Marbury Church of God

Our text today: Revelation 21:1-6

(These notes are abbreviated, and the full sermon was rather more complete. Watch this space for the time we can begin podcasting the sermon itself.)

21:1 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.
21:2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
21:3 And 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;
21:4 he 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.”
21:5 And 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.”
21:6 Then 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.

Today we’re going to talk about the hope that God has placed in us. I’m sure each of us has an idea, or an image, in our minds that comes up whenever we think of Heaven, of the dwellingplace of God, of the promise given to believers for eternal life. It’s appropriate for us to make sure that we are fit for heaven. We spend our lives, in a way, doing that. Those of us who work for justice, peace, healing, and equality do so, when we’re at our best, as ones who are mindful that Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come, for God’ will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Ah, but that brings up the question: How is God’s will done in heaven? That becomes relevant for us if we are to even pray properly, and also if we are to recognize when our prayers have been answered.

The first thing we see in our passage is that heaven, and indeed when God is done with it, earth, is something new. There are those who look for God to come and set up an earthly kingdom of some kind, modeled after the kingdoms of this world. Peter says in his second epistle, We look for a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

The second thing we see is that the church of God, designated here as the new Jerusalem, the bride of Christ, is in heaven already, and is not going to heaven. You went to heaven, in a certain way, the day you became a Christian and thus became a member of this Bride, this Body, this holy temple. In John’s vision the church is holy and complete, already belonging to God, every stone and precious pearl in place.

The third thing we see is that God does not bring the people of earth up to heaven, but brings heaven down to us. Where God is, is healing from sorrow and pain.

The fourth thing is, that God makes all things new. He doesn’t just renew what is old, bad, sinful, or wrong; he renews everything.

The fifth thing is, that God gives life freely as a gift to all who thirst for it.