Participants: Pr. Kenneth Cox
Series Code: RJC
Program Code: RJC000028
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00:18 And we welcome you to The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
00:22 a study of the book of Revelation. 00:25 And we are coming down to the very close of the book. 00:30 In fact, looking at chapter 21 in this presentation. 00:36 And so we hope that as we have gone through 00:39 the book of Revelation that it has helped you understand 00:43 this great, great book 00:45 that God has given for you and I that are living today. 00:50 And we hope that you will continue - 00:52 even after we have finished - that you'll continue to study 00:56 and look at the book because I can tell you 00:59 you don't get to the bottom of it. 01:02 That you don't. I've studied it now for years 01:06 and I still find new things all the time. 01:09 So you're not going to... you're not going to deplete 01:13 the book. And just spend time in it; the Lord will bless you. 01:17 If you do, you'll be blessed in a special way. 01:20 And we'd like to welcome all of you that are here 01:23 and those that are watching by television 01:25 or you're listening on the radio or on the Internet, 01:30 we're very happy that you're... have tuned in. 01:32 And we hope that as you go through this presentation 01:36 this evening that it will bless you in a special way. 01:39 So we encourage you to get out your Bible. 01:42 Get you a pencil and some paper and take notes 01:46 because we're going to take a close look 01:48 at this wonderful city that God has prepared for you and for me. 01:54 Revelation the 21st chapter: 01:58 this is a culmination of all that God has promised, 02:03 and so you'll be blessed as we go along. 02:06 One more chapter left, and that's our next presentation. 02:11 That's the last one... chapter 22. 02:17 That's what we'll be looking at in chapter 22. 02:21 In that chapter 02:23 there is a very, very interesting observation 02:29 that God makes concerning each one of you. 02:32 Seriously... about each one of you. 02:35 And certain things that God has in mind 02:39 about you and concerning what you will do. 02:43 And so we hope you'll be here 02:45 or listening on the radio or television 02:48 as we go into chapter 22: The Victory Is Won. 02:53 I think you'll find it very, very encouraging to you. 02:57 We've been blessed... thankful... 03:01 to have with us the His Voice quartet. 03:04 They have been a great blessing to me, 03:07 and I appreciate them very much. 03:10 They're going to sing a wonderful song today. 03:12 They're going to sing a song entitled Ride On King Jesus, 03:16 and you'll be blessed by it. 03:19 But before they do, 03:21 Chuck's going to come and he's going to read, folks, 03:24 Revelation 21 and the first five verses 03:29 of chapter 22. 03:32 All that goes together. 03:33 So follow carefully as he reads. 03:41 Well, if you have your Bibles, 03:42 please take them and turn them to the book of Revelation 03:45 chapter 21 and we'll read together. 03:49 So if you have your Bibles, let's read together now. 09:12 May God add His blessing to His Word. 09:19 Who are these in shining armor, 09:24 Whence the glory so bright? 09:29 Ah, they come from yonder city, 09:34 where Christ is all the light. 09:39 Ride on... ride on, 09:41 King Jesus. 09:43 To victory, ride on... ride on. 09:48 In glory, and power, 09:52 and majesty sublime; 09:57 Ride on... ride on, King Jesus. 10:01 To victory, ride on... ride on. 10:06 Till Heav'n and earth 10:08 shall own Thee, Lord, 10:14 O, conq'ring One, 10:17 ride on. 10:23 Sing for joy ye remnant people! 10:28 Your redemption draws near; 10:33 When the King in all His beauty 10:37 in glory shall appear. 10:42 Ride on... ride on, 10:44 King Jesus. 10:47 To victory, ride on... ride on. 10:52 In glory, and power, 10:56 and majesty sublime. 11:01 Ride on... ride on, King Jesus. 11:06 To victory, ride on... ride on. 11:10 Till Heav'n and earth 11:13 shall own Thee, Lord, 11:20 O, conq'ring One, 11:27 ride on... 11:32 ride 11:36 on. 11:42 Amen! 12:00 We look forward, Lord, 12:03 to the day that You're coming back... 12:07 When you gather all Your people 12:11 and that we can go home with You. 12:14 Bless us now, Lord, as we open Your Word. 12:18 We pray that You'll open our minds. 12:22 That the Holy Spirit may be present. 12:28 That our hearts will be pliable. 12:31 That we will be surrendered to Your will 12:35 and that we might see and grasp Your love, 12:41 Your kindness, and Your greatness. 12:44 We pray, Lord, that each one that is listening or watching 12:50 or following, Lord... 12:53 Bless them. May they purpose in their hearts 12:57 to follow You... to be in Your kingdom. 13:01 For this we ask in Christ's name, Amen. 13:14 The 21st chapter of Revelation actually opens with 13:20 Christ reaffirming a commitment that He made to His people. 13:26 Years and years ago 13:29 He made this commitment to His people. He said: 13:49 So He made a covenant with people... 13:53 with His people. 13:55 All those down through the ages that have accepted Him, 13:59 walked with Him, followed Him... 14:03 these are His people. 14:06 And He said: "I will be your God 14:09 and you shall be My people. " 14:12 That's the covenant He made with them and with you and with me. 14:17 So the 21st chapter of Revelation opens 14:20 with Him re-stating that, 14:23 because He says here: 14:47 So there's the covenant that He made way back in the beginning 14:52 and He said: "Now the time has come. " 14:55 You see, sin is no more. 14:59 That's all been done away with. 15:02 Now it's opening up into eternity 15:05 and He said: "These are My people 15:07 and I will be their God. 15:10 And I will dwell with them. " 15:16 That He's going to be with His people; 15:19 that He's going to be their God. 15:21 And so He continues on and says: 15:37 What's that telling you? 15:39 It's all gone... sin's no more. 15:42 There's no sorrow. There's no pain. 15:45 All that is past... The former things are passed away. 15:50 Glory hallelujah! There'll be no more of that. 15:53 See? All over! 15:55 That's what He's starting this chapter in Revelation saying 15:59 that you and I can rejoice because all these things 16:04 that's been going on for 6,000 years 16:07 have come to an end. He has made an end to sin 16:11 and now eternity can begin in which 16:17 righteousness and joy and goodness 16:22 will rule. 16:34 Wonderful! All things new. 16:42 Said: "I'm going to make all things new. 16:45 All this is true. " 16:47 God is coming back and what He's doing is 16:50 emphasizing it for you and for me saying: "Listen, 16:53 this is true. You can depend on it. 16:56 No question about it. " 16:57 All things are new. That's what He did at His coming 17:02 as far as you and I are concerned: He made us new. 17:07 Changed us. 17:16 Made new, see? That's going to be wonderful. 17:29 Be made new. I know there's some of you 17:32 that when I come out here at night and I kneel you wonder 17:35 if I'm going to get up or not. 17:38 Well, I've got to admit age does make a difference 17:41 and it has its affects on you, no question about it. 17:45 But there is coming a day when it will all be new. 17:49 That will not be that way any more, no question about it. 18:01 Won't that be wonderful? 18:03 Put on immortality. 18:05 Never, never down through the eons of time 18:09 never again will death ever cross the whole stage. 18:13 Never will it be thought of. 18:15 Be no more... over. 18:43 Marvelous. Took our bodies and made them brand new. 18:50 There won't be... 18:53 There will not be such a thing as age. 18:59 Age only comes to it because there is an end. 19:04 But when you get to eternity and there is no end, 19:07 there's no age. 19:09 Ceases to be. 19:11 So you and I will be made brand new. 19:18 Think about it 19:20 how wonderful that'll be. 19:23 See... all the things that we face today... 19:27 all the pain and the heartache and the suffering and all. 19:32 No more. And, you know, as you grow older 19:37 all of us face the sad experience. 19:42 You know, we grow older and as we grow older 19:45 our friends grow older. 19:47 You know, and as they grow older some of them pass away. 19:52 And sin does that 19:54 because we live in a world of sin and death, 19:57 but that will be no more. 20:00 Not only will that be no more, 20:02 He's going to take this old earth and make it brand new. 20:05 And it will be like something that we have never seen 20:10 nor could imagine. 20:23 So going to build houses. We're going to inhabit them. 20:28 Going to plant vineyards... eat the fruit of them. 20:31 It will all be new. I guarantee you 20:35 it will be a different kind of work. 21:03 That will be wonderful. 21:05 I don't know if you've ever spent much time on the desert? 21:10 But the first few years of my ministry I spent 21:13 about five years basically through the desert. 21:19 And I can guarantee you, it will take 21:23 a miracle of God to make it blossom as a rose. 21:27 But it will! 21:47 So wonderful! Our bodies will all be made brand new. 21:51 The earth will be made completely new. 21:56 God will create it, and every- thing will be in perfection 22:00 and will work as it should. 22:03 So there'll not be anything that will be against it any more. 22:08 All that He promises for us. 22:23 That eye hath not seen nor ear heard. 22:27 We can't imagine what it's like. 22:31 I've often thought about that. When I was a kid in school 22:36 I can remember all of us kids went to town 22:40 one day... over the weekend. Got in town 22:44 and here were placards and posters up all over the town 22:48 saying the circus was coming to town. 22:50 I grew up, you know, and we... we all got excited about 22:54 the circus coming to town. I grew up out in the country 22:57 and I just lived about two miles away from this little town. 23:01 I mean very... If you blinked, you missed it. 23:04 And... little town. And so if something came our way, 23:07 that was a big deal. I mean... 23:10 And so the circus coming to town... 23:12 that was a great, great big deal. 23:15 So when we got back to school, that's what all of us kids did: 23:18 we played circus. 23:20 I mean, that's what we did. 23:22 And I mean we had huge lions. We had elephants. 23:25 We flew from trapezes. We did somersaults. 23:29 We did things in our imagination that was absolutely fantastic 23:34 as we played circus. 23:37 Then I'll never forget... the circus got there. 23:42 And I went to the circus, 23:44 and it wasn't near as good as my imagination. 23:48 See? It just won't be that way in heaven. 23:52 It'll always be greater because our eye can't see 23:56 or our ear heard... Can't imagine the things 23:59 that God has prepared for those who love Him. 24:02 This is what He's done for you and for me. 24:08 So let's take a look at this city. 24:24 Indeed, He's the bridegroom. 24:27 He's gone. He's prepared this place with His own hands 24:31 for His bride 24:34 and now this city is coming down to the earth 24:38 prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 25:01 When it's talking about the city it says that it is 25:06 twelve thousand furlongs. 25:09 The length, the breadth, and height are equal. 25:15 In other words, it's twelve thousand furlongs wide. 25:21 It's twelve thousand furlongs long, 25:26 and it is twelve thousand furlongs high 25:32 because it says its length and breadth and height 25:37 are equal. 25:39 So if you have something that is twelve thousand furlongs 25:44 wide, twelve thousand furlongs long, 25:49 and twelve thousand furlongs high, 25:52 what do you have? 25:54 You've got a cube! That's what you've got. 25:59 That's what it says that it is: it's twelve thousand furlongs. 26:04 It's a cube. 26:07 Now if you've got twelve thousand furlongs: 26:12 the length, the breadth, the height of it are equal 26:17 and that's a cube. OK. 26:20 Then if you've got that, how many edges 26:26 do you have to a cube? 26:33 You think a little bit. 26:38 You've got six sides, but I didn't say sides... 26:42 I said edges. 26:44 How many edges do you have? 26:46 Twelve. Exactly. 26:50 So if you've got twelve thousand furlongs 26:52 and you've got twelve thousand edges, 26:55 because each edge is twelve thousand furlongs. 26:59 So if you multiply twelve times twelve thousand 27:04 what does that give you? 27:06 Gives you 144,000. 27:11 See? That gives you a 144,000. 27:16 So it's twelve thousand furlongs high, 27:19 twelve thousand furlongs wide, 27:22 twelve thousand furlongs long. 27:25 The city is a cube. There's a reason for that, 27:28 folks. A very, very definite reason. 27:31 Now, there are eight furlongs in a mile. 27:36 OK? So if you divide 27:40 eight into twelve thousand, what does that give you? 27:45 See how your math is. 27:49 Well that tells you that it is 27:51 375 miles on a side. 27:56 So that city is 375 miles long, 28:01 375 miles wide, 28:04 and 375 miles high. 28:09 You and I can't really comprehend that very well 28:13 when you start trying to put it together. 28:16 The city basically is the size 28:20 of the state of Colorado. 28:23 That's just about what the state of Colorado is. 28:27 And so the city is that size. 28:30 And this is a city that Christ has prepared. 28:33 And let me tell you something: I have people I've talked to 28:36 from time to time and they say to me: 28:38 "Oh Brother Cox, I'm not concerned about that 28:40 because there wouldn't be room for me. " 28:43 Let me tell you something: 28:46 there's room in that city for every man, woman, 28:50 and child that has ever lived. 28:55 There is room for you there I will guarantee you. 29:13 So in this wall are 12 gates. 29:18 On... at each gate is an angel. 29:22 And over the top of each gate is the name of 29:26 one of the tribes of Israel. 29:36 Three gates on each side. 29:44 So over one gate would be the name of Judah. 29:50 Over another gate would be the name of Benjamin. 29:54 Over another gate would be the name of Simeon. 29:57 Over another gate would be the name of Gad. 30:03 So you have the different tribes of the children of Israel, 30:06 a name over each one. Hmmm. 30:10 I thought the city was a city for all people. 30:15 Hmmm? Well then, let me ask you: 30:19 which gate are you going through? 30:24 Because over each gate is one of the names of the tribes 30:28 of Israel. And you've got to go through a gate... 30:30 you can't crawl over the wall. 30:32 So you've got to go through a gate. 30:35 So which gate are you going to go through? 30:37 Well the reason it's that way, folks, 30:41 is because it has to do with the children of Israel. 30:45 You see, each one of the sons of Jacob 30:52 was different in character. 30:55 And in you find in Genesis 49 that Jacob tells 31:01 the characteristics of his sons. 31:03 You find other places in scripture where it tells 31:06 the characteristics of his sons. 31:08 And so according to your personality, 31:12 according to your character, 31:15 you will go in through that gate into the city 31:18 because all of us will fit into one of those character patterns. 31:23 All of us are there, and we will go into that city 31:26 through that particular gate. 31:29 The reason that's there is because God has made provisions 31:36 for every one of you to be saved. 31:40 See, there are no characteristics that God 31:44 in His grace can't change. 31:47 He can change any of us. 32:02 144 cubits. 32:05 There's different people that think different things 32:08 about this and it's not really defined real clear here. 32:13 Whether when it says the wall is 144 cubits 32:17 whether it's saying it's that in height 32:19 or whether it's saying it's that in width. 32:22 There are many people who believe that refers to width 32:26 not to height. 32:28 Because if you stop and think about it, 32:30 if the city is 375 miles high 32:35 and the wall to it, it wouldn't be out of proportion 32:39 for it to be 144 cubits wide. 32:42 But anyhow, that has a wall... a great wall... 32:46 all around the city. 32:56 You see, we... we do not understand and we don't know 33:00 how you refine gold until it becomes clear. 33:06 But evidently God does. 33:09 And the streets are pure gold and the wall of pure gold 33:13 like unto clear glass. It says like jasper, 33:16 and the closest thing to jasper there is diamond. 33:19 So it says that the city will be like diamond. 33:32 Now folks, you can't have a city 33:37 that is 375 miles long 33:42 on each side and it has three gates 33:47 in that 375 miles 33:50 and walls that are no telling how tall 33:55 and have little dinky gates. 33:59 I mean, they just... that just does not fit. 34:02 Architecturally it just doesn't fit. 34:04 Those gates are huge! 34:07 And think: here these are huge, huge gates 34:10 and they're made out of one pearl. 34:14 You see, it staggers the imagination 34:19 to figure what God has done for His people. 34:22 And they'll come and there they will be... all of God's people 34:25 going through those gates into the city. 34:30 Glorious city that He's prepared. 34:43 You see, what you and I today hold dear 34:50 and consider of monetary value 34:56 there has no value at all 35:00 because the streets are pure gold. 35:06 The streets are as we consider 35:11 asbestos... asphalt. 35:15 The streets: pure gold. 35:25 This city had twelve foundations and if you look at it 35:29 those are the stones that we read to you in the reading. 35:34 And those stones if you line them up as I have put them there 35:39 that's the colors of them 35:41 and they make up the color of the rainbow. 35:45 That is the foundations that's under the city. 35:49 The colors of the rainbow... beautiful 35:54 as that city sits on those twelve foundations. 35:58 OK. 36:12 And so we have these different stones that made up 36:16 the foundation of the city. 36:29 Now that text does not say 36:31 that there is no sun and there is no moon. 36:36 That doesn't say that. 36:39 It says that the sun and the moon are not needed. 36:42 What it says. 36:45 They're not needed there. Why? 36:49 Because Christ is there... God is there 36:51 and He is the light of the city. 36:55 I don't know how many of you have ever been to Las Vegas? 36:59 Been to Las Vegas? 37:01 Well, if you ever go to Las Vegas, 37:03 there's one particular place down the strip there 37:07 that they have a light that shines out of the top of it 37:12 and you can literally see it 37:14 for miles and miles and miles away. 37:19 And that's what I think about that city. 37:21 I mean, if God is the light... just think 37:25 that then a light will shine out of that city 37:28 that probably can be seen from outer space 37:33 because God is the light of that city. 37:37 Marvelous that He's there! There'll be no need 37:41 of the sun or of the moon. 37:52 No, there won't be any night there 37:54 because God is the light. 38:08 So you have this marvelous city 38:11 that He has prepared for you and for me to live in. 38:18 That'll be a marvelous time. 38:20 The righteous will live in that city for a thousand years 38:28 before they come to this earth. At the end of the thousand years 38:33 that New Jerusalem will come to this earth 38:36 and then the righteous will be able to live in the city 38:41 or they'll have the privilege if they want to 38:44 of living out on the earth. 38:47 And the earth has been made brand new. 38:52 And it says that we'll build houses and inhabit them. 38:57 Have you given any thought to that? 38:59 Huh? Sure... you should be. 39:03 'Cause you're going to build it. 39:05 Christ built you one in the city 39:07 but you're going to build the one out in the country. 39:11 Have you decided what you're going to do? 39:14 I don't know about you, but I've already started making plans. 39:17 You know, I'm planning on being there. 39:22 Planning on going there. 39:25 One wall in my bedroom 39:32 is going to be made out of solid diamond... whole wall. 39:37 Now you've got to understand: resources is no problem, folks. 39:43 That's... that's not like here. 39:46 Resources are no problem, 39:48 so that wall is going to be made out of diamond. 39:51 The wall on the other side 39:53 I'm going to have made of living roses. 39:56 Just think how nice that will smell and how nice it'll look 39:59 reflecting in that diamond wall. 40:02 Anything that you can think or you can imagine 40:06 you can do. 40:10 And also... time won't be a factor. 40:14 If you want to take a thousand year to build it, 40:17 that's your privilege. 40:19 You're not out on the street. 40:20 You're not - you know - hurting for a place to live. 40:24 That's not... you can build it however you want to. 40:29 That will be your home in the new earth. 40:35 Just when you build it, build it well... 40:41 because it's there for eternity. 40:44 See? So build it well when you build it. 40:48 God will have all of these places for us 40:51 that will be there. 41:00 So out of God's throne flows this river 41:04 as clear as crystal. 41:08 Just think of what the water of life will taste like 41:15 when there'll be no pollution, 41:18 absolutely perfectly pure, 41:22 and you and I can drink from it. 41:38 So there in the New Jerusalem 41:42 is the Tree of Life. 41:45 It bears its fruit every month. 41:52 Have a friend that told me 41:54 that that meant that it would bear 41:56 twelve different varieties of mangoes. 41:59 But I don't know that that's true. 42:02 But it bears its fruit every month. 42:06 It also says that you and I are going to come up 42:11 to the New Jerusalem to worship 42:15 every week on the Sabbath. 42:20 We're gonna come... worshiping on the Sabbath. 42:23 But it also says that we're going to also come 42:26 to the New Jerusalem to worship every new moon. 42:32 That all the righteous will come and worship God 42:36 on the new moon. How often do you have a new moon? 42:40 Once a month. How often does the tree bear its fruit? 42:42 Once a month. 42:44 So we're going to come from all over the earth 42:46 and sit down and eat of the Tree of Life and worship God. 42:51 That will be a wonderful time. 42:54 I anxiously wait for that day. 42:58 You know, I particularly miss at this time of the year 43:01 for the next few months... I really like peaches. 43:06 They're probably my favorite fruit. 43:10 And of course when you get out of the peach season 43:13 you get into winter... you miss them. 43:16 And I will be so happy to be able to get to heaven 43:22 and get hold of a nice great big, ripe, juicy peach 43:28 and bite into it and not have to worry about 43:30 the worm having beat me there. 43:32 You know, just... All the wonderful things 43:36 that God has prepared for you and for me. 43:41 We'll eat of the Tree of Life there. 43:55 So they're going to come and worship God 43:58 in the New Jerusalem. 43:59 Now follow me carefully, folks, 44:03 'cause this is something I want you to get ahold of. 44:18 He said: "You shall be a kingdom of priests. " 44:22 He gives you some very definite wonderful promises. 44:51 God has called you and me 44:56 to be priests. 45:11 So God says that He has taken and has made us 45:15 kings and priests to His God. 45:21 All right. 45:38 Just often wonder... think... 45:41 of what it will be to reach out 45:47 and take somebody's hand and find it to be God's hand. 45:54 To look into the face of Jesus. 45:58 You know... that song that we sing: 46:01 Face to face with Christ my Savior; 46:04 face to face... what will it be? 46:08 When in rapture I behold Him... 46:11 Jesus Christ that died for me. 46:15 How marvelous that He will be there. 46:18 He will be our God; we shall be His people. 46:30 Now it says that in the New Jerusalem 46:32 there is no temple 46:37 because He is the temple thereof. 46:40 So there's no temple in the New Jerusalem. 46:42 The real reason for that I want you to look at. 46:46 You see, the sanctuary of old was made after the pattern 46:52 of the one up in heaven. 46:55 Now watch. It says: 47:10 What have you got? 47:12 Got a cube. OK. All right. 47:20 So here you have the Most Holy Place. 47:23 This is where the throne of God is 47:26 and it is a cube. 47:28 Twenty wide, twenty long, twenty high. 47:33 Exact cube. 47:35 So 47:38 the New Jerusalem is a cube. 47:51 Just the same as the Holy of Holies was the place 47:55 where God dwelt where His throne was 47:58 so the New Jerusalem will be where God dwells 48:01 and will be where His throne is. 48:03 Therefore there is no need of a temple there 48:08 because the New Jerusalem is a temple. 48:12 That is where God dwells. 48:16 You see, God promised the children of Israel something. 48:23 Unfortunately... so unfortunately 48:26 they never got hold of it 48:30 and they never saw really what God wanted them to do. 48:36 And they just didn't follow through on it. 48:39 In Ezekiel 47, God gave Ezekiel 48:44 a vision of the temple 48:48 and outlined in detail how it was to be built and all. 48:53 And I read that story over so many times 48:56 and wondered why... 48:58 why here He describes it in detail as to what it was 49:01 to be and they never built it. 49:04 It was never carried through... never done. 49:08 And I said: "Why? " 49:10 It's because they couldn't catch the vision 49:14 that God had in mind. 49:17 Because you see, they were to be a kingdom 49:23 of priests and a kingdom of kings. 49:28 And God had given to them 49:31 the privilege of taking the message of God's love 49:37 and sacrifice for them to the whole world. 49:42 And this city that Ezekiel described 49:46 was to be the center. 49:48 And this is where all the nations were to come in to 49:52 and all. So just the same as the 49:56 sanctuary on earth was a 50:01 type of what that one in heaven was, 50:06 so the temple in Ezekiel 50:09 was a type of what the New Jerusalem is. 50:13 So I want you to see and notice the comparison here. 50:19 Both Ezekiel and John 50:24 are taken to a high mountain. 50:26 OK. They're both... 50:31 A heavenly being is there to measure the temple. 50:37 Both cases, to measure the temple. 50:39 Both of them have a great and high wall. 50:43 Both of them - Ezekiel's and the New Jerusalem - 50:46 have twelve gates with the name of the twelve tribes 50:50 of the children of Israel over the top of them. 50:52 Both cities are square. 50:55 In the city is the throne of God. 51:01 The Holy of Holies is a cube. 51:04 The New Jerusalem is a cube. 51:06 The river flowing out of the temple in Ezekiel; 51:10 the river flowing out of the temple in Revelation. 51:13 Trees bear their fruit each month in Ezekiel; 51:17 they do the same in Revelation. 51:19 The leaves are for the healing in Ezekiel... 51:22 so they are in Revelation. 51:24 All those things are exactly the same 51:27 because God intended for them to take the gospel 51:33 to the whole world. 51:35 Unfortunately, that city was never built. 51:39 But tonight you have one to look forward to 51:43 that has been built. 51:54 They shall come and bring the glory and the honor into it. 51:59 All the nations will come to the New Jerusalem 52:03 to worship God. 52:17 So all these people down through the ages 52:20 that have followed the Lord and walked with Him: 52:22 this will make up God's people. And they will come 52:27 and live in this city. And they'll live in that city 52:33 throughout eternity. 52:36 And you will be priests and kings unto God. 52:42 And that city - the New Jerusalem... over it 52:48 will be a special name. 52:59 God will come and dwell with His people 53:03 and He will be their God 53:06 and we shall be His people. 53:11 Let us pray. 53:12 Father, thank you... 53:15 thank you for being so good to us. 53:20 For loving us. 53:22 For providing so many wonderful and marvelous things 53:26 that we can enjoy not just for a day or two 53:32 but down through the ages. 53:35 Lord, bless each one here. 53:38 May they... may they have their name 53:42 inscribed in the Book of Life. 53:44 May they be among those 53:48 that will be able to sing glory and praise to You 53:51 and to serve you. We ask, Lord, that our lives 53:55 may be surrendered. 53:58 That we might humbly stand before You 54:03 and have the privilege of worshiping You 54:08 because of what You've done for each of us. 54:11 For this we thank you in Christ's name, Amen. 54:18 Well this brings us down now to the last chapter: 54:24 the 22nd chapter of Revelation. 54:28 The Victory is Won. 54:30 God gives some very clear admonition 54:34 in this chapter concerning the book of Revelation. 54:37 You don't want to miss it. God bless you. 54:40 In the heart of southern Illinois 54:43 lies a small town named after A. J. Nason 54:47 who came in 1923 with plans for a dream city 54:51 and the largest coal mine in the United States. 54:55 Surveyors laid out the streets and the sidewalk 54:58 and workers built the tallest smokestack in the country 55:02 complete with a Spanish turret 55:04 and decorative cathedral doors at the top. 55:08 Railroad tracks were laid, 55:10 and as word of this dream city spread 55:13 people flocked in by the thousands. 55:16 But as the black coal came out of those deep tunnels 55:19 miners came closer and closer to the end of the dream. 55:24 And after just three years of mining 55:27 an underground river flooded the shaft. 55:30 Suddenly the operations became very costly 55:34 and although Mr. Nason poured millions into his mine 55:38 eventually it was taken over by the bank. 55:42 People left the city in droves. 55:44 Some didn't even bother to take their furniture. 55:47 Soon the tracks lay dormant. 55:50 Weeds grew up around the beautiful train station, 55:52 and abandoned homes gave way to trees. 55:56 Today locals say that Nason is the only town in America 56:01 where you can hunt quail from the sidewalk. 56:05 Although other coal companies tried to revive it, 56:08 Nason's mine never again turned a profit 56:12 and today only a few hundred people are left. 56:16 Mr. Nason's dream went up in smoke. 56:20 All that remains is a beautiful smokestack, 56:23 an old train station, 56:26 and miles of deserted tracks. 56:30 The Bible says earthly treasures are easily stolen 56:34 by thieves and destroyed by moth and rust. 56:38 But our Heavenly Father is building a dream city 56:41 with streets of gold and mansions by a crystal sea. 56:45 He invites us to come live with Him for eternity 56:48 and never grow old. 56:50 The Bible also says that where our treasure is 56:53 there our heart will be also. 56:56 And in this day and age when stocks lose their value 56:59 in minutes and entire banking systems fail 57:03 God invites us to put our treasures in things of 57:07 eternal value. 57:09 Friends, nothing is more valuable than a human soul. 57:13 Won't you help us bring the good news of salvation 57:17 to those who are lost? 57:19 Please, ask the Holy Spirit what He would have you do. 57:25 Please consider what you can do for those who 57:28 still don't know about Jesus. 57:30 As the Holy Spirit impresses, 57:32 please send your tax-deductible gifts to: 57:47 Thank you for helping us spread the light of God's Word 57:50 through television. Your gifts bring the blessed hope 57:53 of salvation to millions around the world. |
Revised 2014-12-17