When You Enter the Pearly Gates…

6th Sunday of Easter, 5/22/22 Revelation 21:21-27 When You Enter the Pearly Gates… I. You’ll enjoy complete communion with God and the Lamb. II. You’ll enjoy complete security. III. You’ll enjoy complete purity. “Three men died at the same time and found themselves standing before St. Peter at the pearly gates.” With those words or some very similar to them, literally thousands of jokes have been launched. And I’ll admit that when I hear them, I’m usually amused. But the pearly gates of heaven were no joking matter to the Apostle John. They were a source of tremendous comfort and eternal hope. If you’ve studied the Revelation of St. John, you’re probably aware that John saw visions about the damage Satan would do to the church on earth prior to the return of Jesus on the Last Day. Satan would use two earthly agents to do his bidding: the Antichrist and the Beast, which is a symbolic name for powerful world governments. As powerful as these enemies of the Church are and as much spiritual damage as they would bring, they are no match for the all-powerful, risen, and ascended Lord Jesus. This morning’s sermon text is from Revelation 21, in which the Lord Jesus allows John to see life in heaven. And that vision begins with these words, “The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.” John’s description of heaven is symbolic, but imagine seeing what he saw—12 gates, each one made out of a huge pearl. John’s eyes must have been riveted on those gates. But what lay beyond them is what brought John comfort and hope from the Lord. Who of us couldn’t use a little comfort and hope? So, let’s stand with John and see what the Lord has in store for you when you enter the pearly gates. I. If you wanted to go somewhere to meet with God, where would you go? I’m fairly sure most of you would say you’d come right here, to your church. And that’s because our God meets with us through his word and sacraments. And, while you can use God’s word and sacraments in your home or outdoors, the most common place is right here in church. John felt the same way. How do I know that? Because this is what he wrote in describing life in heaven, “I did not see a temple in the city.” In the original Greek sentence that John wrote, the word “temple” is emphasized. John was expecting to see God residing in a temple in heaven. But there wasn’t one. Why not? John explains, “The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. In the opening verses of this chapter, John sees the Church—all believers in Jesus—“as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (21:2). In heaven, the Church—all believers—won’t need to seek out a place to be with God because God will surround them. He will be with all of them everywhere all the time. Imagine that! But there’s more. John writes, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” In heaven, God’s glory will surround us. Just what is that? Recall Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. He allowed his disciples to see his glory. But what is the glory of God? It’s the visible representation of God’s essence and his attributes. Chiefly, God’s glory is seen in his will and plan to save all sinners. That’s what our God is all about and that glory will be on display for you to see and enjoy when you enter the pearly gates. John emphasizes one more aspect of living in God’s presence. He writes, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it.” Recall that John had earlier seen visions of the damage powerful earthly governments would do to the Church. Now John sees the opposite. He sees that there will be Christian rulers in heaven with him. That’s exactly what God foretold in the Old Testament. John sees the fulfillment of it here. And so will you when you enter the pearly gates. You’ll enjoy complete communion with God and the Lamb. When is it that God seems far away from you? Perhaps it’s when you’re dealing with a tragedy and you’ve prayed fervently for God’s help in dealing with it, but your prayers seem to go unanswered. Or, perhaps God seems far away when your recent life is an unbroken string of failures and disappointments. But the truth is that God is not far from any of us. We find him in his word and sacraments. That’s how he has chosen to reveal himself to us as the God who has saved us by the death of his Son. He is the God who is love, a love that moved him to sacrifice his Son for us so that we have the assurance of life in his presence forever when he calls us home to heaven. That’s what you can expect when you enter the pearly gates. II. If you’re a Ukrainian, you have no problem identifying who your enemy is. They arrive in vehicles with a white Z painted on them. But what if you’re an American? Who or what are your enemies? Some of you might be able to identify them easily. Maybe it’s disease. Maybe it’s economic uncertainty. Maybe it’s pessimism or depression. Whoever and whatever it is for you, your enemies cause you to live in fear, uncertainty, insecurity. But now let me ask you, “Who is your greatest enemy?” Without a doubt, it’s Satan. In fact, that’s what his name means—enemy. He is your greatest personal enemy because he strives every second of every day of your life to rob you of your faith in Jesus and, in doing so, to rob you of eternal life in heaven. He never wants you to enter heaven’s pearly gates. And not only is he your greatest personal enemy, he’s the enemy of the Church. He is waging spiritual war in an attempt to destroy the Church which Jesus established by his death and resurrection. And you don’t have to look far or hard to find evidences of his victories. So, when will his attacks on you end? When you enter the pearly gates of heaven. Listen to John describe it once again, “On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.” Shut gates are meant to keep the enemy out. In heaven the gates are always open because Satan has been defeated and can’t enter heaven even though the gates are open. That’s because the almighty Lord is present there and he won’t allow Satan to harm us. In fact, he won’t even be able to use the people of other nations to harm us. John saw nations and their glory and honor streaming into it. In heaven, no one will be our enemies. All of us will be members of the family of God and of his eternal kingdom. When you enter the pearly gates, you’ll enjoy complete security. Are you weary? Do you often shake your head in disbelief over what’s going on in our country and our world? Do you get depressed over it? Hang in there. Really? Hang in there? Is that the best advice I can give you? Hang in there because it gets better. No, it gets perfect. What we can’t ever attain here—complete security from all that harms us and saddens us—is the reality that awaits us when we enter the pearly gates. The Lord Jesus who has conquered Satan and hell, gives us that security as we live in his presence. That’s what you can expect because your God promises it. III. I’ve spoken privately with scores of members over the decades I’ve been pastor here at Resurrection. And the one thing no one has ever said to me is, “I feel really good about myself.” On the contrary. When they come to speak with me, it’s because they’re burdened with sin and guilt. That’s the way it is because that’s who we are—all of us. In fact, that’s the story of our lives. If we’re honest about our lives, we’re ashamed of our sins and the pain they have brought to us and our loved ones. And we can’t undo that harm, at least not completely. That’s our story. That’s our life. But not after you enter the pearly gates. Listen once more to John’s description of heaven, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Sin and guilt will not follow you through the pearly gates. Nothing impure will enter with you. You will live in righteousness and holiness. Perfect righteousness and holiness. Never-ending righteousness and holiness. That’s the life your God had planned for you from the moment he wrote your name in the book of life. For many of you that happened on the day of your baptism when your God came to you and bound himself to you to bless you. Once you enter the pearly gates, you’ll experience that in all its fullness. You’ll enjoy complete purity. In a way, this section of Revelation almost sounds like a fairy tale, like a story that’s too good to be true. A life without sin and its terrible consequences, consequences that we see and experience every day of our lives. In fact, sin is such a power in our lives that we can’t imagine life without it. That’s our reality now, but not in heaven. God’s plan for you is for you to live with him in complete holiness. And the astounding fact of that life with him is that we do nothing to attain or earn it. It’s all been done for us by the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Imagine a life without hatred, discord, greed, or violence. A life in which people live in perfect love for God and one another. That life is yours when you enter the pearly gates. May the certainty of your life with your Savior there, strengthen and uphold you as you continue to live for Jesus here. Amen.