The King Invites Us To Reign With Him Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. After the millennium, heaven literally comes down to earth in the form of the new Jerusalem. This spectacular city will house the redeemed of all the ages. It's what Jesus referred to when he said, in my Father's house are many dwelling places.

From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, if the new Jerusalem comes down to earth, does that mean that heaven will actually be here on our planet? Well, Dave, as I'm sitting here, I'm trying to visualize the description that you just gave. You know, it's beyond our imagination, isn't it? We think of what it is going to be like, but of course, eventually it will be different than we think it's going to be. But what a future for the redeemed.

But in answer to your question, I think it's yes. The Bible says that we shall reign on the earth. And the other reason that's important is because this earth is cursed, and God is going to totally redeem it. The curse is going to be lifted, earth is going to be recreated, and what a place it's going to be. I've written a book entitled The King is Coming, and we're coming to the end of the time when we make it as an offer, as an opportunity for you to have this resource to walk with God more closely.

For a gift of any amount, it can be yours, and thanks in advance for helping us as we continue to share the word of God. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com.

That's rtwoffer.com, or you can write down this phone number, 1-888-218-9337. Let me give you that number again, 1-888-218-9337. Now let's take out time to contemplate our future. Welcome to eternity. This is the last in a series of messages entitled When He Shall Come, events that will surround the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and a future in which all of us shall be involved. If you were with us from the beginning, you know that we suggested that it was best to look at the return of Christ in two stages. First of all, Jesus Christ comes for His church, and then there's the period of the Great Tribulation, the rise of Antichrist, and then Jesus comes in glorious appearing and stands on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem with His people, and then there's a thousand-year reign of Christ called the Millennial Kingdom. At the end of that, Jesus Christ delivers the kingdom to the Father. The Father again appoints the Son to rule and to reign, but also if you were with us last time, you know that we spoke about that terrifying judgment called the Great White Throne Judgment when all the dead of all the ages who are unbelievers will be judged personally by God.

Well, today we come to a very happy scene. It's the story of the New Jerusalem. It is the story of eternity, the story of heaven. There are three reasons why I'm preaching this. First of all, to give us some kind of a glimpse into eternity and what heaven will be like. I realize it is very inadequate. In some sense, it's like two infants in a womb talking about what they will be doing once they are born and are 25 years old.

They have no idea. I mean, it's a whole different realm, but we're going to try because the Scriptures invite us to try to understand eternity and our role in it. Secondly, I hope that those of you who are coming today with burdens, you are unemployed, you're going through a time of distress physically, a lot of pain, a lot of heartache, remember that eternity is coming. I want you to be encouraged.

I want you to live with eternity in mind. Last night, I called my mother, as I always do on Saturday evening, and my mother will be 102 years old in about a week's time. And as I have frequently said, and you've probably heard me say, at the age of 102, she will tell you that she has no peer pressure, alright?

No peer pressure. But she asked me a question that she asks me every Saturday evening. She says, what are you going to preach on tomorrow morning? I said, Mother, I'm going to speak about heaven. And immediately she said, oh, that will be glorious. And then she began to quote a poem in German about the beauty and the glory of heaven.

She's looking forward to heaven, very, very anxious, and actually thinks that God apparently has forgotten her address. So I want you to live for eternity, even before you're 102. Another reason is we're going to discuss who's in and who's out. Not everybody gets to live in the holy city. And this is not my decision. It's not my wisdom. It is God's. And we're going to look at what God's word has to say about it. Now many years ago, when I was a lot younger, I memorized Revelation chapter 21 and 22. But I did so in the King James version of the Bible.

So when I quote verses from time to time, you may notice a little bit of difference, not a difference in meaning, but maybe a little difference in word order in the older version. So I'm going to begin with Revelation 21, which is where you should turn to. And if you're listening by some other means, please find your Bible, Revelation chapter 21, and I'll introduce the first few verses. John said, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and walk with them and they shall be his people and he shall be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things have passed away.

What a description. Let's begin right at verse one. I saw a new heaven and a new earth.

You remember what we learned last time? It's during that period between the millennial kingdom and eternity, the new heaven and the new earth, that you have the earth being totally destroyed. Theologians debate as to whether the Bible teaches it is going to be obliterated or simply remade by fire. Either way, this is a new heaven and a new earth, a brand new universe that is free from every single taint of sin and curse. And this new Jerusalem that comes down as a bride adorned for her husband, that new Jerusalem is the eternal state of the redeemed. That is heaven.

When my father died two years ago and when any one of us die right now, we do not yet go there because we need our resurrected bodies and the events that we've been talking about need to take place. And then we will be in that new Jerusalem that is coming down from God out of heaven as a bride, this bride, very, very beautiful. James Vernon McGee was an old southern preacher that you sometimes still hear on the radio even though he passed away many years ago. But he used to say, I believe that God does a miracle, he said, because every bride is beautiful on her wedding day. Well, miracle or not, this bride certainly is full of bling, adorned for her husband, the new Jerusalem sparkling, beautiful, scintillating beyond our imagination.

Now before we ask the question of who is occupied in this building, who lives in the new Jerusalem, before we do that, let me isolate for you some things that aren't going to be there. And this is going to be very joyful for those of you who are suffering. You'll notice it says in verse 4, is it not that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes? Actually, the Greek text says it like our translation says it, that God will wipe away every tear.

As if to emphasize every single bit of sorrow, every issue that causes you concern. And then the text also says he will wipe those tears out of your eyes, as if God is getting at the very heart of what it is that troubled you here on earth, so that you can put it away forever. It's not as if God necessarily takes a handkerchief and wipes our tears.

He gives us understanding. He takes away all causes for sorrow, so that whether it is because of the regrets that we have had or may it be because some people aren't in heaven that we hoped would be there, either way, the sorrow is gone and it is gone forever. Furthermore, no death, the Bible says. If you're a choir director, there is a possibility that you can continue your vocation in heaven.

If you're a funeral director, you're going to have to be retrofitted for something brand new. The whole idea there is no sorrow, no parting, no goodbyes. And then it says no crying, no mourning, no grief. And finally, for those of you who live with chronic pain, you ought to underline this in your Bible. And there will not be any more pain for the former things are passed away.

Anybody happy because of that? No more pain. Well, all that by way of introduction. Now let's get right down to the issue. Who dwells in the holy city, the new Jerusalem? Well, the answer, of course, is God and his people.

I quoted it a moment ago. Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be his people. And God himself shall be their God.

Wow. You'll notice that the older translations say that the tabernacle of God is with men. And here we have the dwelling place.

Well, either translation is good. The word actually is tabernacle because that's where God dwelt in the Old Testament times, you see. And so what the writer is really saying is that the tabernacle of God, the very dwelling place of God, now is with people.

Now to understand that, let's keep in mind that in Old Testament times, you recall it, don't you? God set up a whole structure by which people could come to him. There was what was known as the tabernacle.

There was an outer court. There was the holy place where priests could freely go. But then behind that, there was the holy of holies where the priest could go only on one day a year, the day of atonement. God was trying to signify to people that he was fixing a way by which he could connect with people who are sinners without himself being contaminated. That is the big storyline of the Bible. How does God dwell with people when they are sinners and he himself not be affected by their sin? So God says, even though I exist everywhere, I'm going to be localized in the holy of holies.

That's where my glory is going to be seen. Now that tabernacle of God is now with men. That holy place, the holy of holies, was a cube. In a moment, we're going to be finding out that the city of Jerusalem is a cube, a much bigger cube. Why the connection? The connection is simply this, that we are going to be dwelling in the holy of holies throughout all eternity in the very presence of God with no fear of being contaminated by sin because we will be holy and totally free of all sin forever. Anybody like that? If you don't like your sin, you'd have clapped.

If you like it, you might not have clapped for that one. Now imagine the presence of God directly. You see, that's why it says here that there is no temple in it.

I'm in verse 22. For the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it, and the Lamb is its lamp. Just imagine for a moment, folks.

Think it through. This will be our first experience with uncreated light. You see, it has no need of the sun or of the moon because after all, God is now the light, and that light is uncreated.

That's part of who God is. And here we will be in light, and the Scriptures make it clear, no need of the sun or of the moon. All direct, immediate access to God with no barrier in between, no need for a mediator.

If I mention to you the name of Joni Eareckson Tada, you will remember that she has been a quadriplegic for possibly about 35 or 40 years. She has suffered greatly but blessed millions in what she has learned through her suffering. But I remember her saying, the thing that I look forward to when I get to heaven, she said, is not because I'll be able to park my wheelchair in the vestibule of heaven and be able to run to Jesus to worship him. She said, what I will like the best and what will be most meaningful to me is instant continual communication with God without a hint of sin ever coming between us.

That's what it's going to be like. Imagine a mind so pure that you wouldn't mind if your wife and your family and your daughters and your children knew every single thought, no guilt, no shame, nothing but purity for the pure in heart shall see God. So God is going to dwell with his people in the new Jerusalem.

Now, very quickly, we'll say a word about its size or we could say the description. You'll notice in verse 18, we have another look at this beautiful city. He's taken to a great and high mountain and showed the holy city the new Jerusalem that came down from heaven.

And having the glory of God, its radiance is like a most rare jewel, like a Jasper clear as crystal. It had a great high wall with 12 gates and at the gates, oh, you know, did you notice it there in verse 12, Peter is not at the gate. After all that, the text says that there are 12 gates and 12 angels.

They are there. And you'll notice that on the gates are the names of the 12 tribes of Israel. So you have a representative group from the Old Testament saints. Verse 14, the wall of the city has 12 foundations and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles.

So you have in this city still the distinction between Israel and the church, but at the same time, all of them together in the new Jerusalem, all the saints of all ages enjoying God. And now a word about the size of the city. It says in verse 15, the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and its walls.

The city lies four square. Its length is the same as its width. He measured the city with a rod 12,000 stadia. That's an old system of measurement. I Googled it last night to try to find out exactly how long it was. And I discovered that there is disagreement because there were various measurements depending upon the country and the location of where you were. And generally it is said that this particular stadium might even be over a mile long.

If that's true, then you have 12,000 miles or more, 14,000 miles and you have, it says its length and its width and its height are all equal. Can you imagine a city that would go from Colorado to the Atlantic ocean and from the northern part of the United States all the way to the Mexican border and then be 1500 miles high? Think of the condos that are there. Oh, it's got plenty of room, plenty.

And furthermore, you know when it talks about streets, we always think of streets needing to be a horizontal. We go from here to there. Imagine this, we are going to be in glorified bodies. Everyone that's there is in a glorified body now. The Bible says that we shall see Christ and we shall be like him when we see him as he is, the same kind of body that Jesus had.

You know what that means? Think about it. It means that we will be able to go vertically just as easily as we'll be able to go horizontally. So maybe the streets of the city are just as much up and down as they are across. Either way, it will not matter because at that time, your thought, your desire to be somewhere will give you the strength to simply be there. It'll be that effortless, that simple.

And just imagine, you need no sleep ever because your body is eternal like Christ's. Now, as we continue, I want you to notice the materials of the city, but I'm not going to mention it. If there's a jeweler present, it'd be very interesting for you to read verse 18 and following where you have all of the different many jewels and precious stones that are mentioned. And may I say that this may all be symbolic? You have to remember that John was seeing the holy city come down from heaven, and he had to put into words that he could understand and that we could understand.

He had to do that so that we would get a glimpse of what it was like. And so he writes all of those beautiful, beautiful arrangements. The only comment I'll make here is to remember that God is into beauty. God is into architecture. You look at the way in which this city is constructed and you realize that God is a builder. In fact, it says that Abraham looked forward to a city which has foundations whose builder and maker was God. So this is God's city built by him for his dwelling place and for his people. Let's take a moment and ask ourselves, what are the privileges of those who live within the city?

What are the privileges? Well, first of all, notice that there's going to be equality. There's going to be equality. Now, you'll notice it says that by its light, verse 24, the nations will walk and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. That's dependent upon an ancient custom.

When a king was submitting to his superior, he brought whatever he had and laid it at the feet of the superior king. So you're going to have kings that are going to bring their glory and whatever they had on earth and they're going to bring it and lay it at the feet of Jesus. It says that the nations also, it speaks about they will bring their glory and their honor into it. I imagine that even though the nations will be represented in heaven, there'll be no nationalism.

There'll be no feeling of superiority, obviously, because of sinlessness and because we're all there with a common purpose, namely the worship and the service of Jesus. Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer. What an opportunity we have as we study God's word to contemplate the future, a future that we know is coming that is going to change everything and make all the trials that we experience here on earth look very small. I've written a book entitled The King is Coming.

In the book, I delineate 10 different events that you and I will actually be involved in in one way or another. We're making this resource available to you. And by the way, this is the second to last day that we're making it available for a gift of any amount. And I want to thank the many of you who support this ministry.

It's because of you, Running to Win is in 20 different countries of the world in three different languages. Thanks in advance for helping us. For a gift of any amount, as I've mentioned, this book can be yours. Here's what you do. Go to rtwoffer.com. That's rtwoffer.com.

Of course, rtwoffer is all one word. rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now I'm going to be giving you that phone number again because you're looking for that pencil and you want to write it down.

It's 1-888-218-9337. I tell you today with absolute confidence, The King is coming. We don't know exactly when He's going to come, but we need to be ready at any time. And I believe that this resource will help you to be ready when He comes.

You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 714. In the New Jerusalem, the saints will experience total joy and freedom. They'll be in perfect health, serving God together, all in the blaze of no more night. Next time, a final look at the believer's eternal home and a clear picture of who gets to live there. Thanks for listening to our series on the return of Christ. For Dr. Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.