Revelation 21:1-6 Jesus Makes Everything New for Us! Easter 5 May 19, 2019
By Pastor Kenneth Mellon, Trinity Lutheran Church and School, Pleasant Valley Rd., West Bend, WI
God’s grace and peace are yours through our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who offers us a new home!
God’s description of our place to live after Judgment Day is written in Revelation 21:1-6
These are Your Words heavenly Father. Remind us of the new home that awaits us with Christ. Amen.
Dear Christian Friends,
If you were looking to buy a home, there are certain details to consider. Do you want a newer or older home? Is the home you are considering at a price you can afford? Is the home in good repair? Is the location of the home near a school or church that you want your family to attend? In the book of Revelation, John wrote about a perfect home. The price is right because it was paid for in full by Jesus’ death on a cross. The location is perfect. It’s in heaven with the best neighbors you can imagine. This home in heaven will never need repairs! Today we’ll hear how
Jesus Makes Everything New for Us!
He has a perfect home in mind. God’s Son was with the Father and Spirit at the creation of the world. He spoke and all things were made (John 1:3). But after creation, the world got a new neighbor which totally ruined everything! Satan tempted Adam and Eve, who fell to the power of sin. Ever since, there has been pollution in the air and water, sickness, chronic pain, sadness, and death that affects every home. Even teens have anxiety over school and social media gossip. All this, according to John’s vision is part of the “first earth” that will pass away (v.1). In Romans 8, Paul pictured the world groaning while waiting to be made new (v. 22). Peter described the change, “The heavens (space and sky) will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire…. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10, 13).
Believers won’t need to worry about their new home being burned in God’s fire. At the end of the world, God will call believers to His throne above while their home is being remade. But those who have rejected Jesus will be thrown into the lake of fire to suffer forever with the devil (Revelation 20:15). Due to their own rejection they will not inherit the home which believers in Christ will have (Matthew 25:34).
John described the new home that will replace our sinful one: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth … and there was no longer any sea” (v.1). Jesus will keep His promise. He had told His disciples. “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go… I will come again to take you to be with me…” (John 14:2). Until the end of the world, heaven is the address for souls of believers who died. On the last Day, Jesus will change our world to be perfect. In the new world, there will be no sea that separates people or causes harm. Instead in His new home there will be no sickness, no pollution, no storms that distress us, and nothing can harm us. His new home, made for our bodies and souls, will be pure forever!
What an awesome home it will be! But are we ready to make the move when His time comes? We have a lot of clutter in our lives: an inherited sinful nature and our daily sins against God and people. We need spiritual garbage service that takes away all our sin. Jesus did just that. He prepared us for a new relationship with God. John wrote, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband” (v.2). The new Jerusalem is not a physical city, but a picture of all believers in Christ, the Holy Christian Church. This “city” made new is pictured as a bride beautifully dressed. The Jewish tradition at John’s time was that after a marriage ceremony, a husband would go to finish preparing a home for his bride. When all was ready, He returned to take her home. Jesus didn’t build a home for us with His carpenter hands. He prepared a place for us by His perfect life that pleased God as our substitute and by letting His hands to be nailed to a cross.
His suffering and death took away all our sins. Through our baptisms, the Bible tells us that we have been clothed with Christ (Galatians 3:27). Through faith in Him, God credits us with Jesus’ perfect life. At the end of the world, all believers will be caught up in the air to be with Jesus. Then, as John saw, believers will descend with Jesus to live with Him forever in a perfect new home.
What will life be like in this new home? John wrote, “I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God’” (v.3). The word for God’s dwelling is “to tent.” That doesn’t sound much like a home. But think of the Old Testament when Israel was in the wilderness. The tent or tabernacle was where God said the priests could meet Him. Daily prayers were offered at the tent along with sacrifices for the people’s sins. Those offerings pointed to Jesus who pleaded for us by His sacrifice. Now, we can come near God with confidence and approach His throne of grace by faith in His promises. But, in time when we move to our new home, we won’t need faith or promises any longer.
Paul wrote, “We… will all be changed… in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable…” (1 Corinth 15: 51-52). Jesus will make our bodies new. We’ll be the same persons, yet re-made to live forever. The Bible states, “Now we are children of God…. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him…” (1 John 3:2). At the end, Christ will make us as perfect as Himself. We’ll see God in glory and live with Christ forever.
John wrote, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (v.4). Jesus personally will comfort us so that we’ll never cry. Why do we cry now? We’re in pain or sick or someone dies. The power of sin affects us every day. But, that will never happen in our new home with Jesus. There will be no news to make us sad. If you look online for news you’ll find: no list of obituaries, no mention of accidents or crimes, no injuries or illness. There will be nothing to fear, not even wild animals. Wow! What a home of eternal joy!
Third, in that new home Jesus will give us confidence. John’s vision of heaven must have increased his faith. And he needed it! His home at the time was on the isolated island of Patmos. He was separated from his close Christian friends in Ephesus, who were being persecuted for their faith. But John knew that in the future all troubles would end. Jesus said: “I am making everything new! Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” (v.5, 6). Jesus commanded John to write down these truths to make God’s people certain. Jesus had defeated Satan, sin, and death at the cross. As the Alpha and Omega, He is the Son of God, who made us as God’s people and will keep us as God’s people. No matter what troubles we have, Jesus is in control and is guiding everything for our good to bring us safely to our new home with Him.
So, when looking for a home, location is important. God’s Word reveals 3 prime pieces of real estate. 1. The Garden of Eden – Jesus created a perfect home that sadly became a place of sin and death. 2. The hill of Calvary, a place of Jesus’ horrible suffering and death that by God’s grace through faith in Him we have forgiveness of all our sins. 3. The New Jerusalem, our everlasting home of peace, joy, and perfection in Christ. There is our home where we will settle in to live forever. Amen.