Chapter twenty-one in the book of the Revelation will be our study today. And God willing, we'd like to go very quickly on your lesson sheet, page number thirty-one. And if possible, complete that and go into chapter twenty-one relative to the new Jerusalem. But we would like to read the first five verses that are found in this twenty-first chapter. Very briefly we touched upon them and read them last week. But we'd like to follow your lesson outlined concerning the event that is there given to us regarding the eternal state, the new creation. Chapter twenty-one in the book of the Revelation and John writing by the Spirit, may I read the first five? Well, please let me go down through verse eight and have the concluding verses that really touch upon what is the fixed eternal state when that eternity dawns. And John says, 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 the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for a husband. And I heard a great voice. out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with them, and he will dwell with them. They shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things were passed away. 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. And he said unto me, It is done. I mouth of an omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is the thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things. And I will be his God, and he shall be my son. Now in verse eight, we have the opposite side of that eternal state, of the unbelieving, and of those that die in their sins. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, the murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, and that's the literal word for the drug addicts, and the adulterers, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake of fire which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death. And, well, that's as far as we read. Now that covers, as you have on your lesson sheet, the eternal state. Go down your lesson sheet with me in the scriptures, too, as we follow the outline regarding that eternal state. Now let me read the introduction of that. presentation on your page page number thirty one do we find that this portion of God's word describes the eternal conditions more than any other in other words the meaning is there's not any other scripture in the word of God that describes in detail as much as this portion the conditions that will prevail in the eternal state of the new creation Now here's something we wish to emphasize. That it is a continuation of the preceding chapter is self-evident. The end of chapter twenty records the end of earth's history, closing with an account of the first act in eternity, the judgment of the wicked dead. Now may I repeat, with no apology for the repetition, we emphasize the past two weeks. When you come to Revelation nineteen, twenty, and this portion that we have covered in chapter twenty one, they are continuous events. They do not separate from one another in any different parts of time, but they continue right to the end. For instance, in chapter nineteen we had the marriage of the Lamb. In chapter nineteen following the marriage, the descent of the Lord Jesus with the armies of heaven to the earth, to defeat his enemies, and to set up his kingdom. In chapter twenty we began immediately and found the opening of the chapter the millennial state was revealed. And the millennial reign very briefly touched upon and the blessing of all who participated in it. But the rest of the dead, wicked dead, were not raised until the end of the millennium. And then we saw at the end of the millennium the liberation of Satan from the bottomless pit, and his last attempt to gather the armies of the earth together in rebellion against Christ and against the beloved sitting Jerusalem on the earth. And then his final destiny, as we read it, he was in the lake of fire cast, forevermore to be there. And then followed, as we have already been singing, As you come down into the end of chapter twenty, the final judgment of the wicked dead. That was the final exhibition of the Lord Jesus doing the will of God and bringing to pass and bringing into the new creation the blessings of God according to the mind and the purposes of God. Now may I point out one thing. Christ is the only person that brings to pass the fulfillment of God's purposes. Let me repeat that. Christ himself is the only person who fulfills the divine purposes of God. No other person, no other nation, not even the church. But the last event that he fulfills, the last judgment that takes place is when the wicked dead, as we saw last week, stand before God when heaven and earth, the present heaven and earth, has passed away, and they are judged and given their final destination of doom. And now you come into chapter twenty-one, immediately following that judgment of the wicked dead, the glory of the new creation appears. Now please let me know with you, and very briefly, but quickly, as you look at verse one and on your lesson sheet, We have the creation of the heaven or the new heaven and the new earth. As John records it, a definite act of divine creation, the present heaven and earth, is the scene of God's theocratic display. But the new heaven and the new earth will be the scene of God's theocratic kingdom. Now I give you this thought. What is going to be brought in is really the fulfillment, the manifestation in all of its meaning, and the fulfillment of its meaning, the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God. You recall last week we made a distinction regarding the day of Christ, regarding the day of the Lord. And then if you recall, in second Peter chapter three, we saw Peter describing by the spirits the dissolution of the present universe and the bringing in of that new creation. And he calls it the day of God. For may I give you the thought? The bringing in of the new creation is to be the manifestation of all of God's blessed person and glory. Now you will confess readily that it is the Lord Jesus alone who has, even to this time, manifested and made known what God is and who he is, in more full of revelation than any before him. And yet when all the purposes of God are fulfilled in relation to heaven, in relation to earth, and in relation to Satan and the angels of Satan, God will be all in all and it will be the theocratic kingdom of God reigning and ruling In the universe. And may I also add, which I think is very emphatic to make clear, the manifestation of God will not only be the manifestation of God the Father, but God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. As thus they bring in. For may I emphasize, no work of God is without the participation of the Father and of the Son and the Spirit of God. And that you find throughout the whole word of God. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. As you have in Genesis one. And when you read the Hebrew word, Elohim. In the beginning. It's the plurality of persons. Implied by the meaning of that Hebrew name. God. Created the heavens and the earth. And when you read your Bible, you suddenly find throughout it again and again, here and there, God himself, the Father, had parted that creation. And then you do notice, and it's a precious thing to realize, the glory of that creation that God has brought to pass is given by the Father and the Spirit to the Son in the centrality of its work. But you also note, as you go to Genesis one. The Spirit brooded upon the waters of that scene of desolation that is recorded there. And so you have the activity of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. God. And when the new creation dawns, there's no question of doubt. It will be a theocratic kingdom where God, in all the greatness of his person and nature, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will be in the full revelation of of a kingdom that will be enjoyed by the redeemed of all ages. Now look with me on your lesson sheet, please. And we have read the dissolution of the present heaven and earth, passing away. You've got other scriptures we referred to them last week. And please note, there's no sea spoken of in that new creation. The sea in the new eternal earth, this restless, destructive and separating element of nature will not exist in the New Earth. I sometimes tell my Christian friends who enjoy fishing, you better do your fishing now, there won't be any water there. But anyway, there's a beautiful meaning. The sea is a body of water that separates people from people and nations from nations. But one can recognize the typical meaning, the spiritual meaning. We often used to sing a little chorus where then we'll be dwelling together. All human redeemed creatures will be together. Now look in verse two. We have the new Jerusalem. Note the reference. John sees it coming down out of heaven. Now note your notes. On number two. The new Jerusalem relative to verse two. The holy city takes its place in eternity on the new earth. It becomes the center of that new creation. The metropolis if I may so speak. And please note something. Remember, this is after a thousand years have gone by. After a thousand years has gone by. John says, I saw that holy city descending out of God. And note the words, adorned as a bride. Whoever has heard of the bride looking just as beautiful after a thousand years. But that's what the Lord means here. The bride of beauty. Please may I say. You think you're beautiful? You haven't seen anything yet. Neither have I. But the joy you have known. Let me give you this song. One of the greatest precious truths as you well know from first John three two. Beloved now are we of the sons of God. It does not yet appear what we shall be but we know when he shall appear. We shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. And beloved please let me say you and I Being that bride with all the redeemed of the church age will have the bridal beauty that was the same when the wedding takes place. How precious, never fading away. I often think of General MacArthur when he made his farewell address to the Congress. He was undoubtedly a remarkable man, possibly a Christian too. I recall very thankfully that at the end of the war He got in touch with a friend of mine who was the head of the one of the Bible societies in New York, not the American Bible Society, or the Pocket Testament League. And got him to come to Japan to bring Testaments. He said, they need the gospel. But I never think of him forget his address when he made the closing remark of his address before Congress. He said, old soldiers don't die, they just fade away. Well, thank God. That's what you and I are doing, fading away. But when we're in the glory, that glory that will be ours to be like Christ, never will it fade. Even after the millennial ages pass, we'll have that beauty. Then what, joy? Let me read that paragraph. The bridal glory is unchanged after one thousand years of the millennial reign. In eternity, the church will enter into eternal blessedness and rest and joy with her beloved Savior who purchased her with his precious blood as Ephesians five twenty seven tells of the value of the church to his heart now in verse three we find God dwells in the midst of his redeemed people forever know the words of verse three unlike the words I heard a great voice out of heaven saying behold take notice the tabernacle And you know the word tabernacle is the dwelling of God. The dwelling of God. The abiding presence of God is with men. He will dwell. He will abide with them. They shall be his people. And God himself shall be with them and be their God. Now I cannot enter into the great depths of the truth that is in this verse as I wish I could. But please amen. Let me re-emphasize. And note the expression, God himself shall be with them and be their God. It's a little thought that has blessed me. It illustrates it to a little bit of a degree. Did you ever think that it was God himself that walked with Adam in the Garden of Eden? It was. Did you ever think also when Cain slew his brother, it was God himself that talked to Cain about it? Did you ever think that it was God himself that walked with Enoch for three hundred years? It was God himself that walked with Noah. It was God himself that talked with Abraham. And one can recognize, if I give you the thought that is very precious, one can realize what God, why? Well, as As the Creed often says, why God made men, he made them for his glory. And his longing is to have fellowship with that. And what will it mean to him, as well as to the redeemed, when God himself shall be in our midst, and be our God, and we shall be his people. Oh, beloved, what a joy to know. We shall be brought into the presence eternally in the enjoyment of God. And again, let me repeat. Now believe with all earnestness, the full manifestation of the nature of God, and you cannot separate the Godhead from one another. They will believe in their separate entities, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And like the little chap, when he was asked what he knew about the Godhead, he scratched his head and said, as the older brethren questioned him about his salvation and this doctrine. I don't know much about it. All I know, the three in one and the one in three and the one in the middle, he died for me. Well, anyway, he got in the church all right. They took him in. But one can recognize all the unfolding through everlasting ages, we shall be with God and to know him better, and he'll be with us. Now, notice we go on, if you please... If I may read in verse four. And here we have the eternal consolation of all the readings. Why the consolation. Why the consolation. One thing. I think the best words in this little verse. And what follows. Are there two words. No more. No more. And I think God gives us. Not a description of what is life. But rather a description of what is not life. And that makes it sound a lot better. When you realize, please note the words, God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Wonderful girl when she heard it, she said, You know he must have an awful big handkerchief. Well, bless your heart, he does. But the joy of knowing, all tears, wiped away. And then second, there'll be no more death. No more death. No more sorrow. No more crying. Yea, there shall be no, neither shall there be any more pain. And for the former things are passed away. I think of a dear brother in Pennsylvania many years ago, whom I visited knowing he had a real heavy burden, much more difficult than mine only, he had an invalid wife, and she was very helpless. And he nursed her himself. together with some nurses' aid when they came in to help. But oh, it was a burden for him. And his family were not very sympathetic, unfortunately, and gave him very little help, which was sad. But he looked at me as I came to visit him and gave him words of comfort and encouragement. Brother Bramall, he said, well, now, dear to heaven, do I have to remember this? I looked at him. I said, no, brother. And I thought of the words of Isaiah sixty-five in verse seventeen, where Isaiah wrote, Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, saith the Lord. And the former shall not be remembered, nor brought to mind. Praise God! We're going to have good forgetteries. And forgetting what we want to forget. Praise God. And what a joy to realize. All the former things of pain and sorrow and sin and the curse of sin, death and tears, all that sin has brought, passed away. Oh, my beloved, what is too difficult to visualize, is it not? But it's going to be wonderful to experience. And what a joy it will be. And all the joy of seeing, the consolation of that New eternity. You know, humbly, but I say it gratefully, eternity means more to me than the night the Lord saved me back in nineteen fourteen. And that night it meant a lot to me. You know what it meant to me that night chiefly? I went home and said, Johnny, you're not going to help. That was uppermost. And properly so, the Lord Jesus had forgiven me my sins. And yet as I looked Tonight, today, I realize eternity means much more. Something worth looking forward to. Praise the Lord. Oh, I think of a dear old black fellow down in South Carolina. Had a good Christian friend. He had charge of many plantations down there back in the early days. And he had to ride around, seeing how things were going on these tenant farms. Once in a while, if I was free, I went with him, just a witness to some of those folks. And then I met a dear old fellow named Noah. I began talking to Noah about God, about heaven. And I was so enthusiastic when I told him I was going to heaven. You know what he says? There are many captains. He says, you isn't going there so soon, is you? Well, he took the breath out of my mouth in the way. But then I ministered the gospel to him. I said, well, Noah, I said, how about what are you anyway, Noah? Are you a Christian? Oh, I was a good Presbyterian. I said, your name is Noah? Yeah. I said, no. See, I think it'll be a good Presbyterian with all that water around Noah head. But anyway, he wasn't a believer in the Lord Jesus. But he wasn't too long afterwards, sad to say. My friend said to me, Brother Bradley, you remember Noah? He said, sure do. He said, he's dead. Just a few, oh, narrow weeks. He wasn't an old man, but the Lord had taken him. And I wondered where he went. Oh, beloved, let me say, it's a grand thing to know where eternity is going to be spent when it's with Christ. But let me say this, frankly, you don't find many people anxious about eternity. A preacher friend I was visiting with up in Virginia many years ago asked me to visit with him in a tubercular sanatorium in the little town in Virginia. And we went. He said they've got a speaker system through the whole building. It was quite a large building, three or four stories high. And we can give the message of the gospel over the speaker system. That would be great. But when we arrived, the speaker system was not working. So we had to go room by room visiting. Giving a try. The first room I went in, I gave to the first lady on the bed. I said, Lady, here's a nice gospel track to tell you how to get to heaven. She looked at me and she snapped out. I'd like to know how to get out of this here place first. So I thought quickly. I said, I can tell you how. How? Go to heaven. Oh, no, no, no, no. She said, true enough, both of her hands. Good luck. Frankly. That's the human attitude. The last form of leaving the world. Well, I want to tell you, I'm learning every day the best place to leave is the world. When you know you're going to heaven. And oh, the joy of realizing. The blessing that is to be the people of God. And what a joy. Note the paragraph we have on the lesson sheet. Let me read that closing paragraph. under number four and letter B, the sorrows of death, trial, reaping, pain, sin, and all its fruit will be removed forever. And this will be the final result of Christ's atoning, death on Calvary. Sorrow began in Genesis chapter three. Sorrow ends in Revelation chapter twenty one. But in between the beginning and the ending of all sorrow We see the man of sorrows on the tree of Calvary, crucified for our redemption, as we have it brought out in Isaiah chapter fifty-three and verse three. And what a joy to know. Someday there will be no more sorrow nor trial. Now look in verses five through seven, please. And here we have the eternal blessings that will be the portion of the redeemed. He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. I give you this, I commend you to you, if you wish to do it. It's a blessed thought. If you'll trace the word new in the book of the Revelation, I think you'll find it seven times. I'm pretty certain about seven times. The word new. I think the first occasion is in chapter three, or maybe chapter two, in chapter two. But anyway... Here is God saying, I make all things new. And all the joy of knowing, everything in that creation that God will bring in, is as He declares, I make all things new. And then He adds, He said unto me, Right, for these words are true and faithful. Note your lesson sheet, if you may. Let me read in letter A. The glory of the new creation will be ours, forever. All things new. Oh, beloved, there's nothing new. Well, let me give you the thought. Have you ever read the book of Ecclesiastes? Sometimes it's a puzzle for many people when they read that book. But there's some key words that can explain the teaching of it. It is a record. Sometimes you may wonder why it's in the Bible. When the old scholars have long ago, the Hebrew scholars were trying to put the Old Testament together, they wondered whether they should put in the book of Ecclesiastes in the canon of Holy Scripture. But God led them to do so. And the whole record indicates how Solomon was seeking to find, and you've got this expression that is the key, under the sun, as well as the word vanity. And you find that expression running all through the book. And you have a conclusion. Solomon declares there's nothing new under the sun. Everything that he writes about was not regarding heaven, it was regarding the earth. And you have him seeking many different forms of interest, what would satisfy, if it possibly could, his heart under the sun. And you know as well as I do, there's nothing on the earth that can satisfy the soul. And only that which is found above the Son, in heaven above, through our Blessed Lord Jesus, brings the satisfaction to the human heart we need. And so, but when we come to the new creation, oh, thank God, everything will be new. Forever new. Forever new. Well, you know, sometimes when you ladies do housekeeping, as well as this, yours truly. I said, Lord, I hope I don't have to dust and make beds in heaven. How about that? No, you won't. There's no night there. I remember many years ago visiting some Christians in Raleigh being in their home for having dinner one night. They had three young boys. Now the boys have grown up married long ago, but anyway, they had three young little fellows. And the father told me, he said, You know, Brother Grandma, I was reading Revelation twenty-one to my boys, trying to explain it the best I could to them. And after I was through, one of them said, Daddy, I don't want to go there. He said, I looked at him, and he said, Well, why don't you want to go to heaven? Well, he said, You read there'll be no night there. And he said, When night comes, I like to go to bed. Well, evidently, he's going to be disappointed, huh? But nevertheless, Oh, the meaning of it is much more than we can indeed take to him. The joy of knowing everything will be new. Everything new. A new creation. And all the glories of it furnished by God in his redemptive power through the Lord Jesus. Behold, I make all things new. Don't I make all things new. What is it? The words are true. They are faithful, as John writes. And then you have in verse seven those wonderful words. Let me point them out. He that overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God. He shall be my son. Go to your lesson sheet. I want you to note something under that title of verses five through seven and under letter B. These glories are given by God gratuitously without money and without price. Second Corinthians five, seventeen tells how they become ours. When we are saved, then we are counted in that new creation by God as belonging to the new creation. Let me quote those words. And I would like to quote them. Little differently than you have them in your authorized version. But from the corrected text, if any man be in Christ, the word in the authorized said, he's a new creature. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But may I state the meaning of it is deeper than that. It's far deeper than the change in the present life, which of course should be manifested. If any man be in Christ, New creation. The old creation. He doesn't belong to it anymore. He belongs to the new creation. Now let me add this thought. And this truth. The night the Lord Jesus saved you and me. Well whenever it was. Whether daytime or nighttime. He took you and me positionally out of the old creation. And he put us in the new creation. Now you're not there bodily yet. But in the sight of God, you don't belong to the old creation. And please let me give some corrected ministry that I believe could be necessary. There are some good evangelical Bible teachers that I have come across in their readings. They believe God saved you to make you what you should have been in the Garden of Eden. No, siri. Who wants to be like Adam? You were too much like him anyway. No. Christ. Christ is the new man. And it doesn't save you to make you the man you should have been in the old creation. He makes you to be the person that you now are in the new creation like Christ. And oh, what a joy to know. The transaction takes place. He takes you out of the old creation. Headed by Adam. Adam was the head of the old creation. Now let me ask you a question. Who's the head of the new creation? Christ. Head of the new creation. Read Philippians chapter in verse fifteen. And we find him the head of that coming new creation. He's the head. And what a joy to know when you and I were saved. Positionally, he took us out of the old creation. He put us in the new creation. And one can recognize how the character of the new creation life, Christ life, should be manifested in our present testimony while we're here upon the earth. But what a joy will be when we shall be completely like him and perfect in that coming day. But let me read, if I may, as we go to the last paragraph. of your lesson sheet there on the letter C. We are encouraged to overcome every difficulty in order to enjoy these things to come. Who can measure them? And we have the words of First Corinthians two nine. If you remember those words, I hath not seen, here hath not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But here are the words. Best of all, we shall enjoy them. We shall enjoy God, and God will enjoy us. He that over... Now let me give another meaning to the word overcome. Now go back in memory, if you will, to studying chapters two and three. Every letter written to the seven churches. The difficulties and dangers that the Lord brought into view. We were encouraged. He that overcome us. And who is he that overcomes? Go to first John chapter five, please. Let me please read the words of John. First John chapter five. Now, please let me stay. The one that overcomes is not the person that, then by his own personal integrity and personal effort, overcomes the difficulty. Let me go to first John chapter five and read verse four with you if you don't mind. for whatsoever is born of God. We can literally translate it, whosoever is born of God, that's the believer. The new birth, overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world. Even our faith. Now where do you put your faith? In verse four, verse five. Who is he that overcometh the world? But he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. And my beloved plea, let me put it this way. Every believer possesses the overcoming life. Now, I didn't say every believer overcomes. We should, but we possess the power of a life that can overcome. The difficulties of the past. Now, you can recognize what John implies in Revelation twenty-one of that new creation, as well as the Lord Jesus in the letters to the seven churches. The believer... who will by God's grace and enabling power, by faith in the Lord Jesus, having found salvation, will by grace continue in that path of faith, by the enabling spirit, by the enabling word of God, to overcome the difficult. If I may put it this way, let me put it this way bluntly. The more you overcome down here, the more you're going to enjoy heaven. That's really what it means. Now, I say very frankly, My fellow believer, how much do you want to enjoy heaven? The measure of your enjoyment is going to be according to the measure of your enjoyment of Christ now, and the enjoyment of God in your life. Oh, there's going to be degrees of enjoyment. There's going to be degrees of glory. Just as in hell, there'll be degrees of punishment. And oh, beloved, Let me quote the words of a dear friend of mine. He always did say this. Quite often he'd say, if there's one thing better than knowing that you're going to heaven, it's to enjoy heaven while you're going there. Why? Please let me put it before you. Look, it's difficult. We have troubles. We have trials. We have problems. We have sicknesses. We have sorrow. We have pain. We have many things in this present life. But the dear believer who will enjoy the things of God, regardless of the difficulties, and for God and Christ, first, that believer will have more participation in the joys of heaven. And so how we can realize, he that overcomer will inherit all, he'll enjoy everything. You'll have a measure of enjoyment, but may I suggest to you, Going into Second Peter, Chapter One. Second Peter, Chapter One. Peter speaks particularly about that same principle. We'd like to emphasize it as Peter does in Second Peter, Chapter One. And how he emphasizes the joy that should be ours and we should seek after. Now in the first eleven verses, Peter speaks of the character of the believer in the last days of Christianity. Days of difficulty. Days of peril, days of apostasy. And you can read the first ten, you can read the first nine verses, and you'll find that Peter seeks to stay up God's people, to live godly and have Christian characteristics. But please know verse ten and eleven. Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and your election sure, for if you do these things, If you do what Peter has written, you'll not fall. You'll have a present characteristic of steadfastness. But then, verse eleven, this is something in the future. For all you will have, and let me translate it in another translation, you'll have a triumphant admission, an abundant admission, into the everlasting kingdom, not just the millennial kingdom, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, beloved, please let me say, our place in glory, who knows it? None of us do. We shall not till the Lord comes. It is the Lord who will assign the place for you and me in that new creation that we must and we will occupy for him. Oh, may I say this, my beloved fellow believer, we're going to be serving the Lord in that new creation. We will have responsibilities. We will be in an everlasting kingdom. And the glory of the new heavens and the new earth will be administrated from that central city of the new Jerusalem. And the saints of God will have the participation according to their merit in the administrative work. And beloved, Peter says, please live. When you get into the glory, you'll have a prominent place of reward. Oh, Nick, now let me say something else too. Don't try to work for it down here as though you were a big person, a great person. No. What Peter writes of is really Christian character. All the way through his exhortation as you begin at verse four and read on. He writes of five, he writes of Christian character. Not only of faith, supply in your faith, virtue, courage, and to courage temperance, the temperance. He goes on to speak of patience or endurance, and then also of love, of brotherly kindness, and ultimately love, the word of God, God's love. And it's the character of the... Please let me say this. I need the advice. My greatest responsibility is not what I do, but what I am. You get the thought? It's not what we may do, but what we are that counts with the Lord. For there's no question of doubt. We may outwardly and vigorously be able to do much for the Lord while in this present scene. Ah, my beloved, let me give you the encouragement. What counts within his character? Christ-likeness. Peter mentions it. Godliness. Godliness. And if you read Peter's account, the beautiful sequence, supply in your faith courage or virtue. And then to courage, patience. And knowledge, and then patience, meaning endurance. And then, after endurance, godliness. And to godliness, brotherly love. And then to brotherly love, a godly, God's love. And if these things be in you, Peter says, and if they abound, they make you. Can I repeat it again? I need the emphasis. In my own ministry, please let me say, the quality of my ministry will never be any greater nor more blessed of God than the quality of my character. What I am, that's what counts. Mary said, Tis very possible. There may be more eloquent preachers, or more eloquent gifted teachers. It's not the eloquent. It's not the ability. It's the quality. Let me quote you the words of Paul, as he tells of the judgment seat of Christ for the believer. When he declares in First Corinthians three, in chapter three in verse twelve, in that day of revelation at the judgment seat of Christ, Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. And if any man's work about, and at that judgment seat, let me point out what he said. In that day, every man's work shall be tried for what sort it is, the quality of it. My beloved, I tell you very frankly. The number of people I preached to doesn't matter. I remember when I was a young Christian, I want to be another D.L. Moody. Oh, look at me. Look where I am. Well, that's all right. I think I'm where God wants me to be. But the part is this. The workman should be what God wants him or her to be. And if he or she is, God will use them. In whatever capacity it pleases him. Whatever place. in whatever vineyard that made, part of the vineyard that made his disposal to take one. And I say again, when it comes to inherit the glory of thy new creation, right down here you work for it. Like that dear old fellow, no, I recall when I asked him about going to heaven, you know what he said to me? I was working at it, Captain. Oh boy, you know what he meant. He was working to merit the kingdom. No, I mean, you don't. Not to get saved. when you're saved then it's time to begin working for the glory of that kingdom and what a joy Paul writing in second Timothy tells that he suffered for the many things that he suffered he did it not only for the saints for there for the elect saints that they might receive their salvation with eternal glory now what he meant he says I'm willing to suffer for my Lord's sake as an example to my fellow believers that when they, they suffer for him, they receive glory from him. Did not Paul write to the Romans when he declared that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed. Let me ask a question. It's apropos. Are you working for this creation down here or are you working for the new creation? Let me give you an example. One of the greatest Bible scholars of the past century, in my humble opinion, was a man named William Kelly. I love his writings. They're very deep, I know, but I get such blessing from his writings. And he was a man who was highly educated, who devoted his life in humility to serve God's people in teaching the Word of God. But he was very educated. And one occasion he had a nephew attending Oxford University. And the nephew was studying Greek in preparation ever done. He knew the word of God better. And he came to his uncle and asked him if he would help him with his Greek studies. And the uncle did. He was proficient in other languages, Hebrew as well as Greek and others. And so he helped the young fellow. And then the professor at the university called the young man to him one day and said, tell me something. Have you been getting some help outside the school in your Greek studies? And the young fellow said, yes, I have. They said, where? I've got an uncle that's been helping me. He says, I know there's something different about your studies. He said, I'd like to meet that uncle. And so they arranged a meeting. And as the man, he not only met Brother Kelly, but he took some of the faculty of the university with him. And they questioned this dear old brother. And he was a dear old man. No, he wasn't too old at the time, but he was a man of much learning, not only spiritual learning, but in academic studies of other times. And he recognized the amount of knowledge that this dear servant of God had in many different fields. And so at the close of their discussion, the spokesman said, Mr. Kelly, we'd like to offer you a position on the faculty of our university. We are sure that if you will join us, you can make a great name for yourself in the world." The old brother looked at the man and said quietly, Which world? Which world? Humbly, that's a great man, in my opinion. Now, he spent his days teaching the Word of God. doing all that he could. The dear man, he had a library of twenty-five thousand books, I heard. He donated them to the University of York in Yorkshire, England, the library for young men to have access to, to help them in their ministry for the Lord. Godly man, oh, beloved look, which will only praise God We're going to a new world. New heaven and a new earth. And oh God that. But note the last of the section of your lesson. The last verse. The eighth verse. And note your lesson sheet saying. That is the commentary. We have in this one verse. Eight classes of sinners are described. With their eternal doom. And the last reference to the eternal state. Is in connection with the lost. And there. Never ending anguish in the lake of fire. For death in the scripture never means cessation. It is always separation. And this will be the eternal separation and banishment forever from God and from his presence forever and ever at the last. Let me just read the words solemnly in verse eight. But the fearful, and will you note the next words, the unbelieving, the rejecters of Christ, The unbelieving of God's message of salvation, and the abominable, the murderers, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And solemn indeed are the words, there will be the fate of those that are lost. Can I say lovingly and earnestly, I wish I trembled more for the people around me, that are unsaved. One listens to the news, one hears of the crimes, the increasing lawlessness, the increasing wickedness. They'll never stop it till the Lord comes. He alone can stop it and will. But oh, think of the doom of the lost forever, forever. And many of them unfortunately will be saying, oh, if I only had taken Christ, Many of them will have had the opportunity. But oh, the sad weeping and wailing, thou would be their portion, as the Lord Jesus mentioned in, forever and never. Now may I say in closing, this is the end of the sequel from chapter nineteen, twenty, and into this part of chapter twenty-one. And it brings us to eternity. Now when you come to the next portion in beginning at verse nine, I just want to touch upon it in closing, and let me look at your lesson sheet on page number thirty-two. And I want to bring out very faithfully that here we have, before this brought, the glories of the new creation. Let me read the introduction. This scripture, beginning at verse nine, going down through twenty-two in verse five, describes the glory of the bride, the lamb's wife, the holy city, the heavenly... and heavenly seat of administration over the earth in the millennial kingdom. It is also the eternal character and glory of the bride, the church. But may I give a little explanation in closing. Now, I think if I recall correctly, in your lesson book that you have, if you've got a complete lesson book, I believe in the introduction, there was the mention of parenthetical sections. in the whole book of the Revelation, where we find after certain statements, God goes back and gives a deeper, more vivid, and detailed account of what has taken place in regard to that one thing. And similarly, when you come to the end of chapter twenty-one and verse eight, the new creation, Go reverse back and John is taken by an angel. If I may read verse nine only, please note, there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the lamb's wife. And he carried me away to a great and high, to a, to a, carried me in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Now here you have John taken to have a detailed description given him of that new Jerusalem. Please. This is really the glory and the description of the new Jerusalem, whether it's in the millennium as well as in the eternal state. But there's no question of doubt, it's not a continuous revelation at the end of chapter twenty-one and verse eight, as far as this sequence in the rotation of time. Because this glory belongs to the millennial state of the church during the kingdom of the Lord Jesus when he's reigning upon and over the earth. We'll see that when we come into the detailed study, but we'll leave that for next week. But I do trust that it's very... Please, let me give you one thing. Go down chapter twenty-one, please. Let me point out something to show you. It's millennial place, and you have it, if you please, near the end of chapter twenty-one. Let me read verse twenty-five, twenty-six with you. And the gates of the city shall not be shut at all by day, but there shall be no night there. They shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. And one can recognize, if you may go to the verse two, please, in the midst of the street of that city. And on either side of chapter twenty-two, on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manor of fruits, and yew it of fruit, and every month. And the leaves of the tree, now know, were for the healing of the nation. Now you have in those two scriptures the mention of the nations upon the earth. And there's no question that the blessing of that heavenly city over the millennial earth will bring its fruitfulness to the nations of the beyond the earth during that millennial day. So you've got a description of the city of its millennial place in glory over the earth, shining down and blessing the inhabitants below. As well, it will be the eternal glory of that city forevermore. Well, shall we pray our time is quickly gone. Bless Father, oh how we thank thee for the vision that God has given to his servant John in this wonderful book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. We bless thee for it. O God, grant that in our hearts as we bow together in the closing moment, there be the gratification, the worship and the adoration of our souls for the one who saved us. We can never merit heaven. We've married in hell. That we fully deserve. But all the privilege and the priceless joy of being able to say, I shall not be in hell. There is no condemnation. There is no hell for me. The fire and the torment mine I shall never see. And we acknowledge humbly but faithfully and gratefully we are saved by grace alone through faith in our blessed Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work. Bless and sanctify the thoughts to our hearts. Now Lord, we do pray this. As we separate from the lesson study today, may the truths that we've covered make us better people of God so little thy glory. Chills in our sorrow. Chills in our discomforts. Encourage us, Lord, in our pain and in all the trials. To know with joy we're going to be with thee forever. We ask it in giving me the glory in thy precious worthy name. Amen.