the millennial kingdom and the eternal state are described as two different things entirely.\u00a0 And number two, the eternal state itself is not even a dispensation.\u00a0 So when you understand that that explains the differences between the Garden of Eden and the eternal state.\u00a0 The Garden of Eden is described in Genesis 1 and 2; the eternal state is described in Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 And there\u2019s a lot of similarities between the Garden of Eden and the eternal state, but this chart here, I think I got this from Henry Morris\u2019 book, The Genesis Record<\/em>.\n\nHenry Morris points out all the differences.\u00a0 In Eden there\u2019s a division between light and darkness but in the eternal state there\u2019s no night at all.\u00a0 In Eden there\u2019s a division between land and sea but in the eternal state there is not even a sea nor an ocean.\u00a0 In Eden (and I have all the verse references where you can look those up) there\u2019s a sun and moon but there\u2019s no sun or moon in the eternal state.\u00a0 Eden is a garden, the eternal state is a city.\u00a0 In Eden you have a river flowing out of Eden but in the eternal state you have a river flowing from God\u2019s very throne.\u00a0 In Eden there\u2019s gold in the land but in the eternal state there\u2019s gold in the city.\u00a0 In Eden there\u2019s a tree of life in the middle of the garden but in the eternal state you\u2019ve got the tree of life throughout the city. In Eden you\u2019ve got specific stones mentioned but in the eternal state you have all manner of stones.\u00a0 In Eden you have God walking in a garden but in the eternal state you have God dwelling with his people.\n\nSo what is the story of the Bible?\u00a0 The story of the Bible is from a garden to a city with a cross in between.\u00a0 And that\u2019s probably one of the best descriptions I know of the whole Bible--from a garden to a city with a cross in between.\u00a0 And the question becomes well why doesn\u2019t God just put us back in a garden?\u00a0 Well, the answer to that is Eden is a dispensation where man and woman are under a test.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you have in Eden a tree of knowledge.\u00a0 There has to be a tree of know\u00adledge in Eden because there has to be a test because Eden, the dispensation of innocence, is the first dispensation.\n\nNow why does God have to give man a test?\u00a0 Because man is made in who\u2019s image?\u00a0 God\u2019s image.\u00a0 God has free will, doesn\u2019t He?\u00a0 So if we\u2019re made in His image\u00a0 we also have to have what?\u00a0 Free will.\u00a0 And if you think about that that\u2019s one of the most awesome gifts God has given us\u2014free will.\u00a0 In other words, I have the free will to reject God and go straight to hell if I want to, it\u2019s kind of a scary privilege that we have with free will.\u00a0 So what\u2019s the smartest thing you can do with your free will?\u00a0 Give it right back to God.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Jesus model that over and over again\u2026 \u201cnot My will\u201d Jesus said to the Father, \u201cbut Thy will be done.\u201d\n\nAnd because man is made in God\u2019s image he has to have an avenue to rebel against God should he choose to do so.\u00a0 That\u2019s why there had to be a tree of knowledge of good and evil in Eden.\u00a0 If there is no tree of knowledge of good and evil in Eden then God is not respecting how He\u2019s made man as an image bearer of God with the power to choose.\u00a0 But, by the time you get to the eternal state what is not there?\u00a0 A tree of life is there but what\u2019s missing?\u00a0 Which tree is missing?\u00a0 The tree of knowledge.\u00a0 So why is the tree of knowledge missing?\u00a0 Because man has already been tested.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 Whatever choice people have made has already been made; that\u2019s a sealed deal.\u00a0 And because there\u2019s no choice or no test I should say, because people have already chosen one way or the other, the eternal state cannot be called a dispensation because a dispensation, by definition, has to have some kind of test.\u00a0 See that?\n\nSo there\u2019s some very interesting things about the eternal state: it\u2019s a reminder that evil is on a leash.\u00a0 Number 2, the eternal state is not a dispensation.\u00a0 Number 3, the eternal state is going to be even greater than the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 I mean, the thousand year kingdom is going to b great, right?\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Jesus say we should pray\u2026 what? \u201cThy kingdom come,\u201d I mean, I can\u2019t wait for the kingdom.\u00a0 But what the Scripture is telling us is that the eternal state is even greater than the king\u00addom.\u00a0 The millennial kingdom is sometime called the Son\u2019s kingdom; the eternal state is sometimes called the Father\u2019s kingdom.\u00a0 But by the time we get to the eternal state we\u2019re in an era or a time period which is even better and greater than the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 So there on the far right is the thousand year kingdom, Revelation 20, it\u2019s going to be a wonderful time, but the eternal state is even better!\n\nSo think about all the things we\u2019ve studied about the millennial kingdom, all the great things that are going to happen.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be established by God.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to last for a thousand years.\u00a0 You\u2019re going to have present the direct rule of Jesus Christ on planet earth.\u00a0 Israel\u2019s land promises will be fulfilled.\u00a0 Israel will be in a position of preeminence.\u00a0 The millennial temple will be fully functioning.\u00a0 David will be resurrected and ruling under Christ\u2019s delegated authority.\u00a0 There will be perfect righteousness on the earth.\u00a0 Are you interested in a world with perfect righteousness in it?\u00a0 No miscarriages of justice.\u00a0 The curse will be curtailed.\u00a0 Peace will break out all over the world.\u00a0 We won\u2019t have this situation like we had a couple of days ago in Austin.\u00a0 There\u2019ll be agricultural prosperity.\u00a0 The earth will go through topographical changes.\u00a0 There will be immediate answers to prayer.\n\nAnd we look at that and we say well how much better can it get?\u00a0 Well the reality of the situation is the eternal state is even greater than the millennial kingdom itself. \u00a0Why is that?\u00a0 Because in the millennial kingdom you\u2019ve got a hybrid of good and evil; evil exists but it\u2019s kept in check with the direct rule of Christ\u2019s presence over this earth.\u00a0 But in the eternal state there\u2019s not even the possibility of rebellion, so evil is gone.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the design God originally had and that\u2019s what our future is.\u00a0 So it\u2019s different than the millennial kingdom, it\u2019s a very significant time in history.\n\nWhat else can we learn about the eternal state?\u00a0 You can learn a lot about something by what is not there.\u00a0 What is not there sometimes tells you as much about a place as what is there.\u00a0 So notice this chart here, these are all the things that will not be in the eternal state and I have all the verses and you can look those up on\u00a0 your own.\u00a0 Satan won\u2019t be there.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because Satan is progressively defeated throughout the Bible in seven stages and the final stage is he is, when God is finished using Satan for His own purposes Satan is thrown into the lake of fire with the beast and the false prophet have already been thrown in and they\u2019re still in there a thousand years later.\n\nAnd Satan is thrown into that lake of fire and once that happens, Revelation 20:10, once that occurs Satan disappears from this universe.\u00a0 [Revelation 20:10, \u201cAnd the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.\u201d]\u00a0 I mean, he still exists somewhere in terms of being tormented, don\u2019t get me wrong, but he has no influence anymore over the direction of this world and the direction of our new universe that will be created.\n\nSo Satan won\u2019t be there.\u00a0 The sea won\u2019t be there.\u00a0 Death, crying or pain won\u2019t be there.\u00a0 The sun,\u00a0 \u00a0s-u-n, and the moon will not be there because who illuminates the eternal state?\u00a0 Not the sun, s-u-n but the son, s-o-n.\u00a0 There won\u2019t be a temple there because who\u2019s our temple?\u00a0 Jesus!\u00a0 The night won\u2019t be there.\u00a0 Evil won\u2019t be there.\u00a0 And the curse that has plagued the human race ever since the fall of man in Genesis 3, that won\u2019t be there either.\n\nSo isn\u2019t it interesting how much we can learn about the eternal state just by looking at what is not going to be there?\u00a0 In fact, look at Revelation 21:4, it\u2019s probably one of my favorite verses, perhaps in the whole Bible.\u00a0 It says, \u201cHe\u201d that\u2019s God, \u201cwill wipe\u201d 90% of the tears from their eyes, no, it doesn\u2019t say that, does it, \u201cevery tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death;\u201d we\u2019ve had a lot of funerals and loved ones that we know pass on recently, death is a painful thing.\u00a0 And think of a world with no death in it, no funeral homes, no hospitals, no grieving, grief counselling, all that\u2019s over.\u00a0 So there will be no more death, \u201cthere will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s the first things?\u00a0 What has become normal in our world subsequent to Genesis 3.\u00a0 Genesis 3 is the problem.\u00a0 Genesis 3, the creature\u2019s rebellion against the Creator created all of these problems but that order is over; we\u2019re now in an order\u2026 you know, it\u2019s like living in Eden as if sin never entered the picture.\u00a0 That\u2019s what it\u2019s like.\n\nSo look at what is not there: tears aren\u2019t there, death isn\u2019t there, mourning isn\u2019t there, crying isn\u2019t there, pain isn\u2019t there, and the first order of things, that\u2019s not there either.\n\nTake a look at Revelation 21:8, it says, \u201cBut for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.\u201d\u00a0 All of these sins are in the lake of fire, incarcerated under the judgment of God, having no influence whatsoever on the direction of the new heavens and the new earth.\u00a0 So think of a world without cowards in it or unbelievers in it, or abominable things.\u00a0 And think of all the murders that have happened in human history\u2014a world with no murders!\u00a0 Or you just turn on the TV at night and what do you see?\u00a0 Immorality!\u00a0 Think of a world with no immorality.\u00a0 And I think that\u2019s why the city, there\u2019s no night there and the city is made of pure glass.\u00a0 Most of us, when we commit our sins do it when no one\u2019s looking.\u00a0 We sin at night, we sin in secret, and here you have a world with no night in it at all and the city is made of pure glass where everything is transparent.\u00a0\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because there\u2019s nothing to hide.\n\nSo abominable, murderers, immorality, sorcerers, idolaters, and liars.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t know about you but what strikes me every time I read those verses is the first sins mentioned.\u00a0 You know, I would think that the first sin mentioned would be a murderer or an immoral person.\u00a0 But the first two are cowards and unbelieving, and we become cowards when we\u2019re not believing or trusting in God.\u00a0 And to God I think those are the greatest two sins because \u201cwithout faith it is impossible to\u201d what? \u201cplease God.\u201d\u00a0 I know that every time I\u2019m afraid of something I\u2019m not trusting God.\u00a0 And when I\u2019m operating in courage I am trusting God.\u00a0 And being a coward or being anxiety ridden, it took me many years as a Christian to understand this, is probably one of the worst sins you can commit against God because when we\u2019re filled with fear and worry it automatically means we\u2019re not trusting Him.\u00a0 I know that every single time I\u2019m worried about something I\u2019m not trusting Him.\u00a0 And I know that when I am trusting Him I\u2019m not worried about whatever the issue is.\u00a0 And that is mentioned first because our whole relationship to God is based on faith, \u201cfor without faith it is impossible to please Him.\u201d\n\nSo the eternal state\u2019s different than the millennial kingdom, it\u2019s very theologically significant, there\u2019s going to be a lot of things that are normative today that will not be in the eternal state.\u00a0 And this takes us to letter D, what are some things that are going to be present in the eternal state.\u00a0 We talked about what\u2019s not there, what\u2019s going to be there exactly?\u00a0 Well, here\u2019s a list and that\u2019s just part one of my list, there\u2019s a lot of stuff here.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try to go through these fast.\n\nNumber 1, God is going to be there.\u00a0 Now if God is there that\u2019s got to be a good place, right?\u00a0 If you look over at Revelation 21:23, \u201cAnd the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.\u201d\u00a0 God is there!\u00a0 And according to that same verse God\u2019s glory is there.\u00a0 It\u2019s a place where the glory of God never gets eclipsed by anything.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a place of holiness, Revelation 21:27 says, \u201cand nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s also a place where God\u2019s people are going to be.\u00a0 The Book of Hebrews, chapter 12:22-23 is also an eternal state passage, says, \u201cBut you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,\u201d so that would be what John saw, \u201cthe heavenly Jerusalem,\u201d the last two chapters of the Bible, \u201cand to myriads of angels, [23] to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the<\/em> righteous made perfect,\u201d so who\u2019s going to be there?\u00a0 Number 1, God is going to be there.\u00a0 Number 2, angels are going to be there, that would be the good angels, right, the two-thirds that didn\u2019t fall.\u00a0 Number 3, the church is there, now that\u2019s us, right?\u00a0 Everybody that\u2019s saved in this unique parenthesis from the day of Pentecost to the rapture, the body of Christ, the church is going to be there.\n\nAnd notice this other group that\u2019s going to be there\u2014the spirits of the righteous made perfect, who are obviously different than the church because they\u2019re given a different description than the church.\u00a0 Who are those people?\u00a0 Those are people that are saved throughout history that aren\u2019t part of the church.\u00a0 I mean, what do you do with people in the Old Testament that were believers but they weren\u2019t part of the body of Christ because the body of Christ didn\u2019t start until Acts 2.\u00a0 What do you do with Job, Daniel, Abraham, Noah, all of these people.\n\nAnd by the way, what do you do with people that get saved after the church has been translated through the rapture.\u00a0 We all understand that following the rapture a lot of people are going to get saved, right?\u00a0 In fact, John, in Revelation 7, beginning in about verse 8, talks about and innumerable multitude of people that will be saved in the tribulation period after the church is gone via the preaching of the 144,000 Jewish evangelists.\u00a0 So you\u2019ve got folks saved before the church started and you\u2019ve got folks saved after the church has been removed.\u00a0 Who are those people?\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s that fourth group, the spirits of the righteous made perfect.\u00a0\u00a0 [Hebrews 12:23, \u201cto the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.\u201d]\u00a0 And so all of us together in one place, one new world, one city.\n\nWhat else is going to be there?\u00a0 God\u2019s city is going to be there.\u00a0 Take a look at Revelation 21 and notice verse 2.\u00a0 \u201cAnd I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.\u201d\u00a0 Now underneath this concept of the city there\u2019s a lot of things to talk about.\u00a0 First of all it\u2019s a real city.\u00a0 John describes its existence when he sees it as coming down out of heaven to the earth.\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that great animation, in fact, it\u2019s so impressive let\u2019s watch it one more time.\u00a0 Do you want to do that?\u00a0 Because some of you were busy taking notes.\u00a0 That\u2019s pretty neat.\n\nNow my impression is that the city that\u2019s being described here exists right now.\u00a0 And I think that because Galatians 4:26.\u00a0 Paul, says, \u201cBut the Jerusalem above is free;\u201d the linking verb is a present tense verb.\u00a0 In other words, the city was in existence when Paul penned the Book of Galatians all the way back in the first century A.D.\u00a0 It could be, and I don\u2019t want to be dogmatic about this but Jesus said, \u201cIn My Father\u2019s house are many rooms.\u00a0 If it were not so I would have told you for I go to prepare a place for you.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [John 14:2]\u00a0\u00a0 It could be that this is what Jesus is talking about that we will experience in heaven, this heavenly city before we return to the earth to rule and reign alongside Him.\u00a0 So the city, as I understand it, already exists, it just is not fit to descend to this world because this world has been touched by sin.\n\nSo what is the city waiting for?\u00a0 It\u2019s waiting for the new world, the new heavens and new earth, the\u00a0 ex nihilo<\/em> creation of God.\u00a0 Once God through an ex nihilo<\/em> act creates a new heavens and a new earth, now that holy city is fit to descend upon it because that city is holy and it can\u2019t just come into our world because our world is unholy.\u00a0 The city has a name, it\u2019s called the new Jerusalem, Revelation 21:2.\u00a0 [Revelation 21:2, \u201cAnd I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.\u201d]\u00a0 The city actually has dimensions and measurements.\u00a0 Revelation 21:16 says the city was laid out as a square as long as it was wide.\u00a0 He measured the city with the rod and found it to be fifteen hundred miles in length and as wide and as high as it was long.\u00a0 [Revelation 21:16, \u201cThe city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal.\u201d]\n\nSo I would understand this city as a giant cube, fifteen hundred miles by fifteen hundred miles by fifteen hundred miles, laid out like a giant cube, which is, when you actually do the measurements on it you\u2019re talking about a big chunk of space.\u00a0 If you were to compare it to the continental United States of America this is how big the city would be; it would basically take\u00a0 you from the Mississippi River (of course west of the Mississippi River and take you all the way to\u2026 really the Atlantic, to Florida and then you go up to Maine and then you go back to west of the Mississippi River, roughly if I\u2019ve got my dimensions right there, but you can see how big this is.\u00a0 I mean, this is a big city.\u00a0 Which is sort of encouraging to me because that means an awful lot of people are going to get saved throughout human history and they are going to have access to this city.\n\nAnd it\u2019s very, very troubling to watch commentators just dismiss this city out of the gate.\u00a0 Many, many commentators will tell you that there\u2019s no way a city could be this big.\u00a0 So here\u2019s some representative quotes.\u00a0 One guy says, \u201cSuch dimensions defy imagination and are permissible only in the language of symbolism.\u201d\n\nAnother guy says, \u201cOf course, this must preclude all idea of there being such a city literally in Palestine\u2026this cannot be understood literally; and the very idea of a literal fulfillment of this shows the absurdity of that method of interpretation\u2026 this cannot be taken literally; and an attempt to explain all of this literally would show that that method of interpreting the Apocalypse is impracticable.\u201d\n\nAnother guy says: \u201cno clearer proof\u2026that all is figurative. Such a height is simply out of harmony with the constitution of our world.\u201d\u00a0 And that\u2019s where he gets it wrong there at the end because it\u2019s not \u201cour world\u201d is it?\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be a new world.\u00a0\u00a0 Another guy says, see they\u2019re all making comments on the dimensions that I just read in Revelation 21:16.\u00a0 \u201cNeither the shape nor the dimensions of the city can be taken with mathematical exactness, as if it were a gigantic apartment house.\u201d\u00a0 Well, I prefer what David Cooper says.\u00a0 \u201cWhen the plain sense<\/u> of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal<\/u> meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.\u201d\n\nLet me give you the Reader\u2019s Digest version:\u00a0 \u201cWhen the plain sense<\/u> of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal<\/u> meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Let me give you the Reader\u2019s Digest version.\u00a0 When the plain sense makes good sense seek no other sense lest you wind up with nonsense.\u00a0 I just think we need to get into the habit of taking God at His Word whenever you can.\u00a0 Now we all know there\u2019s figurative language in the Bible but when language is meant to be understood figuratively there\u2019s usually some kind of clue in the text that it\u2019s meant to be taken figuratively.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ve given you some examples of that in prior studies.\u00a0 But here it just says a fifteen hundred mile by fifteen hundred mile cube.\u00a0 Why not let God say what He wants to say?\u00a0 And it becomes an error when we try to judge what\u2019s going to be normal in the next world\u00a0 by standards in this world.\u00a0 I mean, that becomes sort of silly when you understand that the next world is a totally different world entirely, where new principles and laws will govern it.\n\nAnd I\u2019m kind of glad that what is happening now won\u2019t always be; aren\u2019t you glad about that?\u00a0 If I thought that what is happening now will always be do you know what my life would be absent of?\u00a0 It starts with an H, and ends in ope, you wouldn\u2019t have any hope, would you?\u00a0 So\u00a0 you have these people today that walk into public places and shoot people and walk into schools and shoot people.\u00a0 Why do they do that?\u00a0 Here\u2019s my explanation for it\u2014you\u2019re dealing with people that are out of hope.\u00a0 They have given up on life and when human beings, who are designed by God to have hope don\u2019t have hope they become very desperate.\n\nAnd a study like this is a reminder that what\u2019s normative today won\u2019t always be and that gives us hope in the present.\u00a0 And if you have hope in the\u00a0 present you can handle the problems you\u2019re in now.\u00a0 Right?\u00a0 The reason you can handle your problems now is because you realize that your problems now won\u2019t be forever.\u00a0 But think, if you didn\u2019t have the light of the Scripture on this and you thought that what you were in now will always be, that\u2019s where hope disappears.\u00a0 And that\u2019s where people get desperate and do desperate things and desperate acts.\n\nSo what these commentators are all doing is spiritualizing the passage, spiritualizing is basically the practice of saying well, literal words, that\u2019s not what\u2019s important, what\u2019s important is the spiritual principle that comes out of it.\u00a0 That\u2019s called spiritualizing.\u00a0 So here\u2019s a little saying that stuck with me over the years, maybe it will stick with you\u2014he or she who spiritualizes tells what? spiritual lies.\u00a0 A spiritualize interpretation may sound good but it\u2019s a lie because it\u2019s not what the passage is saying.\u00a0 What the passage is saying is there\u2019s going to be a fifteen hundred by fifteen hundred by fifteen hundred giant cube.\n\nBy the way, the city also has a wall around it and when you go over to Revelation 21:17 it says,\u00a0 \u201cAnd he measured its wall, and it was a hundred and forty-four cubits thick,\u201d now some of you might correct my math on that, I think that\u2019s about seventy-two yards, if I\u2019m not mistaken.\u00a0 In other words it\u2019s a thick wall, how\u2019s that.\u00a0 \u201cAnd he measured its wall, and it was a hundred and forty-four cubits thick,\u201d and look what it says, \u201cby man\u2019s measurements.\u201d\u00a0 So God is not using some kind of slide rule that\u2019s different than ours because this is a city designed for people.\u00a0 And apparently the angel was using that measurement when he measured the thickness of this wall.\n\nThe city has gates and if you look at Revelation 21:12 it says, \u201cIt had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are the names\u00a0 of the\u201d what? \u201ctwelve tribes of the sons of Israel.\u201d\u00a0 So I guess what I\u2019m seeing here is the city has around it twelve gates and every time you go in and out of a gate what do you see inscribed at the top?\u00a0 A name of one of the twelve tribes, whether it be Reuben or Asher or whatever tribe is on that particular gate.\n\nAnd it\u2019s interesting here, it talks about that the gates were always open.\u00a0 It\u2019s very different than Eden.\u00a0 Remember when man fell in Eden?\u00a0 Remember what God did?\u00a0 He stationed cherubim; in Hebrew an \u201cim\u201d ending indicates plurality.\u00a0 It\u2019s like how we use the \u201cs\u201d at the end of a noun indicating plurality, more than one.\u00a0 Cherubim means more than one angel.\u00a0 I would guess two, at least two obviously, and they were stationed, Genesis 3:23-24 outside of Eden.\u00a0 [Genesis 2:23-24, \u201ctherefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. [24] So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.\u201d]\n\nSo man in his fallen state couldn\u2019t get back into Eden because God didn\u2019t want man to eat from the tree of life and live forever in his fallen state.\u00a0 So man was prohibited access back into Eden.\u00a0 Eden was closed.\u00a0 And you compare that to the eternal state where these gates are always open, never to be closed again.\u00a0 And since there are twelve tribes and the city is laid out like\u00a0 perfect square or a cube I guess I would see three gates on each side of the city, twelve total, three times four equals twelve.\n\nAnd you look at verse 14, the city not only had gates but it also has foundations.\u00a0 Revelation 12:14,\u00a0\u00a0 it says this, \u201cAnd the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones,\u201d now the fact that this city has foundation stones means it\u2019s on the earth, right?\u00a0 So this is an earthly reality that\u2019s being described here.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones and on them\u201d the foundation stones, \u201cwere<\/em> the twelve names of the twelve\u201d what? \u201capostles of the Lamb.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Now Jesus is the chief cornerstone of the church in this temple metaphor.\u00a0 He is the\u2026 the cornerstone is the first stone put into a structure and you measure all the other stones by the original stone, the cornerstone.\u00a0 But once the cornerstone is in then you put around it the foundation stones.\n\nWould you say a foundation is a very important part of the building?\u00a0 I mean, we lived in the Dallas area for years and we would wake up in the morning and there would be a giant crack right through our wall.\u00a0 Why is that? Because we were on a bad foundation, the foundation would shift.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t matter how nice the wallpaper was it couldn\u2019t stop the crack from appearing because of a bad foundation.\u00a0 So Jesus, as the chief cornerstone, built the church on the apostles, the twelve apostles.\n\nSo here you are in the eternal state,\u00a0 you\u2019re going about your business, you\u2019re walking in and out of these gates,\u00a0 you look at the top of the gate, you see the name of a tribe, Jesus, the Lord built the nation of Israel on the twelve what?\u00a0 It starts with a \u201ct\u201d ends with ribes, the tribes are the foundation of Israel.\u00a0 So you\u2019re going about your business, you\u2019re going in and out of these gates which are always open, and every time you look up top you see a name of one of the twelve tribes and what are you reminded of?\u00a0 You are reminded of Israel.\u00a0 And then you look down at the foundation stone and you see, depending on what gate\u00a0 you\u2019re going in and out of, you\u2019re seeing the name of an apostle.\u00a0 The Lord built the church on the foundation of the who?\u00a0 The apostles.\n\nSo Ephesians 2:20 it says, \u201chaving been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone.\u201d\u00a0 So you\u2019re walking in out of a gate, you see a tribe, you\u2019re reminded of Israel, you see a foundation or a foundation stone and you\u2019re reminded of the church.\u00a0 See that?\u00a0 So what is God never allowing to go out of existence throughout human history?\u00a0 He is never allowing people to forget His two great works.\u00a0 And those are who?\u00a0 Israel and the church.\u00a0 God has a program and calling for Israel; God has a program and calling for the church.\u00a0 And as you go in and out of these gates you\u2019re perpetually reminded of the two.\u00a0\u00a0 And there\u2019s a lot of people today that want to merge Israel and the church together and make it look like they\u2019re not different at all. Well, they\u2019re not going to be very happy in the eternal state because they\u2019re going in and out of a gate and they\u2019re reminded of the church and they\u2019re reminded of Israel by looking at an apostle\u2019s name and looking at a name of one of the twelve tribes.\n\nWhat else do we know about this city?\u00a0 It\u2019s got a lot of influence because it\u2019s through this city that the whole new heavens and new earth are governed.\u00a0 We know a lot about its character, it\u2019s called what kind of city?\u00a0 A holy city, so no [can't understand word] no bribes, no backroom deals, no corruption, it certainly doesn\u2019t sound like city hall does it.\u00a0 It certainly doesn\u2019t sound like Washington D.C. because the character of this city is perfectly holy.\u00a0 We know that this city will radiate the glory of God because it says in Revelation 21:11, \u201chaving the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.\u201d\u00a0 Now do you like colors?\n\nOne of the things you discover about God is He\u2019s into colors.\u00a0 I mean, after all, the rainbow did not come to us through the same sex movement, did it?\u00a0 Even though when they get laws passed they try to light up the White House so it looks like a rainbow. \u00a0The reality is they stole our rainbow; the rainbow is God, God created the rainbow.\u00a0 God created the rainbow, as\u00a0 you know, as a sign of the Noahic Covenant that He wouldn\u2019t flood the earth again.\u00a0 And as we all know by looking at a rainbow it\u2019s very, very different shades of colors.\u00a0 And so when you look at Revelation 21:18-21\u00a0 you see all these colors.\n\nBy the way, when you look at Aaron\u2019s robe, in the Book of Exodus as it\u2019s described, Exodus 20, you see all these colors.\u00a0 So for whatever reason God is interested in radiating colors.\u00a0 And if you look at Revelation 21:18 it says, \u201cThe material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass.\u201d\u00a0 And then it says, verses 19,\u00a0 \u201cThe foundation stones of the city wall were adorned\u201d look at this, \u201cwith every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire;\u201d now I\u2019m going to stop reading there because I can\u2019t even pronounce half of these colors.\u00a0 [19b, \u201cthe third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; [20] the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst.\u201d]\n\nAs you go through that verse on your own reading you\u2019ll see all of these colors.\u00a0 Here\u2019s most likely what these different colors looked like, and they\u2019re just part of the walls and the gates of this city.\u00a0 When you look at Revelation 21:21 you learn the city has a street, it says, \u201cAnd the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.\u201d\u00a0 So think about walking on streets of gold throughout eternity.\u00a0\u00a0 And what today is everybody trying to get their hands on?\u00a0 They\u2019re trying to get their hands on gold because everybody wants safe investments and the reason gold is a safe investment is because there\u2019s a limited supply of it on the earth.\u00a0 Think about living in a time period where gold is so common, I mean, one of the most valuable commodities today is gold.\u00a0 So you\u2019re living in the eternal state that gold is so common that it\u2019s under your feet.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what this street, how it\u2019s described.\n\nAnd it mentions there pearls, doesn\u2019t it, pearls next to each gate, and here is the silliness of man again.\u00a0 And this again is another reason why I am not a fan of these progressive dispensationalists.\u00a0 One of them, David Turner writes about the eternal state concerning gold and oysters, and I can\u2019t believe this passes for scholarship.\u00a0 I mean, this is like in academic books and journals, this quote here.\u00a0 He very arrogantly in my opinion writes: \u201cPerhaps the absence of oysters large enough to produce such pearls and the absence of sufficient gold to pave such a city (viewed literally 1380 miles squared and high) is viewed as sufficient reason not to take these images as fully literal!\u201d\u00a0 See how they\u2019re always attacking literal interpretation?\u00a0 \u201c\u2026the preceding discussion serves to warn against a \u2018hyper-literal\u2019 approach to apocalyptic imagery\u2026.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>[The New Jerusalem in Revelation 21:1-22:5; Consummation of a Biblical Continuum,\u201d Dispensationalism, Israel, and the Church, ed., Craig A. Blaising and Darrell L. Bock (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 277.<\/em>]\n\nWhat he\u2019s saying is you can\u2019t take this literally because number one, there\u2019s not enough gold in our world to produce streets of gold.\u00a0 And number two, we don\u2019t have oysters large enough to produce the type of pearls that are spoken of.\u00a0 Well my question is, isn\u2019t God the ex nihilo<\/em> God?\u00a0\u00a0 Can\u2019t He create something out of nothing?\u00a0 Why do we handcuff God?\u00a0 Why do we put limits on God?\u00a0 God can just speak and gold and oysters and pearls for that matter\u2026. Can God create a pearl without an oyster?\u00a0 Is that too hard for God.\u00a0 And these guys they limit what eternity is going to be like based on some standard of reasonableness in the present.\n\nSo those are some things that are going to be present in the eternal state.\u00a0 I think we\u2019ll stop there.\u00a0 Next week we\u2019ll talk about life in the eternal state.\u00a0 What are we going to be doing?\u00a0 Are we just going to be singing the Hallelujah chorus ten thousand million times or is there actual productivity and activity.\u00a0 So we\u2019ll talk about that next time.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t