New Creation

Happily Ever After

[ 000 ] Well, if you are new to River City, we are in the last of a 5 part sermon series, making one big sweeping overview of the Story of God. And this lands for most of us because everyone of us has a story, and every one of us loves stories. You might say, not me, I hate reading - yeah but I bet you can tell stories with the best of them.

Stories of vacations, cars, car accidents, surgeries, funny moments, stories of the big game, hunting, fishing, first date, first kiss, first child, and on and on it goes.

We can’t help ourselves. We tell stories all the time. It’s almost as if a love for story was hardwired into us by our Designer. By our Maker. And it should come as no surprise then that the Bible is one sweeping story of human history from it’s creation until it ends, and the [ 001 ] plot line of the story is called Creation, Fall, Redemption. God creates. Humans make a mess of it. He sets out to redeem the world himself through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Whether you think about it or not, every movie and story we enjoy carries a similar plot line.

The opening scene sets the stage, and the characters begin to develop.

But something isn’t how it’s supposed to be. The main character sets out to fix it. Then something happens where it looks like he or she has failed, or isn’t going to happen at all, or the circumstances are too great. But then, somewhere near the end of the movie, either a new character or new information sweeps in that turns the tables, or the hero of the story summons the inner strength – the bad guys are dealt with, and the good guys ride off into the sunset with evil being eliminated for good. Or as Disney movies used to put it: They Lived Happily Ever After.

And it’s left up to your imagination to fill in the blanks. You’re not told what happens next, but what do know is that all the trouble is resolved and everything is the way it’s supposed to be. There’s never any residual affects of trauma for what all they’ve just seen – just relief that disaster has been averted, they happy couple get married, or whatever, and it’s happy ever after. There’s a reason all of our stories end like that. It’s because that’s how the story that is hardwired into us is written.

We’ve looked at Creation, we’ve looked at Rebellion, we’ve looked at the story of Redemption. Christmas Eve, we talked about following Jesus to the cross and the empty tomb. [ 001-2 ] Today’s message is around the happily ever after. The New Creation.

PRAY

We’re talking about the New Creation today, looking at this from the angle of what is written in the book of Revelation, but we have to do some groundwork first.

Revelation was written in AD96, when the Church, or Christianity, was in its infancy, still growing, still spreading from place to place. We watched as the Apostle Paul headed into modern day Turkey to spread the message of the gospel, [ 002 ] and the book of Revelation is written to 7 of the churches that existed there in central and western Asia Minor. The world hadn’t welcomed Jesus, and as he predicted, the world did not welcome the Church. Revelation was written during another period of intense persecution, where the powers of Rome were ready to crush the Church, forcing them to choose between worshiping the emperor and worshiping Christ (Wilcock, 22).

Not only were the attacks coming from outside the Church, they were also exposed to attacks from inside – heresies, divisions, corrupt teaching and pagan practices were popping up in the Church as well. No doubt believers are tired. Tired of loss. Tired of needing to always be aware of the danger. So the Apostle John, pushing 90 years old, quite possibly the last apostle alive, is given a vision meant to encourage and reassure the Church that the gospel ultimately would prevail, that the kingdom of the Messiah was here, and that the Church would be triumphant and one day the Lord himself would wipe away every tear from their eyes (Barnes, li).

[ 003 ] You know how nostalgia works, right? You look through old pictures and watch your old family videos and go ah man, those were the good old days. Now, we’ve looked at this a lot in our series on Acts, but a lot of these Christians are former Jews. And for an ancient Hebrew person, living in Jesus’ day, nostalgia was just part of life for hundreds of years. [ 004 ] The high point of their existence had been 900 years ago, with David’s son Solomon on the throne, a gigantic sparkling new Temple in the middle of the city, kings and queens coming from all over the world to see the city and make their own contribution to Solomon’s wealth. But Solomon’s son ruined things, the nation divided, and the temple was overthrown and burned 400 years later. God’s people, who were promised their own homeland, were scattered all over the world – and now, even on the backside of the cross, the persecuted Church is wondering are we ever going to see the good old days again? Are we ever going to be able to see Israel restored? Are we just going to be under duress forever? Do God’s promises of an eternal king and eliminating our enemies ever come true?

[ 005 ] I don’t know all of your stories, but I know a lot of you, and I think most of us in the room feel this way to some degree. Is the Lord ever going to set things straight down here?

And then a letter from John showed up. Turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Revelation. We’re going to sort of jump through this with some huge leaps and bounds, and settle in closer to the end of the book.

The book opens with a vision of Jesus, as he encourages the 7 churches there in Asia to stay faithful In the middle of intense suffering. Then, in chapter 4, John is allowed a peek into the throne room of heaven to see the that God’s sovereign rule over all of human history is most evident is in that the Lamb who was slain unlocks everything God is doing and will do (Bartholomew and Goheen, 229-230).

When you get to Revelation 12, all of human history is summarized in one graphic picture. What’s the story of the Bible all about? someone asks you. Take them to this chapter and read it to them. That is how you answer that question. Here’s the picture in Rev 12: A woman dressed in the sun and wearing 12 stars on her head has her feet propped up on the moon, and is giving birth to a son who is going to be King. A huge red dragon in verse 3, who is able to sweep 1/3 of the angels out of heaven, tries to eat up the child the second he is born. But God protects the Son, and sweeps him up to heaven to his throne. The baby grew up in the presence of God, powerful enough that the dragon was thrown to earth, verse 9, with all of his angels, where no matter how much the dragon pursued her, God continued to protect the woman. [ 006 ] Finally, in verse 17, the dragon was furious because he couldn’t kill the woman or the Son, so he went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring (Those who keep the commands of God and hold firmly to the testimony about Jesus). The way you defeat this dragon is through the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony – even if that testimony means physical death. [ 007 ] In chapter 20 the dragon gets thrown into the lake of fire, and all of those redeemed by the blood of the Lamb are invited to a huge marriage feast!

That’s the snapshot of the Bible right there. That’s the peek behind the curtains. And like a giant jigsaw puzzle, when you put all the pieces of Scripture together, the picture that develops is that God is not just sitting back watching history waiting to see how it all unfolds. He is actively moving history. His purposes will be accomplished, and his kingdom will come.

The message for these 7 churches in Asia Minor is that behind Rome’s persecution, behind false teachers and the heresies that threatened the Church is the serpent from the Garden of Eden – a great red dragon violently angry at God, and making war against God’s people. The encouragement to them, from Jesus himself through John, is that the dragon has been thrown down. He will not win out against the Church. He has already been thrown down, and he knows his time is short.

Skip ahead to chapter 19, and we get a glimpse of the hero of the story, riding in to lay waste to the dragon and rescue the woman in distress. [ 008 ] Revelation 19:11–16 “Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True, and with justice he judges and makes war. His eyes were like a fiery flame, and many crowns were on his head. He had a name written that no one knows except himself. He wore a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. The armies that were in heaven followed him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. A sharp sword came from his mouth, so that he might strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron rod. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. And he has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.”

Now for you to read a letter from John, and see the words “His name is called the Word of God”, that ought to sound familiar too. The very first words of John’s gospel - the same John, by the way, was this [ 009 ] : John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” [ 010 ] John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John’s connection is clear. He knows who the rider on the horse is, and so should we. This is Jesus. He has many crowns on his head, symbolizing the vast stretch of his authority. And when heaven opens and he appears, it’s not as a baby in a manger this time – he is a king here to make war, to rule the nations, and release the fierce anger of God on the nations. He is the King we have always longed for!

Keep going into chapter 21 [ 011 ] . Revelation 21:1–2“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. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.”

We don’t just go up to heaven when we die, floating around in some etherial shiny nothingness for all of eternity. We’re going to be right here on the earth, which is fully restored and renewed! It’s going to be Jerusalem in all it’s glory, like a bride stepping around the corner at the back of the church, beautiful in every way, making her soon-to-be husband go weak in the knees.

[ 011-3 ] 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:, Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples,, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.

5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son

There is a city coming down from heaven; God’s dwelling will be with us; and anyone who conquers – remember back to ch 20, how do we overcome? By the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, not loving our lives even to death – Anyone who conquers – anyone who has had the blood of the Lamb applied to them by faith, and has not been afraid to identify with Jesus – even if it means death – will inherit everything: he or she will be God’s son. It’s an encouragement to hang in there. Endure. It won’t be long. God is faithful and one day, there will be no more pain, grief, crying – all of that will die along with death itself.

You may be thirsty now, but you will soon drink freely from the spring of the water of life!

But another notable piece is that finally, going back to the nostalgia of the early Hebrew people under Roman persecution wondering if God will ever be true to his promises, this city isn’t floating in the sky – Finally the prophecies of having a place to exist as the people of God, are going to be realized! In the end, they do have a land of safety and security! And, if you were paying attention to what Toby read, and you remember when we talked about the Garden of Eden, a lot of the language here should have sounded familiar. [ 012 ] There’s the familiar language of water (22:1), and trees with abundant fruit (22:2-3), precious jewels (21:18-21), and gold (21:21) – all things that were mentioned in Genesis 2, speaking of the Garden God made for Adam.

The two most notable connections though are very profound. First of all, the tree of life is here. God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden after they sinned because he didn’t want them to eat the fruit from the Tree of Life and live forever in their unredeemed state. He put a guardian angel there to keep them away from it. But here in the New Jerusalem, that tree is not off limits! In fact, look at Revelation 22:2–3 “...The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.” There is access to the tree of life, and it doesn’t just bring eternal life – it brings healing. All those wounds of the past will be healed. This is a place of restoration. A future. Longevity. No more curse of death. And the second most notable things is that once again God the Almighty lives and walks with his people. The massive divide between God and humans has been bridged!

No more sacrifices, no more blood needing to be spilled – Revelation 21:22–26 “I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 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. The nations will walk by its light, and (Just like old times) the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there.

A place of safety. Security. Refuge. Hope. Every prophecy about enemies being conquered, a land to belong, and a King on his throne who is honored and revered. Every single part of it that was touched by sin is going to be touched by the redemption of Jesus.

Creation – animals, trees, plants, the earth, birds, fish, sky – every bit of it fully restored and renewed back to the way it was made. No more decay. No more wilted flowers. Isaiah 11 says The wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat. The calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf will be together, and a child will lead them. The cow and the bear will graze, their young ones will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like cattle. An infant will play beside the cobra’s pit, and a toddler will put his hand into a snake’s den. They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the sea is filled with water.

Romans 8 says creation can’t wait for this day! It can’t wait to be released from the curse of sin.

Humans – fully restored. New bodies that won’t die or get sick or weak or wear out. No more knee replacements, torn ACLs, no more emotional pain of loss or disappointment or rejection. No more anxiety, fear, or worry. Not just sitting or existing, but walking and living and breathing and working in a world with no sin and no effects of sin. The best our hearts can imagine isn’t even in the same zip code.

But best of all: The renewed and undiluted presence of God, the presence of the Lamb, and the white-hot worship of the Triune God that we were created for as we rule with him – with no deception or sin anywhere to be found. It’s everything our nostalgic hearts could have dreamed of times 10,000,000.

No doubt those first century believers were able to find comfort and hope in these words, and hopefully so do we today.

So what do we do as we wait for the new creation to come? Look at Revelation 22.

[ 014-1 ] We have the responsibility of serving the Lord (vv. 12–14). “My reward is with Me” implies that God is mindful of our sufferings and our service, and nothing will ever be done in vain if it is done for Him. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, believers will be judged according to their works; and rewards will be given to those who have been faithful. This isn’t salvation by works – that was accomplished by Jesus – this is rewards for what we did with the gift of grace Jesus gave us. Did we bury it or put it to work? So we have the responsibility to live watchful and effective lives, making sure we don’t become careless or lazy (Wiersbe, 2:625).

[ 014-2 ]Keep putting on Christ, and putting off sin (vv. 14-15). “Blessed are those who wash their robes”, v 14. Some translations might say, “those who keep his commands.” Verse 15 says those who love and practice falsehood aren’t allowed into the city, so it’s safe to say those who love and practice the truth are welcomed inside. Washing our robes means repenting of sin. Hating our sin. Growing in holiness and purity as we wait for the Lord to return.

[ 014-3 ]We must keep expecting Jesus Christ to return (vv. 17, 20–21). Three times in this closing chapter John wrote, “I [Christ] come quickly” (Rev. 22:7, 12, 20). But He has “delayed” His return for nearly 2,000 years! The apostle Peter tells us why: God wants to give this sinful world opportunity to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:1ff). In the meantime, the Spirit of God, through the church (the bride), calls for Jesus to come; for the bride wants to meet her Bridegroom and enter into her home. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20) (Wiersbe, 2:625).

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 22

17 Both the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let anyone who hears, say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

There is an open invitation right here for anyone who wants it: Let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who desires take the water of life freely.

Even so come, Lord Jesus.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Twelve: All Things New! (Revelation 21–22)

Genesis

Revelation

Heavens and earth created, 1:1

New heavens and earth, 21:1

Sun created, 1:16

no need of the sun 21:23

The night established, 1:5

No night there, 22:5

The seas created, 1:10

No more seas, 21:1

The curse announced, 3:14–17

No more curse, 22:3

Death enters history, 3:19

No more death, 21:4

Man driven from the tree, 3:24

Man restored to paradise, 22:14

sorrow and pain begin, 3:17

No more tears or pain, 21:4

SOURCES

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Revelation, ed. Robert Frew, (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885)

Michael Wilcock, The Message of Revelation: I Saw Heaven Opened, The Bible Speaks Today, (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1986)

https://www.gotquestions.org/new-creation.html

Craig G Bartholomew and Michael W Goheen, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story, 2nd Ed (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014)

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996)