When All Time Is New

Many people find something nostalgic about new years. We develop resolutions and pledges that we intend to keep to change our lives; many people see new year day as a time of transition and transformation-they hold onto the hope that this is going to be the best year yet! We sell calendars and planners; journals and stationary that shape our lives around the pattern of January 1- December 31; and honestly, that is important for our lives here on Earth; but it is important to remember that the pattern of years was not established by God.

In Genesis 1:3 we read of God creating light- and the Bible tells us 6 different times that there was evening and there was morning- and that was a day. From there we adopted the 7 days of creation and began to set patterns of weeks based on God’s activity- but that was a human construct; there is no place in Scripture where God sets the time for weeks. And the same can be said for years; years were not established by God in the Bible; there is no point where the Bible tells us that every 365 transitions of day or evening; or that every trip around the sun we are to have a new year. In fact, the new year as we celebrate it is not even universal on Earth- not everyone celebrates the new year when we do. In China the new year is celebrated on a different day every year sometime between Jan 21 and Feb 21; the Jewish new year is celebrated in the fall; the Islamic new year is in November; and the Thai new year is in April. In other words, January 1 is not a universal day of “newness” like we sometimes think it is.

And just to be transparent, that is a little bit of the issue that I have this time of year when I hear some Christians present the blessings on God around the new year like God is holding out good things from them until Jan 1- like God sees us struggling with something and says- oh the end of the year is coming; I’ll just wait.

Verses like Psl 90:4 that says “For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.” remind us that God operates with a whole different concept of time than we do.

But there is a moment in time when God makes all things new- not on Jan 1; not at the beginning of a quarter or even the beginning of a week- but the Bible speaks of the moment when God makes all things new in Revelation 21.

So today we are going to take a few moments and ask some questions about this new creation- we are going to ask the Why, the What, the Who, and the How....

Why must God make all things new?

In a word- brokenness. This world is broken; and all of creation feels it.

God created a perfect world in Genesis 1; all was well and all was in harmony. However, by the time we get to Genesis 3 things have gone off the rails. Adam and Eve eat apple; sin comes in and everything is different.

Romans 5:12 tels us “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”

That sin that came in has had eternal consequences, and at some point the brokenness is beyond repair. It cannot be fixed- it is rotten to it’s core. And in Revelation we see the culmination of history on this Earth as God rolls up his sleeves and lays out the New Heavens and Earth- laying the foundation for perfection once again. This is the reason we read that there will be no tears, grief, pain, or sin in v4.

Romans 8:20–21 ESV

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Jess and I had some termite damage in our house a couple of years ago. We had no idea it was there. The main effected area was in the twins room, under the rug on a flooring board. It was not until we were moving furniture and pulled back the rug until we saw the damage, and then it was too late. Once we found it the boards with the termites we too compromised, there was no repairing the boards- they would never be able to do what they needed to do. The only option left is cutting them out and replacing them with new boards.

What will this new place look like?

We are not told a lot of detail about the new Heavens and Earth. While Revelation 21 goes on to describe the New Jerusalem in great detail we are not given a great picture. However, there are a few things to pay attention to.

First, it begins in v3 that God’s dwelling is with his people. Remember way back in Genesis God, Adam, and Eve had fellowship and walked in the garden together. They were physically together in the Garden. Then, when sin came God could no longer be physically present with them. Since then God’s presence has been with people in different ways throughout the story of the Bible.

In the OT it was in the Tabernacle, dwelling in the Holy of Holies

In the Gospels it dwelt in Jesus taking the form of Immanuel- God with us

In the rest of the NT it is in the Holy Spirit that lives in us.

But now, in Revelation God is once again IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE.

So, the most important thing we need to cling to is that when God makes all things new he will be at the center of it all. His presence is at the center. This is the most important aspect of paradise. Many folks tend to focus on the no more pain, no more tears, no more sadness- but make no mistake those things are byproducts of this central truth- the presence of God is the foundation of paradise.

The second thing that is interesting to note is that the Bible says there will be no more sea. Now, if you are a beach loving person this may sound bad; but this is about more than water and sand. You see, in the ancient world the sea was a place of death and chaos. People would die on the sea- with the weather and poorly built ships; disease on boats; and other horrible deaths people were afraid and saw the water of the sea as the resting place of demons.

So, when the seas are gone there is no chaos- no demons, no evil. The absence of sea is not just the absence of salt water- it is about the destruction of evil and chaos.

For those of us that want a better picture of what it might be like- our best bet is to look backwards to the perfect world God made in Genesis. When people ask if there are animals in heaven I usually say “if there were animals in the first paradise I bet there are animals in the second one.”

Who will be in this new place?

Then God makes a proclamation to John about who it is who will in this new place. Friends, the sad reality is that not everyone gets to this New Heaven and New Earth. Unlike this Earth that is a place for all who are born- this new place God is creating in Revelation 21 is not guaranteed for all. So, God proclaims and John records the 2 opposite groups on the spectrum- those who will be there; and those who will not.

First, those who will. John tells us that it is the one who prevails who will have this inheritance. The one who prevails- carries with it a sense of accomplishment, doesn’t it? Those who prevail by the victory of Jesus over sin and death will inherit this place. Make no mistake, friends, we do not prevail against sin by our work or our accomplishment. No, sin was defeated by Jesus. We prevail because Jesus prevailed- those who inherit Heaven do not do so because they defeat sin; but because they hold so tightly to Jesus in this life they come out in his presence in the end.

Listen to the phrase that God says “I will be his God and he will be my son!” Our adoption is complete in this place. Those who get to experience this new Heaven and Earth are those who have trusted Jesus as their Lord and Savior and now they become full participants in the family of God. I hope that is you today!

But there is sad new in the midst of that great joy, because there are also those who do not make it to this place. We are given a list of 8 characteristics of the kinds of people that do not inherit this place. Now, we read over this list and some of us may get a little nervous. “The Fearful? I certainly wrestle with fear and anxiety in my life, Jon. So I am not getting in?” “Liars! I have told my fair share of lie and untruths in my lifetime. So, I am not welcomed in?” “The sexual immoral? I had my battle with porn, or I had some immoral relationships in the past. What about me?”

Well, the text does not say those who have ever done these things- but those who ARE these things. The Bible makes some clear distinctions between those who tell a lie and those who are liars; those who struggle with keeping God at the center of their lives and those who are idol worshippers.

Also, keep in mind today the promise of Psl 103:12 that God throws our sin as far as the east is from the west. So, all the things that you did before you met Jesus- GONE; the sin and shortcomings that you confess to him and ask for forgiveness- GONE.

How, then, shall we live?

In my opinion, this is the most important question we must ask- not just of this passage, but of every passage of the Bible. The Bible is not a collection of stories or history that is recorded for our pleasure or our knowledge. No, the Bible is a book written by the Holy Spirit that is to impact and change how we live- to help us live lives for Jesus.

But, the answer to how we should live knowing about this new place is found in another passage- it is found in 2 Peter 3:11-13

2 Peter 3:11–13 ESV

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

These three words lie at the heart of Peter’s plea- holiness; godliness; anticipation

We are to live lives of holiness. Now, many think that holiness is reading the Bible, praying, coming to church, and resisting sin. While all of these things are helpful in living holy lives, none of them are in and of themselves holiness. To be holy means to be set apart- to be different than the rest of the world. When we live holy lives we are submitting to God over the world- living our lives as a set apart people.

As one preacher once said “The essential part of Christian holiness lies in giving your heart wholly to God.”

We are to live lives of godliness. The idea of godliness is something that is “like God” or has God-like qualities. Intimidating at a certain level, isn’t it? That we are live with God-like qualities. How can I do that? You may ask. Well, think of it this way. 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. God is the perfect embodiment of love and that all that is in him is love.

But what does love look like? Well, many of us are familiar with 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and the Biblical description of love:

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 ESV

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

So, it seems like one of the best ways that we can evaluate the godliness in our lives is to ask ourselves if our lives are full of patience, kindness, goodness and self control. Are we easily irritable, or boastful, are we full of envy or rude? Do we rejoice in wrongdoing or in the truth?

When I project the qualities of God against the wall and line my life up against it, how do we line up?

We are to live lives of anticipation. I went to the doctor this week, and you know waiting in the waiting room of the doctor is one of my least favorite things. I know that I have an appointment, and I know there is nothing I can do to speed up the process- even if I think it is taking way to long to get here. Then, if you need to use the restroom, or step our for a breath of fresh air- its pretty nerve racking because I am always afraid as soon as I go into the restroom or step out of an ear shot they are going to call my name and if I do not immediately respond they are going to assume I am not there and move past me- anyone else do that? So I sat and waited, one the edge of my seat waiting for the moment my name would get called....

Now, hear me out. We should not wait on the creation of the new heavens and earth like I wait in the doctors office, but in the same way that waiting to hear your name called influences those decisions- the waiting for the promise of Jesus should influence every decision in our lives.

Here’s the bottom line, friends. 2 Days ago it was 2021 and now it is 2022- and if we are dreadfully honest, your life is probably not all that different right now. Even if you have a new year’s resolution it is probably pretty likely that in 2 days it hasn’t produced too much change yet- you may loose that 25lbs this year; but you probably didn’t lose it in 2 days; you may have resolved to spend more time with family; well you probably haven’t had too much challenge to that since NY feel on a weekend and many people were off work Friday; or maybe it was a career based resolution- well most of us have not been to work in 2022 yet. But we have this promise- God makes all things new in an instant.

And here’s the cool part- that same God that will one day remodel all of creation- wants to remodel you too- he wants to reshape your heart, transform your mind; and remake your life. That is the God that we serve today.