Return of the King: Week 6
The New Creation
Scripture Revelation 21-22
This morning we are going to finish up our look to the future.
This subject is important for us because Jesus told us He will return, and what His return will be like.
I would encourage you to go back and listen to the podcasts to catch up on the end times teachings.
Prayer
Today, We put the cherry on top of the Sundae.
We spent a few weeks going over the horror of the tribulation, but Jesus wants his followers to know that all of that are like birth pains- you have to go through it to get the reward. What is coming is beyond nice. – It’s the fulfillment of the longing of our hearts.
Paul says in Philippians 1:23 that the place we are longing for is “better by far” and Hebrews 11:16 calls it, “a far better country.”
How will we get to this better country?
Revelation 21:1 says we won’t get to it. – It will get to us:
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 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2
The final event that God has projected for us in His word is the coming of the New Creation.
Listen friends: God’s final act of creation is an entire new creation!
And it starts with a heat and ends with a home.
2nd Peter 3: 10 tells us that The cosmos will melt and be replaced by a new Heaven and a new Earth. 2 Peter 3:12-13; Revelation 21:1-2
Verse 12 says…
The heavens will be dissolved by fire and the elements will melt with heat. But based on his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:12-13
The new creation is God’s ultimate design and ultimate desire, and our ultimate destination. It’s the place we were made for, the place we are longing for, the place where we will spend eternity.
This New Creation has a new heaven, a new earth, and a new city [called the New] Jerusalem. Revelation 21-22
This is what we have been waiting for! Even the creation has been waiting and the bible says even groaning.
Romans 8:22 says…
The whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves… Romans 8:22-23
During these last few years, how many of you have you wished for a better world? Why do you want that?
Because when you surrendered to Christ, this world is no longer your home. You were made for a better world.
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3 that “God has set eternity” in our hearts- a yearning for something intangible that we can’t quite explain, but it’s something we feel on the deepest levels.
Some good news for us this morning- this eternity is coming, and it will be more than you can ask or imagine.
Let’s read about this future in Revelation 21.
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 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
I would note one thing here-
In the new creation, we won’t be His “people,” we will be His “peoples.” Heaven will be made up of people from every ethnicity. We’ll be diverse, but united, like our church and it’s members should strive to be every day. Heaven will be made up of cultures from every nation, tribe and language.
We will be a healed people
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Revelation 21:3-4
Then he tells us-
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.”
How much is He making? – Everything!
He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done!”
Jesus said that one other time. On the cross, the full payment for sin was “done.” At the coming of the New Creation everything affected by sin will be done, and done away with.
Jesus continues
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8 But the cowards, faithless, detestable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars—their share will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Revelation 21:5-8
Nothing wicked or harmful or false will enter into heaven. Everyone there will be His sons and daughters, completely washed clean because we’ve asked forgiveness and are now fully bathed in His righteousness.
9 Then one of the seven angels, who had held the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me: “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 He then 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…
This is why I said, we won’t come to the New Creation, the New Creation will come to us. The New Jerusalem will come down out of heaven and become our eternal home.
The New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven…
11 arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal. 12 The city had a massive high wall, with twelve gates. Twelve angels were at the gates; the names of the twelve tribes of Israel’s sons were inscribed on the gates. 13 There were three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. 14 The city wall had twelve foundations, and the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb were on the foundations.
12 is the number of completion. Nothing will be incomplete there.
They’ll be 12 gates.
There were 12 tribes of Israel, represented by 12 gates, and 12 apostles, representing the church. These are represented by the 12 foundations of the City.
More 12’s are coming in v. 15:
15 The one who spoke with me had a golden measuring rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. 16 The city is laid out in a square; its length and width are the same. He measured the city with the rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length, width, and height are equal. 17 Then he measured its wall, 144 cubits according to human measurement, which the angel used.
12,000 stadia equals 1,400 miles. Jerusalem will be a perfect cube, 1,400 miles long, wide, and high
The city’s building materials are so perfect, we have trouble even imaging them. It lists 12 precious stones as it’s foundations, solid pearls for it’s gates, a main street made of pure gold.
I love this next description-
22 I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 Its gates will never close by day because it will never be night there. 26 They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22 Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb2 down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, 3 and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Revelation 21:1-22:5
This is our eternal home. We often focus only on heaven when we talk about those who have passed on, but in reality our eternal home will be a reconstructed, worldwide Garden of Eden with the Holy City in it’s center.
Let me tell you some things about the New Earth.
The hub of the New Earth will be the New Jerusalem. At 1,400 miles by 1,400 miles by 1,400 miles, New Jerusalem will cover a territory as large as the distance from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the eastern border of California. The city is nearly 2 million square miles at its base.
And that’s just the ground level.
If this cube is built like a high rise, with each story twelve feet high, it could have as many as 600,000 stories. Today, New York City has a population density of 27,000 people per square mile. Billions of people can occupy the New Jerusalem, with a population density of several square miles per person. We won’t be crowded, but we will all be living near each other.
The River of Life
One of its great wonders of the heavenly city is The River of Life. It’s “clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God.” Jesus, the Lamb, occupies the throne. The River flows downward from throne down the center of the great street.
The Tree of Life
Another stunning feature of the city is its Tree of Life. The Tree stands on each side of the River. This is the Tree that was in the Garden of Eden, but removed by God so that fallen humans could not eat of it and live forever in their sin-bound state.
It’s been in existence since Creation and bears fruit every month. It’s a source of food, and a source of healing. “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelations 22:2).
Let’s look at a few subjects not immediately covered here in Revelation but covered elsewhere in the bible about the eternal kingdom.
The Country
Luke 19:12 and Hebrews 11:14-16 assure us that there will be countryside as well as city streets and buildings. The new Earth will have spacious outdoors.
The Mountains (A little controversial)
Revelation 21:10 describes “a mountain great and high.” Not the mountain, but a mountain, which many believe means there will be more than one mountain on the new Earth.
Housing
If you’ve dreamed of a new home, be encouraged. On His final night before crucifixion, Jesus told the disciples, “My Father’s house has many rooms…” And “I am going there to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2).
Your new digs may or may not be attached to other people’s homes. For those who love city life, maybe they will get condos in the Holy City. For those of us that like country life, perhaps we get a farm or ranch out in the country.
But the Lord is creating perfect spaces for each of us based on His knowledge of our personal preferences. Since that’s the case, I believe I’ll in the mountain forest, overlooking a lake or river on one side, mountains on another.
The good news is, God knows us better than we know ourselves, so when you see your new home, it will be more perfectly suited to you than you can imagine.
There will be seasons in the New Earth
For a long time I thought that Heaven was somehow “outside of time.” I still believe that about heaven, but in this new earth we see-
- But Isaiah 66:23 says that mankind will come and bow down before God from one Sabbath to another.
- And Revelation 22:2 says that the Tree of Life bears fruit every month.
- And Ephesians 2:7 says that God will show us the incomparable riches of His grace throughout the coming ages.
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So there will be weeks and months and ages in heaven. Clearly, we will be living with some sense of time.
Foods
And what about eating?
- In Luke 22:29, Jesus told His disciples, “I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.”
- And, in Revelation 2:7, He said, “To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life.”
With a lack of pestilence and only cooperative weather patterns, imagine the fruits and vegetables the land will produce!
In Heaven, the ground will be full of rich nutrients and minerals. We’ll have more flavorful foods to appreciate with our more acute taste buds.
The Wedding Supper of the Lamb will be a huge feast. I’m not sure if calories will disappear, but our resurrected bodies will come with enhanced metabolism.
Animals
If you’re an animal lover, Isaiah tells us that the wolf will lay down with the lamb. So there will be wolves and lambs there – and every other kind of animal too. So yes, all dogs go to heaven. The jury is still out on cats…
Angels
If you’ve dreamed of becoming an angel, you won’t. Humans don’t become angels when we get to Heaven. 1 Corinthians 6:3 says that we will judge angels. On that side of eternity, we will have the right to given instructions to angels as the bible says in Hebrews that they are the servants of those who come to salvation through Jesus.
Marriage
If you’ve wondered about marriage in Heaven, in Matthew 22:30, Jesus said, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage, they will be like the angels in heaven.” Instead of being married to another person, we will all be symbolically married to the Lamb. We will be the Bride, He will be the Bridegroom (Revelation 19:7; 22:17).
Nothing will take away from the rich relationships you may have had with your spouse and family members here on Earth. All the tarnish of sin will be washed away there. The perfect marriage you’ve always longed for will be had in your relationship with your Savior. As a result of that relationship, all other relationships will be better than they are today!
Knowledge
1 Corinthians 13:12 says “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” In Heaven we will see things more clearly, and know much more than we do now.
When the verse says, “Now I know in part,” it uses the word ginosko, means “know” in the sense of “learning.” In Heaven we will be learning fully. When it says, “Then I shall know fully,” it uses the word epiginosko, which means, “to know extensively.”
We can ginosko. Only God can epiginosko. We will continue to learn each day, forever.
Work
Will we work in heaven? YES!
Work is a good thing. Work can give a sense of purpose, Accomplishment and worth. Jesus said, “My Father is always at work to this very day…” (John 5:17). Adam worked the Garden, we will work in the New Creation.
In Heaven you’ll be given significant assignments for meaningful tasks that keep you growing and enhance the lives of others. These assignments will be doled out based on your performance in this present life.
Rewards
As we learned from the Bema Seat last week, every service rendered to Christ will result in rewards in heaven. There are 5 different crowns available to those who serve Christ faithfully. There are even some other rewards so unusual we don’t fully understand them.
This is just a small sampling of heaven. And there is so much more!
CONCLUSION
The Apostle Peter’s final words in the book of 2 Peter are…
Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found without spot or blemish in his sight, at peace. 2 Peter 3:14
Because heaven is real. And it is in your future!
I leave you this morning with this story
A elderly Englishman named H.S. Laird was on his deathbed when his son asked, “Dad, how are you feeling?”
Laird answered, “Son, I feel like a little boy on Christmas Eve.”
That’s the way God wants us to anticipate the New Creation: a Christmas Day stocked with eternal presents!
Life on planet Earth can contain some exhilarating moments. Once it’s done, for those who have trusted Christ, life only gets better. Heaven is a place of unspeakable joy, and a place with eternal rewards!
All rise
Gaining what can’t be lost
A college student named Jim Elliot who became a missionary once wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”
Several years later, Elliot was a missionary to an unreached, very primitive tribe in Ecuador, South America. He was killed by the spear of one of the tribesmen he came to reach.
You might think that’s horrible, but imagine instead the applause of heaven he woke up into.
Imagine the rewards Jim will experience forever as a result of his faithful service.
I want you to experience every reward possible for you in the New Creation.
Serve Christ diligently friends!
Serve Him faithfully!
Serve Him joyfully.
And serve Him with anticipation.
Because what is coming is so much better than anything that has ever been before.
Amen?
Amen!
