Creation Restored . . . and Then Some!

The Book that Promises a Blessing!

A study of the book of Revelation

by Pastor Frank Rice

Revelation 21:1-22:5

Some folks restore furniture, others restore tools, still others houses. Some times what is restored just doesn’t compare to what was. At rare times, the product of restoration far exceeds the original design! Such is the case in the final stages of the ages! God plans to restore creation and a whole lot more! Not only is the “bad stuff” gone, there are multiple new features previously unimagined. For those who’ve placed their faith and confidence in God’s Messiah, the future is incomprehensibly and indescribably wonderful! Heaven will be more than we could’ve ever imagined! That shouldn’t stop us!

 

❖      John saw some of the basic glorious features of heaven (vv. 1-2)!

1. The old heaven and earth, with which we are now familiar, were completely renovated and almost unrecognizable (v. 1)!
2. The sea, a symbol of peril, turmoil, and evil, was gone (v. 1b)!
3. The stupendously breathtaking and beautiful city of Jerusalem descended gradually from above (v. 2)!

 

❖      John heard encouraging pronouncements of what and what not to expect in heaven (vv. 3-8).

1. God will tabernacle with His people; He Himself will be with them, dwell among them, and be their God (v. 3)!
2. God will wipe away every tear of sorrow, pain, and suffering from the eyes of His people (v. 4a).
3. God will remove every source of the aforementioned entities with which mankind is so familiar (v. 4b)!
4. God promised a complete renovation (all things) of earth and heaven; count on it (v. 5)! All the OT prophets concur!
5. God declares His sovereign supervision and control of history from beginning to end, and this is the end (v. 6a)!
6. God promises eternal life, a lasting inheritance, and intimate fellowship for all who thirst and overcome by faith (v. 6b-7)!
7. God promises the complete removal of all corrupters from the holy city (v. 8). Their residence is fixed in a different place.

 

❖      Complete renovation is necessary!

1. Heaven must be renovated!  It’s been the scene of cosmic conflict since the day Satan said, “I will be like the Most High!”
2. Earth must be renovated! It’s been the scene of heartache, rebellion, sin, struggle, violence, abuse, hatred, deception, pain, and every evil deed.
3. Jerusalem must be renovated! It’s the place where God’s prophets were rejected, ridiculed, run out of town, or murdered! It’s the place where God’s Son was killed. His blood stains the streets of the city.
4. Intimacy must be renewed! It was ruined in the garden, then restored.  But it’s never been like it was when God walked with Adam & Eve. There is only one solution, complete renovation! “New” means fresh, redone, clean, restored.

 

❖      John is offered a guided tour of the heavenly city (vv. 9-10)! It is referred to as the bride, the Lamb’s wife, and the holy Jerusalem.

1. She is breath taking and beautiful, a cause for celebration, like a bride; undefiled, glorious, radiant, and impressive.
2. She is perfectly proportioned. Foursquare indicates a 1,500 mile cube!
3. She is pure and transparent!
4. She is frequented by transformed citizens! They love her, honor her, serve her, and are registered in the book of the City!

 

❖      The appearance of the holy city is described in terms beyond our limited comprehension (vv. 11-21)! (We can only imagine!)

1. The holy city was clothed with the glory, light, preciousness, and purity of God (v. 11)!
2. The city’s walls, gates, and foundations communicate safety, security, accessibility, stability, and indebtedness (vv. 12-14)!
3. The city’s measurements indicate ownership, sovereignty, immensity, spaciousness, and mobility (vv. 15-17)!
4. The city’s “building materials” assure us of the glory, splendor, and inestimable wealth of the Builder (vv. 18-21; Heb 11:10)! We’ll just have to wait and see; and we will (John 14:2-3)!

 

❖      John further describes what he saw on his tour (21:22-27)!

1. He seems surprised to find no temple in the city; the place is replaced by Persons, the Lord and the Lamb (v. 22). Lord God Almighty emphasizes the fact that, “God is ruler over all history, in control of this world and the next, with full authority over earthly and cosmic forces.” (Osborne)
2. There is no need for the heavenly bodies to provide light, God’s glory and the Lamb will provide light (vv. 23-24). And the earth’s people and rulers will live in His light!
3. There is no need to close the gates of the city, since there is no night nor are there any criminal minds (vv. 25-26).
4. There’s no place for those who’ve never been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and registered in the Book of Life (v. 27).

 

❖      John continues his guided tour of the future which takes him back in time to the beginning of time (22:1-5)! Eden is revisited!

1. He gazes upon the life-sustaining, unpolluted, river which runs through the city’s center and issues from the throne of God and the Lamb (vv. 1-2a).
2. He catches sight of the tree of life, a likely reference to the type of tree, and an obvious reference to another famous tree, from which man had been barred (v. 2b)!
3. He may suddenly realize there’s something noticeably absent; the curse was gone (v. 3a)! No wonder things are so different!
4. He also realized the very presence of God and the Lamb and the new relationship that will be established (vv. 3b-4)! (Did you notice God and the Lamb repeatedly linked?)
5. He wraps up his guided tour emphasizing the beauty, glory, and brightness of our heavenly home. The most glorious and precious reality is the privilege of worshiping and serving God and the Lamb eternally (v. 5)! “Oh that will be glory for me!”

 

Believers must be like Abraham,

“who looked for a city which has foundations, whose Builder and Maker was God!”

 

A physician was with a close friend in his last hours. "Tell me, what will it be like after I die?" After a pause, there was a scratching at the bedroom door. The doctor turned to his friend and said, "Did you hear that? It's my dog. He's been wait­ing patiently for me downstairs and has become impatient. He’s never been in this room. He has no idea what it is like. He knows only one thing about it; I am here. That's all I know about the future.... He's there."

HEAVEN - God is there! Will you be there?

 

At dusk, a little girl entered a cemetery.  An old man, who sat at the gate said to her,

 “Aren't you afraid to go through the cem­etery in the dark?”

 “Oh no," she replied, "my home is just on the other side." 

Knowing my home is just on the other side helps remove the fear of crossing to the other side!