TREE OF LIFE RESTORED Revelation 21:1 22:5 A In the morning lesson, we pointed out the even though Adam & Eve were forced out of the garden paradise, God gave them hope that one day everything they lost could be restored among those things that were lost, was the closeness of fellowship with God & access to the Tree of Life 1 The hope they were given was three-fold: a The woman was given a new name (Eve), which meant the mother of all the living, because God gave them a promise of a Redeemer (someone who could restore their honor & value) b They were given a new covering (animal skins), which masked the shame of their sins until a greater covering could be offered through the death of the promised Redeemer (forgiveness of sins) c They were given a new home (the earth), which for a time existed with the garden in full view as a reminder of what they had lost, but of what would be restored & enjoyed by those who are faithful to God in Christ B Faithful followers of Jesus Christ have an even greater view of what God has in store 1 By following the path blazed by Jesus who conquered sin & death & Who is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, we can see heaven & the tree of life more clearly than any who lived prior to the establishment of the church 2 Here on this earth we view ourselves as sojourners people who are looking for a city which has foundations, who s builder & maker is God (Heb 11:10) 3 We know that our lives are headed for heaven, & among all the wonder of heaven is (of course) God, but also the Tree Of Life, which Adam & Eve lost access to in the beginning [To help us keep our hope set on our home, tonight we are going to pull back the curtain & peer into heaven as John describes it in Revelation 21-22 We find ourselves at the very end of our Bibles looking at what will be the final destination of all those who were faithful to God in the earth Batsell Barrett Baxter: When sixty-five of the sixty-six books of the Bible had been completed, when the final book of Revelation had been written almost in its entirety, when only eight additional paragraphs remained before the final period of all the recorded word of God should be placed for all time, God gave man his picture of heaven ] 1
I What Makes Heaven, Heaven? A Not the man centered view of heaven 1 Family reunion, favorite pastimes, earthly pleasures 5 Heaven is as good as it can get, because God is already there [Now, let s consider the kind of place heaven is, because God is there] B But the God centered reality of heaven 1 Theocentric God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit) is at the center of all activity II WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS HEAVEN? A A Prepared Place for A Prepared People Revelation 21:3 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, & He will dwell among them, & they shall be His people, & God Himself will be among them, Philippians 1:23 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart & be with Christ, for that is very much better; 2 We sing, Heaven will surely be worth it all And this is the reason: God is there 3 Heaven is a real place, a beautiful place, a place beyond imagination for one reason only, because God is there 4 Heaven won t be a better place because Paul is there or Abraham or Enoch Revelation 21:2 (PREPARED PEOPLE) 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband John 14:2-3 (PREPARED PLACE) 2 In My Father s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you 3 If I go & prepare a place for you, I will come again & receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also 1 Jesus has prepared heaven with each one of us in mind, just as a bride adorns herself with her husband in mind 2 The universe, in all its glory, was created in six days; just imagine a place that Jesus has been working on since He left here & perhaps even before 2
B A Pleasant Place Revelation 21:4 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; & there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things [the unpleasant things] have passed away 1 Once again, the reason for heaven being a pleasant place is because God is there a He s going to be the One to give us the comforting we need for having lived in this mortal body, & for having stood up for His cause in this fallen world b We re not going to rush into the arms of our mothers, but into the everlasting arms of God c We came from Him before we ever came from our mothers d Notice in verse 4 that the presence of God chases away every tear, sorrow & pain in His presence there is comfort, peace & life! Revelation 21:10-11 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great & high mountain, & showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper 1 Heaven has a beauty beyond description because it is engulfed by the glory of God 2 David wrote, The heavens declare the glory of God, & the firmament shows His handiwork (Psa 19:1), how much more is that true of heaven D An Enormous Place Revelation 21:16 16 The city is laid out as a square, & its length is as great as the width; & he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length & width & height are equal 1 It has to be an enormous place, because of its next description E A Populated Place C A Glorious Place 3
Revelation 21:24-26 24 The nations will walk by its light, & the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it 25 In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates [verse 13, 12 gates, 3 on each wall] will never be closed; 26 & they [angels] will bring the glory & the honor of the nations [the redeemed] into it; (Rev 22:2; 7:9-10) 1 Heaven is, after all, called a city composed of those who served God faithfully in every nation & from the beginning of time 2 What about Matthew 7:13-14? Jesus was speaking in comparative terms Matthew 8:11 11 I say to you that many will come from east & west, & recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 1 Heaven is a place where we are safe from all that would harm us 2 Satan & those angels & souls influenced by him will be locked away in a bottomless pit & tormented day & night (Rev 20:10) G A Perpetual Place 1 It s builder & maker is God, & He is perpetual (Heb 11:10; cf 21:18-21) 2 And here we have it what man has been waiting for since he was driven out of the garden, & that which makes heaven a perpetual place for those who live there 3 The intensity of heaven will be magnified by the sheer numbers of souls that have faithfully served God over time F A Protected Place Revelation 22:1-2 22 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God & of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; & the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations Revelation 21:12, 17 12 It had a great & high wall, with twelve gates, & at the gates twelve angels; & names were written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel 17 And he measured its wall, seventy-two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements 3 All the sustenance (nutrition) needed for the resurrected body will be supplied so that we can live on eternally H A Pure Place 4
Revelation 21:2 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband (21:8-9) Revelation 21:27 27 and nothing unclean, & no one who practices abomination & lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb s book of life 1 Do you long for a place where you will never have to cover your eyes or stop your ears from seeing or hearing things that are an offense to God? (cf 1 John 3:3) I A Prophetic Place 1 12 gates: 12 tribes of Israel (21:12) 2 12 foundation stones: 12 apostles (21:14) a These symbolize God s plan for human redemption - in Christ - as revealed through the prophets of Israel & the apostles of Christ Ahead to 22:3 3 There will no longer be any curse [due to sin]; & the throne of God & of the Lamb will be in it, & His bond-servants will serve Him; 1 We will continue to worship Him & serve Him as we do now, except without the limitations of our physical bodies 2 We will not waste any time (though time will be no more), & all our work will be constructive & useful 3 Our time in eternity will consist of constant activity without fatigue & without failure [ In chapter 21:6 God made a wonderful promise to all who will listen I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost (21:6; cf John 4:13-14) Are you thirsty for eternal life? May our thirst for eternal life be that which drives all that we do in the coming year] J A Place of Praise & Productivity Revelation 21:3 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, Behold, the tabernacle [think of the OT place of worship] of God is among men, & He will dwell among them, & they shall be His people, & God Himself will be among them, 5
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