Revelations 21:1-5 2/26/23 A.M.
As I’ve mentioned before, I was very close to my grandmother. My mom’s mom. All of us called her Granny. Then when she became a Great Grandmother, the Great Grandkids called her Big Granny. She was a small woman but my mom was Granny and so she was Big Granny. She died in 1999 at the ripe old age of 92. She was very kind and sweet and was loved by everyone who knew her. But she was also very tough.
She had raised 6 kids during the Great Depression. Her husband, my grandfather, was a share cropper and they struggled most of their lives financially.
In 1958, both of them were nearly killed in a car wreck. Granny had a bad limp and used a cane the rest of her life and my grandfather never walked again. She pushed him around in a wheelchair for 23 years until he died in 1981.
I’ve told you all of this because in the mid 90’s my mom set up a video camera and visited with granny. She recorded her telling about her early life and marriage. And then Granny got to the late 1920’s. You see, I told you she raised 6 kids but she had another. His name was Neil. I’m named after him. My name is Mitchell Neil Leonard. Neil died of Diphtheria at 3 years old.
And as Granny began telling that story of his death she began to cry. The tears ran down her face. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it had been 70 years since he had died. That’s a long time. You know, she was a strong woman. A woman of faith. She had trusted in the Lord for many years and attended church here until she died. But after 70 years, that PAIN was still RAW and it still broke her heart to think about.
I’ve brought this up because I know some of you all have faced things in your life that are SO PAINFUL it still takes your breath away. Some of you all have lost the CLOSEST PERSON on Earth to you. Your husband or wife. Some of you all have lost children to illness, accidents, and even homicide. I don’t think any of us who hasn’t been there can really understand that kind of pain. But here in Revelations 21, John is almost to the end of the Revelation that God has given him. And I want to look at what he saw. Let’s read Revelations 21, Verses 1-5.
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
The first three words of this Chapter are, “And I saw”
I think we have to realize that what John saw will actually happen. John was NOT watching a Star Wars movie or some other Futuristic flick. He was actually seeing the FUTURE!!!
Let me ask you something. If you could SEE just ONE THING from the future what would it be?
Would you want to see your own death? Watch your own Funeral? Think about it now. You could see who showed up and who stayed home. Who cared and who didn’t. That way you would know how to make out your Last Will and Testament. Right?
How about the years of your retirement? Get to see the places you will travel to.
Would you want to see the future of your children’s lives? How many grandkids you’ll have.
Would you ask for just ONE MINUTE to look at the Stock Market one year from now? That could be very beneficial financially.
Listen, that’s what we’re getting to do here in this Chapter. We’re getting a LOOK into the future. And I have to tell you ….. I CAN’T WAIT!!! What an exciting and thrilling time it’s going to be. This morning I want us to see what John saw and what we have waiting for us when GOD SAYS … “That’s Enough!!!”
First let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
I. The first thing John saw was a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH. John DID NOT see a REBUILT, CLEANED UP, REMODELED, REVAMPED, VERSION of this PRESENT HEAVEN and EARTH. He saw a NEW ONE. Why is it a NEW ONE? Because Verse 1 tells us that the OLD ONE is GONE!!! It’s passed away. Jesus also told us in Luke 21:33,
“Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” The WORD of GOD will NEVER pass away.
We’ve been going over the Book of Genesis on Wednesday evenings. And there in Chapter 3, Adam and Eve broke the only commandment that God had given them. They lived in a PERFECT WORLD. No DEATH, No DISEASE, No TEARS. God told them, “Don’t EAT of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” And what did they do? They ATE of it. And since that time, MANKIND and this WORLD have been degenerating. Mankind wasn’t the only thing that began to DIE. The EARTH will soon be GONE. It’s gonna ALL BURN UP!!! And it will be replaced with a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH!!! Another perfect world for us to live in.
And there will be NO MORE SEA. This is something I never really thought about before. NO MORE SEA. WHY? What does that mean? There’s all kinds of thoughts on this Verse but I believe John is speaking about the SEPARATION that the SEA BRINGS. The SEA separates Continents, Nations, Families, and Loved ones. But in the NEW HEAVEN and the NEW EARTH, there will be NO MORE SEPARATION.
I talked about the GRIEF that was still SO PAINFUL for my Granny even after 70 years. And in the last two years, losing both of my parents and Rachel’s dad, I understand that separation a little better now.
And I think that’s what brings the most SORROW and GRIEF for us living here. SEPARATION!!!
Modern Day inventions have helped ease the pain of separation. You can get in your car and drive 10 hours to see the family. Or you can get on an airplane and fly 20 hours and go to the other side of the GLOBE. You can pick up the phone and do a VIDEO CALL with someone who lives hours away. But once someone has DIED, there is NO REMEDY for that SEPARATION.
Of course DEATH SEPARATES but what else brings SEPARATION?
But what about ANGER. It SEPARATES. Sometimes we speak words that should never have been spoken. Proverbs 21:23,
“Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.”
Too many times I wish I would have kept my mouth shut. Too many times that little JUICY COMMENT should have been left unsaid. Too many times people have been hurt because others felt the NEED to SHARE their MIND. Too many times we get ANGRY because our PRIDE gets hurt and so we say things we shouldn’t say. Oh how many times ANGER has caused SEPARATION.
What else brings SEPARATION? HATRED. Hatred for other RACES. People that don’t LOOK like us or ACT like us.
Hatred for people with other OPINIONS.
Hatred for SINNERS. I’ve heard so-called Christians speak HATRED towards Homosexuals, Lesbians, and Transgenders. Listen, Jesus NEVER told us to HATE ANYONE.
ILLUS: The Lord really opened my eyes to this back in the 90’s. I was working a job that I absolutely HATED and I began asking God for another job. And He gave me one. It was much closer to home, better pay and a better job but …. my NEW BOSS was a LESBIAN. And in those two years that I worked there, God gave me a Brotherly LOVE for her. She was a good boss and treated me well. So as time went on, Rachel and I became friends with her. She broke up with her partner. And eventually she would come over and eat supper with Baby Eli, Rachel and I. Eventually she started going to church and last I heard she was dating a guy. Let me ask you something? If I would have showed HATRED or DISGUST with her, would she have ever turned to God? Maybe, but I wouldn’t have had anything to do with it.
Listen, we don’t have to ACCEPT people’s SIN to NOT hate them. In fact, Jesus told us to LOVE those who we might consider our enemies.
Matthew 5:43-45 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven:”
So DEATH SEPARATES, ANGER SEPARATES, and HATRED SEPARATES.
But what about SIN? YES!!! Sin separates. In the beginning when God created the Earth there was NO SIN . And because there was NO SIN, God was able to COMMUNE with Adam and Eve. One on one. But then SIN entered the picture and because of that, there was a SEPARATION. Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
And that SEPARATION continues on even today. SIN STILL SEPARATES you and I from God.
Jesus came to be the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE for our SINS and so now we can COMMUNE with God but only through Jesus as our INTERCESSOR. Sin still separates us from God.
Sin also separates us from others. There are times when we just have to LOVE from AFAR. Why, because we have a responsibility to our family and our children to PROTECT them. Yes, SIN SEPARATES!!! But so does DEATH, ANGER and HATRED.
II. But here’s the really SWEET THING. All of the things that BRING SEPARATION won’t be there in that NEW HEAVEN and that NEW EARTH. This NEW HEAVEN and this NEW EARTH is coming down STRAIGHT from God. It will NOT be built with HUMAN HANDS. It will be without FLAW. It will be PERFECT. Listen, there’s some mighty PRETTY places here on this earth and there are some mighty UGLY places too. I’ve seen BOTH!!! The things that are the MOST BEAUTIFUL are the things that are NOT TOUCHED by Human HANDS. ILLUS: Just last Fall we drove through the Red Wood Forest and then the next day we drove to San Francisco and went out to Alcatraz Prison. Now that’s a contrast.
One is BEAUTY and MAJESTY beyond compare, and the other is DESPAIR and SADNESS. One BUILT by God the other BUILT by man.
The NEW JERUSALEM will not be TOUCHED by HUMAN HANDS. Sent down straight from God. As a BRIDE is ADORNED with all kinds of things to make her beautiful, so will also be the New Jerusalem. And there will be NO SEPARATION from GOD. No longer will we need a INTERCESSOR. God will DWELL with You and I. We will be HIS PEOPLE and HE WILL BE OUR GOD. Think about that for a minute. Not since the days of Adam and Eve will God the Father DWELL with us. But in Heaven there will be NO SEPARATION.
And how will this be POSSIBLE? How will God be able to DWELL with you and I? Because there will be NO MORE SIN!!! If you look on down there to the last Verse of this Chapter, Verse 27 tells us,
“And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
So how can you and I be SINLESS? Look at 1 Corinthians 15, Verses 50-52,
“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
We will have a GLORIFIED BODY that will NEVER GROW OLD. But more than that, we will have a GLORIFIED SPIRIT that will not be TEMPTED as we are today. No more TEMPTATION to SIN. No more PRIDE. No more SELFISHNESS. There will be NO ANGER and HATRED in Heaven to SEPARATE US. Revelations 7:9 tells us that there will be people from every NATION, KINDRED, PEOPLE, and TONGUES. They will be there PRAISING GOD before His throne. You may be standing between a Black Woman from AFRICA and an Asian man from CHINA. AND YOU WON’T CARE. A GREAT MULTITUDE of people PRAISING GOD. Feeling NO ANGER. There will be NO BIGOTRY. NO HATRED. NO STRIFE. All of the TEMPTATIONS of this world will be PASSED AWAY. Let’s read Revelations 7:9,
“After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;”
And something else. There will be NO MORE FEAR. We won’t have to worry about the guy DRIVING DOWN the street becoming ANGRY and SHOOTING US. We won’t have to worry about NORTH KOREA firing a MISSILE at us. Or China dropping a BALLOON on our HEADS.
No more FEAR about Natural Disasters. Not in this NEW HEAVEN and NEW EARTH. Tornadoes, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes will be a thing of the PAST. In fact, they will have ……. PASSED AWAY!!! These things will NEVER SEPARATE PEOPLE AGAIN.
III. And the thing we started with. DEATH. It will NEVER SEPARATE US AGAIN.
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
God is gonna wipe away ALL of our tears. Why?
Because there will be NO MORE REASON to CRY. There will be NO MORE SORROW. There will be NO MORE PAIN. There will be NO MORE SEA. There will be NO MORE SEPARATION. DEATH WILL BE A THING of the PAST. Why? Because it is PASSED AWAY!!! Hallelujah it is GONE!!!
Let’s look again at 1 Corinthians Chapter 15, and we’ll read Verses 20-26.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.”
I believe back in 1999, my Granny who hadn’t seen her son Neil in over 70 years, SAW HIM and KNEW HIM, and, I BELIEVE, she held him in her arms.
I believe my DADDY stepped through the PORTALS of GLORY last April and took my mama’s hand and they walked down the street of gold together. Praise the name of the Lord!!!
And some day soon I’ll get to join them in that HEAVENLY CHORUS as we sing PRAISES to the LAMB of GOD. And folks, it’s all made possible by the Blood of Jesus. There will be NO MORE SEPARATION.
I don’t know where you stand with God this morning. I don’t know the things that are in your life that may be holding you back. I don’t know some of the sorrows that you have ENDURED or maybe you’re ENDURING them today. But the things of this world are TEMPORARY.
There are folks here today that are holding on to things that God is NOT PLEASED WITH. You know it. Listen, those things won’t last.
Maybe there’s someone here today and you have FEAR in your life. Listen, 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that FEAR is NOT of GOD.
Maybe someone is holding onto a GRUDGE. Maybe you’re ANGRY over something. Maybe you have a RIGHT to be ANGRY. Listen, don’t let that ANGER get in the way of your RELATIONSHIP with God.
Maybe you’re here and you have someone waiting for you on the other side but you’re not sure if you’ll make it. You don’t REALLY KNOW where you stand with God this morning. You can KNOW that you KNOW that Jesus is your Savior.
And maybe, just maybe there’s someone here and you have never met Jesus. It tells us here in Verse 5, that God is gonna make ALL THINGS NEW. He wants to get started with you this morning. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us,
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
What God has told us today is TRUE and FAITHFUL. He is someone you can TRUST. He LOVES you today and He has given everything necessary for you to become His child. Now the choice is up to you. What are you gonna do?
Let’s Pray
