Shall we turn in our Bible to the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, chapter twenty-one, if you please? I would like to read the first five verses. We've come in particularly at this time to the close of an old year, the beginning of a new year. And I'm sure quite often and frequently We look forward to the future and perhaps desire that we may find a happy future in what lies before us. But I was thinking today, when asked to speak tonight, of what God plans for the eternal future, which will be far greater than what we may say to one another when we wish to each other A happy new year. Let me read the first five verses in chapter twenty-one of the book of the Revelation. It has been properly stated that the Bible in its substance is the history of two men. The first man is Adam. The second man is the last Adam, who is Christ. as he is called that in First Corinthians chapter fifteen. The history of the first man will definitely and completely end. But the history of the second man, the blessed Lord Jesus from heaven above, the heavenly man, will never cease. And there is coming, thank God, at the end of his purposes as we read them in the Word of God. not just a happy new year, better still a happy new eternity. May I read the words, and you follow with me, as we read in chapter twenty-one, John saying by the Holy Spirit, And I saw a new heaven, and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea, And I John saw that holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them or abide with them. And they shall be his people, and they, and God himself, shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. For the former things are passed away. And note the close of this section in verse five. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. My beloved, may I direct your heart as well as mine own, further than the dawn of another year in human experience, the dawn of a new eternity. which is called in the Word of God, a new creation. Many of you may dwell with thankful hearts, and you will if you're saved. You'll dwell upon those words of Second Corinthians chapter five and verse seventeen, when the Apostle Paul wrote saying, If any man be in Christ, new creation, The old Testament, the version of the old King James Version, quotes it as being, is a new creature, but literally, and from the Greek text, the original text, if any man be in Christ, and you know there's no better place to be today than being in Christ. If any man be in Christ, new creation, all things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new, as the Apostle went on to say. He was directly referring, without question of doubt, to the consummation of your redemption and mine, my fellow believer. We may and will perhaps greet one another and say a happy new year, but may I raise the question, is it always as happy as you would like to have it? Very quickly we are reminded soon after the new year begins. The same old world, full of trouble, burdened by sin and the result of sin. But oh, what a comfort to read of God's new creation. When, as we have stated and read, He declares, Behold, I make all things new. My beloved me, I say frankly, whatever you have down here and will have, or may have, will never stay new. It always deteriorates or passes away. And if it doesn't pass away, you and I do someday. But when it comes to the new creation, God, let me repeat it again. God said, behold, I make all things new. And may I suggest to you, my fellow believer, even at this time of the year in which the world and many others make much of the entrance of the new year in the departure of the old. Can I suggest to you as a believer, won't it be greater still to have the end of the old creation? For may I say to you, frankly, from the word of God, In that new creation, you're not going to see Adam in its character and the representation of the old creation. No, it'll be all gone. God said it's going to be a new creation. I want you to dwell upon that one word particularly. God says, behold, I make all things new. Now what we have read in this particular portion of Scripture, I trust you understand, in its location, it is describing the perfection of that ultimate new creation. When the present heavens and the earth are passed away, and God brings in the new creation for all eternity. And the word new is very important. It would be, everything will be new. Now may I point out to you, when you look at the opening of the chapter, please look at it with me for just a moment. And you will notice, what does John begin by saying? Behold, I saw a new heaven. A new heaven. As well as a new earth. Now put them both together. Here you have two new things mentioned. First a new heaven. Second, a new earth. You that are acquainted with your word, the word of God, may well remember that in Second Peter chapter three, the Spirit of God records the dissolution of the present creation as we now know it. The dissolving of the present heavens and the present earth, and the coming in of a new creation, a new heaven, and the new earth. And may I give you this suggestion? In that new creation, when you and I say, by God's grace, dwell there, there'll be a new heaven above us. A new heaven. Oh, you say, why a new heaven? But may I be reminded and remind you, I trust, if necessary. I read in the word of God, the heavens are not pure in God's sight. as the writer wrote many, many centuries ago in the Old Testament. The heavens are not pure in his life. And you well know if you know your Bible, the adversary of God and man and Christ, Satan himself and all of his wicked hosts have polluted the heavenly sphere by sin as well as the earth as we well know. But oh, the joy of knowing. There'll be a new heaven. May I be reminded with you, as you may read in Revelation chapter twelve, the day is coming, the moment is coming, when God, by the power, his power, and under them, under Michael the Archangel, will drive out of the heavenly forever, Satan and all of his hosts. My beloved, let me give you the thought. Will it not be a joy to have a new heaven like that above us? And then not only that, a new earth beneath us. May I emphasize that? The position must be emphasized. A new heaven above us. A new earth beneath us. For if you have studied the Word of God, and studied very carefully, the order of this new creation, we'll see in a moment why there will be a new heaven above us, above you and me, and why there will be a new earth beneath us. Look with me here then as you read on. As we read on in verse two, let me know what John goes on to say. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride, a dawn for a husband now the new Jerusalem is something very separate from the new heaven and very separate from the new earth in that new creation it is the holy city which you read on in detail from chapter twenty one or chapter rather chapter twenty if you begin reading chapter twenty one begin reading in verse as you begin reading in verse nine down through chapter twenty two in verse five John was taken to see the glory of that holy city, that new Jerusalem. And every instructed believer understands perfectly. And you find it in that record in chapter twenty-one, verse nine, John was told, Come and see, I will show thee the Lamb's wife, his bride, which is, as you well know, to be the church. And when John writes later on, at the end of such a millennial kingdom that will be upon the earth for one thousand years when finished, and the new creation, the new heaven, and the new heaven begin, and the new earth begin, you find this city, the Holy Jerusalem, in the center of that universe. The tabernacle. May I put it this way? The metropolis. of that new creation, the city of glory, Holy Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven, adorned as a bride for a husband. My beloved, I'm sure you well know who the husband is and who the bride is, I hope. The bride is the church. The husband is the Lord Jesus. Is the bridegroom. As Peter, as rather Paul wrote, In Ephesians chapter five, husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of the word, and that he might present it to himself, a glorious church, not having spot a wrinkle, blemish, or any such thing. My beloved was a joy to know This tabernacle, taking its place as the Holy City, then Holy City, the New Jerusalem, the bride of the Lord Jesus. It is the church. And beloved, may I meditate with you on the precious sight. It will be the dwelling place of God in that whole universe, the center of the universe, and God dwelling in the midst of it. Read the next verse as you have it in verse four. Verse three, rather, I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them. They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. My beloved, what a glory to recognize. the divine, perfect, eternal holiness of that blessed scene. God himself dwelling with that. He being their God and they being His beloved people. May I point out unto you this, listen. I need it for my own soul. You need it for your own heart too. Did you ever stop to realize? Do I realize that? We are going to be dwelling together with God, with God Himself, and He with us. All the joy of recognizing within the center of that new universe, let me repeat it again, if the description of the new universe, the new creation, the new heavens, the new earth beneath, And there in the center of all that great glory, universal glory, the bride of Christ, sharing that glory with the bridegroom and God dwelling in their midst forever. Well, can we recognize why the bride of John went on to say, and what precious truth this is, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And also, There shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, and so on. No more pain for the former things will have passed away. What a blessed position. What a blessed condition. Perfect. But I want you to dwell further with me on this worldview. There's not only a new heaven. There's not only a new earth. There's not only a new Jerusalem. But there's other new things. If you have your Bible, may I trace through the book of the Revelation very briefly the word new again. Go to chapter two, if you please. The second chapter of the book of the Revelation. When you stop to think of the book of the Revelation, it's a wonderful unveiling of all that is to come. My beloved, let me put it in this perspective. We mention we're waiting on the edge of another year, and we may say to one another, a happy new year. And yet we know not what it will bring. But here is something certain and eternal. When God finishes his day of redemption, his years of redemption, he'll be a new creation. But some other things here, looking with me in chapter two, the word of the Lord Jesus as he speaks to one particular church in chapter two, reading at verse seventeen, if I may, the seventeenth verse of this second chapter, in the book of the Revelation, you will find the Lord Jesus mentioning that one word we have suggested, the word new. Look with me in verse seventeen, let me read it to you, and you read it for yourself. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says unto the churches. Let him that overcometh, to him that overcometh rather, will I give, to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth Saving he that receives it. Let me read it again. And particularly emphasize why it is written. In this particular portion, there are some spiritual dangers to overcome in the history of the church, which the Lord mentions. And needing to be overcome. Danger that the Lord gives very definitely this. There is a reward to those who will overcome those special dangers. Time doesn't permit us to go into details of those dangers that are referred to. But let me read the word again. He that hath an if anybody will listen. And what the Spirit set unto the church is? No. To him that overcomes. And beloved, we can recognize, I'm sure, as even in the prayer meeting tonight, It was noticeable. One or two of the brethren, if not more, praised for the spiritual encouragement and blessing of the assembly, which of course implies that individually we need to be overcomers of difficulties that we face. And in this special request, note the reward. To him that overcomers will I give to eat of the hidden manner that is one particular mention of what the reward is, but may I give you the thought, if you know what the expression means. You remember in the book of Exodus, the pilgrimage of the children of Israel through the desert, and Moses was commanded to make an ark, and he made that ark of the covenant. Do you know what was put into that ark? Not only the law, the copy of the Ketan commandment, but you remember in the wilderness they were fed manna. that came from heaven. And Moses was told, and Aaron was told, to take apart, put the manna as a memorial in the inside of the ark. And that ark representing the person of Christ, the Son of God. Now here's the Lord Jesus saying, and you know what the manna represents, Christ, the bread from heaven. And that's part of the reward. But I want you to notice the eternal reward. You know what follows, he goes on to say, and I will give him a white stone and in the stone a new name written. Now let me explain the metaphor that is used here. It was the custom in legal cases long ago in the days of the early church that when anyone won a victory in the court, if they were exonerated from any accusation, or whatever victory it might have been that they were able to win, the significant act was this. They gave him a white stone, the symbol of having won and conquered whatever may have been the problem. And here's the Lord Jesus saying, that one who overcomes for his sake in this world will receive from him a symbol of the victory that was won for him. But please note, not only the white stone, know what follows. And upon it, a new name written. You say, what's that new name? Well, note the end of the verse. Nobody knows it, but the one that gets it. Only he that receives it. May I give you this thought? It's precious. In that coming day, eternal day of glory, when you and I meet the Savior to be rewarded for what we have done for him, nobody will know what he thinks of us but ourselves. It will be a token of his own appreciation for each one. Let me put it in this perspective. I believe it's true. In that day of appraisal, when we enter into our new relationship forever in eternity, and at the judgment seat of Christ, when we are judged for what we have done in the body, whether good or whether bad, you never know what the Lord thinks of me. I will. I'll never know what he thinks of you. You know it. On that new stone, a new name written, which no man knows, just the one who is leaving. Can I give you the thought, my fellow believers? In that great day, you and I are going to find out individually what he thinks of us. How much he appreciates what we've done for him. It ought to make us want to do more, shouldn't it? I want to tell you frankly, you don't get your rewards down here. They're up there. A new name written. But not only that, go to chapter three with me. There's something else in chapter three. And verse twelve, if you please. Where the apostle writes again, the words of the Lord Jesus. Now I want you to know these words of verse twelve. The Lord Jesus writing, speaking himself. Him that overcomes, here you get the thought again. My fellow believer, let me remind you again, if you want a happy eternity, I'll tell you one thing. You can help build up some of your eternal happiness if you and I will do what he wants us to do. Him that overcomes, will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go to our route? And note, I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God. And note the closing words. And I will write upon him my new name. Now the Lord's referring to a new name that he has. Beloved, may I say this? Put it in this perspective. Today you and I should be getting educated for heaven. You'll never graduate down here. But even in heaven, the Lord Jesus, do you remember what Paul wrote in Philippians three ten? All that I may know him in the power of his resurrection. Let me quote John seventeen and verse three where the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father saying, and our precious of the word. This is life eternal, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. And here is the Lord Jesus, telling if we overcome the difficulties that would keep us from serving him and devoting ourselves to him. In that eternal glory, You'll know me better. I'll write upon you, my new name. Listen, fellow believer. Don't you think that you're the only one, and I'm the only one that's going to have a new name in glory? You used to think of him. He was often sung when somebody was converted. There's a new name written down in glory, and it's mine. But, beloved Luke, you notice it here. I'll write upon him, says the Lord Jesus, my new name. My new name. Let me give you the thought. Please let me give you the thought. As Paul said in Philippians three ten. Oh, that I may know him. Meaning down here. The more we get to know him and are faithful and true to him. We'll know him even better in glory. And the joy of knowing. Going on and on forever. In that exhaustless time of eternity. Knowing more with Christ. See, I say this, you'll never finish your spiritual education down here. Never. If you live as to be as old as Methuselah. But here's the story. In that eternal glory, that new creation, not only a new heaven above us, not only a new earth beneath us, and that new Jerusalem around us, in which we dwell forever, in fellowship with God and Christ. But the joy of having A new name on us? His own appreciation for what we've been for him. But you never let me say this. Let me repeat it. We don't see it as we should. The appreciation of the Lord Jesus for what you really do and I really do for him. He never will forget it. And he never will let you and me forget it either. But then... He's got a new name to know more and more about Him. You sing a dear old hymn, and precious are the truth, that we sing more about Jesus, would I know? And so on. They'll offer, look, I'll tell you privately, your education is not going to stop when you get to heaven, your spirit, you're going to have to know more about Him. Well, go to chapter five, please. I want you to know there's something else in closing in chapter five. Let me read verse nine and ten. in chapter five verse nine and ten and then we repeat the substance of what we've covered behold I make all things new said God and we found a new heaven above us a new earth beneath us a new Jerusalem around us where we shall ever dwell and a new name as well as to know more of his new name and here last of all they signed a new song notice they sang a new song saying thou art worthy to take the book to open the seals thereof for thou art slain hath redeemed us unto God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people in nature a new song I tell you very quietly it doesn't it may seem to be it may be the same song that you've sung down here about being redeemed by the blood of Jesus I'll tell you one thing compared to what you sing now, it's going to be a new song up there. A new song. And you know, some people don't have much music, or don't get much music out of them, even though they've got a lot of it in them, it never comes out sometime down here. But look, in that day, and you could read the context, the Lord Jesus in the midst of that heavenly scene, in the midst of the throne, in the midst of the living creatures, in the midst of the saints of God he stands in the midst and they all fall down in his feet singing the new song my beloved I'll tell you one thing it's going to be a lot better than all the Carolina operas and any other kind of operas that have been down here a new song a new song all the joy of knowing God's purposes for the new creation a new heaven A new earth, a new Jerusalem, a new name for each believer. It will go after it. And to know more about the new name of Christ who are the ages of eternity. And we'll all be joining in the new song unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins and redeemed us unto God with his own precious blood. My beloved, that'll be a lot better than the happy New Year's we get down here. But look forward to it. And with joy anticipate and may God buy his Holy Spirit. Remind. Oh, the joy of me. Can I say it again as I did at the beginning? The Bible is the history of two men. Adam, Christ, Adam the first Adam. Christ called in first Corinthians, the last Adam. And as you read the context, We're going to be not like the earthly man. We're going to be like the heavenly man. And with what joy it will be when we enter into the glory of that new creation. My beloved, look forward to it. It'll help you and me to go through if we have to go through another year for his honor and glory. Shall we pray? Beloved Father, we thank thee. that in the purposes of redemption we look far more eagerly to that new creation than we do to a happy new year though we pray for one that will be a blessed new year and that for thy glory in each one of our lives and in the testimony of this assembly but oh how we bless thee how keep our eyes and hearts on that new creation to come for the joy of knowing, if any man be in Christ. New creation. We're so glad we believers. Where are we? In Florence? Oh, better still. In the Florence Bible Chapel? No, better still. In Christ. And there's new creation. Oh, we pray thee, Father. May the Lord Jesus soon come. and carry his people toward that heavenly home and toward the glory of fulfillment of all thy purposes as recorded in thy precious word when you will make all things new but we want to thank thee lord you've made us new down here through the precious blood of your dear son in pleasant redeeming us We commend ourselves to thee. We commend the prayers that we must in the next stretch, in supplication for others, for their blessing and their help. And we commend each other to the growth of our soul, to the glory of our Lord Jesus, to be overcomers for his glory in the coming years, asking all in giving thanks in his precious and worthy name. Amen.