Revelation 21

Matthew 25:31–46 CSB

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’ “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t take care of me.’ “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help you?’ “Then he will answer them, ‘I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Illus: Lord of the Rings. Christmas Day. Bathroom.

There is much disagreement on .

But are clearly THE END.

Injustice and suffering never escape God’s eye. The prospect of God’s final judgment should bring both terror and assurance.

The new heavens and earth will be free from sin.

Illus: Flood does not remove sin. Bleach verses vinegar. Church in KY

is the positive conclusion of and is the introductory/visionary explanation that is elaborated on more in 21:9-22

The voice of God announces the decent of the New Jerusalem.

God is the Alpha (1:8), the Creator, whose purposes have been expressed since the beginning. Now He shows himself to be the Omega, the Consummator, who brings his purposes to final realization.

The Book of Revelation has been a book of hope, not just prophecy charts and timetables.

God is in control and history is heading to its consummation which will be in Jesus Christ.

But even now we get a foretaste.

Ephesians 1:14 CSB

The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

Hebrews 12:18–29 CSB

For you have not come to what could be touched, to a blazing fire, to darkness, gloom, and storm, to the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of words. Those who heard it begged that not another word be spoken to them, for they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The appearance was so terrifying that Moses said, I am trembling with fear. Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels, a festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to a Judge, who is God of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood of Abel. See to it that you do not reject the one who speaks. For if they did not escape when they rejected him who warned them on earth, even less will we if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven. His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens. This expression, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what is not shaken might remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful. By it, we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.

—We are no longer at the foot of Mt. Sinai we are on the top of Mt. Zion.

All of this testimony from Revelation should provoke obedience and hope even in the face of trials and persecution.

Notice the corresponding nature of Rev—Gen and the themes we find throughout the Bible.

creation—1

Eden/New Jerusalem—2

Communion with God/Marriage Imagery—2

The dwelling place of God—3

The saints as God’s people—3

End of suffering and death—4

new saving acts—5

trustworthiness of Gods Word—5

Living water—6

becoming a son of God—7

warnings to the faithless—8

judgement—8

**Old world made New. Not old world abolished.

and

Romans 8:21–23 CSB

that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

SEA

Romans 8

The removal of the sea is symbolic for the permanent removal of all challenges to God’s order, and hence the peace and stability of the new world.

BABEL tries to reach up to God...

But the NHNE is not a work of mankind…it is all of God and all of Grace as God comes down.