New Heaven and New Earth Part 5

The Alpha and Omega

1. Seated on the Throne.

a. Write these WORDS.

i. Revelation 21:5 (ESV) — 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

ii. This is interesting that this present heaven and earth will pass away but God’s Words never will.

iii. Luke 21:33 (NIV) — 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

iv. Which leads the Bible’s Authority

b. Biblical Authority

i. This is a foundational cornerstone of your Christian faith.

ii. Here is a good definition

iii. Authoritative words are words that impose obligations on the lives of their readers and hearers.

iv. To say that the Bible is authoritative is to say that it governs all areas of human life.

v. This doctrine is known as the Doctrine of Scripture and Revelation

vi. Sola Scriptura holds that Scripture alone, as God’s inspired Word, serves as the church’s inerrant, sufficient, and final authority.

vii. The anchor passage for this doctrine is 2 Timothy 3:16-17

viii. 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV) — 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

ix. I hold to the strictest from of this doctrine. Sola Scriptura

x. One criticism of the charismatic movement is their “word of knowledge” doctrine.

xi. This is a form of divine revelation. They are adding to scripture.

c. Write these words.

i. Carries a heavy weight to them.

ii. God has said that settles it.

iii. We are called to rightly divide the Word.

iv. 2 Timothy 2:15 (BSB) — 15 Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

v. Make every effort

vi. Accurately handle the word of truth.

vii. We can’t say “well I think it means this to me.”

viii. Scripture has one meaning.

ix. Many applications but one meaning.

x. There is no “my truth.”

2. One who sits on the throne

a. It is done

i. This takes us back to the words of Jesus on the cross. “It is finished”

ii. These words mark the completion of redemption.

iii. Jesus’ words in Revelation “It is finished”

iv. These words mark the completion of redemptive history.

v. 1 Corinthians 15:24–28 (NLT) — 24 After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. 25 For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. 26 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” (Of course, when it says “all things are under his authority,” that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) 28 Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.

b. The Alpha and Omega

i. Revelation 21:6 (ESV) — 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

ii. The beginning and the ending of the Greek alphabet.

iii. Revelation 22:13 (ESV) — 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

iv. This says that Christ is the first and last.

v. They both say beginning and the end.

vi. Here Christ is saying that he and he alone is sovereign.

vii. God’s Sovereignty = God’s sovereignty refers to his absolute and unrivaled rule over all his creatures and their circumstances.

viii. This is a precious doctrine in our daily Christian walk.

ix. God is not bound by time space or distance.

x. We are always under God’s watchful care.

3. Heaven’s Citizens

a. The Thirsty

i. This a metaphor for “desperate spiritual need”

ii. Isaiah 55:1 (NIV) — 1 “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

iii. Matthew 5:6 (ESV) — 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

iv. Psalm 42:1–2 (NKJV) — 1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

v. Those who will be redeemed and enter heaven are those who are dissatisfied with their hopeless, lost condition and crave God’s righteousness with every part of their being.

vi. Verse 6b To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

vii. To the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well Jesus promised…

viii. John 4:13–14 (ESV) — 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

ix. The water in all those passages symbolizes eternal life.

x. Those who thirst for and passionately seek salvation are the ones who will receive it and enjoy the eternal bliss of heaven.

b. The Overcomer

i. Revelation 21:7 (NASB95) — 7 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.

ii. Different translations use different words.

iii. Victorious, Conquers, overcomers,

iv. Lexicon = conquer; overcome; prevail. - to win a victory over, as in a contest or military conflict.

v. 1 John 5:4–5 (NLT) — 4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

vi. There is spiritual warfare.

vii. How do we win?

viii. The overcomer is the person who in faith drinks the water of salvation freely offered by God.

ix. Each of the Seven Churches of Revelation 2-3 speak of this.

x. They will “obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for [them]” (1 Pet. 1:4).

xi. They will enjoy perfection of soul and body forever in the bliss of the new heaven and the new earth.

c. I will be his God.

i. Drink the water

ii. Overcomer the battle.

iii. God will be our God.

iv. For a deeper study (cf. Gen. 17:7–8; Ex. 6:7; 29:45; Lev. 26:12; Deut. 29:13; 2 Sam. 7:24; Jer. 7:23; 11:4; 24:7; 30:22; Ezek. 11:20; 34:24; 36:28; 37:23, 27; Zech. 8:8)

d. He will be His Son

i. We have been adopted as children of God.

ii. God’s very own children

iii. Deeper study (John 1:12; Rom. 8:14–17; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1:5; Heb. 12:5–9; 1 John 3:1)

iv. But only in heaven, when believers come into their inheritance, will that adoption be fully realized.

v. 1 Peter 1:4 (NLT) — 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.

vi. Romans 8:23 (ESV) — 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.