New heaven and New Earth
Revelation • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Tonight we are going to discuss the new heaven and new earth.
The entire Bible points forward to this moment in history. From the time Adam and Eve lost their dominion in the garden with God, cursed by sin, the plan of God has been to bring a permanent redemption to the fall which culminates in the new heaven and new earth
Revelation 21:1–6 “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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 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, 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.” 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. 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.”
One of the first things that happens after the millennium is the passing away of the first heaven and first earth and the new heaven and new earth
Two main interpretations of this:
It could men that the old earth and heaven will disappear and a new earth and heaven will be made
Peter mentions this in his letter 2 Peter 3:10–11 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,”
Or a transformation of the present heaven and earth
The literal reading would suggest a new creation
But some see this as a renovated or transformed earth
But it really doesn’t matter either way because way the end result is the same: IT WILL BE VASTLY DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD TODAY
Three promises things that come with this new creation
God will dwell with His people (v 3)
In our present creation we are separated from the manifest presence of God. God dwells on His throne, we dwell on earth.
Exodus 33:20“But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!””
Exodus 33:11 “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”
If Moses could be that close to the Lord on earth where we cannot look at God, how great will our relationship be with God when we live with Him?
The great chasm fixed between man and God will be no more
There will be no effects of sin upon mankind: No more tears, death, sorrow, or pain; the first things have passed away (v 4)
These ‘sorrows’ are part of the old creation order marred by sin
It’s a reminder to us of sins destructive nature. Promising happiness and comfort yet in the end always brings suffering
This new creation is something that we cannot even fathom today in our human minds because all we have ever known is the suffering world in which we live
QUESTION: What ‘tears’ is God going to wipe away?
Robert Mounce suggests that these are not tears of remorse for failures on earth, but tears of suffering shed on earth as a result of faithfulness to Christ”
I was reminded this week in my morning devotions that trials and tribulations are to be expected for God’s people.
Paul said to the new church at Antioch, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”” (Acts 14:22)
Tears are going to be a part of the present Christian life. it is inevitable; BUT one day God will surely wipe them all away
Suffer now, and when we die we will never suffer again. If we reject suffering now, we will suffer forever when we die.
The promise of God to give to the thirsty the water of life
QUESTION: What does it mean to thirst for the water of life?
He is referring to a spirtual thirst for those who want to know God.
Psalm 42:1 “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul 1pants for You, O God.”
And the water of coarse will bring great refreshment And satisfaction.
It is interesting that the word “thirst” is in the present active tense meaning it does not refer to those in the future but to those
So what God is promising is that those who are thirsty NOW for God now will be completely satisfied on the new earth.
The spirtual fulfillment we long for now, the closeness to God we long for now, will be completely fulfilled then
Every human pursuit today is in search of satisfaction.
New adventures
New relationships
New stuff
New hobbies
A new life
It’s all a search for satisfaction. and we never completely find it. God says it can only be found in heaven after a life of faithfulness on earth.
The decision placed before the reader
Revelation 21:7–8 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “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.”
“He who overcomes will inherit these things”
What is an overcomer? It is the one who refuses to compromise his or her faith despite all difficulties.
An overcomer is one who perseveres and does not give up!
What is the motivation here to not give up?
“He will inherit thee things”
Dwelling with God himself
No more death
No more pain
No more tears
No more sorrows
Complete satisfaction
This is a motivational verse to press on!
And the church is an essential part of this
Acts 14:21–22 “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.””
The church needs more encourages and less complainers. We need to be more encouraging to one another and motivate each other continue in the faith.
Notice those named here:
Cowardly
Isn’t this a strange term to include in this list of sinful people.
QUESTION: Why do you think cowardly is included?
In the tribulation, it would take great courage to stand against the enemies of God: the beast, the Antichrist, those who persecuted their lives
Biblical cowardice is not being timid or scared, but being willing to lose the things of God rather than themselves or or their safety
It a fear of worldly things: rejection, death, suffering, being unfulfilled, rather than a fear of God.
Cowards according to God fear the wrong things.
The truly courageous people fear God and God alone
Unbeleiving: those who are untrustworthy.
This speaks of people who in the test of time have given in, fallen away, fallen back into the world.
Adrian Rogers always said, “a faith that has not been tested, is a faith that cannot be trusted”
abominable: Is something God detests. It is a characterization of a person who does things that God hates or abhors.
murders: likely a reference to Christian
immoral: sexual immorality
Sorcerer: witchcraft or sorcery, magic arts of any kind
Idolatry: an idol is anything we put in the place of God preeminence in our lives: our selves, other people, things,
liars: those who have a pattern of dispersing untruthfulness
What do all these things have in common? They will all be people who are cast into the lake of fire.🔥
The choice is then presented by God: Will we be overcomers or will we be cowardly?
What does an overcomes look like on earth?
He is the one who endures suffering, crying, pain, and even in extreme circumstances death because of his faith.
There are no overcomers who are exempt from suffering or pain. The call to us is to March on in faithfulness to Jesus.
What does the cowardly look like?
He rejects the hardships associated with Christianity, and becomes unfaithful.
Question: Does reading these promises of a new heaven
