Let the Nations be Glad
Loving Our World
By Brent Aucoin
Bible Text:Revelation 21-22
Preached On: Sunday, January 10, 2016
Faith Church
5526 State Road 26 E
Lafayette, IN 47905
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12 years ago, this church, you guys, sent me away for my PhD in the Old Testament. That sending was to begin my study and my preparation for leading a church-based seminary. The first step on that journey was to move to a really big city, Chicago, and get my Masters of Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. How many of you guys love big cities? Anybody love big cities? Very few of you. You're going to change that after the sermon today. It was my first extended experience with a big city. I found myself enthralled by the experience. Since that time, I have loved visiting cities like London, New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and San Paola, Brazil. In contrast, this past Christmas I went back home to Oklahoma and visited with my 95-year-old grandmother who lives in Hammond, Oklahoma. Population, are you ready for this? Population, you ready? You ready for the population? 500 people, 500 people. Our church is bigger than that. Jan and I thought, "How could anybody live here?"
Anyway, back to the big city of Chicago. The 9 months that our family was in Chicago, we really wanted to make the most of our time there and be as evangelistic as possible in our apartment complex. We met, across the hall from us, one Polish couple who in 18 years of living on that floor, never had anybody ask them over for dinner. Yes, we asked them over for dinner that night, when we learned that. Down the hall was a Russian family that we got to know as well. We met that Russian family when the wife came down the hallway, and I'll explain this story for just a moment. We were attempting to host an open house, or an apartment gathering for our neighbors on the floors of that apartment complex. We had sent out invitations to everybody on our floor to just drop by on a particular night at a particular time. Our children, who are 5 and 6 at that time, were so excited to have company.
When the appointed time came, and even passed, nobody from our apartment floor had some to the opening of our little party there. It was fairly pathetic. Yet, our 5 and 6 year old, undaunted and not discouraged, were eagerly awaiting for our first guest. They decided to stand in the hallway with the door open and essentially interrogate any passers-byers who might be potentially coming to our party. One unsuspecting Russian woman, this is how I met the Russian family, encountered our two children there. They proceeding to ask her, "Are you coming to our party?" She was cornered. How could you refuse these two excited children? She was not planning to come to our party, but her plans just changed. Thus begins out tale. We got to know the Russian family a little bit more and had them over for dinner the next week. One week later, I get a desperate call from the Russian family saying, "The police are looking for our son. Can your friends in Indiana house them?" I said, "Sure. Pastor Trey can, he would love to." No, I did not say yes.
I pushed the pause button the conversation and asked for additional explanation. Apparently their son had been a witness in some kind of gang murder involving the Russian Mafia. At that point, a fugitive from the police, a fugitive from the Russian Mafia, sure, Pastor Trey can take them. Wow, this is the big city life. Really exciting. Through that experience, the Russian husband and wife came to know Jesus as we ministered to them. It was an exciting and enthralling time, my 9 months in Chicago. I suppose maybe after living there for 9 years, it may not be that exciting. Anyway, I very much enjoyed my time in the big city. What if I told you that the most beautiful of all God's creation is a city, would you agree with that? Alex, you're shaking your head no. Let me unpack what I'm about to say. I submit to you that a city, in God's eyes is more beautiful than the Rocky Mountains, the beaches of Hawaii, the amber waves or grain, or fruited plains.
I submit to you that the city is more beautiful than that. Turn in your Bibles ... What Alex? My child is more beautiful? We're going to get there, okay? There's a theological reason why I say all of this. Turn in your Bibles to the last book of the Bible. Revelation chapter 21 and 22. That's on page 21 in the New Testament, the back section of the chair in front of you. Today, we launch our new series with our new theme this year, Loving our World. Pastor Viars is doing exactly that right now in the Dominican Republic. Or, maybe he's doing our theme Living in Fun and Sun down there, I can't remember exactly which. Today, our message is let the nations be glad. As we begin to focus on loving our world, we need to talk about God's plan for the nations, and as we kick off this series. As we approached Revelation, let me remind you that these are the last chapters of the Bible, the very last two. With any kind of ending ... Star Wars ending, Harry Potter ending. You don't read the last chapters first because that contains all the spoilers!
Nobody likes spoilers, right? Right? You need this spoiler, though. This spoiler has encouraged God's people for years. This is a spoiler we need. As we approach the last chapters of Revelation, we also understand that there will be some concepts and imageries here that we're just not familiar with. They haven't happened yet, so we won't understand all of it, and that's okay. I'm going to shape the big contours of the picture for you so that we can all understand at least how history is moving. From that, we will talk about ... From the end goal of where history is moving, we're going to see in God's plan 4 reasons for the nations to be glad. Let's read the text now in Revelation chapter 21, verse 1. "Then I saw new heavens and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there was no longer any sea." That's significant.
The sea, throughout the Scriptures, if you begin to connect the imagery in the picture the sea, like the flood waters, the sea was always something that was thought of as a calamitous thing. Things that were dreaded when the flood waters come. Even in all the imagery of the Old Testament, and even Revelation, the beast would come out of the sea. The evil kingdoms of man would come out of the sea. There is no longer any sea in the final picture here. Verse 2, "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold the Tabernacle, God's dwelling place. The Tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them. And they shall be his people, and God Himself will be among them.'" Praise the Lord.
"'And he will wipe away every tear...'" this is a good New Year sermon here, "'...from their eyes. There will no longer be any death. There will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain. The first things have passed away.' And He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.' He said, 'Write these things, they are faithful and true.'" Verse 6, "Then He said to me, 'It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who first, from the spring of water, life without cost.'" Jump down to verse 10. "And He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem..." What was this? A holy what? A holy what, Alex? Holy what, Alex?
Alex: A city.
Brent: A city, a city. Everybody see that? It's a city. "...coming down out of heaven from God. Having the glory of God, her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper. It had a great and high wall with 12 gates, and at the gates, 12 angels. The names of those on those which are the names of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel." People, people. The gates represented people there. "There were the gates on the east, and three gates on the north, and three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. And the wall of the city had 12 foundation stones, and on them were 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb." Think people. Again, the imagery here is the beauty of the city is comprised by people. Verse 15, "The one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and its walls. The city is laid out square..." Everyone say square. Say square.
Congregation: Square.
Brent: That's going to be important in just a moment. "Its length is as great as its width, and it measured the city with the rod. 1,500 miles." Some of you have a note there that says 12,000 stadia, an old kind of measurement. 12,000 by 12,000, 12 apostles, 12 tribes. The imagery here is of completeness. "Its length and its width and its height are actually equal, and he measured its walls. 72 yards, according to human measurement, which are also angelic measurements." I know, some of this is very foreign to us. "The material of the wall was jasper and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were all adorned with every kind of precious stone." Verse 22, "I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun, of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of the God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations walked by its light."
Look at chapter 22, verse 1. "Then, he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the Tree of Life, bearing 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every months. The leaves of the trees were for the healing of the nations. There's no longer any curse..." Praise the Lord, "...and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his bond-servants will serve Him. They will see His face, and His name..." His name? Whose? His, God. "...and the Lamb is on their forehead." Verse 5, "And there will no longer be any night, they will not have need of the light of the lamp..." We've seen this before, "...nor the light of the sun because the Lord God will illumine then, and they will reign forever and ever. He said these words are faithful and true. This is the word of God."
From the end goal of God's plan is revealed in Revelation, we can see 3 reasons for the nations be glad. This day, as we talk about loving our world, and that certainly includes the nations. First, God's glorious presence encompasses all of the nations. Let me unpack that for just a moment. 21:16 says, "The city is laid out square..." I had you repeat the word square. What is the significance of the square here? Why not a circle? Why not a triangle? Why not a cool shape like a hexagon or something like that? Why? Why is it a square, anybody know? Don't answer me on that, I'll explain it to you. Why is it a square? If you're a student of scripture, even if you're not, I'm going to explain it. If you're a student of scripture though, there's something to do with a cube that goes all throughout scripture. I'll unpack that in just a moment.
Let me give you the answer. It may not be clear immediately, but I'll give you the answer, then I will explain it. What is the significance of the shape of the city? Here's the answer: the Holy of Holies has been expanded to surround all of God's people from all nations, praise the Lord. The Holy of Holies. You say, "Brent, you said I was going to understand this. I'm not getting it." Well, let me explain. Originally, when God created this world, there was no sin. God's presence, he physically dwelled with his people. In Genesis chapter 2, Adam and Eve were there walking with the glorious presence of God. When Adam in Eve, in Genesis chapter 3, disobeyed God, and because God is the holy God, Adam and Eve were separated from the life-giving presence of God. As an aside here, in Genesis 3, the primary problem of all humanity since then has been our separation from God's life-giving presence.
That has been the primary problem, the essential problem that you struggle with and I struggle with. That separation from God creates in us all a brokenness and an emptiness. That emptiness causes us to search for something in this life that will fill the God-size breach in our relationship with Him. We fill that emptiness with all kinds of things, but it never works. What Revelation is saying here, now, is that that separation is fixed. Again, what is the significance of the square and the cube? You said, "Brent, I know. You've asked me that several times now, and I still don't get it." Well, in the Old Testament, God let His people just have a glimpse of a taste of his presence. Although people have been separated from God's presence, God allowed his people to have a small taste of His presence in a box, in a cube. You can read about that in Exodus chapter 25 and Ezekiel 41:4, and that was called the Holy of Holies in the temple and in the Tabernacle. If you will, God allowed a little ray, one ray of sunshine from his infinite sun self that was housed in something called the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and in the Temple. That room, guess what shape it was? Tell me what shape it was.
Congregation: A square.
Brent: It was a square, or a cube. In the Old Testament, that cube, that square was 15 foot by 15 foot. My office is bigger than that! Here's the point: God allowed one little ray of His sunshine, His glorious presence, in one little box. One time per year, only one person could enter into that box. The high priest could go into that box to see one small ray of light, and theologically, that ray of light was called the Shekinah Glory of God. If that one person, one time per year, entered into that small box unworthily, he would be immediately consumed and killed because of his stain of sin. Do you see the imagery here? One person on the pain of death could possibly see one small ray of light of God's glory in one small box. Imagine in that small box if there were two rays of light, the person would be immediately extinguished. Again, notice the imagery of Revelation chapter 21, "...a cube 1,500 miles square with people in it."
Here's the point my friends, faith family: the office-size box in the old earth that contained a small glimpse of God has become something enormous on the new earth. If we are just comparing literal numbers here, here is the comparison for just a moment. The box went from 225 foot square to 6.27 times 10 to the 13th power square feet. Or, 2.25 million miles square. Not only that, people are there and they're not dead in God's presence. You say, "Brent, what is the size of that?" Well, let me show you. 225 million miles square, centered around Indianapolis, Indiana, is a box the size of almost the entire eastern side of the United States of America. I don't know if all this is talking about a literal box, but there is the point. God's glorious presence went from a 15 by 15 office-size square to 1,500 square mile, squared or whatever, so 2.25 squared, and it contains people from all nations, tribes, and tongues. Praise the Lord for that.
If you don't like that picture, try this one. This is a little more interesting. That's the size of God's presence in the New Jerusalem. Again, do I know for sure that this was a literal thing? I don't know, but the imagery here is the Holy of Holies, the presence of God, has been expanded not so that people can go in once a year on the pain of death, but to encompass people, billions of billions of people. The Scripture says, "Behold, the Tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them and they shall be His people, and God will be among them. The nations will walk there." First, what is the reason why the nations should be glad? Because there's been a breach that has been healed, a breach of sin in God's presence now is with His people, praise the Lord. Secondly is this: God's goal in this, you have to have not missed this. God's goal in the end times is a beautiful, diverse ... Alex, what is the word again? What is the word?