REVELATION 21-22 REVELATION REFRESHER SERIES PART 92021 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Revelation 21-22 Revelation Refresher Series Part 9

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2021.

Well, as we finish off these chapters and finish off this book, again here in Revelation chapters 21 and 22, we'll be finishing up the final things that the Lord laid out to the Apostle John in this vision that he gave him on the island of Patmos. Now, as Jesus appeared to John back in Revelation chapter 1, he gave him an overview of the things that he was going to show them.

And so we see that in Revelation 1, verse 19, the Lord gives his outline of the book in telling John to write down the things which he had seen, to write down the things which are, and then to write down the things which will take place after this. And so the things that John saw relates to Revelation 1, the vision of Jesus, and that first experience and encounter that he had with him there on the island of Patmos.

Then the things which are, talking about the present time, is the letters to the seven churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. And this is still the present time for us today. We live in the church age, and these two chapters still remain the most important chapters in

For us.

Still chapters 2 and 3 contains for us the words of the Lord for us as the body of Christ. And at different places that we find ourselves. And so as you experience different things in life, it's appropriate and good to...

and go back perhaps and consider those different letters that Jesus wrote. And maybe that's something for you to think about. If there's a change in the season that you're in, you know, maybe your job has changed. Maybe your home has changed. Maybe your school has changed. Maybe your spiritual life has taken a turn or, you know, some other relationship has changed in your life and you're experiencing different things than what you had anticipated or what you had known before. Uh,

It's probably a good opportunity then to go back to Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and allow the Lord to speak to you through those seven churches. And maybe now you would identify with a different one. And maybe there's some new instruction that the Lord wants to give you in the midst of that.

Well, anyways, I don't know. That was a little bit of a rabbit trail. But finally, the things that will take place after this is the future events. And that was recorded for us in chapters 4 through 22. And the majority of the book of Revelation is about those future things. And so we've been spending time looking at this as a timeline, understanding the church age in the first four chapters of Revelation and this season where the Lord has

the church being his primary instrument for reaching the world with the gospel and representing him to the world around us, that is referred to as the church age. Prior to the church, that was Israel's position. It was Israel's role to be the representative of God and really the outreach of God to the world. And at the

the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church, there was a new work that the Lord did and accomplished, and he sent forth the believers, Christians, as his representatives and agents to the world around us. And so this is the church age, which will continue until the rapture of the church, when the Lord comes for his church, his believers, and they will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

And so for us as believers, we look forward to that. And we're hoping for, we're waiting for, and holding our breath in some ways for the rapture of the church. And as we are up there with heaven, or with Jesus in heaven after the rapture,

On earth, there will be a seven-year tribulation period. That's recorded there in Revelation chapters 5 through 18. It will be tribulation like the world has never seen before. And as we worked our way through those chapters, we saw the devastation, the difficulty, so much conflict.

catastrophic events that it's really hard for us to understand and imagine all of the things that will be experienced during that time. But it will be the wrath of God poured out like the world has never seen before.

But that comes to a conclusion with the return of Jesus Christ, who will promptly set up his kingdom here on the earth, and he will rule and reign upon the earth for 1,000 years. It's called the Millennium. It's found in Revelation chapter 19 and 20, and we spent some time considering that last week. Well, that brings us now to the final chapters, chapters 21 and 22, which really focus on eternity.

Focus on what is to come in the life that is to come. And then the final exhortations of the Lord for us to be ready and prepared for those things. And so we'll get to consider the things of eternity tonight here in Revelation chapter 21 and 22. And so let's jump into Revelation chapter 21. The key verse is verse 1. It says,

Also, there was no more sea. Here as we head into chapter 21, we see now all things are going to be made new. John tells us in verses 1 through 8 that he saw a new heaven and a new earth. That the old things are passing away, and now there's going to be a new creation. Now there's going to be a brand new work that God is going to do.

to do. He doesn't just reform this world and, you know, make it last for eternity. There is some reforming of the world that will happen during the millennium, kind of a restoring of what once was back in the garden. In eternity, it's going to be different. It's going to be something new, a new heaven and a new earth.

Well, also, in eternity, it tells us in verses 9 through 21, this angel showed John Jerusalem. There's going to be a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem that has a really prominent role in eternity. And so we'll see that in just a few moments as we dig into it.

Then finally, verses 22 through 27, the city had no need for the sun or moon to shine because the brightness of the glory of the Lord is there and the presence of the Lord is there. And so this city becomes really the center and the focus of eternity as we look at these things.

Well, diving into these portions just a little bit deeper, in verse 1, again, it tells us, Here, John introduces us to this new heaven and earth that he sees.

And so God is giving him a glimpse, a preview of what is to come. He tells us here that first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Now, Peter talks about this a little bit in 2 Peter 3, talking about the day of the Lord and how in that time, the elements will pass away. The heavens will pass away with a great noise. The elements will melt with a fervent heat. The earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

And so there's been much correlation as you consider the words of Peter there to what is happening here and the idea that the Lord is holding together the very fabric of the universe, the atoms, the nucleus, you know, all of those details, which I'm not going to get into tonight. But in that day, he will just let go.

And essentially, you know, all the cells in the world or in the universe will, you know, enter into kind of a nuclear explosion state. Everything will melt with a fervent heat. And then God will create a new heaven and a new earth for all of eternity.

When he talks about heaven, there's some discussion that could be had about what he actually is referring to, because the Bible talks about our atmosphere as the heavens. It talks about outer space as heavens and, you know, our solar system and the universe as

And then, of course, the presence of God. And so that's also referred to as heaven. And so most likely it's referring to all of this atmosphere, but also the universe, and that God is going to do something brand new that will last for all eternity. John points out there's no more sea in this new heaven and new earth.

And so this new heaven and earth are going to be very different. Right now, the sea makes up about 70% of the earth's surface. And so it's part of our atmosphere. It's part of our ecosystem. It's part of what we know. But in that day, things will be different. There will be a completely different experience than what we know today. And that's one of the things that makes it really difficult to

to understand, to think about heaven, because there's so much that we have no experience with and no way to describe the things that are to come for us in eternity. Well, verse 2 talks about this new holy city, Jerusalem.

And when you and I talk about heaven, if you ever talk about, you know, those streets of gold or the pearly gates, right? You talk about those kinds of things. Those are references, not so much to, you know, like what we would think of as heaven as like a celestial type thing, but it is specifically this new Jerusalem. And we'll look at the details of that description in just a moment when we get down to verse 9.

Verse 3 goes on to say, though,

Here we get some really important truths about heaven, about eternity, that we need to grasp hold of and believe with all of our hearts. One of the things that is amazing to me as we work through Revelation is that we know so little about heaven.

There is so little information given to us. We spent chapters and chapters and chapters digging through the judgment being poured out upon the earth in the tribulation period. So much detail about all of those things. But when it comes to heaven, throughout the scriptures, we really just get a glimpse.

And of course, it has to be that way because, well, it's more than we can handle. The glimpse is all that we can handle. And what is in store for us in eternity is far superior. As Paul the Apostle talked about, that eye is not seen, ear is not heard, nor is entered into the heart of man what God has in store for those who love him. It's exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think.

And so whatever you might imagine heaven as, right? Like I'm sure you could think of some really great things, some really awesome scenarios and situations and things that you would just say that would be heaven. That would be so perfect. What the Lord actually has in store, maybe that, and then so much more than you could ever think of or imagine.

That is the way with the things of God and the things of eternity, that it far supersedes our ability to comprehend, understand, or even describe. And so the Apostle Paul, when he was caught up into the third heaven, he talks about in 2 Corinthians, he says, it would be a crime to try to explain the things that I heard. Like, there's just no words. We have not the vocabulary to really explain.

pass along those things that the Lord has in store for us. And so we know very little about heaven in a lot of ways, but there are some really important and key elements to heaven that we do know, and so those things we need to know well and to hold on to and to believe God at what He says. And so here in verse 3,

Here's one thing that we know about heaven. The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people. One of the main elements to heaven, the reason why heaven is so great is not because of the new heavens and the new earth. The reason why eternity is so great is not because of the new Jerusalem or the river of life that we'll see. It's not because of, you know, so many other things that we could think about.

The main focus, the main attraction, the main reason why eternity will be so incredible is because God himself will be with us.

We will be his people. He will be our God. We will be in his presence. We will have relationship to God like never before. And for all of eternity, we will enjoy this closeness, this intimacy, this full access to God. And so if that's not exciting to you, well, of course, then heaven's not going to be a great place for you. But for those who know the Lord and want to be with the Lord,

This kind of stirs up a little bit of a fire within us, that full access, that unhindered access. Right now, we get to have relationship with God, and we get to experience and encounter God in a variety of ways, but it's always limited by our sinful nature and our capacity to receive that connection with and that walk with the Lord.

But in eternity, there will be unhindered access to God, and we will get to know him like we never have before. Now, there's some other key elements about heaven found in verse 4. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Now, notice it's not just that there will not be tears any longer, but God will wipe away the tears.

Again, it speaks to that connection, that closeness that we will have with the Lord. God will wipe away every tear. Now, it doesn't say that there will be, you know, like pretending like there was no tears. No, there was tears, but God will wipe them away. And so it's not, you know, dismissing the difficulties and the things that we will experience on our journey to eternity.

But there in the presence of God, there will be that experience of God wiping away the things that brought us pain, the things that hurt us, the things that brought us great sorrow. God will address all of those things. And perhaps part of the way he wipes away our tears is explaining why, you know, and explaining his plans and purposes and allowing us insight into

into his reasons and what was going on behind the scenes, perhaps. That's part of it. But one thing we know for sure is that close connection to God is involved in the wiping away of our tears. And so there will be no more death. In heaven, in eternity, there will be no death any longer. That's a temporary experience that

In this life and in this heaven and earth that we know and experience today, in the new heaven and the new earth in eternity, there will be no more death. There will be no more sorrow. There will be no more crying. All of those former things, those pains will have passed away. In verse 5, he goes on to say, he who sat on the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said to me, write down.

for these words are true and faithful. I think it's significant there, several times the Lord tells John to write. He says, I want you to record these things. I want my people to know these things. I want my people to think about and reflect on these things and to understand what is to come. But he also wants us to know that this is the truth. These words are true and faithful. As much as it is hard for us to imagine eternity, God says, trust me.

It is going to be far superior than whatever you could dream up or think about. Everything that we know in this universe, in this body, in our relationship with God, in our relationship with everyone around us, everything we've ever experienced our whole life has been an experience that is affected by sin.

But God says, behold, I make all things new. And there's going to be this glorious newness and this glorious experiences that we have apart from sin, released from all of those things that held us back really and caused us to not experience the fullness of what God wants us to experience. And in eternity, all of those things will be removed. In verse 6, he goes on to say, it is done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. So here God says, it's done. We saw something similar be said at the end of the tribulation period. All right, it's finished now. Now it's time for the Lord to return. Now we see something similar. This life, it's over. This life,

time span, you know, is done. And God says, now I'm making all things new. There's going to be a brand new experience for his people in eternity. It's the end of one era and the beginning of a new one. And as a illustration of this, or kind of a testimony to this, he says, I am the Alpha and the Omega.

Now, in referencing the Alpha and the Omega, the Lord is referring to the beginning and the ending of the Greek alphabet. Alpha was the first character, Omega was the last character, and here it's a way of God saying, I am the first and I am the last.

I am the beginning and I am the end. I began this life. I brought it into existence. I spoke it into existence. And I'm the one who's going to take it out of existence and bring in a new existence. This is something that is only possible to say for God.

Only God is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega. I mean, you can think about Adam. He was a first, right? He was the first man, but he's not the last. He's not the very end. He's not the first thing to exist, and he's not the last to exist. He is the first man, the first of that type, but that's a very limited scope, right? There was a first angel that was the first, right?

But that wasn't the last, right? Like this is saying only God could be the Alpha and the Omega. He's before everything, which means he is the creator of all things. And he's after everything, which means he is the sustainer of all things. He lasts beyond everything else because he is the creator and sustainer, the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

And here he gives this little snippet of a promise, a little invitation. I give the fountain of water of life freely to him who thirsts. He wants us to know all of this amazing eternity that we can think about and imagine and well beyond that is freely given to those who are thirsty for God. It's freely given. It's not

matter of works. It's not a matter of earning or deserving. It's a matter of God's goodness and grace for those who believe on Jesus Christ as he has instructed us to. Verse 7, he goes on to say, he who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be my son. Again, this opportunity, this invitation to have this closeness. Eternity will be awesome.

Because of the relationship with God. Eternity is an inheritance. It's received by birthright. And so you must be born again. Again, you can't work for it. You can't earn it. You can't deserve it. But we have this inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away. Reserved in heaven for us, Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1.

In contrast though, verse 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. The Lord wants us to know the great and incredible things he has for us in eternity. But he also wants us to know and understand that there is a choice to be made.

The choice really boils down to this. It's eternity with God or eternity apart from God. And so here in verse 8, he reminds us that there are those who don't make it into eternity with God. And he lists a variety of these different types of people or these different types of sins. And the bottom line is that these people are people who have refused to believe in Jesus.

I think here something that God is seeking to do is to make it very clear. What you do in this life matters. If in this life you turn to him in repentance, the Lord receives you and he changes you and you do not continue to practice those things.

You remove yourself. You walk away from. You turn an about face and you move towards the character and the nature of God. But if you continue on in these practices, he says, look, you're not my child. And there is a separation for eternity for those who are

the children of God, and for those who are not. So he talks about the second death, which we kind of talked about last week. If you're born once and once only, you will die twice. But if you're born twice, that is if you're born again, then you'll only die once. You'll still die a physical death, but the second death is a spiritual death. That is the permanent separation from God. And so when you have a spiritual birth, then you will not experience a spiritual death.

But if you do not have a spiritual birth, you experience the physical death as well as the spiritual death. Well, we better keep moving. Verses 9 through 21 now give us the new Jerusalem that John sees. Let me read a couple of verses here. Verses 9 through 11.

It says,

Here John, as he gets to see this new heaven and new earth, now he gets a glimpse at this new Jerusalem. The angel says, come, let me show you. And again, all of these things are being recorded for us and all of these details are being given because God wants us to contemplate and consider and understand some of these things that are to come.

And so this New Jerusalem is referred to as the Bride of Christ. Now, of course, we know in the New Testament we see the church referred to as the Bride of Christ. But we also see in the Old Testament Israel referred to as the Wife of God. And so there is this very similar relationship that Israel and the church have. In fact, Israel and the church are united as one in this New Jerusalem relationship.

And it is this special relationship that God will have with us in eternity. We will dwell in the New Jerusalem with God. And so when you think about eternity, this is our eternal abode. New Jerusalem is the eternal home for believers. And it's a real place.

John here describes the colors. He describes some specific features. Measurements are taken. This is not just figurative language, but this is a reality that will exist in eternity. This new city, Jerusalem. This is the city that Abraham was waiting for. In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 9 and 10, it talks about Abraham, by faith, lived in tents. He dwelt in tents with his family and

Because he was waiting for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Abraham lived a nomadic life in faith, trusting that there is going to be this permanent city that is a city that is built by God. And that city has not existed yet.

But in eternity, that city will exist. And this is probably the place that Jesus was talking about and told us about in John chapter 14, when he says, in my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you.

And he goes on to say, if I go to prepare that place for you, I'm going to come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. This place that is being prepared is connected to that connection or that fellowship that we have with the Lord and being in the presence of the Lord. And so this new Jerusalem is significant for us because it's our eternal abode.

It's where we will be for eternity with God in all that he has for us. And again, it's a combination of Israel and the church. In verse 12 and 13, you see the 12 gates that are mentioned, and each of them is attached to a tribe of the nation of Israel.

Twelve gates, twelve tribes, and so we can see and understand here that the nation of Israel, the believers of Israel, are going to be participating in this new Jerusalem for eternity. But we also see the church in verse 14, as there is twelve foundations, and on those foundations are the names of twelve apostles of the Lord.

And so this city is built on the foundations of the apostles, and the gates are the tribes of Israel. There's this coming together of these two distinct groups of people in God's plans and purposes. Now, we see the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 2 explain this a little bit.

talking about God being our peace. That is, he has made the both one and broken down the middle wall of separation. And what he's talking about there is the separation between Jews and Gentiles. And as believers in Jesus, there is a removal of that middle wall.

There is this combining of the church and Israel in eternity that will be fulfilled in this new Jerusalem. Again, that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, there

thereby putting to death the enmity. And so there is this new work that God has done in the church. And so the church, the bride of Christ, Israel, the wife of Christ, we are the same. We're one new entity in the Lord and we'll spend eternity together with him. And so 12 gates, 12 foundations. I think one thing that's interesting about gates is

is that gates are for coming and going, right? Gates have that purpose of, you know, allowing access or, you know, you go in a gate, you go out a gate, and that is, of course, the purpose of a gate, which indicates for us there's going to be stuff to do. You know, one of the things that's hard about eternity is to imagine, you know, what's going to be involved and what is there to do in eternity? And of course, we don't know all of the details.

But there's gates there, which means, yes, we are there in the city of Jerusalem, but we also exit the city to go do stuff. And then we come back and hang out there in the city and with the Lord. And so there's going to be things to do, places to go, people to see. There's going to be great and endless variety for us in eternity. Well, verse 15 goes on and says, he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates and its walls.

And so this new Jerusalem now is measured out for us.

It's measured out in furlongs, and I'm not sure if you're familiar with that measurement. That might not be on your speedometer. It might not tell you how many furlongs per hour you're going, but a furlong equates to about 625 hours.

And so 12,000 furlongs, doing the math, works out to 1,420 miles. And a lot of times that's rounded up to 1,500 miles. And all of these ancient weights and measurements and things, there's some approximation in that. So 1,400 to 1,500 miles is what we're talking about here as its width, as its length, as its height.

It describes this being equal on all sides with this 12,000 furlongs or 1,400 furlongs.

Now, to just give a little bit of perspective on that, I've put a map here of kind of the western part of the United States to kind of leave this out for us and help us visualize this a little bit. From Los Angeles to Dallas is right around 1,400 miles. And then from Los Angeles to Vancouver in the north is about 1,400 miles.

And so looking at this city, we're looking at a city that spans across states, right? It's a massive place of real estate, really, that the Lord will create, this new Jerusalem that descends out of heaven. Now, it doesn't say specifically if it rests on earth, some say,

Bible scholars believe that it's like in orbit around the earth or some other kind of relationship to the earth. Again, it's one of those things that we don't really know for sure. But this massive city from Los Angeles to Dallas, from Los Angeles to Vancouver, but those are just the width and length dimensions.

Then it also talks about the height being 1,400 miles high. And so here's an artist's rendition of what that kind of might look like. Again, placed there upon the earth, 1,400 wide, 1,400 long, 1,400 tall. And it would be this massive structure there that would be the New Jerusalem where we live. Now, this

This, just to give a little bit of context, the highest altitude of manned aircraft right now is about 70 miles.

And so we're far exceeding that in this New Jerusalem. With 1,400 miles, it's going to be something that is huge and radical. Now, one of the things to consider about this is, okay, this is the many mansions, right? And if you divide this up, and of course we don't know, we're just kind of speculating, but if you divide it equally, this would equal to about 3 billion square miles, right?

Now, of course, we don't know how many people are going to enter into eternity, but you could easily imagine at the capacity, at the sizes and dimensions that are being referred to here, that each person is

In eternity, the bride of Christ, the wife of Christ, Jerusalem and Israel and the church, we could each have perhaps a square mile of space in this new Jerusalem or maybe half a square mile, depending on how the Lord lays it out. That there is just going to be this massive place for us, the people of God, to dwell with God, to serve the Lord, and to walk with him.

Well, moving on to verses 22 through 27, finally we talk about the presence of God. Verse 22, And so there is no temple there in this city.

I found this interesting to consider this time around as I was reading through it because, well, earlier, a few chapters earlier, during the tribulation period, we saw heaven opened, right? And the tabernacle was opened in heaven and the Ark of the Covenant was seen. All of those parallels to the earthly covenant or the earthly tabernacle that God had instructed Moses to make had, you know, it was a pattern off of the tabernacle that's in heaven. But here in this city...

at least in this city. Now, we don't know if God has other things in store elsewhere in his new creation, but here in this city, there was no temple. There was not a temple then because the Lord himself and the Lamb are the temple. You don't go to a place to worship God. You go to spend time with God directly in eternity. The temple was a place for man to meet with God and to worship God here on earth.

But that's not going to be needed because we will be with God in ways that we cannot understand or quite yet imagine.

Also, verse 23, the city had no need of the sun or of the moon for the glory of the Lord or the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And so there's going to be a persistent presence of God in a way that lights up everything. His presence will be, you know, in every place. We will be with God in ways that we have never known before. Verse 24 says,

Verse 1.

And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. These verses are interesting. Causes a lot of discussion and wrestling for different people. Who are these nations? The ones going in and out. And there's some discussion about, you know, you could think about this as us, the Gentiles. That is, as the church that we worship.

Go in and we go out. We're serving the Lord in different ways, and we have different responsibilities and opportunities. And so it's us, the nations, who are, you know, coming in and out. And others suggest, no, it's probably nations that we don't know anything about yet. That it's not, you know, us or the Israel, but that it is something new that will exist at that time. And of course, there's no way to say for certain, but you can play around with those thoughts in your mind and come to your own conclusions.

Verse 27, there shall be no means to enter it, anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. In this new Jerusalem, in this eternity, the only way to enter in is to have your name written in the book of

Now, as we've been working our way through Revelation, I've been showing these different charts and timelines to kind of illustrate and hopefully clarify what takes place at the different times for those who die. And so right now in the present time for believers who die, we get to be in the presence of the Lord. As Paul says, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. And so we enter into eternity, you know, at that moment, right?

where our life ceases here. Now, talking about whether or not we experience all of the things of eternity, the new Jerusalem immediately, you know, there's...

Lots of theories and things that you can work through as far as passing outside of time. Do we all get there at the same time? I'm not going to get into all that. But the point is, we're in the presence of the Lord for all of eternity at that point. And that's really true during the tribulation as well. Believers who die enter into the presence of the Lord. And the millennium, if believers do die in the millennium, then they would be in the presence of the Lord at that time.

Of course, you have the unique experience of the rapture of the church, right? Just before the tribulation period. And there will be those who do not die, but then enter into the presence of the Lord in that way.

Those who are unbelievers, those who have not believed in Jesus, their names are not written in the book of life. And so here the Lord is saying they have no part. There's no way for them to enter the gates and experience this life with God and the presence of God because they made their choice to be apart from God. And so for us as believers, our names are written in the Lamb's book of life. And so eternity will include this new Jerusalem.

and this experience that we have with God in the presence of the Lord at that time. And so it's exclusive to those who are born again, to those who believe in Jesus Christ and walk with him. Well, moving on now to Revelation chapter 22, the final chapter, and we'll wrap it up here in chapter 22 this evening. Verse 12 is the key verse.

And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to everyone according to his work. In verses 1 through 5, John is shown a pure river of life. Verses 6 through 11, the angel says to him, do not seal the words of this prophecy. In verse 12 through 7, Jesus says, behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me

Verses 18 through 19, there's a warning to not add to the prophecy or take away from it. And then again, verses 20 and 21, the Lord says, surely I am coming quickly. Here in this final chapter, we get a little bit more insight into this new Jerusalem. And then it's closing exhortations and really encouragements from the Lord for us.

But part of this new Jerusalem, this new heavens and the new earth, is a pure river of life that flows out in this time. In verse 1 it says, He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

It goes on to describe the tree of life that is on either side of this river, which bears fruit, different fruits each month. And I like to look at this and remind us, remind myself that...

This means that there's going to be new seasons. There's going to be fresh fruit. There's going to be variety. And there's going to be this freshness of eternity. Sometimes as we try to imagine with our limited understanding what eternity must be like,

the things that we imagine are kind of stale, right? I mean, what can you think of to do that would not get boring to do after a couple billion years, right? After you have done that a few billion times, what can you think of, what can you imagine that just wouldn't lose its excitement for you, right? But here in eternity, there's going to be this fresh life, right?

This variety, this newness, this seasons, and there's going to be so much that God has in store for us. And so the tree of life is there along with the river of life. Verse 3 tells us that there's no more curse. Verse 3 says, Again, heaven is going to be awesome. Eternity is going to be awesome because God is there.

And along with that is the removal of the curse. Again, everything that we've ever experienced in this life is affected by the curse. But in eternity, there will be no more curse. Now, even during the millennium, the earth is going to be renewed. The Lord is going to reign here, you know, from Jerusalem. But there's still going to be the curse and the opportunity to sin. But in eternity...

The new heavens, the new earth, the new Jerusalem. There's no more curse. No more effects of sin at all. It will be the full and final deliverance. Well, then verse 4, Again, you see the emphasis of eternity is the presence of the Lord. Our connection to the Lord, our relationship to the Lord. John tells us in 1 John 3-7,

We are the children of God, hasn't been revealed yet what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. We shall see him face to face. We will have this relationship to God that is very real, very personal, face to face, and we'll get to have an experience with the Lord that

again, that is just beyond our ability to describe or understand at this point. But it's going to be great. And the main thing is the Lord will be there. Verse five, there shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun for the Lord God gives them light and they shall reign forever and ever. These verses talk about us serving the Lord and

This verse here in verse 5 talks about us reigning forever and ever. Again, we don't know all the details, but there's going to be opportunity, responsibility. There's going to be serving and reigning. We're going to be able to continue to work with God to fulfill His plans and purposes and accomplish what He desires. And so exciting things for us in eternity, but it all centers around us.

being with the Lord, that very real and personal connection to God. Now again, in verse 6, he goes on to say, these words are faithful and true. And so again, the Lord wants us to know. He had John record these things. He wants us to know you can count on these things. This is the truth. Absolutely. This is the experience that will be there for those who believe in the Lord.

Verse 7, Jesus says, Now you can look at this and go, I don't know about quickly, you know, because it's been a couple thousand years since even this book was written. So how quick, you know, could it be?

But the idea of the word quickly here isn't so much about how soon after an event will take place, but the word quickly really describes how fast these events will unfold once they start to take place.

I would liken it, you know, if you need a picture, to lightning, right? Now, lightning may happen, you know, five years from now, but when it happens, boom, it's happening fast. And in a similar way, the Lord is saying, I'm coming quickly. That there is going to be an unfolding of these events in a radical time period, in a time period that, you know, is shocking to those who experience it. And so he describes these as the things which must shortly take place.

In the near future, there's going to be the fulfillment of these things. And when they start to happen, they're going to happen fast. Now, what are these things which must shortly take place that he talks about there in verse 6? Well, we've been talking about them throughout the book of Revelation. We're talking about the rapture of the church.

We're talking about seven years of tribulation, the return of Jesus Christ, the thousand-year reign of Christ, the final rebellion of Satan, the great white throne judgment, and then the new Jerusalem and all of eternity. These are the things which must shortly take place. And here the Lord is saying, be ready. Because when all this starts to go down, when it all starts to unfold, it's going to happen quickly. And my return is near. I'm coming soon.

quickly. So keep the words of the prophecy, Jesus says. Hold fast to these words. Reflect on these words. Come back to these words frequently. Come back to and understand the commands that are given throughout this prophecy. And set your mind on things above, like Paul says in Colossians. Set your mind on those things that are to come. Keep that eternal perspective. These words are faithful and true. Jumping down to verse 10.

He said to me, do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. And this is very important. This is not to be sealed. This is not a hidden prophecy or some hidden truth. This is to be revealed for us as believers to know and understand the things which must shortly take place, the plans that God has, and to allow those things to prepare us for

for our new eternity with him. That these things would influence us and speak to us about how we're to live in this life.

Again, as 2 Peter 3 talks about, these elements will melt with fervent heat. So therefore, how should we live? You know how all this is going to end. So what does that mean then? How does that speak to us about how we should live in this life? Knowing the end of these things instructs us and influences us.

to have the eternal perspective and to live for what really matters and not to be distracted by the temporary things of life. Moving on to verse 12 and 13, it says,

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Three times in this chapter, the Lord says, I'm coming quickly. He wants us to know. He repeats it so it gets our attention. He is coming quickly. How many times does Jesus have to tell us something before we believe him?

Hopefully just once, but if it takes three times, we have three times here, that the Lord would tell us over and over again to be ready, to be prepared, to kind of be on the edge of our seat continually looking forward to the return of Jesus Christ. And Jesus says, when I come, my reward is with me.

Now, we don't have time to get into all of the things that we could consider about the reward, but I would encourage you to spend some time thinking about that reward. In 2 Corinthians 5, we have a reference to what's called the Bema Seat, or the Bema Seat, however you want to pronounce it.

But it's a judgment seat that is not a judgment for sin, but a judgment for reward. Basically, like a score being given for the performance. And there is this teaching throughout the scripture that we will stand before God one day and be given a score for how we did with what he gave us. How have you done with what God has given to you? The talents, the resources, how have you been with the things that God has provided you?

to you. 1 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul talks about the idea of, you know, earning those rewards and passing into eternity kind of with flying colors and being able to enter in with, you know, the joy of the Lord. But then also those who

Well, because the works were done with bad motivations or there wasn't much done that he says you enter in as by fire. So you still enter in, but there isn't the reward. And so there's going to be those who are rewarded greatly for their service unto the Lord. And there's going to be those who just barely make it in into eternity, kind of by the skin of their teeth. And the reward is going to be according to our works.

Romans chapter 14 talks about this as well. And so there's a few passages for you to think about. 2 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 3, Romans 14. I would encourage you to think about those rewards and what are you doing to earn those rewards and to stand before the Lord and have him say, well done, good and faithful servant.

Verse 14, Again, the contrast here. Blessed are those who do his commandments, those who respond to the Lord, their names are written in the book of life, and they are blessed.

They will enter into the gates of the city and experience that eternity with the Lord, but outside. There's a choice to be made. There's decisions that must be done. There's opportunities that must be grasped hold of that we must seek the Lord now and know him and obey his commandments. Again, the Lord emphasizes here what you do in this life really does matter.

It really does matter how you live today and how you pursue the Lord and how you seek the Lord today.

Verse 16, Jesus says, I have sent my angel to testify to you these things. In the churches, I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and the morning star. Again, the Lord himself wants us to know these things. He brought forth this revelation. This is the revelation of Jesus for us, that we might know what it is that he has in store, that we might prepare ourselves for the things of eternity. Verse 17, it says, the spirit and the bride say, come.

And let him who hears say, come. And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. All the glorious things that God has in store for eternity is given with an open invitation. Whoever desires, you want that kind of eternity? Come.

The invitation is to all. Take freely of the water of life. It's about the grace of God and the mercy of God for those who respond to his invitation. And the Holy Spirit is inviting you to come and experience the fullness of eternity with God. And the bride, it says in verse 17, is giving this invitation as well. And that speaks to us as the church, that we are to be joining with the work of the Holy Spirit

to bring people this invitation, to bring people to this opportunity to respond to this invitation of the Lord to desire the water of life and to drink of it freely.

Well, wrapping up, verse 18 to 19, there's the warning not to add or take away. Don't mess with the word of God. It is the word of God. And so we don't have authority to cut out parts we don't like. You don't like the eternity apart from God, you know, things that are described there. And so you try to remove them or explain them away. And the Lord says, look, don't do that.

Don't mess with the word of God. This is my word that I brought, that I wrote, that I revealed to John. And so make sure that you leave these things intact. And then finally, again, he says, I'm coming quickly in verse 20. He who testifies to these things says, surely I am coming quickly. Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus. And then verse 21, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Again, Jesus says he's coming quickly. It's fast. It's going to happen quickly. And so the time to prepare is now. But I like that the Lord ends there with grace. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Throughout this chapter and throughout the book, he makes it clear what you do in this life really does matter. It is really important. But we're not talking about a works-based relationship with God. We're talking about a response-based

to God by his grace. That is God's goodness towards us that we do not deserve. None of us deserve eternity with God and all of the glory that that will entail. None of us deserve God's forgiveness and his work in our lives in this life, but God gives it nonetheless. And so let us come back to grace. The best way to prepare for eternity is to fully receive, accept, and believe God's

in the grace of God. God loves you so much. He wants what's best for you. And so he wants to do good in your life. And he invites you. If you're thirsty, you want him to work in your life, come to him. You don't have to earn it to come to him. You don't have to deserve it. You don't have to work hard to get there. You just have to believe him at his word and respond. And so here, John gives us a great closing exhortation.

to receive the grace of God, to just fully be immersed in and bathed in the goodness of God as we look forward to what he has in store for us for all eternity. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for your word. The things that we have to look forward to, Lord, even though we don't know a lot, the things that we know, the most important thing is that we will be with you.

And Lord, you will remove sorrow and wipe away tears. Our connection to you will be close and personal. Lord, it's going to be amazing. And we look forward to that. And we thank you that you have given us that invitation and that opportunity to do so by grace. Not by our works, not by our efforts, because we would always fall short and never be able to enter into eternity with you. But Lord, because you have chosen to relate to us by grace.

Lord, we get to hold fast to these promises. Even when we fall short, you're still faithful as we believe you, your goodness, your graciousness towards us. Help us, Lord, to walk in that, to draw near to you continually, repeatedly, consistently in preparing ourselves for the eternity that is to come. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

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