Revelation 21 - Here Comes the Bride

Introduction

The other day I was driving home after work, and because the days are getting shorter and the Sun is drifting further to the south as it sets, I found myself driving straight into the sunlight as I came up the hill to the house. Even with the visor down and sunglasses on, it was still hard to see anything—you know what it’s like, right? You have to slow down and try to pick out whatever points of reference you can so that you can stay on the road and not hit anything (or anyone!) Fortunately I was on our own road just a few hundred yards from the house—but if you’ve ever been driving in unfamiliar territory it can be downright dangerous. You have to slow down, make extra room between you and other vehicles, and try not to make any sudden moves or brake too fast in case someone behind you is blinded as well.

That’s the feeling I get when we come to Revelation 21—the glory and brightness of the New Jerusalem is so dazzling to us after the gloom and darkness and destruction of so much of the rest of the Book of Revelation that we need to slow down and give each other plenty of room as we make our way through.

Because there are (as in so many other places in this book) a wide variety of interpretations and understandings of what John is describing for us here. But again, it is possible to understand this dazzling, brilliant vision here in different ways but all be driving in the same direction. Honest, faithful, Christ-honoring, Gospel-exalting believers can differ (and have differed) on exactly what is in view here in John's description of "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2). Some commentators take this chapter as a description of the eternal state of believers in Heaven with God—that this is a description of Heaven itself. Others take this as a description of the final perfection of the Church in Heaven (the Church Triumphant), and some take this as a description of the Church’s actual experience as she moves through history here on earth (the Church Militant).

I do believe that what we are seeing here is a description of the Church, for reasons that I hope will become clear as we go along. And one of the biggest reasons I think that the Church is in view here is because of the parallels that John is making with the passage from Isaiah that we read earlier in the service. John is directly connecting the “new heavens and the new earth” and the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God with the “new heavens and new earth” that Isaiah writes about in Isaiah 65:

Isaiah 65:17–18 ESV

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.

Most commentators take this passage in Isaiah to be a prophecy of the New Testament church; in any case it is clear that John is structuring this chapter in a way that draws us back to what Isaiah was saying. And that is one of the reasons why I don’t believe that John has the eternal state in Heaven in view in this chapter; because Isaiah describes the new Jerusalem in terms of this present reality. Verse 20 that we read earlier in Isaiah 65 says

Isaiah 65:20 ESV

No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

And again in verse 23:

Isaiah 65:23 ESV

They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.

Birth and death do not take place in the eternal state—yet this is what Isaiah is describing as characteristic of the New Jerusalem.

What we always need to keep in mind when we read Revelation is that it was written as a letter—a letter to actual churches on the ground in the Imperial Roman province of Asia Minor. They had been suffering persecution from Rome and apostate Judaism, and they had also been battling their own sins of immorality, lovelessness, cowardice, false teaching, and so on.

And so what I think is going on in Revelation 21 is that John is describing the way the Lamb sees His Bride. When He looks back and sees His Bride, the Church, walking down the aisle towards Him, does He see her coming in her ragged, torn and dirty clothes, covered in the dirt and shame of her failures and her sinful struggles? No, He sees her in light of what He has done for Her by His death on the Cross—as Paul writes in Ephesians 5, that He gave Himself for her”,

Ephesians 5:26–27 ESV

that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

What a powerful message of love and grace for the struggling, sinning, weak churches of Asia Minor to receive from God—that He sees that beauty in them NOW, even though they are still so far from it! And so that is the encouragement that I want us to draw from these verses today—that even in our weak, beleaguered state, even as we struggle to fight our indwelling sin every day and seek to hold on in the midst of an increasingly hostile society—that Jesus Christ sees Bethel Baptist Church as His beautiful spotless Bride NOW! And so that means that

The Church is called to grow into the beauty that Christ has purchased for her

He has already purchased our spotless beauty and unblemished righteousness, but we are not there yet, are we? But because He sees us that way now and has sworn to make us that way, we can strive to grow into that beauty!

So how do we do that? How do we grow into the beauty that Christ has purchased for His bride? How do we (as we saw the other week) weave the white linen of our righteous acts into the pure white robes of the Church’s glory when she appears before her Husband? There are at least three things that I see here, three ways we can grow into that beauty. The first is that we grow into the beauty that Christ has purchased for the Church when

I. We walk in the POWER of the LAMB to RENEW (Rev. 21:1-8)

In verse 5 we read:

Revelation 21:5 ESV

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Jesus Christ is in the process of making all things new--

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Here in Chapter 21 He says that He is in the process of making everything new—heaven and earth and everything else. In verse 3 we see that He has the power to create

A new DWELLING with you (v. 3)

Revelation 21:3 ESV

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

The word “dwelling” is translated “tabernacle” in the King James—in the Old Testament the Tabernacle was set apart as God’s dwelling, and the people lived in tents all around the outside. But now, John writes, God is dwelling with His people—they are in His very presence! We will see a bit further down that the measurements of the New Jerusalem are a perfect cube—the same as the measurements of the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament. Only this time God’s people don’t come trembling into the Holy of Holies once a year—now they live with Him ALWAYS!

Think of it, Christian—through the work that Jesus did in His death on the Cross, you have immediate and constant access to God Himself! There is nothing standing between you and the Creator of the Universe! No priest, no ritual, no veil, no requirements of the Law—you can come any time to Him because of what Jesus did!

Hebrews 4:15–16 ESV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

He has made a new dwelling with you, and that means that He has

A new RELATIONSHIP with you (v. 4)

Revelation 21:4 ESV

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Yes, that Day is coming when we awake in the presence of God in eternity, and Death really will be banished forever, and there will be no more crying or mourning or pain for all eternity in Heaven. But Christian, see that it is gloriously true even now because of your new relationship with God through Christ! That there is no tear that He will not dry, there is no mourning or heartbreak or pain that He cannot wipe away! The hope that you have that Death will someday be destroyed forever is what enables you to face Death today! The Lamb has conquered Death once and for all on the Cross, and His new relationship with you means that He can be the God of all comfort for you when you are facing mourning, crying, pain and death!

And in verses 6-8 we see the power of the Lamb to make all things new, including

A new INHERITANCE for you (vv. 6-8)

Revelation 21:6–8 ESV

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

Before you came to Christ, what was your “heritage”? What inheritance, what reward was waiting for you at the end of your life? Your “part” was “the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, the Second Death”--

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Your inheritance was Hell--

1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV

And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

When you came in faith to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, when you turned away from your rebellion and towards Him, you received a new inheritance! And now you have an inheritance—a heritage—of being an eternal child of God! The Lamb has the power to make all things new—so worship Him because He has made your own life new, and taken away your inheritance of damnation and replaced it with a new inheritance of eternal glory in relationship with Him!

The Church is called to grow into the beauty that Christ has purchased for her—we grow into that beauty as we worship the power of the Lamb to renew all things, and we do that when

II. We adorn the BEAUTY of the BRIDE for her HUSBAND (Rev. 21:9-21)

In verses 9-11 there is a striking parallel to the first three verses of Revelation 17, where John is invited to come and get a better view of the Old Jerusalem, the prostitute:

Revelation 17:1–3 ESV

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns.

Just as John was invited to look on the sickening sight of Old Jerusalem in her harlotry, here in Chapter 21 he is invited (by the same angel!) to come and look on the glorious sight of the New Jerusalem, the “Bride of the Lamb” in her holiness:

Revelation 21:9–11 ESV

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.

And on through verse 21 we have an extended description of the beauty and splendor of the Bride. In verses 12-14 we read that

Revelation 21:12–14 ESV

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.

Another reason that we see the Church in these verses is because of verse 14—the twelve foundations were named for the twelve Apostles of the Lamb—the church, as Paul says, is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20). And see here that the gates of the city are open in every direction—north, south, east and west. Surely this shows us, among other things, that

The INVITATION of the Church is UNIVERSAL (vv. 12-13)

Everyone is called to come to the New Jerusalem! No one is excluded--

Colossians 3:11 ESV

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

As Isaiah wrote in the Old Testament,

Isaiah 43:6–7 ESV

I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

There is no one who is disqualified from coming to faith in Jesus Christ! There is no one that you meet, no one that you work with, no one that you pass on the street to whom the gates of the Church are not flung open wide with the invitation to come to Jesus! And make no mistake, Christian, your job is only to invite them to come to Jesus—because only God’s Spirit can make that call effective! So don’t worry about whether or not your invitation is heeded—that’s up to God! You just invite everyone! The gates are open in every direction!

Not only is her invitation universal, but

The REACH of the Church extends EVERYWHERE (vv. 16-17)

There has been a great deal of ink spilled over various interpretations of John’s description of the New Jerusalem in verses 16-17:

Revelation 21:16–17 ESV

The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.

If you take these measurements as a literal description of the actual physical structure of the New Jerusalem, you would have a cube measuring 1,380 miles on a side, and 1,380 miles high! (A structure that big would be plastered on its upper edge by nearly all the satellites in orbit around the Earth, which orbit at an altitude of about 1,200 miles!) So it is at least plausible that this is a symbolic description by John—some have speculated that since 12,000 is a multiple of twelve that it represents the completeness of the New Jerusalem’s population—all of the people of God, 12 Old Testament Tribes and 12 New Testament Apostles together—are dwelling with Him.

But consider this for a moment—if you took the “footprint” of that cube—about 1.9 million square miles—and centered it on the Isle of Patmos (where John was writing this letter from), it would cover the entire Roman Empire! Keep in mind that, in A.D. 66 when John was writing this book, the total number of Christians worldwide numbered no more than ten or twelve thousand—in a Roman Empire that numbered as many as 50 million people. Perhaps John is showing the besieged, weak, persecuted Christians in Asia Minor that the day is coming when the New Jerusalem, the Church, will spread over the entire Roman Empire! Like a mustard seed that grows into a mighty tree or a pinch of yeast that works through a lump of dough, the Gospel of Jesus Christ so pervaded and transformed the First Century persecutor of the Church that they became part of it! And within a few generations after John’s lifetime, the Roman Empire became the Holy Roman Empire! And the reach of the Church of Jesus Christ continues to extend throughout the world today!

The Church is beautiful in her universal invitation to the world and her universal reach throughout the world. And in verses 18-21 we see that the Bride of Christ is adorned for her Husband in that

The WORKS of the Church are PRECIOUS (vv. 18-21; cp. 1 Corinthians 3:12-13)

John names all the precious stones that are worked into the foundations of the city— “every kind of jewel” (v. 19). The Apostle Paul paints a very similar picture of the Church in 1 Corinthians 3, where he writes that Jesus Christ is the foundation of the Church (v. 11), and

1 Corinthians 3:12–13 ESV

Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.

The works that we do in the Church, the ministries that we carry out will someday be tested, and only that which is good will remain. Here in this vision of the New Jerusalem, do you see any wood, hay or stubble in the foundation? Do you see any failures, any sin-stained motives, any corrupt or wicked deeds? There have been plenty of sinful motives and corrupt deeds done in the history of the Church, haven’t there? But what John shows us here is that none of those things will mar the beauty of His Bride! Only the true, the honorable, the pure, the lovely, the commendable works of His saints will be remembered on that Day, and our sins and lawless deeds will be remembered no more! (Heb. 10:17)

The Church is called to grow into the beauty that Christ has purchased for her—we worship the power of the Lamb to renew all things, we adorn the beauty of the Bride for her Husband, and

III. We shine the LIGHT of the GOSPEL to the NATIONS (Rev. 21:22-27)

Look at verses 22-23:

Revelation 21:22–23 ESV

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.

We mentioned earlier that the dimensions of the New Jerusalem were the same as the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament Tabernacle—a perfect cube. In the Old Tabernacle, the Holy of Holies was shrouded in thick, terrifying darkness, and the High Priest could only enter once a year, on the Day of Atonement. But here, in the New Jerusalem,

The TEMPLE is FILLED with His light (vv. 22-23)

The Light of Christ fills the New Jerusalem—no more darkness, no more fear, no more blood-stained mercy seat—Jesus Christ has completed His work—back in verse 6, He says, “It is done! I am Alpha and Omega...” That is the same word He uttered from the Cross— “It is finished!” There is no more condemnation, no more fear, no more darkness of guilt or shame for those who are in Christ Jesus, Christian—you dwell with Him in glorious, pure Light!

And in verses 24-25 we see the beauty of that Gospel-Light of Christ spilling out from the New Jerusalem so that

The NATIONS WALK in His light (vv. 24-25, cp. Matt. 28:19-20)

Revelation 21:24–25 ESV

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.

Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe and obey all that He has commanded (Matt. 28:19-20). The beauty and splendor of the Light of Christ overflowing from His Church is meant to call the nations to obedience. John makes it a point to say that “the gates of the city will never be shut”—our 21st Century perspective obscures the significance of that statement a bit. When did an ancient city shut its gates? When it was being threatened—when the enemy was on the prowl and they had to defend themselves. But this City never has to shut its gates, because nothing can threaten this city! This city threatens the Gates of Hell, but Hell cannot threaten the gates of the New Jerusalem! The City calls the nations to obey, and Satan can’t do a thing about it!

In verse 26 we read that, not only do the nations walk in the Light of the Gospel of Christ, but

The KINGS SUBMIT to His Light (v. 26)

Verse 26 says that “they will bring into the city the glory and honor of the nations”—instead of the blasphemous insistence of Nero that he be worshipped as God, instead of the State demanding your obedience and submission, they will GIVE their glory to Christ! As the Bride of Christ overflows with the glorious Light of the Gospel of Christ, the nations see it, obey it and glorify God in it!

But we are not there yet, church, are we? Not by a long shot. We are still like the struggling and sinning churches of Revelation 2-3, waiting for the day when the Bride will be revealed in her ultimate beauty. But never forget, church, Jesus Christ has already purchased all of this beauty, and He sees His Church in that beauty now!

And we are called to grow into that beauty—so let us make it our aim to view every day between now and that Day as wedding prep! Christian, every day that you wake up you have another day to adorn the beauty of the Bride of Christ, the Church! Walk in the power of the Lamb to renew you—you have a new dwelling with Christ and a new relationship with Him—come to Him every day to be made new, to say no to the power of sin and yes to the holiness He has purchased for you! You no longer have a heritage of death, but an inheritance of eternal life stored up for you in Heaven—so live that way! Walk in the power of the Lamb that renews your mind, renews your habits, renews your affections, renews your strength every day to love Him and love the people around you!

Christian, adorn the beauty of the Bride of Christ, the Church, by your faithful acts for His glory—there is no one who is exempt from the invitation and reach of the Gospel today. Right now, at this moment, I want you to think of someone who you know who needs to hear the Gospel—and I want you to commit before God right now that you will speak to them about Christ this week! Whether you want to hand them a “Christian Survival Kit”, or ask them how you can pray for them, or invite them to church or Bible study—find a way to weave the pure white linen of faithful acts, adorn the walls of the city with the precious stones of your witness this week!

And never forget, Christian, that you dwell with Christ in the glorious light of that Gospel—and the gates of this city will never be shut! It is Hell’s gates that are trembling today, not the New Jerusalem’s! Every time you share this Gospel, every time you gather here to worship, every song that you sing, every prayer that you offer, every page of Scripture that you read and obey is another blow against the darkness and rebellion and sin of this world’s failing and falling kingdom, and another step closer to the Day when the Bride of Christ will appear in her final beauty, and all the world will be filled with the glory of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

BENEDICTION

Ephesians 3:20–21 ESV

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

In Revelation 21:5, Jesus says He is “making all things new”. If you have trusted in Jesus as your Savior, He has raised you up to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). What are some ways your life has been made new since you became a Christian? How does that give you confidence to walk through the difficult times we live in?

Revelation 21:25 says that “the gates of the city will never be shut”—that there is nothing that can threaten the light of the Gospel or prevent the nations from coming in. How does this verse give you confidence to share the Gospel with someone this week? Pray this week for an opportunity to speak the Light of the Good News of Jesus into someone’s life!