Revelation 21:10-14, 22,23 * May 16, 2004 * Easter 6 * Pastor Pagels

In the name of Christ Jesus, dear friends:

It was Maundy Thursday. Jesus was in the upper room with disciples. He had predicted that he would be betrayed. He had predicted that he would be arrested. He had predicted that he would be killed. And in the short time he had left with his disciples, Jesus wanted to prepare them for what was about to come. And so he said to them:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

John not only recorded these words for us. He heard them. He was in the upper room. He participated in the holy supper. He listened as those precious words came from Jesus’ lips. And there is no doubt in my mind that John remembered what his Savior said for the rest of his life.

Those words probably filled his head the very next day. As he looked up into the storm darkened sky, John might have thought to himself: “I know he said that he was leaving, but I had no idea this is what he meant. Is it possible? Has he gone to his Father’s house already? Or is his dead body still in the tomb?”

Perhaps John remembered the words of Jesus again some six weeks later. Forty days after Jesus rose from the dead he ascended into heaven. And as John stared up into the sky, as he looked intently at the place where Jesus had disappeared, he might have wondered to himself: “When will he make good on his promise? When will he come back? When will he take me to be with him?”

And for the rest of his life, whenever John had a moment to himself, whenever John looked up into the sky, can’t you picture him thinking about Jesus’ promise? “What day will it be? Which cloud will it be? And what about the special place he is preparing just for me? What I wouldn’t give to catch a glimpse of heaven!”

Jesus granted John’s request. In addition to the promise of heaven, the Lord gave him a vision of heaven. This was a special blessing for him, but it is also a spiritual benefit for us because in the book of Revelation John shares with us what he saw.

The text for today is something like a travelogue, but this is no ordinary slide presentation. The pictures John uses are word pictures, and his heavenly tour guide is an angel. Today it is our privilege to go along, to follow the angel and the apostle on…

A GUIDED TOUR OF GLORY

I. The city

II. The structure

III. The source

You may recall that last Sunday’s sermon text came from the same chapter of the Bible. In the opening verses of Revelation 21, John is allowed to see “a new heaven and a new earth” (1), “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (2).

Instead of providing us with an atlas of this new heaven and earth, in place of a detailed map of the Holy City, the Lord describes heaven in terms of what will not be there: “no more death or mourning or crying or pain” (4). That was the focus of last week’s sermon.

Just a few verses later John returns to the picture of the new Jerusalem, but this time he gives us more information: “And he (the angel) 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” (10,11).

It has been almost five years since I visited Jerusalem, but there are a few images that still stick out in my mind. I remember the first time I stood on the Mount of Olives and looked across the valley at the sprawling city. I remember visiting a traditional first century tomb like the one where Jesus was laid. I remember standing on a street where Jesus himself could have walked.

But I can also remember some things about the city that weren’t so spiritual. I remember locals trying to sell me something at every “holy” place. I remember having to pass through metal detectors to get up to the temple mount. I remember seeing beautiful stone buildings marred by bullet holes and bomb blasts. I remember Jerusalem as a big city with big city problems like traffic and crime and pollution.

What I know about the present Jerusalem makes me appreciate even more what John has to say about the new Jerusalem. In this city there is no litter, no sirens, no smog. The city sparkles like a precious jewel. The city is glorious because it shines with the glory of God.

As the Holy City descends from the heavens, as the city gets closer and closer, John is able to see some of the details of its structure: “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” (12,13).

The key to the survival of any ancient city was defensibility. Therefore, cities needed strong and sturdy walls. Walls kept enemies out. Walls kept inhabitants safe. Walls are a prominent feature of the new Jerusalem. If we take the numbers literally, the walls measure 1,400 miles high (see 22:16,17).

Another feature of the ancient city was the gate. Gates controlled access to the city. Gates limited the number of places where people could enter the city. The city in John’s vision has twelve gates, with an angel at each gate.

High walls and heavenly guards convey the idea of safety and protection, but in a sense they are unnecessary in the new Jerusalem because the gates will never be shut (21:25). There will never be a need to lock the doors because this city will face no threats. There will never be a need for doors at all because this city will have no enemies.

To stand the test of time, to stand up to all kinds of natural disasters, to stand up against enemy attacks, the ancient city needed a strong and solid foundation. The new Jerusalem doesn’t have one. It has twelve: “The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (14).

Try to picture the city as John describes it. It is a perfect cube, 1,400 miles high by 1,400 miles wide by 1,400 miles long. On each side of the city are three massive gates of pearl, each one engraved with the name of one of the tribes of Israel. The two hundred foot thick walls rest on twelve foundations. Each foundation is decorated with precious jewels. Each foundation is marked with the name of one of the apostles. And on top of everything else, the city itself is 100 % pure gold.

It is intriguing to try to imagine what John saw, but it is more important for us to understand what his vision means. So let’s take a closer look at some of the features. The city is symmetrical. That means it is perfect, like God. The city is massive. That means there is room for all. The city is ornate. That means it lacks nothing. The new Jerusalem is unique. The new Jerusalem is unlike any city the world has ever known because it is not really a city at all.

The Holy City is made up of God’s holy people. It is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 2:20). It is built up through God’s Word and Sacraments. John was able to catch a glimpse of this glory. We look forward to the day when we will live in this glory. If people question our convictions, if anyone asks us how we can be so certain about our glorious future, we can take them right to the source.

As John looked around the city, he noticed that something was missing. There was no temple. Whether it was old or new, Jerusalem would not be Jerusalem without the temple. The temple symbolized God’s presence among his people. The altar, the sacrifices, priests, the Holy of Holies, all of these things symbolized the Lord’s intimate relationship with his people.

But John’s initial concern disappeared as soon as he realized that “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (22). In the new Jerusalem there is no need for priests because God communicates directly with his people. In the new Jerusalem there is no need for sacrifices because the Lamb has already offered the ultimate sacrifice. In the new Jerusalem there is no need for a Holy of Holies because everyone and everything has been made perfect.

It is difficult, maybe even impossible for us to imagine what heaven will be like, but we can know at least one thing for sure. Heaven will be a glorious place. Our bodies will be glorified. Our lips will be glory-filled. The final verse of our text reveals the source of all this glory. “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (23).

In English class students are taught that they should never mix metaphors. Apparently John was absent that day because he brings together two very different images. The Lamb of God is also the lamp of heaven. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Jesus is also the light who illuminates the world (John 8:12).

The Lamb shed his blood on the cross for us. The Light reveals his Word to us. His blood washes away our sin. His Word is a light for our path. It might be clumsy grammar, but it communicates real comfort. Jesus is the source of all glory. Jesus is our ticket to glory. Jesus is preparing our places in glory.

At the end of every tour, the leader usually allows people to ask questions. After this particular tour, the first question you might want to ask: Why? Why did God choose to communicate this way? Why all the symbolic images? Why not communicate in concrete terms, in a way that is easier for us to understand?

I don’t have all the answers. The final answers won’t come until we stand face-to-face with God in glory. But while we are down here, while we are waiting for that glorious day to come, let me offer a suggestion.

Maybe the purpose of John’s vision is to force us to lift up our eyes, literally and figuratively. Maybe God caused John to write down what he saw to encourage us to think less about what is and more about what will be. Maybe the purpose (or at least one of the purposes) of a book like Revelation is to convince us to spend a little more time dreaming about heaven.

So when you leave church today, I want you to stop and look up at the clouds, not to check the weather, but to remember where Jesus is, to remember what Jesus is doing, to remember that Jesus is coming back, and to remember that when he does he will give you your own personal tour of glory. Amen.