rtf1ansiansicpg1252deff0deflang1033fonttblf0fnilfcharset0 Georgia;f1fnilfprq2fcharset0 Padua; colortbl ;red0green128blue0; viewkind4uc1pardf0fs24 par b God's Tabernacle On Earth.b0 par par cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_21:3cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24. par par The voice that uttered these words is said to have been a great one, indicating their importance, and God's desire that we should listen to the announcement. It is not surely without a meaning that a great voice should be thought needful to speak the words, and that a special note of its greatness should be left upon record for us. par par We are not told who utter it. It came 'out of heaven'u8212?that is all we know. It was not the inhabitants of earth looking round and wondering at something which had thus taken place in the midst of them; it was the inhabitants of heaven looking down from the upper glory, and rejoicing in what had at length, after so many ages and so many hindrances, been accomplished upon earth. It reminds us of the joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, though the occasion is one of far greater magnitude and wider compass. par par Yet it does not seem in this place to be the voice of God Himself, but the voice of the angel multitudes that fill the heaven of heavens, and stand before His throne. That the tabernacle of God should be pitched in heaven, and among themselves, was nothing newu8212?but that it should be pitched upon earth, and among the sons of men, this calls forth admiration and gladness. 'Behold! the tabernacle of God is with men!' par par Frequently in the course of these visions does John hear 'voices,' which, like explanatory words, come in to cast light upon the symbols, and to tell us the impression which the scenes are making, not merely upon John, but upon other beings, both in earth and heaven. Sometimes it is the voice of a 'mighty angel' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_5:2cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); sometimes the voice of 'many angels' (verse 2); sometimes the voice of the elders and living creatures (ib.); sometimes it is the voice of 'many people' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_19:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); of a 'great multitude' on earth (verse 6); sometimes it is a great voice 'out of the temple' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_16:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); sometimes it is a voice from the 'altar' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_9:13cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); sometimes from the 'throne' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_19:5cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); sometimes it is a voice 'in heaven' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_11:15cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24, and cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_12:10cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); sometimes it is a voice from or 'out of heaven,'u8212?which two last expressions come with fuller meaning when contrasted with that other passage, 'there was silence in heaven' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_8:1cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). This great voice from heaven is heard making such announcements as theseu8212?'Come up here' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_11:12cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24); 'the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.' par par It is this voice which is as the voice of many waters and of a great thunder; which is as the voice of harpers harping with their harps, who sing new songs before the throne, which none could learn but the hundred and forty and four thousand who were redeemed from the earth (cf11ulbf1fs22 Rev_14:1-4cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). It is this voice out of heaven which, in our test, proclaims, 'Behold! the tabernacle of God is with men!' Perhaps it is the same with the 'shout' (cf11ulbf1fs22 1Th_4:16cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). par par Taking up this announcement as containing something of unspeakable interest and importance to us, we consider the great event which it proclaims, not indeed as yet accomplished, but most assuredly to be so in God's wise time; so that just as eighteen hundred years ago the cry was heart from earth, 'It is finished,' so the second great cry shall be heard from heaven, 'It is done.' 'Behold! the tabernacle of God is with men!' 'Behold! I make all things new!' par par As to the TIME when this great phenomenon comes to pass, I do not say much. It is, of course, after Christ has come the second time; yet not perhaps immediately, at least to its full extent. For while the millennial age of peace and glory may be truly called the tabernacling of God with men, the new heavens and the new earthu8212?it is still imperfect, being but the first and preparatory stage of the more glorious, and perfect, and eternal consummation which is to follow, and to which specially our text refers. par par Keeping this in mind, we consideru8212? par The desirableness of this event. par God's declared purpose of this event. par The manner or process by which God brings it about. par par b I. The DESIRABLENESS of this state of things.b0 Many things show us thisu8212? par par b (1) The interest which the inhabitants of heaven take in it, as seen in the words before us.b0 Though not of the race of man, nor dwellers on earthu8212?they rejoice in the holy blessedness which has now taken possession of earth. They do not envy our race, nor are they jealous of our earth as having obtained an honor which once belonged exclusively to themselves and to heaven. There is no bitterness of selfish rivalry, no uneasiness felt at the prospect of having their 'monopoly of glory' thrown down, and the prerogative of being the metropolis of the universe shared with a planet like oursu8212?so inferior in size, and once the seat of most hateful evil. They can do nothing but rejoice in seeing earth become the dwelling-place of Jehovahu8212?in beholding the tabernacle of God now pitched among the children of men. par par b (2) The pains and costs which God has been at to bring about this issue.b0 He has grudged nothing; He has not spared His only-begotten Sonu8212?so infinitely desirable does He reckon this result. Surely that must have a large space in His eye and heart, for the accomplishment of which He was willing to make such a sacrifice! Surely the ultimate glory must be precious in His estimation, when, in order to bring it about, He can submit to allow such developments of evil, such an overflow of sin, such a reign of Satan for so many thousand yearsu8212?instead of at once setting fire to the guilty world, and burning it into a second hell. par par b (3) The work of Christ, through which it has been brought about.b0 Not without the sacrificial work of Christ could this end have been attained. As it would have been unrighteous in God to pardon a sinner without this work, so would it have been no less so without this to restore and re-glorify the sinner's world. The leper's habitation, no less than the leper himself, requires the sacrifice, and the blood, and the cleansing water. In the restoration of earth, and its re-inhabitation by Godu8212?Christ sees of the travail of His soul. par par b (4) The desire with which prophets and righteous men have desired this event.b0 The times of the restitution of all things have been spoken of by all the holy prophets, since the world began. All prophecy is full of this coming glory. Holy men spoke of it, prayed for it, waited for it, saw it afar off, and were glad. Surely that which their pens so largely wrote of, and their hearts so earnestly longed foru8212?must be infinitely desirable. par par b (5) The change which it will produce on earth.b0 Over all its face, sin has spread itself, like the over flowings of some dark river of hell. Evil has prevailedu8212?Satan has reignedu8212?a rebellious hatred of Jehovah has showed itselfu8212?pain and sorrow have poisoned it in every partu8212?disease and death compass it about. It is a blighted, withered, ruined, woe-stricken world! It is so as seen by b ourb eyesu8212?how much more when seen by angels' eyes! How much more still when seen by the eyes of b God!b0 How infinitely desirable that all this evil should be undoneu8212?this curse up tornu8212?this death exchanged for lifeu8212?this sorrow turned into joy! And what a difference it will make when such shall actually be the state of things on earth! Sin shall no longer defileu8212?death shall no longer destroyu8212?sorrow shall no longer overshadow. God shall not longer be banished from His own creation. par par Who, when reading such prophetic descriptions as the following, can fail to realize the desirableness of the glorious change? 'There shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him!' 'There shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever!' 'There shall never enter into it anything that defiles!' '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!' par par If, then, that change be so infinitely desirableu8212?if the event described in our text be so inconceivably gloriousu8212?how needful that those who are expected to share it, should meanwhile walk worthy of it! The prospect of such a glory should be as b transformingb0 as it is b comforting,b0 as b sanctifyingb0 as it is b gladdening.b0 If this be our hope, what kind of people we ought to be, in all holy conversation and godliness! Is it so with us? par par b II. The declared PURPOSE of God as to this glorious event.b0 God having His tabernacle (or dwelling) with men. par par One of the earliest statements is an intimation of God's purpose respecting this. Paradise was meant not merely as man's abodeu8212?but as God's abode with man. The great original purpose of God to have His dwelling with men, continued to be presented to man in type and prophecy form that day forward, to show that it had only been postponed, not abandonedu8212?postponed in order to be carried out more fully and more gloriously than it could have been before. Especially was this the case in Israel's history, from the time that the tabernacle was erected in the wilderness to the day when the temple and city were laid in ruins by the hand of the aliens. The name of the tabernacle was 'Jehovah's Tent'u8212?the tent in which He took up His abode, and round which He gathered the tents of Israelu8212?'the tent which He placed among men' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Psa_78:60cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). b The whole story of Israel is the exhibition of God's desire to dwell with menu8212?and man's refusal to allow God to dwell with Him.b0 par par The statement in the Gospel of John regarding the Son of God is another declaration of this same purposeu8212?'The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us;' literallyu8212?tabernacled or pitched His tent among us. And, in our Lord's words, we have more than once the intimation of the same thing, or rather of a twofold purposeu8212?that God should dwell with man, and that man should dwell with God; as in that remarkable answer to one of His disciples, 'If any man loves me, he will keep my wordsu8212?and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him' (cf11ulbf1fs22 Joh_14:23cf0ulnoneb0f0fs24). And it is this which is the complete fulfillment of Christ's name Immanuel, 'God with us.' par par God then has all along been telling us not merely that He has a heaven of which He desires to make us partakersu8212?His own blessed heaven, the paradise that was never lostu8212?but that He means to make a second heaven of this very earth of ours; and out of that paradise, that Eden, that earth, which was lost and marred by man, to bring a more blessed and incorruptible paradise, in which He will pitch His tent, and where He will make His dwelling with the sons of men. As in the person of Christ we see these two thingsu8212?man taken up to God, and God coming down to manu8212?so as indissolubly to combine in one perfect being all that is excellent in the Creator and in the creature; so in the universe of God the same two-fold perfection is to be exhibitedu8212?man taken up to dwell with God in God's holy heaven above, and God coming down to dwell with man in man's holy earth below. par par And are not these two things brought before us in these words of Christ spoken to the Laodicean Churchu8212?'Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man will hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with me?' I with him as well as he with me! And is not this the filling up of all blessedness, the consummation of all glory? Without it would not something have been a wanting both in earth and heavenu8212?both to God and man? par par From the beginning then, God has announced this as His purpose. Age after age has He set this before usu8212?in type and prophecy. All that has taken place on earth has been bearing upon this, and helping it forward. God means yet to dwell with men! This is the Bible message to us. God means to dwell with men. This is His eternal purpose; and had it not been so, would He not long since have abandoned such an earth as oursu8212?and either made it pass into nothing or turned it into hell? par par Nor have there been any intimations of God's design ultimately to abandon earth, after He has accomplished His certain ends. He has nowhere said that after having spared it, and made use of it for a certain time, and for certain ends, He will leave it to desolation, or reduce it to nothing. On the contrary, all that He has said and done hitherto indicate His intention to restore it, to glorify it, and to fit it for being His abode. God has, beyond mistake, declared His purpose as to the destiny of earthu8212?and that purpose shall stand. par par The BARRIERS in the way of its accomplishment are vast and many. The whole power of the fallen creature, both men and devils, is arrayed against it. Sin and righteousness alike oppose itu8212?the former blighting it, and the latter forbidding the removal of the blight. Death and life alike oppose itu8212?the former destroying it, the latter refusing to come and restore the desolation. The evil, too, has increased so great, and has been of so long standing; the curse has had its full and protracted sway, so as to eat into the very core of everything good and beautiful; the poison has had time so thoroughly to infuse itself into the constitution of creation, that its life's blood seems poisoned, and the taint of corruption become ineradicable; the weight of guilt which is upon it, calling for eternal judgment, seems so tremendous specially the guilt of crucifying the Lord of glory; the authority of Satan over it seems so complete and so irrevocably establishedu8212?that the hindrances in the way of creation's restitution seem all but insurmountable! Yet the eternal purpose shall stand. Not a jot of it shall failu8212?even that pertaining to the smallest atom of this moldering earth. All shall come to pass. Eternal Sovereignty has decreed it. Infinite Wisdom has planned it. Omnipotence will bring it to pass. par par b III. The means, or PROCESS, by which God is bringing all this about.b0 par par This whole process, from first to last, centers in His Son. As the Christ of God, He is the accomplisher of the Father's purpose; and through Him God has been all along ripening that purpose, removing the hindrances, and hastening on its full revelation. par par b 1. The first actual step was the INCARNATION.b0 When 'the Word was made flesh,' the first link was formed which was to secure creation from sinking into utter ruinu8212?to fasten it to Godheadu8212?and in the end to raise it up to a brighter glory and excellence than that form which it had fallen! The Son of God took bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; and as our bodies are part of the dust of the ground, out of which they were formed, so He, in taking to Himself a true body, took into His person the materials of creationu8212?the dust of our very earthu8212?thus linking creation to Himself by an indissoluble tieu8212?and fastening earth to heaven. He took not upon Him the nature of angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham; and while this identified Him with our race, it no less identified Him with that earth which was given us as our special home and dwelling-place and kingdom. By thus taking a body made out of the substance of earth, He joined Himself in perpetual affinity with man and his worldu8212?and that which God has thus joined together, who shall put asunder? par par b 2. HIS LIFE ON EARTH was the second step towards the end in view.b0 His living here for thirty-three years was the declaration of His desire and purpose to make earth the seat of His dwelling place. But in His life we see more than this. We see him taking possession of creation; we see Him doing battle with its oppressors; we see Him casting out Satan, healing diseases, overcoming death. We see Him hushing the winds, calming the sea, exercising dominion over its inhabitants, creating bread for the multitudes, walking upon the deep, and giving others power to do the same. In all this we see not merely power and love, but we see the visible and material pledges of the deliverance of creation from the bondage of corruption. He who did these things has, by doing them, pledged Himself to do more, moreu8212?to do all that earth requires. He who did these things in the day of His humiliation and weaknessu8212?and before His great work upon the cross was accomplished, will surely do exceeding abundantly more than all these, in the day of glory and power, now that He has finished His work, and put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. par par b 3. His DEATH was the next step.b0 For it is through death, that life is to comeu8212?both to man and to his earth. Only the death of Him who has identified Himself with us and with our world can remove the guilt under which earth was groaning, can secure the revocation of the sentence, can obtain forgiveness for earth, as well as for man, its dweller. He was earth's Sin-bearer as well as man's. He took upon Him the curse of earth as well as man; and the thorns which formed His crown showed how truly He was bearing the curse upon creation, which Adam's sin had caused. As the bearer of man's guilt, He was nailed to the cross; as the bearer of earth's curse, He was crowned with thorns. Earth has now been sprinkled with His blood; and that blood cleanses from all sin. par par b 4. His BURIAL was the next step.b0 Death had taken up its abode upon earth, and every sepulcher on its surface was one of his strongholds. Until death then be overcome in his very fortressu8212?until he be dispossessed out of his dwellingu8212?there can be no hope for earth. Mortality would still reign. But Christ went down and fought the lion in his den! From his lair He drove him out; and in demonstration of His victory He compelled him to let go a company of saints, who, when He rose, rose with Him as a pledge of His final victory over death, and of the expulsion from earth of the last enemy which had hitherto devastated it. By death the Prince of life overcame death; and in His burial He was pursuing the routed foe, and compelling him to deliver up his prey. Thus did He commence the expulsion from earth, of that mortality and corruption which had defaced it so sadly. par par b 5. His RESURRECTION was the next step.b0 Wresting His own body from the dominion of death, He showed how before long He is to wrest, not only the bodies of His saintsu8212?but the whole creation, from the bondage of corruption. If He on whom sin was laid, and who on account of that load went down to the grave, thus threw off mortality, and shook Himself free from its fetters, bringing life and immortality to light, how certainly may we conclude that He is able to do the same thing for that creation which was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who had subjected the same in hope! Christ's resurrection not only proclaimed Him to be the Son of God with poweru8212?but also the Prince of the kings of the earth! par par b 6. His ASCENSION into heaven was the next step.b0 When He ascended, He not only led captivity captive, but He carried up into heaven His own body as the representative of earth. That body is now at the Father's right hand, the pledge of earth's security and final glory. An ascended Christ is earth's great pledge of restitution, and another step of the process towards the accomplishment of the purpose of God. That portion of earth which, in His body, He has carried up into heaven, proclaims to the inhabitants of heaven His interest in earth, and to the inhabitants of earth the certainty of His purpose respecting earth's final restitution. And for what is this ascended Savior interceding? Not only for His Church, but for earth itself. 'Ask of me, and I will give you the uttermost ends of the earth for Your possession.' He pleads for earthu8212?earth, where He was born, and lived, and died; earth, whose air He breathed, whose plains and hills He walked, and whose soil He watered with His blood; earth, out of whose dust His body is composed, and the future bodies of His risen saints. Nor shall these intercessions be long in vain. Soon shall they be all answered, and the cry be heard, 'Behold! the tabernacle of God is with men!' par par b 1. SAINT, are you making ready for that day?b0 Are you walking worthy of an heir of that glory? Are you remembering that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? Are you at one with Father and with Son in your desire for that restitution of all things? Do you not only long to depart and to be with Christ, but do you also long for the arrival of Christ here, and for God's making His tabernacle with the children of men? par par b 2. SINNER, what are your thoughts of that day?b0 What hopes have you of sharing its blessedness? At present, none! None! What have you to do with it? What has an unforgiven soul to do with a forgiven and delivered creation? What has an unrenewed sinner to do with a glorified worldu8212?a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness? From that world all sin is swept away; and can you hope to dwell in it? Nothing that defiles shall enter; and do you expect to enter it? par par Yet Christ says, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knocku8212?if any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in unto him, and will sup with him, and he with me.' Let the Son of God enter now; His entrance now will be the pledge of your entrance into the new Jerusalem. Admit this Christ whom you have long shut out. Admit Him at once. He will come in, and dwell in you and with you; and that will be the pledge of the eternal indwelling, the eternal fellowship, the eternal blessedness, when the tabernacle of God shall be with men!