This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Victory Celebration", 11/13/2016

THE VICTORY CELEBRATION

Revelation 21:9-14,  22-27

A VIEW OF THE BRIDE

V:9-10. " And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, "Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, "

A. The Lord will at times, use visions to explain the meaning of the scriptures.

     1. God will at times, use angels to bring a message to us.   Heb  13:2

     2. God uses angels to carry out His plan.

B. We are Spirit beings.

   1. God communicates with us in the Spirit.

   2. God is Spirit. They that worship Him must do so in Spirit and truth.

   3. When you meditate on the Word, God will make it plain to you.

   4. When you meditate on the Word, you get close to God.

C. The Word of God takes you high above worldly problems.

   1. His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways.

   2. God communicates with us on a level that we can understand.

       a. The lamb is Jesus Christ.

       b. The bridegroom is Jesus Christ.

       c. The Wife is the Church.

       d. The symbol of the wife is Jerusalem.

       e. The name Jerusalem means city of peace.

       f. In heaven, there will be in a complete state of peace.

       g. Our final dwelling place will be a city of peace.

       h. Jesus said " I go to prepare a place for you".

THE BEAUTY OF THE BRIDE

V:11-12. " Having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper.  It had a great and high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels; and names were written on them, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel."

A. The Church, which is all believers, will be transformed into the Glory of God.

    1. We will be considered a precious stone to the Father carved into His Glory.

    2. The crystal clear jasper may describe our complete transparence.

    3. There will be nothing hidden.

    4. The clarity of the stone represents the final product.

         a. Innocence

         b. Purity

         c. Truth

B. The walls will form a 1500 mile square

    1. The walls are 200 miles thick

    2. The walls are 1500 miles high

    3. The city has unlimited capacity

    4. The perfect square represents perfect harmony in the new Jerusalem

        a. Perfect peace

        c. Perfect joy

        d. Perfect love

C. The city is described with 12 gates which represents the 12 tribes of Israel.

    1. The foundation of Christian religion began with the 12 tribes of Israel

    2. There will be three gates on the east side, Three gates on the west side, three gates

         on the north side and three gates on the south side.

    3. The station of the 12 tribes of Israel around the Tabernacle constructed in the desert

        was symbolic of  this.

    4. The gates are open to all nations and all languages.

    5. None of the chosen are turned away

    6. Believers come to Christ from all parts of the earth.      

THE ENTRY WAY INTO THE BRIDAL CHAMBER

V:13-14. " There were three gates on the east and three gates on the north and three gates on the south and three gates on the west.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

A. The twelve apostle of Jesus are given special recognition.

     1. The original disciples chosen by Jesus is the foundation of the Church

     2. Jesus said to Peter, "upon this rock I will build my Church."

     3. Jesus is the corner stone of the Church.

     4. The apostles sacrifice themselves for the sake of the Gospel.

B.  All believer are the building blocks of the Church.

     1. Believers are chosen from all parts of the world. east, west north and south.

     2. The great commission given to the Church is to preach the Gospel to the

          ends of the earth.

    3. All believers have their names recorded in the Lamb's book of Life.

THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD

V:22. " And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple."

A. The new Jerusalem will not be composed of physical buildings.

    1. The temple will be the God head, God the Father, God the Son and God the

        Holy Spirit.

    2. Since we will be spirit beings like angels, we will have no need for a physical

        place of worship.  Matt 22 :30

 B. Man has a body made of dust, a spirit and a sole.     Gen 2:7

     1. At death the spirit leave the corrupted body and returns to the Lord.   Ecc  12:7

     2. The Spirit will be housed in an incorruptible body at the second coming of Jesus.

         1 Cor 15:42

THE ILLUMINATION OF THE LORD

V:23-24. " And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it. "

A. Jesus is the light of the world.

   1. The Word of Jesus is a light to our path.   Psalms 119:105

   2. A man without a relationship with Jesus, walks in darkness.

B. In the New Heaven and New Earth, the light from the Lord will

    illuminate our environment.

   1. The moon will not be necessary because there will be no night and

        no death.

   2. We will live forever in the Glory of the Lord.

THE FINAL STATE OF BLESSINGS

V:25-27. " And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed;  and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;

and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

A. The Word describes the night time as a time of rest.

     1. The Word also describes the night time as death.

     2. In the New Heaven and the New Earth there will only be eternal life.

     3. The New Heaven and the New Earth will be day time forever.

     4. All believers are joined forever with the bridegroom, Jesus Christ.

     5. There will be no more pain, sorrow or death.

B.  Our only full time assignment will be to praise and worship the Lord.

     1. We will be forever in the glory of the Lord.

     2. We will be forever in His joy.

C. Satan the great harlot and all his demons will be bound in the burning fire forever.

    1. There will be no sinful influence.

    2. There will be no desire to sin.

        a. All believers are new creations in Christ.

        b. Without the flesh, there will only be the influence God's righteousness.

    3. We will be changed completely into the image of Christ.

    4. We will be transformed into the image and likeness of the God Head

        forever.

        a. God will redeem all believers to the original state that existed in the Garden

            of Eden.  Gen 1:27 

THANK GOD FOR OUR PLACE IN HEAVEN.

 Rev. M. Mitchell

 Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway

Houston, Texas 77010

For more lessons visit my face book page and my blogs

"www.revmmitchell.com" and "goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com"