SOME time since, I commenced a series of lectures on the last book of the New Testament, at this place; and, on account of very disagreeable weather, was compelled to close a little while before I got through. I had resolved all the time to give this place the preference to all others-- partly on account of selfishness, it may be, and maybe not. My membership is here, my home is here, my friends are here, and I had commenced the work here; so I thought I would finish it here. It is a good thing to understand this book, and to talk about it.

We had progressed with our lectures as far as the twenty-first chapter of the book of Revelation, where we will now commence reading.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are true and faithful."  /314/

The heart that can remain unmoved while reading this portion of the Word of the Lord, is indeed very hard. In the latter part of the preceding chapter, u-e have an account of the general resurrection, when the grave in which the body was deposited, the sea where thousands of human bodies lie, and the unseen world, all give up their tenantry; when the body and spirit are reunited, and the great white throne is set, and all nations stand before it--every man to give an account of the deeds done in the body, whether good or bad.

And when that judgment is come on, or before it commences, rather, John said he saw from the face of him that sat on the throne, the earth and the heaven flying away-- this earth that we live on, (literally,) this atmosphere that surrounds it, this air that we breathe, all dying away from the face of him that sat on the throne, that judged the nations of the earth. And John adds a little more than that: that there was no place found for them--for the earth and the heaven, the atmosphere.

And I read, in the introduction, the account that Peter gives of that day, in the last chapter of his second letter, where he says--there is no figure used--emphatically and distinctly, that the world was once destroyed by water; the people were destroyed by water; he says the world. And the Word of God had threatened it--had promised it beforehand--but he says now that same Word has promised, that not the world, the people only, but the earth itself, with all its works, shall be burned up. The world means the people; the earth is that which the people dwell upon. And it is just as certain to come to pass as that I am talking to you to-day. This earth, these hills, these valleys, and all the works that are on the earth, will be burned up, for the Word of the Lord has declared it. And that Word of the Lord keeps it in its place to-day; it is by the Word of the Lord that it now exists, and by the Word of the /315/ Lord, by which the earth and heaven now exist, it will be destroyed, burned up, and no place found for it. And this, John says, is at the close of the millennial age after the thousand years of peace on earth have passed away.

We have, it is true, the promise that there shall be yet, on this earth, one thousand years when Satan is bound, so that he can deceive the nations no more for a thousand years. But, then, if that were all the promise that I have, I would feel sad, indeed. If I had nothing more to fight for than simply to help bind old Satan one thousand years, I would feel sad, indeed; because my life is short; because the earth I live on will be burned up at last; because the elements themselves will melt with fervent heat, at the end of all this happy period of one thousand years. Then, where is all our labor! All lost at last, unless the Lord gives us some other promise; it is lost after all, the earth is destroyed and no place found for it--no resting place for the Christian's foot. But, after he has declared, in the closing portion of the twentieth chapter, that this earth, that is to enjoy a thousand years of rest, is destroyed, burned up, flies away from the face of him that sits on the throne, he immediately proceeds to tell us of something that gladdens my heart. After the judgment has passed, and the dead are judged according to their works, he says, "I saw a new heaven and a new atmosphere, that heaven that was made at the beginning, in which the fowls hew." And a new earth!--thank the Lord for it. That, after the judgment day has passed, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness, and no wicked one there. Then, Christians have something to work for. If this earth is burned up, and all that is on it is consumed, what need the Christian care, while he has the promise of being a citizen of the new earth with a new atmosphere around it? And on that new earth there will be no more sea, nothing to divide the nations from each other. /316/ There will be one family there; none of these natural divisions that we have on this earth, no four quarters to it; it will be a new earth, and the one dwelling place. How large it will be, or how small it will be, is not for us to inquire. Whether larger than this, whether smaller than this, the Lord has not made known. Whether he will work up the materials of the old one into the new one, is not for me to imagine. There is no place found for this one; what becomes of it, I know not; the Lord that created it out of nought, can annihilate it as easily; and he can create the materials for a new one as easily as he could work up the materials of the old one into it. It is enough for me to know that, after the judgment day has passed, there will be a new earth and a new heaven. and no sea; and that the holy city--the new Jerusalem--which comes down out of heaven, will be on it. Not old Jerusalem on this earth, that is to be burned up after a while, not the literal city out yonder in the land of Palestine, but the New Jerusalem that Christians belong to now--the heavenly Jerusalem will be on that new earth. John declares that it came down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Beautiful, indeed!

And the next voice that he hears is out of heaven, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men;"--on the new earth, after the resurrection is past, the tabernacle or the dwelling place of God is to be with men on the new earth." And he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God." It is enough, if I am on the new earth, and am one of the children of the Almighty, and their God is my God: it is enough.

But, then, he has said a little more still that adds to the interest of the matter. "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes," from the eyes of those on the new earth. All tears! I know the criticisms of some; /317/ they will weep a little there, but it is not implied in the language here. As he will state directly there will be no weeping there; their tears are all wiped away by the time they reach there. There is weeping here, there is mourning here in this world, there are tears shed here, but there they are all wiped away--not one left.

"And there shall be," (the best of all, it seems to me, is coming) "there shall be no more death." When we get there, death will not disturb our peace; never separate us from those we love; "neither sorrow"--that teaches what I said in reference to there being no tears shed there. There is to be neither "sorrow nor crying"--that is the way it reads here in this book; "neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things have passed away." The old earth, with all its works, the old atmosphere, with all its malarial diseases, gone for ever--no sea; and on the beautiful new earth--without its natural divisions, as this one has--no death, no crying, no sorrow, no pain forever. It is enough. If the human mind could ask for more, it would ask for that which is unreasonable. We have more, then, to labor for than simply to bind old Satan a thousand years. We have the promise, that after the resurrection is past, we will be citizens of the new earth, beyond the reach of death. I wonder, while I think of this and read it, that we for one moment can fix our affections on things beneath the sun. It seems strange that men can be so degraded as to give their hearts to things that perish, that must be consumed.

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." A new heaven, a new earth, a new atmosphere, a new order,--no death! All things new. "And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. It is enough again. It is the promise of the true and faithful God. It is the promise made by him through his Son Jesus to John. Write it down, John; it /318/ is no fancy sketch; u rite it down, John; it is no figure: it is the true and faithful declaration of the Lord. These things will come, and he is dealing in facts along here, not figures. That is the rule by which we must always work to know we are right: take it literally, when it will bear a literal interpretation; and it will bear nothing else here.

"And he said unto me, It is done." That is the end of the matter, John. That is the finishing up of the whole of God's works with man. It is done. There is a new earth, and a new heaven, and a holy city for the Lord's people, and the wicked banished from his face for ever. It is the winding up of the matter, John; it is done. "I am Alpha and Omega." He said this at the commencement of the book of Revelation, when he was in the beginning of the subject. He has gone through with all the lines of historic events, and now it is done, he says. He is not only the Alpha, but the Omega--the end of the matter, too. He commences with John's exile to Patmos, and now winds up with a new order of things after the general resurrection, and says Omega then--It is done. "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." Here is the declaration of Jesus again, or God, our heavenly Father, through his Son; and I am glad it is here. He says, "I will give unto him that is athirst, that longs for it, desires it, to drink of the water of life, or of the fountain of life, freely." We need not buy it; there is no gold asked for it in exchange; the poorest man in all the land that begs his bread, that lies in the street with the dogs around him, if he longs for citizenship in this holy city on the new earth, and thirsts for the water of life, he can have it freely, as certain as if he were worth ten millions of money. If that had not been put in there by the Lord, I would not have known to-day but that it would take a large amount of money to buy a lot in that holy city on that new earth; but it is free, brother, for the /319/ poor and the rich, for the high and the low, for the bond and the free, for the beggar and the monarch, alike; it is offered freely if we are thirsting for it. And who would not ardently desire to drink of the fountain of the water of life in order to live; who would not want to live eternally in that happy home?

But he tells who shall inherit, after all, in the next verse. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things," the one that overcomes; hear! There is something we must overcome in order to inherit all things he had just been speaking of. Overcome our enemies? No, sir; he did not say that. Overcome our neighbors that might be esteemed enemies? No, sir; he never said it: but he is alluding to the very matter that had been so often stated by inspired men--to overcome ourselves, our selfishness, overcome the ways and follies of the world, and keep it down under our feet-- overcome the love of the world. I know I am right in that, because if the love of the world is in our hearts, the love of the Father, our God, is not, and we would be cursed and driven for ever from his face if we love him not. There is something to overcome; the lusts of the eye, the pride of life, the love of the world, the love of applause, the love of earthly honor, the love of earthly things--these things are to be overcome, and the mun that overcomes these things shall inherit the new earth. And it is enough; let me say to you to-day, that it is more than a compensation. It is amazing grace to have a home on the new earth, where there is no death, for simply denying myself some foolish vanities here; it is more than pay, ten thousand times infinitely more than a compensation. Why, O, my soul, will men be so careless about it? There is a reward offered here. It is in the final winding up of the Book of Life. God carries our mind down to the final, the eternal reward of his people. Not only shall he inherit all things if he overcomes the world, its ways, its /320/ follies, its vanities, its besetments; and it is no light battle, but then the victory will be so great. Not only has he the promise of being heir to all these rich blessings--the water of life, the crown of glory in the world where there is no death--but God says, "I will be his God if he overcomes these things of earth; I will be his God, and he shall be my son." That is enough, to be a son of the Almighty; that is offer enough. There is something to prompt us; but he adds:--(now, this is all after death is destroyed, and the new earth is ushered in; he is talking about things beyond the judgment day in this connection that I am reading,)--after this earth is destroyed--and John knew as much about this as any man ever did since he was in Patmos, or before, either--he says, "But the fearful"-- listen--"and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars'' shall inherit the new earth, where there is no death? He never said it, brother. A foolish preacher, deluding the people, said that the abominable, and the murderer, and the whole line of Adam's family, should all go to the new earth, where there is no death. John did not preach it. He said these persons just named shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death, the second separation from God, the final separation. And I believe it, because it is here in plain words. It is after the resurrection, after the judgment, after there is a new earth introduced, after the righteous are declared to be in the presence of God, that John says the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. The Lord save us from it. There may be persons here that think all will be well enough after a while. Better take the solemn warning that is left on record in /321/ this last address of our heavenly Father. I am not debating that subject now--simply stating facts. He has finished up the brief account of the condition of the righteous and the wicked after the resurrection, at the end of the eighth verse, and simply states what will be the fate of the righteous and the wicked after the judgment day is passed and the earth burned up; and it is stated in unambiguous, unmistakable terms, so that the little boy can understand it, and the little girl can not misapprehend if she will read it carefully.

"And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, (dome hither; I will show thee the bride-- the Lamb's wife." John is only showing what will be, and drops back here to the day in which we live, when the fighting with gunpowder is going on. That is proven in some of my former lectures, I am sure. "Come hither; I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife; " and John journeys down the stream of time again, to look and see the wife of Christ. Says one, I know you said in one of your lectures--you came well nigh proving in one of them; some may say you did prove--that the Church is Christ's wife. Paul said it, my brother, more than once. Then, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife, the Church really, in its future state--when it is all one. "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. He had described the city on the new earth, a little while ago. Some of our wise men seem to have so narrow a mind, they can never get more than one thought into it at a time. Some have come to the conclusion that the city is only a pile of precious stones, with gold paved streets; others conclude that the city is the Church of Christ, anti nothing more than that; and some will have a city without houses, made of people; /322/ and others a city of houses, without any people, while it takes both houses and people to make a city in fact; and the Lord addresses us according to our observation and reasoning powers. The bride--the Lamb's wife--is there in that magnificent structure; the Church is there. It is not only a building with walls and streets paved with gold, but there were persons there--the Lamb's wife was there, the Church was there.

But the idea of having a Church up in the air, of having his bride without a place to dwell in, would be absurd and ridiculous, would it not? To persons like we are, it would; we could not conceive of enjoyment without some place in which to dwell; hence Jesus said he was going to prepare a mansion for us. It will be a grand one, too-- all glorious, the Lamb's wife, his Church, the inhabitants of the city.

And what did John see when he was carried away? "That great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and high." He is describing the mansion that the Lord's people will have, that Jesus has gone to prepare for them. Not just a town without any people; no, the Lamb's wife will be in it when it comes on the new earth. "And had a wall great and high, 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." He then gives the order of the encampment of the Israelites when they marched; they were in the form of a hollow square, three tribes on each of the sides--three on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west. And the wall of this city had twelve gates; three on the east, three on the north, and three on the south, and three on the west, and the names of the twelve tribes of Israel /323/ written in them. But they are only the gates that lead to that city. Israel of old, the seed of Abraham, is made use of figuratively here as only the introductory or schoolmaster dispensation--the gates that led up to the Church.

The names of the Israelites were written on the gates, but he said the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Strong enough, isn't it? While old Israel only served as a gateway to lead to the city, the foundation had the names of the apostles on it, and they stand at the foundation of the city even in the new world.

"And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof." Now we will read a little more about our mansion-house. "And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length, and the breadth, and the highs of it are equal."

Now, I know that some men, in speaking of this matter, say that John gives the entire. measure of the city in its length, breadth and highs, as being twelve thousand furlongs altogether; they say it looks too large any other way. But I know enough about numbers to know that no man can extract the cube root of twelve thousand furlongs without running into an infinite number of fractions. He meant it was twelve thousand furlongs long, twelve thousand furlongs wide, and twelve thousand furlongs high. He measured the wall of the city twelve thousand furlongs, and adds, its breadth and highs are just that too. It could not be otherwise.

Says one, I would like to know how large a town that is--what sort of a building the Lord has prepared for his saints. It was fifteen hundred miles square, brother,-- English miles. But, then, it is possible, it is quite probable, it is almost absolutely certain, he was talking about /324/ longer furlongs than ours; but the shortest we can possibly dwindle it down to, is fifteen hundred miles long, fifteen hundred miles wide, and fifteen hundred miles high. Says one, it is too high. There will be no storms there, and it is very strong, too. And its streets are paved with pure gold.

Well, do you know how many persons that city would hold? I have made the calculation of the size of that city, and have thrown it into rooms ten feet square, and then calculated the number of rooms. I had considered that one billion of human beings would die every thirty-three years since Adam was created. That is a little more than a fact, is it not? And I counted from the commencement down till the end of the millennial age--7,000 years-- twenty-one hundred billions of human beings, and then I multiplied that by two hundred, and supposed there might be two hundred worlds like this, and three billions dying every century on each of them, and I had rooms enough ten feet square in that city for every one to have one to himself or herself, and then had one-third of the city left for streets and pleasure-grounds. It is a large mansion; all will not get there, but there is room enough in that city for a thousand worlds like this,--for all of them that will be saved, I fear.

After all, John says, it is but a tabernacle, a little temporary residence for our Father and our God. It is large enough for us--it is grand enough, too. We can stay there or go abroad if we want to; we will be joint heirs with Christ. These little farms of Putnam county dwindle down to nothing in my sight. Who would miss the heavenly home, miss the holy city, and be driven away from the water of life for ever and ever, for the gratification of the flesh a few years--who would?

He tells us the building of the wall was of jasper, and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. That is richer than California; richer than Golconda's mines; richer /325/ than any of the new mines we have found. "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, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the fifth, sardonix; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst." These are precious gems, worth, in our time, a great deal more than their weight in gold.

"And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city w as 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." There was no meeting-house there dedicated to the Lord; there was no little building like this consecrated to the Lord of hosts; no temple in it dike in old Jerusalem in the days of Solomon: for the Lord God and the Lamb are the temple of it; they dwell there and the people worship in the city.

"And the city had no need of the sun,"--it was not here on this earth, certainly, but on the new earth. "The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

That is not all. "And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." Not their wickedness and their folly. "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there." I heard one man say not long since, "If I had nothing more offered to me as heaven than the simple fact that there shall be no night there, it would make me happy for ever. I always dread the dark- to have the sable curtain of night thrown around me,--but the thought of being where there is one eternal day, is enough." /326/

"And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie."

Some might have thought that there was to be no temptation there; that all would be saved, and there would be nothing there that would cause them to be defiled; there would be no temptation to work abomination or tell a lie; but John clinches the matter; no such persons were to get there. In the very next sentence he says, "They which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Those that make a lie, will not get there. That is a fair deduction, according to the rules of language, I know. They will have no part in it at all; they will be outside of the city.

"And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." In that holy city men may drink of the water of life freely, in the city of the living God, where nothing impure can ever enter; no impure person can get there.

"In the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Nations are healed when they get there. It makes no difference to us whether it is used figuratively or not: those that get there will be kept healed by the leaves of that tree.

"And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of Gold and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him. And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in their foreheads." The name of the God of heaven, the Word of the Lord, they will understand; his name will be there, and they will know more about him than they do now

"And there shall be no night there; and they need no /327/ candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever." That is the promise to the faithful. How strange it is we have to beg men and women to be the Lord's children, the Lord's servants, the Lord's soldiers, the Lord's followers, to go to such a home as this! How strange that every human being is not more interested in reading this book, and studying these things in their connection and order, than they have been, while the blessing of the Lord is pronounced on the man that reads it, hears it, and remembers it.

"And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done." The sayings of this book are faithful; this part we have just been noticing is faithful and true-- certain to come to pass.

But he adds another word. "Behold, I come quickly." That is the first thing John named when he introduced himself to the churches in Asia--the Lord Jesus will come. But, then, says one, Is he to come after this new heaven and new earth are brought in? No; just before it is introduced. He said, in the commencement of the twenty-first chapter, a great white throne was seen when the thousand years had passed by, in which Satan had been bound. Now, this is faithful and true, that this new order of things shall be introduced; the time is coming, and I will come quickly. That is the order in which it stands. I will not tarry long until I come to judge the world in righteousness, and separate the good from the bad, and take my people into the holy city, on the new earth, and turn the bad ones out for ever. It will not be a long time. Says one, It has been a good while since John wrote it- 1800 years almost. It has only been a little more than a day with the Almighty, for a thousand years are as one day /328/ with the Lord. And when he is talking of events that are to transpire, he says quickly; it is only a few days; it will not be long; when the time has flown away, it will be as the dream of the night.

"Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." Lord grant we may not only keep them in our minds, but may meditate on them continually. That we may remember every day this farewell address of our heavenly Father's only Son. It is the valedictory of the King of kings and Lord of lords. That we may remember that he has declared, four or five times, the words in it are faithful and true. We have seen the fulfillment of almost all of them, except the binding of Satan and the millennial age, already.

"And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." Says one, I wish you would stop a moment there; I have always been taught that there was unconsciousness between death and the resurrection. John was in Patmos before the first resurrection, brother, and the angel that was showing him the whole Vision, declared that he was one of the prophets--John's fellow servants--and was not unconscious, at that. Which one of them it was, I know not. It might have been Enoch, it might have been Elijah, it might have been Jeremiah, or Isaiah--it makes no difference to me; but one thing, it for ever sets aside the unconscious state of the dead. They are conscious after death, but that was fully proven in one of my lectures.

"And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand." The time of my coming is near by; do not seal it up--let the /329/ people understand it. God grant that they may. Says one, I thought the Lord had sealed it. No; Jesus broke every seal to John in the Isle of Patmos, and it has never been sealed since then. There is no need of our saying it is a sealed Book, when Jesus broke the seals and told John what was written in the Book. Jesus broke the seals 1800 years ago, and told the contents of the Book--told it in figurative language, I know, but the Lord explains every word of it in his own Word of Truth. It has been sealed, but I have revealed it to you; seal it not, for the time is at hand when I will come again. And then what?

"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still." That is not here; does the Lord Jesus say now to men that are unjust, go on in your wickedness? Does he, anywhere? No; but when he comes again to judge the world--when that time rolls around, that is the time when he that is unjust shall remain unjust still. "He that is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Do not try to change them, then; let them remain as they are when I come. The Lord Jesus has said that, and the time of his coming is at hand. I want to say that death is nigh at hand all the time; and if we die in our sins, we will meet the Lord in our sins; if we die holy and in the service of the Lord, we will meet the Lord holy and in his service. Hence he says the time is at hand; and when Jesus comes, he declares there is no change of character or condition. He says, Let the unjust man remain so, let the filthy man remain so, and let the righteous man remain so, and let the holy man or woman remain so, when he comes, for there is to be no change then. It is all probation here--it is a life-time. We must form our character here, to be prepared for the coming of the Lord.

Here, you see, he has reference to his coming. The next verse says it: "Behold, I come quickly." He had /330/ stated before, that the time was at hand when he was coming, and then the condition and character remained unchanged, and adds again in the twelfth verse, "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last."