IN THE MIDST — WEEK 14

GOD WITH THEM — FOREVER

Text: Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5 Big Idea: The end of history is not a return to a garden, but the establishment of a City where God’s presence is the permanent, governing atmosphere of existence.

Introduction — We Have Come to the End of the Road

Church, this morning we come to the end of the road in this series.

For week after week, we have pursued one great theme through all of Scripture: God in the midst.

We began in the garden, where man lost the center. We moved through the wilderness, where God placed His presence in the midst of His people. We saw Him dwell in the camp. We saw Him in the land. We saw Him in Zion. We saw the King in the midst of His people. We saw the King enter the city. We saw the Lamb standing in the midst. We saw Christ in the midst of the lampstands, walking among His churches.

And now we come to the final word.

Now we come to the end of the story.

And the end of the story is not emptiness. It is not distance. It is not exile. It is not a few redeemed souls floating away from the world.

The end of the story is this:

God with them. Forever.

That is where the whole Bible has been heading.

This sermon is not merely the end of the series. It is the final reality that gives meaning to everything that came before it.

Why did Eden matter? Why did the tabernacle matter? Why did Zion matter? Why did the temple matter? Why did the incarnation matter? Why did the cross matter? Why did the resurrection matter? Why does Christ walk among His lampstands now?

Because God is reclaiming His center.

Because God is not abandoning His creation.

Because the Lamb did not die merely to rescue sinners from hell in the abstract. The Lamb died and rose to bring His people into the unveiled presence of God forever.

So this morning, I want us to see three great things.

First, the City as the final center. Second, the defeat of the old order. Third, the end of mediation itself.

I. The City as the Final Center

Revelation 21:1–3

John says:

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away…”

And then he says:

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…”

Now stop there.

The final image is not man climbing upward. The final image is not the nations building their own tower. The final image is not humanity engineering its own paradise.

The holy city comes down out of heaven from God.

That is important.

Because the world always imagines salvation in one of two false ways.

Either man saves himself by building his own city. Or man escapes the world and leaves the earth behind.

But Revelation gives us neither.

The city comes down from God.

That means the end of history is not man reaching God. It is God bringing His dwelling to man.

Then John hears the great voice from the throne:

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.”

There it is.

That is the whole series in one sentence.

The tabernacle of God among men.

In Exodus, the tabernacle was carried. In the wilderness, the tribes camped around it. In Zion, the city was built around His holy presence. In Christ, God tabernacled among us. In the Church, Christ walks in the midst of the lampstands.

But here at the end, the tabernacle is no longer a structure set in the middle of the people.

The whole city becomes the dwelling place.

The “midst” is no longer one localized spot. The whole city is the midst.

No more outer court. No more inner court. No more guarded access. No more approaching with distance still intact.

The whole order is transformed by the unveiled presence of God.

And let me press this.

The end of the Bible is not a return to Eden in a narrow sense.

It is bigger than Eden.

Eden was a garden. The end is a city.

Why is that significant?

Because the Bible is not telling the story of humanity merely restored to primitive innocence. It is telling the story of redeemed humanity brought into mature, glorified, covenantal dwelling with God under the reign of the Lamb.

The road does not end in a smaller thing. It ends in a greater thing.

Not less than a garden. More than a garden.

A city.

A city where God dwells. A city where the curse is gone. A city where the King is central. A city where the people of God live forever in His light.

Transition

But if that city is to come, then something has to happen to the old world.

Something has to happen to the order of rebellion, death, curse, and exile.

And that is exactly what John shows us next.

II. The Defeat of the Old Order

Revelation 21:4–5

John says:

“And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain…”

Now hear that carefully.

No more tears. No more death. No more mourning. No more crying. No more pain.

Why?

Because the causes of those things are gone.

Tears are not random. Death is not natural in the biblical sense. Pain is not ultimate. Mourning is not eternal.

These things belong to the old order.

They belong to the world shaped by Adam’s rebellion. They belong to the reign of curse. They belong to the order of exile. They belong to the old creation groaning under sin.

But John says:

“the first things passed away.”

That is a powerful line.

The old order is not repaired. It is not slightly improved. It is not patched together and preserved.

It passes away.

That means the entire order of rebellion is under judgment.

The serpent’s order passes away. The builder’s order passes away. The tower-making order passes away. The temple-corrupting order passes away. The lamp-darkening order passes away.

Everything that resists the rule of God is passing away.

And then the One seated on the throne says:

“Behold, I am making all things new.”

That is not the voice of a helpless bystander.

That is throne-room language.

That is the decree of the reigning King.

He does not say, “I will try to improve things.” He does not say, “I hope history turns out well.” He says, “I am making all things new.”

All things.

Not just your feelings. Not just your private devotional life. Not just your inner world.

All things.

The world you know in its cursed form is not the final version. The pain you know is not ultimate reality. The rebellion of the nations is not permanent. The grief of the saints is not everlasting.

Christ is not preserving the old order. He is abolishing it.

And that means Christian hope is not fragile.

We are not hoping that maybe righteousness will barely survive in a corner somewhere.

No.

The old order is passing away. The throne is occupied. And the One on the throne is making all things new.

Transition

But now John takes us even further.

Because this final city is not merely free from curse. It is filled with life.

And it is not merely filled with life. It is filled with the unveiled presence of God Himself.

III. The River and the Tree

Revelation 22:1–3

John says:

“Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb…”

And on either side of the river:

“was the tree of life…”

Now immediately your mind should go back to Genesis.

The river. The tree. The garden.

But again, do not miss it: this is not Eden simply repeated.

This is Eden fulfilled and surpassed.

In Eden, the tree of life was lost to man after the fall. The flaming sword guarded the way. The door was shut. Man was driven out.

But here, the tree is accessible. The river flows openly. The curse is gone. The nations are healed.

What Adam lost, the Lamb has secured.

And notice something else: the river flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Life flows from the throne.

That means life is not autonomous. Life is not self-generated. Life does not rise from man. Life comes from divine rule.

The throne is central. The Lamb is central. The city lives from the reign of God.

Then John says:

“There will no longer be any curse.”

There it is again.

No more curse.

No cursed ground. No cursed labor. No cursed childbearing. No cursed death. No cursed alienation. No cursed distance.

The whole order of the fall is overthrown.

And that means the final word over creation is not Genesis 3.

The final word is Revelation 22.

The final word is not expulsion. The final word is not sword. The final word is not distance.

The final word is life.

Transition

And yet even this is not the highest point.

The highest point is not simply river. Not simply tree. Not simply no more curse.

The highest point is this:

They will see His face.

IV. The End of Mediation

Revelation 22:4–5

John says:

“They will see His face…”

Church, that may be the highest line in the whole passage.

They will see His face.

For the whole Bible, the presence of God has been mediated through shadows, structures, symbols, and signs.

A garden. A pillar. A tent. An ark. A temple. A city. A lampstand.

Even in the best moments, there was still distance.

Even when God was in the midst, there was still veil.

But now:

They will see His face.

No veil. No outer court. No priestly barrier. No guarded boundary. No indirect reflection.

The mediation is over.

The people of God will behold their God.

And His name will be on their foreheads.

That means they belong to Him completely. That means covenant identity is fully realized. That means there is no confusion left about whose they are.

And then John says:

“they will reign forever and ever.”

Do not miss how glorious that is.

Adam lost dominion through rebellion. Humanity fell in exile. The saints suffered through history. The church endured trial and pressure and sorrow.

But the end is not merely that the saints survive. The end is that they reign.

Not apart from God. Not in competition with God. But under God, through the Lamb, in the glory of redeemed sonship and covenant life.

This is what everything has been moving toward.

Not mere survival. Not mere escape. Not mere forgiveness detached from fullness.

But face-to-face communion with God under the reign of the Lamb forever.

Transition

Now step back and look at the whole series.

Because when you do, you realize that this final vision gives meaning to everything we have studied.

V. The Whole Series Lands Here

Why did Eden matter? Because it set before us the lost center.

Why did the wilderness matter? Because it showed God dwelling in the midst of a pilgrim people.

Why did Zion matter? Because it foreshadowed a city where God would dwell.

Why did Palm Sunday matter? Because the King entered Jerusalem to claim what belonged to Him.

Why did Easter matter? Because the Lamb stood victorious in the midst.

Why did Christ in the lampstands matter? Because the risen Lord governs His Church now as the city in formation.

Everything lands here.

This is the end of exile. This is the triumph of the Presence. This is the King reclaiming His center forever.

The whole Bible is the story of God bringing His people from distance to dwelling, from curse to city, from exile to face-to-face communion.

Key line

The road from the garden ends in the city of God.

Doctrine / Central Claim

The end of history is not a return to a garden, but the establishment of a City where God’s presence is no longer veiled, measured, or resisted, but the permanent, governing atmosphere of existence.

Six Application Points

1. Live as a citizen of the City.

If this is your home, stop living as though the present world is ultimate. Do not anchor your heart in a passing order.

2. Let Christ make you new now.

The One who says, “I am making all things new,” is already at work in His people. Do not wait for glory to begin holiness.

3. Bring the order of the City into your present life.

Your home, your marriage, your business, and your church should begin to reflect the coming order of the King. Let God be central now.

4. Stop thinking like an exile.

Adam was driven out, but in Christ you are being brought in. Do not live with a mindset of abandonment. You belong to the victorious King.

5. Worship as those headed toward unveiled glory.

If the end is seeing His face, then worship now should not be cold, casual, or routine. It should be reverent foretaste.

6. Hope steadily in the final victory of Christ.

Every enemy of Christ is under sentence. Every sorrow is temporary. Every hardship is passing. The King wins.

Call to Repentance and Faith

Church, we are at the end of the series.

We have traced the Presence from the garden to the throne. We have seen the King reclaiming His center. We have heard of the Lamb. We have heard of the city. We have seen where history is going.

But now the question is very personal:

Are you in Christ?

Not, have you listened. Not, have you admired the story. Not, have you stood near the people of God.

Are you in Christ?

Because if you are not, then you are still outside the city.

And if you remain outside Christ, you will remain outside the blessing of His city, His face, His life, and His reign.

So repent.

Repent of building your own center. Repent of your pride. Repent of trying to rule your own life. Repent of clinging to the old order that is passing away.

And believe.

Throw yourself upon the mercy of the Lamb. He is the only entrance. He is the only life. He is the only King.

Do not stand outside what God is bringing down. Come to Christ.

The City is coming. The King is here. Bow now.

Conclusion

The road from Eden does not end in loss. It ends in victory.

The road from exile does not end in wandering. It ends in dwelling.

The road from curse does not end in despair. It ends in river, tree, throne, face, and reign.

This is the final word:

God with them. Forever.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You that the road from the garden ends in the city of God. We thank You that the Lamb who was slain is the anchor of our eternal hope. We thank You that in Christ the curse is broken, the way is opened, and the future is secure. Keep us faithful until the end. Fix our eyes upon the city You are revealing. Teach us to live now as citizens of that coming kingdom. Bring sinners to repentance and faith. Strengthen Your church with hope, holiness, and joy. Rule in our midst now and forevermore. In Jesus’ name, amen.

I can also give you a tighter printable preaching outline version of this next.