The New Heaven, New Earth, and Eternal Reign of the Lamb | Hail to the Victor!

If you wanna find it, I'm sure you could.

I know a lot of you are just as excited

to be done with Revelation as probably I am.

It has been heavy lifting for 12 weeks.

What has been amazing in talking with my elders

a couple weeks ago at our elders meeting

was just the amount of conversations

that we are having as a church,

not just the one that's going on in the CLC after service,

which again, we're gonna take a break for Advent,

but then that'll be back in there in room B

classroom B for the sermon series starting in January, Logos.

And so not only those conversations,

but just the different pockets of conversations

that are had or the ones that you're having

throughout the week, either the text messages I get,

emails, or just conversations I know

one of our small groups is studying it,

I know BSF is studying it, and I've always thought

for these past 12 weeks, God, there's something bigger

you're doing here, and I just wanna know what it is.

He has not yet told me, but I think there's this

understanding of preparation, that the thing that we pull

from the book of Revelation, I think,

as kind of a high 10,000 foot view application

is that the church needs to be prepared.

And what does that mean?

That the church should be prepared in its understanding,

in its knowledge, in foundation of Christ,

but then the church needs to be the ones going out

shining that light, because one of the things

that we see clearly, and it has been a lot like

kind of a rated R movie over the last month,

is the things that are happening to those

that are not in Christ, those that are going to be

forever in hell, and I know that there's some of you

that you don't like that, it's hard to reconcile

that a God that is that good has a place that bad

prepared for people, but understand,

that's been in the story the entire time.

This is now just the fulfillment, but for a lot of us,

we like that, we like when the hero comes in at the end

and conquers and all of that, and we're gonna see that

last week, and we're gonna see it today,

but then we see what life's gonna be like.

And I don't think we spend a lot of time there.

A lot of us don't spend a lot of time thinking like,

what are the activities we're gonna do in heaven?

I know in the early, when we were talking about that,

it's just gonna be a bunch of worship,

and there's a lot of you that weren't thrilled.

Like, pastor, all we're gonna do in heaven is worship?

And I go, and you have a problem with that?

Do you not wanna go there?

Like, that's a much deeper question,

but one of the things we're seeing today is this word new.

Now, when you think of the word new, what comes to mind?

Just right off the bat, new what?

New baby, absolutely.

You're experiencing a lot at this church

the last six years, and it's awesome.

New baby, new shoes, just as important.

You know, yep, new home, yep.

I see this list could get long.

New bike, new life, sorry, that was a way better answer

than my bike one.

New life in Christ, absolutely.

For some reason, I went to new car in my head.

Not that we buy new cars, really,

but there's something about having a new car.

You get excited about it, and you get excited

because of the new car.

You all said it, I didn't, okay?

But understand that when we have things new,

there's something exciting about it.

Think about this upcoming Christmas,

and you're there, say you're,

let's put us all eight years old, okay?

Some of you, that's a bigger leap than others,

but understand we're all eight,

and you open up your Christmas gifts,

and it is all used toys.

Someone had a visceral reaction in the back.

Did you throw up?

It sounded like you might have thrown up.

How are you feeling as a kid if you open up,

eight years old, and it's all used toys?

Depressed.

Oh, that was my kid, okay.

Others.

Angry.

Disappointed, sure.

Yeah, that would totally change the feel of the day, right?

If all of a sudden you opened up all your gifts,

and they were all used toys.

Now, I'm not gonna turn this into a thing for angel tree

or anything like that, but there's something about new,

and what we see in scripture,

like I said at the beginning of service,

we see Paul saying the old is gone, the new has come.

We see in the book of Corinthians,

what we see lit dimly in a mirror,

we will one day see face to face.

Friends, we've made it.

We're here now.

We are here to where we're going to see face to face God.

We're going to see Christ.

We're gonna see that relationship.

So as we conclude the book of Revelation,

one of the things we're gonna see is a new vision,

a stunning vision of hope.

And that hope, as we know, will not disappoint.

We're gonna see the new heavens, the new earth,

the eternal reign of the lamb.

This is the redemptive story of salvation,

the messianic covenant, Genesis chapter three.

Now, we're going to see it in fulfillment.

And so one of the things we have to reconcile

is the thousand year reign.

And you have a bunch of different camps,

and you have a bunch of different camps

of how we interpret the thousand year reign.

You have your pre-millennials,

so you have your post-millennials.

More of the reform view, we take an ah millennial,

that it's not a specific, it's more of a symbol

that we stand on and we hold to,

but then you get into, well,

what about the left behind series?

Okay, well, what about all of these things

that one day, the DC Talk song,

for all those that know it,

two guys walking up a hill,

one disappears and one's left standing still,

and that's rapture theology.

But understand that the reigning is the important thing.

And where DC Talk encourages us,

I wish we'd all been ready.

Regardless of pre, of post, ah millennial,

or my kind of cheesy way of looking at it,

pan-millennialism, it all pans out in the end,

is an understanding that Christ is the one reigning.

Well, you know, if it's the pre,

then I don't have to live through the hell on earth

for that thousand years, okay?

If you wanna look at it that way, that's fine,

but the hope is you are set in Christ,

you have assurance of salvation,

and when the Lord reigns, the Lord is going to call you up

to be in glory with him if you are not already there.

John Calvin, founder of Reformed Theology,

one of the foundations of the faith that we subscribe to

here in his Institutes of Christian Religion says this,

God has not appointed a day of judgment without reason,

and he has also fixed it by his secret counsel,

to the end that we may be unwearied,

or with unwearied minds, continue to watch out for it.

So what does that mean?

That God has appointed a day.

Stop using your energy to figure out when that day is,

but live your life under the Lordship of Christ,

shining the light of the gospel,

in your thoughts, your words, your deeds.

That's basically the Christian life in a nutshell.

What Calvin is saying, and if you continue to read,

in his book three, especially in that chapter,

is he's talking about the church getting so tied up

and trying to put it in our Google calendar

when this is all going to go down.

Luther, Zwickley, Calvin,

all of your kind of Protestant reformers

all land in a place of stop trying to figure it out,

because you're going to miss things.

You're going to get weary of that.

And as John, him and I are on first name basis,

as John wants to encourage us,

don't be wearied about it, but be ready for it.

Whether it's tomorrow,

or the dust from your bones is long gone,

it doesn't matter, because how this comes to an end

has nothing to do with you or me.

Let me repeat that.

How this book, how life culminates at the end,

has nothing to do with Jim Holland owner

or insert your name here.

Insert this church here.

Insert your position in the church.

None of that matters.

This has all been appointed.

This is all going down the way God wants it to go down.

So, let's jump into Revelation 20, the first six verses.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,

holding his hand, the key,

to the bottomless pit and the great chain.

Then he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,

who is the devil and Satan,

and bound him for a thousand years,

and threw him into the pit,

and shut it and sealed it over him,

so that he might not deceive the nations any longer,

until the a thousand years were ended.

After that, he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them

were those whom the authority to judge was committed.

Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded

for the testimony of Jesus and the word of God,

and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image,

and had not received its mark on their foreheads

or their hands.

They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead did not come to life

until the thousand years were ended.

This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy is the one who shares

in the first resurrection.

Over such, the second death has no power,

but they will be priests of God and of Christ,

and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

What does this mean?

How do we interpret this data?

This section describes Satan being bound for a thousand years,

symbolizing Christ's triumph over evil.

Again, the thousand years is debated even to this day.

Is it literal?

Is it symbolic?

But again, from the reformed perspective,

it signifies the current reign of Christ

following his resurrection and his ascension.

That we look at this as a symbolic understanding

of Jesus' reign now,

because we believe there has been no gap to Jesus' reign.

That everything, if every square inch belongs to Christ,

then his reign has been, is, and will be

forever and ever, amen.

And it just makes it a lot easier,

because then you don't have to get so caught up in it.

Now, some of you will, and you just, you need to know.

God's gonna let you know what you need to know,

when you need to know it.

That's his role of being sovereign, and ours not.

If we had all the knowledge of the world,

if we had all of those things,

I may be so bold to say,

I think some of us would logicalize my word, God, out of it.

It's what we have faith for,

dependence on God for.

So Satan's binding reflects for us,

his inability to prevent the spread of the gospel.

We see that in Matthew chapter 12.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

And the first resurrection points

to the spiritual regeneration of believers.

If Christ is not reigning, hear this,

if Christ is not reigning, you are not saved.

Sit with that for a minute.

Some people think that Christ's reign is coming,

that it's not now.

I don't want that, I would not want that,

because that means we probably have the license

to do whatever we want,

and there would be, in some ways, no consequences.

Because if the king is not in authority,

then there's no keeper at the zoo,

and the animals can do whatever they want.

Sorry, those are completely two metaphors mixed together,

but you get it.

So understand that the saints reigning with Christ,

highlights the victory you and I have in life.

That if you are a member of the church,

meaning you've made that profession of faith,

you've gone through that,

not that that signifies your salvation,

but that means you're standing on your own faith.

So what do we do with the kids in the room?

That's another sermon series,

but understand, I believe Jesus

calls the little children to himself,

and if they've not had that understanding

of the regeneration of the Spirit,

then they are in the love of Christ.

They are in that, much like we see in the gospels.

But understand that Christ needs to be reigning, doesn't he?

Think about your life for a minute,

and if you have the knowledge that Christ isn't in control,

how are you taking that?

It's chaos, because there's that thing called hope

that you won't have, and I don't know about you,

but hope is what gets us through our days.

Hope is what gets us through the trials of life.

Hope is what gets us through

the events of the book of Revelation.

Christ's authority is unshaken, and his kingdom advances.

So we see Satan's final defeat in verses seven through 10.

And when the thousand years were ended,

Satan will be released from his prison

and will come out to deceive the nations

that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,

to gather them for battle.

Their number is like the sand of the sea,

and they march up over the broad plain of the earth

and surround the camp of the saints in the beloved city.

But fire came down from heaven and consumed them,

and the devil who had deceived them

was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur,

where the beast and the false prophet were,

and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

So this symbolizes the final surge of rebellion against God.

We've seen this, this rebellion.

We saw it last week, we saw it two weeks ago,

saw it three weeks ago.

And the imagery of Gog and Magog is drawn

from Ezekiel 38 and 39, representing forces of evil,

uniting to oppose God.

Yet God's power is seen and divisively destroys them

with fire from heaven.

Notice how fire is used in this.

We see the fire of the Holy Spirit,

we see the fire purifying things in scripture.

That is not what this is.

This is the destroying eternal fire of damnation,

fire of the abyss.

This is where we get the understanding that hell is hot.

It's we get the fire of the abyss.

It's not, we pull it from here, right?

That there's fire is used to torment for eternity.

Verses 11 through 15 breaks down

the great white throne of judgment.

Then I saw the great white throne and him

who was seated on it.

From his presence earth and sky fled away,

and no place was found for them.

And I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne.

Books were opened, then another book was opened,

which was the book of life.

And the dead were judged by what was written in these books

according to what they had done.

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it.

Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them.

And they were judged, each one of them,

according to what they had done.

Then Hades, death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire.

And if anyone's name was not written in the book of life,

he was thrown into the lake of fire.

All right, we're ending with a bang, aren't we?

So what do we do with this?

How do we reconcile this?

Well, it's really everything you guys have known

if you've grown up in the church.

That one day we are going to be judged.

One day we are going to be held accountable

for the things we have done in life.

Collectively, 90% of a statistic I just made up,

our bodies just froze.

Fear not, because in Christ there is no condemnation.

What does that mean?

That means when Christ died on the cross,

his righteousness was imputed,

drenched all over us like a fire hose.

And that when God sees you, he sees his son.

That's what you want.

That's what salvation is.

Because if we think that it's what we've done,

that we've climbed up the mountain,

we've beat the drum of church, we've volunteered,

we've done all of these things,

what you're doing is you're trying to get dad or heavenly father

to see you in your works.

And friends, I love you, and I say this first to myself,

our works mean nothing without Christ.

Without Christ in our life, they mean nothing.

That judgment will go wrong for you,

for those of us that are not in Christ,

who do not have Christ's complete victory

over sin and death in our lives.

But humanity will be judged.

And I know there's some of you that engage us and go,

I'd really love to know when that is,

so then I'll make it right the day before

like I'm cramming for some test.

Friend, that's not how it works.

Grow up.

Understand that a life lived in Christ is,

though it has its mountaintops and its valleys,

Christ remains.

This is an understanding of just how important it is

to be made right with Jesus.

And for some of us, we're playing with fire.

We're living in a certain sin.

We're flirting with this God or this God,

you know, this lust or this, like we talked about last week,

that there are so many things in life

that would much rather have you end up in a lake of fire.

Yeah, it may give you momentary pleasure

for a minute, five minutes, a year,

but where does it end up?

It ends up here.

It doesn't end up in glory.

You don't make it to the New Jerusalem.

You don't get in the New Creation.

Those not in Christ, this is the end.

I don't know other way to say it.

This is hell.

This is the reality of no God in your life,

no hope of resurrection, no hope of anything.

Now, I know we all try not to have enemies in life,

but I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

So what do we do with that?

Is we go into chapter 21, which we're finally,

okay, now we're gonna be sitting in the good stuff.

But look at all of the bad stuff we had to wade through.

I guarantee you that every one of us

knows somebody in our lives that are not saved.

And if everybody in your life is saved,

you need to do a better job of engaging the world.

Okay?

Because I guarantee you we all know somebody in our life

that this is their, this is their eternity.

How are you, how am I, how is Munster Church okay with that?

Man, they're not in Christ.

They're gonna end up in the fire.

Stinks to be them.

We gotta do more than that, church.

I'm encouraging us to do more than that.

Because now we get to the final, amen.

We get to the new creation.

The new creation, chapter, Revelation 21.

Then I saw a new heaven and new earth,

where the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,

and the sea was no more.

And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,

coming down from heaven, from God,

prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And behold, a loud voice from the throne saying,

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

Hang on to that.

He will dwell with them.

They will be his people,

and God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes,

and death shall be no more.

Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore,

for the former things have passed away.

Amen.

That's not the end of the sermon.

We still have more to do.

But there it is.

Your life, my life, the life of the church.

This church has had a life for 154 years, right?

It's gone through a fire.

It's gone through ups and downs.

It's gone through pastors.

It's gone through building projects.

It's gone through all these things for this.

This is the goal.

This is the end.

The new heavens, the new earth, where there is no pain,

there is no crying, there is no mourning.

Why?

Because the old things have passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

And who has been there from the beginning,

everlasting upon everlasting, Jesus Christ.

John describes a new heaven and a new earth

because the old has passed away.

All this junk, all the darkness, all the lies, all the division,

all the murder, all the pain, all the destruction, all the darkness, gone.

And the new has come.

This image fulfills for us, people that subscribe heavily to covenant theology,

God's covenant with His people, every time we've come to the table,

every baptized baby, every baptized adult, every profession of faith,

all the covenant stuff, all culminates here.

From the Garden of Eden to the prophecies of Isaiah,

God has always promised restoration.

He has always promised something new.

And what did I tell you to hold on to?

That God Himself will be with His people.

So what does that mean?

And this hit me like a ton of bricks this week.

This means there is no more faith.

Let that hang for a second.

Some of you are like, did he just preach heresy?

No, I don't think I did.

Email your elder.

There is no need for it anymore

because everything has become new and God is now sitting next to you.

He is now there in your everyday life.

Because is that not what faith is?

Faith is the assured of things unseen.

Heideberg Catechism, Lord's Day 7, tells us faith is the knowledge and the conviction

that not only does God exist, but that God is at work in my life

and I have a job to do. My faith should be active.

And this is where it's like, I get it.

You don't need to do that anymore.

You are now in the presence of God forever and ever.

So we need to live with an unshakable hope in this application.

In a world filled with suffering and uncertainty,

believers are called to live with hope rooted in God's promises.

This hope should transform how we face trials,

knowing that pain and death are now temporary.

Encourage your family and community by being a beacon of hope.

Share the good news that God is making all things new

and demonstrate compassion to those who are hurting.

There it is. It is right there.

Everything that we've believed, everything we've strived for,

learned about, stood on in our faith, what's got you through that ugly divorce,

what's got you through that untimely death of a family member,

what's got you through the hells of life, the mountaintops, the valleys,

all of that now rests here with the hope that God sits next to you now.

Remember when you were a kid and you had that nightmare

and you went into your parents' room?

How many of you went to mom's side?

How many of you went to dad's side?

You did it wrong.

But you go there to be in the presence of your parent. Why?

They're safe.

I remember my stepdad Steve went in and punched the boogeyman in my closet.

I don't know what he did, but I slept.

We go to be with dad or mom.

Now my parents made me sleep on the floor.

Never mind.

Okay, that was just some of my childhood coming out.

Understand why do we do that?

We go to get comfort because all the bad things go away.

The parent is now here.

The God, creator, sustainer is here now with us.

So how do we live out this new reality?

Let's get into the new holy city, the new Jerusalem.

I'm going to fly through some of this.

It would be really good for you to go back and read some of this

because the references made here basically numerically is unbelievable.

But let's read these verses to start, 9 through 14.

Then came out the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the last seven plagues

and spoke to me saying, come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain

and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God,

having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel,

like a jasper, clear as crystal.

It had a great high wall and 12 gates, and at the gates 12 angels.

And on the gates the names of the 12 tribes of the son of Israel were inscribed.

On the east three gates, on the north three gates, the south three gates,

and the west three gates.

And the wall of the city had 12 foundations,

and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the lamb.

All right, here we go.

Rapid fire.

What is the significance of some of this?

First, coming down from heaven, coming down from heaven from God

emphasizes the new Jerusalem is not built by human hands but divine creation.

That the new heaven and the new earth, the new Jerusalem is a gift of grace.

What does it do?

It contrasts the cities corrupted by sin with the perfection of God's handiwork.

Even the ark was built by a human.

This has been built completely by the creator God.

Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband,

the city is being kind of given a personality as the bride of Christ.

What does this mean?

It echoes the covenant relationship between God and his people.

There's a purity here.

This is a perfect city.

The dwelling place of God is with man.

This fulfills that covenant promise which we've already talked about.

There's no more death, mourning, or crying.

These mark the curses of Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Their absence signifies the complete restoration of the Messianic covenant.

There's radiance and there's glory.

Having the glory of God, it's radiance like the most rare jewel.

So this city reflects God's glory.

There is no need for sun or moon.

The brilliance symbolizes the holiness and majesty of God's presence.

If you continue to read what we did, it talks about its gold,

clear as glass, made with precious stones.

These materials associated with wealth and beauty in the first century

signify an immeasurable value and purity in the new Jerusalem.

The transparency of gold suggests perfect holiness and openness.

There's 12 gates, names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

This represents the inclusion of the Old Testament believers,

signifying God's fulfilling covenant with Israel.

Again, all of it is getting made new.

All of it is being fulfilled.

The city lies four square.

Its length inside are the same as its width.

We didn't read it, but it's in there.

The numbers are staggering.

The equal dimensions of 12,000 reflect perfect symmetry and completeness.

The mirrors of the holy of holies of the temple symbolizing God's presence

filling the entire city.

The number 144 in the cubits of what was measured

represents the fullness of God's people,

echoing again the symbolic 144,000.

What's interesting is you see the absence of a temple.

For I saw no temple.

The Lord, God Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple.

In the Old Testament, the temple was the meeting place for God and his people.

In the New Jerusalem, God's immediate presence.

Think about this.

This is amazing.

It eliminates the need for a temple.

We come here to worship God.

Now, I know you can worship God every day, but whoa, whoa, whoa.

But understand that this is representing that God is with his people.

By its light, the nations will walk.

That God's redemptive plan is for all, though some will not be saved.

Its gates will never be shut.

Ancient cities closed gates at night for protection.

The open gate signifies eternal safety and unbroken access to God.

I love that.

So that's the way that it is, the foundations.

Think about the 12 foundations are the 12 apostles.

That their legacy is the foundation for the New Jerusalem.

How great is it that our testimonies will be utilized

in the face of the creation of a new place.

And we hope and pray that it is filled with the people that we bring to the light.

People that we bring to God.

So what this is a call for is that we should be people of the Lamb.

So as a church, as the church, we are called to reflect the holiness

and beauty of the New Jerusalem.

We should live in anticipation of that reality by pursuing holiness

and engaging in acts of worship and service.

Friends, examine your life.

Are there areas where you have let worldly distractions

take priority over your walk with God?

Strive to live in a way that honors the Lord and points others to his grace.

And we're coming to it, friends.

Now we get the river of life and the tree of life.

And we're going to read the first five verses.

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.

And they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads,

and the 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.

Flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb is the river of the water of life.

We go back to the garden.

We now are in the new city.

What does this symbolize?

The water of life symbolizes the continual outpouring of God's life-giving grace.

The tree of life bearing 12 kinds of fruits

and those leaves bring healing to the nation recalls Eden,

but in a more glorious fulfillment.

Humanity's access to the tree of life signifies that final reversal of Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Remember, Adam and Eve were not allowed back in,

because they had already eaten from the knowledge of good and evil.

The tree that they had not eaten from was the tree of life,

where they would forever be in sin.

So what does God do? He puts the flaming cherubim there.

No one's allowed back in.

Now there is no cherubim.

Now the people are allowed back in.

The river and tree point us back to the Garden of Eden,

but in a greater fulfilling way.

This is the abundance and the sustenance of eternal life in Christ.

So what does that mean for us?

The abundant life offered by Christ starts now.

Believers are called to be conduits of God's life-giving presence,

sharing the gospel and working for the healing of broken relationships and communities.

Consider ways you can be a source of healing and refreshment for others.

This could be through acts of service, the sharing of your faith,

or being an advocate for peace and justice in your community.

There's activity here, friends.

So I have these two final points.

And friends, this has been a journey.

And I told myself I'm not going to get emotional, so I'm going to try not to.

But this is what I want us all to understand.

The glory of the Lamb and our eternal future.

As we close this powerful journey through Revelation,

we stand in awe of the victorious Lamb and the promise of the new heaven and new earth.

The vision we've been given is not just a hope for the future,

but a call to live in the beauty and the reality of God's kingdom now.

Sin, death, and Babylon's allure have no ultimate power.

Christ has conquered, and his glory shines forever.

If you are in the walk of choir, I'm going to ask you to come up now

as I give us the final charge.

Friends, we've made it.

It wasn't easy, but we've made it.

And you will have an opportunity to join with them in your seats as we sing.

But with hearts full of gratitude and anticipation,

let us turn our eyes to Jesus, the Lamb who is worthy of all praise.

As we prepare to sing, hallelujah, salvation, and glory,

let the words of our song be a reflection of the redeemed hope and deep worship.

Declare today as we declare together the victory and majesty of our God,

and let our voices join the heavenly chorus that proclaims,

for the Lord our God is mighty.

The Lord of God is omnipotent.

Hallelujah.

Let us sing, for our kingdom reigns, our king reigns forever.

We stand if you are able.