HOME SWEET HOME
Text: Revelation 21:1-22:7
21 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of 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 shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.
10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:
13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.
16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
17 And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.
19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
20 The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.
21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
7 Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
1. New Home (Rev. 21:1-2)
1) New heaven and new earth (v. 1)
- It is true that the world in its current condition is not our home, but we were made for this world.
- Our hope isn’t leaving this world to go to heaven. Ultimately, our hope is heaven coming to this world. Our hope is that this world will be redeemed, transformed, renewed, made
- The new heaven and earth will be home sweet home.
2) New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2, 10; cf. Heb. 11:8-10, 13-16)
v. 3, v. 7 – Note the beauty of the city. John likens the city to a beautiful
v. 11 – The city is filled with
- The walls, foundations, and even streets are translucent so that the glory of God can be seen by all.
In the Old Testament tabernacle and temple the glory of God was hidden behind the veil. But in the new earth from New Jerusalem the glory of God will shine and radiate for all eyes to see.
The inhabitants of the city will be made up of Israel, the church, Gentile nations made up of tribulation and millennial saints, and the angelic hosts.
2. New Experiences
1) The experience of no sorrow (Rev. 21:4)
Three things
1] No sorrow of
2] No sorrow of
3] No sorrow of
The former things will be past. Death will be in the past. Pain will be in the past. Suffering will be in the past. Guilt will be in the past. And all sorrow associated with these will be in the past.
2) The experience of purpose fulfilled
- Our new home will not only be the antithesis of sorrow, it will be pure joy, pleasure, and fulfillment.
- The purpose for which God did what He did will be fulfilled and it will bring Him pleasure. (cf. Rev. 4:11)
Pleasure results from fulfillment. When we fulfill the purpose for which we were created we will find pleasure.
1]
2] Service (Rev. 22:3)
- Again, eternity is not going to be some ethereal version of heaven. It is going to be real and practical. Yes we will worship God, but we will also do business for the King.
- We will serve God perfectly and with no
3) The experience of ultimate intimacy with God (Rev. 21:3, 22; 22:4; cf. Ex. 33:18-20)
- We will see God
4) The experience of purity and security (Rev. 21:23-27, 22:5)