Revelation 21:9-22:5

MPS

MPT: God’s bride is glorious- beautiful, strong, complete, holy. she is with God and God is with her. God with us.

City, Temple, Garden

Problems then:

What are we living for? Waiting for? Hoping in? what is our inheritance?

Problems now:

Gospel solution:

God with his people.

Paradise

God chooses his people. Finding comfort in calvinism

Intro:

Hello.

Pastor Taylor of LS DTS

So many blessings come from being part of the LS Family of churches:

the friendship I have with your pastor,

the support through prayers and finances that your church and others have provided us with

The common mission, I feel encouraged knowing that we are running the race together.

How did I become a pastor? How did I become a church planter?

Loving God’s church

A place for people to be disciples and belong

1 year of life asa church

(photos from LS DTS)

God’s church is glorious

thats what the text is about

The beauty of the church, the glory of the church, the great future and plans that God has for her.

… “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” (9)

Remember the description of Woman Babylon? One of the same angels (7 bowls of wrath) said to John, “Come I will show you the judgment of the Great Prostitute who is seated on many waters…” (17:1)

now they say, “come let me show you the beautiful, glorious bride, the wife of the Lamb”

Who is the bride, the wife of the Lamb?

God’s people- the church, throughout time and space and all of history

And yet, when we look, when John looks, he sees a place

a city, Jerusalem,

and everything that is discussed is in terms of architecture, interior design and landscaping. We have walls, gates, gardens, jewels and gems.

the hyperbole in today’s text reminds me of our name, Living Stones

a place, and a people.

why? Because traditionally, being a bride and getting married meant getting a new home.

This bride gets to see her new home and her new life and, with the new life, the new her.

all this comes of the heals of v5 “Behold I am making all things new!…”

P1: Our home is God’s home

[READ vv21:12-21]

…and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.” (10)

What is significant about a city?

it is where people live.

That’s right, people not God. and yet, here God is bringing a place for us to us.

this is the major difference between the Gospel of Jesus and every other faith system:

by our own deeds we build our way to the heavenly gates

following rules, fast days, meditation, enlightenment

all about us, going up

The Gospel is God’s idea, his making and his coming down to us

not our glory, God’s glory

not our holiness, God’s holiness

prepared and given to us

first, atonement through the son of God, Jesus Christ. He came, lived and died in our place here.

He rose, sits on the throne of heaven and He will return and bring us glory, salvation and secure dwelling.

Where is our hope? Not in our works, plans, strategies, investments, deeds- but in God’s promises, in his goodness, in his grace, in His Gospel

What is our dwelling place like?

Description of walls, gates, foundations as well as measurements

Measurements

The city:

length/width/height

12,000 stadia

stadia: 1 stade, 2 stadia

about 100 miles. but to think in distance, is to rob the measurement of it’s clear symbolism.

12,000x12,000x12,000 is like us saying “A million miles wide, a million miles tall”

not literal, figurative

covering the whole Earth

If we take these measurements literally we have ourselves a bedazzled cube that covers an enormous area of land and extends far into space

But rather, the significance of the measurements of the city point to the reality of what awaits us as the bride of Christ:

The heavens and the Earth are united

as Jesus prayed, “Your kingdom come, you will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

The heavens, being united to the Earth

And covering the face of the Earth

new creation

in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth

In the End, God is bringing Heaven to Earth

He will fill the Earth with his glory and subdue it.

how, Through his son and his church

2. Gates

3. The walls

Walls are 144 cubits

12 tribes, 12 apostles. OT and NT saints.

all testify to the same heritage

Hebrews 11. A city whose foundations…

Materials:

P2: We will always be together

[READ vv21:22-27]

those of you who are married, perhaps you can relate. The best part for my wife and I when we got married wasn’t a new home, it was that the home was “Our Home”

ours. together.

the best part was getting to be together her and I.

P3: Happilly ever after

[READ vv22:1-22:5]