Revelation 21:1-8

Heaven; the kingdom of God coming to earth.

Here lies Solomon Peas

Under the lillies and under the trees

Peas is not here, only the pod

Peas has shelled out and gone home to God ( Wetumpka Grave)

We cannot visualize heaven's life and the wise man will not try to do so. Instead he will dwell on the doctrine of heaven, where the redeemed will find all their heart's desire: joy with their Lord, joy with his people, and joy in the ending of all frustration and distress and in the supply of all wants. What was said to the child -- "If you want sweets and hamsters in heaven, they'll be there" -- was not an evasion but a witness to the truth that in heaven no felt needs or longings go unsatisfied. What our wants will actually be, however, we hardly know, except the first and foremost: we shall want to be "always...with the Lord" (1 Thess. 4:17).

What shall we do in heaven? Not lounge around but worship, work, think, and communicate, enjoying activity, beauty, people, and God. First and foremost, however, we shall see and love Jesus, our Savior, Master, and Friend. — JI Packer (Your father loves you)

Isaiah 65:17 “17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.”

Heaven and earth as we know it will pass away, and God will bring the new heaven to earth.

Exposition: John’s vision is of a future time in which he sees a new heaven and new earth… He says specifically that the first heaven and earth had passed and the sea was no more. It seems as though John is interested in His readers understanding something about a new order of things unlike what they have seen and know. Consider Romans 8:19–22 “19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

Paul recognizes theologically as John’s vision describes a time in which a new world order will exist in the freedom from bondage and corruption. It will be new not because God will create it in that moment, but new in that it will be an order of which nobody has been accustomed to.

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words New

1. kainos (καινός, 2537) denotes “new,” of that which is unaccustomed or unused, not “new” in time, recent, but “new” as to form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old. “ ‘The new tongues,’ kainos, of

In this New order of things John says the sea was no more. Remember

Revelation 13:1 “1 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.” and Revelation 20:13 “13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.”

The source of which evil rises in prominence is characterized as coming from the sea, and death’s representatives coming from the sea. John’s declared vision with apocalyptic language reveals that heaven will be a place where evil will not reside.

A place where the order and bondage of sin’s earned wage death will not exist. Not only is this true but notice verse four in relation to this reality how the eternal dwelling place of God is characterized in God’s activity towards its citizens. Revelation 21:4 “4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Explanation: We see in verse one what Jesus has said of His kingdom in John 18:36 “36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” We live in an age of groanings in which creation longs and yearns to be reconciled to God, restored to prominence as in God’s design prior to the fall, and filled with the tranquil peace of God’s walking within His created order in the cool of the day. Genesis 3:8 “8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” We long and hope for a place in which tears, and death, mourning, and pain are no more. A reality in which no longer do we toil in strife. This city of God and dwelling place of God’s people is not nothing we can imagine. So we say, come Lord Jesus and bring this kingdom of Heaven to earth and wipe our eyes, and cause what weighs us down in body, mind, and spirit to pass away in the ushering of your dwelling with us.

Illustration: NEW WORLD ORDER… 1996 Scott Hall and Kevin Nash left WWF and signed contracts with the WCW. They came in known as the outsiders with outspoken animosity toward the organization and declared they joined to take over. They were known as “the outsiders” and not viewed as particularly favorable until July 7th 1996. When arguably the greatest wrestler of all time and for sure the most popular Hulk Hogan joined them and from that moment forward declared themselves to be the new world order of wrestling.

Application: We gather today as outsiders of heaven in that we have yet to experience its beauty, grandeur and peace, and yet our great hope for the arrival of our souls to inhabit this new land is because of the one of whom we’ve aligned ourselves. For we as outsiders have a hope and future not just because Jeremiah says so, but because the God of the ages has promised it to be so through the person and work of Christ by which our sins are paid for in full and He has made preparations for our arrival.

Transition: The new Heaven is not a spontaneous work of the future, but a prepared place for God’s children.

Heaven is a prepared place in which believers will be with God.

Exposition: Notice here in verses two and three a familiar pattern in john’s writing. “I saw” in verse two and “I Heard” in verse three. John’s sees a new and holy city coming down to earth. Notice in verse two that this city coming from God is a prepared city. Characterized in the likeness of a bride who is prepared and in waiting for her husband. Hear the words of Jesus, John 14:1–3 “1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

John will tell us in verses 9-27 more specifically what this city, temple, and dwelling place for God will be like, but for now He writes in verse three what serves as an introduction to those comments and reveals the Old Covenant truth in light of New Covenant realities. I believe God speaks here, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

God has always desired to dwell with His people. For this is the great reality that can be traced through the entirety of the Bible.

Genesis 3:8 “8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Exodus 26:1 “1 “Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.”

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John with His hear to heaven hears the word of God given to us today, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.” Look at verse five, “ Behold I am making all things new.”

Hear now Isaiah 64:4 “4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.” and 1 Corinthians 2:9 “9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—”

Explanation: The point John makes is clear and concise, heaven is not an afterthought, but the Bible’s prominent thought. God dwelling with His people in a prepared place as a ransomed, redeem, and purchased people. Its an uncharacteristically good place in which no tears, pain, or sorrow exists. A place that is so rare and unimaginable that not only is it perceived as new, but also all who dwell in it. Believers in Christ will be uncharacteristically and unimaginably good, perfect, unstained, and unhindered by sin. Lest you came discouraged today… Hear God’s word “ Behold I am making all things new.” That is the people and the place.

Illustration: Do you remember Jesus baptism? We will read Matthews account of it in January 2026. Was baptism new? No, John had been baptizing unto repentance as a means of people being ready to receive the life and ministry of Christ. They were baptized into the Jordan river and then Jesus shows up. Why would He wade into the same waters to be baptized? He was baptized and plunged beneath the waters of the Jordan as a representative sin bearer by which all the sins of those repenting would cover Him. In a sense Jesus was declaring He had come to make all things new. Baptism was not new, but Jesus dwelling physically with His people was. They prepared themselves, yet nobody was fully prepared, not even John the one baptizing to fully understand what Jesus came to do.

Application: The city is prepared for us as a bride is prepared for her husband. The bible declares the church as the bride of Christ in Ephesians 5 where we learn that joyful loving submission is the biblical response to sacrificial provision. We like the creation are groaning and longing to have our tears wiped away and our pain dissolved by perfect peace.

Sometimes the tears and pain come by way of demonic forces, activity, and evil’s impulsive and powerful sway over the world and our lives. Know that God will soon cause this to pass away. Find your hope in Jesus alone today. Your diagnosis, your heart ache, your struggle, your suffering, will soon be banished from existence never to return in the wholeness and fullness of God’s kingdom.

Other times our tears, sorrow, regret and pain are a result of our own choosing. The guilt of our own shame. If not careful we too soon forget that Gomer’s story is our own. The prophet Hosea couldn't keep his wife at home. For she longed for, found satisfaction in and pursued the affection of many other men although she belonged to Hosea. Yet the only way Hosea could ensure that she both knew she belonged to Him and was not just His wife, but His possession was to purchase her. To physically pay the ransom price for her life whereby she was His in covenant and His in commitment.

Today you may be realizing that you belong to God and He has spared no expense to purchase your life. You may not know the theology of it all but you are guilty and no it. You know you have used and abused God’s covenant love for you. Your sins are not only before your eyes but are the weight on your conscious.

John 1:14–18 “14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.”

May you come Home today and allow the Holy Spirit of the living God make you new. Cooperate with the holy Spirit’s work today and declare your need to be saved by Christ payment.

Church, We are stained by our nature, and willingly delusional to sins impact on us. We chase after affections of the world and run toward satisfactions of the temporary finite that is passing away. We cheapen grace, distort covenant love, and rebel against the very one we belong to.

It is my prayer for you today that your hope of salvation would be in Christ alone and that you’d realize you are His in covenant and with faithful God glorifying desire would declare you are His in commitment. May God’s power, favor, and presence as our good shepherd with be met with our cooperation to be renewed and transformed in the truth. Wandering and wondering child of God, come back to Christ today.

Just as the city of God is prepared for Jesus’ bride, may we the bride be preparing ourselves for the arrival of our groom. Hear 2 Peter 3:14 “14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”

Transition Sentence: Heaven will be a new earth and the dwelling place of God with His people. A city, a people, with a righteous King established in an eternal reign forever and ever.

Heaven is the final establishment of God’s eternal reign.

Exposition: Notice the language of verses six through eight. It is done! I am the alpha and Omega, the beginning and end. While these events have not come to pass they are assured to come to pass so much so that John writes in past tense. It is done! races our minds back to the cross in which in the final moments of the cross Jesus declares, It is finished! The work of salvation complete. The atoning patient for sin made sufficiently through Christ by Him becoming sin. We will celebrate this finished work next Sunday as we take the Lords Supper together.

Who is it that has brought this covering of sin on the cross and undoing or passing away of heaven and earth, along with the newness of the prepared city coming down?

None other than the Alpha and Omega. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the greek Alphabet. He is preeminent, self existing, and has not a single need. He is first and head. He is the beginning and end and the first born from among the dead offering salvation and life. He is God in Christ the one who has finished the work as the final sacrifice. He is Alpha and Omega.

He is all powerful, all authoritative, creator, sustainer, designer, and articulator of revelation. He is before all things and it is through Him that all things stay together. He is not absent, but present in creation. He is the covenant making and keeping God whose rainbows cover the sky, and provision shelter, multiply, cover, bless, sustain, pardon, and redeem His people. He is before and outside of time yet in the fullness of time came born of woman and under the law to redeem those who were under the law. He is one God in three persons Father, Son, and Spirit.

Spirit dwelling not in houses made by hands but in High and Holy places and yet inside those redeemed and purchased by the blood of Jesus of which causes them to bow down, lay prostrate, and surrender that he might build up, cause them to stand up, and enable them to rise up and declare the wondrous mystery that they are chosen in Him before the foundation of the world yet willingly choose this day to serve Him in faithfulness because they’ve tasted and seen that He is good.

He is good because His essence, nature and identity are all good, he can be no other. For He is perfect in essence, nature, and dealings. A righteous judge, a holy mediator, and spotless arbitrator who is not against those He pleads the case for but for them. For He is one God in three persons Father, Spirit, Son… The Lion and the Lamb, the King whose rule is righteous, the prophet whose speaks authoritatively as God, and the priest who makes the final sacrifice for sin offering himself in our place.

See verse seven… The one who conquers will have this heritage.

Revelation 12:11 “11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

Conquer…. Overcome….

Romans 8:35–39 “35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Do you want newness in your life? Tired of always searching for purpose and never finding it? God will do a new work in you today.

Christ is preparing for us a place, are you prepared to arrive at your final destination? Church we will soon dwell with God, so let us prepare ourselves now that we by the holy Spirits power walk with Him now.