Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. # And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. $ And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.” (Revelation 21:1-4)
Introduction
Up until this point in our study, our focus has been on events that will occur in the very near future the Rapture, the Seven-Year Tribulation, the Glorious Return of Christ, and the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of this is not the Ultimate Victory. These events are not our eternal destination.
It is easy to be interested in these events. They serve a very important purpose, but they are not an end to themselves. Most Christians, to some extent or another, tend to keep their eternity framed within their current human experience here on earth. We tend to focus on our eternity within the context of our flesh.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; # for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19–21 LSB
One of my favorite books growing up as a child was J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, which tells a fantasy take of Bilbo Baggins joining the adventure of the Dwarves in their quest to regain their home of Lonely Mountain. Lonely Mountain is full of gold and jewels but occupied by the ferocious fire-breathing dragon, Smaug. The heir to the dwarf throne is Thorin Oakenshield who longs to return to his home and rightful throne, but the destination is greater than even some of the dwarves to comprehend. The eldest sage of the dwarves, Balin, argues with Thorin’s plan to return to the mountain kingdom. Balin says, “What are we? Merchants, miners, tinkers, toymakers. Hardly stuff of a legend."
So it can be for us to try to understand our place in the Heavenly Kingdom. As fallen people we look back to Genesis as man walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen 3:8). But Satan has swept away our once glorious condition, leaving us adri& in this world. What are we? Businessmen, teachers, carpenters... hardly stuff for the glory of God. (Richard Phillips).
Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you died and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. ' On account of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. (Colossians 3:1–7 LSB)
Nevertheless, our greatest anticipation should be Heaven. Our death is beyond a metaphysical translation. It is not merely spiritual. Heaven is a place, not a state of being. Heaven is a destination...our eternal destination. So with that, our greatest anticipation should be Heaven. Everything connected to our spiritual life here on earth should be in connection to our eternal destination. Moreover, our longing for heaven should be burning because God is there. We would gladly go through all these things and all trials because we know He is there waiting for us, even as He is here with us right now.
See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is. " 1 John 3:1–3 LSB
And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. That’s the attraction of heaven. We’ll see him just as he is - no more veil, no more distance, no more mystery, the complete revelation of God (MacArthur)
What I want for us to leave here with tonight and next week is a true earnest longing for heaven - living in this world, but not of this world, because this world is not our home. A longing for heaven is going to rightfully direct your path here on earth. It’ll fill you with joy when this world comes to rob you. It will keep your eyes fixed on who you are in Christ. It will keep you steadfast in the faith.
All Things New
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. (Revelation 21:1 LSB)
John is taking us to a new vision. “Then I saw” is something we find in John’s writing to take us to what is next. This is after the Millennium. It is different and separate. This is a new heaven and a new earth. This is not just a continuation of the old. The house hasn’t been merely swept clean. We are living on a disposable planet. What is coming is completely new.
But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:7 LSB)
“For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me,” declares Yahweh, “So your seed and your name will endure. (Isaiah 66:22 LSB)
What John is conveying is it will be completely different in quality, chronology, and character. In fact, you won’t even have any memory of this place that we are living in now. This is why having a clear, biblical understanding of what is happening during the tribulation and Millennium is important. All of this is happening after the Millennium, but nevertheless, the Millennium is still part of God’s plan to bring the New Heavens and Earth into Existence.
For behold, I am creating a new heaven and a new earth; And the former things will not be remembered or come upon the heart. (Isaiah 65:17 LSB)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be found out. (2 Peter 3:10 LSB)
A Place Prepared for Us
And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. (Revelation 21:2 LSB)
The New Heavens and the new Earth will have a new capital city, Jerusalem. Later on in this chapter, we’re going to see just how great of a city it really is - 1500 miles cubed. Is it that literal? I believe it is, but even more significant is that this is a real city and it is a HOLY CITY. This is not the historic Jerusalem, nor is it the millennial Jerusalem. It is a city set apart by God and for God and his people.
What is happening in our cities today? Anarchy in many cases. Liberal DA’s refusing to enforce laws and convict lawbreakers. Rioters burning down cities. Lawmakers call good evil and evil good. Innocent people are being preyed upon by people with debased minds for pleasure. Imagine a great and mighty city completely devoid of sin, crime, murder, rape, corruption, and thievery. This is what is being prepared for us today by the Lord Jesus Christ.
Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. # “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (John 14:1–3 LSB)
A Place of God
And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, (Revelation 21:3 LSB)
It will be a holy city, not only because of the absence of evil, sin, crime, and death. It will be a holy city because God, The Lord Jesus Christ, will be in that city. Heaven is a place where we will live with God. We typically think about heaven as a place with pearled gates, streets of gold, angels, music, and so on. But none of that will make Heaven heaven. Heaven and the New Jerusalem will only be what it is because he will dwell with us.
“Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24 LSB)
I shall walk before Yahweh In the land of the living. (Psalm 116:9 LSB)
Most people are comfortable with knowing God at arm’s length. They don’t want to get too close. That’s not heaven. Puritan commentator Richard Baxter said that “We shall then have light without candle and perpetual day without the sun. We shall have enlightened understandings without Scripture and be governed without a written law.” What a description and all of that comes not because of ourselves but because we will dwell that closely with the Lord Almighty.
When Isaiah comes close to God he says, “Woe is me for I am ruined." (Isaiah 6:5)
When Peter realized who Jesus was, he cried, “Depart from me because I am a sinful man, O Lord.” (Luke 5:8)
But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (Exodus 33:20 LSB)
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18 LSB)
No one has beheld God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen. ( (1 John 4:12 LSB)
“If God is accessible, if God is invisible if no one can look upon him, if He is too holy, too pure, too spotless, and we are too iniquitous, how is it that we can see him?” (MacArthur). It is the transformation that will take place through our Lord. We are resurrected like the Lord, the second Adam, in his likeness. With that, we will dwell in heaven close to God just as it was designed in the garden.
That is our desire. That should be your desire above all things in this life are preparing for the life to come. If you’re having trouble desiring heaven, it is because you’re having trouble desiring to see God.
All Things Gone
and He will WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES, and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The first things passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 LSB)
All human experience is gone forever. John is saying that there will no longer be any death or mourning or pain. We can’t fully comprehend this because our every moment is filled with some level of grief and pain - be it physical or emotional. There will never be a single tear. There will be nothing to cry about.
“The fact that the former things will not come to mind does not mean that our memories will be wiped clean. The prophecy could be suggesting the wondrous quality of our new environment. The new earth will be so spectacular, so mind-blowing, that everyone will quite forget the drudgery and sin of the current earth. A child who is scared of the shadows in his room at night completely forgets his nocturnal fear the next day on the playground. It’s not that the memories have been wiped out, only that, in the sunshine, they don’t come to mind.” (Got Questions).
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That is what awaits us. Hardly just a glimpse. It is unfathomable and probably why describing heaven can be so ambiguous. Really, we have more in common with hell right now than heaven. We can understand those terms in our present condition and life. After death, a person will either reside in a place of eternal torment or comfort. The primary difference is the presence of God. The way there is only through the Lord Jesus
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