Rev CH 21-22
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INTRO
INTRO
I. Where we left off
A. Millenial Reign
B. Final Judgement
II. Where We’re Headed
A. The Point of it All!!
a. What’s God doing, what has the whole bible narrative been moving toward?
B. Video
DIGGING IN
DIGGING IN
I. What it’s really all about (vs 1-9 give us an overview, but increasingly specific as we go)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
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.”
A. It’s all about God dwelling w/creation again!
a. From Gen 4-Rev 20, there has been a separation btwn God’s Space & Man’s Space
1. Man engaged in rebellion against God & sin spread like a pandemic throughout humanity & all creation
2. Sin cannot dwell in the presence o God or it will burn up
3. It has been in God’s heart 2 dwell w/creation
i. So God created a temporary sacrificial system So man could dwell near him
-Tabernacle
-Temple
*These were the place that man could encounter God
*They were always intended to b temporary
ii. Then God took on flesh that God might dwell w/creation
-Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice for forgiveness of sin & 2 make us in2 a new creation
-Jesus ascended in2 heaven & sent the H.S.
iii. Then God could dwell in humanity
-Now a place was no longer necesarry to encounter God
-God dwelt in man so that God could go out to man through his people!
-God has been increasing the extent o his presence among man since the beginning
*Starting w/a man: Noah, then a fam.: Abraham, then 12 tribes: Moses-judges, then a nation: Isr: then people o all nations: Jesus-Church
*Even this last 1 pales in comparison to what will b!!
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
iv. Even w/the H.S. & the gifts & fruit o the spirit, we see God only dimly
-Our experience w/God now is like child’s play compared 2 what will b!!
-Then we will fully know GOD!! That’s the level o awesomeness o...
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
— & look at… —
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,
25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
— & again in… —
3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.
4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
II. What’s it going 2 b like?
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
A. NEW heaven & earth
a. New how?
1. New as in something completely different? throw out the old?
i. Well Jn describes the old having passed away
2. What if Jn is trying to describe something transformed rather than tossing out something old 4 something new
35 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?”
36 You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies.
37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain.
38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish.
i. What if the world as it is…is like a seen which is planted.
-it then sprouts in2 something greater, more glorious!!
ii. It seems that there will b a kind o continuity (connection) btwn what was & will b
- but qualitatively better, greater, awesome-er
-Consider
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
-4 us in Christ the old is gone, the new has come, but there’s defiantly a consistency frm what was & is
— also consider... —
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
B. no Sea…What? (no bodies o water…all desert?)
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
a. Sea is a biblical metaphor=chaos
1. The beast came out of the sea (13:1)
2. seas were considered dangerous by sea-goers
i. treacherous waters have devoured many a ship up until recent decades
b. Chaos, rebellion, & danger will no longer be a threat 2 God’s people.
C. no more sorrow, pain, etc
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
a. The former things that make up a typical day in the life (tragedy, pain, car warning noises)
1. All transformed in2 Joy & gladness, shalom (nothing missing/broken)
II. An ominous warning
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
A. if nothing unclean can enter…which of us can?? What’s the answer
a. How many o us know some1, a frnd, co-worker, relative who fit in2 the “naughty list”
b. It’s like jn…& we are allowed 2 let that reality hang in the air a moment,
1. Then we get an angel drop in & is like, “hey wanna c the Lamb’s wife?
i. What do u expect to see frm Jn next as a description o the wife?
-Here’s what we get:
10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,
III. The New Jerusalem (Jesus’ wife) a place/person??
A. The answer is found in the description o the city
12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—
a. What were the names on the gates??
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
b. What were the names on the foundations?
15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls.
16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.
17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement.
c. What are all these a multiple o? - 12!!
1. The # 12 signifies perfection…often attributed to God’s people as well (remember the census taken in Rev 7…all multiples o 12 equalling 144,000
i. Remember he heard the census o Isr. but saw a great multitude
-What if The Lamb’s wife is both a who & a where?! (for what is a kingdom w/out it’s people & what is a city w/out it’s inhabitance?)
-What is heaven w/out God & his people??
B. When we see Jn’s vision we c a description & - it - looks - AWESOME
a. Full o God’s glory (have 2 read this description…so cool!!)
1. Glory= presence & repute! (everywhere u go there is God!!)
11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
b. All kinds o jewels
c. Gates are made of a pearl Each
d. City & Streets o pure gold
1. Sounds amazing, right??
C. Are these descriptions figurative/literal
a. When God’s kingdom comes, what if when u walk in, u look down & c streets not made o actual gold
1. r u going b like, “not gold…nope, I’m out” bummer
b. What if the point Jn is trying 2 make is that it’s so awesome that the things we think r so valuable r just the building materials
1. Then, what’s the really valuable stuff?? — So great we can’t even comprehend it!!
D. Another ominous warning
27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
a. Last time the warning left 0 glimmer o hope…just let it hang there
1. This time…there’s hope…the Lamb’s book o life…but how do we get our names in that??
2. Once again, the question is allowed to hang there
IV. (Then Jn describes) The river & tree o life
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
A. Where’s the river
a. flowing right through the middle o God’s Kingdom
b. Where’s it flowing frm? - the thrones o God & Lamb
c. what’s the river o life?
— Brings 2 mind: —
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.”
— & —
38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”
39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
1. Is the river of the water of life the same as in Jn 4 & 7?
i. Is this the H.S. flowing down Main St. o God’s Kingdom frm God the father & Son??
- What’s beside the river?
B. The tree o life
a. Where does that sound like?? Garden o Eden?
i. The New Heaven/New Earth is the renewed Garden o Eden. Better, Bigger, Greater than the original!!
b. Describe it’s fruit
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
1. 12 kinds o fruit constantly producing w/no seasons binding it!!
2. why 12 kinds o fruit??
i. 12 = perfection
-The tree supplies a perfect, abundant life, never running out o provision
*The tree is supplied by the H.S. (remember where the tree is found)
3. What o the leaves?
i. Healing o the nations frm
12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
-Does that mean there will be brokenness that needs healing?
-What if Jn’s vision describes a place & a people who are constantly refreshed, enlivened, & reinvigorated?!
V. Final ominous warning
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
A. So, no 1 corrupt may enter, Jesus is coming back & passing judgement 4 all the wrong
a. & we all qualify in the list
B. There’s a lamb’s book o life & those guys enjoy eternity w/God, but how do we get r names in it
a. R they pulling names frm a hat?
C. Take a look @ Jn’s response
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
a. Clear ref back to
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
1. Blessed are the folks who r washed in Jesus’ sacrificial death by repenting & accepting Jesus as LORD & SAVIOR
i.Here we r made new, pure & holy
D. What’s this about let the evildoer do evil, etc found in 22:11?
a. Is the angel suggesting that we hunker down in our lil’ church bldgs while the whole world goes to hell in a hand basket?
b. Look @ what Jn is told 2 do
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
1. Our Job is to tell every1!!
i. Don’t seal up: don’t hide the Gospel… Make it known 2 every1
-Oh, this is 1 more reason why this book wasn’t written to confuse us
*How can we reveal to any1 what we ourselves don’t know/understand
*if the readers in it’s day understood, then we have to look @the book w/their eyes
-To the point:
ii. Folks are going 2 do whatever they do
-Evildoers will do evil
-filthy will do filthy
- righteous will do right
-the holy will do holy
iii. Don’t worry about what they’re doing/how they’ll treat u...
-All we do is tell every1 the Gospel!!
-Next Study
I. Studies After: Options
A. Forgotten God: Francis Chan (7 weeks)
a. This seven-session video resource offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, & follow the H.S.’s direction in our lives. It is designed to initiate & facilitate discussion, interaction & practical application of the message of Forgotten God.
B. If: Mark Batterson
a. If is a powerful little word. Some people are stuck in "if only," trudging through lives marked with regret. But God wants us to live lives marked with possibilities, with the "what if" attitude that looks forward to the future with confidence. Why? Because the answer to "If God is for us, who can be against us?" is "No one." God is always on our side. Every day, in every way.
b. This 8 week course helps us overcome feelings of guilt, fear, & doubt because in Christ there is no condemnation. Unpacking the promises of Romans 8, Mark shows us that we are more than conquerors—right now & forever. Because of that, the possibilities for our lives are limitless.