The text this morning is from John’s Revelation, the twenty-first chapter:
Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! And now the Bride of Christ descends upon the earth in the vision, and it is glorious. As Christ has risen from the dead, so does His bride come down safely out of heaven to dwell upon the earth with Him forever.
Now, prior to John seeing the city descend, he had watched the great harlot wage war against God and the Church and saw her lose. She has been cast into hell and now the earth is peaceful once again, ready to be retaken, re-dominionized by the people whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. The harlot is the antichurch, really any and all that stand against the Church of Christ. And there’s probably much that could be said to that, but the confidence we have in hearing that the harlot has been thrown down comes to the idea that, no matter what the Church on earth faces through this life, it will be redeemed, the losses she experiences will be paid back. The harlot can only come after the Church for a while, but the day is coming when the Church will have the freedom to live in the shadow of Christ very soon.
I think that’s why the Bride of Christ is portrayed as a city in this vision. The adjectives used to describe the walled city are also to be applied to the Bride. She is safe. She is beautiful. She is free. She is valuable. She is built on the testimony of the prophets and the apostles, the fulfillment of all Israel. I don’t know that there’s any way for us to figure out the symbolism behind all the numbers or the types of jewels or precious metals described, except to say that it’s pretty amazing that the things most valued in our world are used as building materials in the next. Right now, we pave with asphalt because it’s a fairly cheap, hardy material. In the next world, gold will be our asphalt, not because it’s better, but because it’s the worst of everything in the world; might as well walk on it. Giant pearls beyond measurement in terms of their value are used to build a gate instead of stone, because they’re in more abundance. I think that’s the idea.
And now that we have the city described, we need to compare it to Jerusalem. Thankfully, John does this for us. Now, put yourself in John’s shoes. John is writing this book in the 90s. It’s been over twenty years since John last saw Jerusalem, not because he hadn’t travelled there, but because it was razed to the ground by the Romans. The whole city was besieged, the people in it starved to death and killed, and every wall and every building, including the temple, was torn to the ground. Jerusalem, the City of David, the holy city for all of Israel, the place John so loved for all his life, was gone.
So, now, John sees a new Jerusalem descending from heaven, and he’s awestruck. This beautiful city is what the Jerusalem he had loved should have been, but couldn’t be. And now, it takes the place in his heart even as it takes it place upon the earth. The only difference, other than the obvious aesthetic improvements, is that the temple has disappeared. The temple, which was the center of Jerusalem, the center of Israel, the center of all life for the Israelite, is gone. All its beauty, all its grandeur, has just disappeared. But, while the temple is gone, it’s not as if Jerusalem is lacking something. No, rather, the temple has been replaced by an even realer thing: the Lamb, God Himself.
God Himself and the Lamb are the temple. What does that mean? Well, the temple is where the Israelites would go to sacrifice for the forgiveness of their sins. It was where they would go to pray, praise, and give thanks. But, now, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the temple is needed no longer. You need no more intermediary. You only need to follow after the one thing that is true, the one thing that is right, the one thing that is holy. That one thing is the Lamb. There is no need for the temple anymore. There is only the Lamb.
Imagine this. This building, which for John was the center of his life for over 30 years, has been gone. This is the place where he offered his sacrifices to God for his sins before he met the Christ. This is the place where he walked with his Jesus, where he learned from Him. He loved this temple. And then it was gone, ripped away from the earth by the Romans. Now, in this magnificent vision, it’s back. And it’s incredible.
But, the temple isn’t the temple like he saw it, it’s the temple as it was in Jesus. It’s the temple that truly forgives sins. It’s the temple that truly, forever makes you a child of God. And that temple isn’t found in stone or the beauty of the earth; it’s found only in the broken, marred visage of the Lamb.
The Lamb is everything in this vision. The Lamb is everything. It’s the temple, it’s the sun, it’s the moon. Nothing more is need. He is everything you need and everything you want. And He’s right in the middle of His bride. He’s giving her everything. He’s giving her life, He’s giving her light, He’s giving her forgiveness. All nations and kings will come to her, and all peoples will be blessed. She will be clean forever, and all the promises of the Lamb will come to those who believe.
The risen Lamb of God, reigning at the right hand of the Father, He alone brings all this to fruition. He defeated the harlot. He defeated sin, death, and the devil. He destroys the earth. He brings it back to its fullness. He raises you from the grave. He gives you life eternal. He gives you everything you need. He does it all, and He does it for you. He does it because He loves you. Not in a, boy, I need to send flowers, kind of way, but a fierce love like a father has for a daughter, like a husband has for a wife. You’d do anything to bring her to where you are. You’d fight any soldier, swim any ocean, kill any monster, just to keep her safe.
And this is what Jesus has done. He’s killed every monster to bring you life. He’s swum the depths of hell, to suffer for your sake, appeasing the Father. He’s fought the devil and all his work and all his ways so that you’ll never be separated again. He builds a city for you. He brings it from heaven for you. He dwells at the center of it for you. He takes the place of the temple for you. He hears your prayers, for your sake. He accepts your praise, for your sake. He forgives your sins, for your sake. He does it all for you. Jesus does all of this for you.
And John wrote it down, also for you, because Jesus told him to do so. John wrote it all down because He was inspired, so that one day, you might be the one to see, hear, and read this passage. He wrote it so that you might know that your name is written in the Lamb’s book of life. You are one of the elect. You are one of the chosen. You are one for whom Christ died. Christ has you here, has built for you all of this that you might receive Him, that you might be with Him forever. And He wants you to know it. He wants you to know it, for your sake. To give you hope. To give you confidence. To give you a promise, a promise that you will live. A promise that, just like Jesus, you will live forever. A promise that, just like Jesus, you will be in that Jerusalem with God and the Lamb, that beautiful Jerusalem, that gorgeous city. And you can know that this is true, for you, for your sake, for He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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