Sermon for the 2nd to Last
Sunday after Pentecost
(Proper 28)
Revelation 21:1-4
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The
first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished.
And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband. I
heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: "Now God's home is with
people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself
will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all
tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or
crying or pain. The old things have disappeared." |
 |
A new heaven and a new earth
Jessie and Jack were excited. Today they were
going to the Brisbane Exhibition. They woke up early. Cleaning their teeth,
getting dressed, and combing their hair were not the chores that they were on
school mornings. In next to no time, they were ready and waiting for mum and
dad. Even eating breakfast went quickly even though they were so excited that
they didn’t feel like eating. Usually the ride in the car was accompanied with
a constant "Are we there yet?" but not this time. All they could think
of was the show and chatted all the way about what rides they would go on, what
show bags they would buy, and how much fun they were going to have. Their
excitement grew to a high pitch as the car turned a corner and they could see
the giant ferris wheel and roller coaster. They could hardly wait for dad to
park the car suggesting that he could park in the tiniest of parking spaces.
It’s great to have this kind of enthusiasm.
Even as adults, we get excited about a holiday. We look forward to a trip,
something that is different and out of the ordinary – maybe a family get
together, or going to a concert or play, or to a wedding. We are in a better
mood, and we can handle our problems better, or at least in our excitement we
put them aside for a while. Having something to look forward to makes all the
difference.
Sometimes there isn’t any bounce in our
step and joy in our voice. The world situation with war, sickness, and threats
of terrorism and the hassles in our own lives leave us with little to get
excited about. But our text today from the book of Revelation tells us that
there is something to get excited about, something to look forward, something
that puts all of our problems into perspective. We are given what St Peter in
his first letter calls "a living hope", a hope that will never decay,
or spoil or fade away. This "living hope" is eternal life in heaven.
The vision that is given to John was
especially addressed to a dispirited and disheartened church. The excitement and
exhilaration of Jesus’ resurrection was past and now they were engaged in a
life and death struggle. They were persecuted by the Romans and ridiculed by
their pagan neighbours. In their present circumstances, there was little to get
excited about. Even their church leader, John, had been exiled to an island. I’m
sure John would have often looked over toward the mainland and his heart ached
for those whom he loved who were facing so many challenges to their faith. The
joy and excitement of Easter must have seemed a dream in the past, so far from
the harshness of the world.
I think we can relate to that. We might not
be persecuted and in fear of a government that will gladly get rid of the
followers of Jesus, but we do live in a world where the pain in our bodies, the
trouble at work, the lack of joy in our relationships give us so little to look
forward to. And so today, God reminds us that our stay here on this earth is a
short one compared with eternity and that we really do have something wonderful
to look forward to. Through John the writer of the book of Revelation, God gives
us a vision, a marvellous, technicoloured dream, a picture beyond our wildest
imagination.
When the curtain is raised the first thing,
we see is the heavenly throne. And what dramatic effects! (Rev 4). There are
flashes of lightning, peals of thunder. These announce that God himself is now
on stage - heaven and earth quiver and shake before God. Around the throne of
God, there is a crowd that is too large to be counted. These are people who have
endured the trouble and pain of this life and are now are praising the Lamb who
sits on the throne (7:9-16).
The vision, then expands, sweeps through time
into one great crescendo of praise in our text from Revelation 21. We read of a
totally new earth, and a completely new heaven in which everything that is wrong
here has been made right. A voice calls out, "Now God's home is with
people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will
be with them, and he will be their God." What a vision!
The Bible doesn’t tell us a lot of
information about what heaven is like, simply because it can’t be described
with human words. We can’t begin to imagine what heaven is like because it is
so different to this world. Even using earthly comparisons we can’t adequately
describe heaven. We can’t say that heaven is like a never-ending holiday on a
carefree tropical island because all such comparisons don’t come anywhere near
describing heaven.
But the Bible does give us a small glimpse of
heaven. It’s like looking through a keyhole – you can see just a small part
of the room of the other side of the door. Even the small bit we can see through
the keyhole of the Bible, is extraordinary.
So what do we know about heaven?
Heaven is a holy place.
There is no crime or violence, war or sickness in heaven. We are told that "there
will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain" (Rev 21:4).
There is no sin in heaven. We are told, "Nothing impure will enter the
city, nor anyone who does shameful things, or tellies".
If there is no sin then there are no sinners in heaven. The citizens of heaven
are those whose sin has been washed in the blood of the Lamb and they have been
new and clean and right in the sight of God. "Only those whose names are
written in the Lamb’s book of the living will enter the city" (Rev
21:27).
There is no death in heaven – the blood of the Lamb has saved us and rescued
us from the power of death. Jesus destroyed the power of death to wipe us out
completely. Because he rose from the dead, so too we will rise and live forever
in heaven.
The book of Revelation says that God will
create a new heaven and a new earth. The earth that has been abused and
exploited will vanish. The earth that is destroyed through floods, fires,
earthquakes, and cyclones will be replaced with a new earth that is perfect and
peaceful.
Heaven is the place where God dwells.
Everything that separates God from humanity will disappear. In heaven, we will
be in the presence of God. John the write of Revelation hears a voice calling
out, "Now God's home is with people! He will live with them, and they
shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their
God". We are told that God will graciously give us everything
that we need – he will wipe away our tears, give us eternal life, and he will
be our God and we will be his children.
Heaven is a magnificent place. An angel shows
John around and he sees a city covered in precious jewels, with streets of gold.
It is perfect in every way. This is the perfect place to live forever.
In heaven there will people from every nation
around the world. They may not have known each other during their earthly life,
but in heaven, they will be like old friends. They will all have one thing in
common – Jesus, the Lamb, who is their Saviour and whom they now worship.
Every prejudice and division will disappear and they will stand together as
brothers and sisters.
What a wonderful place heaven must be but
what does a vision like this mean for ordinary people like you and me?
Does this vision make any difference to the child lying in a hospital suffering
the effects of chemo-therapy?
What difference does it make to those parents who are grieving the loss of their
baby daughter?
What difference will this vision make to those families caught up in disharmony
and its members hurting because of conflict, abuse and neglect?
We can dream all we like about a glorious future, but what about the realities
of the here and now?
Just as John wrote all this down in the book
of Revelation for the Christians who were suffering in the early centuries of
Christianity, these descriptions of heaven remind us that the suffering we now
endure are for just a short while. Then all this will come to an end and we
shall enjoy the beauty and glory of heaven, joining all those who have gone
before us and are now dwelling in that God-filled land. Our future is not all
doom and gloom. That might be the case for those who believe that there is
nothing beyond this life, and when they have breathed their last, that’s the
end. There’s nothing more to look forward to. I have met people who have said
this to me but after a few questions they indicate that they have no idea of
what heaven is really like. What is more they fail to recognize that there is
only one other alternative to heaven – hell. Beyond the suffering of this life
there awaits the faithful follower of Jesus a life that is a sharp contrast to
what is our experience at the moment. It’s no wonder that Christians who know
that death will soon come, face it with the sure confidence that they will soon
be greeted by their Saviour at the gates of heaven.
It’s true that there will always be
suffering and trouble in this life but the vision of heaven reminds us that God
is in control of everything. We might think that our cancer is out of control,
that violence and crime have a firm hold on our community, that wars, famines,
earthquakes and all kinds of natural disasters are so destructive. The fact that
God can promise us a place where none of these will exist indicates that God has
the ability to give us the support and strength that we need right now. He is
more powerful than any destructive force.
The Bible doesn’t answer all of our
questions about heaven but it certainly gives us some tantalizing glimpses of
the life we will enjoy with God. And in the meantime as you journey through this
life as those who have inherited eternal life in heaven, let the light of Christ
shine despite the darkness that continues exist on this earth. Let this vision
of heaven encourage you to be faithful to Christ and confident about the future.
© Pastor Vince Gerhardy
18th
November,
2001
E-mail: sermonsonthenet@outlook.com
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