Paradise Restored

Introduction: Pictures of Paradise on earth closer to our home than image of heaven.

Our Pilgrimage to Paradise.

The Book of Revelation is the story of that pilgrimage from his view point.

Week 2 - Paradise - Abundance, Tree of Life, Work Purpose, God at the Center, Harmony with God, Harmony with other People, and Harmony with Creation. - Garden Temple

Week 1 - Paradise Lost - Humans chose autonomy from God - decided they know what is best. Sin - The Curse enters creation, and this expels us from Paradise - God, however, is pursuing us.

Week 3: We long to get back home to paradise, and it is a dangerous journey. (robbers, pillagers, difficult terrain) (Sin, the Enemy). But God protect pilgrims to make sure we get Home.

Book of Revelation Describes this Life as a Conflict of Two cities. One led by human reliance on itself - Economic, Political, Military Power led by Greed, Injustice, and the Enemy behind the scenes. But that Jesus will in the end defeat all of the idolatries, and evil in our world by the Word of the Gospel - His mercy, demonstrated in his life, death, resurrection, Spirit, and final judgment.

Week 4: Home is where God Rules, and we find that our way is getting us no where on our journey home - we must repent and turn to Jesus’ and his Good News - that his life, death, resurrection, ascension, sending the Holy Spirit is the only path home.

The Book of Revelation is an encouragement to Pilgrim’s to Conquer by....

Patiently Enduring the hardships of the Pilgrimage

Resisting Evil

Being Faithful to Jesus till Death

Not denying Faith in Jesus

Not relying on riches

Living a Life of Gratitude through service, love

Week 5: And when we do meet God, we come to fully realize our grief, God’s Grace, and a life of Gratitude.

The Book of Revelation is an encouragement to Pilgrim’s to Conquer not by military power, but by....

Patiently Enduring the hardships of the Pilgrimage

Resisting Evil

Being Faithful to Jesus till Death

Not denying Faith in Jesus

Not relying on riches

Living a Life of Gratitude through service, love others

Those who conquer are promised Paradise, a share in this restored home, paradise.

And so this is a hopeful picture for those who believe, because it envisions a close relationship with Jesus in the future, but our need to be close to Jesus in our present struggles to empower us to endure.

What is that picture?

A Picture of Paradise.

Symbolic Language - Word’s can not express how amazing it will be

B. 1. Present with God for Eternity - Presence

Separation from God

God’s dwelling is with humans

Death

Chart of what is undone in -

No more dying

Pain

No more pain

Working for food

Food and water given to you

B. 1. Present with God for Eternity - Presence

C. 2. Free from pain, sorrow, death, disease. - Freedom

D. 3. Sin and the curse is abolished - Saved

E. 4. Never ending supply of Life, the Holy Spirit. -Life

F. 5. We live as the kids of the king. - Children

G. 6. Free from the fear of harm. – Free of Fear

H. 7. Jesus’ Guidance is as instant as light. - Light

I. 8. Culture, Good Works purified and presented to God. – Good Works

J. 9. Diversity of People in Complete Unity - Diversity

K. 10. Jesus rules, and we rule. – Jesus Rules

God Promises to Restore Paradise.

Bible Project Video collage?

Chart of what is undone in -

Seperation from God - God’s dwelling is with humans

Death - No more dying

Pain - No More Pain

Working for Food - Food and water provided so we are free to love each other and care for creation.

Mike Wilkins:

Our eternal destination is not an escape from the material, natural world, it is a purification and intensification of that world. Heaven is not the big retirement in the sky, it is the place where all of God’s purposes for you and for the world come together.

It is sooo good that I had an unbelieving friend ask me, will I know it is even good if there is no bad to compare it to??? Today I have a different answer to that question, because then I was thinking about going to heaven.

1. Just as we are new creations in Christ even now, though you cannot yet see a physical change, so too the earth will be transformed and made a new creation. In the next verse, John sees the new Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven.” This is an important point as we consider the anticipation of Lent: the climax of history, the end of time, does not conclude with spiritual beings rising to heaven but with heaven coming down to earth and radically transforming our world. Ultimately, heaven is not a place you go to, but rather, it is a place that will come to us.

Jerusalem coming down is the presence of God with the full church of all times and all places - Those resurrected who have died before us combined with those living now.

- This means we will have a memory of the transformation - We will know how good it is because we will remember the bad that went before.

It also means that all the good that humanity has produced can be redeemed - Art, Science, Technology. It will be redeemed from any evil purposes it was used for. This is good news for what we do now, is that it has purpose into eternity. What will it be like to watch a baseball game in the new heaven and new earth? No sign stealing controversies that is for sure.

The Lexham English Bible Chapter 3

12 Now if anyone builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, straw, 13 the work of each one will become evident. For the day will reveal it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the work of each one, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work that he has built upon it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but so as through fire.

The most important restoration is our full restoration with God - No temple is needed as the Earth is God’s temple. - Notice all of the elements are there from the Garden

God’s presence,

Tree of Life

Water of Life - flowing out to bring life to the world - Holy Spirit.

Fruit gives God’s life for eternity.

It’s leaves heal all of the nations - reconciliation - no more war, racism, animosity, etc… - All the nations bring their gifts into Jerusalem.

This is why Jesus urged us to repent - He does not want us to miss out on this. Those who want to keep to their way and hold on to the old way and not turn to Jesus will be given what they want - to be excluded from this Paradise, and will be cleansed from it - The imagry here is of the cleansing fire.

Those who do believe can point people as a foretaste of this paradise by the way we pray, love others, and live a life of Gratitude.

Conclusion: Holy Ghost Stories are glimpses of the New Heaven and New earth breaking in.

We don’t want you to miss out - Align yourself with Jesus.