Lord willing next week. We'll be doing an overview
of the book so there's not one particular verse.
But let's you can go to chapter 4 if you want
to begin the Revelation chapter 4 But let's ask
the Lord for help as we get started Father Lord
as we come to you once again Lord God asking
for your help Lord this is the word of God or
it is written Lord for our instruction for our
growth and grace God would you help us this morning
to grow to be instructed Lord to Understand more
of your plan and Lord what you're doing in the
world God give us faith to trust you more that
Lord whatever comes Whatever trials whatever
blessing comes our way Lord God that we would
understand that Lord you are in control of all
things Like God that what we would relinquish
control, but Lord God learned to trust you Help
us. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen Well,
we said we're in the last Sunday, I'm so glad
you decided to be here I know many are sick as
flues going around and Others are traveling.
But this year, this week, I guess, will be a
time of reflection, as the year closes and a
new one begins. I think for most of us, we could
say 2025, I don't know, I think it was a rough
year. It was hard. I think pastorally, of the
20 years or so that I've been here, it was the
hardest one, pastorally. But also personally,
it was very difficult. And as a church, we had
experienced a lot of heartache. It seemed like
we endured a prolonged season of loss and trial,
and even just this past Friday as Dave Hayes
went to be adorned. But this year didn't just
test our strength but also our perseverance.
So we're on the cusp of the dawn of a new year.
And how do we face that with a renewed sense
of optimism rather than with anxiety? I remember
last year, the first Sunday in 2025, saying we
don't know what 2025 will hold, and I'm glad
for that. And that's true for 2026. But what
if it were to be the same? What if it were to
be even harder? If we're gonna face the new year,
we need wisdom. We need wisdom because we need
to know what ultimately matters and what ultimately
is important. If we're gonna face it with any
type of confidence, we need to have knowledge.
You need to know in your bones. You need to know
in your soul that God will show up and he will
meet us where we are regardless of the circumstances
we find ourselves in. We need the knowledge that
God is doing something. Friends, you need the
knowledge that if there is pain to come your
way that the pain is not wasted. We need faith.
Faith that knows that God is at work. Faith that
trusts that God is ruling. Ruling over what?
ruling over everything. In fact, one of the overarching
themes of the Bible, and there are many if you
want to look at the greater story, what's often
called the meta -narrative, one of them is that
you have God as a great king ruling over his
realm. There's many ways you can divide up the
scriptures. A common way you perhaps read about
or you've seen, if you read much at all in theology,
you have creation, fall, redemption, and then
restoration or consummation. kind of four movements
of scripture. And I actually think that's very
helpful, like where we were, where we are, where
we're going. You think about the beginning, you
have creation itself, right? So we're going to
see this familiar template, creation, fall, redemption,
restoration. And the reason I think this is important
and helpful, because if we start to see the big
picture, the macro, then it will give us strength,
it's going to give us wisdom in our daily lives
or in the micro. So let's start with creation.
We'll walk through these very quickly before
we get to the scripture. In the very beginning,
there was shalom. Now, if you've ever been to
Israel, you know that shalom is a greeting. So
when you meet people, you don't say hello. You
say shalom, also when you're saying goodbye.
But the translation of shalom is peace. But if
you look at the definition, it means whole, complete.
Nothing is lacking, but there's a great semantic
use. I mean, the semantic range or the way this
word can be used is very, very deep. For example,
it can mean peace or harmony, but it can also
mean wholeness. It can mean well -being. It can
even mean flourishing. So basically, what you're
talking about, when we're talking about Shalom,
it means everything is working as God intended
it to work. So if we go back to the beginning,
at the very beginning, life was ordered. Mankind
was flourishing. There was harmony in the entire
cosmos. So God had created man as an image bearer
who would reflect his glory, and he would also
cultivate and steward this beautiful creation
that God had given to him. Moreover, there was
a friendship, a fellowship between God and man.
Adam enjoyed this beautiful relationship, an
enjoyable relationship with God in the garden
paradise. So the entire earth had shalom. Everything
was working and going according to God's good
intentions. Life was perfect. Adam was in harmony
with the creation as well as the creator. But
that's just the first two chapters of the Bible.
That's Genesis 1, Genesis 2. Everything changes
in Genesis 3. And then we're introduced to the
fall. We know one day Adam and Eve foolishly
rejected God's rule over them. So in rebellion,
they broke God's law, bringing sin. Now misery
has entered into the world. Instead of friendship,
man became God's enemy. Man was now self -autonomous.
He preferred to rule over himself instead of
having God rule over him. So when we consider
Shalom, Shalom was fractured. No more is there
harmony man was now estranged from God There
was now death Spiritual death but also physical
death for Adam for Eve and all their progeny
even down to the current day Man's rebellion
brought sin shame injustice disorder violence
Death all those had come into the world where
once I had never been So now you find all of
humanity alienated from the life of God. That's
Genesis 3. We move to the third movement. There's
redemption. God was justly angry at man's rebellion.
Justly angry. Angry with cause. Yet God in His
mercy and grace determined to turn the evil that
you and I had caused, or the Adam had caused,
into a grand theater by which He would showcase
His mercy and His grace that would ultimately
bring Him glory. God, before the foundation of
the earth, had already designed a plan to redeem
not just man, but the entire cosmos. All creation
will be redeemed. But He would in the meantime
also rescue His people from their bondage and
misery to sin. But how would he do it? Well,
it began with what we just celebrated a few days
ago, the incarnation of the Son of God. God the
Son would become man in order to save his people
and restore them back to divine favor. So no
longer would they be alienated from the life
of God. And this redemption story, it climaxes
with the death and resurrection of the Son of
God in the place of his sinful people. And then
we go to the fourth movement. which is restoration,
or some might refer to this as consummation.
So the story did not end with just redemption.
God made a promise. He would renew and restore
the whole world. He would restore the entire
cosmos to the shalom that it once enjoyed. Well,
how's he going to do that? Christ would return,
or will return, and he will vanquish sin, he
will end all rebellion, and he will usher in
his eternal kingdom of righteousness. and peace.
So once more, we can look forward to God is going
to restore this earth to its pristine beauty
that it once enjoyed before sin, and then we
will eternally dwell with God and His people
in the newly restored creation. Now, I ask you
to turn to the book of Revelation. The book of
the Revelation. No, it's not. There's no S on
that. This is not Revelations multiple. It's
one. The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
So Revelation is a book that points ahead and
it gives us a glimpse into the final reign of
Christ. Now, I will tell you, some have spilled
a lot of ink trying to discern exactly how the
future is going to play out. Now, don't get me
wrong, this book, it does tell us plenty about
the future, but the primary application of the
book of Revelation is not about the future. Instead,
the main message is about how God's people can
rightly order their lives today as the people
of God. Keep in mind, it was written to a group
of people, first century believers who were suffering,
who were being persecuted, and they were told
to persevere even amidst great trial and struggle.
That's who the book is addressed to. Now, Revelation
does tell us, ultimately, God wins. And those
who have placed their faith and trust in Christ
will live with Him forever. So now, as we're
getting ready to start, let me give you a brief
background. And again, we could spend a lot of
time on this that we don't have. So John, the
Apostle John, the one who wrote the Gospel of
John and the epistles of John, also wrote this
letter. He's writing this book in exile. He's
on the island of Patmos. It's around the end
of the first century, so it's pretty early, about
probably 1890 is probably where it's close to.
Now many people had already embraced the Gospel
message. Christianity was spreading. So there
were many who had placed their faith in Christ,
and they knew of Christ's promise to return,
and they knew that Christ had promised that he
would establish his kingdom that would rule over
all. But that had not yet happened. Probably
about six decades have already passed and wickedness
throughout the Roman world or the Roman Empire
continues to increase. And that little band of
Christians, that fledgling band, began to be
persecuted. Moreover, there were Roman emperors,
the Caesars, who demanded that they be worshipped
as a god. Well, Christians wouldn't do that.
They would not bow the knee saying Caesar is
Lord. They knew they could worship no one but
the one true God. So again, they found themselves
as object of suspicion, but they were also targets
of persecution even unto death. And you can go
back and read about the Roman emperors from Nero
in Diocletian. Now some Christians then, now
keep putting yourself in their shoes, they began
to ask, if Jesus is Lord and Jesus is reigning
and his kingdom is coming, why is evil triumphing
over good? Does that sound familiar today? Many
look around like, what's going on? Everything's
becoming darker. So the people, the Christians
began to ask, can God do anything about our suffering?
And if he can, when will he do so? So you have
to understand the context. This letter is written
to encourage Christians to persevere amidst and
give hope in the midst of great trial. It is
a letter, but it's not like the other New Testament
letters. Revelation is what we call apocalyptic.
Apocalyptic means it's a Greek word and the apocalypsis
means it's simply an unveiling. So when we talk
about this letter, it is an unveiling of God's
plan to bring judgment on the wicked and to preserve
his people for eternal life in his kingdom. That
plan is going to be revealed, revelation. It's
going to be unveiled, apocalyptic. Now there's
a whole lot of symbolism in this book and the
symbolism mainly is taken from the Old Testament.
So apocalyptic literature uses symbolic vocabulary
when talking about events. So much of scripture,
you have a lot of poetry like the Psalms. You
could never interpret the Psalms literally or
they won't make sense. You don't interpret Psalms
as you would prose. For example, in the Psalms
we find the mountains skipping like lambs and
clapping their hands. Does anyone think mountains
are going to suddenly develop hands and skip
away? No, we understand that's metaphoric. We
understand that's poetic. So you have apocalyptic
literature. is not meant to be interpreted literally
as if it were prose. So when we're talking about
the events in Revelation, they are real, real
events. But they are described in symbolic terms
using apocalyptic language. And that's an important
key. So when we're talking about this, it is
a letter. It's written to seven churches that
existed in the first century there in Asia Minor,
which is modern -day Turkey, if you will. Now,
I told you to turn to chapter four. That's where
we're going to pick it up. Chapters two and three
are letters to those churches. Chapter four begins
future events. And we will do a faster review
through this book. Chapter four, verses one and
two. John moves from addressing the churches.
He's called up into heaven. He's given a grand
vision of Christ and his plan for the future.
So chapter four, verses one and two. John writing.
After these things," that's what he wrote to
the churches, I looked, and behold, a door standing
open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard
was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,
come up here, and I will show you things which
may take much, excuse me, which must take place
after this. Okay, so this is future. Immediately
I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne set
in heaven, and one sat on that throne. John is
in the spirit and the very first thing he sees,
the very first vision he has is of a throne with
someone seated on it. This particular scene,
get this, will give us the framework for understanding
what is driving the rest of the book. Everything
that will take place is under the direction and
supervision of the one who is seated on this
heavenly throne. verses three through five. And
he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius
stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow
around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.
And around the throne were twenty -four thrones.
And on the thrones I saw twenty -four elders
sitting, their clothed in white robes, and they
had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the
throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and
voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before
the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
Now, the one seated on the throne is God. But
God is not described directly. Rather, we get
a description of His glory. It's like an emerald
and a sardius stone, and there's all these colors,
magnificent, brilliant colors there. We're also
told there's 24 elders. Who are they? They represent
the full people of God. 12 tribes representing
Israel from the old covenant people. You have
the 12 apostles representing the new covenant
people. Together, they form the 24 elders. They
are all wearing white robes. That symbolizes
the righteousness which is given to them through
Christ. But they're wearing crowns, golden crowns.
Because just as Jesus promised the apostles,
now it is coming to fruition. So he said, you
will also reign with me. You will sit on thrones,
he said. And this is exactly what's happening.
And the 24 elders, they lay down their thrones
or their crowns. They know that they're wearing
a crown, but the one on the throne is the worthy
one. So they take off their crowns and they lay
them down. In chapter four, verse 11, we read
these words. You are worthy, oh Lord. They know
they're not. To receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things. And by your will,
they exist and were created. Friends, at the
center of the universe is a throne. And the throne,
the one seated on that throne, is the sovereign
God who rules over the world. And John goes on
to tell us many other things about the future,
but he wants us to get this one thing clear from
the very beginning. At the very center of all
that there is, is the throne of God, from which
He's ruling over all things at all times and
all people. And what's the message then? You
and I are called to trust in nothing other than
God. You are to trust and put your faith and
hope in nothing other than the one who is seated
on that throne. That means that we are not in
the hand of any government or world leader. So
many people, God's people, get so very vexed
and worried and perplexed about all this taking
place politically. Yes, it's a mess. Both sides,
it's a mess. But God is ruling. He has seated
on His throne. We are in the hands of the One
who redeemed us through the blood of His Son.
That means your life is not meaningless. It means
the events of your life are not purposeless or
empty. That means we are called to trust God
as He perfectly rules. But John just didn't see
a throne. He hears about a lion, chapter five,
and all these will be on the wall behind me,
chapter five, verse five. But one of the elders,
remember one of the 24 said to me, because John's
crying now because he had this scroll that's
filled with seven scrolls and no one was found
worthy to open it. But the elder said, don't
weep, don't cry, stop crying, John. Behold, the
lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David.
That's if you were here the other night at communion.
This is all Jesus Christ language has prevailed
To open the scroll and to lucid seven seals So
John heard about a lion who overcame who prevailed
and this lion is worthy to open the scroll But
this is so interesting as John turned because
he heard about a lion. He turns, but he doesn't
see a lion He sees a lamb very next verse and
I looked and behold In the midst of the throne,
that's seated there, and of the four living creatures
in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though
it had been slain. Seven horns and seven eyes.
That's not literal. There's not literally a lamb
that has seven horns and seven eyes there on
the throne of God. It's symbolic language here,
which are the seven spirits of God sent out into
all the earth. So John, he thinks he's going
to turn and see the lion that he just heard about,
the lion of the tribe of Judah. But as he turns,
he sees a lamb that had been slain. In the very
throne room of God, in the midst of the throne,
there's a lamb who had been killed, yet it's
not dead, it's living. The lamb and the lion
are the same, one and the same, both referring
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus came at his first
advent as a suffering servant. He is the Lamb
of God. that takes away the sin of the world.
But at his second advent, when he returns, he
will no longer be the suffering servant. He will
return as the Lord of glory, the lion from the
tribe of Judah. The lamb is on God's throne and
all of heaven is worshiping this lamb as if it
were God because he is God. Now this pattern,
you hear one thing but when you turn you see
another one, that repeats itself several times
throughout the book. It's important. I want to
show you one other place for the sake of time.
We'll go over to chapter seven now. In chapter
seven, John says, and I heard the number of those
who were sealed, 144 ,000 of all the tribes of
the children of Israel were sealed. And he goes
on to list 12 ,000 from each of the 12 tribes.
So John hears, he doesn't see, he hears 144 ,000
people being sealed. Then he turns to look at
them. Verse 9. And after these things I looked.
He doesn't say 144 ,000. Behold a great multitude
which no one could number, of all nations, tribes,
peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes
and palm branches in their hands. Wonderful scene
here. See, the 144 ,000 from the 12 tribes of
Israel, that's what he hears, he turns, and when
he turns to see, behold, it's the multitude from
every tribe and race and people and language.
The 144 ,000 turns into the great innumerable
multitude of people. You can't even number them.
Now, these two are one and the same, and this
is so important theologically, it is so very
rich, because this multi -ethnic group that John
sees from every language and tribe, that's the
church. That is the fulfillment of ethnic Israel.
This is the new people of Israel reconstituted.
As Paul said, we're grafted into that olive tree.
This is the fulfillment to which the nation of
Israel had always pointed. So now in chapter
five, we read about that lamb. He alone is worthy
to open the scroll of God. Only this lamb had
the authority to fulfill judgment and complete
redemption. It was this lamb alone who had redeemed
this innumerable company from all tribes and
nations throughout the world. That's chapters
four and five. But in chapter six, a new pattern
begins to emerge and it's a deadly pattern. It's
one of judgment. God's judgment is going to fall.
These judgments will be repeated in greater intensity.
You go from seven seals to seven trumpets to
seven bowls. Now only the lamb that was slain
who yet is alive controls when these judgments
are unleashed. Only the lamb can save and protect
the redeemed from these judgments. And as you
read through them, through these chapters, terrible
judgments are unleashed. But don't forget chapter
four, the very first vision, John Saul. The lamb
is seated on the throne. God is in control. Do
we need to fear? No. He will protect and work
for good for those who belong to him. It is evident
that God protects his own. How do you know that?
You just heard about 144 ,000 saints. If you
go to the end of the story, you know how many
saints are standing around the throne? You have
144 ,000 saints still at the end of history.
All 144 ,000. 12 ,000 from 12 tribes, that number
signifying completion. None of God's people have
been left out. Not one of them is missing. All
of God's people have been protected and sealed
from the wrath of God. What does this mean? It
means the lamb keeps those whom he has purchased
with his blood. And this is exactly what Jesus
said in John 6. He said, this is the will of
the Father who sent me, that all of those he
has given me, there's a group given to him, I
should lose nothing. I don't lose one of them,
but should raise it up at the last day. Everyone
that belongs to him will be kept by him and raised
up by him. This is the message of the Revelation
God is in control and he can be trusted But I
told you there's judgment beginning in chapter
6 Chapter 6 verses 1 and 2 now I Saw when the
lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one
of the four living creatures saying with a voice
like thunder Come and see and I looked and behold
a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow
and a crown was given to him, and he went out
conquering and to conquer. So we have now a series
of judges between chapter 6 and chapter 16. Friends,
you will get very confused in this letter if
you read them linear. They're not linear. They're
cyclical. You have three cycles of seven that
covers all of history, from the time of Jesus'
ascension to the time when he returns. Each cycle
gets more intense than the last. Each cycle is
describing the same time period, but from a different
angle. Now for the sake of time, because we don't
have a lot of time, we'll look at one cycle.
In chapter eight, the trumpet judgments. You
already had the seven seals unleashed. Now you
have the trumpets before you get to the bulls.
You have seven trumpet judgments. The first trumpet
sounds and it begins with the land being burned
with fire and hail. Then that judgment gets progressively
worse. Parts of the sea becomes blood. The rivers
and the springs of water become bitter, undrinkable.
We're told that one -third of the sun, the moon,
and the stars become darkened. You have these
locusts, and I believe they're demons, locust
demons coming out of the abyss, and one -third
of mankind is killed. These judgments continue
until finally in chapter 11, the kingdom of this
world becomes the kingdom of God. We'll look
at that in just a moment. The kingdoms, all the
kingdoms in this world, God apprehends them and
makes them for himself. By these events, we learn
something about the judgment of God. It is comprehensive.
It is complete. In each series, the seals, the
trumpets, the bulls, it's like a descending spiral.
if you will. Sometimes we picture seven seals
and we think they're just seven on one side.
It's like there's a scroll with a seal, a scroll
with a seal, a scroll with a seal. Does that
make sense? So there's like seven of them all
wrapped in. So it's not like seven on one side.
And as you open them, they get increasingly more
intense where you can look at it like a spiral.
They're going down narrower, narrower, narrower.
I don't know if that helps you. But the picture
here is the final judgment of God. God's judgment
is final until we come to chapter 11. Now notice,
then the seventh angel sounded and there were
loud voices in heaven saying, you get Handel's
Messiah here, the kingdoms of this world have
become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he shall reign forever and ever. And the
message is clear. One day this current order
will end. A day is coming when it's all over,
friends. God's kingdom will come in its fullness.
That means evil will not always be present. Darkness
will not always have sway. One day, God will
ensure that this evil is put to an end. And on
that day, there's no escape from judgment. The
severity of His judgments is clear throughout
the book. It'll become so bad that men will beg
to die and say death will flee from them. The
judgment of the Almighty is a terrible thing.
The Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God But at the end
of these seven trumpets in chapter 11 We see
the 24 elders remember the olden the whole people
of God For praising God for his righteous judgment
And the 24 elders who sat before God on their
thrones fell on their faces and they worshiped
God saying we give you thanks oh lord god almighty
the one who was and who is the one who is and
who was and who is to come why are they worshiping
him because you've taken your great power and
reigned the nations were angry that's Psalm 2
and your wrath has come that's Psalm 2 and the
time of the dead that they should be judged and
that you should reward your servants the prophets
and the saints and those who fear your name both
small and great and should destroy those who
destroy the earth. Notice all 24 elders, the
people of God, they're praising God because He's
reigning. You have taken your great power and
reigned. Oh man, the nations of the earth are
in turmoil now. They're raging against the Lord.
They think they're in control. Men who have been
created by God think that they are in control
of destiny. God will laugh at them and hold them
in derision on that day. God's judgment will
vindicate his great name and therefore it is
a cause to praise his name. We rejoice at that.
God's people in the book of Revelation praise
God when he acts in judgment. And Revelation
tells us that one day all this will make sense
and the goodness of God will be vindicated on
that day. But thankfully, this book of Revelation
does not end in judgment. After the seals, and
after the trumpets, and after the bulls, you
see the defeat of the beast, you see the fall
of Babylon, which is this world system, and you
see the triumphant reign of Christ, chapter 20,
verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne, and
him who sat on it, now listen, from whose face
the earth and heaven fled away. Earth and heaven
can't stand before him. And there was found no
place for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, standing before God and books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the Book
of Life. And the dead were judged according to
their works by the things which were written
in the books. Nothing's left out. God's an excellent
record keeper. Satan and the dead, the unbelieving
dead, those who are not united to Christ, they
are judged before God's throne because he is
sovereign over all and that includes sovereign
over Satan. Satan is not the dark side of God
or like the equal but only dark, like cosmic
powers in Star Wars. No, Satan is a creature.
God is the creator. There is no parallel to God
Almighty. John, when he's writing this letter,
The Caesars of Rome were demanding obedience.
It was meant only for God. If you resist to them,
it could mean your death. Now John was just an
old man who had already been burnt alive in a
vat of oil. He didn't die, so they exiled him
to this island in the middle of nowhere. Now
from here, this old man is proclaiming and pronouncing
judgment on Rome and on all the future kingdoms
that were to come. because John knew that the
final word is not with any Caesar or any earthly
king or any earthly ruler, but rather with Almighty
God. And that brings us to the very final section
of the book. Judgments past. And we get a glimpse,
just a glimpse of a glorious future. All the
events from Genesis 3 to Genesis 20 have been
in preparation for a grand restoration greater
than anything we could possibly imagine. God
is preparing right now a people for Himself who
will live together with Him in this grand kingdom
for all eternity. Now, the Bible begins in a
garden, a paradise, and it ends in a great city,
a heavenly city of Revelation 21. In Revelation
21, beginning in verse 1, we read these words.
Now I saw a new heaven, a new earth. For the
first heaven, the first earth had passed away
new. It's the word kynos. It's restored, not
new as though it never existed. Also, there was
no more sea. I'll get to that in a moment. Then
I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming
down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from 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
will be with them and be their God. This description
of the heavenly city did not begin with John
in the book of Revelation. It began way back
in the Old Testament. There are parallels between
Revelation 21, this city, and various Old Testament
passages, and I put two of them up there just
so you can see. In Isaiah 65, the prophet says,
for behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former shall not be remembered or come
to mind. John picks that up. But then you also
have Ezekiel chapter 37, God speaking through
that prophet. My tabernacle also shall be with
them. Indeed, I will be their God, and they shall
be my people. And this is what John is describing
in the 21st chapter of the book of the Revelation.
Throughout the entire Old Testament, you will
see various descriptions of the city that John
is now describing. I want you to notice what
John does not see, and this is helpful. He does
not see a bunch of disembodied beings inhabiting
clouds, reclining in everlasting laziness. This
is not what's going on here in heaven. He sees
a new creation, a physical creation. Primarily,
he describes it as a new city. It's the New Jerusalem.
It's the city of God. This is heaven. that's
coming to earth, because that's what we will
live on, the new earth. Verses 23 through 25,
same chapter. This city had no need of the sun
or the moon to shine in it, for it didn't need
it. For the glory of God illuminated. The Lamb
is its light, the brightness of the glory of
God. And the nations of those who are saved shall
walk in its light, and the kings of the earth
shall bring their glory and honor into it. Its
gates shall not be shut at all by day. There
shall be no night there. No need to sleep. In
the city, the effects of the curse. Remember
when man fell, which we looked at in the fall,
all of creation was cursed. Now they're removed,
starting in chapter 22. And he showed me a pure
river of water of life. Water of life. We've
seen that before in Genesis. Clears crystal,
proceeding from the throne of God and of the
Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either
side of the street, there was a tree of life.
Remember last time you saw the tree of life?
Adam and Eve were barred from eating from it.
But now there's access to it. Which bore twelve
fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month,
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of
the nation's eternal life. And there shall be
no more curse. But the throne of God and the
Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve
Him. Death is replaced by life. Night is replaced
by everlasting light. Corruption is gone. It
is all pure. Cursing is gone. It's all divine
blessing. The city is one of the spectacular
brilliance. But in chapter 21, verse 1, John
wrote that little phrase, and there shall be
no more sea. And there was no more sea. Why does
he say that? Throughout the Bible, rebellion,
particularly in the old covenant, in the old
Testament is pictured as a raging sea, and now
all rebellion has been vanquished, it's been
quenched, and there is no more sea. What is it
symbolizing? There is no more rebellion anywhere.
Everything has been subjected to God's victorious
reign. And one final thing. We're told about
the shape of this peculiar city in 2116. The
city is laid out as a square. Its length is as
great as its breadth. And he measured the city
with the reed, 12 ,000 furlongs, its length,
breadth, and height are equal. It's a cube. A
perfect cube, right? Why is John telling us that
the heavenly city is a perfect cube? Because
we're reminded of another structure in the Bible
that had that same exact shape. You go back to
the Old Covenant, the Holy of Holies, the most
holy place within the temple where God dwelt
was a perfect cube. In 1 Kings chapter 6, the
inner sanctuary, this is the Holy of Holies,
was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits
high, and it was overlaid with pure gold. What's
the message that Revelation is telling us? What's
the message that God wants us to know? The importance
of this city being shaped like a cube is that
all rebellion is gone, it's all been vanquished,
all of God's people are living forever with Him
in the very presence of God in the heavenly Holy
of Holies. There is no more barred access. In
the Old Covenant, there's a thick curtain. At
the death of Christ, that curtain was ripped
in two. Right now, we still face through a glass
darkly. We still walk by faith. But on that day,
we will forever dwell with God in unhindered
access. We will dwell with God. All of creation,
the entire cosmos, will once again become the
dwelling place of God. It's paradise restored.
What began, what was lost, is now regained. So
what's all this meant as we conclude in one minute?
Listen, this is what I want to encourage you
with at the very last Sunday in 2025 of a very
difficult year for most of us. One day, those
who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ,
you will enjoy face -to -face fellowship with
God without even the possibility of sinning ever
again. One day, Revelation 21 verse 4, God is
going to wipe away every tear from your face
and give you an eternal smile. So what do you
do? You trust Him. One day God will restore and
renew all things. See, the New Testament opened
up with the announcement of a coming kingdom
and the coming of the King. That's the Gospels.
You see that kingdom expand to the ends of the
earth in the book of Acts. Then you have the
epistles that are written. That details how the
church, which is the kingdom on earth in seed
form, should be organized, who its members are,
and what their life should be like. But we live
right here. Those same epistles. Romans and 1st
and 2nd Corinthians and Galatians and Ephesians
and Philippians and you know Colossians, we could
go on. These same epistles, they tell us right
now, right now you and I, the saints of God,
we live in this kingdom on earth and while this
kingdom is on earth in seed form, not yet consummated
form, we will face opposition and we will be
persecuted and trials are to be expected. But
the New Testament ends with the ringing declaration
that the coming kingdom of God, which is established
by the blood of the Lamb, will prevail, will
come, and will be a reality. The King who has
come as a child will come again as a conqueror,
bring his kingdom in its fullness, and it will
never end. So the only thing that we do is we
cry out with the saints forever, even so come
Lord Jesus. This is what we do. This is the hope.
2026 can be... It might be worse. It might be
gloriously bright, and I pray that it is. But
whatever comes, it doesn't stop the reality that
one day those frowns and tears will be replaced
by eternal smiles and eternal hearts aflame with
joy. This is what the saints of God have to look
forward to. Find your comfort in this. These
saints that got this book, that got this letter,
many of them died. Jesus said, be faithful unto
death and I'll give you the crown of life. Don't
quit. Don't complain. Gird up your loins, as
Paul would tell us, and persevere and run your
race with joy and fight the good fight of faith,
because there is a kingdom that's coming with
a King who will reign forever to all those who
know Christ. Praise be to God. Father, we thank
you. for your word, Lord. I pray that it has
been an encouragement to their hearts as it was
to mine. Lord, there's so much more to unpack,
and Lord, God, it's so rich and glorious. Lord,
it's the word of God. Lord, it's spectacular.
Lord, thank you for your word. God, help us to
understand it. to live by it, to receive it as
it is, not the word of man. And Father, I pray
that we would be, Lord, encouraged in our walk
with you, Lord. It is hard sometimes. Lord, we
become discouraged and downcast and we're left
to wonder why these things are happening and
why now and why him or why her. Oh, God, help
us as Job did to put his hand over his mouth
and to trust you, Lord, to trust you. We're going
to be raised. to live forever with Christ in
the kingdom. Lord, I thank you for that. Lord,
save sinners. If there's people here, Lord, I'm
sure that there are maybe one, maybe more, Lord,
who don't know Christ. Open their eyes and give
them a heart to believe, Lord. Show them your
glory salvation. Lead them to calvary, Lord.
Help them to see the futility of a life lived
apart from you. And Lord, to repent of their
sin, to fall on their faces before you and turn
their life over to Christ. I would ask that you
do that for your glory. Lord, as we prepare for
communion now, this great King who is reigning
in heaven has called us to commune with him through
the sacrament of the table. Lord, we look forward
to it. Receive now our praise and thanks. It's
in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Deacons,
would you come to prepare the table for communion?