"They Will Reign Forever"

Well, good morning, church.

Happy Father's Day.

Would you turn with me to the book of Revelation,

Revelation 22:1–5

chapter 22, verses 1 through 5.

If you'd like to follow along in the Pew Bible,

it's the very last page.

It's very easy to find.

Revelation 22, we're looking at 1 through 5 today.

So for the last few weeks in our series,

we've been considering the ultimate future,

the ultimate hope of God's plan for creation.

Where is God taking his world, his people?

That's what we've been looking at.

And today we come to the final part

of that future vision in Revelation 22.

So let me pray, and then I'll read for us.

Father, as we return again to this powerful book

of Revelation, we ask for your Spirit's help

to illuminate your word.

Just as your Spirit inspired it long ago,

we pray that his work would continue now

to unfold and cause to work in us

this word that you've given.

We pray above all that we would see Christ

so that we might, as we just sung,

cling to him and become the people,

the humans, the church you've created us to be.

We ask this in his name.

Amen.

All right, let me read.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life,

bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God

and of the Lamb through the middle of the street

of the city.

Also, on either side of the river,

the tree of life, with its 12 kinds of fruit,

yielding its fruit each month.

The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

No longer will there be anything accursed,

but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,

and his servants will worship him.

They will see his face,

and his name will be on their foreheads.

And night will be no more.

They will need no light of lamp or sun,

for the Lord God will be their light,

and they will reign forever and ever.

So, the moral philosopher Alistair MacIntyre once wrote,

I can only answer the question,

what am I to do,

if I can answer the prior question,

of what story or stories do I find myself a part?

I can only answer the question,

what am I to do,

if I can answer the prior question,

of what story am I in, right?

In other words, he's saying,

you don't know who you are,

you don't know how to really live,

until you know the story you're a part of.

You need to know what story you're in,

in order to really know who you are,

and how to live.

But that's sort of the big question, isn't it?

What is the story we're a part of?

And the Bible comes to us, you see,

just at this level.

Because the Bible's not primarily a set of rules

that we're supposed to follow,

although it has some of those.

The Bible's primarily a narrative.

It's a story.

In fact, the Bible claims to be the true story

of humanity and the world,

and most importantly, of God.

And it's in that story

that we find who we really are

and how to really live.

That story begins in a garden in Genesis 1 and 2.

And in Revelation 21 and 22,

we see how the story ends.

And of course, you need to know how the story ends, right?

You need to know where the story's going

to really make sense of the whole thing.

Now, I think that everyone has

kind of an ending in mind

when they think about the story that they're in, right?

Whether they've articulated that or not,

we all sort of have an ending in mind.

That's just kind of how meaning works.

That's sort of how we work as human beings, right?

Think of some of the broad cultural movements

that vie for our attention

and our allegiance today.

You know, the so-called conservative movement

wants to return to a golden age of the past.

That's their future, right?

Or the so-called progressive movement

wants a sort of revolutionary advance

to a utopia that can be created

through our kind of human revolution.

What's interesting is that both of those movements,

if you look at it through history,

is that both of those movements

are actually borrowing elements

from the Christian faith that precede them.

And they're both wrong.

As we see here in Revelation 22,

the story does end in a garden.

The language here is full of obvious allusions

to the Garden of Eden, isn't it?

But it's not merely a garden.

It's not just a return to the past.

Because this garden is also a city.

There's a street.

And there's gates and there's foundations.

It's the New Jerusalem.

So the Bible says the story ends in a garden city.

It's both a return and an advance.

It's neither strictly conservative or progressive.

It's something else altogether.

But here's the biggest difference.

All these other human movements say

that it all comes down to what?

To human effort to get there.

Humans are at the center

of all of our human movements, aren't they?

Whether it's conservative or progressive,

we have to get there through what we do.

But what's at the center of this vision in Scripture?

God.

God.

The future belongs to God.

The story ends in a garden city

that's also very much a temple.

That's where God's ultimate future

is headed for his people.

God dwells in the center of this garden city,

filling it with his presence.

In fact, John says,

not just God, but the throne of God

and of the Lamb will be there.

The throne.

The sovereign rule of God.

Now that's significant.

This image of the throne being in the garden city.

If you've been following Revelation,

you'll remember all the way back

in chapter 4 and 5,

where is the throne in chapters 4 and 5?

It's in heaven, right?

And it's glorious and it's wonderful.

But what's happened here in chapters 21 and 22?

The throne has come to earth

and it's made all things new.

It's a new heaven and a new earth.

The kingdom of God has arrived in fullness.

The reign of heaven has come to earth.

That's what John sees here.

That's how the story ends.

So you see, the Bible story isn't a picture

of humans kind of climbing up to God,

scaling a stairway to heaven.

No.

The Bible story is about God's kingdom,

his rule, his reign,

his throne coming down to us.

And what's at the heart of our passage this morning,

Revelation 22, 1 through 5,

is that it shows us what happens

when the throne arrives,

when the kingdom is consummated.

So what will it be like when this story ends,

when the throne of God arrives?

Well, according to what we see here,

the throne of God brings total healing.

When God's reign arrives in fullness,

it heals.

It heals everything.

We see here the healing of creation,

the healing of the nations,

and even the healing of our very selves.

What God has in store,

the great conclusion of this story we're in,

is the throne of God bringing total healing

materially, socially, and personally.

So let's look at each of those three things in turn

and then consider how we might live now

knowing that's how the story ends.

So first, in this ultimate future

that God has in store,

the throne of God brings healing to creation,

to the material world.

Now, to appreciate the fullness

of how this passage starts,

you have to go back to the beginning of chapter 21

where the whole section begins.

And there we read that John sees what?

He sees a new heaven and a new earth

because the first had passed away.

And then in verse 5, God says,

Behold, I'm making all things new.

Now, when we looked at these verses a couple weeks ago,

we pointed out a tension

because on the one hand,

the new heavens and the new earth

seem radically distinct from the first.

But on the other hand,

they seem intimately connected to the first,

don't they?

After all, God doesn't say,

He doesn't say,

I'm going to make all new things, right?

He says, no, I'm making all things new.

But one thing is for sure.

The ultimate future that God has in store

does not leave this material order behind.

The new heavens and new earth

will not be immaterial or ethereal.

It will be the healing of creation.

In chapter 22, verse 1, back in our passage,

John sees a river flowing from the throne

with life-giving water.

Now, this is the fulfillment of a passage

in the prophet Ezekiel.

If you were to go back and read chapter 47 of Ezekiel,

we're shown water flowing

from a totally renewed temple.

And as the water flows,

it gets deeper and deeper.

And as the water flows deeper and deeper,

it brings flourishing.

The deserts are watered,

the plants grow,

the fish jump.

And on both sides of the river,

trees grow.

Ezekiel says,

with all kinds of food that don't wither

and their fruit doesn't fail.

And he says,

their fruit will be for food

and their leaves for healing.

And all of what Ezekiel saw

so many years ago

will come to fulfillment,

Revelation 22 says,

in the new heavens and new earth.

When God's kingdom is consummated

and he makes all things new,

that's what Ezekiel was looking forward to.

This healing of creation.

Now consider then,

consider how different

the throne of God is

compared to human thrones

or human empires.

Right?

What do most human kingdoms

leave in their wake?

Sadly, not the flourishing

that we see here.

Instead of life-giving streams

healing the material world,

most human empires bring greed

and burning and destruction.

Right?

And this is our first clue

that the kingdom of God

is on a different level entirely

than human kingdoms.

Don't think that God's throne

is just some elevated version

of a human throne,

some sort of projection

of human authority

to the nth degree.

No.

God's authority,

His rule when it comes in fullness

will be totally different.

It won't mar the earth.

It'll mend it.

When God created all things

and called them good,

He meant it.

And He will not abandon

His material world in the end.

Now I wonder if this changes

how you and I approach

this material creation we inhabit.

You see, the created order

isn't a mere resource

to be consumed

for our own designs.

That's how human empires think.

No, no.

This created order

is a good gift from God.

And first and foremost,

it's a testament

to God's majesty.

Imagine walking into

an artist's studio.

Imagine walking into

an artist's studio.

Perhaps she's a sculptor, right?

Seeing a newly finished sculpture

and saying,

you know,

I could probably melt that down

and make something useful

out of it.

Right?

How absurd would that be?

Friends, it's the same

with the world around us.

The creation is something

to steward wisely.

Remembering, first of all,

that it doesn't belong to us.

And it, too,

in the story that we're a part of,

has a role to play.

It will be healed

and it will flourish

in the future

that God has in store.

But it's not just creation

that's healed.

The second thing we see

is at the end of verse 2,

what John describes

as the healing of the nations.

As the river flows

from the throne of God,

John says,

the tree of life is there.

Now, I admit,

it's a bit confusing at first

how this tree of life

is on either side

of the river.

Perhaps John is speaking

kind of collectively.

In other words,

perhaps there's a whole grove

of trees.

That would align

with Ezekiel's vision

that we mentioned earlier.

Or perhaps,

perhaps the tree's branches

are so great

that they stretch

to either side of the river.

I think if we try

to overthink it,

we're sort of missing the point

because either way,

the most important point here

is to pick up

the obvious allusion

to the opening chapters

of Genesis.

Genesis.

In the midst of the old Eden

was the tree of life.

And here,

in this new Eden,

we find the tree of life

once again.

And humans have access to it.

But as we've said,

this isn't just some return

to the beginning.

It actually surpasses.

It exceeds the first.

In this garden city

where God's rule

is consummated,

the trees line the river.

There's a whole grove.

The fruit grows every month.

And the leaves don't just

keep something alive.

They heal.

The leaves heal the nations.

Of course,

we don't need any convincing

that there needs to be

healing of the nations,

do we?

Human history has been

a long, tragic saga

of feuding and war

and ethnic strife.

But beneath the shade

of those trees,

in the new heaven

and the new earth,

in the garden city

of the fullness

of God's reign,

the enmities

and animosities,

the wrongs

and retributions,

they'll be healed.

Again,

how vastly different

is God's throne

from any human throne?

Read any account

of human history.

What happens

when a new human empire

rises?

Or when a new king

or queen takes a throne?

It's rarely ever peace.

Or what happens

when a human revolution

succeeds?

When the old system

is torn down

and a new one

takes its place?

Does the new order

abolish conflict

and enmity?

Does it bring healing?

So often it does not.

But the reign of God

is completely different.

When God's rule arrives,

it will heal the nations.

Now,

given that God

will accomplish this work

in the future

through His own

sovereign reign,

does that mean

we should not pray

and work for peace

here and now?

Well,

I think it's just

the opposite.

After all,

God says He'll redeem

a people

from every tribe

and tongue

and nation.

Every nation,

every ethnicity

is worthy of dignity

and honor

and respect.

People from every nation

will gather

under the leaves

of those trees

and be at peace.

If I knew

I was going to eat dinner

with you later today

or spend the afternoon,

you know,

we'd spend dinner

eating together,

would I spend

the afternoon

just sort of saying

terrible things about you

and harboring

all sort of gossipy

half-truths

about who you are?

Right?

I hope not.

That's going to prove

for an awkward dinner,

isn't it?

Well, friends,

you see,

the story that we're in

ends with the nations

at peace.

It ends with us

gathering under those trees

together.

The story we're in

ends with the nations

at peace.

It ends with our

relationships at peace.

And so we do our best

to forgive

and live at peace

now.

That's the story

we're in.

Of course,

it won't be perfect

in this life.

Some relationships,

tragically,

won't be reconciled

until the new heavens

and the new earth.

Some boundaries,

wisely,

will have to stay

in place

until we gather

on the banks

of the river

in the new Jerusalem.

But even so,

the words of Jesus

are still true.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

Not the warmongers,

not the conquerors,

not the powerful.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

That's how the story ends.

But third,

we see not just

the total healing

of the material world

and the social world.

In verses 4 and 5,

the throne of God

brings the healing

of our very selves.

It's personal.

Our very identity

is healed.

His servants

will worship Him,

the end of verse 3 says.

They will see His face

and His name

will be on their foreheads

and night will be no more.

They will need

no light of lamp

or sun

for the Lord God

will be their light

and they will reign

forever and ever.

Who are we

as humans?

What were we created for?

What's our purpose?

Look at how the story ends.

On the one hand,

we were created

to be worshipers of God.

His servants

will worship Him.

Verse 3.

You see, friends,

we were created

to behold God

in all of His beauty

and let our hearts

feast in delight.

It's like a kite

catching the wind

and soaring

and being awash

in the rays of the sun.

We were made

to soar higher and higher,

awash in the joy of God.

Father, Son, and Spirit.

As the psalmist said

so many years ago,

in Your presence

there is fullness of joy.

At Your right hand, God,

are pleasures forevermore.

Joy, pleasure,

the worship of God.

You see,

one of the great lies

that we've come to believe

is that happiness

can be found

by looking within.

The lie that says

if we follow our heart,

if we're true

to what we feel,

then we'll find

the authenticity

and the happiness

that we so desperately lack.

And so,

hearing this message

over and over,

we've turned

completely inward,

looking for the answer

to wholeness

to happiness

inside.

And then we're told

that in order

to be our authentic selves,

we need to not just

find it,

but create it.

Right?

The voice of our time

says,

go your own way.

Chart your own course.

And at first,

that feels pretty authentic,

doesn't it?

It feels very brave,

right?

But then you start

to realize something.

You start to say,

wait a second.

If every movie,

if every advertisement,

if every song,

if every social media post

blares at me

the same message,

go your own way,

am I not just conforming

to the crowd around me

when I go my own way?

Aren't I just following

what I'm being told to do?

I mean,

how authentic is it

to go your own way

when that's what

everyone around you

is telling you

that's what you should be doing?

Being true to yourself

and following your feelings

just might be the most

hackneyed approach

to life that there is.

But you know,

there are plenty of companies

and plenty of brands

and plenty of advertising agencies

that would love for you

and I to keep believing this.

Why?

Because our culture

of identity construction

has been totally commodified.

What do I mean by that?

In other words,

if you're going to create

your true self,

you're going to need

to buy some stuff.

Right?

You want to be

a rugged individualist?

Here's a company

ready to sell you a truck,

some $400 pair of boots,

and just the right pair of jeans,

and you will be

the rugged individualist.

So you create that identity

and you project it to the world.

And it doesn't really matter

which identity you choose.

You want to be a Baptist pastor?

Shop at J.Crew

and buy a couple shirts, right?

There you are.

It's all swept up

into the market.

And social media

is ready to create

and sell them to you.

Now look,

I know that all sounds

a bit cynical,

but it's not that far

from the truth.

And the truth is,

we're all caught in it,

whether we like it or not.

It's the air we breathe.

But friends,

look at the throne of God.

When we look not in,

but out of ourselves to God,

when we lose ourselves

in the wonder of His glory,

when His name is on our foreheads,

not the name of some brand

or some logo

or some niche,

radicalized identity,

then we'll find the wholeness

and joy that we've been looking for.

It's not by looking in the mirror

that we find our true selves.

It's certainly not by looking

to the consumer culture around us.

It's by looking into His face,

into His face.

They will see His face,

John writes in verse 4.

They will.

Of course,

in the arc of the Bible storyline,

that's an astounding statement,

isn't it?

For to behold the face

of the holy God

always meant certain death

for sinful human beings.

But in the new heavens

and new earth,

where our sin is removed

never to return,

when the throne of God is there

and creation is exactly

how God wants it,

we will behold His face

and live.

Listen again to how 1 John describes it.

We read it earlier.

Behold,

we are God's children now.

But we know that when He appears,

we shall be like Him

because we shall see Him

as He is.

And where does this beholding

of God's face take us?

Well, in the rest of our passage,

we see that it leads to what?

To reigning with God.

You see, friends,

humans weren't just created

to worship God,

but to reign with Him.

We see this again

in the opening chapters of Genesis.

God creates humanity

and tells them

to have dominion,

to rule over the earth.

God puts humanity in the garden

and tells them to work it

and to keep it,

to cultivate and create it

in such a way

that all of the material world,

in increasing measure,

gives voice to the beauty

of God who made it.

You see, the Garden of Eden

wasn't just a garden.

It was a project

for humans to work and keep

and to expand its boundaries

ever more and more

so that all of creation,

through the work of the image bearers,

would give praise to God.

And John's telling us here

that this original vocation

of what makes us who we are

has not been lost.

Though we have fallen so deep

into self-centeredness

and despair,

though we have refused

to worship God

and instead worshipped

created things,

though our identities

have become fractured

and wounded as a result,

becoming like the very things

that we worship,

though all of this

has become true of us

in our fallen state,

that's not how the story ends.

Our original vocation

will be restored.

Our identities will be healed.

We will be a kingdom

of priests once again.

Priests who worship

and behold God face to face

and co-regents who rule

and reign under our loving King.

Again, do you see

how utterly different

God's throne is

from human thrones?

When we give ourselves

in worship to this King,

we become kings and queens.

Our dignity is restored.

But the kingdoms of this world

tell us that we should spend

our lives worshipping ourselves.

And what's the result?

Not dignity,

but despair.

Jesus said,

if you save your life,

you'll lose it.

But if you lose your life

for me and my sake,

you'll find it.

And the vision John receives

at the end of the story

is of the ultimate

finding of life.

The people of God

reigning with God

forever and ever.

And when you think of it,

this ending,

it is an ending.

But it's not really an end,

is it?

To paraphrase C.S. Lewis,

that this life

is just the opening pages

of the real story

that will go on forever

into eternity

in the new heavens

and new earth

with every chapter

better than the one before.

So what we see here

is total healing,

materially,

socially,

personally.

But how can this be?

I mean,

it sounds nice,

right?

But it's a bit too good

to be true,

isn't it?

The new heavens

and new earth,

the consummated reign

of God

flowing forth

and total healing.

I mean,

how could that ever

come about?

Well,

John tells us

something very important

in verse 3.

Look again

at the beginning

of that verse.

And again,

in the sort of like

short phrases

of this end

of the story,

John says,

no longer

will there be

anything accursed.

No longer

will there be

any curse.

The way we know

this future plan

of God

can and will

come to be,

the reason we know

the story will end

as God says

it will end

is because,

friends,

God's already dealt

with the main problem,

the curse.

Verse 3,

after all,

is another allusion

back to the very

beginning of the story.

In Genesis 3,

after Adam and Eve

rebel against God,

they come under

a terrible curse

and all humanity

with them.

God renders

this verdict

over them

in their sin,

a curse of death

spiritually,

relationally,

personally,

materially,

and in that moment

in Genesis 3,

it seems like

the Bible story

is going to end

just after it

got started.

But it's not the end.

The rest of the story

of the Bible

is how God deals

with the curse of sin,

that gnawing

brokenness

in all of us.

And over hundreds

of years,

God reveals himself

and he calls

out a people

and through that

long history,

he shows

through many ways

and many signs

and through sacrifices

and all sorts of means,

he shows us

how costly sin is

and how the wages

of sin is death

and how the real need

is for a substitute

who can somehow

undo Adam's sin

and draw humanity

out from under the curse.

But the history shows

that a second Adam

is hard to come by.

God uses Noah

to rescue humanity

through the flood,

but Noah sins

just like Adam.

God uses Abraham

to begin a new people,

but Abraham too

is flawed and sinful.

God uses Moses

to bring his people

out of slavery,

but Moses too

is imperfect

and is even barred

from entering

the promised land.

God uses David

to establish

an earthly kingdom.

David slays Goliath.

He defeats the Philistines,

but not even David

can undo the curse of Adam,

for he too is sinful.

And by the end

of the Old Testament,

though God has been

faithful to his people,

though God has preserved them

and kept them

and given them

many means and signs

of his mercy and grace,

still the curse remains.

And none of Israel's leaders,

none of the people's leaders

have been able to undo

what Adam had done.

But then,

when the fullness

of time had come,

after years of waiting

and longing

and hoping,

God sent his son,

born of a virgin,

born under the law

and its curse

to redeem those

who were under the law.

You see,

Jesus Christ lived

the life

the first Adam

should have lived.

He listened to

and obeyed

every word

of his heavenly Father.

When the serpent

tempted him

in the wilderness,

he passed the test

where Adam had failed.

And in his perfect obedience,

he alone

was able to deal

with the curse.

Through his sacrificial death

on a tree,

Christ redeemed us

from the curse

of the law.

How?

By becoming a curse

for us.

The penalty

that Adam deserved,

Christ paid.

And three days later,

he rose from the dead

to prove that the curse

had been broken

and that the new creation

was not just a wish

or a hope,

but a reality.

Began

and ready to be unfolded

and consummated

in God's time.

But you see,

the death

and resurrection

of Jesus,

it doesn't just guarantee

that God's plan

will come to fulfillment.

The death

and resurrection

of Jesus

is the only way

for you and I

to share in it.

You see,

on the cross,

the curse of sin

was reckoned

to Jesus

so that the blessing

of his obedience

could be credited

to all those

who trust in him.

in the new heavens

and the new earth,

there's nothing

under the curse.

But the only way

for you and me

to escape the curse

is to unite ourselves

to the new

and better Adam,

Jesus Christ.

You see,

through birth,

we are all in

that first Adam.

We're all in sin.

We're all under the curse.

But through faith

in Christ,

we're credited

to the righteousness

of Jesus,

the new Adam.

And the curse

no longer holds

over us

because he's exhausted

the curse

through his own death.

And if we share

in Christ's death

through faith,

we will also share

in his resurrection life

in the new heavens

and new earth.

The invitation of this passage

then is this.

You see here

how the throne of God

brings healing.

And how could it not?

For on the throne

is the Lamb,

the Lord Jesus,

the new and better Adam,

who lived,

died,

and rose again

to abolish the curse

of sin

and usher in

the new creation.

We've seen the healing

this throne will bring

when Christ returns

and God is all in all,

when the rule of heaven

comes to earth

and makes all things new.

We'll see his face

and reign with him forever.

The throne of God

and the Lamb

will heal all things.

The question is,

the question is,

will you submit

to his throne now?

Will we entrust

our lives

to this healing king,

the one who will mend creation,

heal the nations,

and restore our humanity?

Will we bow our knees

before his throne now

and give our lives

to this king?

And if we have come

to entrust our lives

to him in saving faith,

will we go on

to obey

what he commands?

Will we live now

under his rule,

his healing

and saving rule?

Surely his commands

are for our good.

His throne

will heal the cosmos.

How could we not

trust his commands

now to be for our good?

So we will obey them.

Will we obey them?

Even if his commands

seem countercultural,

even if they seem costly,

even if they might

exclude us from

privilege and power,

even if they might

exclude you

from the cool kids table,

right?

Will we take

the radical move,

the truly radical move,

to live now

in light of this

great story that we're in,

bow to his throne,

and obey his word?

And will we not

just obey

what he commands,

but will we

trust him

in whatever

he permits?

Will we trust him

in whatever he permits

that it will be

for our ultimate good?

There's an old hymn

that says,

whatever my God

ordains is right.

His holy will

abideth.

I will be still

whatever he does

and follow

where he guideth.

He is my God,

though dark the road.

He holds me

that I shall not fall.

Wherefore,

to him

I leave it all.

The throne of God

and the Lamb

that will heal

all things

is the same throne

ruling your life

right now,

Christian.

Though the cup

may be bitter at times,

though the road

may seem dark,

he is working

all things

for your good.

You are not now

at the story's end,

but you know

the ending,

brothers and sisters.

Your road

is not one

that leads in circles

and ends in despair.

Your road

is the highway

of the king

and your journey

ends in the new creation.

Where the leaves

of the tree of life

bring healing

to the nations.

Where the water

of the river of life

brings flourishing

and joy.

So trust him now.

And when the story ends

and you stand

before his throne,

it will be worth it.

Every sorrow,

every step,

every valley,

every act of obedience,

it will all be worth it.

when we see his face

and we reign

with him forever.

Let's pray together.

Father,

we pray the words

that Jesus taught us.

Thy kingdom come.

May we look

with longing

and hope

to that great day

when you return

and your story

comes to its

mighty conclusion.

And would we live

with perseverance

and joy now,

knowing that your kingdom

is on the move

and your promises

are sure.

We pray this

in the mighty name

of Christ,

our new and better Adam,

the Lamb on the throne.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.