Easter Changed Everything
Revelation 22:1-5
Englewood Baptist Church
Easter Morning, March 23, 2008
I was born and raised in the North. I went to kindergarten in the North, then elementary school, then high school, and then college. The first 22 years of my life were spent in Northern States. Then I met my wife and everything changed. I married into the South and I have really loved living in the South, but it certainly has taken some adjustments. I have had to acclimate to a new place.
In the South…
I can’t order a Pop. I order a Coke. Dr. Pepper is a form of Coke.
We don’t have snowplows down here. We just cancel school and buy 3 loaves of bread and 2 gallons of milk at the first sign of moisture.
The plural form of you is simply, “Ya’ll.” The more you use it, the more you fit in.
This is a different place, but it’s a wonderful place to live.
In the Bible, there is a lot of talk about place. Adam and Eve were put in a place called the Garden of Eden. Moses received the 10 Commandments at a place called Sinai. Elijah defeated the prophets of Baal at a place called Carmel. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in a place—of all places—in a dirty stable in Bethlehem. The Bible mentions all kinds of places, but there is one glorious place that is described throughout Scripture where everything is different, where everything is new, where everything is changed.
Jesus said in John 14:
I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. John 14:2b-4)
Today is Easter, the Day that we celebrate an empty place—the empty tomb of Christ. We rejoice in the truth that the grave could not hold him. He did not stay in that place. He was the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was swallowed by the whale and spit out three days later, so Christ was swallowed up by the earth, and spit out three days later. He lives, and because he lives, I can face tomorrow. And because he lives, I am going to a better place. Easter changes everything. Jesus was raised from the dead and so shall I be.
In the book of Revelation, God gives us some details about that place. We get a picture of our final destination, the ultimate place called Heaven. There is much detail in these chapters, and much of it is symbolic. Some of it is hard to understand. But I want to shine a spotlight on Rev.22:1-5, and help you understand how stunning and striking is this place called heaven. Because of Easter, we can now focus our eyes and our hearts on another place.
Read Revelation 22:1-5.
In this beautiful passage of Scripture, there are six enormous differences described—differences between the place we now call home and the place we will one day call home.
What’s Different About Heaven?
1. We never die. (vv.1-2)
Look at vv.1-2…
There are two basic things that human beings must have in order to live: water and food. Life is sustained through these basic ingredients. Without them, we die. And in heaven there is a river of life, there is living water.
I remember in high school. I was on the basketball team and our coach always saved conditioning for the end of practice. We dreaded it like the plague. But about 5:15, he would blow his whistle and he would sign, “Everybody on the line.” And we would all find our way to the end of gym. And he’d say, “Set of 5…Go.” And we would run down and back 5 times. When that was over. We’d do it again. And then again. Sometimes again and again depending on what kind of practice it was.
And when the torture was finally over, there would be this line at the water fountain. And I remember that moment when I finally reached the fountain and I sucked in that water, and just inhaled it as quickly as possible. It felt so good going down and it was so refreshing. But I couldn’t stay too long, because suddenly, I’d get a foot in my backside, and someone waiting in line would say, “Come on, Mandrell. What are you a fish? Share the water.” And I’d have to move away from the refreshing fountain of life.
In heaven, there is a fountain of water that flows from the throne of God. David said in Psalm 46:4, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” And in this new place, we all have access to the life giving water that gives eternal life.
But it’s not just water, there is food. There is fruit that hangs on the tree of life. V. 2, “On each side of the river stood the tree of life…”
Now there is special significance here when God mentions the tree of life. The tree of life ties all of the Bible together. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s plan is complete. What do I mean by that? Look back at Genesis 3. After Adam and Eve sinned, this is what happened:
So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:23-24
Because of man’s sin, he was restricted from access to the tree of life. And because he could not reach the tree of life, his body would begin to die. God would not contend with his sinful heart forever. He would go to a grave.
But in this new place—this place that Jesus went to prepare following the first Easter—in this place there is no flashing sword that keeps a man out. Instead, right there in the center of the City of God is abundant fruit that is available at all times. Every single month it is bearing fruit. The symbolism there is rich and meaningful. What it means is—no more death.
Can you imagine a place where there is no such thing as Goodbye? I want to live there.
2. We are healed. (v.2)
Notice the leaves of the tree at the end of verse 2. It says, “And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” That word nations can translated “peoples.” It means that everyone in heaven is healed. And there is no more suffering and sickness. There are no hospitals in the city, no mental institutions, no rehabilitation centers, no alcoholics anonymous meetings, none of those things. Why? Because Isaiah 53 says, “By his wounds, we have been healed.”
A British factory worker and his wife were excited when, after many years of marriage, they discovered they were going to have their first child. This man eagerly relayed the good news to his fellow workers. He told them God had answered his prayers. But they made fun of him for asking God for a child.
When the baby was born, he was diagnosed as having Down Syndrome. As the father made his way to work for the first time after the birth, he wondered how to face his co-workers. “God, please give me wisdom,” he prayed. Just as he feared, some said mockingly, “So, God gave you this child!” The new father stood for a long time, silently asking God for help. At last he said, “I’m glad the Lord gave this child to me and not to you.”
As this man accepted his disabled son as God’s gift to him. And he put his hope in Easter—that one day, those in Christ would receive new bodies, and his son could walk the streets of gold without mockery or ridicule. This father put his trust in Scripture that there is healing in heaven. There are no wheelchair ramps reaching to the throne of God. No canes or walking stick. When Jesus rose from the grave, he rose with an indestructible, physical body…just like the one that we will have. We will have physical bodies that never get sick or lame.
3. We get the honor of serving and enjoying God. (v.3)
V.3, “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.”
One of the most common misconceptions about heaven is that it will be boring. Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once wrote:
“I don’t believe in an afterlife, so I don’t have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse. –Isaac Asimov
This man is completely clueless about the reality of heaven and hell. It has been said that you should travel to heaven for the climate and travel to hell for the company. Let me tell you, heaven will have a lot more to offering than strumming a harp, and in hell, there will be no good company. Many people envision hell as a place where they hang out with friends, shoot pool, play cards, and tell jokes. They need to read the Bible because it is a place of isolation, torment and misery. The pleasures of Earth are not found in hell.
When the Bible says that we will serve the Lord, that means that there will be things for us to accomplish. We will have interests and hobbies and relationships to enjoy. Think about all the things on Earth that you would like to do, but you cannot because of limitations of time or money.
In his book, the Biblical Doctrine of Heaven, Wilbur Smith says,
In heaven we will be permitted to finish many of those worthy tasks which we had dreamed to do while on earth but which neither time nor strength nor ability allowed us to achieve.
–Wilbur Smith
When I was in college, the Lord gave me a great friend named Jim. Our hearts were knit together and we both grew in our faith by leaps and bounds in those 4 years in Indiana. Since graduation, however, he and his wife have moved to Michigan, started a church, and had three children. Likewise, I have moved to Tennessee, taken leadership of a church, and had nearly 4 children. And this is the sad truth…I have talked to Jim’s voicemail more in the last year than I have talked to Jim. And the same is true of him. I wish I had more time with him. But here is the glorious truth: in heaven, I’ll have the time in the world! All those things I wish I could do now, I can do in heaven. I will serve the Lord there and reign with him forever. Look at the end of v.5, “they will reign with him forever.” Does that sound boring to you?
4. We get to see the face of God. (v.4)
All throughout Scripture, the greatest desire of godly people was to see the face of God—up close and personal. David wrote in Psalm 27:4,
“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”
That’s the one thing that David wanted—to gaze upon His beauty. And in the Old Testament, this wasn’t possible. It was a well-known truth that anyone who saw God would surely die. His presence would consume them.
In fact, in the Old Testament, there were two chambers in the Temple. Walk in the front door, and you enter the Holy Place. Only priests were allowed to enter that place and they had to go through a series of purifications. But then, there was a curtain that separated that room from the next one which was called the Holy of Holies. That room was where God’s presence would dwell. Only one man could enter that room—the high priest. He could enter one time a year to offer a sacrifice for the people. And this is what tradition tells us. The High Priest was required to wear a rope around his ankle in case he died inside that room for no one else would enter without fear of immediate death. That was how holy God was and how sinful mankind was.
But in heaven, our filthy stains are gone. There is no more curse. V.4 says, “They shall see his face.”
With the rise of internet technology, the world has become a different place. The computer has opened up new avenues for relationships. It used to be that a man met a woman at church, or at a party, or at a wedding. Nowadays, people are finding love over the internet. There are couples in this church that met over the internet. Now, I was never involved with internet romance, but if I had to guess, there is a great freedom in communicating through cyberspace. There is very little risk. You can really get to know a person by writing back and forth. Often times, people are more honest and thoughtful in writing than they are in speaking. So you can grow close to a person through this distant form of communication. But at some point, there has to be a face-to-face encounter. One of those people has to take the risk and say, “Can I see your face?” The relationship goes to a whole new level. Why? Because when I see your face, our relationship becomes personal.
In the book of Exodus, Moses asks to see God’s face. And God says, “Sorry, that’s not possible.” But, keep reading your Bible, and guess what? On the other side of Easter, things are changed. For recorded in the book of Revelation, we are told that heaven is a place where we see the face of God.
If there is one person in all the Bible that longed for heaven the most, it was God’s servant Job. Everything he hoped in on Earth was taken from him. Yet he did not curse God. Instead, he opens his mouth and says,
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth…I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me. Job. 19:25-27
That should the prayer of all the saints. The greatest gift that God could you is himself. It’s what every human heart longs for. And in heaven, our greatest desires are satisfied.
5. We become His personal possessions. (v.4)
Verse 4 says, “His name will be on their foreheads.”
Now when you and I first read that, it seems a little weird. When I got married to my wife, I put on a wedding ring to alert other women that I am taken. I belong to another. The ring is a nice subtle way of communicating possession. What I didn’t do was show up in Cancun on the first day of my honeymoon with swim trunks on my waist, sunscreen on my shoulders, and Sharpie Marker on my forehead declaring, “Lynley.” I didn’t do that. That seems a little extreme so why does the Bible say that His name is on our foreheads.
Let me tell you why. Last week, I went out to get my garbage can from the curb. I was going to pull it up to the house and when I reached the end of the driveway, I saw no green can. But I looked over at my neighbor’s house, and he had one that looked just like mine. And I thought to myself, what a punk! He took my garbage can. Those things are like $80 a piece. And so I walked over there to get a closer look and I could not tell if it was mine or his. So I opened up the can, and guess what? It had a little trash in the bottom. And I reached down to grab it and pulled it up, but nothing had a name on it. So I was standing there in total confusion of what to do. If only I had written Mandrell on my property, then there would be no debate about possession.
In heaven, God leaves no room for debate. On the most visible part of the human body, the forehead—not the foot, not the back, the forehead—is written the name of God. Why? Because never again, will you be lost.
Jesus said of his sheep in John 10,
My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. John 10:28-29 (The Message)
In Heaven, God puts his mark of protection on you forever. You are his greatest treasure and He writes his name on you. There will never be any confusion.
6. We will have no more night. (v.5)
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness. In this new place called heaven, you and I will never feel alone or afraid again. We will never again walk in darkness.
With fresh eyes and a soft heart, listen to this beautiful song, "No More Night."
Invitation Scripture (John 14):
I am going there to prepare a place for you. …you know the way to the place where I am going."
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
