STUDY THEME: VICTORY IN JESUS--NOW AND FOREVER 4-9-00
"WHAT ABOUT HEAVEN?" REV. 21:1-22:5.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO REVELATION 21.
Last Sunday we talked of the judgment and eternal destiny of the lost in
hell. Today's lesson is much more pleasant. This morning we talk about
Heaven. After all, it is the hope of heaven that keeps us going.
Rev. 21 introduces the eternal future planned by God, the ultimate
purpose of God for the human race. Not much space in Scripture is given
to this eternal state, but enough is revealed to assure every believers
heart about the future. Rev. 21-22 provide more details of this state
than can be found anywhere else in the Bible
As Ch. 21 opens, all the sinners of all ages, both demons and men,
including Satan, the beast, and false prophet are in the lake of fire
forever. The whole universe has been destroyed and God creates a new
universe to be the eternal dwelling place of the redeemed.
Someone has said "They that are born but once will have to die twice, and
they who have been born twice will die but once." This statement is
entirely true, if we "except" those believers who will be alive at the
coming of the Lord Jesus. Those believers, of course, will never die, for
the Lord Himself said in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the
life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never died."
2 Peter 3:10-13 says that the entire universe, as we know it, will be
destroyed and be replaced by a new creation that will last forever. John
saw a new heaven and a new earth. Currently three-fourths of the earth's
surface is water, but the new environment will no longer be water based,
there will be no sea. There will be completely different climatic
conditions.
Following the judgment of the great white throne depicted in the closing
verses of Ch. 20, John's attention is next directed to the new heaven and
the new earth which replace the old heaven and the old earth which fled
away in Rev. 20: 11. There are 7 new things revealed in Ch. 21 & 22 that
form a fitting introduction to the eternal future God has prepared for
those who love Him. These are (1.) A new heaven, Vs. 1, (2.) A new
earth, Vs. 1, (3.) A new Jerusalem, Vs. 2, (4.) New things, Vs. 5, (5.)
A new paradise, 22:1-5, (6.) A new place for God's throne, 22:3, and (7)
A new source of light. 22:5.
(1.) PLEASE READ REVELATION 21: 1-4.
In John 14 Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place for you." Then in Rev.
21 & 22 we read of "the new heaven and the new earth." These appear
after the Millennium and Great White Throne Judgment described in Ch. 20.
John said "I saw" which means this was not a figment of his imagination.
He actually saw what is in store for us. John does the best he can to
describe the glory of heaven. The word "new" doesn't mean a different one
of the same kind. It means a totally new heaven and earth. 2 Peter says
"the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will
melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will
be burned up." God will incinerate the universe, probably with an atomic
reaction that disintegrates all matter as we know it. The new world in
which righteousness dwells required the Lord to destroy the old
sin-cursed universe. The term "new heavens and new earth" is found in
only 2 other places in the Bible; in Isaiah 65:l7-18 and Isaiah 66:22
The Bible teaches that the new heaven will have the full glory of God's
presence and blessings but none of the blight of the present order. What
a wonderful promise this is for all who have trusted Jesus as Lord and
Savior. The very thought of this should help us to live joyfully, even
amid the difficult circumstances and sorrows of this life. Some misguided
persons have referred to our belief as a "pie in the sky by and by"
theology. But our believe in heaven is firmly grounded in God's Word,
and we should never allow our faith to be shaken where our believe in
heaven is concerned.
The New Jerusalem is the capital city of heaven, a place of perfect
holiness. It already existed but now descends into the new heaven and new
earth from its place on high. This is the city where the saints will
live. The whole city, occupied by all the saints, is called the Bride so
that all the saints must finally be included in the Bride imagery and
bridal blessing. God has brought home a bride for His beloved Son. All
the saints live with Christ in the Father's house. The word "tabernacle"
means this is God's home, the place where He lives.
Vs. 4 tells of the tender care of God: Since there will never be a tear
in heaven, nothing will be sad, disappointing, deficient, or wrong. No
more heartache, no more pain. No more death is at the very heart of the
list. Christ conquered sin and death at the cross and His resurrection.
But the final victory comes in Rev. 20:14 when death and Hades have been
cast into the lake of fire. When death is gone, it will take with it
sorrow, crying and pain.
You will remember that while Jesus was on earth He raised the dead at
every funeral He attended, including His own. Most will agree that in
this world life is not fair. Pain come to all; emotional pain, physical
pain, spiritual pain. Some live in pain every day. A little boy with
Leukemia asked his mother, "Mama, does everyone hurt like I hurt all the
time?" Some are abused, some live every day in fear and confusion. In
heaven all these things will be done away with.
Vs. 5 is an almost certain indication that God will create for us a
dimension that we cannot comprehend. He plans an entirely new way of life
for His people. All things will be new. The statement in Vs. 6 does not
mean there are no future works of God but that a major work has been
brought to completion and that the works now relating to the eternal
state are beginning.
The speaker now introduces Himself as the "Alpha and Omega", "the
beginning and the end." It is by this precise title that Christ is
introduced in Rev. 1:8. The first of three promises made in Vs. 6 & 7
then follow, where water from the fountain of life is promised in
abundance to the one who is thirsty.
(2.) PLEASE READ REVELATION 21: 9-11.
Inviting John to a high mountain, the angel showed Him the Bride, the
Lamb's wife. But the Bride is described in Vs. 10 as the "great (city)
.....the Holy City, Jerusalem." This does not suggest that the Bride of
Christ is a city. Since Ch. 19 described the marriage of the Lamb to the
Bride, we find that the Bride is not a physical city but the Church. The
Holy Spirit here is telling us about that city that the Lord promised His
disciples in John 14:2 when He said "I am going there to prepare a place
for you." Now that prepared city is coming to the earth and its
inhabitants are the members of the Bride. This is the Bride that was in
waiting, being prepared during the 7 years of the tribulation. Now the
Bride is ready to be joined to the bridegroom, Jesus Christ in their new
home on earth.
The dazzling glory of the new city of Jerusalem that is come down from
God out of heaven is beyond our ability to comprehend. It is pictured in
Rev. as the ultimate preparation of God for human habitation. The Holy
City was almost too beautiful for John to describe.
When the city comes to the earth, it will be a people-filled city--people
in their resurrected bodies, after the Millennium, prepared to dwell
with Christ for eternity. That is why this city, which surpasses the
splendor of anything we can comprehend, is called the Bride, the Lamb's
wife. To emphasize the glory of God, Vs. 11 pictures a dazzling light
"like a jasper, clear as crystal." Someone has suggested that perhaps the
city will be surrounded with a ball of crystal light; just as the earth
is round, this square city would have a round sphere of light. Certainly
it will reflect the glory of God.
Whether heaven is made of gold and precious jewels as we know them or
whether it is made of something better and more beautiful, gold and
jewels are what the Bible uses to picture for us what heaven will be
like. We cannot improve on this lovely, majestic description. Therefore,
we should be content to understand that heaven is beautiful beyond all
human description.
Having introduced John to the wall, gates, and foundations of the city in
Vs. 12-14, the angel next measures the major dimensions of the New
Jerusalem and found it to be a perfect cube 1500 miles in each direction.
Dr. Henry M. Morris, and expert engineer and author has done the math on
this and concluded that given the estimated population of possibly 20
billion residents, each person would enjoy a block of space of
approximately one cubic mile or its length, width and height would be "a
little over a third of a mile in each direction." Can you imagine the
view from your apartment overlooking the Holy City and extending as far
as the eye can see from an elevation of 1500 miles.
There with our loved ones and friends who have gone on before we shall
enjoy fellowship. Just imagine having as neighbor those great prophets
and heroes of faith of the O.T. as well as those of the N.T. And time
will be no more so we won't need a clock or calendar to restrict our
actions.
LET'S LOOK FOR A MOMENT AT THOSE WHO WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THE HOLY CITY.
"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." (Rev. 21:27.)
As a reminder of God's consistent pattern in dealing with people, those
who reject His Son will not be admitted to His city. For we learn that
"nothing impure will...enter...nor will anyone who does what is shameful
or deceitful " be admitted. That will include everyone in human history
who has not received Christ. Thus all those who have died in their
defilement and lies and abominations are excluded from the City. In
essence, only by acceptance of Jesus Christ does anyone have access to
the ultimate blessing that God has prepared for him or her.
This closing scene of Ch. 21, with its inspired presentation of the
glories that God has established for people in the eternal order, should
inspire every individual to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and
thus have their name written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
3. PLEASE READ REVELATION 22: 1-5.
The Bible opens and closes with basically the same type of setting. In
the first two chapters of Genesis we encounter God's description of
creation and the heavenlike conditions on the earth prepared for
humankind. The last two chapters of Rev. describe the eternal heaven
that God will reestablish for them. All the chapters between contain the
great conflict of the ages as human beings turn their back on God and as
He seeks to draw them to Himself. In all the books the human race is
consistently presented with the opportunity to worship God freely by
faith or reject Him by rebellion of will.
Rev. 22: 1-5 contains six challenging descriptions of the heaven-like
earth. As you bear in mind the heavenly city and the new earth described
in Ch. 21, we turn now to additional details to make this utopian state
even more ideal. In. Vs. 1-3 John was given a glimpse of the interior
of heavenly Jerusalem. What he saw has great significance for Christians.
First, he saw a crystal clear river of the water of life flowing from
the throne of God, and of the Lamb. In the dry Middle East water was a
precious commodity. the New Jerusalem will have an abundance of the water
of life. This river is one of the primary themes around which John
organized his material in this section of Revelation.
Another theme in this section of Revelation is the tree of life. The tree
of life as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were in
the garden of Eden in Gen. 2: 9. In Rev. the way to the tree of life will
be no longer blocked. It is nourished by the river of life that flows
thru the center of new Jerusalem. This tree grew on both sides of the
river. Therefore, we might envision a whole orchard of this miraculous
tree that continually produced fruit that gave life. Also, its leaves
were for the healing of the nations.
Another important theme is, no longer will there be any curse. What God
created in Eden and humanity lost because of sin has been restored in the
heavenly city. The unlimited potential of the planet God gave to the
human race will be realized for the first time. In Eden the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil became a curse that brought death to Adam and
Eve because of their disobedience. In God's new creation the tree of life
will be a rich blessing and will produce life and healing for those who
dwell in the new Jerusalem. Sin has been conquered and destroyed. Never
again will it be a threat to God's people.
All too often we think of heaven only as a place of eternal rest. Surely
that will be part of our experience in heaven, but that is not the whole
story. We also will be serving God. What a joyous time that will be when
we can devote all of our energy to serving the God who created us, loved
us, and saved us for that very purpose.
In Vs. 4 we shall behold Him. We will literally see God. There will be no
night there; God himself, who is light, will be the light of that eternal
order. What a time it will be when we shall be permitted to look on the
fullness of God's glory. We will fall on our faces in worship and then
rise to do His bidding. John did not say what we will be doing, nor do we
need to know. It is enough to know that we shall look on the face of our
God and of His Christ and worship and serve them forever.
In vs. 5 we will reign with Christ forever. It will be a life of
fellowship with Him. A life of rest, a life of knowledge, a life of Joy,
a life of abundance, a life of glory, and a life of worship.
You will have noticed that one of the primary themes of the Revelation
has been the absolute sovereignty of God over His creation. Because of
the entrance of sin into creation, evil had its opportunity to try to
destroy God and all that is good. All of evil's efforts came to an end
when God cast death and Hades into the lake of fire. God's unbroken,
eternal reign with His saints will commence in the heavenly Jerusalem,
and His reign with them will never end.
That great African American slave preacher John Jasper had a glorious
sermon on heaven. He described his entrance in to the holy city and his
meeting with Moses, Peter, John, and other notables of the Bible. He
declared that he first would make his way to the center of the heavenly
city to the foot of the great white throne. He said he would prostrate
himself there in worship before His God and the Lamb that was slain and
remain there for the first l0,000 years of his eternal sojourn.
Our heavenly sojourn will be for all eternity, and our worship will be
perfect in the presence of our God and of the Lamb who was slain before
the foundation of the world. If we do no enjoy our worship here in this
life, we had better find a solution for our lack of delight in God's
presence. I have an idea that we will be engaging in unlimited worship
when we come before our God and His Christ in the New Jerusalem.
NEXT SUNDAY FROM REVELATION 22: 6-21 WE WILL LOOK AT CHRIST'S LAST
MESSAGE TO MANKIND. HE PROMISED THREE TIMES IN THIS LESSON "I AM COMING
SOON." A.V. DAUGHERTY 4-9-00