All Things New
Revelation 21:1-7
All Things New
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Never do I perform a graveside service for a child of God except I read this passage of God’s comforting Word. It provides a statement of hope in the face of the last enemy – death. Those who remain and who bear the memory of that fellow Christian are given a most precious word to hold to by the hope presented in this text. The first sermon I ever preached, now nearly thirty years ago, was from this text. Obviously, the words which the Risen Christ gave to His servant John and which were faithfully recorded in this passage are of deepest significance for me.
Despite the meaningful connotations this text holds for my life and service, I have not often spoken from it. It seems almost too holy … too sacred, pointing as it does to that blessed hope which is still future. Yet this is the text recommended by the Canadian Council of Churches for the week of prayer for Christian unity in this penultimate year of the second millennium, and other churches will focus on this text throughout this week. May God Himself give us insight and wisdom as we weigh His Word and apply them to our own lives.
I assume that those Christian leaders who selected this text for the week of prayer for Christian unity wish the professed churches of the Living God to focus on their unity. As I read the text I am struck by the thought that we find no comfort in this text should we claim our religion unites us. There is but one thing which can unite the people of God, and that is their relationship to Him. This relationship is all of grace. We cannot make God accept us by our own efforts, but if we are accepted by Him our life and work will reflect that acceptance.
The Fount of Christian Unity is Christ Himself — Take note of how this passage begins. The first word in our translation is then – kai;. This copulative conjunction points us back to that which has preceded. That which John sees beforehand is the reign of Christ on earth and the rebellion of fallen man despite gracious and perfect rule by Christ. After that rebellion is put down, John sees the last judgement of the wicked. Those words which are written in those five verses concluding the twentieth chapter are grim. Frankly, no preacher has the right to read those words if they fail to move him to compassion.
Did you notice that the verse which follows our text is likewise exclusionary? That dark text identifies those who are excluded from the celestial city. It warns the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who abuse substances [cf. the literal wording of the Greek], the idolaters and all liars of the second death, the fiery lake of burning sulphur. There is a unity to be discovered in this text; but it is a unity which is centred in the Living God who transforms lives and makes us new in His Son. How can I speak to such an assembly and not warn with deepest compassion that if somehow you are not prepared for that awesome day you shall surely face the second death. He who is born but once must die twice; he who is twice born shall die but once.
Focus on the source of Christian unity revealed in this text. Though bracketed by the dark notes identifying those excluded from glory the text states that it is the Living God Himself who unifies eternally. There is a day when the dwelling of God shall be with men. God Himself will live with men. The blessed who are included in that glorious day will be known as the people of God. God Himself will be with them and be their God. I long to see Christ the Lord, but in my heart I know that I shall not treat Him as some familiar friend. He is God and worthy of praise and honour and glory.
We read of One who is seated on a throne. That One identifies Himself as the One who makes everything new. He continues by claiming the title the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, and offers Himself as God to all who overcome. We have met this One before in reading this book. As John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, the veil separating time and eternity was pulled aside and John heard the voice of God and saw the Risen Son of God. The Alpha and the Omega is one of the titles of the Lord God [Revelation 1:8], but when the Risen Christ begins to speak to John, He identifies Himself as the First and the Last [Revelation 1:17], an equivalent title. As the Son of God concludes the Apocalypse, He again identifies Himself, appropriate the titles of God: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [Revelation 22:13].
The unity which is witnessed in glory is that around the Person of Christ the Lord. Even the name by which we are commonly known and by which we identify ourselves speaks of that unity. We call ourselves Christians. We identify with Christ. We claim His death in our place and worship Him as Lord of life. We follow Him. We willingly take upon ourselves His Name.
In one of the Epistles of John we read of that unifying truth as the aged saint warns the people of God against being deceived. Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work [2 John 7-11].
Do you see the import of this warning? Some, even calling themselves Christians, walk about in the world. It is not the Name which identifies us; it is the truth. Is Jesus very God? If not, we are not Christian. Did He die a sacrificial death for sinners? If not, we are not Christian. Did He conquer death, raising from the dead? If not, we are not Christian. Do we receive the forgiveness of sin by faith in Him – faith without works? If not, we are not Christian. The centre of our unity is Christ Himself.
There is a truth here which must be emphatically stated. In eternity we shall be united in Christ. Should it come as a surprise that in the moment which we call now we are united in Christ? As a servant of the Living God, a minister of Christ Jesus the Lord, I am unequivocal in stating that I have no unity with anyone who denies these essential, fundamental, historic, orthodox Christian truths. Jesus is very God in human flesh. He died because of my sin – and because of your sin. He is alive, having been raised from the dead. He ascended into the glory from whence He is coming again. By faith in Him, and by faith alone, I enjoy the forgiveness of sin. It is this eternal Word, authoritative and accurate, which teaches me these truths. All who embrace to these precious truths share a common heritage as the people of God. With the Psalmist I say:
I am a friend to all who fear you,
to all who follow your precepts.
[Psalm 119:63]
With that same Psalmist I challenge those who reject these truths:
What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
You hate my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
[Psalm 50:16]
The saints of an earlier era were wont to say, Say not thou hast royal blood in thy veins save thou darest prove it by a holy life. Because you go to church no more makes you a Christian than living in a garage makes you a Mercedes Benz. Because you were baptised no more makes you a Christian than eating bagels and lox makes you Jewish. It is by faith in the Living Son of God that you are made alive in Him, and having been born anew you share in the unity of the Faith. Amen.
The Focus of Christian Unity is Service to Our God — In that day in which John saw a new heaven and a new earth, the full purpose of Christian unity will be revealed. It is no different now, but then the purpose will be fully recognised. We are saved to serve Christ the Lord. If you think to serve in order to be saved, you error with eternal consequence. Salvation always has this singular purpose, that those saved will honour Him who saves by living to glorify Him. If you consider the gift of life to be but a fire insurance policy, you are in error and have yet to grasp the glorious purpose of His gift of life.
The service we will render Christ will be seen in three spheres which are ultimately fully revealed in eternity. First, there will be New Worship — Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Worship is such a controversial area of Christian service. Some endeavour to lose themselves in the act. Others emphasise control. Some worship as they explore new areas of God’s glorious presence. Others seek to fully grasp the fullness of that which has been revealed. Tragically, it is possible to become so caught up in the mechanics of worship that we fail to worship.
What is it to worship the Living God? What does it mean to worship the Risen Son of God? Worship flows from a sense of awe before God. To worship God is to permit oneself to be lost in marvel before Him and fascination with His grace and power. It is to adore Him as God … holy and righteous. Since our God is infinite in power and glory, there shall be an eternity in which we can explore every facet of His glorious being, for He will live with His people and He will be their God. Since we are but mortal, can we ever exhaust the wonder of exploring every aspect of that which He has chosen to reveal? Walk with the Master for a lifetime and you will not exhaust the greatness of His goodness, the glory of His grace, the marvel of His mercy, the possibilities of His power, the ramification of His righteousness. The more we know of the Lord our God, the more intense and the more prolonged our worship.
Whereas we once said prayers, in worship we will pray. Whereas we once thought to secure God’s favour, when in worship we will praise Him for His mercies. Whereas we once thought to do our duty through our liturgies, we will then rejoice in worship in His presence. That individual who is saved is transformed and the first evidence is that the saved person wants to spend time in the presence of Him who saves. In this desire to worship, the people of God shall be united. What shall then be perfected in His presence is dimly glimpsed from time-to-time in the present. As we recognise the presence of Christ in a fellow believer we are able to focus on the Lord who redeems us each one and rejoice in His common grace.
Service to God is seen in a New Witness — He will wipe every tear from their eyes. Though redeemed by faith in the Son of God, I am a creature of this earth. My existence is bounded by the experience of this moment called now. I cannot imagine an existence without tears. The sorrow of this life can easily overwhelm us at times, and even those saints who have long walked with the Lord may despair.
Earlier, John had seen those coming out of the Great Tribulation period which is yet to come upon the earth. When asked of their origin he confessed that he did not know. The elder who quizzed him instructed him responding with these beautiful words. These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore,
they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat upon them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd;
he will lead them to springs of living water.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
[Revelation 7:14-17]
That is a beautiful thought, is it not? God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. It is but an iteration of the words which the Apostle to the Gentiles has written in the letter to the Church in Rome.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently [Romans 8:18-25].
In a few short verses the Apostle continues the divine instruction by challenging: If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord [Romans 8:31-39].
This is a statement of confidence, of Christian hope. In a world defined by a spirit of despair, such a statement is a witness to that which is new within the heart of the Christian. That something new is the indwelling Spirit of God who keeps us from despair and impels us to witness to the joy of knowing the One who conquered death.
Throughout the world, week-after-week, Christians partake of the continuing ordinance which is variously known as Eucharist or as the Communion Meal. That meal is a witness to Christian Faith, for in the meal we remember and confess the love of our Saviour for His people. We partake of the meal in remembrance of Him according to the Word [cf. 1 Corinthians 11:24,25]. It is also a confession of fellowship with Christ and with others, for we partake of the meal ejn ejkklhsiva/ … as a church [1 Corinthians 11:18]. It is distressingly easy to overlook the fact that the meal is also a statement of anticipation – a statement of witness to our hope in His coming. Jesus taught that we are to eat the break and drink the cup, proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes [1 Corinthians 11:26].
We glorify Christ our Lord when we accept His promise and live in anticipation of the fulfilment of that promise. John spoke of the transformation which will be evident in our lives when we live a life of witness, a life of anticipation of His fulfilled promise. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure [1 John 3:1-3].
At last, our service before the Lord shall be marked by a New Walk — There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Our lives in this earth are defined by death and mourning and crying and pain. This is the result of living in a world cursed by the fall of our first parents. One of the dark chapters of the Word of God is the Fifth Chapter of Genesis. You will no doubt recall that the chapter is a genealogy of Adam’s descendants. In all, eleven generations from Adam to Noah are named. Each individual named, with the sole exception of Enoch, concludes with the sombre notation and then he died. If Adam had doubted the dreadful effects of sin, the first cemetery served to convince him. The life of each of these patriarchs is defined by a hyphen. Born — Died! All of life is summed up with a hyphen. Talk about depressing!
The tragedy of buying into a philosophy defined by this life is that it leads us into either of two extremes of life. Either we despair and lose hope, or we choose to try to grasp the elusive brass ring. We either give up and become one of those pathetic creatures who is dead at twenty-five and buried at eighty-five, or we decide that since we only go around once we will grab all the gusto we can. In either case, the focus of life becomes oneself. In the former, we bemoan our situation and surrender to despair. In the latter we decide that all we have is our own pleasure. Both are examples of lives which have no root and thus have no hope. Neither the stoic nor the hedonist has hope.
That one who knows the Lord, or rather who is known by the Lord, enjoys a life marked with confidence. The walk of the Christian reflects victory in Christ. In Christ and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence [Ephesians 3:12]. Though I may grieve here, I do not despair. Though I may sorrow here, I am not defeated. What else do the Apostle’s words mean? The child of God looks forward to something better, even if pressed out of shape by the cares of this life. That which is better and which is anticipated is experienced with increasing joy here and now.
Every preacher learns all too quickly that his parishioners will require comfort. They will experience painful separation as their loved ones take their leave one-by-one. Each will know what it is to mourn, to cry, to experience pain. I know that some wish preachers wouldn’t speak of death, but so long as people continue to die we are compelled to address the grief arising from the last enemy. Consequently, the statistics on death are pretty amazing … one out of one die. Yet we have a glorious message of victory which can comfort and console as it creates hope.
In this hope we are kept from discouragement as we face opposition and pressure. Those whose lives are touched by our determination to honour Christ become a letter from Christ, a letter written with the Spirit of the Living God on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence comes through Christ [2 Corinthians 3:3,4]. We recognise this new walk and rejoice in all who share in it with us. In eternity we will rejoice in the presence of our God in His mercy shown to all who have been born into that eternal kingdom.
The Freedom of Christian Unity is Realised Only in Christ — It is not without reason that John speaks of a new heaven and a new earth. Tragically, it is only as the old passes away that we can realise the freedom which is ours in Christ the Lord. It is the intention of God that I be free in Christ, as the Apostle has said: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free [Galatians 5:1]. I am free from thinking myself superior to another. I am free of thinking that I deserve divine consideration. I am free of the need to exalt my race, my culture, my religion before God or before man. I am complete in Christ the Lord.
There are those who say that I must earn God’s mercy and love. To such individuals I only ask, “How much doing will suffice to satisfy Him who is perfect?” No, His mercy is offered by grace and His salvation is all of grace; I receive that gift of life freely in Him. I cannot earn His love. This is according to His own precious Word which teaches us that it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do [Ephesians 2:8-10]. Take careful note that those who are saved are saved with a purpose of glorifying the Saviour through the good works which He prepared in advance for us. We work, not to merit His grace, but because we have received His grace.
Someone has said that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. In this, they spoke a great truth. Inside the ark of His salvation we are delivered from the coming wrath. It is a beautiful picture which is painted in that ark which Noah built, for within are those who are delivered through the waters of the flood. The snail which crawled over the threshold of the door to the ark is just as saved as the eagle who swooped down from the skies. There is but one door to salvation, and it is faith in the Son of God. Isn’t this the Word of our Lord Himself? I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life [John 5:24].
There is a day, I know not when, when all the saints of God shall be gathered in the presence of the Living God. There is a day known only to the Father, when Christ shall call His people home. It is a day of unity, when we, the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven shall have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. There, in the presence of thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly we shall have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood [Hebrews 12:22-24]. That day shall be one in which we shall for the first time worship in freedom.
I wish I could say that I worship God perfectly now. I don’t. Neither do you. Our minds are distracted because we are yet of this earth. This is not an excuse; it is an acknowledgement. It is a confession that we are responsible to honour Him now, not waiting until we are perfected in glory. If the text means anything, however, it confronts us with the truth that our unity is not merely external … it must be from the heart. Moreover it must arise from a heart made new by faith in the One True God, Jesus Christ. If we do not share this, we deceive ourselves. Though we may be gracious to one another we cannot love one another deeply from the heart until we are made new in Christ.
I would be remiss if I did not urge you to review your own heart. Is the unity for which you long, merely that of the outward man? Or do you long for the unity which arises from Christ’s presence? If you live but for this life, then you can never know the unity of which this text speaks. Does not the Spirit of God call you to faith in Christ even now? Here in this assembly, as the pastors of our various churches have united to declare our common faith, does not the Holy Spirit await our confession of unity in faith?
We come from differing traditions and from several communions. One truth binds us together, and that is that all must believe the Good News that Jesus died because of our sin and that He raised for our justification. He has presented Himself as our great sacrifice and is declared to be the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead. Our responsibility is to believe this Good News and receive Him as Master.
Perhaps it is that one someone has yet to believe this truth presented long years ago. Hear the Word of God. If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved… for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9-13]. Where you sit you may call to Him who loves you and who gave Himself for you. If you pray, “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner. Have mercy on me and receive me as your child. I believe that you died because of my sin and raised that I may live,” you too may enter into the unity of the Faith.
If you prayed to receive Christ as Lord, I urge you to tell your pastor that he may rejoice with you and instruct you more fully in the Faith of Christ the Lord. If you have no church home, I encourage you to speak with a pastor even this evening to begin to seek out that place where Christ would have you serve. Having trusted Him, I encourage you to serve Him with new worship, confessing Him before men and before angels. I encourage you to serve Him with new witness as you rejoice in His grace and goodness. I encourage you to serve Him with a new walk as you begin to live a life of confidence. Amen.