The Great Wall of Heaven

Eric Narron

Study of Revelation • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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Revelation 21:12-14

Recap:

· New Jerusalem has descended down from heaven. And John is receiving a guided tour of the city by an angel.

· The city is compared to a Jasper stone, which may imply that it is radiating colors. This city is sparkling, and John says it is like a clear crystal.

· What John is witnessing is the handiwork of God, and this is pure elegance. There is no flaw, no ongoing construction, it is a beautiful city meant for the bride.

· Most of all, we have seen that the glory of the Lord, the Shekinah glory of the Lord is filling this place. All darkness has been dispelled, it is a place full of light.

Verse 12

“And it had a wall great and high”

· Now we are made aware that this city is surrounded by a wall. Now why is there even a need for a wall?

· In Biblical times, a city had walls to protect it from outsider, foreign invaders, and attacking armies. It was a barrier.

· It kept the people in the city safe, and it prevented unwanted intruders from getting in.

· Notable walls that we see in the scripture, are the walls of Jericho, the walls of Jerusalem, rebuilt by Nehemiah and others.

· So, we can see the need for the walls during these times, but why is it needed for this time? Is there some opposing army that still exists?

· Well, the answer to the question is quite simple. The walls are there to serve as a reminder of God’s protection.

· Now Isaiah saw something similar to this, and he was compelled to write in Isaiah 60:18 “call you walls Salvation and your gates Praise”

· So, these walls in a sense, are a reminder of our Salvation. It serves as a covering and protection.

· Now when you see it in that light, you see Jesus Christ. He is our protector, our shield and defender.

· So, this wall stands as a memorial to God’s protection. Just as God is our shield today, this wall will stand as a reminder that we are to be hid with Christ in God – Colossians 3:3

· Now we can know that this wall is a memorial because as we will see later on in this chapter, that the gates are never closed.

· So, these walls do serve as an active defense, it serves as a reminder of who God is. Now just remember, God is dwelling in this city too. So, there is all the protection you need.

“And had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.”

· Now the second part of this verse, shares that within these walls, there are 12 gates.

· Understand, that these gates are very elegant, much like the city as we have already seen, these gates are made of precious materials. In this case, pearls.

· We learn this later on in this chapter, and we will deal with it more in depth at that time.

· But we see, there are 12 gates. Now these gates are representative of the twelve tribes of Israel.

· Now these gates illustrate the layout that was seen with the tabernacle. And I believe that they are laid in the same order that we find in Numbers 2.

o See Illustration

· Now who are the twelve tribes? Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon, Reuben, Simeon, Gad, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.

o Note, these are not the official 12 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim are the sons of Joseph, and the other son, is Levi.

· Now at each of these gates we are told that there is an angel who will be positioned there.

· Throughout history, cities that had gates, had someone to watch the gate. They kept the gate protected.

· We are told in Revelation 21:27, that no one who is not been saved by Jesus Christ, will be permitted to enter into this city.

· Now this bears thought, is there opportunity for those who have been cast into the lake of fire to approach this eternal city? – Well we can refer back to the words of Christ found in Matthew.

o These are in outer darkness, the lake of fire is a place of darkness and torment for these people.

o There is not a way for them to leave their place of torment and come to this New Jerusalem.

· Just as the rich man was suffering in the flame when he talked with Abraham, he was stuck in the place, there was no escape.

· God assigns angels to serve at these gates. And these angels keep watch.

· So, as we approach the city, we find that the city is protected, it is attended, and it has a memorial.

· I like the fact that as we come into this city, that God hasn’t forgotten what he has done for the people that live there. All of this that we reflect upon, will be realized there.

· The tribes will be remembered, and friend you will be remembered also. God did a great work with those 12 tribes, and he has done the same with you.

· Our name may not appear on a gate, but our name will appear in his book and that is all that matters.

· Now which gate will we use? What will be the most popular gate? Well that is up for discussion, but I have a feeling that the Gate of Judah might have a strong contention for most popular.

Verse 13

· Now we have covered this in some detail earlier, but here we find that John lays out the arrangement of the gates.

· Now the gates are placed in all four directions, and this goes back to the layout of the tribes around the tabernacle given by God.

· Now I, can labor this verse, but I think, honestly there is just not that much more to be said about this verse, than what we have already covered.

Verse 14

· Now verse 14, talks about the foundation of the city wall. Again, we are just focused on the wall and the gates. We are not talking about the city structures as of yet.

· So, the wall is like the entrance curtain that surrounded the tabernacle. Now we are unsure of the arrangement, but some who have a concept idea of the New Jerusalem say it could look like this.

· Where each foundation is layered.

· I believe the tabernacle layout gives us the best idea of what this could actually look like. Notice the pillars around the tabernacle curtain.

· The foundation for this city, could be laid out in similar manner.

· Now the 12 foundations that are spoken of here, are representative of the 12 apostles. Now who are the 12 apostles?

· Well, let us turn back into the gospel Matthew 10:2-4

o 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphæus, and Lebbæus, whose surname was Thaddæus; 4 Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

· Let’s look at another reference in Luke 6:13-16

o And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14 Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15 Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphæus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16 and Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.

· Now this gets interesting, is the traitor Judas one of the 12 foundations? Well, the answer is no.

· Well, who is it then? Is it Matthias, the scripture says in Acts 1:26 that the other apostles selected him to take the spot of Judas Iscariot.

· Well, here is the problem with that. Who was it that picked out the apostles to begin with? Jesus. Who is the only person who can replace an apostle? Jesus.

· It is the teacher, who picks the students. And no offense to Matthias, I’m sure he was a great man of God. But Jesus did not pick him to be the 12th apostle. So, who could the 12thapostle be then?

· Well, we should clear up the understanding of what an apostle is. These were individuals selected for the special purpose of laying the foundation for the church.

· Hence we see this illustrated in the New Jerusalem. Now we know this by what we find in 1 Corinthians 12:27-28

· Now these who were apostles had to meet three qualifications, first they had to be called by Christ personally, secondly they had to be taught by Christ directly for several years, and third that had to see him alive after his resurrection.

· God used these men first to build his church upon. Now Christ referenced this with Peter as well.

· Matthew 16:18 “And I say also unto thee, That thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

· So, with this being said, I believe that Paul is likely to be that 12th foundation. Now this is just my view. I cannot say that I am completely right, because this has been debated by many over the many years.

· But note that Paul is identified in scripture as an apostle. Galatian 1:1

· “Paul an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead)”

· So, Paul meets the first qualification – he is called by Christ personally.

· Second he is taught by the Lord – In Galatians 1:12-24; in summary, Paul gives testimony of how the Lord revealed himself and taught him for three years while he was in Arabia.

· Third, Paul sees the resurrected Christ. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Paul gives a list of all who had seen the resurrected Lord and at the end of that list he says he is one of them.

· This also can be the case with the appearance of the Lord on the Road to Damascus.

· And then there is 2 Corinthians 12:1-2, where many believe that this was Paul who went to Heaven and saw the wonders and most of all Jesus Christ.

· And of all of the apostles, it is Paul who helps lay the foundation of the church in its beginnings.

· So, I believe it might can be said, that Paul is one of these foundation stones represented here in Revelation.

· Now there has been a lot of work laid by these men, and when you think about the foundation, you think about the bricks that are placed on top of them.

· Think about this, there may be a section that we were part of building.

· Now remember this is a massive wall that surrounds the city. And if we are comparing it to the tabernacle, then we see that the curtain around the tabernacle that outer curtain that was the place for the Gentiles.

· Application: The wall serves as a protection. We are those Gentiles, that have been saved and become part of the kingdom of God. What we may apply here, is the same protection needs to be afforded by the Gentiles for God’s chosen nation.

· The wall of New Jerusalem is remarkable, it sits on the works of the apostles. It is quite impressive, but friend we are about to see some even more impressive work. That being in our next study.

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