Heaven
Revelation 21:1-8
June 4, 2017
When last we looked at the book of the Revelation, we came across what has to be considered the most awful scene in the entire book.
• We actually witnessed every single one of the unredeemed called to life to stand before God’s judgment throne.
• And after God revealed every single piece of condemning evidence against them, He then ordered them thrown into the lake of fire, which is called “the second death”
This is the final and eternal dwelling of everyone who has offended God,
Who has not had their sin atoned for through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Which is why the chapter ended with this pointed warning.
Revelation 20:15 “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
What we learned is that hell is real and that hell is just.
People will go there, and everyone who goes there absolutely deserves it.
What you need to understand is that we see the grace of God
In the fact that He chose to warn us of this place ahead of time.
He could have just left hell a secret, and not told anyone, and then surprised sinners on that day with the eternal torment, but He did not.
Instead God, repeatedly warned sinners of this coming judgment
Which will fall upon all sinners who fail to repent.
Perhaps the greatest spokesman about the dangers of hell
Was none other than Jesus.
Mark 9:43-48 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] “If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.”
And I hope you understand the very revealed grace
Simply in the fact that God has chosen to tell you about it ahead of time.
This morning we learn that there is still more
Which God would desire to show you.
We know where the unredeemed go, they go to the fiery hell.
But what about the redeemed?
What about those whose name is recorded in the book of life?
And that is what God reveals to us here.
It is the other side of the coin.
WE ARE ABOUT TO SEE HEAVEN.
There are two main points here.
#1 THE VISION
Revelation 21:1-4
Here we simply see what John saw and then what John heard.
It is a piece of information which God revealed to him.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”
We know why “the first heaven and the first earth passed away”,
It fled from Him who sat upon the throne.
Revelation 20:11 “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.”
As we said last week, this earth has become corrupted.
When Adam sinned, God cursed even the ground.
And even though Jesus reigned upon this earth for 1,000 years
And reversed the curse to a large extent,
The scars of what this earth was remained.
This earth is less than holy.
The heavens maintain corruption.
And when the perfect Judge sat upon the throne, the present earth and heaven fled…they were gone, “and no place was found for them.”
Well here John sees God’s next step, which is to create “a new heaven and a new earth”
And apparently this time it didn’t even take Him 6 days.
God, in His infinite power, instantly replaces all of the earth and the entire picture of the heavens.
• He didn’t just clean the old one (like with the flood)…
• He didn’t just redeem the old one (like in the millennium)…
• It is a totally new one.
John also says, “and there is no longer any sea.”
My official answer is, don’t ask, because I don’t know.
• One commentator used it to discuss how our current creation and bodies need water for survival and so the absence of the sea indicates a new creation and a new body that is not so fragile and needy.
• One commentator sort of spiritualized it to talk about the inherent evils of the sea, which are now gone.
• I don’t know, and they don’t either, namely because God doesn’t tell us why, or what it means.
John is merely making an observation.
And that is not all he saw.
(2) “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
• Here is the earth’s new capitol city.
• It is not revamped Jerusalem, it is “new Jerusalem”
And the key characteristic is HOLINESS
It is “the holy city”, it is “made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.”
She sparkles and shines and is absolutely perfect in beauty.
• This new city has no flaws.
• This new city has no corruption.
• This new city is not fallen in any way.
It is just an absolutely perfect new creation.
And as John is watching this new creation unfold, he HEARS something.
(3) “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,”
The tragedy is that I will never be able to do justice to what this verse reveals.
John simply hears an announcement that
God will now be dwelling among men.
I hope you understand how marvelous this is.
Every single time God has ever come to this earth for any extended period of time, He has always come behind a veil.
• When He dwelled among the children of Israel, it was only His glory in the form of a cloud and that always behind the veil.
• Even when Jesus came who was God incarnate, even then His glory dwelled behind a veil of human flesh.
Humanity has never had unhindered and total access
To all the fullness of God.
Indeed, we can’t even comprehend that.
Solomon built God’s first temple and even when it was brand new and spectacular he said:
1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!”
When Paul preached to the Athenians who had built all sorts of temples for all sorts of gods, he said:
Acts 17:24-25 “The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;”
When Jesus gave a sort of reference to the dwelling of God during the Sermon on the Mount, He said:
Matthew 5:34-35 “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.”
The idea is portrayed over and over that
God is beyond us in every possible way.
He is absolutely and totally transcendent.
• We can’t contain His presence.
• And we can’t comprehend His wisdom.
Romans 11:33-36 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”
I hope you understand
Just how little you actually know about God.
Sure, we know what He has chosen to reveal,
Which is all we need to know pertaining to life and godliness.
But that makes none of us experts on God.
He is beyond us in every possible way.
AND YET, on this new earth, and in this new city John is told that “the tabernacle of God is among men”
In case you aren’t sure what that means, John also hears, “and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people,”
And if you’re still a little perplexed, John hears one more time, “and God Himself will be among them.”
A couple of years ago Carrie and I attended a Bible conference
In Los Angeles and John MacArthur’s church.
On our day off, we were looking for something to do so we decided to take a tour of Hollywood (waste of time), but the “big to do” of course is that all of these famous actors and actresses live right there, and you might even be able to see one of them out on the street. You can even take a tour of all their front gates which keep you from seeing their homes.
And this is supposed to be a really big deal.
AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
But in this city, God Himself will dwell.
It is absolute unhindered access to the God of the universe.
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.”
As I said, I wish I had better ability to bring that reality to you, but I can’t.
Just to say that this is an absolutely astounding reality.
Whereas the wicked will be cut off from intimacy with God
As they are tormented for all eternity in the lake of fire;
God actually draws even closer to the redeemed
By living amongst them.
IT IS REMARKABLE.
Also remarkable are the BENEFITS of having God dwell among men.
(4) “and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
No doubt a verse you’ve heard before.
You may have even quoted it.
One thing is for certain and that is that
ALL OF GOD’S REDEEMED ARE LONGING FOR THIS.
It is no wonder Paul said:
Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
And
Philippians 1:23 “But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better;”
• Paul was actually a man who was at one point caught up to the third heaven where he was allowed to see glorious things which God did not allow him to speak about.
• We don’t know what Paul saw, but we do know Paul found it superior to this world in every possible way.
THE NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH WILL FAR EXCEED THE CURRENT ONE
Now it is hard to explain how,
Since we are limited by our own imaginations.
But John can tell us why it is better,
Not by listing what will be there, but by listing what won’t be there.
You won’t cry in heaven.
No one will die in heaven.
No one will mourn in heaven.
There will be no pain in heaven.
WHY?
Because sin won’t be there!
I have listened to a song recently about heaven which has it all wrong.
It is trying to promote heavenly type worship on earth, by seeking to make the point that as believers in Christ, we are already experiencing heaven.
Now, I won’t deny that as believers in Christ we are already immensely blessed and that we most certainly should worship as the angels do.
But this song made the statement.
“Make no mistake, trust me I know, there’s a place waiting that we’ll call home, but there ain’t no hurry, it’s all been prepared, life is much sweeter, knowing I’m already there. What are we waiting for, if we’re honest? Together forever with Christ is the promise. Heaven has started, heaven has started.”
• Now look, I can appreciate the fact that in Christ we have been raised up and
seated in the heavenlies.
• I can appreciate that we’ve been given the Spirit of God and a personal
relationship with the Father.
But if you think for one second that I’m not in a hurry for heaven,
You’ve got another thing coming.
WHAT WE HAVE HERE, EVEN AS BELIEVERS,
CANNOT BE COMPARED TO WHAT’S COMING.
Paul said:
2 Corinthians 4:16-17 “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,”
There is no comparison whatsoever.
And the main reason is because sin won’t be there.
I heard a quote from John MacArthur this week:
“When people ask me what appeals to me about heaven, it isn’t the streets of transparent gold or gates made of pearls; it’s the absence of sin. I’m tired of sin.”
Absolutely!
And that is what John hears announced here.
When God dwells among us,
You can bet one thing won’t hand around, and that is sin.
The darkness has always been expelled by the light,
And the closer God gets, the farther the darkness flees.
This WON’T JUST BE a place where sin isn’t celebrated.
This will be a place where SIN WON’T EVEN EXIST, and neither will any of its consequences.
It is a glorious place!
Later in the book John will show us a little more about this place,
But this is what we get here.
And before more is given, there is a point made to John by God.
So, you see the vision.
#2 THE POINT
Revelation 21:5-8
Now we are getting the message
Which God wants us to gain from this brief vision.
(5) “And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
There is the announcement.
“I am making all things new.”
I saw an uproar this week because President Trump announced that
The United States has pulled out of the Paris Agreement.
No, I don’t have an opinion about whether or not that is a good idea,
But I do know this. This earth won’t last either way.
God is going to scrap it.
And if you haven’t figured out yet, this is how God always works.
God is a “new creation” kind of God.
• Listen to Jesus tell Nicodemus that renovation won’t do, “you must be born again.”
• And when God does work redemption upon a person, do you remember how Paul described it?
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ; he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
This is how God works.
He goes out with the old, and in with the new.
And God announces that this is His plan for all of creation.
He is going to scrap what is currently here and create a brand new one.
And then He says, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
It almost reads as though John was a little star struck by what he was seeing and God had to say, “Snap out of it John, write this down.”
God wanted you to know that this world will not last.
He is creating a new one.
(And that should certainly tell you something
About where you store up your treasure.)
But that’s not all He wants you to know.
(6-7) “Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”
First He squashes any notions of flexibility here when He says, “It is done.”
And incidentally, ONLY GOD can make a statement like that since He is “the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”
• God alone is eternal.
• He is not limited by time as we are.
• He the great “I am”
• He dwells in the end as surely as He dwells in the beginning.
When He says “It is done” He is not saying “It is planned”,
He who dwells in eternity has already seen it,
In fact, He has already done it.
THIS IS ABSOLUTE.
• The wicked will be judged in a lake of fire for all eternity.
• And the redeemed will dwell with God forever in a perfect sinless creation.
“It is done”
And then grace reveals itself once again, for notice what God says next.
“I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”
Now, we’ve heard this invitation before.
TURN TO: ISAIAH 55
(READ 1-3)
This is nothing short than a call for salvation from God the Father.
• He is calling to those who have found the unfulfilling end to their sin and asking if they would have something better.
It is the picture of the Prodigal, in the pigpen,
Having come to his senses about where his sin has taken him
And now wanting to return as a servant to his father.
Well here the Father is saying, “Come on!”
Quit investing your life in things that cannot satisfy, come to Me!
He goes on later:
(READ 6-7)
There it is again, a gracious offer of pardon to all who will repent.
Does it seem strange that God
Would be so gracious to sinners who have so offended Him?
It certainly is to us, but then again, we aren’t God.
(READ 8-9)
God is a God of mercy and forgiveness to all who repent.
God has said He will satisfy the thirst, and His word never fails.
(READ 10-13)
That is the same invitation that God is once again offering
Here in the book of the Revelation.
It is the SAME INVITATION THAT JESUS OFFERED as well.
Remember His conversation with the woman at the well?
• That woman whose life was filled with bad decisions…
• That woman who had been married 5 times and was now living with a guy…
• That woman who was for all practical purposes dwelling in the pig pen and feeling the full sting of all of her mistakes…
And Jesus said to her as she stood drawing water:
John 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
He was giving that same offer…LIFE!
Later Jesus said in the temple:
John 7:38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'”
It is the opposite of the broken cisterns of stagnant water
That the world offers.
And it is an invitation that God has offered time and time again.
WHO GETS THIS?
(7) “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”
What does that mean?
“He who overcomes”?
It’s a phrase we’ve seen often in this book of the Revelation.
To each of the 7 churches, the message ended with that same reminder:
Ephesus “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which in the Paradise of God.”
Smyrna “He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.”
Pergamum “To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.”
Thyatira “He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations…”
Sardis “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”
Philadelphia, “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
Laodicea, “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.”
This theme of overcoming is a pretty big theme isn’t it?
Even at the end of this book,
God is still talking about the necessity of overcoming.
What does that mean?
1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.”
God is looking for real and genuine and lasting
And abiding and persevering faith.
The type of faith demonstrated by the tribulation believers who would not deny Christ even though faced with death.
Revelation 12:11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.”
The type of faith that would turn its back on the world and all the worldly pleasures in order that it may gain Christ.
The faith that overcomes selfishness and fear and compromise and worldliness and laziness and fatigue and idolatry and lust and greed.
You get the idea.
Which is why God goes on to say:
(8) “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO DON’T OVERCOME
I always thought it interesting that the first type on the list was “the cowardly”
Following Jesus is not for the cowardly.
Matthew 13:20-21 “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.”
But it’s also not for people who are immoral or idolatrous.
Matthew 13:22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
“sorcerers” is PHARMAKOS in the Greek, it’s where we get our word for pharmacy. It speaks of those who use drugs to aid in their cultic false worship.
You put all of these people together and you can really sum it up
As people who just love this pleasant world
And will do whatever it takes to maintain their comfort in it.
• They won’t confess Christ because they might lose their reputation, they are cowards.
• They don’t believe in Christ they simply seek to use Him for temporal comfort.
• They are abominable indicating their love for all the lustful things of this earth and all the pleasures it contains.
• They are murderers.
Remember James said that greedy people end up murdering when they don’t get their desires fulfilled.
James 4:2 “You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask.”
• They are immoral always seeking to gratify the flesh through whatever means necessary.
• Sorcery and idolatry and lying; it’s all just to maintain their worldly cover and their worldly comfort, and to gratify their flesh.
They are people who chose the world every single day of their life
Instead of the things of God.
THEY DID NOT OVERCOME THE FLESH AT ALL.
And God reminds that “their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
SO DO YOU SEE HOW WE’VE COME FULL CIRCLE?
Mankind has a date with eternity.
And each and every person will end up in one of two places.
• There is a lake of fire, called the second death, for all those who love this world
and seek only to gratify their flesh, and therefore deny Christ.
• And there is a new heaven and new earth where God dwells in perfect peace
and joy for all those who deny the flesh and place their faith in Christ and
overcome.
And God is pretty clear as to who can come to heaven.
ANYONE WHO THIRSTS CAN COME.
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
And all those who do, and who as a result run to Jesus for it,
Will not only be saved,
But will dwell with God forever in His new and perfect creation.
LET ME SHOW YOU AGAIN.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 13:24-30
(read the parable)
Now the explanation comes later.
(READ 36-43)
THERE IT IS AGAIN.
• There is coming a day when God will take out the wicked and burn them with fire,
• And when they are gone and sin is gone with them,
• Then the righteous will enjoy the life which God intended.
This isn’t some obscure fact.
All of Scripture points to it.
And God has graciously revealed this so that you might repent of your sin, run to Christ, and be saved.
