“When Heaven Comes Down…Our World Is Changed”
Rev. 21:1-5
Christmas is over. Weeks, if not months, of advertising, shopping, planning, and anticipation have come to an end. What’s left is cleaning up, catching up, and – for some – paying up. Within a few short weeks there will be a return to normalcy – whatever that normalcy looks like, different as it is for each of us. And the reality is that normalcy is not necessarily a good thing. The overt acts of kindness lessen, politeness dims, peacefulness fades, love weakens and a world of competition kicks into full gear. Nations still war against each other, religions still fight one another, and Christians still harass one another. Witnessing is still difficult and Christians are still opposed in the public square. Nothing appears to have changed, even though we celebrated that in Jesus’ birth heaven came fully down.
Revelation was written for just such a people – a people for whom being Christian had lost its shine, who are discouraged about the state of the church and the world, who are threatened by opposition, who wonder if Jesus will ever really change our world. After all, there was a Roman military presence everywhere they looked, taxes were high, poverty was rampant, unemployment was on the rise, and famine was becoming more common. As if that was not enough, the Roman government was beginning to show its intolerance of Christians. That, in fact, was why John had been banished to the Island of Patmos, where God gave him this mighty revelation. This revelation was written down so that, through its symbolism, the Christians might know how God was at work and would be working history out according to His purpose. And this glorious vision climaxes in one final episode of heaven coming down to earth. And when it does, our world is changed.
How is it changed? First, there will be A RE-FORMATION. Verse 1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” As the prophet Isaiah had prophesied, there will be A NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH. (65:17-23) “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore. Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation! And look! I will create Jerusalem as a place of happiness. Her people will be a source of joy. I will rejoice over and delight in my people. And the sound of weeping and crying will be heard in it no more. “No longer will babies die when only a few days old. No longer will adults die before they have lived a full life. No longer will people be considered old at one hundred! Only the cursed will die that young! In those days people will live in the houses they build and eat the fruit of their own vineyards. Unlike the past, invaders will not take their houses and confiscate their vineyards. For my people will live as long as trees, and my chosen ones will long enjoy their hard-won gains. They will not work in vain, and their children will not be doomed to misfortune. For they will be blessed by the LORD, and their children, too, will be blessed.” Revelation 21 shows how this grand vision comes to complete fulfillment.
Our world will be changed. Notice the seas as we know them will be gone. This new earth and heaven will have a different climate and be made of a different substance. As well, the sea represented evil so John’s vision communicates that evil will be gone, a thing of the past. It will all be so grand, said Isaiah, that we will not even think about what used to be.
How will this be? Verse 2: “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” THIS NEW CITY WILL COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN. What will this heavenly earthly city be like? It will be PREPARED AS A BEAUTIFUL BRIDE. Why this image of a bride? The bride stands for perfection and beauty. Earthly brides are astonishingly beautiful. Can you imagine the heavenly bride? There is a heavenly beauty we cannot begin to comprehend.
The entire city will be beyond our imagination. Verses 9-21 describe this new place in great detail. Time does not suffice to examine all the preciseness of this construction, but here’s what the imagery stands for. The gates and walls (12-14) signify that HEAVEN IS SECURE and protected. Just think of all the security measures that exist in our world. OB units have strict security to be sure mom and baby do not get separated. We child-proof our houses and our medicine-containers. Our schools have security measures in place. Our airports have security measures in place. But heaven is secure. No one and nothing destructive or evil will ever enter. So there will be no fear.
The measurements (15-17) communicate THE HEAVENLY CITY IS SPACIOUS AND GORGEOUS. There is plenty of room for everyone who believes. That means there’s room for that still unbelieving mom, dad, brother, sister. Keep loving and witnessing! In 18-21 the jewels portray the exquisite wealth of heaven. The most precious jewels and gems we know here on earth will be but the building materials of Heaven.
Then, too, this Heavenly City is CONFIGURED FOR HEALTH (22-26). God’s glory is the light that illumines everything. Light produces life. That there is no darkness means there is nothing in Heaven that prohibits life and there is nothing that permits evil. Chapter 22:1-3 introduces the life of this city, where there is healing, wellness and wholeness for all people and nations. War is over; disharmony is gone. There is peace. All brokenness will be healed and all fractures repaired, all separations reconciled. As the great hymn states, “Face to face with Christ my Savior, Face to face – what will it be – When with rapture I behold Him, Jesus Christ who died for me? What rejoicing in his presence, When are banished grief and pain; When the crooked ways are straightened And the dark things shall be plain.”
Our world will be changed,
Our world will be changed, also, by A RELATIONSHIP. Verse 3: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”” During this Christmas season we emphasize Emmanuel; we celebrate that fact that God is with us. He has come down from heaven to be with us – wherever, whenever, forever. But Revelation introduces a whole new dimension. John’s vision shows that God’s promises in Leviticus and Ezekiel will be fulfilled. Whereas God’s tabernacle had housed God’s presence so He could dwell among His people, now GOD HIMSELF WILL DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE. He appeared to Moses on the mountain in a special, hidden way; He appeared to Israel in a cloud and pillar; He appeared to the High Priest in the temple by voice; He appeared to the world in Jesus Christ; in the new earth He will appear as himself in the midst of his people.
This means that ALL OF THE EFFECTS OF SIN – separation, destruction, unrest, turmoil, enmity, rage, unpredictability, sorrow, death – all WILL BE GONE FOREVER. Forgiveness will be the rule of the day – our sins will be forgiven! There will be no more scars, no more sores, and no more pain – physical, mental, or emotional. Suffering, in all its forms – gone! Hospitals, death, funerals, grief – gone! Wheelchairs, canes, crutches – gone! Suicide bombers, twin tower attacks, army invasions, guns in schools, car bombs, terrorists, missiles, airstrikes - gone! Mental and physical handicaps – gone! Blindness, deafness, dumbness – gone! Parkinson’s, MS, diabetes, arthritis, rheumatism, paralysis, heart disease – gone! Cancer – gone! AIDS – gone! Rape, abuse, and violence – gone! Financial failures and business bankruptcies and stock market roller-coasters – gone! Racial hatred, prejudice, social injustice – gone!
Verse 4 puts it tenderly: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." When was the last time you cried? The last time you were in pain? The last time you mourned? There is coming a day when “no more!” God doesn’t just wipe the tears – He wipes them away! Imagine: “Home – where no one ever has a heartache; Home – where no one ever gets angry; Home – where no one ever gets lonesome; Home – where no one gets tired; Home - where no one ever gets sick; Home – where no one gets hurt; Home – where no one ever dies; Home – where no one ever says ‘good-bye!’” God will make all things new! Our world will be changed.
Yet this new presence is more than just dwelling with or being near or among us – there is a TOTAL INTERPENETRATION OF GOD HIS PEOPLE. God will be in all and through all. Have you ever had a “God moment” – one of those moments when you knew beyond a doubt that God had worked things out as only He could? According to John’s vision every moment in this new holy city will be a God moment. I love how C. S. Lewis portrays this new life. In the final paragraph of his classic story The Last Battle he wrote “The things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” When heaven comes down our world will be changed.
In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics based on biblical principles in the public schools and other public departments. They also taught at a large orphanage of about 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned and abused. They related the following incident: “It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for the orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger. Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city. Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby’s blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from the tan felt we had brought from the United States. The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy’s manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously. For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately – until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, ‘And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don’t have any place to stay. Then, Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. So I asked Jesus, ‘If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?’ And Jesus told me, ‘If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me. So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him – for always.’ As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed. The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon or abuse him, someone who would stay with him – for always!” When heaven comes down our world is changed!
While this could be a great picture with which to end a sermon, I would be remiss if I did so. For it’s not just a matter that our world will change – because heaven has come down to earth our world can change even now. It can change because of A RECOMMITMENT. It can change because of us. God asked John to write down this vision, the revelation, so the Christians in Rome would have encouragement to stand up and live the Christian life with confidence and without fear. Jesus had taught his followers that “the Kingdom of God is within you.” THROUGH HIS HOLY SPIRIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN US. Through us God penetrates our world. And while we can never create the new earth or usher in the Kingdom in all its fullness, we can change the climate of our world. When we let the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control – blossom in our lives, our world is changed. When we love and forgive as Jesus first loved and forgave us, our world is changed. When we live out a love that is patient and kind, that does not envy or boast, that is not rude or self-seeking nor easily angered, and that keeps no record of wrongs our world is changed.
The Apostle Paul, dealing with the impact of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:58) points out that through a focus on the new yet to come we can ENERGIZE OUR WORK. “Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord...” It means to be abounding in the work of the Lord - be overflowing, lavishing. The promise of a life of joyful service to come energizes our work now. When we know we’re leaving on vacation or getting some time off, isn’t it amazing how much energy we have to get a lot done? Similarly, when we focus on the newness of life ahead, we find new energy to serve the Lord now, in whatever we are called to do. The key is to be sure that WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD. Always ask, “Will what I am doing glorify God? Would Jesus approve or be honored?” As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.” Focus on the now by letting the knowledge of your future energize and direct your work now. Let heaven flow through you and our world is changed.
Howard Thurman wrote, “When the song of the angels is silent, When the star in the sky is gone – When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are again tending their sheep – When the manger is darkened and still…the work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people, to befriend the lonely, to release the prisoner, to make music in the heart.” When we carry out the work of Christmas, heaven comes down – and our world is changed. Even right now.
