If I’ve not met you, my name is Aaron, and I’m preaching pastor here, and glad you’re with us this morning. It’s hard to believe it’s already the end of February. I think it’s the last Sunday in February, so at least for me, winter is really flying by. So if you have a Bible with you, open it up to the book of Revelation.
Today our text for study is coming from chapter 21, verses 1 through 8. So if you’re new to Red Village, the type of style of preaching that we use here is called expository preaching. And so my hope, my goal, my ambition, my aim is just to communicate this passage to you, just let this passage speak.
And so I’m going to read the passage for us, but after you get done reading, please don’t put your Bible away. Keep them open. I’m just going to read through verse by verse with the hopes that God will just speak to us through His Holy Scripture. Revelation 21, starting at verse 1, as mentioned, I’ll read through verse 8, and I’ll be reading now the English Standard Version. This is what the Bible says.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
That’s God’s word for us this morning. Let’s pray.
Lord, we’re grateful to be here. And Lord, fellowship is sweet. We enjoy fellowshipping and being around each other. But what’s most sweet about Sundays is just being around your word. Lord, we are here believing that your word is better and more sweet than honey and gold. Lord, we pray that somehow, even through the folly of preaching through my folly, that you speak through your word through the power of your spirit. Lord, I do pray that you would indeed speak this morning. In Jesus’ name, amen.
So this morning, as we start off this time here, I actually want to circle back to the first sermon that we had in this sermon series through the end of Revelation that we started actually a few weeks back.
And the thing I want to circle back to is actually one of the hopes and prayers that I have for this series, something I mentioned to you actually in the first sermon, which was the hope and the prayer that God might use this little sermon series here in ways like increasing our wonder, our anticipation, our longing for eternal life that is to come. And I think this is one of the hopes and prayers I have for us, because in general, this is something we’re just not good at. We probably don’t put a lot of thought towards eternal life that is to come.
We know this. There’s just so much we have to think through, process through in our daily lives. It can just be hard. It can be hard to find space, even energy. Think about eternal life. I mean, how many of us are sitting in our favorite chair at home, where it’s like intentionally pondering to ourselves, I wonder what heaven’s going to be like?
Or how often does a conversation in a small group end up about things of what we might experience or what we might be doing together when our Lord returns to bring us into our heavenly home? Eternal life is just not something that we think about often, talk about often, or if we do, it’s probably just more fleeting thoughts, fleeting, short conversations that we just don’t sit and wonder and ponder and anticipate. And for me, this reality was actually first brought to my attention, this reality of how little, like Christians, how little we think about or wonder or ponder about heaven. It was first brought to my attention when I was in seminary during some type of conversation on hymnology.
And in that conversation, the theologian who was leading the discussion pointed out how few hymns there are throughout church history on eternal life, particularly even in recent church history. It’s like heaven’s not something we even sing about. And a large part is because there’s not many hymns, especially ones that are theologically rich, that there’s for us to sing about concerning heaven.
In fact, this week I was actually looking through one of my hymn books, and one particular hymnal I have organizes hymns by categories. And under the category of Christ Returns, there could be more categories to talk about like heaven. But on this particular one, Christ Returns, eternal life, heaven there, there is just a total of six hymns in that category.
So this is obviously not a large number, especially when you consider this hymnal has hundreds of hymns in it. So that alone is pretty telling. But then to add to the weight of how telling this was, I then counted seven hymns under the category patriotic, which by the way is why I’m so grateful for Adam and Derek who help lead the music. And they find songs for us to sing about heaven, like the song we just sang, like All Glory Be to Christ.
What a great song. Or It Is Well, or In Christ Alone. I’m so grateful for these guys to pick these songs. There’s just not a lot for them to choose from, especially ones that are theologically rich. So I’m grateful for those guys. Now obviously the things that fill up this life are things that we should talk about, we should think about.
These things should be in our minds. So in themselves, it’s not wrong for us to be thinking about these things. So this morning, I don’t want to put any guilt or shame on having current life situations filling up your time, your attention. However, that being said, we should find ourselves thinking about heaven, having conversations about heaven, probably much more than we actually do.
We should be heavenly minded. Scripture even tells us that longing for anticipating that which is to come is actually part of being spiritually mature. It takes spiritual maturity to see and understand this life in light of that which is to come, to live this life in light of the eternal weight of glory that’s going to be there for God’s people. And really, without thinking about the eternal weight of glory, eternal life that is to come, if we don’t consider these things in this life, what can happen is we can really end up in some not great places. Where we start to set our minds on trying to gain the world in ways that might be tempted to forfeit our souls. And increasingly, we become like no earthly good.
So let me say it again. One of the hopes, prayers I have for this sermon series is that God will use this study here to help us to consider, wonder, anticipate, long for that which is to come. Now I say that to you this morning, not just to remind you of one of the prayers I’ve been having for us in this sermon series, but also to try to prime the pump for us today. And really, the remaining texts that we have left in this sermon series, which are texts that do speak about heaven, the new heavens, the new earth, eternal life that is to come for God’s people. As our text today and the weeks to come, give us a little glimpse on where the people of God, where we are headed. A glimpse that I hope excites you.
Excites you in ways that you actually find yourself joining the prayer at the end of Revelation that we’re going to get to in a few weeks, the great prayer of, Come Lord Jesus. You’re just so anticipating the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. But before I get to our text today, let me remind us where we left off in chapter 20. So the past two weeks you’ve been with us, you know we’ve had two incredibly heavy passages to work through.
So the first of these two heavy passages is found in Revelation 20, verses 7 through 10, which detailed an incredible war. The war to end all wars. Where Jesus Christ fully defeats his enemy, Satan, along with Satan’s army, which he does by raining fire down on them. And as the Lord Jesus Christ defeats the great enemy, Satan, in the text, Christ then will throw Satan into the eternal lake of fire as the just punishment for Satan’s rebellion against the Lord. Where Satan will then join a character referred to as the beast, as well as the beast’s prophet, who also were tossed into the lake of fire, which we read about in chapter 19, which, as you know, is also a very heavy text. So that was two weeks ago.
The great war to end all wars. Then our text last week, from Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15, perhaps for me this is like the heaviest passage in all the Bible. It certainly is one of the heaviest passages I’ve tried to preach on. And our text last week was the great white throne judgment that is to come. Where all of us, all of us, great or small, will have to stand before the Lord and give an account of our life. And as we stand before the Lord on this great judgment day, how we will be judged will come down to what book our name is in.
For those whose book is based on what they’ve done with their life, their own biography, the text tells us last week, they will be met with a terrifying eternal reality where judgment will fall on them. Because the book of their life will record all of the sins that they have committed. All the ways that they have failed to do what God commands.
And they’ll have no basis to find forgiveness on their own. So before the eternal courtroom of God, they’ll be judged as guilty. Resulting in them also being thrown into the lake of fire.
Which is an incredibly heavy, an incredibly terrifying thought. That we actually revisit at the end of our text today. However, if our text last week, for those who stand before the great white throne judgment, who have their names written in the book of life, as they stand before the court, they should be declared not guilty. And the reason why they’re not guilty has nothing to do with what they accomplished, nothing to do with the biography of their own life. Rather, they’re declared not guilty because of what Jesus accomplished on their behalf. What Jesus accomplished in His life, in His death, in His resurrection from the dead on the third day.
Where on the cross, Jesus stood in the place of sinners, in the place of His people, so He could take on the punishment of their sin. So that by grace, through faith, they could be forgiven of all charges, all sins. Where they would be declared justified, not guilty. Where the righteousness of Jesus Christ would be actually counted as their righteousness.
And because of the forgiveness of sin, His people, His people whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, which Christ wrote in them before the foundations of the world were set in place, they then will be welcomed into eternal life. Into the new heavens, the new earth with Him. Which is our text today. Which is also a very heavy text.
A text that we’re going to start to work through today and in the weeks to come that shows us the eternal weight of glory that awaits for God’s people. A text that I hope does cause us to wonder, anticipate, and long for in ways that we’re actually thinking about it as we go about our days. That we’re actually talking about it as we’re having conversations with a small group or friends or whatever it may be. The eternal life that is to come, that actually becomes like the song of our heart that we love to sing. So with that as an intro, please look back at me starting in verse 1 of our passage. And as we look back there, let me mention we’re coming to one of the real important things we’re going to see as we come to the end of Revelation 21-22 is that these passages that end the Bible are really bookends of the entire scripture.
And so this end, bookend, Revelation 21-22, really in many ways resembles the beginning bookend of the Bible. Found in Genesis 1 and 2, which tells the story of creation. Which teaches that not only did God create all things for His glory, but God also created mankind to be unique above all things. Because God created mankind in His image. And as God created mankind in His image, He did so so that mankind could live in relationship with Him. So in the beginning bookend of the Bible, Genesis 1 and 2, God and man, they live together, they dwell together in perfect harmony, perfect fellowship in the Garden of Eden.
Where mankind was to know God and enjoy God forever. In the beginning bookend, Genesis 1 and 2, we also learn that all of creation were created by God and labeled as good. Like everything was working how God created them to work. And because of that, in this beginning bookend of the Bible, there’s no sickness, there’s no death, there’s no tears, there’s no war, there’s no pain, there’s no suffering. As mentioned, everything is good. That is until Genesis 3, which teaches how sin entered into the world.
As mentioned, failing to do what God commands, that’s sin. And as sin rushed into God’s good creation, sin now separated God from man, and sin brought with it a curse. And this curse is why there’s so many things in this life now are not good. Because of sin, because of the curse. That’s why there’s sickness, that’s why there’s death, that’s why there’s war, that’s why there’s pain, that’s why there’s hurt, that’s why there’s so many tears of brokenness. These things, they’re not good.
And all these tragic realities that are now in this present life are because sin entered in, bringing with it a curse. However, as we know, even though mankind sinned against God, God in His love and His kindness gave mankind good news, good news that ultimately was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, the second member of the Blessed Trinity, who came to man by becoming man, where as man, Jesus Christ became cursed, which He did on the cross, to take on the punishment of sin. So as mentioned, through His death, His resurrection, by grace, through faith, all who call upon the name of Jesus would be forgiven, once again be brought into a right relationship with God, so that the curse would be lifted. And through this work of Jesus, this redemptive work, all of God’s people have this promise of eternal life that is to come, which is the end bookend that we’re starting to look at today. The end bookend that looks a lot like the beginning bookend of Genesis 1 and 2. It’s in our text.
This is the final judgment. Verse 1, if you’ll take your eyes there. John reported, that then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven, the first earth, had passed away. Now a few things here, as just mentioned. This here, this is God restoring all things back to where they were before sin, before the curse, entered into the world.
So in the judgment seen in the previous passage, all things associated with sin, with the curse, they’re all sentenced to eternal judgment. Even death. Even death was judged.
And as God judged all things, as He sentenced all things related to the curse into eternal judgment, now starting in chapter 1, God is now fully making all things new, including a new heaven, a new earth. Second, just notice here that this coming of a new heaven, new earth, could possibly mean that God is completely starting over from scratch. New heaven, new earth. Or it could possibly mean that God is just restoring creation back to where it was, as if it was back to new.
Either way, the emphasis of God is redeeming everything, everything that mankind lost at the fall, God is now restoring. He’s making them new. Third, just notice the coming down from heaven. Do you see that?
Or the coming down of the new heavens, new earth. New Jerusalem, as you’re going to see in just a second here. These things coming down. So this is being presented as a gift from God. Where God in His goodness, His kindness, is coming down to His people, not to judge His people, but to deliver His people this incredibly kind and generous gift of eternal life. Fourth, also just notice in his commentary on Revelation, a New Testament scholar named Tom Schreiner points out this new heavens, new earth coming down from God.
It’s almost like the antithesis of Genesis 11. Remember that story, the story of Babel? Remember how mankind was trying to build a tower to get to God, to get to heaven, which you know they’re unable to do? None of us are able to do that, right? We can’t get to God on our own. We can’t gift ourselves to God on our own.
But the good news in this passage is God is now coming down to His people with an incredible eternal gift. Keep going. The end of verse 1.
As the new heavens, as the new earth came down, the first earth, filled with sin, we see is now passed away, as well as the sea, which our text tells us was no more. Let me mention here what I mentioned last week concerning the sea. So in the scriptures, the sea is often a picture of chaos, instability.
So it’s possible here, the new heavens, new earth, there won’t be literal seas of water. More likely, what he’s saying here in the text, in the new heavens, new earth, there’s this no sea. That means there’s going to be no more chaos, no more instability in life. Those realities, instability, chaos, they’re not going to be allowed into the new heavens, new earth. New heavens, new earth, there’s only going to be peace. There’s only going to be security.
Verse 2, after seeing the new heavens, new earth come down, John recorded that he was able to see the holy city, a new Jerusalem, also coming down out of heaven from God. Once again, this gift God has given to His people. And as new heavens came down, our text tells us it did so, prepared as a bride, adored for her husband.
Okay, I’m going to hit pause again, a few things. So this heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, it does seem to be like standing in contrast to a previous city that we looked at a few weeks back. Remember the city of Babylon that we talked about in chapter 19? Where in chapter 19 the city of Babylon is referred to as a woman who represents things like sexual sin, greed, all forms of hedonism. Remember how that woman stood in contrast in chapter 19 to the bride of Christ? Who are all God’s people for all time.
God’s people who are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. Who are not holy and blameless before God. It’s mentioned here in chapter 21. Babylon, that city, now seems to be standing in contrast to this new Jerusalem that has come. Which is an eternal city that John describes as more wedding language. Like a bride, adorned for her husband.
In this new city that God has given to His people, this is going to be a place of beauty. It’s going to be a place of purity. It’s going to be a place filled with joy. We also mentioned this new Jerusalem, this new heavens, new earth. These are presented as material, physical places in the Bible. I mentioned this a few streams back, but I want to mention it again, just because I think it’s really important for us to really bury that deep in our hearts, to understand that.
Eternal life, new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem. These are physical, material realities, where God’s people will physically dwell in them with new physical bodies. Genesis 1 and 2, the first bookend, our first parents, Adam and Eve, they lived on the physical earth, physical bodies in the Garden of Eden. Now the end bookend, Revelation 21, 22, God’s people living in a new physical earth new physical bodies in a new Jerusalem.
So heaven is not made up of like ghost-like spirits, you know, just kind of like floating around in the clouds to the sound of harps playing in the background. No, it’s a physical place. Keep going, verse 3. John recorded what he saw concerning the gifts coming down from the hand of God. See, John also recorded that which he heard, which was a loud voice, which by now we know in our study, the loud voice or voices, this is one of the great themes in Revelation, really running through the whole book, where loud voices are there for us to hear, loud voices communicating weight, gravity, of that which is to come, including what we see here in verse 3, this loud voice, he’s communicating weight, gravity. And as this loud voice came from the throne of God, we’re not quite sure.
Revelation doesn’t tell us whose voice it is. Maybe it’s a powerful angel who’s ministering before the throne. Perhaps it is actually the Lord speaking. John doesn’t tell us who this loud voice here is, although I tend to think this is actually the Lord making this declaration. In the text, the Lord, I think, declaring with a loud voice, saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. Once again, think here.
Bookends. This is really what Revelation is emphasizing in chapter 21, chapter 22. This is Genesis 1, Genesis 2. Being restored. God and man dwelling in the garden. Now, behold, God and man dwelling in the new heavens, new earth, new Jerusalem.
This word dwelling, I think, should take our minds to a few places. Throughout the Scriptures, as we hear this, probably should take our minds to the tabernacle. Remember in the Old Testament how God would dwell, how he’d tabernacle with his people, the fullness of him found in the holy of holies. Should think of the Lord Jesus Christ, the truest of God’s gifts coming down from heaven. As the eternal word of God became flesh to dwell, to tabernacle among us. This here, God dwelling with his people.
This is actually the best thing about heaven. This is the thing that would cause us most wonder, to most anticipate, like physically dwelling with God. Which we’ll talk about more in just a second, but keep going in our text. He, God, will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be their God. This is like a picture of perfect fellowship.
God, man, dwelling together in perfect harmony, perfect peace, a perfect relationship. One that is actually so close, so intimate, like he’s that near. In heaven, God is not going to be distant, kind of off to the side, kind of removed from his people, kind of seeing what they’re doing over there, you know, that corner of heaven. No, he’s going to be near. He’s going to be close. God is going to dwell with his people.
In verse 4, we just see how close, how near God is going to do that. God is going to be so close to his people in heaven, that our text tells us that he will personally, personally, wipe every tear from their eyes. It also speaks to just how kind and compassionate God is towards his people, how good he is towards us. And all the tears that we have shed as we live in this life, that’s under the curse, all of them, God will personally dry. He will provide comfort to every tear that I’ve been shed through so many different painful realities, which, by the way, includes the tears that perhaps you even shed this week. God will dry them.
Tears of pain, tears of sorrow, tears of great disappointment, tears of heartache, tears of questions without answers, tears filled with fear and anxiety, tears of relational strain, all those tears, every last tear that God’s people have ever shed here in this text, God will personally, intimately, dry them from your eyes. Keep going. As God dries the tears of his people they have shed, he actually dries up our tear ducts as well. It leads to tear ducts filled with painful tears. In this eternal life, our text tells us, death will be no more. In fact, when I passed this last week, death was sentenced to hell.
Neither will there be mourning, nor crying, no pain anymore. Those former things, they have passed away. Friends, how sweet is that going to be? I mean, just in this room, I was thinking about this week, how many tears have we collectively shed in our lifetime, just in this room, for the loss of a loved one, for all the different tears that come through, all the different types of pain. How many times have we found ourselves just distraught, just in this room here, mourning for some painful reality that we’re facing, just in this room. If we were able to bottle up all the tears, just this room that we’ve shed, there would have been like a lake of tears.
But in heaven, eternal life, there’s a calm. As we dwell with God, all the painful tears are dried up. And you know what? We’ll never know them again. No more death. No more pain of any kind.
No more tears. God does not allow those into His heaven. Verse 5, keep going. And he who is seated on the throne, which this is clearly coming from the Lord, this is why I think it’s also the Lord speaking, verse 3, behold, I am making all things new. God is making all things new. He’s restoring all things, how He designed them to be in creation.
This old life that we live in, this present life filled with a curse, it’s gone. Passed away. Put to death. And that which is new has now come. And it will come eternally. And as it comes, it will never wear out.
In the middle of verse 5, it’s also from the Lord. John, I want you to write this down. Which is here, it could be referring to things we just talked about in verses 1-5. John is going to write all that down. Or perhaps this is actually referring to that which he’s about to say. Hey John, write this down.
Whatever it was, John told them to write them down so that what he saw, what he heard, could be passed down to the scriptures for God’s people to see what he saw, to hear what he heard. By the way, this week, maybe on a side note, God coming to John, telling him to write this down, kind of made me wonder if John was maybe like so caught up with like the splendor and the glory that he was seeing. He was so excited about what was to come, like he almost forgot that this revelation that was being given to him was for him to like write it down.
You know, so that we could like for all time, you know, have these words here. To me, it almost feels like he’s texting, Hey John! Hey, wake up! Pay attention! Focus! John, write this down.
Write this down, because these words are trustworthy. John, these words, these are true. John, you can count on them. You can rest in them. John, these are the words my people need to hear. As they suffer through this life.
In the text, John, what they need to hear is it is done. Meaning here in Revelation 21 and 22, all of God’s work of restoration that he has promised since the fall of mankind, promised to us all throughout the scriptures, all those things, now, here in the text, they’re done. After this great white throne judgment, all of God’s promise to his people is now complete.
In the text, the reason why the promises are trustworthy, why they are true, why these promises indeed will be filled all the way to completion, is because the Lord said to John, John, I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning, the end. This phrase Alpha and Omega, these are actually the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The phrase actually the Lord used to describe himself in other places in Revelation. This phrase, or maybe this title, this is the Lord reminding his people that he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, that he alone is the Lord. He alone is the author and creator of life.
All things have been created by him, for him. And because he is the great Alpha, because he is the great Omega, because he is the beginning and the end, the Lord, he is the one who has all power, all authority, to do all that he pleases to do. In our text, Revelation 21, 22, friends, it pleases the Lord to restore all things, to make all things new. It pleases the Lord to dwell with his people for all eternity in the new heavens and the new earth that is to come. Keep going in the text. As the Lord fulfills all the promises, he calls all to the thirsty to tell them, I will give from the spring of water of life and I will give it to you without payment.
Now, let me say a few things here. First, the thirsty, this is not like a physical thirst that maybe we would have on a hot day after working outside. Rather, this thirst here is speaking towards our longings, our desires. And it’s like, we know this. We all are thirsty. We all have desires.
But these desires are not fully met. They’re not fully fulfilled. And even if these desires are maybe somewhat met, we know they’re fleeting.
We’re in short order. We can find ourselves thirsty again. Which, by the way, is why the great C.S. Lewis once said, if we find ourselves a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the more probable explanation is we’re made for another world. This world, in our text. Second, I think the thirsty here is meant to take our minds back to a few passages in Scripture.
So Isaiah 49, God promised a day to come where his people would be thirsty no more. Because he will satisfy all of their longings. Isaiah 55, God calls all those to himself who are thirsty, where he’ll satisfy them with water. The famous story of the woman at the well in John 4, remember this story? Where Jesus told the woman that everyone drinks from the well that she was at. But if they drink from that well, the physical thirst he’s talking about there, in time they’ll be thirsty again.
But whoever drinks of the water that he gives to them, they will never be thirsty. Because the water he gives is a water that springs up all the way to eternal life. From this heavenly dwelling, we’re fully with God. Our thirst will fully be satisfied. Third, in that passage, in that text, see how it ends, the without payment. That’s clearly teaching that God meeting the longings, the desires of our hearts, he does so simply out of the goodness of his heart.
It’s all because of God’s good grace and kindness on his people. We didn’t do anything to earn God in our life. We didn’t do anything to earn the satisfied waters that he gives. He did that. Which is why we don’t boast in ourselves. We boast in the Lord for being so good, so kind.
It’s all because of his grace. Keep going, verse 7. The text tells us, the one who conquers, the one who overcomes, will have this heritage. The text says, and I will be his God and he will be my son. The son here in the biblical context is referring to status, or honor, or privilege. That’s what the Lord gives to all who call to himself.
He gives them this sonship. Which, by the way, is another reminder for us. Because we’re in heaven with God. It’s not going to be like going to a party, where clearly everyone else has a much higher status than you do. And so you kind of feel out of place. Maybe I shouldn’t be here.
So maybe kind of stand off to the side awkwardly. Quiet. By yourself. Maybe feeling a little uncomfortable to be there. That’s not heaven for God’s people. We’re there as honored sons.
Even backing up, the conquering in our text, verse 7 starts out. Just know this should take our minds back to where actually Revelation started. Revelation starts out with this great call to persevere in the faith, even in the midst of suffering. Remember how Revelation starts out with these letters to seven different churches? And this call to conquer, to have persevering faith, actually is in all seven of the letters. Let me just read them for you here.
Chapter 2, verse 7. The one who conquers, I will grant him to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Chapter 2, verse 11. The one who conquers, will not be hurt by the second death. Chapter 2, verse 17. The one who conquers, I will give him some hidden manna, and he will receive a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Chapter 2, verse 26.
The one who conquers, who keeps my word to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. Chapter 3, verse 5. The one who conquers, will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Chapter 3, verse 12. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall never go out of it.
I will write his name of my God in the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, in my own new name. And finally, chapter 3, verse 21. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne. As I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. In our text, all throughout Revelation, for those who conquer, who persevere in their faith, who cling to Jesus through all the life’s ups and downs, through all of life’s painful tears, to those, the text tells us, they will have this eternal heritage that waits. This is one of the great encouragements of Revelation, why we have to keep on keeping on in our faith.
We do so by seeing the end, the end of our faith, the end of our persevering, trusting and believing that it is not in vain, but rather through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, eternal life, God will prove that we are conquerors. And finally, this morning, our text ends with a reminder of the great white throne judgment It’s a terrifying reminder that not all have conquered by their faith, that not all have been given sonship, that not all have received forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, that not all can live with wonder, hope, and anticipation of heaven. The text tells us, but as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars, and it says here, I think it’s mentioned encapsulated, this is all of us, all who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ, who have not found forgiveness.
The text tells us to them, their portion, their heritage, will be the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, which is the second death. But you know, this is another sober warning, a heavy warning, an incredible warning for those who do not have faith in Christ, including perhaps you here today, if you do not have faith in Jesus Christ. This is a warning for you. Friend, without Jesus Christ, you have nothing to anticipate or long for in eternal life. Without Jesus, rather, the only thing you have is that which ought to terrify you. And because of this warning, please turn, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust and believe that indeed God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever, including you, whoever would believe in him would not perish, would have eternal life, the eternal life that’s worth longing for, anticipating its joyful arrival. So I want to end by circling back one more time to the hope and prayer that I have for us in this sermon series, which relates to God increasing our wonder, our anticipation, our longing for eternal life, which I really do think is important for us if we’re going to faithfully live out our lives in this life. And how I want to close this is by giving two categories of things we should be anticipating that we see in our text concerning eternal life. And after that, I’m going to give one encouragement just to try to help us grow in our anticipation. So two categories that we should anticipate in eternal life to come. And both of these categories are related to, like, what.
So the first category is the category of what. What won’t be in heaven. There’s things we should long for and anticipate. And what won’t be in the new heavens and new earth, our text tells us, are tears, death, mourning, crying, pain. None of those things are going to be around. So again, how sweet is that going to be?
I mean, just think how much of our time and our energy in this life are dominated by those things, these painful realities. They’re going to be gone. We’ll never have to deal with them again. And we should anticipate how sweet that’s going to be. And not only will all those things be gone, all sin, that clings so closely to us, sin that would just seem like we just can’t get traction in defeating, that is just so discouraging, it’s like, man, I can’t believe I fell into this again. All that, we’re going to be fully freed from it.
Forever. And ever. Where we don’t have to worry about those things, those sins, ever again. And that’s what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, to free us from all sin. In the new heavens and new earth, we will fully be able to walk in that freedom. Second category of anticipation, what we will have in heaven, is actually things on the positive.
It’s not just the negative being gone. There’s an incredible positive in heaven. We know this. There will be peace. Joy. And it’s going to be full.
In the eternal life that is to come, we’re actually going to be living together, dwelling even together in perfect fellowship, in the new Jerusalem. We’re going to be reunited with all of our loved ones who died in Christ. And that should be something we should anticipate and wonder. What’s that going to look like? How sweet is that going to be? In the new heavens, new earth, because it’s physical, I think it’s going to be a place where we’re going to be able to explore, learn new things about, which I’m sure is going to be fascinating.
How exciting is that going to be? And for us, as I mentioned earlier, by far, the most exciting thing that we will have in this new heavens and new earth, the thing that we most anticipate, we most long for, is this closeness with God. Where we get to dwell with Him. Where He will be our God. Where we will be His people. Where we will experience all of the benefits that come from sonship.
That’s the best thing about eternal life. That’s the most exciting thing we should wonder, anticipate. Not just like the curse being removed, as sweet as that’s going to be. Not just being reunited with loved ones, as sweet as that’s going to be. But how much more? Why heaven is going to be so great?
Because we will be fully, completely dwelling with God. The way we’re designed to, in Genesis 1 and 2. Where every thirst that we have will be met fully by Him. This actually leads to my one encouragement. And how we can live this life, this present life, growing in this wonder, anticipation, in this longing for eternal life that is to come. As I mentioned at the start, this is probably something we don’t do very good.
We’re so consumed by our daily lives. All the things we already have to think through. It’s hard for us to find space to even wonder, anticipate. So my one encouragement is simply to let the things in this life, all these things that you and I are working through, maybe feeling consumed by, let those things just simply be pointers to the next life. So back to C.S. Lewis.
He talked about all things in this life as being like signposts. We’re not to stop and stare at the signposts, or be consumed by them. The signpoints are there to point us on our way to Jerusalem. I think he’s right. My encouragement is actually more of his encouragement. Which is to let the things in this life point you to the better life that is to come, to help you increasingly look forward to this city that has a foundation and a builder and designer who is God.
So when this life is filled with tears and pain, as difficult as those realities are, for the glory of God, let those be a signpost to you, to help you anticipate there’s a day coming when your good, kind, loving Heavenly Father is going to dry every one of those tears from your eyes. When you’re feeling pain, whatever it might be, let that be a signpost to remind you that you have a good, kind, loving Heavenly Father who one day is going to take all pain away forever. When you go to a funeral and you mourn the death, may it be a signpost to remind you that one day, for God’s people, death will be no more.
Then on the other end, when life is good, when you’re having these moments where you’re feeling like your thirst is actually being met, at least for a little while, let that good, whatever it might be, let that be a signpost to point you to something better that is to come. A good church service, a great conversation with a friend, an incredible meal, let that point you to cause you to wonder, to anticipate how much better are things going to be when we’re fully with the Lord? In this life, that still under the curse can provide us with different measures of joy and satisfaction, how much more when we’re with the Lord, who is the fullness of joy?
When good things happen in the church, we really should thank the Lord for that good thing in this life. But to say again, also let it be a signpost to increase your wonder, to increase your anticipation, to increase your longing for that which is to come, which can be so much better. Rev. Church, may God give us increased wonder, increased anticipation, increased longing for this day, longings to be fully with the Lord, dwelling with Him, with hopes that for the glory of God we’ll become increasingly more and more faithful in this present life. Let’s pray. Thank you for this passage.
Thank you for commanding John to write that which he saw, that which he heard, many, many, many years later, that we can read them. Lord, I do pray that you would help increase our longings for you. Lord, please do help us to be found faithful in this life, to live this life in light of the eternal way to glory that is to come. Thank you for this incredible promise that you’ve given to us.
Lord, we thank you for Jesus. Without Him, we would not have this hope. We pray this all in His name.
Amen.
All right, well, beautiful singing. I love that song. So if I’ve not met you, my name is Aaron, and I’m preaching pastor here, and glad you’re with us this morning. It’s hard to believe it’s already the end of February. I think it’s the last Sunday in February, so at least for me, winter is really flying by. So if you have a Bible with you, open it up to the book of Revelation.
Today our textual study is coming from chapter 21, verses 1 through 8. So if you’re new to Red Village, so the type of style of preaching that we use here is called expository preaching. And so my hope, my goal, my ambition, my aim is just to communicate this passage to you, just let this passage speak.
And so I’m going to read the passage for us, but after you get done reading, please don’t put your Bible away. Keep them open. I’m just going to read through verse by verse with the hopes that God will just speak to us through His Holy Scripture. Revelation 21, starting at verse 1, as mentioned, I’ll read through verse 8, and I’ll be reading now the English Standard Version. This is what the Bible says. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I saw the holy city of the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more. There shall be mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore.
For the former things have passed away. And He who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. And also He said, Write this down. For these words are trustworthy and true. And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty I will give from the spring of water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage. And I will be his God, and he will be my son.
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. That’s God’s word for us this morning. Let’s pray. Lord, we’re grateful to be here. And Lord, fellowship is sweet. We enjoy fellowshipping and being around each other.
But what’s most sweet about Sundays is just being around your word. Lord, we are here believing that your word is better and more sweet than honey and gold. Lord, we pray that somehow, even through the folly of preaching through my folly, that you speak through your word through the power of your spirit. Lord, I do pray that you would indeed speak this morning. In Jesus’ name, amen. So this morning, as we start off this time here, I actually want to circle back to the first sermon that we had in this sermon series through the end of Revelation that we started actually a few weeks back.
And the thing I want to circle back to is actually one of the hopes and prayers that I have for this series, something I mentioned to you actually in the first sermon, which was the hope and the prayer that God might use this little sermon series here in ways like increasing our wonder, our anticipation, our longing for eternal life that is to come. And I think this is one of the hopes and prayers I have for us, because in general, this is something we’re just not good at. We probably don’t put a lot of thought towards eternal life that is to come.
We know this. There’s just so much we have to think through, process through in our daily lives. It can just be hard. It can be hard to find space, even energy. Think about eternal life. I mean, how many of us are sitting in our favorite chair at home, where it’s like intentionally pondering to ourselves, I wonder what heaven’s going to be like?
Or how often does a conversation in a small group end up about things of what we might experience or what we might be doing together when our Lord returns to bring us into our heavenly home? Eternal life is just not something that we think about often, talk about often, or if we do, it’s probably just more fleeting thoughts, fleeting, short conversations that we just don’t sit and wonder and ponder and anticipate. And for me, this reality was actually first brought to my attention, this reality of how little, like Christians, how little we think about or wonder or ponder about heaven. It was first brought to my attention when I was in seminary during some type of conversation on hemology.
And in that conversation, the theologian who was leading the discussion pointed out how few hymns there are throughout church history on eternal life, particularly even in recent church history. It’s like heaven’s not something we even sing about. And a large part is because there’s not many hymns, especially ones that are theologically rich, that there’s for us to sing about concerning heaven.
In fact, this week I was actually looking through one of my hymn books, and one particular hymnal I have organizes hymns by categories. And under the category of Christ Returns, there could be more categories to talk about like heaven. But on this particular one, Christ Returns, eternal life, heaven there, there is just a total of six hymns in that category.
So this is obviously not a large number, especially when you consider this hymnal has hundreds of hymns in it. So that alone is pretty telling. But then to add to the weight of how telling this was, I then counted seven hymns under the category patriotic, which by the way is why I’m so grateful for Adam and Derek who help lead the music. And they find songs for us to sing about heaven, like the song we just sang, like All Glory Be to Christ.
What a great song. Or It Is Well, or In Christ Alone. I’m so grateful for these guys to pick these songs. There’s just not a lot for them to choose from, especially ones that are theologically rich. So I’m grateful for those guys. Now obviously the things that fill up this life are things that we should talk about, we should think about.
These things should be in our minds. So in themselves, it’s not wrong for us to be thinking about these things. So this morning, I don’t want to put any guilt or shame on having current life situations filling up your time, your attention. However, that being said, we should find ourselves thinking about heaven, having conversations about heaven, probably much more than we actually do.
We should be heavenly minded. Scripture even tells us that longing for anticipating that which is to come is actually part of being spiritually mature. It takes spiritual maturity to see and understand this life in light of that which is to come, to live this life in light of the eternal weight of glory that’s going to be there for God’s people. And really, without thinking about the eternal weight of glory, eternal life that is to come, if we don’t consider these things in this life, what can happen is we can really end up in some not great places. Where we start to set our minds on trying to gain the world in ways that might be tempted to forfeit our souls. And increasingly, we become like no earthly good.
So let me say it again. One of the hopes, prayers I have for this sermon series is that God will use this study here to help us to consider, wonder, anticipate, long for that which is to come. Now I say that to you this morning, not just to remind you of one of the prayers I’ve been having for us in this sermon series, but also to try to prime the pump for us today. And really, the remaining texts that we have left in this sermon series, which are texts that do speak about heaven, the new heavens, the new earth, eternal life that is to come for God’s people. As our text today and the weeks to come, give us a little glimpse on where the people of God, where we are headed. A glimpse that I hope excites you.
Excites you in ways that you actually find yourself joining the prayer at the end of Revelation that we’re going to get to in a few weeks, the great prayer of, Come Lord Jesus. You’re just so anticipating the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. But before I get to our text today, let me remind us where we left off in chapter 20. So the past two weeks you’ve been with us, you know we’ve had two incredibly heavy passages to work through.
So the first of these two heavy passages is found in Revelation 20, verses 7 through 10, which detailed an incredible war. The war to end all wars. Where Jesus Christ fully defeats his enemy, Satan, along with Satan’s army, which he does by raining fire down on them. And as the Lord Jesus Christ defeats the great enemy, Satan, in the text, Christ then will throw Satan into the eternal lake of fire as the just punishment for Satan’s rebellion against the Lord. Where Satan will then join a character referred to as the beast, as well as the beast’s prophet, who also were tossed into the lake of fire, which we read about in chapter 19, which, as you know, is also a very heavy text. So that was two weeks ago.
The great war to end all wars. Then our text last week, from Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15, perhaps for me this is like the heaviest passage in all the Bible. It certainly is one of the heaviest passages I’ve tried to preach on. And our text last week was the great white throne judgment that is to come. Where all of us, all of us, great or small, will have to stand before the Lord and give an account of our life. And as we stand before the Lord on this great judgment day, how we will be judged will come down to what book our name is in.
For those whose book is based on what they’ve done with their life, their own biography, the text tells us last week, they will be met with a terrifying eternal reality where judgment will fall on them. Because the book of their life will record all of the sins that they have committed. All the ways that they have failed to do what God commands.
And they’ll have no basis to find forgiveness on their own. So before the eternal courtroom of God, they’ll be judged as guilty. Resulting in them also being thrown into the lake of fire.
Which is an incredibly heavy, an incredibly terrifying thought. That we actually revisit at the end of our text today. However, if our text last week, for those who stand before the great white throne judgment, who have their names written in the book of life, as they stand before the court, they should be declared not guilty. And the reason why they’re not guilty has nothing to do with what they accomplished, nothing to do with the biography of their own life. Rather, they’re declared not guilty because of what Jesus accomplished on their behalf. What Jesus accomplished in His life, in His death, in His resurrection from the dead on the third day.
Where on the cross, Jesus stood in the place of sinners, in the place of His people, so He could take on the punishment of their sin. So that by grace, through faith, they could be forgiven of all charges, all sins. Where they would be declared justified, not guilty. Where the righteousness of Jesus Christ would be actually counted as their righteousness.
And because of the forgiveness of sin, His people, His people whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, which Christ wrote in them before the foundations of the world were set in place, they then will be welcomed into eternal life. Into the new heavens, the new earth with Him. Which is our text today. Which is also a very heavy text.
A text that we’re going to start to work through today and in the weeks to come that shows us the eternal weight of glory that awaits for God’s people. A text that I hope does cause us to wonder, anticipate, and long for in ways that we’re actually thinking about it as we go about our days. That we’re actually talking about it as we’re having conversations with a small group or friends or whatever it may be. The eternal life that is to come, that actually becomes like the song of our heart that we love to sing. So with that as an intro, please look back at me starting in verse 1 of our passage. And as we look back there, let me mention we’re coming to one of the real important things we’re going to see as we come to the end of Revelation 21-22 is that these passages that end the Bible are really bookends of the entire scripture.
And so this end, bookend, Revelation 21-22, really in many ways resembles the beginning bookend of the Bible. Found in Genesis 1 and 2, which tells the story of creation. Which teaches that not only did God create all things for His glory, but God also created mankind to be unique above all things. Because God created mankind in His image. And as God created mankind in His image, He did so so that mankind could live in relationship with Him. So in the beginning bookend of the Bible, Genesis 1 and 2, God and man, they live together, they dwell together in perfect harmony, perfect fellowship in the Garden of Eden.
Where mankind was to know God and enjoy God forever. In the beginning bookend, Genesis 1 and 2, we also learn that all of creation were created by God and labeled as good. Like everything was working how God created them to work. And because of that, in this beginning bookend of the Bible, there’s no sickness, there’s no death, there’s no tears, there’s no war, there’s no pain, there’s no suffering. As mentioned, everything is good. That is until Genesis 3, which teaches how sin entered into the world.
As mentioned, failing to do what God commands, that’s sin. And as sin rushed into God’s good creation, sin now separated God from man, and sin brought with it a curse. And this curse is why there’s so many things in this life now are not good. Because of sin, because of the curse. That’s why there’s sickness, that’s why there’s death, that’s why there’s war, that’s why there’s pain, that’s why there’s hurt, that’s why there’s so many tears of brokenness. These things, they’re not good.
And all these tragic realities that are now in this present life are because sin entered in, bringing with it a curse. However, as we know, even though mankind sinned against God, God in His love and His kindness gave mankind good news, good news that ultimately was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, the second member of the Blessed Trinity, who came to man by becoming man, where as man, Jesus Christ became cursed, which He did on the cross, to take on the punishment of sin. So as mentioned, through His death, His resurrection, by grace, through faith, all who call upon the name of Jesus would be forgiven, once again be brought into a right relationship with God, so that the curse would be lifted. And through this work of Jesus, this redemptive work, all of God’s people have this promise of eternal life that is to come, which is the end bookend that we’re starting to look at today. The end bookend that looks a lot like the beginning bookend of Genesis 1 and 2. It’s in our text.
This is the final judgment. Verse 1, if you’ll take your eyes there. John reported, that then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven, the first earth, had passed away. Now a few things here, as just mentioned. This here, this is God restoring all things back to where they were before sin, before the curse, entered into the world.
So in the judgment seen in the previous passage, all things associated with sin, with the curse, they’re all sentenced to eternal judgment. Even death. Even death was judged.
And as God judged all things, as He sentenced all things related to the curse into eternal judgment, now starting in chapter 1, God is now fully making all things new, including a new heaven, a new earth. Second, just notice here that this coming of a new heaven, new earth, could possibly mean that God is completely starting over from scratch. New heaven, new earth. Or it could possibly mean that God is just restoring creation back to where it was, as if it was back to new.
Either way, the emphasis of God is redeeming everything, everything that mankind lost at the fall, God is now restoring. He’s making them new. Third, just notice the coming down from heaven. Do you see that?
Or the coming down of the new heavens, new earth. New Jerusalem, as you’re going to see in just a second here. These things coming down. So this is being presented as a gift from God. Where God in His goodness, His kindness, is coming down to His people, not to judge His people, but to deliver His people this incredibly kind and generous gift of eternal life. Fourth, also just notice in his commentary on Revelation, a New Testament scholar named Tom Schreiner points out this new heavens, new earth coming down from God.
It’s almost like the antithesis of Genesis 11. Remember that story, the story of Babel? Remember how mankind was trying to build a tower to get to God, to get to heaven, which you know they’re unable to do? None of us are able to do that, right? We can’t get to God on our own. We can’t gift ourselves to God on our own.
But the good news in this passage is God is now coming down to His people with an incredible eternal gift. Keep going. The end of verse 1.
As the new heavens, as the new earth came down, the first earth, filled with sin, we see is now passed away, as well as the sea, which our text tells us was no more. Let me mention here what I mentioned last week concerning the sea. So in the scriptures, the sea is often a picture of chaos, instability.
So it’s possible here, the new heavens, new earth, there won’t be literal seas of water. More likely, what he’s saying here in the text, in the new heavens, new earth, there’s this no sea. That means there’s going to be no more chaos, no more instability in life. Those realities, instability, chaos, they’re not going to be allowed into the new heavens, new earth. New heavens, new earth, there’s only going to be peace. There’s only going to be security.
Verse 2, after seeing the new heavens, new earth come down, John recorded that he was able to see the holy city, a new Jerusalem, also coming down out of heaven from God. Once again, this gift God has given to His people. And as new heavens came down, our text tells us it did so, prepared as a bride, adored for her husband.
Okay, I’m going to hit pause again, a few things. So this heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, it does seem to be like standing in contrast to a previous city that we looked at a few weeks back. Remember the city of Babylon that we talked about in chapter 19? Where in chapter 19 the city of Babylon is referred to as a woman who represents things like sexual sin, greed, all forms of hedonism. Remember how that woman stood in contrast in chapter 19 to the bride of Christ? Who are all God’s people for all time.
God’s people who are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ. Who are not holy and blameless before God. It’s mentioned here in chapter 21. Babylon, that city, now seems to be standing in contrast to this new Jerusalem that has come. Which is an eternal city that John describes as more wedding language. Like a bride, adorned for her husband.
In this new city that God has given to His people, this is going to be a place of beauty. It’s going to be a place of purity. It’s going to be a place filled with joy. We also mentioned this new Jerusalem, this new heavens, new earth. These are presented as material, physical places in the Bible. I mentioned this a few streams back, but I want to mention it again, just because I think it’s really important for us to really bury that deep in our hearts, to understand that.
Eternal life, new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem. These are physical, material realities, where God’s people will physically dwell in them with new physical bodies. Genesis 1 and 2, the first bookend, our first parents, Adam and Eve, they lived on the physical earth, physical bodies in the Garden of Eden. Now the end bookend, Revelation 21, 22, God’s people living in a new physical earth new physical bodies in a new Jerusalem.
So heaven is not made up of like ghost-like spirits, you know, just kind of like floating around in the clouds to the sound of harps playing in the background. No, it’s a physical place. Keep going, verse 3. John recorded what he saw concerning the gifts coming down from the hand of God. See, John also recorded that which he heard, which was a loud voice, which by now we know in our study, the loud voice or voices, this is one of the great themes in Revelation, really running through the whole book, where loud voices are there for us to hear, loud voices communicating weight, gravity, of that which is to come, including what we see here in verse 3, this loud voice, he’s communicating weight, gravity. And as this loud voice came from the throne of God, we’re not quite sure.
Revelation doesn’t tell us whose voice it is. Maybe it’s a powerful angel who’s ministering before the throne. Perhaps it is actually the Lord speaking. John doesn’t tell us who this loud voice here is, although I tend to think this is actually the Lord making this declaration. In the text, the Lord, I think, declaring with a loud voice, saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. Once again, think here.
Bookends. This is really what Revelation is emphasizing in chapter 21, chapter 22. This is Genesis 1, Genesis 2. Being restored. God and man dwelling in the garden. Now, behold, God and man dwelling in the new heavens, new earth, new Jerusalem.
This word dwelling, I think, should take our minds to a few places. Throughout the Scriptures, as we hear this, probably should take our minds to the tabernacle. Remember in the Old Testament how God would dwell, how he’d tabernacle with his people, the fullness of him found in the holy of holies. Should think of the Lord Jesus Christ, the truest of God’s gifts coming down from heaven. As the eternal word of God became flesh to dwell, to tabernacle among us. This here, God dwelling with his people.
This is actually the best thing about heaven. This is the thing that would cause us most wonder, to most anticipate, like physically dwelling with God. Which we’ll talk about more in just a second, but keep going in our text. He, God, will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be their God. This is like a picture of perfect fellowship.
God, man, dwelling together in perfect harmony, perfect peace, a perfect relationship. One that is actually so close, so intimate, like he’s that near. In heaven, God is not going to be distant, kind of off to the side, kind of removed from his people, kind of seeing what they’re doing over there, you know, that corner of heaven. No, he’s going to be near. He’s going to be close. God is going to dwell with his people.
In verse 4, we just see how close, how near God is going to do that. God is going to be so close to his people in heaven, that our text tells us that he will personally, personally, wipe every tear from their eyes. It also speaks to just how kind and compassionate God is towards his people, how good he is towards us. And all the tears that we have shed as we live in this life, that’s under the curse, all of them, God will personally dry. He will provide comfort to every tear that I’ve been shed through so many different painful realities, which, by the way, includes the tears that perhaps you even shed this week. God will dry them.
Tears of pain, tears of sorrow, tears of great disappointment, tears of heartache, tears of questions without answers, tears filled with fear and anxiety, tears of relational strain, all those tears, every last tear that God’s people have ever shed here in this text, God will personally, intimately, dry them from your eyes. Keep going. As God dries the tears of his people they have shed, he actually dries up our tear ducts as well. It leads to tear ducts filled with painful tears. In this eternal life, our text tells us, death will be no more. In fact, when I passed this last week, death was sentenced to hell.
Neither will there be mourning, nor crying, no pain anymore. Those former things, they have passed away. Friends, how sweet is that going to be? I mean, just in this room, I was thinking about this week, how many tears have we collectively shed in our lifetime, just in this room, for the loss of a loved one, for all the different tears that come through, all the different types of pain. How many times have we found ourselves just distraught, just in this room here, mourning for some painful reality that we’re facing, just in this room. If we were able to bottle up all the tears, just this room that we’ve shed, there would have been like a lake of tears.
But in heaven, eternal life, there’s a calm. As we dwell with God, all the painful tears are dried up. And you know what? We’ll never know them again. No more death. No more pain of any kind.
No more tears. God does not allow those into His heaven. Verse 5, keep going. And he who is seated on the throne, which this is clearly coming from the Lord, this is why I think it’s also the Lord speaking, verse 3, behold, I am making all things new. God is making all things new. He’s restoring all things, how He designed them to be in creation.
This old life that we live in, this present life filled with a curse, it’s gone. Passed away. Put to death. And that which is new has now come. And it will come eternally. And as it comes, it will never wear out.
In the middle of verse 5, it’s also from the Lord. John, I want you to write this down. Which is here, it could be referring to things we just talked about in verses 1-5. John is going to write all that down. Or perhaps this is actually referring to that which he’s about to say. Hey John, write this down.
Whatever it was, John told them to write them down so that what he saw, what he heard, could be passed down to the scriptures for God’s people to see what he saw, to hear what he heard. By the way, this week, maybe on a side note, God coming to John, telling him to write this down, kind of made me wonder if John was maybe like so caught up with like the splendor and the glory that he was seeing. He was so excited about what was to come, like he almost forgot that this revelation that was being given to him was for him to like write it down.
You know, so that we could like for all time, you know, have these words here. To me, it almost feels like he’s texting, Hey John! Hey, wake up! Pay attention! Focus! John, write this down.
Write this down, because these words are trustworthy. John, these words, these are true. John, you can count on them. You can rest in them. John, these are the words my people need to hear. As they suffer through this life.
In the text, John, what they need to hear is it is done. Meaning here in Revelation 21 and 22, all of God’s work of restoration that he has promised since the fall of mankind, promised to us all throughout the scriptures, all those things, now, here in the text, they’re done. After this great white throne judgment, all of God’s promise to his people is now complete.
In the text, the reason why the promises are trustworthy, why they are true, why these promises indeed will be filled all the way to completion, is because the Lord said to John, John, I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning, the end. This phrase Alpha and Omega, these are actually the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The phrase actually the Lord used to describe himself in other places in Revelation. This phrase, or maybe this title, this is the Lord reminding his people that he is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, that he alone is the Lord. He alone is the author and creator of life.
All things have been created by him, for him. And because he is the great Alpha, because he is the great Omega, because he is the beginning and the end, the Lord, he is the one who has all power, all authority, to do all that he pleases to do. In our text, Revelation 21, 22, friends, it pleases the Lord to restore all things, to make all things new. It pleases the Lord to dwell with his people for all eternity in the new heavens and the new earth that is to come. Keep going in the text. As the Lord fulfills all the promises, he calls all to the thirsty to tell them, I will give from the spring of water of life and I will give it to you without payment.
Now, let me say a few things here. First, the thirsty, this is not like a physical thirst that maybe we would have on a hot day after working outside. Rather, this thirst here is speaking towards our longings, our desires. And it’s like, we know this. We all are thirsty. We all have desires.
But these desires are not fully met. They’re not fully fulfilled. And even if these desires are maybe somewhat met, we know they’re fleeting.
We’re in short order. We can find ourselves thirsty again. Which, by the way, is why the great C.S. Lewis once said, if we find ourselves a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the more probable explanation is we’re made for another world. This world, in our text. Second, I think the thirsty here is meant to take our minds back to a few passages in Scripture.
So Isaiah 49, God promised a day to come where his people would be thirsty no more. Because he will satisfy all of their longings. Isaiah 55, God calls all those to himself who are thirsty, where he’ll satisfy them with water. The famous story of the woman at the well in John 4, remember this story? Where Jesus told the woman that everyone drinks from the well that she was at. But if they drink from that well, the physical thirst he’s talking about there, in time they’ll be thirsty again.
But whoever drinks of the water that he gives to them, they will never be thirsty. Because the water he gives is a water that springs up all the way to eternal life. From this heavenly dwelling, we’re fully with God. Our thirst will fully be satisfied. Third, in that passage, in that text, see how it ends, the without payment. That’s clearly teaching that God meeting the longings, the desires of our hearts, he does so simply out of the goodness of his heart.
It’s all because of God’s good grace and kindness on his people. We didn’t do anything to earn God in our life. We didn’t do anything to earn the satisfied waters that he gives. He did that. Which is why we don’t boast in ourselves. We boast in the Lord for being so good, so kind.
It’s all because of his grace. Keep going, verse 7. The text tells us, the one who conquers, the one who overcomes, will have this heritage. The text says, and I will be his God and he will be my son. The son here in the biblical context is referring to status, or honor, or privilege. That’s what the Lord gives to all who call to himself.
He gives them this sonship. Which, by the way, is another reminder for us. Because we’re in heaven with God. It’s not going to be like going to a party, where clearly everyone else has a much higher status than you do. And so you kind of feel out of place. Maybe I shouldn’t be here.
So maybe kind of stand off to the side awkwardly. Quiet. By yourself. Maybe feeling a little uncomfortable to be there. That’s not heaven for God’s people. We’re there as honored sons.
Even backing up, the conquering in our text, verse 7 starts out. Just know this should take our minds back to where actually Revelation started. Revelation starts out with this great call to persevere in the faith, even in the midst of suffering. Remember how Revelation starts out with these letters to seven different churches? And this call to conquer, to have persevering faith, actually is in all seven of the letters. Let me just read them for you here.
Chapter 2, verse 7. The one who conquers, I will grant him to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Chapter 2, verse 11. The one who conquers, will not be hurt by the second death. Chapter 2, verse 17. The one who conquers, I will give him some hidden manna, and he will receive a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
Chapter 2, verse 26.
The one who conquers, who keeps my word to the end, to him I will give authority over the nations. Chapter 3, verse 5. The one who conquers, will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. Chapter 3, verse 12. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall never go out of it.
I will write his name of my God in the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, in my own new name. And finally, chapter 3, verse 21. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne. As I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. In our text, all throughout Revelation, for those who conquer, who persevere in their faith, who cling to Jesus through all the life’s ups and downs, through all of life’s painful tears, to those, the text tells us, they will have this eternal heritage that waits. This is one of the great encouragements of Revelation, why we have to keep on keeping on in our faith.
We do so by seeing the end, the end of our faith, the end of our persevering, trusting and believing that it is not in vain, but rather through the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, eternal life, God will prove that we are conquerors. And finally, this morning, our text ends with a reminder of the great white throne judgment It’s a terrifying reminder that not all have conquered by their faith, that not all have been given sonship, that not all have received forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, that not all can live with wonder, hope, and anticipation of heaven. The text tells us, but as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, all liars, and it says here, I think it’s mentioned encapsulated, this is all of us, all who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ, who have not found forgiveness.
The text tells us to them, their portion, their heritage, will be the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, which is the second death. But you know, this is another sober warning, a heavy warning, an incredible warning for those who do not have faith in Christ, including perhaps you here today, if you do not have faith in Jesus Christ. This is a warning for you. Friend, without Jesus Christ, you have nothing to anticipate or long for in eternal life. Without Jesus, rather, the only thing you have is that which ought to terrify you. And because of this warning, please turn, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Trust and believe that indeed God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever, including you, whoever would believe in him would not perish, would have eternal life, the eternal life that’s worth longing for, anticipating its joyful arrival. So I want to end by circling back one more time to the hope and prayer that I have for us in this sermon series, which relates to God increasing our wonder, our anticipation, our longing for eternal life, which I really do think is important for us if we’re going to faithfully live out our lives in this life. And how I want to close this is by giving two categories of things we should be anticipating that we see in our text concerning eternal life. And after that, I’m going to give one encouragement just to try to help us grow in our anticipation. So two categories that we should anticipate in eternal life to come. And both of these categories are related to, like, what.
So the first category is the category of what. What won’t be in heaven. There’s things we should long for and anticipate. And what won’t be in the new heavens and new earth, our text tells us, are tears, death, mourning, crying, pain. None of those things are going to be around. So again, how sweet is that going to be?
I mean, just think how much of our time and our energy in this life are dominated by those things, these painful realities. They’re going to be gone. We’ll never have to deal with them again. And we should anticipate how sweet that’s going to be. And not only will all those things be gone, all sin, that clings so closely to us, sin that would just seem like we just can’t get traction in defeating, that is just so discouraging, it’s like, man, I can’t believe I fell into this again. All that, we’re going to be fully freed from it.
Forever. And ever. Where we don’t have to worry about those things, those sins, ever again. And that’s what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, to free us from all sin. In the new heavens and new earth, we will fully be able to walk in that freedom. Second category of anticipation, what we will have in heaven, is actually things on the positive.
It’s not just the negative being gone. There’s an incredible positive in heaven. We know this. There will be peace. Joy. And it’s going to be full.
In the eternal life that is to come, we’re actually going to be living together, dwelling even together in perfect fellowship, in the new Jerusalem. We’re going to be reunited with all of our loved ones who died in Christ. And that should be something we should anticipate and wonder. What’s that going to look like? How sweet is that going to be? In the new heavens, new earth, because it’s physical, I think it’s going to be a place where we’re going to be able to explore, learn new things about, which I’m sure is going to be fascinating.
How exciting is that going to be? And for us, as I mentioned earlier, by far, the most exciting thing that we will have in this new heavens and new earth, the thing that we most anticipate, we most long for, is this closeness with God. Where we get to dwell with Him. Where He will be our God. Where we will be His people. Where we will experience all of the benefits that come from sonship.
That’s the best thing about eternal life. That’s the most exciting thing we should wonder, anticipate. Not just like the curse being removed, as sweet as that’s going to be. Not just being reunited with loved ones, as sweet as that’s going to be. But how much more? Why heaven is going to be so great?
Because we will be fully, completely dwelling with God. The way we’re designed to, in Genesis 1 and 2. Where every thirst that we have will be met fully by Him. This actually leads to my one encouragement. And how we can live this life, this present life, growing in this wonder, anticipation, in this longing for eternal life that is to come. As I mentioned at the start, this is probably something we don’t do very good.
We’re so consumed by our daily lives. All the things we already have to think through. It’s hard for us to find space to even wonder, anticipate. So my one encouragement is simply to let the things in this life, all these things that you and I are working through, maybe feeling consumed by, let those things just simply be pointers to the next life. So back to C.S. Lewis.
He talked about all things in this life as being like signposts. We’re not to stop and stare at the signposts, or be consumed by them. The signpoints are there to point us on our way to Jerusalem. I think he’s right. My encouragement is actually more of his encouragement. Which is to let the things in this life point you to the better life that is to come, to help you increasingly look forward to this city that has a foundation and a builder and designer who is God.
So when this life is filled with tears and pain, as difficult as those realities are, for the glory of God, let those be a signpost to you, to help you anticipate there’s a day coming when your good, kind, loving Heavenly Father is going to dry every one of those tears from your eyes. When you’re feeling pain, whatever it might be, let that be a signpost to remind you that you have a good, kind, loving Heavenly Father who one day is going to take all pain away forever. When you go to a funeral and you mourn the death, may it be a signpost to remind you that one day, for God’s people, death will be no more.
Then on the other end, when life is good, when you’re having these moments where you’re feeling like your thirst is actually being met, at least for a little while, let that good, whatever it might be, let that be a signpost to point you to something better that is to come. A good church service, a great conversation with a friend, an incredible meal, let that point you to cause you to wonder, to anticipate how much better are things going to be when we’re fully with the Lord? In this life, that still under the curse can provide us with different measures of joy and satisfaction, how much more when we’re with the Lord, who is the fullness of joy?
When good things happen in the church, we really should thank the Lord for that good thing in this life. But to say again, also let it be a signpost to increase your wonder, to increase your anticipation, to increase your longing for that which is to come, which can be so much better. Rev. Church, may God give us increased wonder, increased anticipation, increased longing for this day, longings to be fully with the Lord, dwelling with Him, with hopes that for the glory of God we’ll become increasingly more and more faithful in this present life.
Let’s pray.
Thank you for this passage. Thank you for commanding John to write that which he saw, that which he heard, many, many, many years later, that we can read them. Lord, I do pray that you would help increase our longings for you. Lord, please do help us to be found faithful in this life, to live this life in light of the eternal way to glory that is to come. Thank you for this incredible promise that you’ve given to us. Lord, we thank you for Jesus. Without Him, we would not have this hope. We pray this all in His name.
Amen.
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