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July 10, 2021 2:00 am
Our English word town is related to the German word zaun (tuin in Dutch). The original idea behind the meaning referred to a space that a fence or wall would enclose. The town of the future described in this chapter, also enclosed by a wall, will be so magnificent that even John's depiction leaves us scratching our heads. This is God's revelation of the future Eternal dwelling of all believers. Let's do a walk-through today.
This teaching is from the series From the Edge of Eternity.
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12,000 furlongs is 1500 miles. So he's looking at something in his vision that the Angels, as we tell you how big this baby is its 1500 miles wide is 1500 miles deep in its 1500 miles is a perfect two.
I was starting the Old Testament little bit this week and discovered a thick YouTube goes all the way back.
Alisa my thinking to a little room in the tabernacle called the holy of holies it was a perfect cube the holy of holies, where the ark of the covenant was what God loves his people was 15 feet wide 15 feet deep and 50.
This is like that on steroids. What will the city of the future look like bold have flying cars, personal robots clean renewable energy sources will fly in the sky or float in the sea will computers help automate everything from daily chores to helping kids get homework done on time as outlandish as many of those ideas may seem, many of them are already of the drawing, but none of them compare with the wild, amazing, outrageous reality that will be our future home in new Jerusalem will take a tour of our future home today here and correctly Skip weekend edition. But first, there is information about our correctly Skip resource for this month. That was exactly the work of the Holy Spirit counselor comforter advocate helper.
These are some of the names for the Holy Spirit found in the Bible. The Holy Spirit isn't a warm fuzzy feeling or a vague cosmic force. He's a person who loves you and cares for you and wants to empower you to be everything God calls you to be here. Skip, I think I think there's a lot of questions with heard the term Holy Spirit. Obviously they have a very vague idea of who the spirit of God he is and what he supposed to do in their lives.
We want to help you better understand the Holy Spirit by sending you expound Holy Spirit iDVD study from pastor step and for a limited time, so also send you a booklet by Lenny Hite segment called empower discover your spiritual gifts.
Both resources are our way to say thanks for your gift of $25 or more to help keep this Bible teaching ministry on the air connecting into God's life changing trip. Call now to request more copies of these resources. 800-922-1888. Give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 21 as you do so open your imaginations as we explore what the Bible reveals about our future home in heaven.
There Skip Heitzig together start.
Jesus Christ isn't flaking.
He's absolutely sure certain you're the bride for him and he knows all about you. You still want you as beautiful as love is my question. Do you have a personal close relationship with your groom to be like a bride-to-be should have all ask it another way, are you flirting with the world. Are you going out on Jesus's or something in your life that needs to be eradicated, removed, cut out, you need to return to your first love. The first love of the spousal so I think this meaning here of the bride is simply to say in this city future town.
Your love with Jesus and for Jesus will be real fresh and absolutely complete best description as a bride adorned for her husband down to verse 11.
Let's read a few verses and note now the magnificence of the city notice having the glory of God and her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.
Also she had a great high wall with 12 gates 12 angels at the gates, and names written on them, which are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel before sides three on each side, three gates on the east three gates on the north three gates on the south three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. As I work my way to the passage which I did.
I noted some very descriptive adjectives like holy glory. Great sky clear, pure, precious, magnificent, I never forget my first view of New York City. I was in Hoboken New Jersey ever seen the view from Hoboken looking toward Manhattan at night. It was 1 o'clock in the morning. Wow, it was brilliant, magnificent sparkling in verse 11 it says having the glory of God. This I believe is the most significant feature of future town of new Jerusalem.
This is the most striking an overarching characteristic God's glory.
Is there that John obviously wants to tell us about the light is notice he says, and her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal by reading that I don't think you understand what he saying I want to help you. The word light here is the Greek word for stair which means an illuminator or get this a source of light source of light.
Light is emanating from it. It's something in which light is concentrated and from which light is pouring out of the sunlight, water some really cool and lights bouncing off of it. Ambient light from another source.
John wants you to know that it's like this huge diamond with light cascading out of it emanating from it, noticed it says it's like jasper, I may not help us if your gemologist will be a bit confused because modern jasper is an opaque stone and notice what he says. It's like jasper stone, clear is what crystal this is clear. So, most commentators will say probably what John was describing is a diamond because it's clear as crystal, that an ancient jasper was very different than a modern one, or it simply an ancient description of what would be a diamond. It's clear as crystal of the best diamonds are the clearest diamonds I've had a little education over the years, you know, being married the first diamond I ever bought was our engagement ring. I spent a whopping maybe to $300 for and it it had a diamond on it. They told me did I know that you took a little microscope, or even up little glass you could see the diamond was there but if you if you put under microscope as I sought sometime later it wasn't clear was more yellowy and a little bit opaque and they told me wasn't a great time and I believe he had been educated diamonds that are good are clear and the clearer they are the better they are and more expensive they are, so I've got an education. Since then, verse 12 that speak at this magnificent notice is 12 gates, 12 foundations, and an angel posted at each gate of the angel wasn't to guard the bad guys. There are none present in the gates are never shot. It will tell us later on.
I see these angel sort of like ushers passing bulletins out greeting you as you leave, a welcome home to come there. If you're leaving for the day, or for millionaires. Have a nice trip but there's 12 gates and is 12 angels so you get to know these guys pretty good are these beings pretty well now gets gets more wild begin with me in verse 15 and I want you now to consider the measurement. How big is this place let's look at verse 15 and he who talked with me at a gold read as a measuring stick to measure the city and its gates and its wall and the city is laid out as a square marked the word square will get back to its length is as great as its breath, and he measured the city with the reed 12,000 furlongs or study in Greek. Its length, its breath, and his height are equal. So it's a cube and then he measured the wall hundred and 44 cubits, according to the measure of a man that is of an angel. So obviously the spirit of God wants us to know how big it is because were given an exact measurement and notice it says it square. The Greek word is to provide bonus or four cornered a perfect cube at tetra gone perfect cube now Furlong is 600 feet or 1/8 of a mile 12,000 furlongs is 1500 miles.
So he's looking at something in his vision that the angel says any tell you how big this baby is its 1500 miles wide. It's 1500 miles deep and it's 1500 miles tall.
It's a perfect cube.
I was starting the Old Testament little bit this week and I discovered that the the cube goes all the way back.
Alisa my thinking to a little room in the tabernacle called the holy of holies. It too is a perfect cube the holy of holies, where the ark of the covenant was where God dwell with his people was 15 feet wide 15 feet deep and 15 feet high. This is like that on steroids.
1500 miles is a cue. Notice the walls. Verse 17 they turn out to be 72 yards or 216 feet.
Now notice it doesn't say that's how high they are. They may be that high. Or they may be 216 feet thick, deep trouble is the 1500 mile city 216 foot thick walls is not a big deal. Why are they there for protection.
No you don't need any protection. I think for adornment, not for security but for beauty walls look cool the whole point of this is if I can be so basis.
To paraphrase it. John is saying God's town is really huge were given the measurements 1500 miles and how far that is. That's from Maine to Florida. That's from Dallas to Philadelphia. That's from Albuquerque to Spokane if you were to drop this city given its measurements in the United States. It would go from Canada to Mexico.
It would go from the appellation Mountains to the border of California. Absolutely huge.
There would be 2,250,000 mi.². That's just the first level and its high as well as that the it would be 40 times the size of England 10 times the size of France or Germany 15,000 times bigger than the City of London. And that's just the first level you put all the levels together. You have something the size thereabouts of our moon is huge urban lecture who wrote a book, one minute after you die said this in this city could be composed of 396,000 stories at 20 feet per story with each area as big as one half of the United States as each level divide that into separate condominiums. You have plenty of room for all those who have ever been redeemed since the beginning of time. James McDonald, who did a little thing in heaven, said if today we went by the modern grid verse 10 to 12 city blocks per mile. Ms. all supposition. It's fun to go with the standard grade 10 to 12 city blocks per mile means you could have 45 million miles of road. That's just the first level, that means you have 675 billion miles of streets and don't worry, these are safe streets. These are clean streets. Verse 21 there of gold are clean. Let's talk mansions for moment showing. Let's say you have four mansions to a street because everybody gets a corner with a corner lot get a view you have more than 1 billion mansions on the first level is lets he get to have a God like the mansion tour we could go to Beverly Hills want take the mansion tour it that I want take the mansion tour. Well, if you saw 60 mansions in our 12 hours a day would take you 6 million years stick get the mansion to so I think Jesus knew what he was talking about is that in my father's house there are many mansions for not so I would've told you hit all this in his mind and gives it to John in the book of Revelation, and that's not meeting that will all be there all at the same time because there's gates and people coming and going.
There's a whole new earth and new heaven and to be in new bodies and if you remember back in that study were able to move not just horizontally but vertically so guys like Henry Morris, a scientist assumes that with this cube configuration is to be vertical as well as horizontal passageways. Let's close this off verse 18 to 21 with the materials of the city is what John is saying this is so cool and the construction of the wall was of jasper that's clear as crystal like a diamond in the city was pure gold, get this, like clear glass. If you're having trouble like I am and have been trying to get my mind around this description, but it defies description and the foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones.
The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third Chalcedonian, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonic's the six sardius the seventh chrysolite, the eight barrel the ninth Topaz the 10th. Chris appraised the 11th adjacent the 12th amethyst and the 12 gates were 12 pearls, each individual gate was of one pearl in the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass well obviously human language comes short in describing our eternal dwelling interviews Greek or Aramaic or Hebrew English or Spanish or German human language fall short. As we saw this would look like to him. This is sort of hard to figure out right. I mean look at this.
The city was pure gold, like clear glass does make sense. Everything gold like that gold is opaque. You can't see through it has a very dense high specific gravity, but it's like clear glass. This is translucent or even transparent glass.
You might hear that a complaint and there is no privacy in heaven like you have anything to hide in heaven. You won't care. You'll be in a brand-new environment with a new resurrected body because some of the stone sapphire blue just listen to this description.
Chalcedonian is greenish blue emerald a deep green sardonic's is white with reddish brown streaks going through sardius is blood red chrysolite yellow barrel is see green topaz yellow-green. Chris appraised is a golden apple green beautiful Jason. This deep violet amethyst are rich but lighter purple just it's it would make the rainbow look dull.
So magnificent. Keep in mind light is emanating from the city.
Verse 21 is where we close what you get this. The 12 gates were 12 pearls and I listen each individual gate as of one pearl the streets of the city. Pure gold, like transparent glass.
No doubt verse 21 is where we would get the whole idea of the pearly gates of heaven, but these are just pearly gates. Each gate is a solid pearl. Now let's just say that walls are 216 feet high 72 yards, which is take that as that's how high they are mansion a pearl 216 feet high. Must've been some big oyster course this is a God made new creation not. I looked at this and I thought you know there could be no more perfect symbol to represent the entrance into God's presence than a pearl. And here's why. You know how pearl is formed form by an irritant. Foreign body gets into an oyster like a little piece of sand and it irritates the oyster and the oysters response to the irritation, is a pearl.
It sends out this fluid called nectar and ACR me and it covers the sand and it covers it again with that luminescent flesh that hardens into a beautiful pearl so pearl is a precious stone formed by suffering because from an outside source that's inapposite, apt emblem, is it not of entrance into the eternal city is what injure Jesus Christ our sin. We are the irritant that God made beautiful so that going in and going out of that city for ever and ever.
We will be reminded of this truth access to glory is only through Calvary only by the cross only by our sin, which irritated him. That is been cleansed. We made beautiful. The stand in his presence, by the way, it's the only way you get into heaven is without truth to only way you see the kingdom of heaven. There's nobody in heaven who is never come to a place with is that I'm a sinner and I need forgiveness of my sins and I need salvation that comes to the blood of Jesus Christ. There's nobody proud in heaven.
Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit that theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn over their sin bears they will be comforted as a little boy. He was obnoxious, precocious bug. His mom one day his mom to sit like how you expect ever to get into heaven, he said well thought about it I was to go in and out and in and out in and out. Keep slamming the door. Every time I go in and out and something to say either staying or stay out now get in. There's a lot of people who think getting to heaven is that easy actually for us is very easy for him.
It was very costly thing that makes it hard for us is we have to humble ourselves and admit my sins are in irritant they need to be forgiven. I need to be cleansed. I must come to Christ his way in order to get to someone's home, you have to follow their direction. It doesn't do any good to follow your own directions because odds are that it will take you to the place you're trying to reach by well it's no different with Christ so if you want to get there you have to follow his direction.
If you'd like to talk with someone a little bit more about what those directions are and how we can follow them, please don't hesitate to call us numbers toll-free 1-800-922-1888 and before we go to. Here's information about our connect with Skip resource offer for July.
The Holy Spirit is mysterious in the Bible. Jesus even said she moves like the wind, so Christians are instructed to know and be sensitive to and his health Council and comfort Skip I think reminds us can't neglect the Holy Spirit since the Scripture is of the Holy Spirit from beginning to and from Genesis to Revelation. Not only is the Bible full of the Holy Spirit you can be to Holy Spirit is a divine person who helps us many of you think you need all the help you can get to live your Christian life you I'm I'm with.
We need help discover who the Holy Spirit is pastor Skip DVD study expound Holy Spirit and for a limited time you can also get a copy of linear and power discover your spiritual gifts. Both resources are our things, your gift of $25 or more to help expand Bible teaching outreach to get online securely connectwithskip.com/or call 800-922-1888 and you can always call us for a copy of today's message which Skip is entitled future town. Each copy is available on CD for just six dollars plus shipping. Or you can order the entire from the edge of eternity series for only $39 plus shipping. Call today 1-800-922-1888 oral online connectwithskip.com but we still have a lot to explore on the streets of gold of our future town, to be sure to join us next time here and connect with Skip weekend division of presentation of connection communication, connecting you guys never changing true and ever-changing time