Have you ever waited for something you're looking forward to?
Life is full of delayed gratification: doing something we don’t want to do in order to get something we do. Whether it's a sweetie because we read a book at age 10 or the salary we get to go to work, we all know about enduring in order to get something better. We are even willing to suffer because we see the goal, the reward, in front of us. Just ask the guys in the gym. Or athletes. Or my wife when she’s excercising. The momentary suffering is nothing compared to the joy that awaits.
And that’s how we as Christians should live. In this life, we keep going, we endure, because we have our eyes fixed on what is to come. We follow Jesus and obey his words not because we get everything we want now, but because we see the prize in front of us. We are willing to suffer now because joy – pure joy - is just a moment away. In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, we will be with him.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.
1. God is almighty and he is good v1-5
2. God is full of mercy v6-8
3. The Holy City is made up of God's people and contains only the best of this world.
1. God is almighty and he is good v1-5
In the movie Batman v Superman, Luthor raised this familiar issue: “if God is all-powerful, He cannot be all good. And if He is all good, then He cannot be all-powerful.” Because if God is good, he would not allow what we see around us. He would not allow sin. And because he does, he is either not good or does not have the power to stop it.
This was very real to those John was writing to in year 90. For they were persecuted. In Smyrna they lost jobs, houses, business – they were poor and hungry because they were Christians. In Pergamon they were killed. In Philadelphia they were under such pressure that they nearly collapsed. In Ephesus, they forgot love, Thyatira just compromised and conformed to the society around them (State church?), Laodicea was lukewarm, and Sardes was nearly dead. So why keep on going? Why believe in Jesus? Is it worth it? Can God really fulfill his promises? Can we really believe in a God of love in the midst of suffering?
And the answer is yes. For we have already seen God's answer to Luthor's problem. On the cross we see both God's love and His might. He is good because he dies for us. And he is almighty, even over evil, because on the cross we see how evil is transformed by God to serve His good purposes. Jesus' crucifixion was at the same time the worst thing that ever happened - because we murdered God! - and the best thing that ever happened - because through His death Jesus set us free and laid the foundation for the new creation.
Because of Jesus' death on the cross, all evil will be erased, and we who are in Christ will live forever in an eternal paradise together with our God. Satan and sin and death and pain and all evil was dealt a death blow on the Cross.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” 5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”
God is good and he will destroy all evil. Soon. Until then evil is permitted a narrow and limited role in God's plan. Evil is forced to obey God’s will and achieve his purposes: to either lead us to salvation, or to judge those who do not repent. But soon all these things will be gone forever. Soon, Jesus will return, not as a servant, not to die, not to open the way to heaven for evil people like us through His death on the cross. No, he will return as the Holy Warrior, the White Knight who will destroy evil forever.
For this world will be washed clean: all evil, suffering, pain, gone! Because God will live here with us. God's home will be with his people, with us. He will live with us, and we will be his people.
We see this illustrated in the Exodus with Moses, where God saved his people with great power from suffering and slavery in Egypt, and lived with his people. The word “home” in v3 is “tabernacle”, which was God’s tent in the desert - a physical picture that God was with them. Here I lived in my tent - and God lived in his tent. God is with us! Later King Solomon built a new permanent symbol: the Temple in Jerusalem. Here was God’s house. God lived with his people. He was their God, and they were His people.
But those were shadows of the reality. Here is the reality. Here is the fulfilment of that promise. God with his people - but without any barrier. Jesus has removed sin from us and given us white robes so that we can stand as his bride in the new creation. Our name is written in the Book of Life! And this is what we are looking forward to. The day when God himself will wipe away every tear and where death and sorrow and crying and pain are no more. Amen and Amen!
So why should we endure, keep going? Because this is our future.
Why doesn’t God do anything about evil? Well, he has already. He smashed it on the cross, and showed us his power and his love. And he will wipe evil out completely on the Last Day.
But why doesn’t he do it now? Why, for example, is Robert Mugabe, dictator of Zimbabwe, still alive? Justice now!
But are you really sure you want instant justice? To be struck dumb (unable to speak) because cruel and hurtful words were about to come out of your mouth? Or your hand to rot off before you could sign the shady fiannaical deal? Deaf because you listened to gossip? See we don’t think about ourselves when we cry out for justice! Just because our sins aren’t as public and don’t affect as many people doesn’t mean they’re any better.
If we really got immediate and rigorous justice, this world would be a literal hell. It would be impossible for us to live. In his mercy God has delayed judgement day, and he has limited how much of the consequences of sin we experience. Just enough for us to realize we are sinners - but not enough to crush us with hell.
But that Day will comes when everything is put right and justice will rule - but thank God it is not today, because it means that we and those around us still have the opportunity to find mercy in Jesus. And that's point number two.
God is almighty and he is good, but he delays the day of justice - judgment day - because
2. God is full of mercy v6-8
6 And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. 7 All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.
Everything will be renewed, re-created, transformed. That has always been the plan. We, too, will be transformed, re-created. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
We are made new – re-created - when we receive Christ. We are re-created every day as the Holy Spirit works in us and transforms us, changes us, renews from the inside out. Today, I'm far from perfect, but I'm much more like Jesus than I was when I was saved at age 19. The Holy Spirit is at work in me. I was re-created that moment I received Jesus. I died, and a new me, me in Christ, was created. The child of wrath died, and the child of God was born. I was re-created. I am being re-created. And I will be re-created when Jesus calls me from the grave and into the New Creation.
And this transformation, this growth from grace to grace, is sure because it is guaranteed by Jesus. He who is Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He says he is A to Z (or Å), the beginning and the end. He created everything in the beginning, and he will re-create everything in the end. And he says to us, “Come! Whoever is thirsty, come! He who desires, let him come and he will receive the water of life as a gift.” Amen and Amen!
God is full of mercy. Anyone who wants to can receive the water of life. Those in the Bible groups will recognize this from John 7:37 where Jesus says, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’ ” He was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him.
This is a gift from Jesus. An gift bought at great price. For I do not think it's a coincidence that the words in v6 “It is finished” echo what Jesus said on the Cross in John 19:30: “It is finished”
For this was the goal of the cross. A huge multitude! A massive crowd of people from all nations, tongues, and cultures - the gift of grace! Saved by Jesus' blood on the cross.
What amazing mercy. Because when we read v8 we realise what we deserve. This is us. 8 “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
The word “cowards” caught my eye. Is it really sinful to be a coward? But how true that is. How often do we not do what we know is right because we are afraid. We do not want to lose status, risk our reputation. We don’t want people thinking we’re weird. So we remain silent or we do what we know we should not do. Have another beer and get drunk. Be greedy and eat another piece of cake. Take that pill. Punch him. Steal that. Sign the dodgy contract. Then lie about it. Cover it up. Because we are cowards! The biggest coward in history was Pontius Pilate! So in Christ let be men of courage. Men of convction who do what is right. Men and women who stand for Christ no matter what.
Because by nature we are cowardly, unbelieving, corrupt - we don’t want to believe God’s word, we don’t want to obey Him – we want to do what WE want. And so we are murderers. We strike people down with words, and if looks could kill... of that we are all guilty. Some of us have blood on our hands because we have been misled and pressured into abortion and killed a baby person. And there are even some in Christ who have killed or tried to kill others. Perhaps in this very church. I had a murderer in my bible study a few years ago. We are murderers all of us. And we are immoral. Sexual sinners. Unfaithful in our thoughts, and for many of us, our thoughts have become actions and we have been unfaithful. We are trapped by pornography and are unfaithful to God and to those we love. We live together (samboere) and refuse to commit to being one and so turn our back on God's commandment “the two shall become one” in marriage. Or we are married but we live parallel lives as two instead of united as one - and too many of us who ignore what God says about sex in marriage - which is “be united often!”
Witchcraft? Well that doesn’t apply to us, does it? (knock on wood).... Actually, every time we look to something other than God to secure our future, we play with witchcraft, sorcery, magic. When we read horoscopes or visit a medium, talk to the dead, ask them for help, pray to our ancestors, pray to Mary or the saints instead of God. When we play with occultism, Charlie Charlie, Ouja board, and such things. Witchcraft. We seek power from things other than God – and that is idolatry. We worship the god "me" - I'll decide, I'll say what's right and what's wrong.
And if we’ve managed to dodge the previous words, the last one gets us all. Liars. We are all liars. All it takes is putting us under a little bit of pressre, and out the lies slip, as easy as breathing. Debby says she told her first lie almost as soon as she could talk. She had some porridge that she didn’t like and when her mother’s back was turned, she emptied the bowl on the floor. When she was asked, “where is the porridge, Debby?”, she answered “gone!” and pretended that she had eaten it! It is deep within us, part of our nature. We are all liars.
And that’s why here in this church there is no judgment! For here we are all sinners who stand before the throne of God. Here is no rubbish that God likes us because we are better people than the “sinners” out there. No. We are sinners, and God likes us because God likes to save sinners. Maybe because we are worse than those “out there”?
Here there are no judgments. In this church there is mercy. Amen.
Not one of us deserves a place in Heaven. But because of Jesus' death on the cross and his resurrection, we can receive his salvation. All we have done has been written down and blocks us from God, from the waters of life. But Jesus took our sins and went through death and hell for us so that we could drink the water of life instead of being thrown into the lake of fire.
Do you thirst for the water of life? The water of life's that can wash you clean? The water of life that re-creates you so that the old sinful life dies and you rise again to everlasting life? If you thirst for Jesus, receive him!
And if you have received Jesus, drink deep of the water of life. Fill your mind with him so that you no longer want to be sexually immoral, or a liar, or a murderer. Live for Christ! Do not be a coward, but stand firm no matter the cost - for we know how this all ends. We have read the final chapter.
Just like Jesus, who for the joy set before him, the joy of this day, the day we are reading about, the day when everything is put right and we are joined with him – because of the joy of this day he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.
Let's follow in his footsteps, for we are children of grace. And because he is a God of grace, just look at the joy he has prepared for us:
3. The Holy City is the people of God and contains only the best of this world.
9 Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 So he took me in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God and sparkled like a precious stone—like jasper as clear as crystal.
What a vision! Here we, the church, all the people of God, pictured as a city, the city of God. Jerusalem was the capital of Israel from the time of King David. The king reigned from Israel, and the Temple was built in Jerusalem by King Solomon built the temple. But now we see the heavenly Jerusalem! The earthly Jerusalem was just the shadow. Here we see the reality. And it is the bride of Christ. Yes, men, we are the sons of God, but we are also the bride of Christ! And we should be happy about that. Because a bride is one with her husband, united. And we are one with Jesus, united on the cross. And as a bride inherits all that the bridegroom has, we inherit all that Jesus has. No wonder we shine with the glory of God.
Look around now. This is the shadow. One day we will see each other - Rock Church - as we really are. And we shall shine with the glory of God.
16 When he measured it, he found it was a square, as wide as it was long. In fact, its length and width and height were each 1,400 miles (since numbers in Revelation are symbolic, converting stadia to miles was a rather silly. 1400 miles it tells you on the bottom of the page, is 12000 stadia. 12000 – 12 x 1000. 17 Then he measured the walls and found them to be 216 feet thick, look down: 144 alen that is 12x12.
The number 12 represent the people of God in Revelation, and the number 12 is found all over the city. 12 tribes and 12 apostles - all the people of God are included. Both Israel and the Church, Old and New Testament. Israel before Christ, where all those who thirsted for living water received grace from God because he held back the punishment for the sins committed and poured them out on Jesus on the cross. And we in the church, the new Israel, after Christ, our sins he bore on the cross. Like a huge funnel, the sins of all the people of God were gathered and poured out on Jesus on the cross.
The whole city is a cube - as tall as broad and wide. And there is no temple. Because in the temple there was a room, the Most Holy Place. That was where God “lived”, symbolically. And nobody could enter that room without dying. The Most Holy Place. And that room was... a perfect cube. And now the whole city is that cube. The whole city is the Most Holy Place. God’s home is with us!
When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain in the temple was torn in two. It was that curtain that separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Temple. The message was clear: the way to God is now open. And here we see the fulfillment! We will live in the Most Hoy Place, together with our God.
It’s a return to Eden. In the garden of Eden Adam and Eve walked with God. But this is better. Not a garden, but a great city, 12,000 times 12,000 times 12,000 - all the people of God.
21 The twelve gates were made of pearls—each gate from a single pearl! And the main street was pure gold, as clear as glass. John is almost at a loss for words trying to describe the beauty of the Heavenly City. Nidaros Cathedral, Notre Dame, St Pauls, St Peters are ugly 70's concrete blocks compared to the new Jerusalem!
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The whole city is the Most Holy Place - we will live with God. We are His people, and He is our God, our Father!
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light. 24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory. 25 Its gates will never be closed at the end of day because there is no night there. 26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.
The new creation is a “Greatest Hits” of this life - only the very best of this world is good enough for the next. All that we love and hold most dear in this will be in the next. And never again will anything be corrupted or ruined, but it will shine with unparalleled glory and beauty, reflecting our Lord.
27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
An eternal paradise is what awaits those of us in Christ.
So, how does that change how we live now? Three examples to end off.
“If I give money to the gospel, I'll might not have enough for a summer holiday to “Syden””... travel in the new creation. Becuase then there’s no litter, travelling doesn’t exhaust you, and you’ll see everything as it was created to be, not as a shadow as it is today. I’m sure Greece is beautiful now - but imagine how it will look in eternity! You’re not missing out by not travelling now.
“If I obey God's word and don’t drink or don’t have illicit sex, then I'll miss out, I’ll be a square, a prude, and I'll never have that experience.” Really? When has sinning ever been a good experience? Sin only harms us, hurts us. Hold out for what’s best. Why play in the mud in the slum when the bus to paradise beach is waiting outside?
“If I make a stand as a Christian, I’ll get criticised, or teased, or I’ll lose out on that promotion, or I'll be killed!” Here we need perspective. Do we live for ourselves, or do we live for Christ? What matter this light and momentary suffering compared to eternal glory!
In all that we do, we follow in Jesus' footsteps.
Hebrews 12:1-2 Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honour beside God’s throne.
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