Mar 18
4
Pre-Introduction
The Old Testament reading for today is from Hosea 2:14-23. The sermon text is again Revelation 21:9-27 where we will again consider the bride of Christ in all her glory.
The book of Hosea is interesting. In it the prophet uses a number of images from family life and from nature to depict Israel’s unfaithfulness and stubbornness towards God, and God’s faithfulness to fulfill his promises to Israel. The most well known image in this book is that of the prophet’s unfaithful and promiscuous wife. She represents Israel’s idolatry. But the prophet is gracious to her and continues to pursue her to win her over. He represents the faithfulness of God. Let us read now from Hosea 2:14-23.
Old Testament Reading: Hosea 2:14–23
God speaks concerning his people when he says, “‘Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. And there I will give her her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth, as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. And in that day, declares the Lord, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.’ For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the Lord.’ ‘And in that day I will answer’, declares the Lord, ‘I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God’” (Hosea 2:14–23, ESV).
New Testament Reading: Revelation 21:9-27
“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 one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 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. The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 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” (Revelation 21:9–27, ESV).
Introduction
As many of you know, I preached through this same text last Sunday. We are back to it again because after I was finished I continued to reflect upon it and it seemed to me that there was so much more to consider than what we were able to consider in that one sermon.
This vision that was shown to John is truly magnificent.
It paints a picture of the end result of the redemption accomplished by Jesus the Christ.
Indeed we do, even now, enjoy the benefits of the redemption accomplished by Christ through his life, death, resurrection and ascension. We, having been graciously and effectually called to faith enjoy the forgiveness of sins. We have been adopted by God as sons and daughters. And we have been and are being sanctified daily, being made more and more into the image of Christ. Add to this the assurance we have of God’s love, the peace of conscience, the joy in the Holy Spirit, the continual increase of grace, and the promise that God will indeed preserve us to the end, and it is clear that we are rich in Christ Jesus. Truly, we do enjoy the benefits of Christ’s finished work of redemption even now! But we should never forget that these are but a foretaste of much better things yet to come.
This is what Paul spoke of in his letter to the Romans when he said,
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:18–25, ESV)
Have we benefitted from Christ’s finished work on the cross? Have we tasted the heavenly gift? Have we seen something of the glory of God? Have we experienced the rest that is found in Christ Jesus? Indeed, we have! But is this all? No! For “according to [the] promise [of God] we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13, ESV).
So marvelous will the new heavens and new earth be that this current order of things will hardly be remembered! For the word of the Lords says, “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” (Isaiah 65:17–18, ESV).
The text here in Revelation 21 provides us with a glimpse of what we will experience in the new heavens and new earth, and it is most glorious. As we consider it, it should whet our appetite for the world to come. It should help us to say, along with Paul, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us [or in us].”
Brother and sisters, I’m convinced of it – you will not begin to live well as a Christ follower in this world until you come to truly believe what God’s word says to us concerning the glory of the new heavens and earth, and to set your heart and your hope there. For the Christian is to live, not for this world, but for the world to come. And so long as you make much of this world and little of the world to come you will not live well as a follower of Christ in this world. We must live in this world, but not for it. We must sojourn in this land, but store our treasure elsewhere.
The book of Revelation helps us greatly in cultivating this heavenly mindset. One, it shows us the true character of the world as it now is. The world is like a harlot who, on the surface, may look look beautiful and appealing, but inwardly is filled with all manner of filth, darkness and death. Two, the book does also provide us with a glimpse of the true and everlasting glory of the world to come.
Brothers and sisters, my prayer is that our appetites and affections would change. May the Spirit of God use the word of God to transform our minds and hearts so that our love for the world and things of this world is diminished while our love for God and this things of God does grow.
You Are The Bride Of Christ
In the previous sermon on Revelation 21:9-27 I provided an overview of the passage. I attempted to demonstrate that the vision John saw of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven with walls and gates, roads and a foundation is not to be taken as a literal description of the place where those in Christ will dwell for all eternity, but as symbolic for the people of God who for all eternity will enjoy God and Christ dwelling in the midst of them in a most intimate, immediate and glorious way.
Why this symbolic interpretation is difficult for people to except, I do not know.
We are in the book of Revelation, are we not? This book communicates truth vie symbol from beginning to end,
Also, remember that the people of God – that is to say, the church – has already been symbolized by physical objects. Indeed, we encored symbolism of this kind in the opening vision when Christ was seen walking in the midst of seven lamp stands. The seven lamp stands symbolized churches who were and are filled with the people of God. The meaning there was clear. It is not that Christ walks in the midst of lamp stands, but that he walks in the midst of his people – this was the truth that we were take away from the text! And we could only get at that truth if we interpret the text symbolically, as was clearly intended to be interpreted. The same is true here in Revelation 21. The new heavens and earth will not look like the city that John saw coming down out of heaven just as churches do not look like lamp stands. But lamp stands the new Jerusalem do function as wonderful symbols for the church. The church, just like lamp stands, are to shine forth as lights in the darkness. And the church, just like the new Jerusalem that John saw coming down from heaven, will, in the new heavens and earth, be filled with the glory of God and of Christ, will enjoy his glory, and will reflect it, just as she was created and redeemed to do.
That this city is symbolic for the church in glory is clear for before John was shown the vision the angel said to him, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb” (Revelation 21:9, ESV). The bride of Christ is not the city of Jerusalem, but it is the church. The bride of Christ is the total number of the elect whom Christ did redeem by his shed blood.
To the church in Corinth Paul wrote, “For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2, ESV). This is how Paul viewed his ministry. He proclaimed the gospel so as to unite men and women to Christ. He proclaimed the gospel and when one believed he viewed is as the start of an engagement or betrothed. The job was not done, for the marriage would need to be consummated. Christian ministry, therefore, is about preparing the bride of Christ for her wedding day. The minister of the gospel labors to present the bride of Christ – that is, the church – to Christ pure and mature when he returns.
The same concept is communicated in Colossians 1:28 but without the marriage metaphor. There Pauls says, “[Christ] we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Colossians 1:28, ESV).
It is in Ephesians 5 that Paul spells things out most clearly. “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 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. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” (Ephesians 5:25–32, ESV)
Christ is the groom. The church is his bride.
Christ gave himself up for her.
Christ is now sanctifying her, “having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.” He “nourishes and cherishes” her.
And Christ will one day, “present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
This is the event that is here symbolized in Revelation 21 by the sight of the “holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10, ESV). In Paul we are told of a day when the church will be presented to Christ in radiant glory. In Revelation it is shown to us, for John saw “the Bride, the wife of the Lamb… 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” (Revelation 21:9–11, ESV).
Brothers and sisters, do you understand that the thing symbolized here by the “holy city Jerusalem” is you. And by “you”, I do not mean “you” in the singular, but “you” in the plural. And by “you” in the plural, I do not mean “you” only, but all of the elect from Adam onward to the end of time. It is they that Christ redeemed! He shed his blood for all who ever did or ever will believe upon him. They are the church of the Old and New Covenant. They are the true Israel. They belong to the Jerusalem from above. They are the true temple of God. They are the bride of Christ, given to the Son by the Father from before the creation of the world (see John 17).
Friends, if you are in Christ, then you are his bride. If you have turned from your sins and beloved upon him, then you are betrothed to him, united to him by faith and seated with him in the heavenly places. He is sanctifying you now. He is cleansing you “by the washing of water with the word.” He “nourishes and cherishes” you so that he might present you ”to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [you] might be holy and without blemish” before him. That is the event symbolized here in Revelation 21. The consummation. The wedding day where Christ is united to his bride made glorious for all eternality.
You are the bride of Christ. Have you thought much about that?
You are precious to him. He laid down his life for you. He washed you. He is sanctifying you. And he has gone “to prepare a place for you” in his Fathers house. And he “will come again and will take you to [himself], that where [he is] you may be also” (John 14:2–3, ESV).
I hope that this brings comfort to you. But may it never cause you to be puffed up with pride, thinking to yourself, “how lovely I must be that God and Christ would take me as their own.” For the love of God shown to us in Christ Jesus is unmerited and unconditional. He did not love you and I because he found us lovely. He loved us to make us lovely. His love bestowed upon us was an act of free grace. He determined to love us by his grace. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV). Remember, brother and sisters, that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, ESV). “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19, ESV).
God and Christ did not love us because we were by nature lovely. Their love for us was a sheer act of grace. And having loved us, Christ does then make us lovely. He gave himself up for us. He washed us. And he is now sanctifying us to “present the [us] to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [we] might be holy and without blemish”, before him.
This is not a sermon on marriage so I do not want to get too far off on this subject. But husbands and wives would be wise to think about the marriage relationship in light of what has just been said. According to Paul the marriage relationship exists, in part, to reflect something of this relationship between Christ and the church. Much can be said about this, but for now I want to emphasize that the marriage relationship should be accentuated by unconditional love.
Husband, do not say in your heart, “I will love my wife when she is lovely.” But instead say, “I will loving lead my wife so as to be used by God to make her more lovely. I will lay down my life for her good.” And wife, do not say, “I will love my husband when he is lovely.” But instead say, “I will loving submit to my husband so as to be used by God to make him more lovely” I will lay down my life for his good.” When Christian husbands and wives live with one another in this way, God and Christ are honored in the marriage relationship, and the man and woman are blessed, as are the children. This kind of love is possible if we know the love of God in Christ Jesus, for this is how he loved us.
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:7–11, ESV)
You, brothers and sisters, are the bride of Christ. He loves you, not because you were by nature lovely, but to make you lovely by his love. He “gave himself up for [you], that he might sanctify [you], having cleansed [you] by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present [you] the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that [you] might be holy and without blemish.”
This is what we see portrayed in Revelation 21:9-27 – You – the church, the bride of Christ in glory – finally ready to be presented to Christ the groom, so that you might dwell together for all eternity.
Consider two things about the bride of Christ in glory.
Consider How Protected You Will Be
First of all, consider how protected you will be.
The high walls of the city symbolizes this reality. You will be kept perfectly secure by God.
Notice also that angels stand guard continuously at the twelve gates. No evil thing will pass by them (vs. 12).
Indeed, “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” (Revelation 21:27, ESV).
In this way the new heavens and earth will be far better than what Adam and Eve experienced in Eden. That place was left vulnerable to attack for it was a place of testing. Adam was to guard it, but he proved unreliable. The serpent slithered in unchecked. Adam fell and the couple were expelled from that place, an angel being set to guard the way to the tree of live. In the new heavens and earth paradise will be secure, having been made secure by the second Adam, who is Jesus the Christ.
Indeed, if you are in Christ you are protected even now, but not in the same way that you will be protected in the new heavens and earth.
In this present evil age the people of God do suffer tribulation.
This age is marked by battle. The kingdom of light is intruding upon the kingdom of darkness, and darkness does fight back.
And remember that in this age the people of God are being prepared for glory. God refined his people. This he often does through trial and tribulation. James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2–4, ESV)
But in this present evil age the people of God are spiritually protected and preserved. Remember, they are sealed by God. If you are in Christ – if you have faith in him – then you have “his name and his Father’s name written on [your forehead]” (Revelation 14:1, ESV). God knows who are his. He sees them and promises to preserve them spiritually in the midst of the battle.
This simultaneous vulnerability and security of the church in this present evil age was symbolized by the measuring of the temple in Revelation 11. There we read,
“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:1–3, ESV)
Here is a picture of the church in this present evil age. She is measured and secure, and yet she is left vulnerable to “the nations” who will “trample” her “for forty-two months”, which symbolized the time between Christ’s first and second coming.
But in the new heavens and earth all is temple. All is city. All is measured. All will be kept secure. “Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things [will] have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, ESV).
Christ will protect his bride for all eternity.
Consider How Radiant You Will Be
Secondly, consider how radiant you will be.
John was struck by the radiance of the bride. In verse 10 we read, “And he [the angel] 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” (Revelation 21:10–11, ESV). The city, which symbolizes the bride of Christ, will be radiant.
She will be radiant because she will be holy. No more sin.
Indeed, you are holy now. You have been made holy by the shed blood of Christ. Your sins have been forgiven. They have been washed away. God sees you as righteous because Christ has clothed you with his righteousness. But you do still sin. You and I still “fall short of the glory of God.” “When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, he frees him from his natural bondage under sin, and by his grace alone enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good; yet so as that by reason of his remaining corruptions, he doth not perfectly, nor only will, that which is good, but doth also will that which is evil” (LBC 9.1). This is the state that we are now in. We have been forgiven by God and adopted as his children, but we still struggle with sin. We are being sanctified.
But in the new heavens and new earth there will be no more sin. For then the “will of man [will be] made perfectly and immutably free to good alone in the state of glory…”
The church will be radiant because she will be holy. But she will also be radiant because she will perfectly reflect the glory of God as God intended.
Did you notice how everything in this city seems to be highly reflective. You almost get the impression that the thing was designed to reflect and refract light. Everything is adorned with precious jewels or is paved with gold so refined that it is clear like glass. The city is constructed this way so that it might most beautifully reflect and refract the glory of God in the midst of her. The city does not produce it’s own light. God is its light. But it will shine with radiant beauty as it reflects the glory of God that fills her.
This is the end for which you were created. You were created for God. You made in his image to correspond to him. You were made in knowledge, righteousness and holiness to know God, to live in obedience to him, and to reflect his glory. Sin messes all of that up! To sin is fail to give glory to God. But in the new heavens and new earth sin will be know more. And because of this we will be able to glorify God as we were designed to, as we walk forever in perfected knowledge, righteousness and holiness.
We taste a little of this in this world when walk in knowledge, righteousness and holiness. We taste a little of the joy of the Lord and his peace when we obey his commandments. How good it will be to no longer struggle with sin. How good it will be to only obey our God, to have our wills “made perfectly and immutably free to good alone in the state.” This is called the state of glory for we will be glorified and we will be made suitable to reflect his glory as he intended at creation.
Conclusion
