The Judgements of Christ and the New Jerusalem — Stephen Kaung

The Bride and the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21

Will you please turn to the book of Revelation. Revelation chapter 21. We'll begin with verse 9. And there came one of the seven angels, which had had the seven bowls full of the seven lost plagues, and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

And he carried me away in the Spirit, and set me on a great and high mountain, and show me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her shining was like a most precious stone, as a crystal like jasper stone, having a great and high wall, having twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names inscribed, which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel.

On the east three gates, and on the north three gates, and on the south three gates, and on the west three gates, and the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And he that spoke with me had a golden reed as a measure, that he might measure the city, and its gates, and its walls. And the city lies four square, and its length is as much as the breath. And he measured the city with the reed twelve thousand stadia, the length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

And he measured his wall a hundred and forty-four cubits, a man's measure, that is the angels. And the building of his wall was jasper, and the city pure gold, like pure grass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every precious stone, the first foundation jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedonite, the fourth amaroid, the fifth sardonis, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth bull, the ninth topis, the tenth chrysal princess, the eleventh jessins, and the twelfth amethyst.

And twelve gates, twelve pearls, each one of the gates, respectively, was of one pearl. And the street of the city pure gold, as transparent glass. And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty is His temple and the Lamb.

And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon, that they should shine for it, for the glory of God has enlightened it, and the Lamb thereof is the Lamb. And the nation shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory to it.

And its gates shall not be shut at all by day, for night shall not be there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations to it. And nothing common, nor that maketh an abomination and a lie, shall at all enter into it, but those only who are written in the book of the life of this Lamb.

22. And He showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of its street and of the river, on this side and on that side, the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit, and the leaves of the tree, for healing of the nation.

And no curse shall be any more, and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. And His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face, and His name is on their foreheads. And night shall not be any more, and no need of a lamp and the light of the sun, for the Lord God shall shine upon them, and they shall reign to the ages of ages.

Preparing for the Imminent Return of Christ

Shall we pray? Lord, as we are gathering in Thy presence, we do praise and thank Thee for giving us such opportunity that together we may seek Thy face, and we may be ready by Thee for Thy imminent return.

Lord, it is the cry of our hearts. How long will not Thou be coming today? We wait for Thee, Lord. We wonder whether You are waiting for us, or we are waiting for Thee. But anyway, Lord, pray Thou will prepare our hearts in such a way that we may be those who hasten Thy return.

Our cry to Thee this morning is, come, Lord Jesus, come. We ask in Thy name. Amen. Brothers and sisters, we are at the last full day of this conference. It passes so quickly. I hope that through the last few days that we have heard, God has touched our hearts and make us ready, not only ready, but hasten the return of our Lord Jesus.

Should our Lord Jesus come today, brothers and sisters, what will happen to every one of us here? Can we answer this question? Can we honestly tell the Lord that by His grace we are ready, that because of us He is hastened in His return?

So, dear brothers and sisters, I really pray that if the Lord should come now, that this auditorium will be emptied. We are looking forward to His imminent return. There is nothing that stands in the way of His return except the readiness of His pride.

The Rapture and the Man-Child

Should the Lord come today, what will happen to His people? We have mentioned before that the first sign of His return is suddenly throughout the whole world some believers disappeared. Two men were sleeping.

One was taken, but unfortunately one was left. Two women were grinding the mill in the morning. Again, one was taken, and the other is left. Two men were working in the field. One was taken. The other was left.

The earth is round. That's the reason why when the Lord shall return, some all over the world will be taken. They are the man-child, as we find in Revelation chapter 12. And when the man-child was born, he will be taken immediately to the throne, and they will be the welcoming party of our Lord Jesus.

Because after they came to the throne, there will be war in the heavens. Michael and his angels will fight against Satan and his followers, and Satan and his followers will be thrown down from heaven his headquarter to the earth.

The air was clear for the Lord to come from the throne to the air. As we have said before, it is invisible. He has come as a thief, stealing the best. Hopefully, by the grace of God, we may be among the rank.

The Great Tribulation and the Resurrection of Believers

And after Satan was thrown on the earth, this was a time of the great tribulation of three years and a half. A tribulation that this world had never seen before. What can be otherwise when Satan was upon this earth?

But dear brothers and sisters, we have mentioned before that God loves us so much that even for those who are left behind, he gave them another chance. They might be faithful to the Lord and be martyrs during the great tribulation, but these martyrs will be ranked among the overcomers of the ages.

Now we say that towards the end of the great tribulation, there will be a shouting and a blowing of the trumpet, and all those who have died in Christ Jesus will be raised from the dead. And those who live, who remain behind, they will be changed and all will be raptured, not to the throne, to the air, because the Lord has already come to the air.

So in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, we find that with a great shout and the voice of the trumpet, God is calling all who are his to come. And the whole church at that time will be gathered together with the Lord in the air.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

Now what happened in the air? You know when the saints were all gathered before Christ in the air, on the earth, there will be what the scripture tells us, the seven vials, the wrath of God. The wrath of God will be poured upon this earth, but at the same time, when the whole church throughout the centuries will gather together in the air with the Lord Jesus, that's the time of the judgment seat of Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters, thank God. We who believe in the Lord Jesus, we will never appear before the great white throne that decides whether there will be eternal death or life, because Christ on the cross has already borne our sins and will condemn to death in our stead.

So we will not be at the judgment of the great white throne. Now it is a judgment of the great white throne because it is a judicial judgment. It is a judgment of eternal life or eternal death, but we will not be there by the grace of God.

But that doesn't mean that God's people will not be judged. But it is a different judgment. It is called the judgment seat of Christ, Bema. Now, in order to know that, I think those from the Orient have the benefit, especially in the old days.

When I was a child, we still kept that old custom. Four generations living under one roof. My grandfather took care of everybody. Not only took care of our daily food, but took care of all our educations, our marriage.

He took care of everything. My uncles and their family, my aunts, even the married aunt came back and lived together. So we were a great family. Everyone has his own street. And during the lunch time, at that time, they were slaves.

The slaves would come and ask us all to go to the dining hall to eat. And after eating, we went back to our apartments. My grandmother took care of everything. She rose up very early in the morning. That's the great family.

Now, of course, because everything was taken care of. So you find they have nothing to do. And the uncles sweep. Uncle would take opium. And the aunts would be gossiping. So that's the time, or that's the way that the old family was.

And I was brought up in such a family. So Bhima is a higher place in a room. Once in a while, the head of the family, he will call a family meeting. He will be sitting on that Bhima. And all the members of the family, they will be gathered before him, standing.

Now, if you are not one of the family, you are not allowed to be there. Only members of the family, because there will be a family meeting. And during the time, some in the family, because they have done something that brings glory to the family, they will be praised and awarded.

But there will be some in the family who brought disgrace to the family. And it was at that time, they will be disciplined. So that's what is the judgment seat of Christ. In other words, after the whole church will be gathered in the air with the Lord, we will have a family judgment.

It is no longer a judgment of eternal death or eternal life. It will be a judgment of reward or punishment. So dear brothers and sisters, the Bible tells us, both in Romans chapter 13 verse 10, and also in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 10, that we shall all appear, be present at the judgment seat of Christ.

Discipline, Reward, and Reigning with Christ

And everything throughout our life, after we believe in the Lord Jesus, whether we are faithful or whether we are unfaithful, we will be judged at that time. Again, I will say it is not a judgment of eternal death or eternal life.

It is a judgment of reward or discipline. Those who are faithful to the Lord, they shall reign with Christ for a thousand years. But those who are unfaithful will be cast into outer darkness. You find that in Matthew chapter 25, the ten virgins, the five foolish virgins, they could not enter into the marriage feast of the Lamb, and they were cast outside in darkness.

There will be gnashing of teeth. In other words, there will be repentance. Dear brothers and sisters, today, especially in this country, people despise discipline. Even in schools, you are not allowed to discipline your students.

In the family, we will say, let the children grow naturally. Do not discipline them. But dear brothers and sisters, without discipline, there will never be maturity. Discipline is absolutely necessary.

Why? Because in us there is an Adamic nature there, and this Adamic nature is self-centered, and it has to be disciplined in order to be delivered from ourselves and be filled with Christ Jesus. So if today, you refuse to be disciplined, you think you are wise, you are clever, you escape all discipline, you can do whatever you want, you are free.

But brothers and sisters, this is most dangerous. Why? Because at the judgment seat of Christ, you will be disciplined. You will be cast into outer darkness, outside of the kingdom of Christ that is coming.

We do not know what the outward darkness is. You know, we are very curious. People want to know what is that outside darkness. Where is it? How is it? So far as I have read, there is only one person who tries to answer that question, and that is Govett.

He is literal in everything. So he tried to answer what is the outer darkness. I will not tell you. But anyway, we really do not know where is the outer darkness. We only know that during the kingdom age, some Christians will be outside the kingdom, and they will be gnashing of teeth, that is, repenting.

They will be disciplined as it were during that time. But then God is not eternal. In other words, they will also through discipline grow up and be matured. Why? Because the eternal will of God towards man is such.

As you read Romans chapter 8, you will find whom he has foreknown, God has foreknown, he has called. Whom he has called, he has justified. And whom he has justified, he has sanctified. Sanctified. Brothers and sisters, it is the will of God, it is the purpose of God, that he wants those who are saved to be conformed to the image of his beloved son.

So he wants every one of us to be matured, and by maturing it means that we have the statue of the fullness of Christ. When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we have Christ in us. But if we are willing to be under the discipline of the Holy Spirit, and we'll grow up until we reach the full statue of Christ, that is to say the bride has grown up, the bride has taken upon herself the image of the bridegroom.

And it is at that time that you will find the marriage of the Lamb. So dear brothers and sisters, there is a warning to each and every one of us. But thank God, his eternal purpose is that we will all reign with Christ for eternity.

Christ's Return, Israel, and the Millennium

When that judgment seat of Christ will be going on in the air, what will happen upon this earth? It is the time of the seven vials, the wrath of God, will be poured upon this earth. But thank God towards the end you will find that our Lord Jesus will come from the air to Mount Olive.

And that is visible as the light that comes from the east to the west, and everybody will see it. He will come back for his people Israel. As you read Zechariah from chapter 10 to chapter 12, it tells us what would happen at that time.

You find the whole world gathered together under Satan, Satan tried to destroy Israel completely, but our Lord would come back. And when his feet touch Mount Olive, that mountain will be cleaved into two parts.

And scientists have already discovered there is a line there. When there is an earthquake, the mountain will be cleaved into two. And those in Jerusalem who were left, they will flee through that, and all Israel will repent and be saved.

And then, as we read the word of God, Christ will shut up Satan in the bottomless pit for a thousand years. There will be the judgment of the nations, the goat nation and the sheep nation, as you find in Matthew chapter 25 from verse 31 onward.

The sheep nations will be removed to the kingdom of God on earth, as the nations on the earth during the millennium. But the goat nations will be destroyed. And brothers and sisters, you will find all that God has promised to Israel will be fulfilled at that time.

You know, God promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, but God's promise has not been fulfilled even today. But whenever God promised, he will also keep it. So during the millennium time, if my understanding is right, there will be two parts, the heavenly part and the earthly part.

On the heavenly part, the overcomers of the church, they will reign with Christ over a thousand years. And what do you mean by that? You remember the Lord Jesus, how he said to those faithful servants that they shall rule ten cities or five cities?

So at that time, you will find even the overcomers would reign with Christ from the air over this earth. But their domain may be five cities or ten cities upon this earth. They will reign with Christ and for Christ.

But Israel will be the center of the nations. And even Israel will be used by God to go out to preach the gospel. If you read Isaiah, say chapter 11, you will find that at that time, there will be such peace upon this earth.

Isaiah's Vision of Messianic Righteousness and Peace

Let's just read a few of them. Isaiah, it's Isaiah chapter 11, verse 1. And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall be fruitful, and the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him.

The spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah, and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.

But with righteousness shall he judge the poor and reprove with equity the meek of the earth. And he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips, and shall he slay the wicked.

And righteousness shall be the girdle of his reign, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the cow and the young lion and the ferreted beast together, and the little child shall lead them, and the cow and the sheep bear shall feed.

The young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the second child shall play on the hole of the adder, and the weaned child shall put on his head in the viper's vein.

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah as the water covers the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse standing as a banner of the peoples.

The nation shall seek it, and its resting place shall be glory. So you find during the millennium time this earth will be ruled by our Lord Jesus. The time of grace is over, but the time of righteousness will be upon this earth.

The Lord Jesus will rule this earth with righteousness. This is the utopia that people have been dreaming about, but it will be a reality when Christ shall rule over this earth. But then as we read the book of Revelation, we will find that after the thousand years, what will happen?

Satan's Final Rebellion After the Millennium

Satan will be released, and he will entice the nations during the millennium time. And strangely you find still many follow him, and they will come and surround Jerusalem and the camp of the saints. Now sometimes we wonder what does it mean by the camp of the saints.

Now I will try to use a picture to help us understand what it is. You know it is like in the old days in Europe, you have the feudal state. There will be an emperor, and under him will be all these dukes and counts and high count and so forth.

And every one of these men will have their dominions, but they will live, stay as it were with the emperor. And from time to time the emperor will visit their dominions. So that is what the camp of the saints meant.

But when Satan is released, he will try to surround Jerusalem and the camp of the saints. But thank God, the Lord will destroy him and put him into the lake of fire. Now what will happen after the millennium?

The New Jerusalem as the Eternal Bride

We have eternity. We have already said, it seems as if there are two marriages of the Lamb. When in verse 19 of Revelation, one is verse 21, chapter 21 and 22. That which is in chapter 19 is the beginning of millennium.

It happened in the beginning of millennium. As we have mentioned before, that it is composed of the overcomers who have the wedding garment. But in Revelation 21 and 22, you find it is the new heaven and the new earth.

And then you find the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven upon this earth. And this new Jerusalem is the bride of the Lamb. So what that new Jerusalem is? We find it is the composition of all the work of God throughout the centuries.

His work in the Old Testament time and His work in the New Testament time. Whatever God has done, nothing will be lost. So everything that God has done upon this earth will be gathered up together in the new Jerusalem.

And this new Jerusalem will be the eternal bride of the Lamb. So here you find the apostle John. He was shown by the angel of the new Jerusalem. And here in chapter 21 verse 10, he said, the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, having the glory of God.

The Glory of God in the New Jerusalem

Brothers and sisters, this whole city, the new Jerusalem, is full of the glory of God. Glory is a word often used in the scripture, but it is very difficult to describe it. The best that we know now is glory is the manifestation of God.

Whenever God manifests Himself, you see glory. Whenever we manifest ourselves, you see shame. And this new Jerusalem is full of the glory of God. You remember in Colossians, he said, Christ in you, the hope of glory.

This is a promise. But here you find it is the answer, the result of that promise. Because that whole city is full of Christ. It is full of glory. And the shining was like the most precious stone, as a crystal-like jasper stone.

You remember in chapter four of Revelation, when John was revealed to him a vision of God upon his throne. Here you find in chapter four of Revelation, verse three, and he that was sitting in appearance to a stone of jasper and sardius, and a rainbow round the throne, like in appearance of an amaroid.

So here you find this whole city shines like a most precious stone, as a crystal-like jasper stone. Why is it? Because it is full of Christ. Then you have a great and high wall. You know, brothers and sisters, the problem with man is no wall.

The Wall, Gates, and Foundations of the Holy City

When God created man and put him in the garden of Eden, it's a beautiful garden. It's a good garden. But unfortunately there is no wall. Why? Because God wants man to be that wall. Adam and Eve were supposed to, not only to tear the ground, but to guard the city.

They were to guard the city. Why? Because outside of the city there was God's enemy, Satan there. And he's trying to get into the garden to tempt man. So man was given the commandment to guard the city, to be the wall of the city.

But unfortunately they didn't do that. And Satan came, tempt Eve, and man fell into his hand. So you find, brothers and sisters, during the time of the returning of the remnant to Jerusalem, again you find, because there was, the wall was broken down, so they were under the attack of the enemy.

So Ezra went back to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. But here you find a wall, a high wall. It is so high, it has the full measure of Christ. And with the full measure of Christ, it is not only protected for those who are inside the wall, but it will prevent any enemy that will come in, into that city.

So it has a high wall there, and they have 12 gates. And the gates bear the name of the 12 tribes of Israel. So brothers and sisters, here we find their salvation came through the Jews. So here you find the 12 gates represented by the 12 tribes of Israel.

All that God has done during the Old Testament time with his people will be there in that new Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb for eternity. And the foundation, the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.

So we will say it is the gathering together of all the work of God throughout the centuries with the Old Testament time and also the New Testament time. Whatever God has done will never be lost. It will all be gathered there in that new Jerusalem.

And the wall is made of jasper. Again, you find it is the life of God, the life of Christ, that is the wall rebuilt by the Holy Spirit. And the city was pure gold. There is nothing else but gold. God is everything.

Christ is all and in all. And it's like pure glass. We have never seen gold like pure glass. And God himself, the glory of God, enlightened the city. And the lamp is the lamp of God. So brothers and sisters, you find the new Jerusalem.

The River of Life and Eternal Service

There is a river. It is a river of life. And there is a tree of life that covers the whole city. And those who are his servants, including the saints in Old Testament time and the New Testament time, they will serve the Lamb forever.

Brothers and sisters, this is eternity. Thank God, we are really not looking for the reward, but we are looking for our Lord. For the bride will not eye her garment, but he will look at the bride. So dear brothers and sisters, this is the revelation that has been given to us.

How glorious will that be. He should be a help to us in our pressing on towards Christ. In the world we have tribulation, but we are not afraid. Knowing that he is with us and he has encouraged us to press on towards the goal.

The Return of Christ and the Final Prayer

So may the Lord help us. Brothers and sisters, the Lord is coming. He said, behold, I come quickly. What should be our response? We will respond like John the Apostle. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Shall we pray?

Dear Lord, how we praise and thank thee for thy glorious plan of redemption. How we thank thee that thy thought towards us is so marvelous, so good. Lord, who are we? We are but dust, nothing. But thou shalt love us in such a way as to give thy only begotten Son to us.

We thank thee for saving us. We thank thee for encouraging us that we should allow thy Holy Spirit to work in our lives until Christ is fully formed in each and every one of us. Oh, dear Lord, we want to give ourselves to thee wholly, completely, and asking thee, Lord, that through thy indwelling Holy Spirit thou will transform us, change us from glory to glory as by the Lord, the Spirit.

So we just worship thee this morning in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.