A (5:33)
Now I'm turning to the last of chapter 20 today and I put in here and begin reading verses 14 and 15. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. And if any were not found written in the book of Life, he was cast into the lake of fire. Now there are some things that need explanation there the word here for hell. And I read in the translation and death and hell were cast in the lake of fire. And I changed it in my translation and death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. Well that is an unfortunate translation in our Bible. Sheol in the Old Testament is not hell, nor is Hades in the New Testament. Actually this place, it's the place of the unseen dead. It's divided into two compartments. The Lord Jesus in the parable of the poor man and the rich man who died, he divided it into paradise and the place of torment. Paradise was emptied when Christ took with him at his ascension the Old Testament believers. And if you turn over to the fourth chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians and read, which I'll do, wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto man. Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things. Now he did do two things. He gave gifts to man down here, but he also took with him to heaven the Old Testament saints that had died. That is the place called paradise. But the place of torment will deliver up the loss for judgment. At the great white throne which we saw last time, all who stand at this judgment are lost. And we are told that they are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. We are also told the Lord called it outer darkness. Now we believe that that is is symbolic of something worse than literal fire and outer darkness. I believe that it's much worse than that. It is eternal separation from God. For death means separation. Now death, the great final enemy of man, is finally removed from the scene and no longer will it be said. In Adam all die. And death is personified in this case because it's man's great enemy. The Old Testament said that Hosea 13:14. I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I'll redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plagues. O grave, I'll be thy destruction. Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes. And that's in Hosea 13:14. Then Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:26 said, the last enemy that shall be destroyed is dead. And then in verse 55, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? In other words, Hades is the prison of lost souls, is likewise cast into the lake of fire. Why? Well, the lost are no longer in Hades, but are in the lake of fire. So this is where Satan, the wild beasts and the false prophet and their minions were consigned. Now, let's face up to it. If man will not accept the life of God, he must accept the only other alternative. God never created man to be put in this place, but there's no other place for him. Eternal association with Satan. For that was the purpose of. Of the creation of hell itself. And I take it it's a place where God never goes. He stays away. And it means to be separated from God. And the second death means eternal and absolute separation from God. Now, very candidly, I'm very happy to turn the page and come to the 21st chapter, the book of Revelation, because at a time like this, we need to see a very wonderful picture, and there's a wonderful one coming up before us. Eternity is unveiled here in chapter 21. A new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. A new era and the eternal abode of the Lamb's bride. And we will be then new creations in Christ Jesus without the old nature that manifests itself so much today. Now we have the entrance here into eternity. And eternity is unveiled before us. And we have now the new heaven, the new earth, and the new Jerusalem here in verses 1 and 2. Now, if I may adopt a popular aphorism of the day, it can truly be said that this chapter is out of this world, and it certainly is. It hasn't anything in the world to do with the earth except the first part of it. And we do see the eternal abode of the church. What really is heaven? There's so much today that is just sticky stuff and sentimental stuff. It's quite weepy. When we talk about heaven. Heaven is a place, a very definite place. You'll have an address there. A name is going to be put on you when you wander around through eternity into outer space, because you might get lost. Some angels have to bring you home and you'll have a home now, as the long vista of eternity is before us in this chapter, we've moved not only from time to eternity, but to a new creation, a new heaven, a new earth, a new Jerusalem greet us. And the redeemed have previously received glorified bodies like Christ. All things have become new. And a new universe suggests new methods and approaches to life. New laws will regulate the new universe. The entire lifestyle will change. And here are some of the changes that are suggested by these next two chapters. And I've listed here six of them. Number one, there will be the total absence of sin and temptation and testing in the new creation. This in itself makes a radical difference. And then the second, the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven does not mean another satellite for the earth, but rather the Earth. And all of the new creation, with all of the galactic systems, will revolve about the New Jerusalem because it's the dwelling place of God and of Christ. And then the third radical change, the law of gravity as we know it, will be radically revised. There will be traffic between the New Jerusalem and the Earth. Now, I do not think the earth dwellers, those saved in the Old Testament and in the Great Tribulation period and in the millennial period, are going to be able to leave this earth. But the Church has already left the Earth. And its dwelling place is the New Jerusalem. And I believe that we will have entirely different bodies and the law of gravity will not affect us. That is the law of gravity of this Earth or any other planet. Now the fourth great change. There will be no sun to give light, for God Himself will supply it directly to the universe. There will be the absence, therefore, of night. And there is no night there, because we just won't need that time to rest because we've got new bodies. I'm looking forward to it, by the way. Now, the fifth, There will be no longer any sea on the Earth. The sea occupies most of the Earth's surface today. Approximately 3/4 of the total surface is water. Now, this denotes a revolution in life upon the Earth. Just think of the parking space you're going to be able to have. And there will be no fish to eat. And apparently man will be a vegetarian even in the millennium and in eternity, as he was in the Garden of Eden. Fruit is the only diet of the eternal man. And you get that, by the way, when you turn over to the 22nd chapter of Revelation and we'll be picking that up. It says, in the midst of the street of it on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare 12 manner of fruits. Well, I'll not go into that now. But the point is, man's diet apparently is going to change. Then the sixth is the presence of Christ and God together with the throne of God made visible, and it ushers in a new day for man and the new creation. Now, let me come to the text itself. And we have here in the first two verses, a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. He says, and 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. This is quite interesting. John says, I saw. That's the oft repeated statement of John to remind us that he was a spectator to all of these scenes. In other words, he's a witness to the panoramic final scene which ushers an eternity here. That's very important. Now, the scripture clearly teaches that this present order of creation is to pass away in order to make room for a new heaven and a new earth. The Lord Jesus Christ himself said, heaven and earth shall pass away. The old creation was made for the first Adam, and the last Adam has a new creation for his new creatures. Isaiah said, for behold, I create new heavens and a new and the former shall be remembered nor come to mind. And again in 66:22. For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed in your name remain. Now God had promised Abraham a land forever, and David a throne forever. And Daniel prophesied, of a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. The new earth will see the total fulfillment of these prophecies. And listen to Hebrews 11 here in the faith of the Old Testament Worthies, verse 13. These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. And they were persuaded of them, and embraced them and confessed that there were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country. That is a habit heavenly. Heavenly doesn't mean they're going to heaven. It means heavens coming to this earth. And that's what we mean in the Lord's Prayer. Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, well, it's coming. Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city. Now again in second Peter 3:13. Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Now Peter has something to say about that in the third chapter, verse seven. But the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment, perdition of ungodly man. Verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Now, the chief characteristic of the new earth, as we've suggested, is the absence of the sea. Now this would automatically change the climate, the atmosphere and living conditions. It's impossible for the human mind to comprehend the great transformations which will take place in a new creation. The sea in the past has been a barrier and also a border for mankind, which in some cases it's been good and in others bad. Also, the sea was an instrument of judgment at the time of the flood. However, by the disappearance of the sea, the. The population of the earth can be doubled again and again because of the increase of the land surface. Now, in verse two, I read and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for a husband. Now we come to the part that should interest us. This is where we're going to live. When you talk about going to heaven, what do you think about? It's to most people just the beautiful isle of somewhere. Well, it's a definite place. It's a city called the New Jerusalem. It's a planet within itself. And we're going to see that as we get into this section. This is a great section. And very candidly, very little is said in scripture about heaven, but here it is. And that's the reason this ought to be important to us. You like to spend Christmas in heaven? It'll be better in Southern California. I know that. He says, I saw the Holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride. Now, I can't think of a lovelier description of this than that a bride made ready as a bride. This New Jerusalem shouldn't be identified, by the way, with the Old Jerusalem, the earthly Jerusalem down here. Let me come back to this. I say, I Can't think of a lovelier figure. And the reason is it's been my privilege in a long pastorate to have married several hundred couples that have stood before me. And I've made this statement many times. I have never seen an ugly bride. They're always lovely at the wedding. First thing that happens is that after they get through the solos, there comes the wedding march and here comes the preacher. I walk out from the side, and then there comes the best man and the bridegroom. And nobody pays any attention to him except his mama. She's sitting down and she smiles at him. She thinks he's wonderful, but nobody else looks at him. But in a minute he here comes the bride to be. And I tell you, everybody stands up and looks at her. And I've never yet seen an ugly bride. My wife, when I used to return from a wedding that she didn't attend, she'd always ask me the question, was the bride beautiful? And I'd always say, yes, never seen an ugly one. Don't think I'm just a doting old man when I say that. I have seen some of these brides before they got married, and I wondered whether they were going to be able to make it. And then I've seen them after the wedding, and I tell you, I wondered if it was the same girl who came down the aisle. But you know, God gives to them at that time a radiance and a beauty. And to me, that's a thrilling moment when you look down the aisle, and especially for the bridegroom, and see the one that you're going to make your own, she's yours. What a picture. And as I say, I never seen an ugly one. Yet God seems for that moment to just transform every girl into just a lovely bride at that time. And I think the reason he does it is because the New Jerusalem where we're going to live is like a bride adorned for her husband. What a picture that we have here. May I say that this is the first time we get a glimpse of it. I think it's been around. The Lord Jesus said he was going 1900 years ago to prepare a place for you. And he's been preparing this home for his bride, the church. And it's a thing of beauty. We're going to see it in this chapter, he gives the description of it. We're going to have a very happy home holiday. We're not thinking of Bethlehem, we're thinking of the New Jerusalem, the place toward which the church is moving today. We're pilgrims and strangers down here. Now we got a permanent home over there until next time. May God richly bless you, my beloved. Foreign
