Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
0.1UNLIKELY
Disgust
0.1UNLIKELY
Fear
0.09UNLIKELY
Joy
0.64LIKELY
Sadness
0.53LIKELY
Language Tone
Analytical
0.55LIKELY
Confident
0UNLIKELY
Tentative
0.09UNLIKELY
Social Tone
Openness
0.91LIKELY
Conscientiousness
0.75LIKELY
Extraversion
0.08UNLIKELY
Agreeableness
0.48UNLIKELY
Emotional Range
0.69LIKELY
Tone of specific sentences
Tones
Emotion
Language
Social Tendencies
Anger
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9
INTRODUCTION
This morning we’re going to continue our study in the book of Revelation.
For many people, when they think of the book of Revelation they think about how the world ends.
They think of themes like Tribulation, Antichrist, Mark of the Beast, and more.
Revelation is written differently than many other books in the Bible.
You might think of the four Gospels as historical biographies and the epistles as personal letters.
But Revelation is another animal all together.
It’s what’s called Apocalyptic literature.
Stemming from the Greek word “apocalypse” which means to “reveal.”
The book of Revelation is quite simply a “book of Revelation.”
It was written to “reveal” something.
It’s common for apocalyptic literature to use metaphor, symbols, and picturesque language to communicate and that’s certain going to be the case this morning as we get close to the end.
Future Hope | Present Faith
When you study the book of Revelation it’s important to remember WHY it was written and to WHOM it was written.
It’s easy to just assume Revelation was written by some guy who was lonely on an island and had nothing to do but dream up what heaven might be like.
That’s not the case.
Go back to the beginning.
Revelation was written to people who were about to face (or who were already facing) tremendous tribulation, pain and suffering.
It is to THOSE people in THOSE circumstances that John paints a compelling vision of their future hope.
He gave a picture of their hope in the future to strengthen their faith and love for Christ in the present.
That’s the power of hope.
It always has been and it always will.
We lit the hope candle last week for our advent series.
This morning we light the candle of faith.
There’s a direct link between our future hope and our present day faith.
Faith and obedience in the present is fueled by our hope in the future.
The Hope of Heaven
The hope John is giving us in Revelation 21 is the hope of heaven.
The Bible talks about heaven often.
Especially in the New Testament.
Jesus talked about heaven.
Matthew 5:12, “Rejoice in persecution.
Why?
Your reward in heaven is great.”
Jesus talked about the treasures of heaven, the reward of heaven, the riches of heaven.
The Apostle Paul talked about heaven.
He talked about a crown of righteousness, a crown of rejoicing, a crown that belongs to those who love Christ’s appearing.
Peter wrote to suffering Christians about heaven.
“We have an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved for us IN HEAVEN.”
(1 Peter 1:4)
Heaven is our place.
It’s where our inheritance is.
It’s where our reward is.
It’s where our hope is.
In Revelation 21-22 we get to put our eyes on that eternal state, the new Jerusalem, the holy city, our forever home.
John is telling those first century believers, endure through this tribulation.
Maintain your faith in Jesus, and eventually God will be faithful to bring you home.
A People & A Place
We’ve been studying this chapter for the past several weeks.
We’ve seen that Heaven is a place restored by God’s glory.
And Heaven is a people enjoying God’s presence.
We were made for both of these things.
To reflect God’s glory and to enjoy God’s presence.
Our text today has two main sections.
First, what is missing or absent in this eternal heaven that will one day come down.
Secondly we’ll see what is central.
Let’s begin with what is absent.
Revelation 21:22–27 (CSB)
22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.
25 Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there.
26 They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.
27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.
What Is Missing
John mentions at least three things that are missing in the future heaven that were shocking enough he decided to call them out by name.
There’s no more temple
There’s no more night
There’s no more sin
Each of these three things have theological and symbolical importance when it comes to understanding what heaven will be like.
Moreover, the better we understand our hope of heaven, the better equipped we’ll be for living out our faith in the present.
No More Temple
First John notes the absence of a temple.
There was no temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are it’s temple.
What is John getting at here?
We know from the Old Testament that the temple was a place people went to experience the presence of God.
In the Old Testament, God’s presence had to be mediated.
There’s no need for a temple in the New Jerusalem because the unmediated presence of God is fills the entire city.
Remember, God’s city is in the shape of a cube, covered in gold.
In the OT it was the Holy of Holies formed in the shape of a cube that was covered in gold.
John is being symbolic but he’s not being unclear.
The worship of God in heaven is unmediated worship.
There’s no “go between” because you’re relating to God directly.
As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, you make worship a debate about this mountain or that mountain.
That’s not the essence of true worship.
God is seeking after people who will worship him in Spirit and in Truth.
That’s the worship of heaven.
It’s not localized in a place or an institution, it’s universal and fills the earth because God’s people no longer need a mediator.
We will finally be the true worshippers our Father is looking for.
We will be worshipping God in perfect Spirit and perfect truth in His eternal presence.
Sacred/Secular Split
Another way to think about this: in Heaven, there is no split between the sacred and the secular.
Francis Schaeffer used to talk about this.
Brilliant philosopher and cultural apologist.
He described how many Christians create two stories: an upper story where people put their subjective faith and values and a lower story where people put science and facts and verifiable knowledge.
For many people - they put their Christian faith in that upper story with their subjective values that are no imperial or verifiable.
In other words, REAL LIFE is in the lower story but my upper story is for me only.
In heaven, there are not two stories there is one story and it all belongs to God.
Which means, believers today need to live for the city that is to COME not for the city that is right now.
We must reject this “sacred secular split” and live all of our lives under the conviction that ALL OF LIFE is worship.
< .5
.5 - .6
.6 - .7
.7 - .8
.8 - .9
> .9