Leonard Ravenhill reflects on Revelation 19, emphasizing the significance of the marriage of the Lamb and the readiness of His bride. He draws parallels between the Old Testament Jerusalem, a city of God, and the New Jerusalem, highlighting the eternal nature of God's kingdom and the indestructible church. Ravenhill challenges believers to live as citizens of this heavenly kingdom, urging them to embrace their identity as priests and to act in accordance with their faith. He stresses the importance of personal commitment to God, suggesting that true discipleship may require radical changes in one's life. Ultimately, he encourages the congregation to look forward to the eternal city of God, where righteousness reigns and believers will dwell in His presence forever.

The seventh verse, let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife has made herself ready. I don't have to be very honest to tell you that we've been approaching this text for a few weeks and we've approached it very slowly and it still fills me with amazement and with wonder. Behold, be glad and rejoice and give honor to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife has made herself ready. On Tuesday night we thought of the city of Jerusalem. I believe, as I see it, that it was in God's mind that Jerusalem should be the city set on a hill that could not be hid. Not because geographically it's on a crag, which it is, but the city was rescued from the Jebusites by a very wonderful man in Israel's history by the name of David. His name actually means beloved. I have a boy David and I think it's borne out pretty well in his name, he's beloved. And David went and rescued the city from the Jebusites. The city has twin peaks. It has Mount Moriah and it has another peak. On Mount Moriah they built the temple. On the other peak David built the royal household. So when the people of Israel looked at that city they saw two things. They saw the stronghold as it were of God on earth. God in tended that city to be a righteous city, to be a stronghold of purity and integrity. And everything which was worthy of his name. And so when they looked up they saw there the temple. And then they saw also the citadel that David lived in, which we would call I'm sure a castle. And so they had when they looked up they had a vision of their king and they had a vision of their priest. Now let's leap over and remember in the book of the Revelation there is a city, the city of Jerusalem. The new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. And it's very beautiful and it's very spectacular. You know somebody says you've never seen anything that's perfect in its beauty until you see the Taj Mahal there in India in the moonlight. Well I went past it almost in the moonlight, didn't even notice it. But there are people who go and stand in the moonlight and they gaze upon this marvelous piece of white, this white building which was built when, let me see, a Maharaja grieved over his wife. If I remember right she had died. And so this building is one of the most spectacular things. But you know the great and marvelous temple that was built there in the Old Testament was also made of white marble. And parts of it were covered with gold, even on the roof. So it outclassed every other city, it outclassed every other building for the simple reason. Again it was to me a city set on a hill. You see in the daylight it would blind you as the Sun came down on the gold that was there on the roof. They looked at that city and they were inspired with awe. They were inspired with majesty. When they saw it in the moonlight it still shone anyhow. The gold still reflected the light of the moon. And that city was there set on a hill. It was the habitation of God on earth. It was as it were a foundation of righteousness. Now you remember when Jesus came to earth there'd been an awful deterioration. The people in the temple in those days were far more interested in selling sacrifices than making them. Now I can be as heroic as anybody else when I pray. And certainly when I preach. But it's getting down to the nitty-gritty that's the problem you see. It's putting into practice as Mrs. Wesley said, it's one thing to believe the gospel. It's another thing to behave the gospel. I read a statement by a young man that's studying full of seminary. It's, it's one of the most disturbing things I've read for years. He says I'm no longer interested in books. Now that makes me wonder why he's in the seminary. He said I'm no longer concerned about keeping my own life which is very beautiful. He says I'm no longer trying to evangelize the world. That's not my main target. But he says God has got down to me because I've been to a little place just by, maybe you've heard of it, a place called Plains in Georgia. There's a fellowship there called the Cognoy Fellowship. And it's pretty drastic. You can't enter it unless you sell everything you've got. Oh well I can do that when I'm praying. I'm heroic. I tell the Lord he can have anything. But what if he told me to sell my house tomorrow. What if he said the only way to lose your life is give every dime you have away and live that way. Now I'm not saying you have to. I'm saying this man who is a theologian, very brilliant man, says I've been into that fellowship and it's disturbed me, it's upset me. I can't keep a single thing that I have if I'm really disciple. Because Jesus didn't keep the thing he had. You see some people have said that Jesus was very militant against materialism. I think he was. And that he was always kind of fighting against the rich. Which I don't think is really true. It is true that he had to say to somebody loan me a penny whose is the superscription. Because he had nothing material. His contempt for the world was that he, they say that he had no house and he had no possessions. And he wore only one garment and he didn't have a single penny. Well by the same token. I don't know maybe a lawyer might call it the argument of silence. You could say he militated against marriage. Because he certainly didn't get married. He didn't have a house, he didn't have children. You see it's easy to run out on a limb in any direction at all. That's not difficult. You see people say well you should sell everything you have and hit the road. Well that might not be too difficult for Martha and I. But we have some neighbors with six children. You think they'd like to set off down I-10 tomorrow morning? You get arrested. Man we paid billions of dollars for highways you can't even walk down them. You can't even stop and take a picture. You get arrested for taking a photograph. What did you stop for? I wonder, didn't you see the sign? No stopping except emergency. What's your number? $25. For taking the picture in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Boy let's hope we never lose our freedom. But we've lost it you see. But I'm saying again you see it's so easy to run out on a, when you get fired in a certain direction by a certain thing. Now if God tells you to do it, do it. And you know what? He'll bless you a million fold. Do it and he hasn't told you, you'll end up with a broken heart, maybe a broken family. Because that's not the way necessarily God wants to take you. He takes each man by the way he wants to take him. All right. So the people in the Old Testament had this privilege. Here is the thing, in the Old Testament the City of God was visible. Right now the City of God is invisible. Then the City of God was destructible. Let me whisper it in your little ear, in case you're afraid of what's coming up. The Church of Jesus Christ, Jesus says the very gates of hell can militate against him. It's not destructible. They could look and see with their natural eyes, see the city. Oh there's no city on earth like this. There's no temple like our temple. Look at the gold on it. Every day I see, oh something comes up in me. You know some people say they almost swoon every time they see a sunrise or a sunset. Well I suppose it's as good as anything to swoon over if you have to. But they look beautiful. But you see these people saw this, this marvelous city. It was so visible. They had a visible priesthood. We have an invisible priesthood. They had a priesthood that could die. Our priesthood could never die. They had a select priesthood. Well I don't care whether you're a, I was going to say a lawyer, our good lady won't mind at the back there, whether you're a lawyer or richer than that. Or, or whether you sell matches and newspapers at the street corner. Doesn't matter, hill and vines to God. You're still a priest if you're redeemed. You might drive a stubborn mule that nearly drives you crazy. You wonder which end the mule's at. And you go through the field like that and then you get the end of the day. Well still lift your chin up and say, I'm still a priest unto God. I still have access as much as any man that ever lived anywhere at any time, through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the city in the Old Testament was very visible. Now I don't know what you see when you come in this house. There's not much to look at. And if you see it as a piece of metal, lying with an old guard, well that's all you deserve to see anyhow. But if when you come and check the dust off, and you walk in this very humble place and say, do you know what, this is the tabernacle of the Most High God. I'm entering into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. And God is as real here, and should be, and could be, and must be, as he is in a cathedral with its stained glass windows, and its priceless organ. You see, we, it seems to me many Christians these days, walk through the world as though we're kind of third-class Christians, citizens, if we're citizens at all. I mean have mercy on us. We've given up drinking, dancing, smoking, and you know what, it's nearly killing us. We can't find much joy anywhere else. Saturday night used to be so wonderful, but oh when Sunday comes, it's nice to sing one or two nice hymns, and get a bit of a lift in our spirit. Well heaven help us, if that's our concept of what Christ really wants. You see, he has made us again a kingdom of priests unto God. The world outside, it knows us not, the word says, because it knew him not. We don't have to wear a badge of distinction. You can wear a cross, or a face, or anything you like. I don't care, but by the same token, the world does not care for us any more than it cared for him. You know, the more righteous and holy you get, the more the world will hate you. Isn't that something? The world loves its own. Man, if you're, if you're bad-tempered, and irritated, and you get mad about things, they're saying, see Christians just like us. But when you can live under the pressure, and other demands, and under, under unrighteous acts of other people, and you maintain your spiritual life, you know, that's harder than hitting them with a brick. They say, why don't they fall down under pressure? Why don't they give way the way that we do? Now, remember this marriage ultimately, is the marriage of a king. If I were to ask you, don't, don't look right now. If I were to ask you, what was the question that Nicodemus put to Jesus, would you know? What did, what did Nicodemus say to Jesus? Huh? He didn't say anything. Not in the sense we think of. We think that Nicodemus asked Jesus, I should get to heaven. He didn't. It says, there's a man named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said, Rabbi, we know about a teacher sent from God. That's all he said. That's all he said. Now he preaches though, he came saying, Master what must I do to him? No, no, no. The rich young ruler came that way. Nicodemus didn't come that way. Right in the previous verses, everybody had been disturbed and amazed, because Jesus exhibited power that nobody else exhibited. And they were attracted by the miracles. And then this man, this member of the Sanhedrin, this intellectual, this man of impeccable morality, this man who was respected as a scholar, this man who's got it made. Somehow, as we sang in that hymn, I know not how the Spirit moves, something began to disturb him. And he said, this man has something that I don't have, and something that I need. And he goes and says, Jesus we know that you're a teacher sent from God. Now listen to what Jesus said. Jesus gives the answer of course. Jesus answered and said, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And the verse after he says, except a man be born of water of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. So he's got to see the kingdom of God, and he's got to enter the kingdom of God. Now the first thing there to me is this, that Jesus didn't say heaven. He says first of all, he cannot see the kingdom, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He didn't name it heaven, he said it is the kingdom of God. Now you can't divorce Jesus from kingship. Do you remember in the Old Testament, there was a cloud that hung over the tent, the tabernacle. The people looked and they said, God is there, there's the presence of God. Do you know just as that cloud hung over the tabernacle of old, the kingship, the dignity, the authority of Jesus was hanging over him all his life. And even sinners said, never man speak like this man. I say respectfully, my God I wish every preacher in America had preached like that. But as people went out to the sanctuary today and said, where has that man got his authority? He speaks with more authority than the lawyer in the court. He speaks with more authority than the man who's speaking to the nation. Where does he get his authority? Seems to me preachers preach this day as much as they say, well I'm not going to hurt you too much you know, because you might cut my wages up. I'm going to be very careful because, well the girl behind me, that blonde there, she happens to be the daughter of a multi-millionaire. And if I get too offensive, dad'll whip her out of the choir. And that'll be three thousand dollars gone out of the offering or something. He spoke with authority. Jesus never, never, never engaged in trivia. His talk was never cheap and disgusting and foolish. He spoke with dignity. He spoke with authority. He spoke with power. You can't divorce Jesus from, from kingship. Listen to the prophecy of Zechariah. In Zechariah 9 it says, rejoice, rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, shout daughter of Jerusalem. For thy king cometh unto thee, he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the fall of an ass. Now that's quoted how many times? I think it's quoted by three, three of the, in three of the Gospels it's quoted. And yet it's not quoted. Because the first part, rejoice greatly O daughter of Zion, is not quoted. The quotation is that, thy king cometh unto thee, meek and lowly and sitting upon an ass. Why didn't they rejoice? Why didn't they shout their hosannas? A few wild women did sure enough. Why not? Because the nation was living in a state of rejection. They had rejected him. How could they rejoice when they rejected him? Now apply that to your life and I apply it to mine. Sometimes when you're in the downs you know, instead of the ups, and you're so heavy and well, well check, it could be the enemy, it could be the fact that somewhere, you've been rejecting not him, but something he told you to do. Something he asked, a place he asked you to go. There may have been some rejection there. But thy king cometh unto thee. Now how do you get into the kingdom of heaven? I mean the ultimate kingdom, this, this eternal paradise of God. The only way you can get into, get into that kingdom, is because the kingdom is already in you. Isn't that simple? And isn't it profound? Jesus says you're looking here and looking there, and then he says the kingdom of God is within you. Remember those disciples sitting down and Jesus gave them the, as it were, the ten commandments of his kingdom, in that great sermon, the sermon on the mount. Well as they sat there, he outlined the laws of his kingdom. That's what he said. Now they heard the laws of his kingdom. You and I didn't hear them, we have a record of them. But you see, we're supposed to live the life of the kingdom, before we get to the kingdom. Remember the prayer, simple prayer, thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth. In what earth? Surely nobody suggests the kingdom of, of God is being done in the earth at this moment. The kingdoms of the world are full of rebellion. You see there are two of them. There's the kingdom of God, and there are the kingdoms of this world, in which you have rebellion, and witchcraft, and war, and demonology, and drink, and lust, and all the hellish things that drag people down. And on this side you have the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ, by which we enter, when we say thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth. What earth? Well shall I remind you right now, that that's all you're made of. You may look very pretty, you may have washed the earth very well, and combed it very well, but you're still earth. And if we push you in the box, and go looking for you in 25 years, well you just won't be there. The worms will have had you for lunch. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. I, I think it's put nice in that hymn of Edwin Hatch's, breathe on me breath of God. You remember at the end he says, until this earthly part of me glows with thy fire divine. Do you know what? Many of us are postponing our heavenly life, till they shove us in a box, and suddenly we wake up with Peter, or whoever keeps the gates up there. Hey that's a bit late, you'll have missed 40, 50, 60 years of walking with him. You and I are subjects of a king. He has a kingdom. Again I remind you of John Ellington's words, so be it Lord thy throne shall never, like earth's proud empires pass away. Thy kingdom stands and grows forever, till all thy creatures own thy sway. Now this king, Paul says, is it writing to Timothy, the king eternal, invisible. Oh boy he piles that up, gives me, gives me a lot of wonderful feelings inside. No I'm not following a man that dragged his cross through a city. I'm, I'm following a man who is risen with power and authority. Not going to have it, he has it. The trouble with the church is, we're, we're hoping one day he's going to kick the world over, and, and, and establish a system of righteousness, and get rid of all the hellish things that there are. You know if the church of Jesus Christ functions as she said, a lot of those things would exist even now. Not over the whole earth for sure. You see we, we, we have not received. Sure it's nice to think freely you've received. Received what? A testimony we say, fine. But what about the outworking of that? Again he gives gifts to men. I can return, remember a time when I, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't do anything. I was much younger obviously. I preached in the middle of the day, I preached in the middle of night, midnight, one o'clock, two o'clock, to movie house crowds. I preached on the beaches, I walked the length of England, I walked the breadth of England. I wore myself out. I'm quite happy that I did. I couldn't do it now, because I don't feel it's my calling at the moment. Just recently I, we met a couple and we've known them for some years, and they were active in a ministry that I thought was very, very engaging. I was startled to find they're, they're only a young couple, and I was startled to find now that they have another ministry. They were watching ministry. Oh the Lord told us there are so many, so many orphan children, and, and so many retarded children, and, and so many abandoned children. But the Lord said, it's all right kneeling and praying and saying do this, what about those spare beds? So now we're building another room on the house, and soon we'll have six. They're none of their own. We're importing six little children. I think they've two or three, and we're taking two or three others in, and, and this is our ministry. Somebody else says, well I've, wife and I have decided that the best thing we can do is spend our days in a sewer like New York, and we're going to join team challenge, and, and this is our, this is our ministry. Fine, but that doesn't mean everybody has to do it, because you do it. Everybody has to do it, because I do it. The thing is again, as the Word of God says, whatsoever He saith unto you, do it. But listen, remember this will you, He says in that day, that these little defenseless children, of such is the kingdom of heaven. And it looks a lot more heroic to put a city-wide crusade on, and be the star, and get your picture in the paper, and be on channel seven twice a day for three weeks, and then disappear. Then run over little children that didn't make it to the bathroom, and forgot to get up one night, when they didn't feel so good in bed. And you've all the things to wash, and you have a stack of other things to wash, and oh boy. When you start working your salvation out that way, that's a pretty different story isn't it? To someone else, God, I remember a man that God said, listen you quit right here, and sell out business, and go to the other most parts of the earth. And you know what? His wife wouldn't go, so he gave her a million dollars, and he went up the, into Brazil all by himself. And then at the last minute, she pushed the five kids on him. So he took them with him. I don't know how he did it. I'm just saying that the claim of God comes in this way to one person, in that way to the other. And again whatsoever He saith unto you, well let's be quite sure that we do it. All right, if we're going to get to this kingdom, well obviously you've got to be a citizen of the kingdom. The Lord Jesus isn't going to marry a bride that isn't in the kingdom. Well then how do we get into the kingdom? We get into the kingdom by, as you well know, repentance, faith toward God, and confidence in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the Word of God says that we are, we are made partakers of the divine nature. We have eternal life. We have a home in the heavens, not made with hands. We have an indestructible priesthood. We have an everlasting kingdom. These are all the benefits that we receive. But we're still down on this earth, we're still, the Word of God says we're still pilgrims and strangers. You know that I think maybe if I could, if I could reduce all I wanted to say to ascendance is this. I think it's a tragedy the world can get on as well as it does with the church. Didn't do that in New Testament days. You see our ideas of holiness are almost as perverted as those people who, you remember when they, when they heard that the Turks and the Saracens had taken the holy city somewhere about what 1000 and, year 1009. And the Britishers and others went with what they call the crusaders. And Richard Cordillian went. Do you remember the man with a great breastplate and, and he started the, the war on the crusaders. And they massacred thousands of helpless men and women both to rescue a city that had long since ceased to be holy. Somebody asked you on the spot, how did the Crimean war start? You know it started that massive Crimean war. Because somebody moved the star out of the, what, what, there's the holy sepulchre and the place of the nativity and somebody moved the star. And was it the Russians and the French got mad about it. We had a war over moving the star where the Prince of Peace was born. That's how fanatical you can get over religion. And they thought the city was holy because the priests and the prophets were there. Now surely in the Old Testament sense it was the home of priests, it was the home of prophets, it was awesome when God was there. You see the world doesn't recognize the church of Jesus Christ unless you have a spire and you have a train car and stained glass windows and all the other trimmings. Well the early church didn't have that. For the first 200 years of Christianity a man couldn't own his own home and certainly no church property was owned. They met in homes but I'll tell you what, yes they witnessed I don't doubt. You can't prove from the scripture they ever had an evangelistic crusade. In my judgment the evangelist in the New Testament is the missionary of today. Do you know why they went to church? Well I'll tell you why they went to church. They were magnetized by two things, the presence of God in the sanctuary and the radiance of the people who've been transformed by grace. The church was so terrible no man dared join it. Man if you weren't upright somebody might have said, listen brother I happen to know the other day that you committed adultery. They might say it publicly, they might say it secretly. But you see that idea of nobility, spiritual nobility, spiritual character, spiritual purity is gone. We've commercialized the church. If you're money you sit on the front bench. That's why we've nobody sitting on it. But if you're rich you get a place of distinction. Oh I long, I long, I long to see a restoration of apostolic Christianity. It will be pretty troublesome. It will be pretty difficult until we got used to it. Man alive it will be so startling that those of us who feel we've got some fire would discover we're just about as hot as an iceberg. Those of us who think we've got some zeal would wake up and say my god I've been dead for the last 10 years. In the New Testament no man cared for his life. Man it was as easy as die as to sneeze almost. Because now we find scriptures and we twist them and torture them to our own satisfaction. Render the Caesar the things of the Caesars, and to God the things of the God. All right let's look in Hebrews for a moment here. Where Hebrews chapter, chapter 12 I guess. Now here you've got the contrast between the old dispensation and the new. In the again the 12th chapter, let's read from verse 18. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched and burned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest. And the sound of a trumpet and the voice of words, which voice they heard. And treated and that word should not be spoken of them any more. For they could not endure that which was commanded. And if so much as a beast touched the mountain it shall be stone or thrust through with the dark. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said I exceedingly fear and But ye are come unto mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, unto the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly of the church, of the firstborn, which are written in heaven. And to the judge of all, and to the spirits, of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator. Man that's a load isn't it. Now did you really come here to meet all that this afternoon, or what did you come for? As I ask people very often, do you go to the house of God, to meet God, or to hear a sermon about God? You see here's the difference, under the old system, when God wanted to meet, He met with Moses. On one occasion you can bring Aaron, on another occasion you can't bring anybody. But on this occasion, the mount where God spake, it was wrapped in a black mantle of darkness, the illumination was lightning, the whole earth shook. And they thought of God as a God of judgment and of anger, not so much as a God of mercy. And so the writer to the Hebrews says, that's the old dispensation. Now look what you've done. You have come unto, unto Mount Zion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven. And to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling. Man, he keeps going on with his ands, and this, and that, and that, till he leaves you almost breathless. We don't come any more to a God. Oh he's the same God of justice, he's capable of the same anger. But you see there's been a bridge made through Jesus Christ, and that old order has gone. And now we come to a king sitting upon a throne. We come to what? You come unto Mount Zion. I like the hymn, I don't know how true it is, we're marching to Zion. I think most of us are crawling there, but that's another thing. But we like to sing we're marching to Zion, the beautiful city of God. You see these people remembered the old Zion. Or they could see some of the relics of it. They had it read to them over and over again. I'm sure the priests ministered and talked about the glory of God that filled the temple. They talked about the lesser breeds without the law. They talked about the heathen, the Amalekites, Hittites, Perizzites, and what have you got. And we're God's holy people. Well tell me this, did you walk through Seguin this week as though you're one of God's anointed? Did you walk through, I was going to say San Francisco, San Antonio, as though you're one of the chosen of God? You see here you have a high priest, there you have a king. This is where the priest lives, that's where the king lives. They're both put together. And Peter says now if you're a true believer, if you're born again of his spirit, if you're born of his spirit, if you're washed in his blood, we are a royal priesthood and a holy nation. We don't have to go look at the strange city. We look for a city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. We've no longer got our eyes on an earthly Jerusalem. We know that like all other systems, these religious systems break down. But we're looking rather unto Jesus the author and the, and the finisher of our faith. Hebrews 1 and verse 6. And again he that bringeth in the first begotten into the world said and let all the angels of God worship him. And he made his angels ministering spirits and his ministers a flame of fire. Now you know this is, this is so vast you could take a whole bunch of studies out of this. We come to the city of God. Man that ought to thrill us. We come unto Zion. Well Zion was again the, their temple. But we don't need a temple. I think that one of the startling things that John had in the book of the Revelation was, he said that when he looked he saw no temple in it. When you go to a foreign country, mostly when you approach any country, the first thing you see is the dome of St. Peter's or St. Paul's Cathedral or an outstanding church. Somebody said it, New York's the only city where you don't see that. All you see is skyscrapers. All you see are monuments to money, money, money. You enter the city of materialism. There is no dominating church there. All right don't look too cheerful. But you see we have come to Mount Zion. We have come to the heavenly Jerusalem. We have come to the place where there is no need of a temple because the whole city worships him. There is no need of an altar because he is the altar and he is the sacrifice. There is no need of light because he is the light. Oh it's a wonderful city. Sure it is. We're going to a city. We don't happen to live in a city here do we? I don't know what it is. People say what is Seguin? I say I've never found out yet. I don't know what it is. Usually I say it's a one horse town but the horse died. But a city is nice. That is there's something regal and wonderful about a city. Do you know what it says a bit later about that city in the book of Revelation? Oh let me go a bit further. The city of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels. A city of the Living God. In Revelation 3 and verse 12. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go out no more. And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God which is new Jerusalem that cometh down from heaven. Isn't that great? You'll never forget your citizenship. Do you know why? Because he's going to mark you with his, with a brand. You're going to have a brand whereas in the world they have the mark of the beast. You're going to have a brand of the city of our God upon us. Where is property? Where is sheep? Now his sheep are in many folds. One day there'll be one fold and one shepherd and his name shall be upon their foreheads. The city of the Living God. I mean why didn't you choose the night if you were here? It happens to be 1,500 miles down that street and 1,500 miles this way and 1,500 miles that way. That's the greatest city the world's ever dreamed of. Do you wonder it says in my father's house are many mansions. 1,500 that's from Austin to New York. That's at one wall. I don't know which other way you'd measure it but it's 1,500 miles that way and 1,500 that and 1,500 that. 1,200 cube oh man that's a vast city. And you know what? Nothing but defilers is going to enter that city. We're not only going to have the city but we're going to an innumerable company of angels. Won't that be lovely? Don't you think so? I think it will be. An innumerable company of angels. Well I don't know how many there are because again it just says an innumerable company. It says in the book of the Revelation thousands and thousands and tens of thousands. It gives you at least a hundred million and then in case you're satisfied it says an innumerable company. You can't measure them. You say well well let me see when satan transgressed didn't he pull down a third part yet but he only got a third part. We've got an innumerable company you can't number them. You remember Elisha and the young man says you know I feel terrified. I think they're going to take the city and I think things are getting rough and we ought to get out of here. Oh he says Lord open his eyes open his eyes open his eyes he says yes Lord but there's so many I can't number them. They're filled with the chariots of the Lord. Well satan was smart. You see satan knew that Jesus wanted a kingdom. He's going to have a kingdom. He always came for a kingdom. He is the king. He is the eternal king and satan offered him the kingdoms of this world. He knew he was going to get them but he said shortcut it don't go to the cross I'll give you the kingdom. Jesus never said you're a liar they're not yours to give they are his to give. I believe in this sense that satan has dominion over much of the world in which we live. And Jesus wouldn't go for it. But satan knew that Jesus was going to going to have a kingdom one day. And so I like that same word that's in Hebrews 1 where it says thy throne O God is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom. I don't care whether Jimmy Carter does a good job or not I hope he does but I'll tell you what I'm not looking for righteousness on this earth. I'm not looking for justice on this earth. I'm not looking for decency on this earth. I'm not looking for those things which pertain to godliness because men are on the earth earthly. And I'm told to look upon whatsoever things are lovely and of good report. And I can live in heavenly places in Christ Jesus now by my attitude towards eternal things instead of the perishing things that are round about me. Where do you live? Well friend if you want to know my home is eternal in the heavens that's where I live. I sleep up the road a few miles from here but I don't live there. I live in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that's where I have to live. I'm not hoping to enter the kingdom. The kingdom of God has already entered into me if it hasn't I'm in trouble. Because you see it says nothing but defile us shall enter into heaven and if you die a minute from now and you haven't the kingdom of heaven you've no chance of getting there. Now of course people have figured it out who's going to get into the kingdom. Some would have got in but they got baptized by sprinkling instead of immersion so they're out. They'll never make it. And one bunch doesn't speak in tongues so they're going to be gardeners or something but they're not going to make it you know the right way. They didn't just get in the right way that's all there is to it. Hey I'll tell you what I'm glad he keeps the record. Rather I'm glad he didn't say if you can't have answer every word of theology correctly and recite Psalm 1 right through to the end of the 119th you won't make it. No sirree. I'm glad it is not anything I have to do it's something he's already done he's not only done it for me he's done it in me. If he hasn't then I'm not a Christian. I'm not a Christian because I believe in the virgin birth the devil believes in it he witnessed it. I'm not a Christian because I believe Jesus rose from the dead Jesus did rise but satan knew that but he didn't redeem him. I like that song we sang this afternoon don't have it every week. Please come and bring a hymn with you on Tuesday night if you don't the somebody else will steal the wondrous thing every week but anyhow bring a hymn with you. I know in whom I have believed and I'm persuaded and that was the anchorage of the apostle Paul and listen as the storm breaks on the world that's going to be your anchorage of mine I know I know I know. There's nobody stretches that more than John we think Paul did it John did it read the epistles of John he says we know that we have passed from death unto life we know in whom we have believed we know that we love the brethren. We used to have a testimony meeting in the church I pass and on a Saturday night we just gathered to sing hymns and and to testify and they call it a say-so meeting. Hey you went to the say-so meeting somebody says what's a say-so meeting well let the redeemed of the Lord say so. So we had a say-so meeting my sometimes we really got off the ground they got full of praise and adoration somebody even raised their hand don't mention that but they did and people got excited about it. You know we're not going to pass from death unto life we have passed from death unto life we're not going to enter the kingdom it's already entered us otherwise we couldn't live in a mad house that you call this world like this if it wasn't so. All our values have been turned upside down all our interests have been changed we know and it says we have because satan himself quoted it and he says well Jesus don't be afraid to do that you know what your father said he'd give you angels who took care of you and Jesus answers in a subtle way and said he didn't say guard me if I do something stupid he'll give his angels charge concerning me if I'm in his will but if you decide that you're on the wrong plane and open the door and walk out well I've an idea Gabriel won't be there to rescue you with a parachute but you you make it make it the wrong way he won't give his angels charge for you unless you're in his perfect will that's all we've come to a heavenly Jerusalem oh isn't that lovely Jerusalem is defiled right now hey you know what I think you might just stop there a moment and remember what Jesus says when you see Jerusalem surrounded with armies look up don't look down don't look sideways look up Jerusalem is surrounded with armies this afternoon and Jesus says when it is you're getting very near to the end I won't tell you the hour the moment but these are the signs of the times Jerusalem is surrounded with armies she's the headache of the nation one of the biggest blunders that Mr Carter could make would be his dealings with with that little country as against the power of the Arabs see it so happens that the Arabs have a lot of stuff we need it's called oil black gold and the poor little Jews don't have much and yet it's amazing the billions of dollars we're pouring to the end to defend the little country you could drop in one of the great lakes and lose it wasn't it the Hitler who said to the chief rabbi I'll curse you and the chief rabbi said you can't curse us because God has blessed us and no man can bless us because God has cursed us they're a paradox of a nation but they love Jerusalem the psalmist says if I forget the old Jerusalem let my right hand lose its cunning and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth now that's pretty serious praying I love Jerusalem it's a city of God but Jerusalem has been pillaged it's been destroyed it's run with blood up to the up to the knees of the horses Titus went and ravaged women in the street and they they pulled the city to destruction the greatest most costly building ever built surely was the was a great temple of God in that city but she'd been laid to the dust and you can't find a fraction of it now and all hell has broken loose but listen it's nothing to what the powers of darkness have done against the church of Jesus Christ and what they're going to do but the only thing is they're not going to pull it down they're not going to destroy our Jerusalem I believe the church of the living God is the Jerusalem on earth at this moment and it's purely indestructible there's no powers as Wesley I think said in a hymn should all the hosts of death and powers of hell unknown put their most dreadful forms of rage and malice on I shall be safe for Christ displays superior power and boundless grace you see you and I haven't seen much of the power of God you know why because we've never been in a jam where we needed to see it and God isn't going to split his power just to show off but I'll tell you one day when it looks as though the jaws of hell have opened and you're just going to get in he'll give the jaws lock jaw and they won't be able to shut just when the devil's going to gobble you up he'll say no should all the powers of the hosts of death and powers of hell unknown put their most dreadful powers on Wesley said dreadful forms of rage and malice God never said that satan wouldn't rage against us he never said there wouldn't be malice but he didn't say this fear not I've overcome the world and he said I will see that you get through in the same way I got through and if he asked to employ angels to do it well hallelujah he'll do it he'll give his angels charge concerning us and then he says we've an innumerable company of angels and the general assembly and the church of the firstborn which are written in heaven not beautiful you know there's been a lot of discussion about that general assembly what it is I think partly it's the general assembly of angels because all angels aren't the same even there are distinctions amongst the angels aren't there I can't remember the scripture at the moment I had one in my mind which somewhere in Ephesians well let's put let me read this one to you anyhow from Ephesians 2 and verse 7 that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us through Jesus Christ that's in the ages to come you see again we we haven't touched a fraction of our inheritance in Jesus Christ he's not going to load you up with power until you feel you're going to explode until you get in a situation where you need that power he's not going to load you with wisdom until that moment he says there'll be a crisis moment when you might stand before magistrates or kings of the earth and feel as dumb as the ground under you and in that moment he'll tell you what you should say it'll be your immediate inspiration it'll be your immediate wisdom it'll be your immediate strength but not until I get to the bridge he won't take me under the over the bridge till I get to it obviously the assembly and the church of the firstborn to God the judge of the all the earth and the spirits of just men made perfect the verse I was going to read to you as Ephesians 3 and 5 if I remember now which in other ages Paul says was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the spirit we're going to come into things in these days that have been hidden from the ages because they weren't needed in those ages and they'll be needed now and I believe God's going to live prevail and we're not going to see through a glass darkly as much as we've been doing in the past years because we come to this crisis period when we need this wisdom and we need this understanding and we need this strength and we need this power let's go back a minute here to the psalms I got to jump ahead and herb this afternoon because that psalm had been on my mind and he thought of the same thing anyhow look at these psalms in 46 and 47 and 48 this is a well I don't know how you pronounce it some pronounce it a trilogy a triology of psalms they're all prophetic psalm 46 verse 1 this is a lutheran psalm did you know that this is what they call it luther's psalm because he wrote that marvelous hymn you know that a mighty fortress is our God you see what the psalmist says you know what everybody thinks if you're a christian a kind of a third rate intelligently third rate in your spirit third rate in everything man you and I ought to have a backbone like an iron girder and say look you're standing on sand we're on the rock the visible things will perish the invisible things are eternal what does he say God is our refuge and strength a very present health in trouble therefore will we not fear though the earth be removed and all the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea though the waters thereof and be troubled or the mountain shape with a swelling thereof now this is prophetic of the new jerusalem there is a river the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God but there is no river in jerusalem is there not jerusalem on earth but do you remember what John says in that wonderful book of the revelation which we read sometimes huh he showed me a river oh that was some river as clear as crystal he showed me a pure river of the water of life now just before my neighbors get excited it has a sign on this river no fishing how do you know because there's no death so you couldn't catch the fish and you know what in heaven we're not going to eat meat we're all going to be vegetarians right because there's no death nothing will be killed and you know what if you want to walk across that river just walk enjoy yourself won't i drown can't drown there's no death in the city he says you can go scuba diving walk on the bottom you'll still breathe wouldn't that be wonderful you won't need a tank on your back look like something from another world like these guys do you just go down and say well i'm going down here i love seeing under you know the vegetation under the sea be beautiful he showed me a river what a river no pollution not of any kind the river is as clear as crystal proceeding out of the throne of god and of the land and it says two verses further down there's no curse and it says in the same verse that there's a throne and it says in the same verse that he asked servants to serve him and then in the next verse you know it says this would be wonderful notice the throng will you there's a throng there his servants there's a thrill there they shall see his face my my my what an experience go back to that psalm a minute again will you psalm 46 is a prophetic psalm this is the city verse five god is in the midst of her she shall not be moved god shall help her and that right early the heathen reigns the kingdoms will move the earth of his voice the earth melted the lord of hosts is with us the god of jacob is our refuge verse eight come behold the wonders of the lord what desolations he hath made in the earth he makes wars to cease there should be no more war next verse says you have to be still and know that he's god now psalm 47 with our brother red clap your hands shout unto god with the voice of a trumpet for the lord most high is terrible he is a great king over all the earth he shall subdue all our enemies under us he shall choose our inheritance for us no we're not all going to be same pitching in the same place in heaven we're not all going to wear the same clothes we won't all have the same ministry there's four and twenty elders in one section in another place it talks about the the crowns of the gift now talks about the robes that people wear talks about some of the first being last and some of the last being first oh there are many many distinctions here all right he shall choose our inheritance for us verse four verse five god has come up with a shout the lord with the sound of a trumpet verse six sing praises to god sing praises now verse seven for god is the king of all the earth he's the king of all the earth well that's exactly what the book says doesn't it it says now that jesus christ has dominion over all and the kings of all the earth are going to come and pay tribute to him so this must be a prophetic psalm it's prophetic of the lord jesus when every kingdom has been subdued and he's reigning as the king of kings and of the lord of lords now come down into the next verse great is that pardon me the next psalm great is the lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our god in the mountain of his holiness in psalm 87 this is what the psalmist says verse 3 psalm 87 glorious things of thee are spoken it isn't in our hymn book and i'd have you sing it luther has the uh 86th psalm all right let him keep it 46 i mean that's his psalm mighty fortress is our god montgomery wrote a hymn on you know it glorious things of thee are spoken zion city of our god he whose word cannot be broken form thee for his own abode on the rock of ages founded what can shake thy sure repose with salvation's wall surrounded thou may smile thy foes savior if in zion city thou enroll my humble name let the world deride or pity i will glory in the shade on the rock of ages founded what can shake thy sure repose with salvation's wall surrounded thou may smile at all thy foes see the streams of living water and so he goes on but glorious things of thee are spoken zion city of our god his word cannot be broken therefore it says beautiful for situation the joy of all the earth is mount zion on the sides of the north the city of the great king so therefore it's an eternal city because it's the city of the great king and he is the king eternal invisible immortal the god only wise in light inaccessible hid from our eyes unhasting and unchanging and as silent as light hey those those hymn writers must have got blessed when they poured all that stuff out don't you think huh man they must have gone parading round clapping their hands singing immortal invisible god only wise in light inaccessible hid from our eyes unchanging unhasting and oh wow wow they must have had a love feast every time they went to the sanctuary and met each other i sometimes wondered how calper and uh and newton and those fellows that wrote what we call the only hymns they were in a town called only in england i wonder what in the world it was like when one guy comes up and says hey you know i just gotta listen to this sit back a minute and put your feet up one is it you never heard this before listen the lord gave me this just last wednesday night uh amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved the wretch can you imagine the first time he recited that to his buddies they were all points jerusalem jerusalem the golden with milk and honey blessed beneath thy contemplation sing heart and voice oppressed i know not oh i know not what joys await us there what radiancy of glory what bliss beyond compare they stand those halls of zion all beautiful with song and bright with many an angel and all the raptured throng there is the throne of david and there from care released the shout of them that triumph the song of them that feast and they who with their leaders have conquered in the fight forever and forever addressed in robes of white oh sweet and country the home of god's elect oh sweet and blessed country that eager hearts expect jesus in mercy bring us to that fair land of rest who are with god the father and spirits ever blessed they stand those halls of zion all jubilant with song well brother the first time you put your foot over the threshold and you see that number a multitude that no man can number you see all the saints of the angels and the apostles and you've come through hell while you're on earth there's gonna be men there that lost a limb in vietnam there are men they're blind in this country they won't get a hundred thousand a year for doing it like the president does for drinking his juice they're crippled and handicapped and maimed some of the most horrible things i've ever done is go through veterans hospitals in this country you know there are still one or two men from world war one in england that have no legs and arms you know there are some saints this afternoon being flogged half to death in prison camps in russia and china people in god's name we we think we do god a favor if we turn up during the middle to a midweek service these days almost not here thank god but most places it's almost a drag to go to the house of god well listen friend i'll tell you this if you can't stand an hour and a half in god's presence you'll never stand eternity in his eternal presence if we can't understand him if we can't stand him as we see through a glass darkly when the veil is torn away and we see his blinding majesty want to follow his feet of it no you'll never even make it hurt you'll never make it forget it god won't embarrass you like that go to hell you've had all your lifetime to choose to go to heaven he's not going to snap you from the pit of hell in the last second no sir no sir he knocked at your heart many times in this sanctuary or somewhere else around radio when you got attacked let me quote one more verse our paul's lovely favorite hymn for all the saints who from their labors rest do thee by faith before the world confess thy name oh jesus be forever blessed hallelujah from earth's wide bounds from ocean's farthest coast through gates of pearls streaming a countless host singing to father son and holy ghost hallelujah hallelujah thou art their shield their fortress and their might thou art their what conquest thou art the captain in the well-worn fight i can't remember i know every line finishes with hallelujah but i think of that often when i read the news when i think of what's coming up when i hear of the subtleties of russia when i'm told gas will go up at least 10 percent in january and utilities are going to get up and the squeeze is when i read that by 1980 will be a cashless society when i read these other things that are coming up in the land of the free to make it look like bondage well what in god's name happens in other countries and then i lift up my eyes onto the hills from whence cometh my help because jerusalem was on a hill and they looked up to the city and you and i are supposed to look to the city of god and say i belong to a city that has foundations whose builder and maker is god there's not a dynamite on earth or hell to move that city there's no legislation men have ever had in the kingdoms of tara the kingdom of jupiter that can change the legislature of the eternal god and the eternal heaven all sweet and blessed they stand those halls of zion all jubilant with song i was pretty as with it but i was thinking of again this morning i'd like to preach on it every week the most awesome moment in eternity when john says i wept i didn't shed tears like somebody who's got a crushed finger of whose feelings are hurt he greens with the brokenness that jesus had it's the same word it's only used once in the new testament again and it's when jesus wept over jerusalem and john says i wept because nobody was able to take the book out of the hem but sat on the floor i'll tell you what if you looked at that every day you'd get victory a lot more than you get you'd want to tell somebody about it poor some doomed damn sinner you'd want to tell you won't let the devil make all the demands on you that he makes and get you and rub your nose in the dust and getting you wondering about this and the other brother keep your eyes on the city there's no one i read the other day and i'd never thought of it the same you know it says when god spoke to abraham do you know what he said he says come out a minute he just made him a promise and you know abraham did he went out of his tent and he looked unto heaven i thought that was beautiful there's nowhere else he could have looked at that moment in john 17 it says and jesus lifted up his eyes unto heaven nowhere else he could you know what god is going to starve you and me in this world till the only place you can look and the only place you want to look and the only place you can look for comfort and strength and confidence is look to him every day look in his eyes look in his face know he keeps his promises they stand those halls of zion all jubilant with song can you think of a multitude which no man can number all the saints all the apostles peter and james and john and matthew and mark and what were those funny folk called down there i can't remember all the names titicus boy i'm glad my dad didn't call me that i'd have i'd have taken the mickey out of me at school if i'd been titicus and an aristarchus and a few of those others and then some of these old kings up here yeah friend i want to tell you something we're not going to a flea house when we die we're not going to a place where everybody has legs and some have one leg and some have one eye oh no you forget it it's going to be a new Jerusalem it's going to be a new creation heaven and earth will pass away everything will be perfect my body will be perfect my mind will be perfect my emotions will be perfect my understanding will and you know if they weren't as soon as i'd strayed through that door into the holy city i'd explode if i hadn't have a body like that the redeemed of all the ages and once you go through there nothing that defiles nothing that depresses nothing that darkens nothing that disappoints nothing that distresses nothing that can disillusion you brother they're all at the other side you can have them in hell we're not going to have them there because we've sung many times hmm i don't know where to put the emphasis i'll put it on the will it will be worth it all when we see jesus we'll be so embarrassed the lord will say what are you crying for you say i'm so embarrassed that i doubted you so often and i got under the weather and my feelings were hurt and somebody discouraged me and everything else they say well that's the last you take his big handkerchief and wipe it all away and after that he never shed a tear isn't it great we have a city we have a hope eternal in the heavens we have a high priest who lives to make intercession we have a king who can never abdicate we have a kingdom that can never be destroyed brother we've got it all a question is what are we going to do between here and there sure as brother herb said if you save your life you'll lose it he didn't say that in case you don't know he borrowed it from the scripture but it's a great scripture it's a great scripture i don't know when i say it's easy to be heroic but if he if he speaks to you at three o'clock in the morning will you turn over and say yes lord i remember those about about nine o'clock this morning over coffee or will he get up and pray hmm