Grace Summit Community Church || Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

Revelation - 12

04.06.08 Revelation - It is finished

Father, I am excited to communicate Your Word. The day is coming when we will see You and spend eternity with You – You will wipe away every tear – and we long for that day – but we live in this day – so help us to live for You.

We are closing the Book of Revelation today – then we’ll move to a shorter series, then a longer one – and some fill-in in the meantime. We have talked about the Tribulation, the anti-christ – last week, chapter 19 and judgment. Today, we will look at heaven.

Often, little kids might ask – what will heaven be like? Will my kitty be there? You can answer that however you want, because the Bible doesn’t really say. If you need a dog to be happy in heaven, you’ll have a dog!

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

God is revealing – in closing off this revelation – a new heaven and new earth – the first heaven and earth are GONE! This earth we live in will not exist. It will be completely abolished! God will create them new. A new reality – a new kind of existence. The heaven we live in and the earth we live in for eternity will be completely different. I think that might be why the Bible doesn’t really say much about it.

We look at a springtime day, and think, what a beautiful creation! But this creation is totally corrupted. That is why the new heaven will be sooo amazing.

How many of you have been out west? If you come from Ohio – it a different world.

Many years ago, we went to the Painted Desert. The cool thing is that it is right off the highway. Not like the Grand Canyon, which is like a 3 hour trip off the highway! As you drive through the Painted Desert – there is, like, nothing. But then, you take a short trip off the main road, and all of a sudden – you see it and think – how can this exist?

I think heaven will be so incredible that there is very little language to describe it.

21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea

There is no longer any sea.

When the Bible speaks of the sea – yeah, a body of water – but it also speaks of a sense of the sea as a representation of evil. The antichrist came out of the sea. The harlot sat on the seas. The evil nations came to Babylon from the seas. In Job it talks about the deep – the sea monsters and all these references in scripture to the sea as a place of hostility, evil, and chaos. They didn’t have the great ships that we have today.

Genesis 1:2 – and the earth was formless and void – and the spirit of God hovered over the deep – there was no land at the time. Genesis gives this impression of hostility that will exist in the world – but God hovers over the sea – he is in control of this situation. The sea has that sense.

2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband

This city is adorned like a bride. Is this a real city, or the Bride of Christ, the church? I think it is both. There is so much detail as a city, I think it is a city, but it also refers to the church.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God

There is no evil in this new heaven and new earth. Not even a hint. Then when he begins to talk about here, in heaven, we will have a new relationship with God. Beyond what we have ever had, even in the beginning.

God did not live in the Garden – He would come down and walk with Adam. There was a divide between the heavens and the earth. That is no longer the case. God will dwell with us – a different type of relationship with God than man was ever able to have. It will be a relationship with God like never before – the closeness will be like the people we live with.

It is interesting – a lot of times we think that when God created the heavens and earth, He had this plan – and we messed it up – and He went to plan b – to send Christ as savior –

God understood that in creating creatures who could choose, that they would disobey. His entire plan was to send His son to die to demonstrate His love – and THEN to create something brand new. This was his ultimate plan. To create this ultimate place. At this point, it is unimaginable. I don’t think we can begin to comprehend this new relationship and how intimate our relationship with Jesus will be when we get there.

4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

There is a new physical creation. The elimination of evil. And an entirely new emotional or psychological experience that we do not understand. There will no longer be any death – and mourning or crying or pain. What we know and experience now will be gone. It will pass away. You will not have the ability in heaven to feel pain – to have any sorrow, any regret, any sadness. Your body, your spirit, will not be able to do that. You will be changed so much that any kind of hurt can not exist in that place.

When you think about life today, there are times when everything is going well. But how quickly can that come to an end? We have all seen it – the relationship – BAM! In a split second, it can go from “This is the best day of my life” to “This is the worst day of my life!”

It gets to a point where we think we need the bad emotion to enjoy the good emotion – but that is not the case here. There will be no bad feelings.

Think of when you are suffering today – understand and take this in context, this is being written to people who are suffering severely. You will have all eternity – all the pain will have passed away. Bad memories and dreams will pass away. They will be nowhere to be found.

5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

He is really making this point, isn’t he – how many times does he say he is making everything new?

You can trust Me on this one. He says it again. If God has promised it, you can count on it. He will take away every hurt, pain, suffering, sorrow from your life. It is not going to happen here. But it will happen. Then he says this:

6 He said to me: "It is done.”

It is over – I am finished. It is going to happen. This day is coming where God closes the book and finishes what He started.

6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

You are not going to have to earn any of this – it is given freely – no jobs in heaven, praise God.

7 "He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part [will be] in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

There are two ways to live –

The end result for those who trust in Christ – is this place that is out of this world – literally – perfect love, perfect peace. You can live in that place by coming to Christ. OR, you can choose to live in this other place. Each person makes this choice. He gives you a contract of this incredible place – or this place that burns with fire and brimstone – torment, punishment, for all eternity.

Even in the closing of this – Which way do you choose?

It is 1500 miles cubed – From Ohio to the Rocky Mountains –

22 And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp [is] the Lamb. 24 And the nations shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory into it.

In God’s family are people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

God wants to fill His kingdom with people of every kind. We will all be represented in this eternal city. There will be no night. The gates will no longer be closed – because there is no need for protection. There will be no evil. Nothing unclean.

25 And in the daytime (for there shall be no night there) its gates shall never be closed; 26 and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; 27 and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Again, no evil – only those who come to Christ will be allowed to participate.

Rev. 22:1 And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve [kinds of] fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; 4 and they shall see His face, and His name [shall be] on their foreheads. 5 And there shall no longer be [any] night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.

This is never going to end. This is a little description. Artists try to do paintings of this – and they just can’t. You can’t imagine it!

7 "And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book."

12 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward [is] with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."

20 He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming quickly." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

We cannot even begin to imagine – the elimination of evil from our lives – and it all boils down to this final coming. He is coming. At times it seems long – but He said He is coming quickly. John was trying to give them hope in their situation.

There are 3 graces talked about in the Bible – 1 Cor. 13:13

Faith, Hope, and Love.

Hope is really important. He is offering hope, not only to the original recipients, but us as well.

Hope – the expectation of good – not a dream that offers comfort –

Not like, “I hope I win the lottery” – because it is a dream – it has a potential of being an illusion and disappointing. Hope is an expression of confidence in what God will do. It is linked to faith. When we HOPE for this – it WILL happen. He is faithful and true. For YOU, THIS will happen.

1 1Tim 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus, [who is] our hope;

1 Tim. 4:10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.

Christ is our only source of real hope. If you hope in anything else, you will be disappointed.

Marriage is wonderful, but if you are hoping in your spouse – you will be disappointed.

Kids are wonderful. No, really. But after you have children – if that is where your hope is, you will be disappointed. You can go on and on. There is only one hope that does not disappoint.

Rom. 15: 4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

If your hope is low, you can get it through God’s word. If disappointment continually comes up – you need to spend more time in God’s word. My sermons are not enough!

1 Peter 1: 13 Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober [in spirit,] fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

The direction of our hope needs to be His coming – not His blessings. He gives us so much – our children, families, provisions, the church, health at times – but if you are fixing your hope on those, you will be disappointed. He has, Job says, the right to take it away. Your hope is to be fixed, not on your ministry doing great or the kids getting out of the house – great things! – but our hope is to be on Christ. The blessings become a hope, not just blessings.

The benefits of hope.

1= Thess 1: 3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father,

Hope helps us to continue. Without hope, you will not have love and faith.

Hebrews 6 - 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a [hope] both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the ve

An anchor that keeps the boat stable. Focusing on hope keeps your Christian life stable and solid.

Hope gives you confidence to live this Christian way. When you know with certainty what awaits you – you can live with confidence. Terrible analogy – but when you are playing Texas hold-em and you have two aces – and the showing cards are two aces, you can bet with confidence!

You can live with confidence that you will be in Christ’s kingdom…

Heb 6: 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end,

It is not enough to just hear these things – but we have to demonstrate diligence in our walk to understand hope. There is a human part to this – you can’t just read it once and hear it on Sunday. In diligence – labor – work hard at understanding and knowing your faith – what you believe and living according to it – that is how you build this and it takes care of your life. A good musician can play his instrument because he has practiced. A good athlete can perform because she has practiced. Work and diligence.

Thank You Lord, that what awaits us is incredible – the mind cannot even begin to comprehend what You have for us. Thank You Lord – in Your name we pray.

Grace Summit Community Church | 2960 Bailey Road | Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44221 | 330-922-3550
Having trouble with the audio? Download the latest Flash player here.

Grace Summit Community Church Home

Revelation - 12

04.06.08 Revelation - It is finished

Sunday Worship

Verse of the Day