They Will See His Face (Revelation 21:22-22:6) (Preached at MOVEMENT only Nov. 19, 2023)
Notes
Transcript
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city. 27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. 4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
6 Then the angel said to me, “Everything you have heard and seen is trustworthy and true. The Lord God, who inspires his prophets, has sent his angel to tell his servants what will happen soon.”
We have entered into the last part of the book of Revelation.
We have entered into the last part of the book of Revelation.
The vision is of the New Heaven and New earth.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.
The scene is of the new creation coming down out from heaven to earth. Creation has been renewed to fulfill its original potential.
The story of God’s dealing with God’s people HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT GOD COMING TO US FROM HEAVEN!
The story of God’s dealing with God’s people HAS ALWAYS BEEN ABOUT GOD COMING TO US FROM HEAVEN!
God came to Adam and Eve
God came to Abraham and Sarah
God came to Moses and Pharaoh
God came with the prophets
God came veiled in the flesh as Jesus Christ
God came as the Holy Spirit
And, in The End, it will not be so much AN EVENT, but the PRESENCE OF GOD COME TO BE AMONG GOD’S PEOPLE! In The End we do not come to an event, but are greeted with the presence of God!
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
All that is a part of the order of this creation has been done away with and everything is being made new
5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
Notice that it states that everything will be made new, not that God makes all new things.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
Fire could be a reminder of God’s judgment. That God judges the old order of things, casts out what is corrupt, wicked, and evil, and RESTORES what is left.
God does not junk the cosmos in order to start over with new everything. He renews all things and makes all things as if they were new.
This is the reality that we have stepped into.
This is the reality that we have stepped into.
Creation has been renewed. After all that has plagued it in the old order, characterized by death and destruction, creation now has been renewed. All creation has groaned up until this point of renewal. Romans 8:22
Also notice that it is a city that is coming down out of the clouds.
This is not as some have supposed a return to the Garden of Eden.
God chose to end history with a city. This city is opposite the cities of the world that have been destroyed, like “Babylon” in chapter 18. The cities that were destroyed were characterized by those who only looked out for themselves.
They were individualistic, and for this reason cities have been given a bad reputation.
However, it is the city that truly allows for human community, and a concrete living out of interdependence as the essential nature of human life. We need each other and cities provide many people to rely upon. Cities also help to guarantee protection with walls and gates.
This is not an idea that the end is the beginning.
We will not return to the garden.
We will surpass the garden and enjoy life in the city of the New Jerusalem.
This is a reminder of God’s faithfulness to his people.
We start looking at this city from a distance and then we move closer and closer until we are inside. Our text today has us inside the new city.
We start looking at this city from a distance and then we move closer and closer until we are inside. Our text today has us inside the new city.
In the new city there is no need for a temple.
There is no temple, and yet there is a temple.
The temple is not a building, but it is God.
Ezekiel had a vision of a New Jerusalem in which there was a temple. Ezekiel was a preist and he was concerned with the separation of the holy and profane, the sacred and the common. The temple and who may enter in it are a major idea in the vision of Ezekiel.
However, for John, there is no need for a temple building. God is the temple.
Craig Koester writes, “… In Revelation ‘The End’ is not an event, but God and the Lamb, and now we find that the ‘Temple’ is not a building, but God and the Lamb” (Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things, 198)
This New Jerusalem is a holy city. It is a cube, which is the idea of holiness (Revelation 21:15-16).
The Holy of Holies where the ark was kept, and in which the priest would enter into only once a year was a perfect cube (1 Kings 6:20). This is a picture to describe that the new city is a holy city.
Since it is a holy city, there is no need to separate where God would be able to dwell. There is no separation between the sacred and common.
God is present everywhere in the new city, not just in some designated place.
All of life is holy and God is present in the midst of everyday life.
God’s glorious radiance makes any other source of light useless.
It also banishes darkness and the anxieties associated with it.
The idea of a city was for protection in most cases.
This city has high walls and 12 gates.
However, unlike other cities, these gate never close, there will be no reason for the gates to close.
The gates would normally close at night, but since there is no night, no gate will close.
The traffic into these gates is one way, in. All the kings will enter into the city. This city is not populated by the “chosen ones” this city is for all the peoples on earth.
In the midst of this glorious picture there is a warning that nothing impure will enter into the city, nor will those who do what is shameful.
In Revelation 21:8 there is a list of what is considered to be shameful.
8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Reading through this list we can see some things that we probably have done.
This list is not to say that no one who has ever done these things will be allowed into the city, it is to say that no one will bring these sinful practices into the city.
The list serves to characterize life in the city of God, not a limitation on who will enter.
This city is characterized by life and healing.
There is a stream of life flowing from the throne.
There is the tree of life, from which humanity has been banned from eating from since the banishment of the first humans from the Garden of Eden.
This tree has a balm that heals the nations. Wars and prejudices and hatred of other peoples are healed because of the balm of this tree.
Why?
Why?
Why is this city characterized this way? Why is this city a city of life, and a place where God does not have to be kept in a box?
It is because in this city there is no curse!
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.
The curse of sin that has plagued humanity and has lead to our hatred of others and our death and our separation from God has been done away with.
All the images in this city point to this fact. God has prevailed and has kept his promise. Sin, death, and the powers of evil have been ultimately defeated.
Yes, they stand defeated now, but they are still running their course.
Jesus Christ beat sin and death with his death on the cross, but have still been making war with humanity until they were cast into the lake of sulfur prepared for them.
Humanity, NOW, has been freed from its plague of death and sin that has cursed it. It is because this old order of things has been done away with that the city can be a place of life and a holy city.
In the end, those who gather around the throne can see God.
This marks the final reversal of the story that began when Adam and Eve sinned.
They hid themselves from God because of their shame.
Exodus 33:20 states “For no one may see me and live.”
20 But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see me and live.”
One time a year the High Priest could enter into the holy of holies in the temple where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.
God was understood to be seated on the ark.
The High Priest would wear a turban with God’s name on it and enter into the Holy of Holies.
Even then the High Priest would not see God, but would be allowed to be in God’s presence.
BUT, In the New City all who are there have God’s name written on their forehead.
4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.
All will enjoy the presence of God without interruption. And here in God’s presence, they will serve God and rule with God.
This statement reminds readers and hearers of the other mark people could have.
The beast that is depicted in chapter 13 forced all to receive a mark either on their hand or forehead.
Those who would not receive this mark were not able to participate in society. They could not buy food or sell anything.
However, those who did not receive this mark are the ones who were sealed for God. We read about them in chapter 14, but also here in the glimpse of the holy city.
You see, Revelation is not just about what is going to happen at the end.
You see, Revelation is not just about what is going to happen at the end.
I have been stressing week after week that the end is far from the point of the book of Revelation.
Yes, there are scenes, such as this one, which describe the end. But their point is not just to describe the end.
Remember, Revelation was written to people who were facing tough decisions.
They could proclaim Jesus as Lord and make the emperor angry. These people would suffer persecution and die for their faith.
This idea is seen as a way to conquer in the book of Revelation because it was Jesus who conquered death by dying, so we who take a stand in our faith will conquer by dying as well.
The other option that this book lays out is if one chooses NOT to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. These people will not suffer now, but will inevitably suffer.
Remember, Revelation gives both warnings and encouragement.
It would be wrong to only see Revelation as a book about the end of the world. We miss the point of the book when we read Revelation as a Rubik’s Cube to the end of the world.
Therefore, the Letter of Revelation is just as much for us as it was for those in the first century whom it was directly written to.
It is a reminder to us of where our loyalties lie.
Do we cast our allegiance to the powers of darkness that can give us temporary pleasure, but will eventually be destroyed?
Or are our allegiances with Jesus Christ who conquered by suffering?
The language throughout the book of Revelation is language that states how the end will be, yes.
However, in the Bible a statement of what something will be, or a promise, becomes an assignment for those who read or hear the words.
Here a quotation from a scholar of the book,
“If this is how the world, under the sovereign grace of God, is finally going, then every thought, move, dead in some other direction is out of step with reality and is finally wasted. The picture does not attempt to answer speculative questions about the future; it is offered as an orientation for life in the present.” - Eugene Boring, Revelation, pg. 224
We miss the point when we read the images about the end of the world only as being about the end of the world.
They are about our world today.
The book of Revelation shows God guiding history to the point where he will return and recreate the world. Anything in a direction away from that is wasted time and energy on our part.
The end shows how we can see God’s face.
We can today see God breaking in through history to establish His kingdom. He did this with Jesus Christ who ushered in the Kingdom of God, and when we live by those kingdom values today we see God at work in the world guiding history towards the end.
However, following these values may cause suffering it is in these times that we must remember to stand firm in our faith so that we can have the name of God written on our forehead.
Revelation is not about the end; it is about the choices we make now!
May we see God break through NOW as we faithfully follow The Lamb!