Hope To Persevere

Lord willing next week. We'll be doing an overview

of the book so there's not one particular verse.

But let's you can go to chapter 4 if you want

to begin the Revelation chapter 4 But let's ask

Revelation 4 · chapter mention

the Lord for help as we get started Father Lord

as we come to you once again Lord God asking

for your help Lord this is the word of God or

it is written Lord for our instruction for our

growth and grace God would you help us this morning

to grow to be instructed Lord to Understand more

of your plan and Lord what you're doing in the

world God give us faith to trust you more that

Lord whatever comes Whatever trials whatever

blessing comes our way Lord God that we would

understand that Lord you are in control of all

things Like God that what we would relinquish

control, but Lord God learned to trust you Help

us. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen Well,

we said we're in the last Sunday, I'm so glad

you decided to be here I know many are sick as

flues going around and Others are traveling.

But this year, this week, I guess, will be a

time of reflection, as the year closes and a

new one begins. I think for most of us, we could

say 2025, I don't know, I think it was a rough

year. It was hard. I think pastorally, of the

20 years or so that I've been here, it was the

hardest one, pastorally. But also personally,

it was very difficult. And as a church, we had

experienced a lot of heartache. It seemed like

we endured a prolonged season of loss and trial,

and even just this past Friday as Dave Hayes

went to be adorned. But this year didn't just

test our strength but also our perseverance.

So we're on the cusp of the dawn of a new year.

And how do we face that with a renewed sense

of optimism rather than with anxiety? I remember

last year, the first Sunday in 2025, saying we

don't know what 2025 will hold, and I'm glad

for that. And that's true for 2026. But what

if it were to be the same? What if it were to

be even harder? If we're gonna face the new year,

we need wisdom. We need wisdom because we need

to know what ultimately matters and what ultimately

is important. If we're gonna face it with any

type of confidence, we need to have knowledge.

You need to know in your bones. You need to know

in your soul that God will show up and he will

meet us where we are regardless of the circumstances

we find ourselves in. We need the knowledge that

God is doing something. Friends, you need the

knowledge that if there is pain to come your

way that the pain is not wasted. We need faith.

Faith that knows that God is at work. Faith that

trusts that God is ruling. Ruling over what?

ruling over everything. In fact, one of the overarching

themes of the Bible, and there are many if you

want to look at the greater story, what's often

called the meta -narrative, one of them is that

you have God as a great king ruling over his

realm. There's many ways you can divide up the

scriptures. A common way you perhaps read about

or you've seen, if you read much at all in theology,

you have creation, fall, redemption, and then

restoration or consummation. kind of four movements

of scripture. And I actually think that's very

helpful, like where we were, where we are, where

we're going. You think about the beginning, you

have creation itself, right? So we're going to

see this familiar template, creation, fall, redemption,

restoration. And the reason I think this is important

and helpful, because if we start to see the big

picture, the macro, then it will give us strength,

it's going to give us wisdom in our daily lives

or in the micro. So let's start with creation.

We'll walk through these very quickly before

we get to the scripture. In the very beginning,

there was shalom. Now, if you've ever been to

Israel, you know that shalom is a greeting. So

when you meet people, you don't say hello. You

say shalom, also when you're saying goodbye.

But the translation of shalom is peace. But if

you look at the definition, it means whole, complete.

Nothing is lacking, but there's a great semantic

use. I mean, the semantic range or the way this

word can be used is very, very deep. For example,

it can mean peace or harmony, but it can also

mean wholeness. It can mean well -being. It can

even mean flourishing. So basically, what you're

talking about, when we're talking about Shalom,

it means everything is working as God intended

it to work. So if we go back to the beginning,

at the very beginning, life was ordered. Mankind

was flourishing. There was harmony in the entire

cosmos. So God had created man as an image bearer

who would reflect his glory, and he would also

cultivate and steward this beautiful creation

that God had given to him. Moreover, there was

a friendship, a fellowship between God and man.

Adam enjoyed this beautiful relationship, an

enjoyable relationship with God in the garden

paradise. So the entire earth had shalom. Everything

was working and going according to God's good

intentions. Life was perfect. Adam was in harmony

with the creation as well as the creator. But

that's just the first two chapters of the Bible.

That's Genesis 1, Genesis 2. Everything changes

in Genesis 3. And then we're introduced to the

fall. We know one day Adam and Eve foolishly

rejected God's rule over them. So in rebellion,

they broke God's law, bringing sin. Now misery

has entered into the world. Instead of friendship,

man became God's enemy. Man was now self -autonomous.

He preferred to rule over himself instead of

having God rule over him. So when we consider

Shalom, Shalom was fractured. No more is there

harmony man was now estranged from God There

was now death Spiritual death but also physical

death for Adam for Eve and all their progeny

even down to the current day Man's rebellion

brought sin shame injustice disorder violence

Death all those had come into the world where

once I had never been So now you find all of

humanity alienated from the life of God. That's

Genesis 3. We move to the third movement. There's

redemption. God was justly angry at man's rebellion.

Justly angry. Angry with cause. Yet God in His

mercy and grace determined to turn the evil that

you and I had caused, or the Adam had caused,

into a grand theater by which He would showcase

His mercy and His grace that would ultimately

bring Him glory. God, before the foundation of

the earth, had already designed a plan to redeem

not just man, but the entire cosmos. All creation

will be redeemed. But He would in the meantime

also rescue His people from their bondage and

misery to sin. But how would he do it? Well,

it began with what we just celebrated a few days

ago, the incarnation of the Son of God. God the

Son would become man in order to save his people

and restore them back to divine favor. So no

longer would they be alienated from the life

of God. And this redemption story, it climaxes

with the death and resurrection of the Son of

God in the place of his sinful people. And then

we go to the fourth movement. which is restoration,

or some might refer to this as consummation.

So the story did not end with just redemption.

God made a promise. He would renew and restore

the whole world. He would restore the entire

cosmos to the shalom that it once enjoyed. Well,

how's he going to do that? Christ would return,

or will return, and he will vanquish sin, he

will end all rebellion, and he will usher in

his eternal kingdom of righteousness. and peace.

So once more, we can look forward to God is going

to restore this earth to its pristine beauty

that it once enjoyed before sin, and then we

will eternally dwell with God and His people

in the newly restored creation. Now, I ask you

to turn to the book of Revelation. The book of

the Revelation. No, it's not. There's no S on

that. This is not Revelations multiple. It's

one. The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

So Revelation is a book that points ahead and

it gives us a glimpse into the final reign of

Christ. Now, I will tell you, some have spilled

a lot of ink trying to discern exactly how the

future is going to play out. Now, don't get me

wrong, this book, it does tell us plenty about

the future, but the primary application of the

book of Revelation is not about the future. Instead,

the main message is about how God's people can

rightly order their lives today as the people

of God. Keep in mind, it was written to a group

of people, first century believers who were suffering,

who were being persecuted, and they were told

to persevere even amidst great trial and struggle.

That's who the book is addressed to. Now, Revelation

does tell us, ultimately, God wins. And those

who have placed their faith and trust in Christ

will live with Him forever. So now, as we're

getting ready to start, let me give you a brief

background. And again, we could spend a lot of

time on this that we don't have. So John, the

Apostle John, the one who wrote the Gospel of

John and the epistles of John, also wrote this

letter. He's writing this book in exile. He's

on the island of Patmos. It's around the end

of the first century, so it's pretty early, about

probably 1890 is probably where it's close to.

Now many people had already embraced the Gospel

message. Christianity was spreading. So there

were many who had placed their faith in Christ,

and they knew of Christ's promise to return,

and they knew that Christ had promised that he

would establish his kingdom that would rule over

all. But that had not yet happened. Probably

about six decades have already passed and wickedness

throughout the Roman world or the Roman Empire

continues to increase. And that little band of

Christians, that fledgling band, began to be

persecuted. Moreover, there were Roman emperors,

the Caesars, who demanded that they be worshipped

as a god. Well, Christians wouldn't do that.

They would not bow the knee saying Caesar is

Lord. They knew they could worship no one but

the one true God. So again, they found themselves

as object of suspicion, but they were also targets

of persecution even unto death. And you can go

back and read about the Roman emperors from Nero

in Diocletian. Now some Christians then, now

keep putting yourself in their shoes, they began

to ask, if Jesus is Lord and Jesus is reigning

and his kingdom is coming, why is evil triumphing

over good? Does that sound familiar today? Many

look around like, what's going on? Everything's

becoming darker. So the people, the Christians

began to ask, can God do anything about our suffering?

And if he can, when will he do so? So you have

to understand the context. This letter is written

to encourage Christians to persevere amidst and

give hope in the midst of great trial. It is

a letter, but it's not like the other New Testament

letters. Revelation is what we call apocalyptic.

Apocalyptic means it's a Greek word and the apocalypsis

means it's simply an unveiling. So when we talk

about this letter, it is an unveiling of God's

plan to bring judgment on the wicked and to preserve

his people for eternal life in his kingdom. That

plan is going to be revealed, revelation. It's

going to be unveiled, apocalyptic. Now there's

a whole lot of symbolism in this book and the

symbolism mainly is taken from the Old Testament.

So apocalyptic literature uses symbolic vocabulary

when talking about events. So much of scripture,

you have a lot of poetry like the Psalms. You

could never interpret the Psalms literally or

they won't make sense. You don't interpret Psalms

as you would prose. For example, in the Psalms

we find the mountains skipping like lambs and

clapping their hands. Does anyone think mountains

are going to suddenly develop hands and skip

away? No, we understand that's metaphoric. We

understand that's poetic. So you have apocalyptic

literature. is not meant to be interpreted literally

as if it were prose. So when we're talking about

the events in Revelation, they are real, real

events. But they are described in symbolic terms

using apocalyptic language. And that's an important

key. So when we're talking about this, it is

a letter. It's written to seven churches that

existed in the first century there in Asia Minor,

which is modern -day Turkey, if you will. Now,

I told you to turn to chapter four. That's where

we're going to pick it up. Chapters two and three

are letters to those churches. Chapter four begins

future events. And we will do a faster review

through this book. Chapter four, verses one and

two. John moves from addressing the churches.

He's called up into heaven. He's given a grand

vision of Christ and his plan for the future.

So chapter four, verses one and two. John writing.

After these things," that's what he wrote to

the churches, I looked, and behold, a door standing

open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard

was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying,

come up here, and I will show you things which

may take much, excuse me, which must take place

after this. Okay, so this is future. Immediately

I was in the spirit, and behold, a throne set

in heaven, and one sat on that throne. John is

in the spirit and the very first thing he sees,

the very first vision he has is of a throne with

someone seated on it. This particular scene,

get this, will give us the framework for understanding

what is driving the rest of the book. Everything

that will take place is under the direction and

supervision of the one who is seated on this

heavenly throne. verses three through five. And

he who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius

stone in appearance. And there was a rainbow

around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

And around the throne were twenty -four thrones.

And on the thrones I saw twenty -four elders

sitting, their clothed in white robes, and they

had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the

throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and

voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before

the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.

Now, the one seated on the throne is God. But

God is not described directly. Rather, we get

a description of His glory. It's like an emerald

and a sardius stone, and there's all these colors,

magnificent, brilliant colors there. We're also

told there's 24 elders. Who are they? They represent

the full people of God. 12 tribes representing

Israel from the old covenant people. You have

the 12 apostles representing the new covenant

people. Together, they form the 24 elders. They

are all wearing white robes. That symbolizes

the righteousness which is given to them through

Christ. But they're wearing crowns, golden crowns.

Because just as Jesus promised the apostles,

now it is coming to fruition. So he said, you

will also reign with me. You will sit on thrones,

he said. And this is exactly what's happening.

And the 24 elders, they lay down their thrones

or their crowns. They know that they're wearing

a crown, but the one on the throne is the worthy

one. So they take off their crowns and they lay

them down. In chapter four, verse 11, we read

these words. You are worthy, oh Lord. They know

they're not. To receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things. And by your will,

they exist and were created. Friends, at the

center of the universe is a throne. And the throne,

the one seated on that throne, is the sovereign

God who rules over the world. And John goes on

to tell us many other things about the future,

but he wants us to get this one thing clear from

the very beginning. At the very center of all

that there is, is the throne of God, from which

He's ruling over all things at all times and

all people. And what's the message then? You

and I are called to trust in nothing other than

God. You are to trust and put your faith and

hope in nothing other than the one who is seated

on that throne. That means that we are not in

the hand of any government or world leader. So

many people, God's people, get so very vexed

and worried and perplexed about all this taking

place politically. Yes, it's a mess. Both sides,

it's a mess. But God is ruling. He has seated

on His throne. We are in the hands of the One

who redeemed us through the blood of His Son.

That means your life is not meaningless. It means

the events of your life are not purposeless or

empty. That means we are called to trust God

as He perfectly rules. But John just didn't see

a throne. He hears about a lion, chapter five,

and all these will be on the wall behind me,

chapter five, verse five. But one of the elders,

remember one of the 24 said to me, because John's

crying now because he had this scroll that's

filled with seven scrolls and no one was found

worthy to open it. But the elder said, don't

weep, don't cry, stop crying, John. Behold, the

lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David.

That's if you were here the other night at communion.

This is all Jesus Christ language has prevailed

To open the scroll and to lucid seven seals So

John heard about a lion who overcame who prevailed

and this lion is worthy to open the scroll But

this is so interesting as John turned because

he heard about a lion. He turns, but he doesn't

see a lion He sees a lamb very next verse and

I looked and behold In the midst of the throne,

that's seated there, and of the four living creatures

in the midst of the elders stood a lamb as though

it had been slain. Seven horns and seven eyes.

That's not literal. There's not literally a lamb

that has seven horns and seven eyes there on

the throne of God. It's symbolic language here,

which are the seven spirits of God sent out into

all the earth. So John, he thinks he's going

to turn and see the lion that he just heard about,

the lion of the tribe of Judah. But as he turns,

he sees a lamb that had been slain. In the very

throne room of God, in the midst of the throne,

there's a lamb who had been killed, yet it's

not dead, it's living. The lamb and the lion

are the same, one and the same, both referring

to the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus came at his first

advent as a suffering servant. He is the Lamb

of God. that takes away the sin of the world.

But at his second advent, when he returns, he

will no longer be the suffering servant. He will

return as the Lord of glory, the lion from the

tribe of Judah. The lamb is on God's throne and

all of heaven is worshiping this lamb as if it

were God because he is God. Now this pattern,

you hear one thing but when you turn you see

another one, that repeats itself several times

throughout the book. It's important. I want to

show you one other place for the sake of time.

We'll go over to chapter seven now. In chapter

seven, John says, and I heard the number of those

who were sealed, 144 ,000 of all the tribes of

the children of Israel were sealed. And he goes

on to list 12 ,000 from each of the 12 tribes.

So John hears, he doesn't see, he hears 144 ,000

people being sealed. Then he turns to look at

them. Verse 9. And after these things I looked.

He doesn't say 144 ,000. Behold a great multitude

which no one could number, of all nations, tribes,

peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne

and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes

and palm branches in their hands. Wonderful scene

here. See, the 144 ,000 from the 12 tribes of

Israel, that's what he hears, he turns, and when

he turns to see, behold, it's the multitude from

every tribe and race and people and language.

The 144 ,000 turns into the great innumerable

multitude of people. You can't even number them.

Now, these two are one and the same, and this

is so important theologically, it is so very

rich, because this multi -ethnic group that John

sees from every language and tribe, that's the

church. That is the fulfillment of ethnic Israel.

This is the new people of Israel reconstituted.

As Paul said, we're grafted into that olive tree.

This is the fulfillment to which the nation of

Israel had always pointed. So now in chapter

five, we read about that lamb. He alone is worthy

to open the scroll of God. Only this lamb had

the authority to fulfill judgment and complete

redemption. It was this lamb alone who had redeemed

this innumerable company from all tribes and

nations throughout the world. That's chapters

four and five. But in chapter six, a new pattern

begins to emerge and it's a deadly pattern. It's

one of judgment. God's judgment is going to fall.

These judgments will be repeated in greater intensity.

You go from seven seals to seven trumpets to

seven bowls. Now only the lamb that was slain

who yet is alive controls when these judgments

are unleashed. Only the lamb can save and protect

the redeemed from these judgments. And as you

read through them, through these chapters, terrible

judgments are unleashed. But don't forget chapter

four, the very first vision, John Saul. The lamb

is seated on the throne. God is in control. Do

we need to fear? No. He will protect and work

for good for those who belong to him. It is evident

that God protects his own. How do you know that?

You just heard about 144 ,000 saints. If you

go to the end of the story, you know how many

saints are standing around the throne? You have

144 ,000 saints still at the end of history.

All 144 ,000. 12 ,000 from 12 tribes, that number

signifying completion. None of God's people have

been left out. Not one of them is missing. All

of God's people have been protected and sealed

from the wrath of God. What does this mean? It

means the lamb keeps those whom he has purchased

with his blood. And this is exactly what Jesus

said in John 6. He said, this is the will of

the Father who sent me, that all of those he

has given me, there's a group given to him, I

should lose nothing. I don't lose one of them,

but should raise it up at the last day. Everyone

that belongs to him will be kept by him and raised

up by him. This is the message of the Revelation

God is in control and he can be trusted But I

told you there's judgment beginning in chapter

6 Chapter 6 verses 1 and 2 now I Saw when the

lamb opened one of the seals and I heard one

of the four living creatures saying with a voice

like thunder Come and see and I looked and behold

a white horse and he who sat on it had a bow

and a crown was given to him, and he went out

conquering and to conquer. So we have now a series

of judges between chapter 6 and chapter 16. Friends,

you will get very confused in this letter if

you read them linear. They're not linear. They're

cyclical. You have three cycles of seven that

covers all of history, from the time of Jesus'

ascension to the time when he returns. Each cycle

gets more intense than the last. Each cycle is

describing the same time period, but from a different

angle. Now for the sake of time, because we don't

have a lot of time, we'll look at one cycle.

In chapter eight, the trumpet judgments. You

already had the seven seals unleashed. Now you

have the trumpets before you get to the bulls.

You have seven trumpet judgments. The first trumpet

sounds and it begins with the land being burned

with fire and hail. Then that judgment gets progressively

worse. Parts of the sea becomes blood. The rivers

and the springs of water become bitter, undrinkable.

We're told that one -third of the sun, the moon,

and the stars become darkened. You have these

locusts, and I believe they're demons, locust

demons coming out of the abyss, and one -third

of mankind is killed. These judgments continue

until finally in chapter 11, the kingdom of this

world becomes the kingdom of God. We'll look

at that in just a moment. The kingdoms, all the

kingdoms in this world, God apprehends them and

makes them for himself. By these events, we learn

something about the judgment of God. It is comprehensive.

It is complete. In each series, the seals, the

trumpets, the bulls, it's like a descending spiral.

if you will. Sometimes we picture seven seals

and we think they're just seven on one side.

It's like there's a scroll with a seal, a scroll

with a seal, a scroll with a seal. Does that

make sense? So there's like seven of them all

wrapped in. So it's not like seven on one side.

And as you open them, they get increasingly more

intense where you can look at it like a spiral.

They're going down narrower, narrower, narrower.

I don't know if that helps you. But the picture

here is the final judgment of God. God's judgment

is final until we come to chapter 11. Now notice,

then the seventh angel sounded and there were

loud voices in heaven saying, you get Handel's

Messiah here, the kingdoms of this world have

become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ,

and he shall reign forever and ever. And the

message is clear. One day this current order

will end. A day is coming when it's all over,

friends. God's kingdom will come in its fullness.

That means evil will not always be present. Darkness

will not always have sway. One day, God will

ensure that this evil is put to an end. And on

that day, there's no escape from judgment. The

severity of His judgments is clear throughout

the book. It'll become so bad that men will beg

to die and say death will flee from them. The

judgment of the Almighty is a terrible thing.

The Bible says it is a fearful thing to fall

into the hands of the living God But at the end

of these seven trumpets in chapter 11 We see

the 24 elders remember the olden the whole people

of God For praising God for his righteous judgment

And the 24 elders who sat before God on their

thrones fell on their faces and they worshiped

God saying we give you thanks oh lord god almighty

the one who was and who is the one who is and

who was and who is to come why are they worshiping

him because you've taken your great power and

reigned the nations were angry that's Psalm 2

and your wrath has come that's Psalm 2 and the

time of the dead that they should be judged and

that you should reward your servants the prophets

and the saints and those who fear your name both

small and great and should destroy those who

destroy the earth. Notice all 24 elders, the

people of God, they're praising God because He's

reigning. You have taken your great power and

reigned. Oh man, the nations of the earth are

in turmoil now. They're raging against the Lord.

They think they're in control. Men who have been

created by God think that they are in control

of destiny. God will laugh at them and hold them

in derision on that day. God's judgment will

vindicate his great name and therefore it is

a cause to praise his name. We rejoice at that.

God's people in the book of Revelation praise

God when he acts in judgment. And Revelation

tells us that one day all this will make sense

and the goodness of God will be vindicated on

that day. But thankfully, this book of Revelation

does not end in judgment. After the seals, and

after the trumpets, and after the bulls, you

see the defeat of the beast, you see the fall

of Babylon, which is this world system, and you

see the triumphant reign of Christ, chapter 20,

verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne, and

him who sat on it, now listen, from whose face

the earth and heaven fled away. Earth and heaven

can't stand before him. And there was found no

place for them. And I saw the dead, small and

great, standing before God and books were opened.

And another book was opened, which is the Book

of Life. And the dead were judged according to

their works by the things which were written

in the books. Nothing's left out. God's an excellent

record keeper. Satan and the dead, the unbelieving

dead, those who are not united to Christ, they

are judged before God's throne because he is

sovereign over all and that includes sovereign

over Satan. Satan is not the dark side of God

or like the equal but only dark, like cosmic

powers in Star Wars. No, Satan is a creature.

God is the creator. There is no parallel to God

Almighty. John, when he's writing this letter,

The Caesars of Rome were demanding obedience.

It was meant only for God. If you resist to them,

it could mean your death. Now John was just an

old man who had already been burnt alive in a

vat of oil. He didn't die, so they exiled him

to this island in the middle of nowhere. Now

from here, this old man is proclaiming and pronouncing

judgment on Rome and on all the future kingdoms

that were to come. because John knew that the

final word is not with any Caesar or any earthly

king or any earthly ruler, but rather with Almighty

God. And that brings us to the very final section

of the book. Judgments past. And we get a glimpse,

just a glimpse of a glorious future. All the

events from Genesis 3 to Genesis 20 have been

in preparation for a grand restoration greater

than anything we could possibly imagine. God

is preparing right now a people for Himself who

will live together with Him in this grand kingdom

for all eternity. Now, the Bible begins in a

garden, a paradise, and it ends in a great city,

a heavenly city of Revelation 21. In Revelation

21, beginning in verse 1, we read these words.

Now I saw a new heaven, a new earth. For the

first heaven, the first earth had passed away

new. It's the word kynos. It's restored, not

new as though it never existed. Also, there was

no more sea. I'll get to that in a moment. Then

I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming

down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride

adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice

from heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of

God is with men, and he will dwell with them,

and they shall be his people, and God himself

will be with them and be their God. This description

of the heavenly city did not begin with John

in the book of Revelation. It began way back

in the Old Testament. There are parallels between

Revelation 21, this city, and various Old Testament

passages, and I put two of them up there just

so you can see. In Isaiah 65, the prophet says,

for behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,

and the former shall not be remembered or come

to mind. John picks that up. But then you also

have Ezekiel chapter 37, God speaking through

Ezekiel 37 · chapter mention

that prophet. My tabernacle also shall be with

them. Indeed, I will be their God, and they shall

be my people. And this is what John is describing

in the 21st chapter of the book of the Revelation.

Throughout the entire Old Testament, you will

see various descriptions of the city that John

is now describing. I want you to notice what

John does not see, and this is helpful. He does

not see a bunch of disembodied beings inhabiting

clouds, reclining in everlasting laziness. This

is not what's going on here in heaven. He sees

a new creation, a physical creation. Primarily,

he describes it as a new city. It's the New Jerusalem.

It's the city of God. This is heaven. that's

coming to earth, because that's what we will

live on, the new earth. Verses 23 through 25,

same chapter. This city had no need of the sun

or the moon to shine in it, for it didn't need

it. For the glory of God illuminated. The Lamb

is its light, the brightness of the glory of

God. And the nations of those who are saved shall

walk in its light, and the kings of the earth

shall bring their glory and honor into it. Its

gates shall not be shut at all by day. There

shall be no night there. No need to sleep. In

the city, the effects of the curse. Remember

when man fell, which we looked at in the fall,

all of creation was cursed. Now they're removed,

starting in chapter 22. And he showed me a pure

river of water of life. Water of life. We've

seen that before in Genesis. Clears crystal,

proceeding from the throne of God and of the

Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either

side of the street, there was a tree of life.

Remember last time you saw the tree of life?

Adam and Eve were barred from eating from it.

But now there's access to it. Which bore twelve

fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month,

the leaves of the tree were for the healing of

the nation's eternal life. And there shall be

no more curse. But the throne of God and the

Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve

Him. Death is replaced by life. Night is replaced

by everlasting light. Corruption is gone. It

is all pure. Cursing is gone. It's all divine

blessing. The city is one of the spectacular

brilliance. But in chapter 21, verse 1, John

wrote that little phrase, and there shall be

no more sea. And there was no more sea. Why does

he say that? Throughout the Bible, rebellion,

particularly in the old covenant, in the old

Testament is pictured as a raging sea, and now

all rebellion has been vanquished, it's been

quenched, and there is no more sea. What is it

symbolizing? There is no more rebellion anywhere.

Everything has been subjected to God's victorious

reign. And one final thing. We're told about

the shape of this peculiar city in 2116. The

city is laid out as a square. Its length is as

great as its breadth. And he measured the city

with the reed, 12 ,000 furlongs, its length,

breadth, and height are equal. It's a cube. A

perfect cube, right? Why is John telling us that

the heavenly city is a perfect cube? Because

we're reminded of another structure in the Bible

that had that same exact shape. You go back to

the Old Covenant, the Holy of Holies, the most

holy place within the temple where God dwelt

was a perfect cube. In 1 Kings chapter 6, the

1 Kings 6 · chapter mention

inner sanctuary, this is the Holy of Holies,

was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits

high, and it was overlaid with pure gold. What's

the message that Revelation is telling us? What's

the message that God wants us to know? The importance

of this city being shaped like a cube is that

all rebellion is gone, it's all been vanquished,

all of God's people are living forever with Him

in the very presence of God in the heavenly Holy

of Holies. There is no more barred access. In

the Old Covenant, there's a thick curtain. At

the death of Christ, that curtain was ripped

in two. Right now, we still face through a glass

darkly. We still walk by faith. But on that day,

we will forever dwell with God in unhindered

access. We will dwell with God. All of creation,

the entire cosmos, will once again become the

dwelling place of God. It's paradise restored.

What began, what was lost, is now regained. So

what's all this meant as we conclude in one minute?

Listen, this is what I want to encourage you

with at the very last Sunday in 2025 of a very

difficult year for most of us. One day, those

who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ,

you will enjoy face -to -face fellowship with

God without even the possibility of sinning ever

again. One day, Revelation 21 verse 4, God is

Revelation 21:4

going to wipe away every tear from your face

and give you an eternal smile. So what do you

do? You trust Him. One day God will restore and

renew all things. See, the New Testament opened

up with the announcement of a coming kingdom

and the coming of the King. That's the Gospels.

You see that kingdom expand to the ends of the

earth in the book of Acts. Then you have the

epistles that are written. That details how the

church, which is the kingdom on earth in seed

form, should be organized, who its members are,

and what their life should be like. But we live

right here. Those same epistles. Romans and 1st

and 2nd Corinthians and Galatians and Ephesians

and Philippians and you know Colossians, we could

go on. These same epistles, they tell us right

now, right now you and I, the saints of God,

we live in this kingdom on earth and while this

kingdom is on earth in seed form, not yet consummated

form, we will face opposition and we will be

persecuted and trials are to be expected. But

the New Testament ends with the ringing declaration

that the coming kingdom of God, which is established

by the blood of the Lamb, will prevail, will

come, and will be a reality. The King who has

come as a child will come again as a conqueror,

bring his kingdom in its fullness, and it will

never end. So the only thing that we do is we

cry out with the saints forever, even so come

Lord Jesus. This is what we do. This is the hope.

2026 can be... It might be worse. It might be

gloriously bright, and I pray that it is. But

whatever comes, it doesn't stop the reality that

one day those frowns and tears will be replaced

by eternal smiles and eternal hearts aflame with

joy. This is what the saints of God have to look

forward to. Find your comfort in this. These

saints that got this book, that got this letter,

many of them died. Jesus said, be faithful unto

death and I'll give you the crown of life. Don't

quit. Don't complain. Gird up your loins, as

Paul would tell us, and persevere and run your

race with joy and fight the good fight of faith,

because there is a kingdom that's coming with

a King who will reign forever to all those who

know Christ. Praise be to God. Father, we thank

you. for your word, Lord. I pray that it has

been an encouragement to their hearts as it was

to mine. Lord, there's so much more to unpack,

and Lord, God, it's so rich and glorious. Lord,

it's the word of God. Lord, it's spectacular.

Lord, thank you for your word. God, help us to

understand it. to live by it, to receive it as

it is, not the word of man. And Father, I pray

that we would be, Lord, encouraged in our walk

with you, Lord. It is hard sometimes. Lord, we

become discouraged and downcast and we're left

to wonder why these things are happening and

why now and why him or why her. Oh, God, help

us as Job did to put his hand over his mouth

and to trust you, Lord, to trust you. We're going

to be raised. to live forever with Christ in

the kingdom. Lord, I thank you for that. Lord,

save sinners. If there's people here, Lord, I'm

sure that there are maybe one, maybe more, Lord,

who don't know Christ. Open their eyes and give

them a heart to believe, Lord. Show them your

glory salvation. Lead them to calvary, Lord.

Help them to see the futility of a life lived

apart from you. And Lord, to repent of their

sin, to fall on their faces before you and turn

their life over to Christ. I would ask that you

do that for your glory. Lord, as we prepare for

communion now, this great King who is reigning

in heaven has called us to commune with him through

the sacrament of the table. Lord, we look forward

to it. Receive now our praise and thanks. It's

in the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Deacons,

would you come to prepare the table for communion?