Epilogue: Remaking Heaven and Earth: One day, at the end of our current age, we’ll discover that the end is really a new Genesis, a new beginning. In this epilogue to our series, we’ll see that one day God will re-create the heavens and the earth, that the power of the curse will be undone, and our future is sure. Recorded on Feb 27, 2022, on Revelation 21-22, by Pastor David Parks.
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This message is part of The Making of Heaven and Earth sermon series. There are few more important chapters ever written than the first three chapters of Genesis. These chapters dramatically shape our understanding of who we are, where we’ve come from, and the reason why things are the way they are today. More importantly, they introduce us to the God who created and sustains all things.
Sermon Transcript
All year, we’re talking about The Greatness of God. And today, we’re finishing a sermon series called The Making of Heaven and Earth from Genesis 1-3. As we’ve said, there are few more important chapters ever written than the first three chapters of Genesis. The creation narratives of the Bible shape our understanding of who we are, where we’ve come from, and the reason why things are the way they are today. But more importantly, they introduce us to the God who created and sustains all things. In this series, we considered the creation of all things and the meaning and purpose and perfect relationships that were intended for us. But then we saw the fall to sin and the division/destruction/death introduced into God’s good and perfect world. But even in the dark chapters of the fall, we saw God’s grace and mercy and the promise of salvation. Today, we’ll turn from looking at the beginning of all things all the way forward to the end of this age and, in one sense the end of this heaven and the earth. But the end is really a new Genesis, a new beginning. And in this epilogue to our series, we’ll see that one day God will re-create the heavens and the earth, that the power of the curse will be undone, and our future is sure. If you have a Bible/app, please open to Rev 21:1. We’re going to look at three sections of Scripture in Rev 21-22, but we’ll unpack each one as we go. v. 1.
Revelation 21:1–5 (NIV), “1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Let’s pause here. So Revelation was written by the Apostle John when he was in exile on the Island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. We ended our Encounters with God series with John’s encounter with Jesus there. But here, at the end of Revelation, John has a vision of the future. There’s nothing that we who live as exiles in this world need more than a hopeful vision for our future. And what does he see? He sees the end of our current age of history, the judgment of the living and the dead, and the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. Just as Jesus died but was resurrected, one day, all of creation will die and rise again. And just as Jesus died in humility and weakness, but rose in glory and power, so in the same way, will this broken world, bound by the curse of sin and the power of death will one day rise in everlasting beauty and splendor. First, notice that this is not only a spiritual reality. There are no babies floating in the clouds playing harps here. There’s a new earth. A new physical existence with new resurrection bodies. Remember Jesus, after his resurrection was able to walk and talk and eat food. But even though Jesus rose from the dead, still, someone might be thinking, “Are we really supposed to believe this? Are we literally waiting for God to make a new heaven and a new earth, or is this just sort of a poetic way of talking about doing justice or working for spiritual revival or cultural renewal here and now?” The answer is twofold: First, over the last 2,000 years, Christians, motivated by this vision of a perfected future, have been all about working to make this dying world better if at all possible, by building hospitals or orphanages or by working not once but twice to end slavery. So believing in a future with a new heaven and a new earth doesn’t mean that Christians won’t care about the here and now. Second, is it plausible to think God will literally make all things new? I think the answer is simply if God had the power and wisdom and the will to make the universe in the first place, can he not do it again? In fact, doesn’t this make sense? An artist can always choose to start a new composition or a new canvas.
But if we accept John’s vision of a new age of reality, what type of world do we find? First, we see the gospel promise that started all the way back in Genesis 3:15, that one day the seed of the woman, that is Jesus, would indeed crush the head of the serpent, here, that promise finds its fulfillment. And here, we see the great goal of God’s plan. We see the fruit of the work of salvation. And what do we find? Does God start over from scratch? Not exactly. God could’ve just started a new canvas, with all new worlds and creatures with no continuity between the two. But he won’t do that. He will bring his people, resurrected and glorified and completely made new, into this new work. Why? Because our fellowship with God has always been the goal. He wants to be with his people. He wants to walk with us in the garden in the cool of the day. You see this throughout the whole Bible. Immanuel, God with us, wants to be with us. Look back at v. 3. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” Behold! Look! Can you believe it? Can you believe God actually pulled it off?? He made a way to be reunited with sinful men and women. God’s purposes, that we would be his people and he would be our God, will never fail. And listen to how this fellowship is described in v. 4. “‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Some people are afraid of God. Others fail to see how God fits into their lives. But the real God, the living God, the maker of the heavens and the earth doesn’t fit into your life. You fit into his. But when you do, look at how tenderly he treats us. He will wipe every tear. He will be our great comforter. He will be our peace. And there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Can you even imagine a world like that? What else do we find in this vision? Does God restore the Garden of Eden? Not exactly. John sees “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” The result of working and caring for the garden will ultimately become a city. Let’s jump down to v. 22 and learn more about this city. v. 22.
Revelation 21:22–27 (NIV), “22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
This vision of a heavenly city is so radically different than the cities of our world today. First, there is no temple. Why? What’s the purpose of a temple? The purpose of a temple is to provide a place where heaven and earth can come together, in worship or revelation or in making an offering. It’s a place where you can pray to God and where you might encounter a little sense of the power and presence of God. But the new heaven and the new earth will become a giant temple. Heaven and earth, God’s space and our space, will become one once again. As we’ve already seen, there is no longer any separation between God and human beings. It’s for this reason that I suspect I’ll need a new vocation. For who will need to be taught about who God is when he can reach out and wipe the very tears from your eyes? When we can speak face to face and we will walk fully in his presence?
The second difference between the new Jerusalem and the cities of today is that it doesn’t need an external light like the sun or the moon. It is illuminated by the light of the glory of God. Now, light often is a metaphor for the truth and maybe that’s implied here. But light is also often mentioned in connection to the glory of God. Even Moses, when he spoke with God on Mount Sinai, had to wear a veil because his face shone with the light of the glory of God. What is God’s glory? God’s glory is the sum total of all the attributes of God’s character. God is so good/powerful/wise/just/true/loving that his character radiates like light about him. I think it’s this use of light that is implied here for the city of God. The radiant splendor of the character of God shines from this city out into all the world, giving light to the nations/peoples of the world. And the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. This doesn’t mean every impure or evil thing our culture spits out. But it means that the good parts, the true parts, the beautiful parts of all the various cultures and peoples of the world, will somehow be incorporated in the age to come. I wonder what from our culture will be brought into that age. What, do you think, of all the things we do today will actually last forever? It’s worth considering because it helps put some of the things we worry about or spend so much time and money on today in the right perspective. A thousand years from now (or even 10 years from now), will this thing matter at all? If the answer is no, then why are you worrying about it so much or spending so much time/money on it? So once again, we have a future day where God will make a new heaven and a new earth, a heavenly city full of life and light and the very presence of God himself. Some of which will have continuity with our current age, but all things will also be made new. Let’s finish this passage with the beginning of chapter 22 where we’ll see the tree of life appear once again. v.1.
Revelation 22:1–5 (NIV), “22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”
We started our series with God creating the heavens and the earth, and then making human beings in his image and likeness, and then putting these human creatures in a garden with two important trees. One of the tree of life, the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The man and woman disobeyed God’s word and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the sin that ruined everything. After the fall to sin, God removed humanity from the garden, he removed them from the presence of the tree of life which represents eternal life. As an act of divine mercy, God put a limit of mortality to the sin and struggle human beings have to endure in life. But in the new heaven and the new earth, in the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, we will see the tree of life once again. John has this curious way of describing the tree of life somehow standing on each side of the river of life flowing from the throne. But not only does the tree represent the eternal life of God’s kingdom, but the leaves of the tree will be for the healing of the nations. No more war. No more conflict. No more scarcity/fear/hatred/oppression from one group to the next or from one ethnicity to the next or from one tribe to the next. This is certainly part of what John means by saying, “No longer will there be any curse.” All the corrosive and destructive power of sin and death will come undone both at the individual level and at the level of society. The stain of guilt and shame will be washed clean. Now, and forevermore, human beings will perfectly obey the law of Christ. We will love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our minds, and all of our strength. And we will love our neighbor as ourselves. In fact, our neighbors, that is all the people of this heavenly city, will be closer and dearer and better in relationship than even the best marriage enjoys in this age.
And what will be doing in this reality after time? We’ll go back to the created vocation of human beings. John says that God’s, “servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Even in this new heaven and earth, there will be work to do. Our work wasn’t a product of the fall. And in the age to come, there will be more work to do. But this work will always be fruitful. There will no longer be thorns and thistles, remember those are part of the curse. But also, “His name will be on our foreheads.” This means we will no longer be confused or deceived about our identity. We will know that we are his: servants of the King. And it will be a joy to serve him. And wouldn’t this be enough? But there’s more. Not only are we saved by the Lamb on the throne but we are adopted into his family. I’m not sure which doctrine I like to think about more, salvation by grace or adoption into the family of God. God could’ve saved us to be his servants forever, and that would be the greatest honor. But John reminds us at the end of this passage that we, “will reign for ever and ever.” As adopted sons and daughters of God, Jesus is both our great high King and our brother. It was always God’s intent that we should be his children and that as his children, we would inherit his kingdom and would reign and rule with the true Son. And so, in John’s vision of the future, we find that all the good intention of God in creation, of who he created us to be, with all the value that brings, and the vocation that he created us to do, and all the purpose that brings, will one day be fully realized and accomplished. God’s purposes will prevail. So trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. For now, we will have to continue to endure the pain and misery, the sin and the struggle of this age. But all of this is only temporary. This is only a season. A new age is coming where Jesus is making all things new. A new age is coming where we will love and serve and reign in glory. A new age is coming where heaven and earth will be one. May we live in light of this coming reality. May we be people who, no matter what we face here and now, live as if our future was sure. And all glory, honor, and praise be to the God who created us, who saves us in Christ, and will one day make all things new.