A BRIGHT NEW WORLD
Revelation 21:1-8 (NKJV)
All Things Made New
21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 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. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Intro:
The thought of Heaven has sustained the saint of God for centuries. Just the knowledge that there is a place of endless glory and blessing ahead is enough to give the child of God “joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
In these verses, John gives us a small glimpse of that eternal state. But, what he does give just whets my appetite for more.
Let’s look at the Bright New World that John describes in these
verses.
I. v.1 A NEW CREATION
A. Some New Things – New = recently made, fresh, unused. (Ill. New can also mean, of a new kind, unprecedented, uncommon, unheard of!) Ill. 1 Cor. 2:9; Ill. We are used to a spoiled creation.
B. Some No More Things
1. The old creation – 2 Pet. 3:10
2. The Obstacle of the sea – (Ill. Oceans are probably a product of the flood!) (Ill. Seas were an obstacle in John’s day) (Speaks of there being no boundaries between men.)
II. v.2 A NEW CITY
A. A Pure City – (Ill. Holy!) Contrast old and new.
B. A Presented City – (From God) 1 Cor. 2:9; Eph. 3:20
C. A Prepared City – Ill. John 14:1-3. Ill. A bride preparing to give herself totally to her husband.
III. v.3-4 A NEW COMMUNION
A. v.3 Blessed By The Presence Of God – (Ill. Tabernacle!) God will be present with His people! Ill. This makes me homesick. Makes me lose interest in this world!
B. v.4 Blessed By The Absence Of Grief
1. No sadness – Wipe = obliterate, erase, blot out, wipe out! No cause for tears!
2. No Separation – No more untimely separations by death!
3. No Sorrow – Ill. Mourning – No more broken hearts!
4. No Suffering – No more hurts, no more labors, no more longings!
IV. v.5-8 A NEW CONSTITUTION
A. v.5-6a A Splendid Place – (Ill. “I Make”, and “It is done!”)
B. v.6b-7 A Satisfying Place
1. Satisfying Resources – Every need supplied, every desire fulfilled!
2. Satisfying Rewards – Ill. Joint heirs with Jesus – Rom. 8:17.
3. Satisfying Relationship – He gave us His Son – Jn 3:16; He gave us His Spirit – Luke 11:13. Now in a very literal way, He gives us Himself!
C. v.8 A Safe Place – All those who are outside are banished from Heaven! It is this type of people who have ruined our world, but they will not ruin that world, for they will not be allowed in!
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Flaming the Revival Fire In Christ 