"One of the two pilgrims says to the other, "When do you find yourself in the most wholesome and most vigorous spiritual state?" To which the other pilgrim says, "When I think of the place to which I am going." (John Bunyan – Pilgrim's Progress)
"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24) Jesus, as a Man, was the ultimate picture of a worshiper of God. He was always totally dependent upon God (John 5:19) and totally submitted to God (Thy will be done – Matt. 26:39) and calls us, no commands us, to do likewise: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. 'The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. 'There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-21) When we worship God with all our being we can model and lead others to do the same – to become worshipers of God; this is how to love our neighbor supremely, for worshiping God and Him alone is man's highest good now and for all eternity.
And Jesus as a Man was moved to worship God "for the joy set before Him (heaven) He endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2; John 17:4-5). We also see this modeled by the saints in the hall of faith in Hebrews 11. The primary focus of Hebrews 11 speaks of a vital faith in God that only realizes it full recompense in heaven – which is to reach our full capacity to worship and glorify God by faithful obedience in this life. "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised (i.e., in this life). By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection." (v. 39, 24-26, 35)
We see from these verses and the examples of belief in the "heaven factor" that unless we truly believe now, in this life of pain and struggle and all the more if we live for Christ's sake (i.e., become obedient worshipers), we will be tempted to turn to the things of this world which seem to give us relief from pain and/or a promise of pleasure and happiness. (See the consequences of becoming dependent upon (becoming "worshipers of") created/material things in Romans 1:21- 32.) Without the "heaven factor" it is like reading a book where the villains are winning and not reading the last chapter where the good guys win (heaven) and the bad guys (Satan and Christ-rejecters) get their due (hell). Moses, the apostles, Paul and others chose suffering and disgrace with and for Jesus in this life because they truly believed in God's promised rewards for all eternity (2 Tim 4:6-8).
So as we continue to study God's truth about heaven let us ask Him to increase our faith in the recompense and reality of heaven and thus be free from created things to serve and worship our Creator fully now in this life. "And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal." The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven from God. This is not the same city that David established as the capital of the Davidic kingdom or the renewed city of the Millennial kingdom. It is the eternal, holy city of the new heaven and new earth. Though it is a city, it is called the bride, the Lamb's wife, because a bride is a picture of beauty and intimacy which characterize the New Jerusalem. Since it has foundations, some commentators say it comes to rest on the new earth. It seems to be the home town for all the saints from which we will go out to God's vast universe – the glorious new heavens and new earth.
"It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." Notice that the foundation of the church was laid in Israel and it was the twelve apostles who laid the foundation for the church upon the foundation Stone, Jesus Christ. Both the twelve sons of Jacob/Israel and the twelve apostles, all of which were of Israel as well (it seems Paul is the twelfth apostle not Matthias) will be remembered and honored forever.
"The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length, and as wide and high as it is long. He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits thick, by man's measurement, which the angel was using." {"The city seems to be laid out as a cube, since its length, breadth, and height are equal. The cube was an ancient symbol of perfection. The Most Holy Place in the OT tabernacle and in the temple were cubic in design. The symmetrical measurements of the city are so vast (twelve thousand furlongs, or about 1400 miles) and the wall is so thick (one hundred and forty-four cubits, or over 200 feet) that they almost surpass the imagination. The imagery indicates that the city is the dwelling place of God's presence, just as the tabernacle and temple had been. It is impossible to be certain whether ordinary measurements should be applied to the eternal state, though the reference to the measure of a man (human standards) may imply that they should. As thick as the walls of New Jerusalem are (200 feet; v. 27), they are as transparent as crystalline jasper. The vast city itself (v. 16), especially the streets (v. 21), are also like clear glass, even though they are made of pure gold. The overall effect is that of an incredibly beautiful and transparent city, symbolizing never-ending glory and purity."} [1] KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2714 [1]Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Re 21:1-2
"The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst." {"That is precisely what is intended by this little phrase "crystal-clear jasper" (v. 11). It is a gem, it is flawless. It is like a diamond not with light shining on it but with light shining from it, coming from the inside and refracting its rainbow colors all over the new heavens and the new earth. So the city is like one massive perfect diamond gem, flashing the reflection of God's glory in infinite light–the ultimate light show, believe me. All of eternity then becomes bathed in the radiating splendor of God. And that is the remarkable general appearance. It is like a massive, and when I say massive, I mean massive because it is 1500 (or 1400) miles squared, or cubed, one massive crystal-clear diamond gem with the glory of God shining out from the center of it and splattering its rainbow colors all over the new heavens and the new earth. Now I know God loves beauty, don't you? I know that because I can see flashes of that brilliance in the gems that I can see and flashes of His love for color in a rainbow and in the myriad colors that ring the world and the beauty of flowers and all the rest. And when God is really turned loose, beauty is going to emanate everywhere, blazing unbelievable incomparable beauty." – John MacArthur} {"While the exact color of some of the stones is uncertain, it is probable that jasper is colorless, sapphire is blue, chalcedony is green or greenish-blue, emerald is bright green, sardonyx has layers of red and white, sardius is blood-red, chrysolite is yellow, beryl is blue or blue-green, topaz is golden, chrysoprase is apple-green, jacinth is blue or blue-purple, and amethyst is purple or violet. Precious stones are costly, durable and beautiful."}[1] KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2714[1]Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. Re 21:1-2} (Also see Ezek. 1:26-28) The source of this brilliant light is the shekinah glory of God as seen throughout the Old and New Testament.
"The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.". {"The street of gold like pure glass speaks of divine glory, as in the tabernacle of old where the cherubim of gold were called the cherubim of glory (Heb. 9:25)." – [1]KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997} Commentators differ on the meaning of the gates of pearl but some believe that it represents the pearl of great price (great value) seen in Matthew 13:45-46 and that pearl symbolizes the value every individual believer has to God in Christ as seen in the giving of His life to have us for all eternity.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION AND APPLICATION
1) "One of the two pilgrims says to the other, "When do you find yourself in the most wholesome and most vigorous spiritual state?" To which the other pilgrim says, "When I think of the place to which I am going." (John Bunyan – Pilgrim's Progress) Does the "heaven factor" motivate you to a "vigorous spiritual state" as it did our Lord, Moses, Paul and others?
2) "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." (John 4:23-24) What does it mean to you to be a worshiper of God in spirit and in truth?
3) What correspondence do you see between the beauty of the New Jerusalem and the beauty of God's creation even in this fallen world? How can we acquire more of a taste and a longing for the beauty of heaven?
4) What is your main take away from the message and table discussion and how can you apply it to your life this week?