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I'm groomed by my bloodshed laying in the early.
Thou hast.
All night you can't come together like the earth.
Now sleep.
I'm ready, in power and Lord.
And we shall make him live.
Lord, hear the last good Lord.
To die upon us. To reach.
Where else to come play?
I come again and we need calm furniture.
Sun sprayed out on.
It is done. I have an Alpha in Omega. The beginning and the end I will give unto him. That is the thirst of the fountain of the water of blood.
He that overcome us shall inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and the murderers, and ************ and sorcerers and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake of fire, which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had seven vials full of the seven last play, and talked with me, saying.
Come hit her, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
Having the glory of God in her life was like unto a stone most precious, even like the Jasper stone, clear as crystal, and had a wall great and high, and had 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels and names written there on.
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Which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of Israel. On the east 3 gates and on the north 3 gates, on the South 3 gates, and on the West 3 gates. And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and in them the names of the 12 apartments of the land.
He was also made at a golden Reed to measure the city from the gates thereof and the wall thereof.
And the city lies 4 square, and the length is as large as the bridge. And he measured the city with a reach 12,000 furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
And he measured the wall thereof in 140 and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the Angel.
In the building of the wall of it was of Jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was Jasper, the second sapphire, the third accalcedone the 4th, and emerald the 5th, sardonics the 6th, Sardis the 7th, chrysalis the 8th, barrel the 9th, to Topaz, the 10th a chrysoprassis, the 11Th adjacent.
The 12Th and Amethyst, and the 12 gates were 12 Pearls, every several gate was of 1 Pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass, and I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it. For the glory of God is light in it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the Ignatians of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth to to bring their glory and honor unto it.
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations unto it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defile it. Neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they which are written in the Lamb spoke of life.
Well, we begin with the expression. He says unto me, It is done.
In John's Gospel it begins, John the Baptist sees the Lord Jesus walking down the road, and he looks at him and he says, Behold the Lamb of God, which beareth away the sin of the world.
And then we see in John's Gospel toward the end of it that the Lord Jesus is on the cross.
And it says you see makes the statement it is finished.
And here he makes the statement. It is done.
The Lamb of God and John's Gospel presents to us the redeeming Lamb.
And he does a great work for God.
And the results of that work are seen in Revelation chapter five. Part of the results are seen in Revelation chapter 5.
Thou art worthy, for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood.
And so that redeeming work was finished. It was done on the cross, and as a consequence of it, many, many, many souls have been brought into blessing. We see in the earlier chapters of the Revelation, they're still souls. They're going to come and come into blessing by the redemptive work that was done on the cross. But the Lamb of God has the 2nd work as well connected with the 1St.
And that is to bear away the sin of the world. It's necessary for him to act in power.
To restore or return to God the order of the earth that's now in a great state of disorder. And so we see that work throughout the revelation of that work to bring back into harmony with God the order of God's creation and when it is all complete.
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And when we see the millennial work?
Of the Lamb, as we had this morning in First Corinthians 15.
We see Him in the final phase of it, presenting to God the end result.
It's finished, it's done. Here is the result, and it's a result that's according to God's character, God's nature, and God's heart. And then we can enter into the state that we call eternity for God. And so he reminds us of that work that is being done. And then he brings before us two classes. There are those that overcome by the blood of the Lamb.
By the work of salvation for their souls, I trust. I hope that's the case for each one of us in this room this afternoon, that we are going to be looked at and as overcomers, as redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. But then there's another class in verse 8, the those that overcome inherit all things and are part of what follows in the chapter as well. But in the eighth verse, we have another class.
And they are those who refuse.
To accept the work of the blood of the Lamb. Those who refuse to accept God's work for them through his Son, and they are going to enter into an eternal and a fixed state of things that in Matthew 25 is called eternal judgment. And here they have their part in the lake of fire, the second death. And so everyone in this room has to fall into one of these two categories when the incomes.
Either those who have entered into eternal life or those who are going to enter into eternal judgment. And we see the two sets of them brought before us in these verses. And then he goes on in the ninth verse to present us the.
Lamb's wife and her millennial glory.
I'd like to call attention to the end of verse 6.
I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountains of.
The water of life freely.
I used to puzzle over why in connection with the eternal state, it speaks of thirst.
And I just give what the?
Believe. Maybe the meaning is that even in that eternal day, brethren.
We are not going to be sufficient in ourselves.
We will always.
Be drinking of that fountain of the water of life freely forever.
He's going to satisfy her.
So often in this world.
There's desires we have that are not satisfied, but there every desire we could ever have fully, completely satisfied.
But man in himself is never sufficient in himself. We will always need our God to be fully satisfied.
And if they could satisfy us, we'd be satisfied without God, and that would be horrible.
We thank God that the natural desires of a sinful creation do not satisfy.
And that only that which satisfies is the pure water of life.
Precious Savior, even in eternity. You know, those of us who've been married, we certainly didn't know everything about her wife when we married her wife.
That relationship grows, we learned more and more of each other, and the same will be true of our precious favorite in this life and.
It shows too, doesn't it, that the life that we're going to have there is no different than the life we have now.
We have the very life of Christ now, eternal life. It's the perfect life. But as another has said, well, that is true, It is a dependent life. And so we encourage one another to drink in the water of the Word now, to feed on Christ through the Word. Is the life we're going to have an eternity any different than it is now? No. And so even later on we find that in the midst of the city there's the tree of life that bear 12 manner of fruit, every fruit in its season.
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And again, as another has said, the fruit there is for the sustaining of divine life. The leaves are for the healing of the nations, but the fruit is for the sustaining of divine life. So we're going to eat and drink in that day, just as that life, if it's going to be healthy and fruitful and for God's glory now, it must be sustained by that which is in Himself.
Hmm.
Well, as we take up then the subject or the section of this chapter in connection with the church described as the lambs wife and the city, it's very instructive to see how it is introduced. If we were to back up to the 18th chapter, we would find that when John was called to view the final judgment of the false church, he views it from the wilderness.
He views it from an earthly perspective. Just a little parenthesis in our comments. You know, we don't always consider it, but there is going to be a church on earth after we're gone. It's going to be a false church, but there will be a church on earth and it will finally be completely judged. But John was to view that from an earthly perspective, from the wilderness. But now he's going to view the church in her millennial glory with Christ coming down to reign over the earth.
And that cannot be viewed from an earthly perspective. And so the Angel comes and talks with him and says, come up, I will show thee the bride, the lambs wife. And where does he take them? To a great and high mountain. He's going to view this.
Heavenly. This is going to view the church now from a heavenly perspective. And it's interesting that before she's described in figurative language as the city she brought before us as the lambs wife. We've had her as the bride, but now she's brought before us as the lamb's wife. We find again, if we were to go back a few a couple of pages to the 19th chapter at the marriage supper of the Lamb, it says.
And his wife hath made herself ready. I want to just suggest this little difference between the bride and the wife and why she's introduced to us as the wife in connection with the millennial reign of Christ. The bride, as we've mentioned this morning, speaks of the freshness and loveliness of what she is to his heart, those those bridal beauties and affections. But the wife would speak of relationships.
There's some of us here who've been married for a number of years and the one who was our bride on the wedding day has become our wife. And there's been a deepening and a going on in the relationship that was established back on the wedding day. And if I can illustrate it this way, when the President of the United States or the Prime Minister of Canada or any elected official moves into the official residence that they occupy during their term of office.
There's somebody moves in with them, not because they are elected, but because of relationship. There's somebody in the White House this afternoon that's there because of relationship. She's there because she is the wife of the president of the United States. And not only does she move into the White House with her husband, but she shares in some of the things that take place in connection with the administration of the country. And she sits perhaps on some.
Several committees and she's in the public eye to some degree at least. And wouldn't we be surprised when the president or the Prime Minister of a country moved into their official residence if their wife didn't move in with them when they took office? And wouldn't we be surprised if their wife wasn't at their side at least some of the time when they're they're performing their official duties and functions? We see their pictures splashed across the national press.
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And quite often there's their wife. She may be standing slightly in the background or to one side, but there she is sharing in all that is taking place. And brethren, is a day coming when not only as the bride of Christ, but as the Lamb's wife, we're going to share in that administrative function of reigning over the earth. And brethren, what a day it's going to be. Why do we want to do it now? There was so much to encourage us in Christian circles today to do it now.
Get into places, high places. Try to straighten things out. Be a moral force to change the world.
Run for political office? Sit on committees, Lobby against the abuses of humanity? Are we going to do it before we stand at the side of the Lord Jesus, our bridegroom, as his wife?
The Lord, the apostle Paul said to the Corinthians, I would that you were reigning because if you were, we'd reign with you and the Lord would be reigning. But grabbing the reigning time isn't yet. We're reading of it here in anticipation. But brethren, as sure as we're sitting in the seat this afternoon, the reigning time is coming. And not simply us is bride, but as his wife, we're going to be with him in that day.
I'd like to go back to Isaiah chapter 61 for a moment.
In Isaiah chapter 6061 and 62.
We have a description similar in one sense to what we have in Revelation 21, but it is a description in these three chapters of Israel as the earthly bride.
What we have in Revelation 21 is the Church as the bride of the Lamb.
In Isaiah 6160 sixty 162 we have the picture of.
The life of the king. And so there are similarities and differences between the two, but I wanna pick up one verse out of chapter 61 and verse 10.
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful, and my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decaf himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
God has chosen.
The wife, the bride for the lamb. It's God's choice.
He chose it.
And God is going to see that she properly expresses the honor of the Lamb.
When you have a state function in which the president of a country or the king or the queen or something is presented to the people and the life is present.
She is that which also reflects upon the one who is king or in charge.
And God, having chosen her to be the bride for the Lamb, is going to see that she is properly seen.
And the fact that it's a high mountain suggests that it's visible. It's not a hidden glory, it's not the heavenly side of things, but it is that which is going to be seen among men on earth.
And when people on earth look upon the Lamb's wife, it will properly express the honor and the glory that belongs to the Lamb.
Could she properly arrive herself?
No, shouldn't have the resources.
What God does, God has the resources he is going to.
Place upon her those what are described here as jewels that will make her properly express the greatness of the Lamb, the husband.
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And so God is going to confer upon her the display of glories that come from Himself.
That may occur what she will be.
We have in the 19th chapter, and I don't wanna take away, maybe we'll talk about that a little later or something. But in the 19th chapter she has, and we have presently something we can and should be doing in preparation for the wedding.
That when we come to the wedding itself, we will be there prepared in a garment clean and white. But beyond the garment clean and white, there is going to be the conferring upon her of those jewels, those displays of glory that properly express the greatness of the One to whom she is married. And she is that compliment of Him.
That is suited to the greatness of His person, and only God can do that, and only God will do that. And He wants to confer that honor upon the Lamb that has done the work for him. If I could put it this way, nothing that would make her a suited wife for the Lamb will God withhold from her, and it will be to His glory and the glory of the sun.
And that's what's being introduced to us here.
To behold the bride, the Lamb's wife.
Hmm, 7th verse here.
At the end of the summer, verse and his wife had made herself wedding.
Not the full thought.
Because the wife isn't the one that puts the jewels. She doesn't provide her own jewels. In that sense, that's really a work of God. But every one of us.
To go back to the 19th chapter, since it's brought up and it's an important point, connection with our life today, Chapter 19, where we have the marriage of the Lamb.
It says in verse nine, or verse 8, verse six or seven. Let's start seven. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife hath made herself ready, and to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness.
Of the Saints, That's the Derby translation.
A bride who is preparing to get married.
Thanks a lot about how she's going to appear to her bridegroom as he sees her for the first time, or at least commonly so when she walks down the aisle to meet him to be married to him.
And many of us, just a little side point, but many of us in such occasions as the bride comes into the room, we all stand up as which is often appropriate. And we turn around and we watch the bride walk down the aisle and we see her in her finery for the first time.
My father-in-law most often didn't do that. He looked at the bridegroom.
And his face.
And he looked at the what was on his face.
And brethren, we need that perspective as well.
It isn't that we want to see this.
These chapters and have a sense of them, simply wow, we're going to look great and God's going to put all this honor on us.
Our hearts will go better if we anticipate the bridegroom space.
What will it mean to his heart?
To have a bride that is clean and white.
Fear is not the work of righteousness at the cross. It's not cleansing of the blood that has redeemed us. That's in view here. It's a practical thing. It's the righteousnesses of the Saints.
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Try to illustrate it this way.
Many of us are aware sometimes when somebody is getting married or in some special occasion, sometimes people say, let's make a quilt and each person is going to produce one square and they're going to put on it something that will be appropriate to the person or the memory of that person's growing up or whatever it is. And so each person works on their square and those squares are sewed together to form the final.
Quilt.
Every one of us in this room.
Yes. The garment is not a quill. I don't know any garments that were made this way, but it is that each one of us is sewing, or not sewing, but preparing the little square that is going to be part of the wedding garment and what will last in it. Some squares, I think will be bigger than others. I'm sure they will, but it will be those things.
Of our present life, the righteousnesses of our lives, those things that we're presently occupied with and doing that are appropriate to the wedding dress. And when we've talked about it, it was before us in the last meeting. A life that's lived in view of these things and each one of us is that we're is living a daily life.
In which we are preparing our little piece to be part of the wedding dress and that which will survive it, that which will be part of it is. She has said she's prepared herself to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and light, clean and white. That purity, that which is suited to himself. There will be the wedding. But when it comes to the chapter 21 and the display of it, God is going to.
Display her in a glory that exceeds even the wedding day in the sense of or else for the wedding day, give her those glories that He alone can present to her, that He alone is rich enough. And so it says. We see the glory of God coming down. She is the display of the glory of God for the honor of the Lamb.
So she's described then as the city.
In her millennial glory, and I think it was alluded to this morning, but might be helpful just to repeat as we begin this section that she's described here as the city because cities denote administration. If we say Washington DC or Ottawa, Canada or London or any of the other celebrated capitals of the world, we admit we immediately think of the administration of the country from that city from that point.
And so she's described here as a city because as we've been saying, she's going to have an administrative part in the Kingdom reigning with the Lord Jesus Christ. And all that we have here, figuratively speaking in connection with her description of the city really is a reflection in one way or another of the glories of Christ. That's what it really is. And so she comes down and she has the glory of God, and her light is like unto a.
Stone most precious, even a Jasper stone, clear as crystal.
I, I could quote it, but let's just turn back to the Second Thessalonians one for a moment where I think it's summed up so very beautifully. Yes, Second Thessalonians chapter one.
He's Speaking of a future day here. And then in verse ten of two Thessalonians one he says.
When he shall come to be glorified in His Saints, and to be admired in all them that believed because of our testimony, because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Let me read this and leave the parentheses out. When he shall come to be glorified in His Saints.
And to be admired in all them that believe in that day. What day, brethren? The day we're reading up here. No, it's tremendous to think that when heaven opens up to reveal not only Christ, but his Church, the heavenly company and the world looks up, not only are they going to see Christ, but they are going to see perfectly reflected in every believer.
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Christ, that's what this verse in Thessalonians is telling us. He's coming to be glorified in his Saints. When they look at you, when they look at me, he's going to be glorified in his Saints. You know we ought to.
Reflect something of Christ now, and we will, as Corinthians tells us, that in the measure in which we are occupied with Christ in glory now, we will be changed into the same image from glory to glory.
We will reflect something in our lives of Christ now in the measure in which we are occupied with Him. But I can only speak for myself, brethren. I have to hang my head and say I don't always reflect something of the glories of the glories of Christ like I ought to. But it thrills my heart to think that there's a day coming when everything that causes a shadow and a shade now is going to be totally removed. The world looks at me now. They don't always see Christ perfectly reflected.
But the day is coming when they're going to look at me, they're going to look at you, and they're going to see Christ glorified in every St. of God. Now that ought to motivate us now to be occupied with Himself, that there might be something of that reflection in testimony now and then to think that we are going to reflect Him perfectly in that day.
Could we suggest the thought, and I don't say it dogmatically, but it seems that the Jasper stone is particularly connected with the glory of Christ that he shares with and displays in his Saints. That's why it's mentioned first year and we don't need to turn back to it. You can look it up. I think it's in the 28th of Exodus, but you can see there that the Jasper stone is mentioned in the.
Stones that the high priest bore in the breastplate on his breast.
But there you find the Jasper stone is the last one mentioned. I just suggest the thought that there in the Old Testament there was a partial glory displayed, but it was only very very partial because they were under a dispensation of law. They were, if you like, worn by a high priest that could not display the glory that that true high priest wouldn't display.
And in fact, it seems that those garments of glory and beauty were worn very little.
And then they had to be set aside, as it were, until there was a priest that could wear them and display the glory properly. But if those stones are a picture of the glory displayed in believers, the particular glory that is displayed in believers, I suggest they're the Jasper is the very last one mentioned. But here in connection with the glory of the church, it's the very first one mentioned.
And so all, as you say, Jim, of that wonderful glory of Christ is going to be displayed in you and me in that day.
And as you say, how nice and how important to recognize the fact that he looks to see more and more of it displayed now.
It's actually mentioned three times in this description. I'll just point them out and leave them for your meditation. We have it in the 10th verse in connection with light. Then we have it in the 18th verse in connection with the wall, which perhaps would speak to us of security, and in the 19th verse in connection with the foundation, which would perhaps speak to us of stability. So it's beautiful to see how it's brought out three times in a little different context.
MMM.
Like to turn back for a moment to Matthew's Gospel.
Chapter 17.
Matthew chapter 17 and verse 2.
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And he was transfigured when I read the first verse because it connects with our chapter in the high mountain. And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John as brother and bringeth them up into a high mountain.
Park and was transfigured before them, and his face to shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
And, umm.
Verse six. And his disciples heard it, and they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise and be not afraid.
Brethren, if we've already had multiple times that said to us that we don't lay hold of these things very much yet.
I believe that the truth be told that if we could fully enter into and see now.
The display of the glory of God in the Lamb's wife. We'd be afraid.
We'd be afraid. We'd be afraid in the same way that it's described here in chapter 17, which is the millennial glory.
We read it here in connection with the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and the disciples. They weren't in a condition yet to be able to enjoy it. And when they saw Him transfigured before them, and his face could shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light, its effect on them was, was not what?
We might expect and except that we haven't seen it.
But they coming down out of heaven, having the glory of God, will be a church that shines.
Reflecting, we say, the glory of Christ. What is it? It's to be like him and it will shine in this character. This is our future. This is what is going to be seen by this world from the high mountain standpoint, if you will.
We will be suited to it. We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is when we arrive in glory. And then when we come back with him in his glory, we'll be like him and there won't be any fear in US. But it's, it's a tremendous thing because God's glory is so often in Scripture connected with light, and the absoluteness of the greatness of God is such that his personal.
Absolute glory is beyond even the creature ever entering into. It says he dwells in light. In First Timothy, the last chapter, he says it dwells in light, which no man can approach unto, and he never will.
But the light is that which of all created things, it's a It's a symbol to us to give us to see something. What is the one thing in all the creation we can't look at?
The sun, it's too bright in its brightness for us. The Apostle Paul saw something that was beyond the brightness of the noonday sun.
He was introduced by his conversion being a heavenly man in a pattern St. of God immediately connected with His glory.
And that from that glory we are going to come and be seen on in this world in a display, a dazzling display of brightness, of the glory of God that, as Paul said, was above the brightness of the noonday sun. And now we can't enter into it, but in the measure in which our hearts are touched by it, it's going to affect how we Live Today and tomorrow.
This is our destiny.
You know, I was thinking about it and I'll stop with this comment at the end of the last reading meeting.
I well remember many times in my actually before I came to Bible Truth publishers, but in my work, the daily grind of the work and the pressure of the work it it would build up and build up and build up and I would find myself looking forward to that thing we call vacation.
And would enjoy being away from it all for a short period of time and then coming back to it.
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When I came back to it, the circumstances were the same as I loved them, but I was changed. I was changed. The way I looked at those circumstances, the way they affected me for a few weeks or a few months or something was different, even though the circumstances stayed the same. I say that because if this weekend, I will say properly lays hold of our hearts, we're going to go Monday or whenever back to a daily grind of life.
And it will be the same. But brethren, we don't have to be the same. We don't have to be the same. If our hearts are laid hold of that which is before us for the honor of God and His Son, then we can be different. And if we are, the way we look at those daily things will change. Our attitude toward them will change, and the way they affect our hearts will change. And we will go through them with God in a different way. And that's.
Prayerful hope for us when we finish our weekend.
Think we can easily say, brethren, that?
The millennial day, especially the introduction of the day of the Lord, when the Lord Jesus comes back with power and glory with his Saints, as we read in Second Thessalonians one and there it also mentions with the angels of his power. It will easily be probably I think we can easily say that it will be the.
Most dramatic display of power and glory this world will ever, ever see. Ever in the past, ever in the future when God introduces His Son.
They last saw him hanging dead on a cross. He's coming back and power and glory. And it's in the measure that that day lays hold of our souls, that it will affect this in our lives down here. It's nothing that will compare with it. The knowledge of the Lord. After that day, through the millennial day, the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. No one shall save his neighbor.
Know the Lord, for they shall all know me. It will be something that will be displayed through the whole earth. And that's why it will be so serious in the millennial day to sin, because they'll be immediately cut off. It'll be so different than it is today. Oh brethren, this is what is ahead for us who are believers in the Lord Jesus. Tremendous.
To let us sink into our souls the importance of what we're talking about, having the glory of God. Naturally speaking, we've come short of the glory of God, but here we are having the glory of God.
Isn't it true to Bob that our faithfulness to the Lord down here is going to determine our office?
That's what you learn in the Parable of the talent, yeah.
Isn't it true that our faithfulness to the Lord here could determine our office when we reign with Him in the coming?
And our brother between personally counted the terrible town.
I'd like to just interject a little practical parenthesis and application into what we have in this 11Th verse. And I want to preface my remarks by saying I realize this is not the typical teaching of this expression, but there's an expression here that we sometimes use even in talking about things in everyday life. It's used twice in the description of the church here, once in the 10th verse, and we didn't read it, but really the description doesn't end until the end of the fifth verse of the next chapter.
And in verse one of the next chapter, it's used again in connection with the river of the water of life. And that is the little expression, clear as crystal. We use that expression so often. Now, brethren, I realize that it's used here to show that it's going to be a fixed state of things and nothing is ever going to touch the church in that day that will defile. She's going to reign over the earth and while there's sin and defilement still on the earth.
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Although suppressed to a great degree by the righteous reign of Christ, yet the Church is above that, and nothing enters in that defiled.
But you know, I've often thought of this little expression clear as crystal. You know, I have no doubt, brethren, sitting here in these chairs this afternoon who are struggling with difficulties and enigmas in their life. Questions, you know, even in the assembly sometimes questions and difficulties arise and there doesn't seem to be clarity to deal with the situation. You know, and again, I know I'm applying, but it says we now we see through a glass darkly and isn't that the way we feel? Sometimes we say we just can't seem to.
Get to the bottom of this and circumstances in our life you say. I just don't see clearly how the Lord is showing his love or how he why the Lord has allowed this circumstance in my life.
But, brethren, I believe we can submit.
Even though we don't have all the answers now, we can submit in the circumstances of our lives, individually and collectively.
When we realize that there's a day coming when everything's going to be clear as crystal, there's not going to be any dark spots there, no shadows or shades there, we're not going to wonder why this and why that. You know, when the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they said, why did God bring us this way and that way, and why did Moses do this and that and so on. You know, when they rehearsed it in retrospect, it says in the songs, he led them by the right way.
And that's the way we're going to rehearse it too. Everything is going to be finally clear. Judge nothing before the time until the Lord comes, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every man have praise of God. We're going to see it all clearly there. And I believe that's why at the end of Revelation 5, it is the four beasts say Amen, those four beasts that represent God's governmental ways in the earth. They say we see it all now.
It's all clear as crystal. It was all working out for a purpose. It was all working out for the glory of God and of his Christ. And they simply say Amen. Well, I know that's, as I say, a little parenthesis in what we're taking up here. But rather than be encouraged, you don't understand things now, you don't see things clearly.
Someday, everything's going to be clear as crystal.
Could we say that the question we won't be having in the 21St chapter with the the rising or the church being shown as the bride and the and the city being a contrast what we have in the 17th chapter in the 17th chapter we have the woman and who is the false church about the course of the Harley of the false church.
And at the beginning of this chapter and at the end of the chapter, we have the woman who is also the last verse.
False pride as it were. False system is now going to be shown on the display of the Crew, True Bride and True True City. Is there a thought there?
I don't know if this is complementary to UMM.
That thought but.
OK, the salt sprayed.
Honors herself.
And all her glory is her own glory.
If I could put it this way, it's like she wants outshine her husband.
Now she doesn't have a true husband, but she says I'm a queen and no widow.
And but yeah, she takes all earthly glory.
That exalts herself, and in fact you have some of the same raiment mentioned for her as you have in the 21St chapter with that which is true.
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But it's all for sale. It it, it characterizes the ultimate state of something that is nauseous to God. And that's the nature of man. I exalt myself and I give myself all the honor and the glory. And in in a certain sense, what is her relationship? Well, she, she doesn't want anybody. She reigns over the kings of the earth, the bride, the Lamb's wife. You don't hear her saying I reign over the kings of the earth.
It's the Lamb that rains, and as Jim had earlier it it's she is in the fullness of him that filleth. All in all, she's a reflection of the greatness of his person, not her own in the separation from him. And if we are to enjoy the contrast between the false and the truth, we see that everything that she is, is to the glory of the one she's associated with and everything the false is.
Is to her own glory and in fact, her own desire to reign herself over the kings of the earth. And her only relationship with the kings of the earth is the harlot, the ultimate perversion of the relationship. And and yet it it, there's a lot of detail in it, but I think for this afternoon, the the important thing for us is to recognize our place.
Is to His glory.
And the expression of that glory I I.
I'd like to make this comment about light.
If you I've noticed a few times in my life I've happened to be.
Where a jeweler shop is shutting down for the day.
And I've noticed this characteristic of one of the last things that the jeweler does in his shop is he has brightly lit all his jewels.
Because that's what sells them to his customers. It puts them in their best life. It makes them the most brilliant to see. But when he wants to protect them, if you will, for the night, he turns all the cabinet lights out. He shudders the door and the wind, the shades come down if you can. And so on. The point of it is what makes a jewel a jewel.
Depends on the light. You don't have a dual that's that you can enjoy or that reflects anything without light. And it tells us that all glory originates and comes from God. God is light, and without God there would be no glory seen in anything. But everything that reflects the glory of God reflects just that, the glory of God, not its own glory, not the false glory of the harlot.
But it is, and in fact, in the harlot's description, it speaks about light, but it's not heavenly light. It's a candle. She needs, she needs light, but she can't produce the good light. But with us the glory of God is, is a reflection of what he is as light seeing through his work.
And the second thing about a Joule is that what makes a Joule brilliant, given there's light, is how it's cut.
And individually, God is working in your life and mine, like a jeweler works with His jewels to properly cut them, to form them, to result that when the light shines on them, they reflect it in a beautiful way. And when we are seeing individually and here in the collective sense, in this expression of glory, well, thank God for every aspect in which He worked on the stone.
To cut it and if there's if there's an imperfection in a stone.
It's not worth as much. They can't sell it as much when you shine the light on it. Oh, that one's not perfect and it's not worth as much. Well, every one of us will be perfect. There'll be no imperfections in the cutting of the final results of of either the collective charge or any of us individually. And all of us will reflect the glory of God. The true source of it all is light. We are called His workmanship.
We're basically a word in progress.
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Eager to understand by reading Second Peter, the first part of the first capture Second Peter.
And Sam here Trevor of Jesus Christ, his hands that have obtained.
Lunch breaks with us to the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Praise and keep devoted unto you to the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according to.
His divine power.
God's divine power can give unto us all things that percay unto the life, and God in his.
Through the knowledge of Him that had called us by glory and virtue.
Minnesota verify are given unto the rush exceeded great and precious promises, and this expression is in a puddle for me, but I like it that by these he might be part takers.
Of the deadline nature.
And his shape and respect that is of the world and earth. Well, the knowledge of God is what putting the light on their word is what makes it sound.
Ma'am, would you read Second Corinthians connection with what you just read? Read Second Corinthians chapter 4.
Umm, verse 6.
And seven Second Corinthians 4/6 and seven.
Compliments what you just read.
You're ready. OK, Second Corinthians 4/6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the Excellency of the power might be of God and not of us.
That answers a lot of my questions.
One of the aspects, brethren, of the glory that will be displayed is, if I can put it this way, the world will see it.
And I don't know how to express it right, but they'll look at you and I and they'll say wow.
Is that what God did with that?
In other words, you you take a a mining operation and you get some gold and when you first see it, it doesn't mount anything really visually. But after it's worked on by the jeweler and it's mined and it's cut, then it shines in its brilliance. It's to the glory of God that he could take creatures like us and produce.
What we see in this chapter, individually us and collectively us, that He could display us to the world as a student.
Bride and wife of the last, that's to God's glory, that He can take what we were and make us what we will be.
#18 in the back of the book. 18 in the back of the book.
Oh, I shall be like my God.
Thing that's the greatest.
Good morning.
When I read it now.
Nor I am.
Who wanted to fall down and make?
Strange glory.
Rhythm.
With joy shall be.
Oh my God.
Thy glory in thy Kingdom.
All right, all.
Umm.