Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the Book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #39 of Revelation, chapter 21.  We are going to read Revelation 21:24-25:

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 honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

In our last several studies we have been looking at the Bible’s teaching regarding the “nations of them which are saved” and the “nations of the world.”  The Bible indicates that there are only two nations and all people fall into one of those two categories.

In the Day of Judgment we have seen that the Lord Jesus Christ comes as the Judge, as we read in that parable in Matthew, chapter 25 and all the “nations” or all the “Gentiles” are gathered before Him.  It said in Matthew 25:31-33:

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Again, we saw how God has been actively involved in this process since Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011.  There has been a time of “separation” of the nations because it was out among the nations that God sowed the seed of the Gospel abundantly during the last part of the Great Tribulation.  God brought His Word through the electronic medium and the target was the nations, not the churches.  The church age had ended and God had already made it known that His Spirit was no longer in the midst of the congregations and there was no Latter Rain falling there, but the Word of God was focused upon the various nations of the world and it was there that God saved the great multitude, “the nations of them which are saved.”  Of course, it was still only a remnant and the majority of people would remain a part of the “nations of the world.”

At the beginning of Judgment Day and throughout this prolonged period of judgment, Christ has come in His glory with the “holy angels” (the saints) and He began to judge.  He was seated upon the judgment throne and we could view this period as a final separation, a time that is typified in another short parable in Matthew 13:47-50:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

The word “sever” is the same Greek word translated as “separate” in Matthew 25.  Christ and his saints will separate the wicked from the just.  So God does portray the events of Judgment Day as a time of final separation. 

Now we can actually get a very clear picture of God’s overall end time program with the churches and with the world.  It worked out this way.  First, God began a spiritual judgment upon the churches on May 21, 1988 when the Holy Spirit departed out.  The churches went “dark,” spiritually, and no one was being saved there.  God opened up the understanding to His people that the church age was over and the churches were under the wrath of God.  His command to His people was to flee out of the churches.  The true believers heard and understood that command and they did go out of the churches.  Those that were not true believers and did not possess “ears to hear” remained in the churches and they continued as before.  This was the process God used to separate the wheat and the tares.  The wheat understood the nature of a spiritual judgment, but the tares did not understand.  That judgment upon the churches was 23 years in duration and concluded on May 21, 2011 and the separation of the wheat and tares was finalized.  The wheat had all come out of the churches and the tares were bundled for the fire of Judgment Day that began on May 21, 2011.

At the same time that the judgment upon the churches was complete, another judgement and separation began as the Lord Jesus came in His glory at the beginning of Judgment Day and this would be the final judgment of all mankind.  Once again, the same pattern is followed.  A spiritual judgment began as the door of the heaven was shut and the light of the Gospel was put out.  The Holy Spirit departed from the world, as far as salvation was concerned.  God began to open the understanding of His people regarding what He was doing and they understand the nature of a spiritual judgment and they also understand that they must feed the sheep.  Therefore, they are placed to the right hand where the sheep are set, but the rest of the nations do not understand the spiritual nature of Judgment Day and they continue on as before.  They think the danger is past.  There was a little scare that had come with the worldwide proclamation of Judgment Day on May 21, 2011, but now they can relax and there is complete disinterest in the entire idea of the end of the world and Judgment Day.  They are settling comfortably into living their lives in this world.  Even some that were previously part of the May 21, 2011 proclamation are being separated to the left as goats because they do not understand a spiritual judgment, exactly like what happened with the unsaved in the congregations that did not understand the character of their judgment.  They could not comprehend that the judgment of God was upon the churches because they looked “outwardly” and they saw nothing. 

The Bible is a spiritual Book and God gives spiritual eyes to His people to see spiritual things, but if God does not give someone spiritual eyes, they will just not see it.  That was the case with the judgment that began at the house of God and it is the case now with the final judgment upon the world and this is the process God is using to separate the sheep and the goats.  It is really amazing how consistent God has been with the judgment that came first upon the churches and then upon the world.

Let us go back and look at the second part of our verse in Revelation 21:24-25:

… and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

I would like to turn to the Old Testament Book of Isaiah, chapter 60 which very much identifies with Revelation, chapter 21.  For instance, let us look at Isaiah 60:1-3:

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of JEHOVAH is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but JEHOVAH shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Keep in mind that the word “Gentiles” can be translated as “nations” or “heathen” or “people.”  In the Hebrew it is the word “goy” which is the equivalent to the word “ethnos” in the Greek of the New Testament.  So we can understand this word to be “nations” in this verse and we can see how that fits with Revelation 21:24:

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 honour into it.

So the “nations” and the “kings” go into holy Jerusalem and, therefore, it is only the “nations of them which are saved” and the “kings” also refer to God’s elect that were made spiritual kings when they were adopted into the family of God.  Christ is royalty.  He is the King and He makes His people “kings.”  It goes on to say in Isaiah 60:4-5:

Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

The “sea” in the Bible can point to people.  The “abundance of the sea” or the “abundance of people” shall be converted unto God.  Then it concludes: “the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.”  Again, the word “Gentiles” is “nations.” 

The Hebrew word “forces” is Strong’s #2428 and it is also translated as “army” or “wealth” and it is the armies of the nations or the wealth of the nations, which would point to the “gold, silver, precious stones.”  They are God’s elect that come from the nations of them which are saved.

Then it says in Isaiah 60:6-7:

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of JEHOVAH. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto the, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

The kings of the earth are bringing their glory and honor into it because they are the “wealth of the nations” and they are those that identify with “gold, silver, precious stones.”  They glorify the house of His glory.

Then it goes on to say in Isaiah 60:11:

Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought.

Again, it is the “wealth” or “armies” of the nations that are brought into it and this relates to what we are reading in Revelation 21:24-25:

… and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

In Isaiah 60:11 it speaks of the gates being open continually and the kings are brought in and then it says in Isaiah 60:12:

For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

And, here, it is the nation of Satan and his kingdom or the “nations of the world,” not the “nations of them which are saved.”

I just want to look at a couple more places so we can see how much this identifies with Revelation, chapter 21.  It says at the end of Isaiah 60:14:

… and they shall call thee, The city of JEHOVAH, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

This is just as we are reading about in our chapter in Revelation 21 about heavenly Jerusalem.  It says in Isaiah 60:18:

… but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

It is not an actual earthly city, but it is a city that is built up of God’s elect which are those He has saved.

It says in Isaiah 60:19:

The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but JEHOVAH shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.

This also relates to verse we read in Revelation 21.

Then it says in Isaiah 60:20-21:

Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for JEHOVAH shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified.

God identifies the day of mourning with the Gospel period, the day of salvation, which was the time to sit in sackcloth and ashes.  God’s elect mourned then, but the Bible does not picture the people of God as mourning at this time in the Day of Judgment.  I know it is a fiery trial and we are being severely tested and it would seem that God would use a picture of mourning during this period of trial, but God is looking at it spiritually and we brought the Gospel with tears or with mourning.  For the people of the world, Judgment is the time when they will mourn, but not the true believers, as we read in Luke 6:24-25:

But woe unto you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall mourn and weep.

This is the period of time in which we live now and in which the unsaved people of the world are identified as mourning, but the child of God is no longer mourning.  God says this about Himself in the Day of Judgment, in Proverbs 1:25-27:

But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Here is how it worked out.  God’s people mourned during the day of salvation while the unsaved laughed and mocked.  Then came Judgment Day and it is all turned around and God identifies the unsaved of the world as being in “mourning.”  The picture is one of God laughing and God’s people laugh with Him and it is time for them to dance because God has been victorious.  He has won the battle and He has brought salvation to all His people, so there is no mourning taking place in that sense during the time of judgment.

We will stop here and when we get together again we will look a little closer at Revelation 21, verse 25.