Morning Sermon

July 6, 2008

Glory!

Text

In my own opinion, we come to the very climax of this book of Revelation this morning. The very highest point among all the other high points. The very pinnacle of God's own revelation of his own glory.

We have studied the judgment of God, particularly upon the unbelieving nation of Israel and by extension, upon all the unbelieving nations of the world. Judgment upon all who are opposed to the exaltation and triumph of the Messiah, Jesus. More recently we've been studying the new heavens and the new earth, the culmination of God's redemptive purposes in finally and completely bringing an end to the curse. But all of that glory of heaven only leads us to where we come this morning, v.22

Thus the glory of heaven. The glory of the church made perfect. The glory of the new Jerusalem. "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." That's new Jerusalem. That's the heavenly city, the heavenly Jerusalem.

So let me emphasize that that means. And I have to go back to the Old Testament, so we can fully understand what it meant for Jerusalem to have a temple. And this is what it means. The temple was the outward expression, the outward testimony and external manifestation of the glory of God himself.

I. THE GLORY OF THE PRESENCE OF GOD. The presence of God is glory, it is the very definition of glory. And the temple was the place where God chose to make himself known among his people. A few verses to review.

Deut. 12:1 "These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2 "You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 "And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. 4 "You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things. 5 "But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go. 6 "There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 "And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you. 8 "You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes-- 9 "for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10 "But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 "then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD. 12 "And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 "Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 "but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you."

Do you get the sense of that. God would choose the place, the only place in which he would "put His name for His dwelling place." "...then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide."

Oh, what a great and glorious triumph that would be for the nation of Israel, for until that temple would be built, they would have to depend upon a temporary dwelling place for God. First, God made himself known on the mountain, Mt. Zion.

Ex. 24:15 "Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. 16 Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights."

Then, in the midst of all the years of wandering in the desert, they had but a tabernacle. A tent. But even that tabernacle, of course, was made glorious by the blessing of the presence of God.

Ex. 40:34 "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys. 37 But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up. 38 For the cloud of the LORD was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys."

What a grand accomplishment that must have been. But there was so much greater glory to come with the completion of the first temple.

1 Kings 8:6 "Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the temple, to the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 The poles extended so that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place, in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 Nothing was in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 12 Then Solomon spoke: "The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud. 13 I have surely built You an exalted house, And a place for You to dwell in forever." 14 Then the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of Israel, while all the assembly of Israel was standing. 15 And he said: "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it, saying, 16 'Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I have chosen no city from any tribe of Israel in which to build a house, that My name might be there; but I chose David to be over My people Israel.' 17 "Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 18 "But the LORD said to my father David, 'Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart. 19 'Nevertheless you shall not build the temple, but your son who will come from your body, he shall build the temple for My name.' 20 "So the LORD has fulfilled His word which He spoke; and I have filled the position of my father David, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised; and I have built a temple for the name of the LORD God of Israel. 21 "And there I have made a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD which He made with our fathers, when He brought them out of the land of Egypt."

Solomon understood the situation very well.

1 Kings 8:27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! 28 "Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today: 29 "that Your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place. 30 "And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and when You hear, forgive."

We get this further description of that great day in,

2 Chron. 7:1 "When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD'S house. 3 When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying: "For He is good, For His mercy endures forever."

The glory of the presence of God. That is our glory now, as a church, for we the church are now a temple,

Eph. 2:20 "...having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

But there still is a temple to come.

A. The final temple. And then, in that day, the whole earth will be the temple. The whole earth will be the dwelling place of God. So in the New Jerusalem, in the new heavens and the new earth, there will be no certain "place" in which God's glory will dwell, for he shall inhabit the whole thing! So when John sees that new Jerusalem, he sees no temple! And why? "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple." Going back to,

Rev. 21:3 "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."

That's the final temple! The whole earth becomes the temple. In fact, God becomes the temple. And that, surely, is,

B. The greatest glory. God will tabernacle among his people. As one commentator writes, "Their city of residence is their temple; it contains within it no temple whose walls or doors intervene between them and the God they adore. God is temple to the city, and the city is temple to God."

The dwelling of God is with men! Not just temporarily, as it was when Jesus was incarnate. But now permanently. Completely. Fully. The greatest glory imaginable. With even further description in, v.23

Now we see,

II. THE GLORY OF THE LIGHT OF GOD. Light is a familiar image for God. Speaking of Jesus' second coming, Paul writes to Timothy,

1 Tim. 6:15 "...which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen."

Or more succinctly, 1 John 1:5 "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all."

John uses this image of God as light most frequently, beginning with,

John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world."

Then, of course, John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

And, John 12:35 "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 "While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them."

So Jesus, in person, is,

A. The light of the world. And as I read, v.23 "...The Lamb is its light."

Literally, physically, perfectly. Just imagine it. No sun, no need for its light. Just imagine how great a transformation that will be in the world order. So great a re-creation and restoration, even the need for the sun and moon will be eliminated.

But nothing new, that wasn't predicted by the Old Testament prophets.

Is. 60:19 "The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light, And your God your glory. 20 Your sun shall no longer go down, Nor shall your moon withdraw itself; For the LORD will be your everlasting light, And the days of your mourning shall be ended. 21 Also your people shall all be righteous; They shall inherit the land forever, The branch of My planting, The work of My hands, That I may be glorified."

The Lord is our light. Indeed,

Ps. 27:1 "The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?"

In the language of the Bible, light comes to refer both to God and to the gospel. God is light, and the message of life to be found in the gospel is light. Paul writes to the Corinthians,

2 Cor. 4:3 "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

There it is. "The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." And then,

2 Cor. 4:6 "For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Therefore, Christians are described with these words,

1Pe 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

So we have this light already shining, the light of the gospel. But in the new Jerusalem, all will be light. The light shines fully and freely, namely because of,

B. The abolition of darkness. Just think about it. Not only the light of the shining glory of Jesus Christ, but the opposite as well is worthy of emphasis. No more darkness.

The idea is not merely a physical, earthly one. The implication is not merely on the order of astronomy and the study of physical world. But rather that physical transformation is but the obvious evidence of a spiritual transformation. Darkness, representative of all evil, shall be ended. There shall be no more night, with night being a physical and literal testimony of the presence and existence of evil. So there shall be no more evil.

v.23 "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it."

And then, v.25 "Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there)."

Just a parenthesis. A necessary deduction. A consequence of everything else. But actually, a great declaration of the complete transformation of the world. And the new heaven and new earth shall again be without sin, just as it was at creation. Thus,

v.27 "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life."

No more darkness. No more wicked. As we read,

Rev. 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

And in Paul's writing, 1 Cor. 6:9 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

Everything that has to do with the kingdom of darkness is gone! And so this is the gospel, in contrast to the Old Covenant presence of God on Mt. Sinai,

Heb. 12:18 "For you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire, and to blackness and darkness and tempest, 19 and the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore...22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel."

You have come to the light, to Jesus. And darkness shall no longer exist, so great is the glory of the light of God. And with one more use of that image or illustration of light with reference to the gospel, light becomes a clear and apparent representation of,

III. THE GLORY OF THE SALVATION OF GOD. The light becomes symbolic of the gospel, and therefore we read, v.24, 26

"The kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into [the light.]" All the nations come to the light. Indeed, the declaration of the light of the world means,

A. Salvation to all the nations. The nations shall come. The nations shall be represented in the new heavens and new earth. Again, nothing but the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy,

Is. 60:1 "Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. 2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. 3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising. 4 "Lift up your eyes all around, and see: They all gather together, they come to you; Your sons shall come from afar, And your daughters shall be nursed at your side. 5 Then you shall see and become radiant, And your heart shall swell with joy; Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you."

So we pray for missionaries who go to those nations now. And we send those missionaries. To Uganda. To Turkey. To China, and Japan. Even to North Korea. To the four corners of the earth, to the ends of the earth. Because this is what will happen when the New Jerusalem is established, "the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it...They shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it."

Just as Jesus commanded,

Mat. 28:18 "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

One more thought about this light of the gospel of the salvation of God. And that is the light of a new life. Light as representative of a new life.

B. Salvation and the new life. v.24 "And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light."

Light represents that new life, the turning away from the darkness of sin. So much so that those who walk in darkness are those who do not belong to God.

1 John 1:6 "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

Thus, v.27 "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life."

So today I proclaim to you the light. Today, throughout this age, the light shines in darkness. With a significant warning,

John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."

But, on the other hand, the very next verse,

John 3:21 "But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

So I proclaim to you that Jesus is the light of the world. Therefore, "He who follows [Jesus] shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." And if you have the light of life, then this glory shall be yours, the glory of the presence of God. The glory of the light of the gospel of the salvation of God.

And the glory of the new heavens shall be yours, when there shall be more sun at all, for Jesus shall shine as he dwells among his people.

And here, here as we are gathered together, we enjoy a glimpse of that glory, here in this temple. God's presence fills this place with his glory.

Therefore, people of God, walk in the light, with this promise and this hope,

1 John 1:7 "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

Fully Searchable
Bible