“Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?"[i] In Disney’s 1937, Snow White, the evil Queen is obsessed with her own beauty. We have words for that: narcissism. Self-absorption. Self-worship. In the 1937 Snow White, the prince saw Snow White’s beauty and fell in love with her. At the end of the movie, he takes her to be his wife and live in his castle. That’s what girls used to dream of. Well let me be blunt: a lot of young women today don’t want that fairy-tale ending. Last week, a Wall Street Journal headline announced, “American Women Are Giving Up on Marriage.”[ii] One thinker I follow pointed out this is what we get now in this age of “self-assertion” and “personal-autonomy”—"a situation in which many women have just decided they’re not all that interested in marriage."[iii] Why? I think it comes down to the narcissism of our age. Of women and men. Self-absorption. Self-worship.

We saw last Sunday that after the end of the world, the prophet John foresees a new Universe being created, home to a holy people who are “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” (21:2). If you dream of a Heaven that’s all about you, you won’t like the real one. Because Heaven is about love. Love for God and the love of God. Verse 2 says people in Heaven are prepared like “a bride adorned for her husband.” It’s a comparison. A metaphor that helps us grasp a very deep truth. The Bible’s vision of Heaven is a joyful union between God and the people He redeems. So if the culture around us becomes increasingly disenchanted with a biblical understanding of marriage, Christians will need to be counter-cultural. Go against the flow. Be different. John’s vision of Heaven calls Christians to learn to love the love of God and dream about being with God. But also to prepare now. Start getting ready. If you’re a Christian you need to start caring about what God finds beautiful; and start caring about being beautiful in God’s eyes. In these next verses, John describes two emblems for the Church in Heaven that call you to be what God finds beautiful.

The Church of Jesus Christ is portrayed as a woman in verse 9, and as a city in verses 10-14. So dividing the passage like this, I want to ask you two questions. First…

The Lamb’s bride is beautiful (verse 9)

First, notice this angel.

9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."  10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,  (Rev. 21:9-10 ESV)

John has seen this angel before. Remember this is a dream vision God gave John. That’s why he keeps saying, “then I saw,” throughout this book. Now this angel is back; one of the angels who poured out the last of God’s judgments on earth in chapter 16; the same angel John identified in 17:1, so look at that verse with me because the two scenes are meant to be compared: “Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute…” (Rev. 17:1 ESV). The same angel shows John two very different women. In chapter 17 he shows John the “Great Prostitute.” Here he takes John to see “the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.” In 17:3, the angel takes John to the wilderness to see the Prostitute. Here he takes John to “a great, high mountain” to see the Bride. Same angel. Opposite women. And very different places. Notice the differences.

So what’s different about this woman in 21:9? Well, the big difference is that she’s married. She is faithful to one Husband. The Prostitute in ch. 17:2 is unfaithful and immoral with many partners: “kings of the earth” (17:2). The Bride, the Wife of the Lamb, by contrast is married to the Lamb. Not “kings of the earth” but the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! The Lamb’s wedding to His Bride is announced in 19:7 & 9. But before that, the last time the Lamb is called the Lamb is in 17:14, and you know what it says there? It says the same kings of the earth who were sexually immoral with the Great Prostitute, “make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful." (Rev. 17:14 ESV)

Okay so who is this Lamb? It’s Jesus Christ. In John’s vision, Christ is represented as the Lamb who was killed—Rev 5:6 says the Lamb looks like it had been slain, slaughtered, but alive once more. Because Jesus Christ was crucified and raised from the dead. In chapter 5, He goes to God and receives all authority—as Jesus said in Matthew 28:18. And so starting with the seven seals the Lamb opens in chapter 6, John’s vision is a series of predictions showing how the Lord Jesus protects His Bride, rescues Her, saves Her, and defeats the Dragon, its Beast, and the False Prophet and brings the Bride to His Kingdom. So when this angel comes back to show John the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb, we are meant to see how beautiful she is. And pure. Faithful. True. Loyal. Devoted. In love.

Not like the Prostitute in chapter 17. She connived political alliances with earthly kings. Corrupted herself for money and power. Filled her cathedrals with idols. Controlled her masses with fear and superstition. Taught them to rely on the traditions of men. Commanded them not even to read the Bible for themselves. Seduced people into praying to idols instead of God. But the book of Revelation reveals that the true Bride of the Lord Jesus stays faithful to Jesus because Jesus is faithful to her. That’s what the angel shows.

He shows John an unfaithful, false church in the wilderness, and from a great and high mountaintop, a faithful and true church coming into the Lamb’s Kingdom. The wilderness and the mountain top where John is shows these two opposite women alludes to the story of how God brought Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. Numbers 14 tells how a whole generation died in the wilderness because they didn’t trust in God. Deut 34:1-4 says God took Moses to a high mountain so that he could see the Promised Land before he died. He never got to see Israel enter that land. But that’s what the angel shows John: the arrival of the Bride in the New Heavens and New Earth prepared by God for those who believe in Jesus Christ. That’s what John sees. One false church dies in the wilderness, and one true Church happy ever after in Heaven. That’s your choice.

You’re at a crossroads. The angel is one of the ones who pours out the final seven bowls of the wrath of God. Those are the grand finale judgments God rains on mankind in the end times. John saw all that in Revelation 16. The last of those seven bowls predicts the final events at the end of this age before Jesus comes back. Again I want to warn you that I believe this is the era we are living in now. The last Bowl. The end times. Whether Jesus returns today, in a year, or in 50 years, I don’t know. But I am convinced this is the end-game now. That’s why it’s this angel from the seven last bowls who shows John the fate of two women. Only the true Church enters the Promised Land. John describes two emblems for the Church in Heaven that call you to be what God finds beautiful. The first emblem is the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb. Are you in this picture? Do you belong to Jesus? The next emblem for the Church is introduced in verse 10. “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,” (Rev. 21:10 ESV).

God’s city is glorious (verses 10-14)

The emblem, the picture shifts from a woman to a city, but it’s still about the Church. Verse 2 said the New Jerusalem was “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,” (21:2). Verses 10-14 explain what that means. What does “adorned” mean? Well it means she’s beautified. Done up. Made up. Dressed to the nines.

7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready;  8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Rev. 19:7-8 ESV)

You need to start caring about what God finds beautiful and start caring about being beautiful for Him. Verses 10-14 describe the City’s appearance.[iv] There are three things to see in her appearance.

First, she comes from God. “…and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,” (Rev. 21:10 ESV). God is the source. God is the builder of this city. In Mat 16:18, Jesus told Peter that, starting with him, Jesus is building His Church. In Mat 21:42, Jesus said that God took the stone Israel’s builders rejected and made it the Cornerstone of what God is building—“this was the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes,” (Mat 21:42). In Acts 4:11, Peter declares that Jesus Himself is this Cornerstone, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” (Acts 4:12 ESV). Then Peter writes, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,”  (1 Pet. 2:4-5 ESV). The writer of Hebrews says this is what Abraham was looking forward to: “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God,” (Heb. 11:10 ESV). Heb 11:16 says those ancient saints desired a better country than could be found on earth, “that is, a heavenly one,” (Heb 11:16a), “for he has prepared for them a city,” (Heb. 11:16b ESV). This is the reward, he says, that Moses was looking forward to and hoping for (Heb 11:26). So when Moses stood on that mountain, like John in verse 10, looking into the Promised Land from afar, what he was really waiting for is Heaven, the City God is building.

That’s also what Ezekiel saw in his vision in Ezekiel 40-48. Those 9 chapters at the end of Ezekiel are the background to the city John describes here. “In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south,” (Ezek. 40:2 ESV). God showed Ezekiel a temple, a city, and a Kingdom bigger and better than Israel ever achieved. It’s a vision of what Israel could have been if they obeyed God perfectly.[v] It’s a vision of the City only God can build. What John now sees is the end result, the Kingdom from Heaven God is even now building upon person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Does this sound like you? Is your story about how God saved you, how God is changing you, and what God is preparing for you—all through Jesus? “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ,” (Phil. 1:6 ESV). First John sees the city coming from God.

Second, she shines God’s glory. “…having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal,” (Rev. 21:11 ESV). The word “having” is possessive.[vi] The city has the glory of God in it. John could see it because it was bright. It appeared glorious from within. Not from its own glory but from God’s glory inside the city. He explains this more in vv22-23 but for now just think about that light. Ezekiel ends his prophecy about this glorious city with these words, “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There." (Ezek. 48:35 ESV). Christians need to be continually reminded of this. Paul asks, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?” (1 Cor. 3:16 ESV). She has God’s glory. That’s what the jasper is about. The jasper is a way to describe the city’s “radiance,” its brilliance, its brightness. Back then, they called a bunch of colourful stones “jasper.”[vii] But John says this is “clear as crystal.” Because when Johs saw God on His throne in 4:3, he said God “had the appearance of jasper…” In other words, the glory of God shines through this city, from the inside out. Does this sound like you? Does your life resemble the truth of who God is? That’s why Jesus said, “…Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” (Matt. 5:16 ESV).

Third, she is holy. “It had a great, high wall…”  (Rev. 21:12 ESV). Eze 48:30, in Heb., literally says, “These are the borders (tôṣĕʾōt) of the city…”[viii] You see, ancient cities had walls to keep people inside safe from whatever is outside. But that’s not what the walls of the city in Heaven are for. That’s why Ezekiel says, “these are the borders of the city.”[ix] These are the city limits. These walls define what is part of the city and what isn’t.[x] In other words, the walls are a way of showing this city is set apart and holy and distinct. Christians are called to be distinct like this. Peter writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’,” (1 Pet. 1:14-16 ESV). The great high walls show how utterly and totally this people are set apart from this present world and sanctified to God. When Scripture tells you to be holy, do you argue? Or do you pray, “Lord, help me.”

Fourth, she is God-centred.

It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed--  13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. (Rev. 21:12-13 ESV)

The picture is from Ezekiel 48:30-35, and it’s the last thing Ezekiel says about this city of God. The gates are described last. Because the gates are not there to keep people out. They are there to let people in. They are not described in Ezekiel as exits but entrances. That’s what the names are about. In Ezekiel, the gates are pointed in all four directions, to where the tribes of Israel live. Each tribe is welcomed into the city by the closest gate. Three gates to the east, to the north, to the south, and to the west—each gate named for the people who live in that direction. In Ezekiel the design is meant to welcome pilgrims who come to worship the God who is there. So what does this mean? The city God sees is a city of people who are centred on God, focused on God, oriented around God, and who come to God. The greatest joy of these people is to be with God and have fellowship with Christ. Does that describe you? This is what Jesus was talking about when He told lukewarm Christians in Rev 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me,” (Rev. 3:20 ESV).

So what do we see in this city? A city, a people, God is building; who shine the glory of God; who are holy and set apart to God; whose lives in Heaven will be happy because then they will perfectly enjoy what they imperfectly taste now—the fellowship of the God they love. But then John comes back, in his description of the glorious city of God, to the walls. He started talking about the walls in verse 12, then described the gates, and comes back to the walls in verse 14: “And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” (Rev. 21:14 ESV). If you want to be part of this city, if you want to be part of the Bride, the wife of the Lamb, verse 14 says the twelve apostles of Christ need to be your foundation. What does that mean?

Well in Mat 16:18, Jesus declared to Peter that “on this rock” He—Christ—is building His Church. Peter was the first foundation stone Christ laid down, but not the only one. Eph 2:20 says the house God is building is on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And all of them depend on Christ the Cornerstone. You see, the foundation of the Church is the Word of God. The Scriptures. But it is the preaching and teaching of “the twelve apostles of the Lamb,” preserved in the New Testament, that keeps God’s people “Christian”—that keeps the Bride faithful to the Lamb. You need to understand now that the only way into this city is through the Gospel preached by the apostles of Jesus Christ. John saw 12 foundations around the city, upholding and undergirding the walls. In other words, what sets the true Church apart and distinguishes it from every false religion and every counterfeit church, is the teaching of the apostles. The New Testament Scriptures. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lamb.

Listen, if Christians are meant to be defined by Holiness (and we are!), that Holiness is founded on the apostles' preaching of the good news of the Lamb. What does God find beautiful? Paul writes, “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish,”  (Eph. 5:25-27 ESV). That’s how Jesus Christ loves His Bride. So how do you love Jesus Christ? What is there in your life that shows your love? John describes two emblems—a beautiful bride and a glorious city—that call you to be what God sees as beautiful.

Over the next couple of sermons in Revelation we are going to be looking at what Revelation 21-22 teach us about that. But if you want to be a Christian, if you want God, you need to be counter cultural now. You need to turn from self-worship to worship the Lord. You need to care about becoming a Christian who is beautiful in the sight of God. But you need to trust and rest and be confident that what transforms you doesn’t depend on you. It’s not your power but His that sanctifies you. As Paul wrote in Phil 1:6, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ,” (Phil. 1:6 ESV). So now, if your heart is hearing God’s call to be the Bride of Christ, look at verse 1. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more,” (Rev. 21:1 ESV). All of this will soon be gone. This isn’t your home. Nothing that is temporary is most important. Let me give you a passage to read and learn and memorize to help you be beautiful for God. It says in plain words what John teaches here in these two emblems.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,  12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,  16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.  17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.  18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2 Pet. 3:11-18 ESV)