The Glory of The New Jerusalem

Amen. Please turn with me in your Bible here this morning. I want to go to Hebrews, sorry, Revelation chapter 21.

I'm going to quote from Hebrews 11, but we're going to read from Revelation chapter 21. On Wednesday night after the school of Christ, after our water baptism messages, we have returned again just briefly to finish off our series on foundations. And can I say just for those who are visiting with us for the first time this morning, you're very welcome.

Pray the Lord blesses you, encourages you through the word of God and fellowship. At the end of the service, you're welcome. For 10 years, we've eaten together as a church, as a fellowship.

That's our custom. You're more than welcome to stay, fellowship, eat, get a tea, get a coffee, eat with us. We would love you to do that.

Don't be in a rush to leave us. But we're just finishing this series on foundations and I felt it was unfinished and I want to come back. And so this morning, this is part 19.

We've done part 18 on Wednesday night, but it's more of a mini series to finish off this series. So you can either call this part two, or you can call it part 19, whatever you want to do. But on Wednesday night, I began just a few messages that we're going to continue again next week.

And this is a searching for a city with foundations, searching for a city with foundations. And that's what we dealt with there on Wednesday night. But my message here this morning, the glory of the new Jerusalem, reading from Revelation chapter 21 and verse one.

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. Notice that no more sea.

And I, John, saw the holy city, 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 they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there should be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, right for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, it is done.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son.

And the fearful and the unbelieving and the abominable and the murderers and the whoremongers and the sorcerers and the idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which held the seven vials full of the seven last plagues and talked with me saying, come, Heather, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God.

And her light was like unto a stone, most precious, even like a Jasper stone, clear as crystal and had a wall great and high and had 12 gates. And at the gates, 12 angels and names written thereon, which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. 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 12 foundations and then the names of the 12 apostles of the lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall thereof. And the city lies four square and the length is as the breadth.

And he measured the city with the reed 12,000 furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof 140 and four cubits according to the measure of a man, that is of the angel.

And the building of the wall of it was of Jasper and of the city was pure gold like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation stone was Jasper, the second Sapphire, the third Caledoni, the fourth Emerald, the fifth Sarnox, the sixth Sardis, the seventh Crystallite, the eighth Beryl, the ninth Topaz, the 10th Chrysophrasis, the 11th Jacinthe, the 12th Anamnest.

And the 12 gates were 12 pearls. Every several gates was a one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold as it were transparent glass.

And I saw no temple there for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it for the glory of God did lighten it and the Lamb of the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it.

And the kings of the earth to bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Amen. Let's pray together here this morning as we come to the word of God together. Father, we love you, O God.

We bow our heads and our hearts. Lord God, when we consider that you've revealed in your book things to come, things that are prophesied, things that are future, things that are promised unto us through the precious blood of the Lamb, Lord God, that there's a Lamb's book of life. And there's a book in which you have written the names of all of your elect, all of your chosen ones, all of those that have repented and turned from sin, those that are fleeing actively the wrath of God in this world and are running to Jesus Christ for salvation and forgiveness.

Lord God, we thank you, O God, for the Lamb's book of life. We rejoice in that. We're not rejoicing in miracles.

We're not rejoicing in casting out demons and that demons are subject onto us in Jesus' name. But Lord God, we are here rejoicing that our names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Lord God, that you've literally written our names in a book in heaven, an eternal book, an everlasting book.

And Lord God, only by way of the blood of Jesus. Lord God, we've been made citizens of the new Jerusalem. Lord God, we have been made members.

Lord God, we have become... Lord God, we have gained a passport, an access, O God, into one of the most remarkable cities that has ever been named or mentioned in the entirety of world history. And Lord God, it is yet to come and descend from heaven itself. Father, I pray that you'd show us the foundations of this eternal future city.

Lord God, that you'd enliven us this morning. Lord God, that you'd sharpen our vision amidst trials and temptations. Lord God, amidst troubles and oppositions.

And Lord God, amidst... Lord God, all manners of feelings and emotions. That even sitting here this morning, we are going to catch a vision of a city. Lord God, that we'd be inspired, O God, to look for a city, to embrace the vision, the promise, the prophecy of a common city that we are going to inherit in Jesus' mighty name.

Lord God, awaken us this day in Jesus' name. Amen. It says in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 9, and we dealt with this on Wednesday evening, concerning Abraham in the Old Testament and of the faith that was in his heart.

By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise. In other words, he was in the land of Israel, the land of the Canaanites, the land that God promised by covenant to his seed, his children, children that he had not yet had. He was actually told, your children, your seed will be more than the stars of heaven and more than the sand on the seashore.

Yet this man could not have children. Neither could his wife, Sarah, have children. And here he is in the land of Israel, in the land of Canaan, the land promised to him by a holy covenant.

And yet it says he was a sojourner. It goes on to say that as in a strange land, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise, all of them had a promise not yet fulfilled. In fact, promises were made to them by God that would never be fulfilled in their lifetime.

They wouldn't see the things that God's going to do with their children and their children's children unto the fourth generation and the 10th generation. They would never see it. They would never behold it.

They would never actually be encouraged. They had the promise, but not the possession of it. If you only live for what you possess now, what you see, what you get, what you experience, what you enjoy now, you're going to be a very poor Christian.

If you live for now, for what you get, for your blessings, for your inheritance now, you will be a very poor Christian. A real Christian, a man, a woman of faith actually lives outside the realm of time and even their own lifetime. A real saint of God isn't bound by their eyes or their ears or their possessions or what they walk in within their lifetime.

No, they actually ascend far above this earth. They actually exceed time itself and enter into eternity. And that's what Abraham done.

We are told that by faith, it was an act of faith to live in tents with Isaac and with Jacob, the children, his grandchildren. He's living in a tent. He is the promise to possess the entire nation, the entire land.

There's prophecies of God's kingdom coming. There are visions that he was given standing on the mount and saying, look to the north, look to the south, look to the west, look to the east. Do you see all this land? It's given to you by a covenant.

Remember when Lot separated from him? As soon as Lot separated, God took him to a mountain and showed him all this and said, all of this is yours. I'm making a covenant. Your children are going to have this land.

They are going to possess this. They are going to live here. And yet here you have a man rich in faith before God, yet owning nothing of this world's goods.

He moved from place to place to place and only owned one bit of land, which is where he buried his wife. Why would a man do this? Why would a man be a stranger in this world? Why does a man lose an interest in what Lot and his wife were preoccupied with? How is it that this man wasn't interested in this generation, the cities of this world, the wealth of this world, the possessions of this world, or even having a house stable in one place to raise his family? How could it be that a man was so envisioned that he lived in a tent, kept moving, kept seeking the will of God, would go anywhere that God said, and had no desire to follow the example of Lot? What stopped Abraham from becoming a Lot that set his tent towards Sodom and Gomorrah, then actually moved into Sodom and Gomorrah, then bought a house in Sodom and Gomorrah, then lost his own children in the fire and the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, then lost his wife because she looked back because she had a house in that city? How is it that Abraham is different than Lot? You know, it's a faith. It's a thing called faith.

But faith in what? Faith in what? You see, real faith has a vision. Real faith looks at the invisible, not the here and now. If you don't have a faith that can see the future and see the invisible and see what God actually says, you're going to be a poor Christian.

You'll make poor decisions. How you live your life is impacted with what you see, what your vision is. A vision impacts a man, a woman.

It'll affect every decision. I'll tell you who you are by the decisions you make, where you go, what you do, how faithful you are, how you're committed, what you do with your money, your work life, your family life, your church life. I know who you are by what you do.

I don't mean just who you are. I mean, I know how you look at eternity. I know what sort of faith you have.

I know how you view the scriptures. I know how you view God by everything that you do here and now because real faith affects you now. A real vision of the world to come affects you now.

If your life isn't being affected now, you've got no vision of that world to come. Depending, you're very quiet here this morning. Respond to me just a little here, saints of God.

You can say amen or praise the Lord. Just anything. Saints, we are on a journey.

Real faith is a dynamic thing. And when your faith begins to apprehend things to come, things of an unseen world, it is utterly remarkable. Look what affected Abraham in his faith sin.

He lived by faith in a tent. He had sand under his feet. He had 10 pegs.

He pulled up, put down. He moved again, built a new altar of prayer. He never knew half of his life where he was going.

And yet he resided on a land that did not belong to him. Saints of God, it says in Hebrews 11 verse 10, for he looked for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. All through those years, Abraham is looking for a city.

This is a man with faith in his heart. This is a man with a vision. He's looking for a city that he'll never possess in this lifetime.

He has never seen it, never touched it. He has never been there. And yet his faith has caught a vision of a city that is yet to come.

He is looking for a city. The word looking means to embrace something, to readily accept it into your heart. This message of a city that's yet to come, Abraham by faith received it in his heart and it impacted how he lived, where he went, what he'd done, who he interacted with, how he thought about life, how he made decisions, how he interacted with the people of the nation, all of this.

He's looking for a city, or in the Greek, it means more clearly the city, not just a city or some city. It means the city for he looked for the city which had foundation. He was looking for a certain city, a certain kind of city.

It had to be a city that had solid foundation. That's so, so important. It had to have a foundation that was eternal, a foundation that was of God, a foundation that was beyond life, a foundation that outlived this measly world that we're surrounded by.

This city was the object of Abraham's expectations. It was the object of all of his journeys, all of his labors. Abraham, why do you keep moving? Why do you keep going? Why do you keep believing? Because I'm looking for a city.

I am waiting for a city. Oh, I'm not just waiting for a bit of land or God to bless me or God to answer my prayer. Oh no, I'm actually looking, waiting, expecting.

I'm actually growing old, waiting for a city. I'm actually increasing in years. Oh, you may think I'm heading to a grave.

No, I'm heading to a city. I'm looking for a city. It says in Romans 4 and 12, concerning us born again Christians who walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, those who do most for and in the world are those that think least of it.

Listen to me. I'm talking about a type of Christian who walk in the footsteps of our father Abraham. We match his steps.

We have his vision. A faith grips a hold of us that actually makes us live loosely in this world. We see everything in this world in the perspective of eternity, not in comparing with others, not in getting one up, not in what we gathered ourselves.

I have caught a vision of a city, an eternal city. I'm going to a city. And I want to tell you, I have searched the book of God and I've searched church history.

Those that had a vision of this city done most for God in the world. And those who do most hold onto this life very, very lightly. I mean, they exceed all others.

Those that grip onto a house, grip onto a job, grip onto a marriage, a relationship, those who grip onto the things of this life actually almost destroy those things. They become very narrowed. Show me a man who loves God.

I'll show you a man loving his wife. Show me a man or a woman that exceedingly loves God and puts him first. I'll see your house blessed of God on this earth.

Your tent is going to be filled with the blessings of God. See, I'm telling you, you don't become less useful in the world because you're heavily minded. From a child, I heard that statement, that those that are, about those being so heavily minded, they're of no earthly good or use.

That's a false statement. Do you know those who seem to be so hyper-spiritual, they're of no earthly use, are useless, okay? But they're not spiritual. Don't tell me they're spiritual.

Real spiritual men and women become very useful in the house of God right here, right now, in practical ways. Show me the most practical people in the church. I'll show you someone with a heavenly, eternal vision.

Show me someone that'll clean up after you. I'll show you someone with a spiritual vision. Again, it says in Hebrews 13, 14, for here have we no continuing city.

What a remarkable thing to the saints of God. We have here, now, in Ireland, in your lifetime, no continuing city. Nothing continues.

There's no city, no government, no structure, no provision, no entertainment, nothing of all of the structure of a city. Why do people live in cities rather than the countryside? You've got everything on your doorstep, everything provided. The city council takes care of all the sewerage, all the water.

Where I am, they had to dig a well. I've got my own personal well, because the government isn't providing it from the mainstream. When you're out there, you've got to dig up that ground.

You've got to bring someone in. But here, you've got so much provided. But do you know what? All of this is feeding away.

But listen to what it says. But we seek one to come. The real Christian is seeking for a city to come.

Have you been seeking for a city? Are you seeking for a city? Are you only thinking about God's will in this lifetime? My marriage, my work, my job, my ministry? Is that as far as the will of God and the vision of God goes in your life? Don't you see further than that? Don't you realize that that's like the promises to Abraham about the land of Canaan? Do you realize it's only fleeting, only momentary? Do you realize that God's will for your life in this lifetime is only momentarily here? It is important. There are rewards. You are doing God's will.

You are building character. But it's not about this saints of God. It's about a city that is to come.

Nothing here is going to remain. Your house isn't. You ladies are on a fight, even when you're a teenager, against the wrinkles, against hair color, against some of you try to pretend all that isn't coming in.

It is right on your heels. It is chasing you. You are fighting a tooth and nail and maybe your tooth as well.

All of this is involved with it. Saints of God, nothing abides here because everything is perishing away. But this real Christian is seeking for a city.

Like Abraham, he is a faith that lifts him up and he catches a vision of another city, of another dwelling place. And so we come to Revelation 21. This is a bit of an introduction to Revelation 21, and we'll deal with it more again.

But I've got two points here I want to simply deal with you. Let's read verse 14. Revelation 21 and verse 14.

The wall of the city had 12 foundations and in them the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. See, we're finishing off this series on foundations. We've dealt with personal foundations.

Is your foundation false? The man who built his house upon sand. When the storm came, it fell. That's someone who had an outward Christian profession.

Oh, I'm a Christian. I'm saved. I'm going to heaven.

I believe in God. But when the storms come, they have no foundation. They're not really a Christian.

Their entire house crumbles. For many, it's going to be in the day of God's judgment. They think they're a Christian.

He says, who are you? I don't know you. I've never known you. Depart from me, you worker of iniquity.

You love sin. You love self. You love entertainment.

You don't love me. You don't love my word. You don't love righteousness.

You don't love holiness. You don't love the ways of God. You don't even pray.

You have no spiritual appetite at all. Depart from me. I never at any time or in any way ever knew you.

Oh, but Lord, we used to sit in the Lord's table. We used to sit and enjoy the preaching and teaching. I never knew you.

Depart from me. No mercy, no grace, no second chance, no compassion. The doors closed eternally.

Saints, it is a remarkable thing when we begin to look at this. Foundations are very important. Churches all over the world, mega churches, mega ministries, mega movements.

Look at the foundations. Are they built on the Lord Jesus Christ? For some, it's entertainment. For some, they worship, worship.

For other, it's financial gain. They build the church, the ministry, the preaching on something that isn't Christ. Oh, how dangerous.

When we go to the Bible, we've already seen in this entire series, Israel in the Old Testament in Isaiah. Israel, the real spiritual Israel, was grounded with real foundations. When you come to the New Testament, the real church has foundations, apostolic, solid, sound, healthy foundations.

But as we close, there is a city, the city Abraham was looking for. He said, it's got to have foundations. It's got to have certain kinds of foundations, not just a city.

I want a city with foundations. Does it have foundations that can stand eternity, stand wrath, stand judgment, that's going to prevail into all eternity? I can't be caught up in a pipe dream. I can't stake my entire life on some maybe or hope so.

Saints of God, you need to realize either this is real or it's not. If it's real, sell everything and follow Christ. See if it's not real, go get drunk, go live up, go enjoy sex, go buy, go make money, go live your life.

If this is all there is, go enjoy it. Enjoy it to the full. I would not want to waste my time in here if this isn't real.

But you know what? If this is real, I want to know it. I want to catch a heavenly vision. I want to open panoramic vision of what is to come.

You may be given 70 years here, maybe a lot less, maybe a little more than that. But you know what? That's going to go by. It's fleeting, it's passing, it's nothing.

Then what? Where are you going to spend eternity? What are you preparing for now? Are you actually daily pursuing after this city? Or is this city a myth, a mirage, some comforting story like Santa Claus? Saints of God, we need to have a reality. And you know what? It says that there is a city called the New Jerusalem and it has 12 foundations. Saints, there is a city that Abraham was looking for.

It had to have foundations. It had to be built by God, designed by God, created by God, brought forth by God. There's a city I want to belong to.

I'm not really interested in Limerick City or Dublin or London or Paris or Berlin or New York or the cities of the world unless it's to go evangelize souls. That's my interest in the cities of the world. I'm interested that men need Jesus Christ.

That's my burden. But saints, I'm very interested in this city. I'm staking my eternity on this city.

I've invested in this city. I have sent ahead my rewards into this city. If this city doesn't exist, I've lost an awful lot in this life.

Because you know what? I'm not living for today. I'm not just living for what I get now. I'm living for an eternal world that man has never seen.

That your hand can't touch here this morning. That your naked eye cannot see. And it has it here.

It is a city with foundation. Give me that city. Give me a city that's indestructible.

Why is it? God laid the foundations. The foundations of that city are laid by God. Do you realize the walls, the gates, the function, the houses in a city depend on the foundations? The wrong foundations will be eternally detrimental in this.

So I've got two points here. I won't say briefly, but I'll try to be. Number one, and this is my first point, the glory of the city.

The glory of the city. It says repeatedly in this chapter that the glory of God is in this city. This is the only city that's really had the glory of God.

And any city that's had a portion of God's glory, it's been temporary. It's been restricted. Sometimes in revival, great glory from God has come to cities in this world.

It really has. I mean, God's glory came down, manifest in powerful ways. What is God's glory? It is the knowledge of God.

It's his character. It's who he is. When we read about the glory of God, it's not a smoke machine.

It's not like Bethel over there in Reading, America, where their machines, their air conditioning seem to go wrong and they're pumping out what seems like mist or dust or whatever. That's a delusion. That is not glory.

Glory is not a cloud. If that's all you see of the glory of God, some cloud manifest and you're ripe for deception. Do you know what the glory of God is? It is the knowledge of God.

Remember when God passed by Moses and he put him, oh, that I might know you. Show yourself. I want to know you.

I want this intimacy. I want a personal, intimate connection. I want to see your glory.

Okay, I'll show you my glory. He put him in the cleft of the rock. That's Christ.

Then it says he passed by. And as he passed by, only seen the rear end of God. And as he passed by, he said, I am the Lord God almighty, merciful, gracious, forgiven.

All of these things are much more. He's revealing his character. What's the glory of God? He reveals his character.

Remember what the Bible says? It says a day is coming in the millennium when the glory of God is going to cover the earth. The glory of God. And what's it going to be like? It's going to be as the waters cover the sea.

Saturation. How does the waters cover the sea? It saturates everything. So God is saying his glory is his knowledge.

It's who he is. It's his character. Here is a city.

Do you know what it has? The glory of God. It is filled. It is manifest, overflowing with the knowledge of God.

It is a city filled with the character and the manifest presence of who God is. Let's look at this city for a moment in verse two. Revelation 21 verse two.

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The city is literal, not typical, not symbolic. The bride is symbolic.

Notice what it says. A city coming down. It's called the new Jerusalem.

It comes from heaven. It's not here now. The church is here now.

But a day is coming where this city comes from Abraham through. They're searching for a city. This is the city.

And there's a day when it comes down from God out of heaven. It's his creation. He is the builder of this city.

It's not of this world. But notice this city. What is it like? Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The bride is symbolic. The bride is not literal. It's not a literal one bride.

The church, the people of God, Israel and the church unified like a bride. But the city is like a bride. The city is a literal city.

The city is real. It's literal. It's prophetic.

It is future. In the book of Revelation, two other cities are mentioned. Jerusalem, that city where Christ was crucified, it is mentioned.

And when it's mentioned, it's mentioned in a bad way as a wicked city, as a city that's gone wrong. It crucified the Lord. So we have the city of Jerusalem mentioned.

It's a literal city. We also have the city of Babylon mentioned. That's an end day city that's going to arise on the world scene.

Babylon is going to get rebuilt and be the seat of Antichrist, the headquarters of a world government. And we read about what happens to it in Revelation chapter 18. But this is a third city.

At the end of time, it's going to come down from heaven. It won't be Antichrist city. Neither will it be the natural, physical city of Jerusalem.

But this city is called the new Jerusalem. It is physical. It is substantial.

It is filled with the glory of God. What is the bride of Christ? It is this city. If you imagine just a woman standing there, you'd be very wrong.

Saints of God, it's you ladies that have a problem with this more than the men. All through the years, Candace would say, with tears in her eyes, please tell me we're going to be married in heaven. I always, as a sound biblical scholar, had to say no.

She almost persuaded me at times, and I wanted to tell her otherwise. Do you realize there's only going to be one marriage in heaven? One bride in heaven? It's not that there's no marriage in heaven or in the year to come. It's not that marriage is done away with.

It's not. It's not that we won't be married. That isn't true.

Those that are redeemed by the blood, we're all going to be married. There's going to be one marriage born with the Lamb of God. Saints, there's going to be one marriage.

We are all going to be caught up in this marriage. And if you have a good marriage, that's only a very, very vague symbol of the real. If you have a good marriage, it's pointing towards the marriage, the singular marriage.

We, the city of God, the Jerusalem of God, we're going to be a part of the city. We are the bride of Christ. Saints of God, that's why other marriages have to be set aside in order that this one singular marriage, the embodiment and the fullness of the best of every spiritual marriage, will take center stage.

It is a remarkable thing. When we come to Revelation 21 and 22, 15 times this city is mentioned. The word city.

You see, God's people at the end of the age are defined as a city. Eternally, we are a city. You wonder, what's it going to look like? What are we going to be like in eternity? We're not just up in heaven floating around.

In fact, we don't go to heaven eternally. You know, some people, Christians, they have the idea we go to heaven and spend eternity in heaven. That couldn't be further from what the Bible teaches.

It never teaches that. What Revelation 21 teaches is God's going to make a new heaven on earth. The term heaven there isn't talking about God's heaven.

It's talking about the atmospheric heaven around this earth. There's three heavens. The first heaven is the earth's atmosphere.

The second one is the entire universe. The third is paradise. Today, it's paradise.

It's God's heaven. Do you want me to prove it? Paul says he was caught up in a vision. He didn't know if he was in the body or out of the body.

He said he was caught up to the third heaven. That's where he is. Then he calls it paradise.

He said, there's things that I saw, not like all these contemporary people floating through charismatic circles. He said, I wasn't even allowed to share the things that I saw and I heard they were unutterable. They come back today and write a book.

These little children, five years old, I've been to heaven. I played with Jesus and the river, all of this foolishness. One of those big American preachers, he said, Jesus had ginger hair, all this sort of stuff.

It gets crazy. Why don't we stick with Scripture? Why don't we come back to the Word of God? Friends, we need a vision. Abraham caught a vision of this city.

It's a remarkable city. It's an eternal city and it's going to come down. Where is the new Jerusalem? What is the new Jerusalem? It's God's people dwelling with him unitedly and eternally forevermore without change.

That's what the new Jerusalem is. And look at it. It says this city is as a bride.

It will exist during the millennium, but not manifest fully on the earth. This new Jerusalem is going to be at the center of a new heaven and a new earth. A new earth is going to be created.

And this is going to be the capital, the only city, the dominant city that reigns upon the earth. It says in Revelation 19 and seven, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the lamb has come. Notice when it is at the end of the tribulation, not before a nocturne, the lamb has come and his wife has made herself ready.

Do you see the bride has made herself ready? There is a preparation. And to her was granted what we heard at the Lord's table, that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And he said unto me, right, blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb.

And he sayeth unto me, these are the sayings of God. Are you preparing yourself for that marriage? What does it mean to prepare yourself for the marriage feast of the lamb? What does it mean to prepare yourself as the bride of Christ? You're getting ready for a city. You're getting ready for a permanent dwelling place that isn't going to move.

It is a remarkable city. It says in Revelation 21 and 10, and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain. And he showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God.

Now, this city is defined. What is a city? A city has buildings, it has streets, it has gates, it has foundations, it has measurements. Let me give you the measurement of the city before we look at the foundation.

And we're going to deal a lot with the foundation. We want to understand the foundation of this city because I'm going to be a part of this. Abraham was looking for it.

So was Paul. So was Peter. So was John.

These are the inhabitants and citizens of this city. What does the city look like? Let me give you the measurements of this city in verse 15. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city.

Notice he's got a golden measuring reed. He's got an instrument, a device in his hand that can measure that city. This is envisioned.

This is an angel is going to actually measure the city and give him the information. And the gates thereof and the wall thereof, he's going to measure everything. And the city lies four square.

In other words, it's the same height, length, and breadth. It's like a cube, something that's going to be like a pyramid. I still think it's going to be like a square, a cube.

All of the measurements are exactly the same. And the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, 12,000 furlongs.

So we've got the measurement, 12,000 furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. So its length is the same as its height, the same as its breadth, the exact same measurement.

And we're given the measurement. What is the measurement? It's the equivalent of 1,400 miles or 2,200 kilometers. Do you know what that distance that is? That is like going from Dublin city in Ireland all the way to Warsaw in Poland.

And that's only one line of this city, only one length. And that's the distance. Just getting a plane and fly, that's three hours flight, at least I'm sure, maybe three and a half hours flight.

You're going to fly that distance on a plane and you've just gone one length of that city if these measurements are correct. Do you know what that makes it? Bigger than Australia, bigger than the United States, maybe slightly smaller than India. This is someone prophesying in the first century with a small city of Jerusalem.

That's what's before them. The temple, the most remarkable temple in the entire world was in Jerusalem. And here's a prophet of God lifted up in spirit and he can see the new Jerusalem.

This is a ginormous city. Oh, but here you're not even getting this shit. We're not just saying it's that in length and breadth, it's that in height.

One writer, one scholar writing about this, this is what he said. He said, going up the Wise with all of this length, with this same height of 1,400 miles directly going up, says if you do that, if you had a high ceiling of 12 feet and every floor was going to be 12 feet, do you know how many floors in this building there would be? About 600,000 floors in the new Jerusalem. Do you realize how many people, our world population is 8 billion people today.

If we were to put billions of people in the new Jerusalem, do you realize each of them would have miles of space each in the new Jerusalem, not a little corner, not packed in. In this city, they'll have miles individually, every single individual. And I'm only giving you some rough figures here, but I want to see, I want you to see the glory of the city.

It's immense city. Saints of God, we are told remarkable things. We're told it's got four walls.

It's got 12 gates, an angel stands at each gate. Do you remember how high the wall is? 1,400 miles. What are the gates? It says in verse 21, the 12 gates were 12 pearls and every gate was a one pearl.

So you've got three gates on each side of the city. This is immense. This is the heavens and the new earth and new earth without ocean.

That's how you know the world and prophecy when it's the millennium and when it's the new earth. And that's how you tell the difference when you read Isaiah prophecies about God's glory covering the earth and says, but the oceans from ocean to ocean, oh, that's the millennium. But in the new heaven, new earth, there's no ocean.

Some of yous are disappointed about that, but you know why? What is the ocean? It is a massive factory for cleansing the planet. We would have a putrid planet. Don't believe all they're telling you.

This ocean is constantly cleaning the planet. It's imperfect, but it does a pretty good job. God's going to do away with that because there's no uncleanness in the new earth.

Do you realize that each of the gates have a pearl that has to stretch right up into the heavens? This is a massive pearl. Remember where pearls come from? Out of seashells. They're formed through pain and agony.

Isn't it amazing each gate is a pearl? It's a thing of agony and travail that symbolizes the very gates of this city. Oh, I've got to move on. I want to stay with this city because it's a remarkable city.

This is the eternal city. It's an everlasting city. It is an immense city.

And you know what it says? All the glory of the nations pour in through these gates, and you go out of these 12 gates into all of the earth, and there's all of the nations. Oh, I thought nations were, that was all going to finish in heaven. All of our color, we're just going to have the same color and the same language.

And who told you that? Do you know what the Bible says? We're still nations in eternity. That means nations, color, diversity, height, appearance, language has all come from God himself. Since God has created the nations, they were never just meant to be merged.

There is beauty, there's distinction, there is culture. All nations are going to worship God as one people unitedly together. And it's going to be in this new Jerusalem.

It is going to be a remarkable. There is going to be everything you ever imagined. But let me go to my second point so we can finish.

Just told you it's an introduction. Number two, the names on the foundations. See, the foundations of this city are very important.

What sort of foundations? Who laid them? When were they laid? What kind of foundations are they? Who lays these foundations? Look at verse 14, on the wall of the city. Remember what I've just told you about this wall, going on four sides, but it's one wall. It's an immense wall.

It's a ginormous wall and it has these massive gateways and these pearls in the midst of them. It's all made of gold. Then there's all of these stones as well.

There's all of these different spectacular lights shining in the city. It's a glorious city. But saints, this is an imagination.

If you think this world is real, the offers of this world, the temptations of this world, if this is what you're living for, you're a very poor person. Do you know what? All the great men of the earth are trying to beat death. See, they all say, they laugh at us and say, there's no such thing as eternal life.

There's no such thing as resurrection. There's no such thing as a second coming of Jesus. They say all of these things, but do you know what they also say? They say, we are going to conquer death.

We are going to get the key of life. We are going to make ourselves live forever. This is what they believe.

All the experts in Google, all the intellectuals of our world, they've all gone this way. They're all going the way of computers, intelligence, technology, AI. They're going this way and they say, we are going to conquer death.

So they laugh at us, but they're on a mission. We are going to have a world government. We are going to have a world that's perfect.

We are going to conquer death. We're going to solve the health issue. We're going to solve every problem in the world.

We are going to do it, but they laugh at you and I, there's no such thing as resurrection. There's no such thing as eternal life, but all the great intelligent atheists of the world are pursuing it. They're trying to conquer death.

They're trying to attain onto something that they laugh at us for believing in. Remember how they laughed at us and said, what? You believe in one man, one woman, that all 8 billion of us came from one man and one woman? Are you serious? 6,000 years ago, are you serious? Now science has discovered amazingly, the Chinese, the Africans, even the Irish, the Americans, all of us come from one man, one woman. They haven't quite got there yet because now they say, but don't jump to conclusions.

Our Adam and Eve never met, probably never met each other, lived in the same place. There's science, so-called. You need to be very careful.

Since this second point, the names on the foundations, let's look at the foundations of this mega city, this eternal city, this indestructible city, this city where the glory of God is. Let's look at the foundations because I find it shocking and I find it radical. You may think this is beyond your wildest dreams.

This is unreal. This is beyond imagination, but let's look at the foundations for a moment. Foundations reveal things about the entire cities.

Foundations reveal the very ethos of the whole building. Look what it says in verse 14, and the wall of the city had 12 foundations. This city doesn't have just one foundation, it has 12.

The entire wall of the city has foundations. In other words, the wall could not exist. It rests upon something.

The entire city rests upon something. Twelve foundations hold up the entire city, and in them is the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Twelve is the number of government.

See in the gateways, you know what you have? You've got the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. So, in this city, you've got Israel and the church together. You can't go in and out of this city without seeing the unification of Israel in the Old Testament and the church in the New.

Some people say the bride of Christ is separate from Old Testament Israel. Really? Then why are the names of the twelve tribes written on the gateways when you go in and you go out? There's a unification of God's people. Abraham is in this city.

Abraham isn't going to be in another bride. There is only one bride of Christ in eternity. There's not those that are in the bride of Christ, and then others are some other bride.

The bride of Israel, the bride of God, the bride of Jehovah. That's rubbish. Abraham is in this city, and you know what it says? This city, it has these twelve immense foundation stones.

What's written on them? What's carved into each of these twelve stones? These are massive stones, and one massive stone has one name written on it. One singular individual name of one person is written on one of these twelve stones. This is the only city in eternity.

This is the only future city. There is no others, but look at one of these foundations. One man's name doesn't have Jesus' name, doesn't have God's name, doesn't have a scripture text.

It has a man's name written on that foundation stone. It's literally engraved. It is noted upon it.

It is visible for all to see. These foundations are marked with a name. What does name denote? Character, personality.

Would you put Peter's name on a stone? I know the Catholic Church do. They want Peter's name on the entire foundation of the church. That's a weak foundation.

But here in the New Jerusalem, Peter does have one of these stones. Peter's name is carved, engraved, not Jesus' name. Peter's name is engraved on one of these.

What does this mean? Why are their names carved? This is a city without weakness, without humanity, without sin, without evil, without flesh, without failure, without compromise, without indifference, without shallowness. None of these things are in this city. All that gets this city is what is birthed of God.

No flesh inherits the kingdom of God. Nothing of this natural man, nothing of natural thinking. Can I tell you, you're going to be in a state of perfection.

When you get to the New Jerusalem, you have nothing to hinder you. There's no more temptation. There's nothing more of that old Peter.

How was Peter? Always putting his foot in it. Peter, you're never going to put your foot in it again. Never once.

You either got it right or badly wrong. Some of you are wise enough to keep quiet. You've got a quieter temperament.

You never put your foot in it. But you never say, this is the Messiah. This is the Christ.

You never jump out of the boat and say, well, if that's Jesus, I'm going to walk on the water. Some of you are so safe, you'll never ever sink. You'll never fail.

You'll never come back with your tail between your legs. You know why? Because you never embark on doing anything. But that's fine.

You'll still make the New Jerusalem. The rest did. 10 of the 11 were in the boat.

They made it. They never got out of the boat. Do you see, there's a man's name on this stone.

Why would God put a man's name? You know why? The entire city is made up of men and women. Men and women with failures and shortcomings. Do you remember who the 12 apostles of the Lamb are? Are these dynamic, perfect leaders who never faltered or failed? No, sir.

They're absolutely not. Do you remember who they are? Some of them you don't even know. I guarantee most of you sitting in this room, to our shame and to my shame as a preacher, I would love to challenge you.

Can you write out the 12 names of the apostles? There were only 12. I wonder how many could. One of them is called Simon.

Who was he? He was a zealot. He was a political, religious zealot who hated the Romans. Jerusalem for the Jew.

Art with Rome. He was a radical nationalist who believed in zeal, consuming national zeal, at least until he met Jesus. But he was still called Simon the Zealot.

He's one of the 12. We know almost nothing about him, apart from that he was a religious, political, national zealot. Darn with Rome.

Do you know what? He became a disciple of Jesus Christ. His name is there on one of those stones. What about the 11 who fell asleep in the garden? Can you not pray for one hour? You wonder what sort of people did get to the city and have their names engraved on massive stones that absolutely mark out and define the city? You've got believers in the garden when Christ needed them to pray.

It was his hour of sorrow. Grief weighed upon him. He's about to be betrayed.

He's about to be crucified. The weight of men's sins weighed upon him. Please pray for me one hour.

Do you know what they do? They fall asleep. He took John. He took Peter closer.

Pray. He'd come back. Can you not pray one hour? Can you not pray one hour? What sort of men make it to this city? What sort of men would you engrave on the stones of an eternal city? Would you take a human name like Simon and Peter and John and Matthew? Matthew the tax collector, remember? All he had was other tax collector friends.

Why? Because everyone hated him. When he got born again, all I have is tax collector friends. No one else will come near me.

I'm working for the government. For whom? And I'm squeezing every penny out of the poor farmers and out of the poor people in the streets. Everyone hates me.

Brilliant. You'd make a good chosen apostle in the apostolic band. Let's go evangelize the world with a saved tax collector.

God chose these men. 11 of the 12 were from Galilee. They had an accent.

They didn't have a city tongue. They weren't educated in Jerusalem. They're in the sticks.

They've got a Scots accent or some Welsh brogue or something similar. Judas was the only one that didn't have a is not interesting. Do you remember Peter denied Jesus? Oh, brilliant.

What a testimony. I'm going to engrave your name on one of the stones of the new Jerusalem perpetually for all eternity. Can't change it.

It's going to be engraved there. Peter who denied him. I'm not diminishing the holiness of God or perfection walking with God.

I'm not doing that. I want you to see that this is real. This is genuine.

See, this isn't a man's book. This is God's book. In the Bible, there's four lists of 12 apostles.

We read about it in Matthew chapter 10, Mark chapter 3, Luke chapter 6, and again in Acts chapter 1. Four lists of 12 names. Peter always comes first on the list. Every single time.

The lists are very similar in order. They only change slightly. In the last list, Judas isn't there because he's been replaced by Matthias and he becomes the 12th.

Paul isn't the 12th apostle. Do you know why and how I know that? Because Paul speaks about the 12. After Judas, he speaks about the 12.

There are 12. Paul didn't replace anyone. Neither is he a 13th apostle of the Lamb.

Oh no, he's a resurrection apostle. There's a whole other separate bunch after the resurrection that get called to be apostles. But these are the 12 apostles of the Lamb who actually were there and saw the ministry.

Look what it's called here in Revelation 21, 14. 12 apostles of the Lamb. These men were chosen ones by the Lamb of God.

Sent ones, ambassadors. Who did they represent? The Lamb of God. When you see these names, you go, they ought not to be here.

Judas didn't make it. Can you imagine that your name should have been on one of those tombs eternally in heaven, in the presence of God and it's not there. Another man got your crown.

Another man got your throne. Another man got your stone. There's going to be a lot of tears when people step out of time.

Men who once walked with God. Women who once prayed. They got disillusioned, worn down.

They changed direction. You've done it too soon, I want to tell you. You went AWOL far too soon.

You're going to find there was a crown you should have had. It's sitting on someone else's head. You're going to find, well done, now good and faithful servant isn't spoken to you on that day.

Why? You actually changed directions. Life was so short, but you're not there in that city of God. Here you have 12 names engraved of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.

God very specifically chose these names. You know why? When you look at these names, you know what you think of? Redemption. You think of the call of God called away from fishing nets, from a table of the tax collector, from national political zealotism, every kind of sin, maybe drunkenness, immorality.

We don't know all the stories, but you know what? When you look at names written on these 12 stones, you think of the call of God. God went looking for these men. When we walk in and out of that city, we're going to be aware this entire city is a city of redemption.

It's made of gold. Look at the pearls. Look at the splendor of all the diamonds.

Look at the light and the majesty, the size, the eternity. Look at the population of this, the world's population of redeemed saints, the saved of every generation. Abraham's going to be there.

Paul's going to be there. Mary is going to be there. They're all going to be there in this city.

But when you look at these foundations, do you know what you realize? You realize this city is built on redemption, God redeeming sinners. He didn't have the names of those who never failed. Oh, look at them.

Read the gospels. Pride. Look at the pride.

I'm the greatest in the kingdom of God. I'm the greatest amongst the apostles. It was there.

There was arrogance. There was anger. Remember Samaria? Didn't receive the testimony of Christ.

John, young John, the apostle of love says, Master, will me and James call fire down and consume them. They didn't listen to us. It's like the guy preaching on the street, and I hope none of you's ever do this or have done this, and you're standing preaching, and some poor sinner walks past, begins to curse you, and you begin to draw down wrath upon him.

God's going to bring wrath on any sinner that rejects us. Don't do that. John done it.

James done it. Master, we'll call fire. Just say the word.

Me and James, we've got the faith. We'll call fire to come down. I'm telling you who's written on those stones, the laziness, the disobedience, the lack of faith, the lack of power.

Why can't your disciples cast the demon out? They're spitting on them. They're shaking them. They're commanded, and they're shouting.

It's not improved. They failed in every single area, even when Christ is there in the apostolic band. Peter said to Jesus in Matthew 19, 27, says, Behold, we have forsaken all and followed thee, and they did.

They forsook everything. They're like Abraham. We've got nothing down here.

Nothing means anything here. We've forsaken everything. Master, we followed you.

What about us? What shall we have therefore? And Jesus said, Unto him, verily I say unto you, that he which has followed me in the regeneration when the Son of Man comes. In other words, when he regenerates the entire earth and universe and makes a new heaven and a new earth. He says, The Son of Man shall sit in his glory on his throne.

Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones. Notice he's speaking of twelve men. Do you realize what Peter said? I've forsaken everything.

I've suffered. I've followed you. I got persecuted and ridiculed, and I missed out on a house or a job or a nice holiday.

What about us? I had to forsake people in order to follow you. What about us? Jesus said, You're going to sit in twelve thrones. When I make everything new, all you can see is this world.

Can't you see the world to come? What about me? Where's my reward here? He says, There's a day coming. You twelve are going to sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Can you imagine getting a Peter sitting there and judging the entire tribe of Benjamin through the ages, every generation, all the Benjamites? And Peter sits there judging, giving righteous judgment upon that.

Only these twelve men have this. Then listen to what he says. And everyone that has forsaken houses, brethren, sisters, father, mother, wife, children, or lands, for my sake shall receive a hundredfold and inherited everlasting life.

But many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first. How are you running this race? Is the vision of the new Jerusalem, the new heaven and earth, the city to come, has that so gripped you that you're actually willing to be the last rather than the first? See, when you capture this, it turns everything on its head. The entire gospel does.

There's something about having a name recorded in heaven. Listen as we close. It says in Proverbs 22 and 1, A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches.

You would not want to gain all the riches of this world in your name not written in the Lamb's book of life. So there's only twelve spots for the apostles of the Lamb to be recorded. But there's a book there, the Lamb's book of life, the book of redemption, those born again, the redeemed of the Lord.

There's a name written in heaven. Can I ask you, is your name written in the Lamb's book of life? Has your name been written? Are you redeemed? Are you living for God? Imagine the books being opened on judgment day. Your name's not here.

It's gotta be. It must be. Look again.

Your name's not here. It never was here. No, on such and such a date, I know it was.

I lived for you for a year, two years, five years. Yeah, but you went AWOL. But I didn't know you.

You never at any time knew me. More correctly, I didn't know you. There's the Lamb's book of life.

It says in Ecclesiastes 7.1, a good name is better than precious ointment. And the day of death and the day of one's birth. It says in Luke chapter 10, 20, notwithstanding in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

Rejoice in that. We have entire movements in the church. We cast demons out.

Devils listen to us. I had this manifestation. You never hear people rejoice and go, my name is written in heaven.

You never hear it. Where is the rejoicing? Jesus commanded you, rejoice in this. This ought to be more precious than doing miracles or casting out demons or doing world missions.

My name is written in heaven. Do you know what it is? Are you sure it is? And last of all, Philippians 4 and 3, and I am treat thee also true yoke fellows. Help those women which labored with me in the gospel with Clement.

Note that name, Clement also. And with other of my fellow labors whose names are in the book of life. Paul's talking about people's name.

Clement's name's in the book of life. It's written, not by a human pen, not in a computer, not on earth, not in any church rule, not at all. It's written eternally in heaven.

Clement's name's there. The name of these women. And Paul was assured of it.

He said, Clement's name's written in the book of life. I know it. See this laboring together.

It's not presumption to think your name's written in the book of life. Can I ask you, are you going to the city? Are you looking for a city? A city whose builder and maker is God. A city that has foundations.

What kind of foundations? Foundations like this. I've barely touched on this. Saints, I want you to be so aware this morning as I close.

Look at the men who are inscribed on the foundation stones. These massive, glorious, spectacular. Look at the men.

Failed in every aspect, but redeemed, saved, born again. They go on to forsake all things and eventually to become martyrs. Do you know their history isn't written in the Bible? You won't find how Peter died in the Bible.

You won't find how Thomas does. How he dies. I won't believe unless my fifth.

Okay, here I am. Put your fist in my side. Master, do you see how human they are? Do you see how weak and frail? How like you and I? You begin walking on water.

Then you begin, you look at the waves and you begin to say, Master, help me. And he reaches out his hand and he pulls you up. Do you realize the humanity of this city? It is built out of human stones.

We sing a song. I almost asked Soph to sing it. I want to be a stone in the new Jerusalem.

I want to be a stone in the city of God. I want to be a stone in the new Jerusalem never to grow old. I need to get the last line of that.

Saints of God, I want to be a stone in the new Jerusalem. Will you stand with me? Lord Jesus, let's just praise him. Let's just thank him.

Let's look for the city. Thank you, Lord Jesus. We worship you.

We bless you. We praise you. Oh my God, give us a vision this morning.

Lord God, those who have been growing weary and tired, those only looking at this lifetime, those only looking at ministry, those only looking at the will of God or marriage or a job or their own feelings or their own experiences, their own losses or their own gains, what they're accomplishing, what their reputation is in this world. Father, help us to see this city this morning. Lord God, we're asking of you through the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, will you teach us? Would you open our minds and hearts? Would you give us a vision, Lord God, that we barely looked at before? My God, that we might look for a city, Lord God, who has foundation.

We want to look for this city with solid foundation. It's a city of redemption. Lord God, you have built an entire city out of redeemed sinners, sinners that were on their way to hell, sinners that were in darkness and blindness.

Lord God, you have built an entire city out of saints, Lord God, in the Old Testament and born again believers in the new. Lord God, out of men and women just like us, Lord God, that forsook the things of this world, that denied the flesh, that resisted the evil one. And Lord God, they attained unto righteousness.

We're looking for a resurrection. We're looking for a new city, O God. We're looking for a new heaven and earth in which dwelleth righteousness.

My God, enlarge our vision like the eagle, that we might see afar off in Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Jesus.