Homilist Revelation 21:9-14 And there came to me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying… This figure of heaven suggests — I. ITS RELATION TO GOD'S EMPIRE. What the Metropolis is to a country, heaven is to the universe. 1. The central influence of the kingdom. 2. The dwelling-place of its chiefest and strongest. 3. The residence of its sovereign. II. ITS MARVELLOUS CONSTRUCTION. 1. Heaven is a vast city — a city, not a mere hamlet for a handful of the elect. 2. Heaven is a secure city. Its walls, its gates, etc. "Nothing can hurt or destroy." 3. Heaven is a magnificent city. Nothing impoverished, no by-ways of shame, no lurking places of misery; its very streets are of gold. III. ITS FAMOUS POPULATION. The population is — 1. Immense in number; "a great multitude," etc. 2. Honourable in occupation. Jerusalem a city of priests; Athens, of sages; Rome, of soldiers; London, of shopkeepers: heaven, of saints, who serve God day and night. 3. Holy in character. This the glory of the population; they are robed in white. Their moral lustre is their beauty. (Homilist.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. |
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