Last night we watched the movie Tomorrow land. In the movie, there is this place that people can go that seems like Utopia; it is surrounded by wheat fields as far as the eye can see, with this beautiful and perfect looking city. When you arrive it is a glimpse of how perfect the future could be if people lived in harmony and flourished in technological advances. As we watched the movie, my mind wandered to my own image of a ?new heaven and a new earth? and I began to think about what John meant for the people to hear. And the image in my head was beautiful. As we walk through our last chapters in Revelation, I invite you to pray with me.

Today we wrap up our series on the book of Revelation. Seven weeks of walking through the major themes of the book and a lot of the unique and beautiful images. John of Patmos wrote a letter to the seven churches of Asia to share his love and concern for them in their current state of affairs. As we experienced, he didn?t write very plainly, but wrote in a common style of writing called apocalyptic writing that is connected with eschatology. In this form of writing it affirms that God is guiding history to a final goal, which God will bring about in the near future, in a particular way that is already revealed. God is the beginning and the end. I think I have said this a great deal over the past few weeks: although these words and phrases we are hearing are strange to us now, it wasn?t strange to the people who were first hearing these words. This journey has been filled with symbolic imagery and words with multiple meanings, and each image carried with it a message of what was, is, or is to come. Also was a lot of judgment and devastation mentioned in the book of Revelation, but at the same time there was hope, love, and a dream for the future that John is giving the churches. The overarching message in this book that was written to the seven churches of Asia and for us today is God?s ongoing desire to be worshiped by all people, to the ends of the earth. We are to be worshiping God first and foremost. It is essential for our lives. If we are truly and faithfully worshiping God in all we do, we are much more willing to repent when we mess up, we are more excited about growing in our faith as God?s disciples, we are much more open to sharing our faith with others by how we live it out and talk, and more willing to lead others to be in worship of our Creator.

By keeping worship central, life in the new heaven and new earth is made real. Listen to these words from 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. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ?See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.? 5And the one who was seated on the throne said, ?See, I am making all things new.? Also he said, ?Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.? 6Then he said to me, ?It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.? Let?s break this down a little.

No Sea- In scripture, the sea has been a place of chaotic power, anti-creation, a place where the dragons have lived, and in essence a barrier to human relationships. So barriers like the sea will vanish forever and will be overcome.

A City- Although Babylon has been the ?bad? city, John recognizes that Christianity is an urban religion, located in the city. John is writing to Christians who are have not withdrawn from public life, but to churches in seven large cities. So the Christians need to learn to have a faith that has to do with establishing justice in the gates and witnessing to the faith in the marketplace amid the complexities of social, economic, and political life. It is the reminder that the people of God have to be faithfully present in and with the city to be the people of God. This city will be holy. The old will be renewed and bring fulfillment. God did not say ?I will make all new things,? but said, ?I will make all things new.?

Not just any city, but Jerusalem- The earthly Jerusalem has laid in ruins, destroyed. It is the continuation of the story that began in Eden and passed through Ur and Egypt, then settled down and went wrong in Jerusalem from David through Jesus. Yet God cannot forget Jerusalem, because according to Isaiah 49, Jerusalem is ?inscribed on the palms of God?s hands??so the story continues with Jerusalem, but a new Jerusalem.

Adorned Bride- A happy image for the people of God that speaks of celebration, festivity, fulfillment, and the most intimate relationships-a union. It also speaks of how the beauty of this world will be transformed to express the beauty of the Eternal City.

No tears, death, sorrow, crying, pain- So the misery all have experienced through time will be gone. Anything that has robbed life from being fulfilled, joyful, vibrant will be absent in this new heaven and new earth. Such an amazing image! So much peace and hope and joy for what is to come. Let?s continue in chapter 22.

?Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.?

Trees- We see elements of the Garden of Eden, but they represent a recovery of the original goodness of creation by redemption throughout history rather than its elimination. This tree of life will be in the new Jerusalem for the healing of the nations, not just one nation. It is reminding everyone that the people who will be in the new Jerusalem aren?t only those who WE think are the chosen people, but will be those who at times have oppressed the church and opposed God?s rule but have sought out repentance and forgiveness. It is the reminder that God has the final say in all matters.

No one will be cursed- Everyone will be made pure and holy, all will be redeemed and delivered from the evil that captures us. This is because God?s grace has transformed our self-centered and individualistic souls towards the well-being of all creation.

No sun, moon, night, closed gates- It is the reminder that God?s presence in the holy city banishes night and all its anxieties and makes all other forms of light not needed?There will never be a closed gate to gain access to God, all forms of connecting to God will forever to open.

Active City- In this city, the meaning of life in this world is grateful worship and service to God our Creator. Where we are freed from tyranny and powers of the world that hold us captive, and where we are in full communion with God and all of God?s people.

This new heaven and new earth is to become the ultimate home of the People of God has been carried throughout scripture. In John?s view, the new Jerusalem is the fulfillment of all human dreams for the community and security of life in an ideal city. When we hear the statements about ?the end,? these are statements about God and that God is the end. God is the beginning and the end, the first and the last, God is our all in all. By having God at the center of our being, our lives, our actions, our worship, then at the end it is God who waits for us and welcomes us to the new heaven and new earth. This is where God will truly come to dwell with humanity and be our permanent guest. We are one together, with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This new heaven and new earth are joined together completely and forever in Jesus. What a beautiful image!

But it gets better. In Revelation 21 and 22, we have the complete and total transformation of heaven and earth by means of God abolishing, from within heaven and earth, everything that has to do both with the as-yet incomplete plan for creation, and more particularly, with the horrible, disgusting and tragic effects of human sin. The new world, heaven has come own to earth, and our reality is made real. In other words, it will be like the present earth in the sense of its being a world full of beauty, power, delight, tenderness, and glory. But all the sin and hatred and judgment, and devastation will be removed. God?s great plan will be realized and it will be amazing.

As I close, I want you to close your eyes. I want you to imagine here on earth, a new heaven. I want you to dream about what it would feel like when there is no tears, death, sorrow, crying, or pain, where God is dwelling right here and now, where beauty, power, glory, and light is real within everyone that you are seeing. As your eyes are closed, think about you and your role in this new heaven and new earth. What are you doing that shows others you worship God and that God is central in your life?

Revelation 22.6-21

6And he said to me, ?These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.? 7?See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.? 8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me; 9but he said to me, ?You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!? 10And he said to me, ?Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.? 12?See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according to everyone?s work. 13I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.? 14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by the gates. 15Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and fornicators and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16?It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.? 17The Spirit and the bride say, ?Come.? And let everyone who hears say, ?Come.? And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift. 18I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; 19if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person?s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

20The one who testifies to these things says, ?Surely I am coming soon.? Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.

New Jerusalem

God was introduced as the Creator in Rev 4 and God’s final great act consists of new creation. The defeat of the forces of evil does not bring about the annihilation of the earth. Rather, it leads to God saying “I make all things new” (21:5). God’s future includes the resurrection of the dead but does not stop there. When death is vanquished creation itself is made new. God’s future is pictured as a city with a garden at its center. The human world and natural world are reconciled here. The tree of life stands within the city with its gates of pearl. These pearly gates are not guarded by Saint Peter as in the popular imagination. Rather the gates stand open all the time in order to invite people into the presence of God. Here the rivers that give life flow, the tree of life has leaves to heal the nations, and the radiant presence of God illumines the city. This is the future that beckons people everywhere. Those who are gripped by such a vision in turn ask how such scenes of life might shape a way of life now. To live in anticipation of New Jerusalem is to embrace its way of life and to bear witness to the purposes of God, whose work as the author of creation and new creation is ultimately life.