The Eternal City
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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.”
End Times Series
One Reason I mentioned before why we have to study the teaching on the end times is so that we are going to be prepared for what lies ahead.
I will be remiss, if I do not tell you the other reason why we need to know and understand what awaits us in the last days.
This is the more exciting reason - IT IS TO GIVE YOU ALL HOPE!
This is not hope as the world knows it (Examples),, things will turn around for me.. I will stage a comeback (Nuggets)
I talk about a Glorious Hope!
I will be a bad pastor if I only talk about — what have you heard me say so far during this sermon series.
“We live in perilous times.”
“Things are gonna get worse before they get better”
I will shortchange you if I do not talk of the glorious promise..
When I am heard proclaiming “Jesus is coming soon” a lot of times they take it to only be that apocalyptic tone, the end is coming, Jesus is going to judge you..
Yes Jesus is coming as a judge, but remember this,, He will appear as a fearsome judge to the unsaved. But if you are saved..
On the Second Coming of Christ:
If you belong to Jesus Christ today --- HE IS COMING FOR YOU AND NOT AFTER YOU!
Be excited when you hear Jesus is coming soon — SAY IT WITH ME:
JESUS IS COMING SOON
MARANATHA!
say with English accent, then with Filipino..
If you’re Korean it’s Maranatha. (accent on the second syllable)
It time to get all excited church. Yes, The coming of Jesus means the end of the world but listen to this:
THE END OF THE WORLD IS THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD THAT GOD CREATED
The world will be redeemed to its perfect state.
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.
Why the New Heaven?
Types of Heaven in the Bible.
Atmospheric Heaven.
Celestial Heaven.
Third Heaven - Where God is.
Mention The Third Heaven from Paul in 2 Corinthians 12.
Study the New Heaven.
A New Earth.
The sea was no more, no more sea does not mean no more water but it means that the new earth will have a different arrangement as far as water is concerned.
In our present day, the sea can represent danger, the ocean is beautiful (one of my greatest fears) can you picture yourself being in the middle of the ocean, alone at night. The oceans and the seas remind us of storms. It also reminds us of separation of lands or major continents, perhaps everyone will have access to the city of God, the new Jerusalem.
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.
What is the most beautiful city you’ve been to? Maybe if you’re married you’ve been to Paris and think the place is romantic and unforgettable. Many regard America as the most beautiful country, the song America the beautiful tells of how America is so blessed that God shed His grace on it and crowned her good from sea to shining sea.
Guia and I have seen Jerusalem and still remember the beauty of the city as seen from the Mount of Olives,, we beheld the holy city in its splendor, but that will be a thing of the past someday it will be regarded as the old Jerusalem,,
There will be a New Jerusalem that will be so beautiful.
No matter what you think the most beautiful city or country may be, imagine a place that is infinitely more beautiful. That is the New Jerusalem.
Image of the New Jerusalem here.
The New Jerusalem is:
1. A Holy City. (Revelation 21:27)
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.
The New Jerusalem is:
2. A Prepared City (John 14:1-6)
2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
The New Jerusalem is:
3. A Beautiful City.
“prepared as a bride on her wedding day”. Married men, wasn’t your wife so beautiful on your wedding day? I’m not saying it’s downhill from there.. you get the point..
The beauty of the redeemed church of Jesus is like a bride adorned for her husband.
The New Jerusalem is all these: holy, prepared, and beautiful but....
The Most Important thing about the Holy City to come is that God Himself dwells there.
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.
When it comes to the presence of God, we look at
Transcendence vs. Immanence.
Transcendence - God is in the third heavens, dwelling in the highest and in many ways he seems distant. Many believe that our ultimate destiny is that we will go to that place where the transcendent God is.
Immanence - Is that God is already close to us and actually in us.
Isaiah 7 and Matthew 1 calls Jesus Christ Immanuel.
Immanuel - God with us
There are two ways by which Jesus is God with us. The Incarnate Christ.
First, He is God Who became man,
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Second, He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit Who He has given to us.
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
This is why the message today about the heaven which is to come is really a message of hope.
If you have given your life to Jesus and He lives in you, you have a glorious hope. That glorious hope is that you will be in a place so beautiful that there are no words to describe.
The Apostle John with his limited sight and understanding cannot fully describe what he saw...
The eternal city is so wonderful that the best way John found to describe what it is by telling us what it is not ----- that is by the words
No More!
And I’ll explain..
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.”
In the new heaven, in the eternal city, there will no more tears, no more mourning, no more pain, no more sickness, no more death, for the former things have passed away.
I can imagine how this was received by the churches that read these words in the time of John. For many followers of Jesus were suffering, in persecution, many were being tortured and many of them had died. They were encouraged beyond measure!
These words are meant to encourage us all today.
Some of you are going through grief, in the loss of a loved one - Loren, your brother Jerson…we sympathize with you in your pain.. in the eternal city there will be no more death. All of us who have lost a believing loved one will someday be reunited with them in eternal glory.
Is your life filled with emotional pain, anxiety in your daily lives, frustrated about life?
The Eternal God knew what you are going through today even before you were born.
Listen:
The Eternal God tells you about the coming Eternal City to Give You and Eternal Hope.
Someday everything will become new:
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.”
I am making everything new, and My words are faithful and true — be encouraged today...
The old heaven and earth, the old world marred by sin, will someday pass away but the word of the Lord will remain, He remains faithful and true..
Remember Jesus’ words from the Olivet Discourse which we studied a few Sundays ago....
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
New heaven and new earth means the old heaven and the old earth will pass away and a new heaven and a new earth will come… but that is not the ultimate story.
What Jesus said, His words will never pass away.
At the center of all this is the Lord’s faithfulness
In the End, God will be glorified!
He is glorified.
Marie Anne
I held her hand, and prayed, through her suffering of the present time, we can only hold on to the faithfulness of the Lord and that His word remains true.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
There is an eternal hope.
Altar Call.