Life in the Earth - 62

Well, we've made it to the final chapter in our expositional series in the study of the book of the Revelation. But I want to do something for you to try and help you.

It has helped me. You know, we've pointed this out to you in the past, that chapter divisions are not inspired. Decisions are made by a group of translators to decide where to make breaks. And unfortunately, I think they have done us a disservice by breaking the chapter where they did because the first five verses of chapter 22 really belong to the description that John has been given of the new Jerusalem, the holy city. So to end where they did does really a disservice and breaks up the continuity. John is describing for us paradise restored in the new Garden of Eden. God's revelation in Genesis begins with Adam and Eve in paradise with the tree of life and a river to water the garden. And his revelation concludes with a picture of the redeemed in that renewed garden with the tree of life and the river of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

I just have two headings tonight to guide us in our study and they are this. We are going to look at the first five verses of chapter 22 under these headings. Chapter 1, the source of life in the new earth, verses 1 and 2, and the nature of life in the new earth, verses 3 through 5. The source of life in the new earth, verse 1.

Let me read it again. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The source of life in the new earth.

It will be two things. It will be the river of life and it will be the tree of life. The river of life mentioned in verse 1 and the tree of life in verse 2. But before we begin to look at those two entities, the very first couple of words of verse 1, and he showed me a pure river of water of life. That personal pronoun, he, is the angel that was introduced to us in chapter 21 and verse 9. So let's take a quick look at that verse. Revelation 21, 9. Then one of the angels, one of the seven angels, who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues, came to me and talked with me, saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife. So that personal pronoun, he, is referring to this angel that has been granting John this description of the new heaven, the new earth that he has been dutifully recording for our benefit. Central to this city is the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is the source of life.

And again, take note of that in verse 1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. And we're considering here, number one, the source of life in the new earth. From the throne proceeds a life-giving river of water. The river is called the water of life. And we know, you know, it's elementary to us that water is absolutely necessary for the sustaining of life.

Without it, we will die. But John is using the reference to water symbolically. Water is symbolic of three things in the scriptures. It's symbolic of divine blessing, of eternal life, of the Holy Spirit. Three times in Revelation chapter 21 and 22, water is called the water of life.

Notice those instances with me. Revelation 21 verse 6, John says, And he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. And then chapter 22 verse 1, we've looked at, And he showed me a pure water of life. And then in verse 17 of the same chapter, chapter 22, And the Spirit and the bride say, Come, and let him who hears say, Come, and let him who thirsts come, whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

And that's the reason for the beautiful choir number we heard this evening. Two times in our passage tonight, it is mentioned that the new earth will be characterized by no night there, captured beautifully by that anthem. And then the emphasis, Come to the waters. Come to the water of life.

Come and drink freely that you may have life. So the emphasis here is not so much on the river or the water as such, but on the word life. You remember Jesus offered the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well living water. She was focused on physical water. He was directing her attention away from physical water, using that as a metaphor for eternal life, living water. The angel here tells John that there is a river with an abundance of that life giving water originating in the throne of God and the lamb and flowing from that throne. This water of life is the very source of life. It is a steady supply of life, sustaining blessing to all the saints of this new earth.

Notice, well, I've already drawn your attention to those three other places where water is mentioned as a source of life. Cardi and I just returned yesterday from Pennsylvania. We went there to spend time with her ninety nine year old mother and to allow her sister and her husband to get away for a break from taking care of her. Can be rather wearing on a person twenty four seven of elder care.

So we went up to give them a break. Her mother has lived in the same farmhouse since nineteen forty seven. Her and my father in law bought that when they were married. And all of these years, a spring on the property has been the water source that has supplied all who have lived there and are currently living there. That water comes into a spring house. It's collected in a hand dug and a stoned laid reservoir.

There has never been a filter on the water. It is clear and pure and so cold and satisfying. It seems strange, but it's one of those things. Well, I don't know whether it's the first thing. Lately, Jean, because of her age, hasn't been able to do this. But when we would make trips and she knew we were coming, there would always be two freshly baked pies on the porch to greet us when we would come in.

And you'd smell these pies. Well, that hasn't greeted us the last few times we've been there because of her age. But there's just something about that spring water that we gravitate to. We want to go and get a drink of that pure, clear, cold, soul quenching water. All these years, the supply has never stopped. There have been a few times that the stream was reduced to a small stream in times of drought and in the heat of summer. But that spring has never ceased to provide water for nearly three quarters of a century.

As far as we know, we don't know about the people who lived prior to ice. I would suppose that it did the same for them. And there was a pipe that would come out of the spring house and go down to the road and there was an old cast iron tub that sat right there along the highway. And people would stop and, well, Amish lived in the country and they would come by in their horses and buggies and stop and the horses would get refreshed with water until someone stole the bathtub.

See, all great pictures just have somebody that ruined it, right? But I had an excellent time of study and reflection and meditation there. I was there just in case of an emergency in the winter time. You don't know what the weather is going to be like.

Carly had gone up three days earlier and I didn't want her being there alone in case there was a health emergency and trying to get her mother here or there somewhere else because it could have been very wintry. It wasn't, but it afforded me time just to think, meditate, reflect and study and I'm very thankful for that. But as I was thinking about this illustration that I just set before you and painted this picture, it stands in stark contrast to the river of life. That's the source of life in the new earth because it won't just supply a single family and its needs, but it will supply, it will be the supply for all the needs of all the saints of all the ages. This source of water and it's coming from the very throne of God.

The flow will never be diminished. In fact, just the opposite is pictured by the prophet Ezekiel. So I want you to turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 47. You are very much handicapped in understanding the book of Revelation if you do not understand the Old Testament. And Ezekiel, in Ezekiel chapter 47 there is a prophecy that is set before us that finds its fulfillment in the passage that we're looking at tonight. And I want you to listen to what Ezekiel is describing for us. He says in verse 1, then he brought me back to the door of the temple. So Ezekiel is describing a temple. And what do we read in Revelation chapter, just stay right where you are in Ezekiel, but let me read one verse to you. What do we learn about the new earth? Verse 22 of chapter 21, but I saw no temple in it for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.

All right. Now John is talking about a temple here in Ezekiel 47. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east. For the front of the temple faced east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar.

He brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the south side to the outer gateway that faces east. And there was water running out on the right side. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured 1,000 cubits and he brought me through the waters. The waters came up to my ankles. Again, he measured 1,000 and brought me through the waters. The water came up to my knees.

Again, he measured 1,000 and brought me through. The water came up to my waist. Again, he measured 1,000 and it was a river that I could not cross for the water was too deep. Water in which one must swim. A river that could not be crossed.

He said to me, son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned there along the bank of the river were very many trees on one side and the other. Then he said to me, this water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters the sea. And when it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish because those waters go there. For they will be healed and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from Ngeti to Nglen. They will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be at the same kinds as the fish of the great sea, exceedingly many. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed.

They will be given over to salt along the bank of the river on this side. And that will grow all kinds of trees used for the food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary.

Their fruit will be no food and their leaves for medicine. The water that flows out of Ezekiel's temple. Not a trickle to supply water for just a family, but water that flows and keeps getting deeper and deeper and deeper and wider. He says the water came up to my ankles in verse 3, to my knees in verse 4, to my waist in verse 4.

And it became a river that could not be crossed. And it speaks of the expanse of God's supply, His bountiful supply. What a beautiful, beautiful picture. And it reminds us that when we get to heaven, there is no way we're going to exhaust the blessings that God has for us. We'll get there and we'll be enjoying it ankle deep.

And we'll wait out a little ways, a thousand, whatever the measuring is there, and we'll be up to our knees and we'll go out a little further and we'll be up to our waist and then we'll find ourselves at a river that you cannot cross. So great and abundant is the blessings that God has prepared for His people. That thrills my heart.

I trust it does yours as well. Back to Revelation 22. Again, we are examining the source of life in the new earth. We've considered the river of life. Look with me secondly at the tree of life in verse 2. John says in the middle of its street and on either side of the river was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. This is reminiscent of Genesis chapter 2 and verse 8, where the Lord God planted a garden eastward of Eden. And there he put the man whom he had formed, and out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow. That is pleasant in the sight and good for food, the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And you know what happened. Paradise was lost because of Adam's disobedience and the resulting curse pronounced. And God tells us that they were driven out of the garden and flaming swords were there, guarded by angels so that they could not come near the tree of life, lest they live. But here in the new earth, the tree of life and free access is restored. Eternal life is enjoyed by all who are there without exception.

And why is that? Because the curse has been removed. The curse that God brought upon Adam and Eve because of their sin and disobedience, that barred them from access to the tree of life. John tells us that very thing here in verse 3, the very first line, and there shall be no more curse. There shall be no more curse.

How did that happen? How was the curse removed? Well, God dealt with the curse in the person of his son at Calvary. Jesus, who knew no sin, bore the sin of his people, died the cursed life on the tree. Paul says in Galatians chapter 3, verse 13, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, cursed is every man that hangeth on a tree.

So the death of Christ accomplished deliverance and the removal of the curse that sin had brought. And just like the river of life continues to flow forever, providing endless blessings, so the tree of life continues to bear fruit and leaves for the healing of the nations. It imparts ongoing life and health to all who are in the new earth. The tree will not be there simply to look at and admire.

The tree will be there to eat of and to enjoy. The beauty of what we're studying, there's so much of the scriptures that are tied together. Listen to what Jesus said early on in our study in Revelation in chapter 2, verse 7. He was writing to the church at Ephesus. And in conclusion, chapter 2, verse 7, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

For him who overcomes, I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Now, if you're just beginning to read in Revelation, you're probably not going to connect what you read in chapter 2 with what is revealed in chapter 22, but you see the connection here, don't you? Then, I think it's Revelation chapter 7 and verse 16.

Take a look at that with me if you would. Revelation 7. John is speaking in a summary form here and he says, They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore, the sun shall not strike them nor any heat, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. Verse 16 says, And the sun shall not strike them nor any heat. This tree, this tree of life is there, the water of life is there to drink, the river to drink of, the tree to eat of, that life might be sustained.

So, what have we done so far? We've considered simply the source of life in the new earth. But I want to examine verses 3 through 5 in Revelation chapter 22 as we consider the nature of life in the new earth, the nature of life in the new earth. And because it's just three verses, let me read them again and perhaps you can pick them out.

There are five, five realities or five characteristics that will define the nature of life in the new earth. Verse 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. They shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.

The nature of life in the new earth. Before John is told what will be there, he is told what will be missing. And what will not be there will be curse. There shall be no more curse. You know, I'm at such a disadvantage to try and explain to you in 45 minutes what you and I are going to spend eternity trying to experience. You see the dilemma I'm in?

It's nigh unto impossible. But nonetheless, God has given us this revelation for our enjoyment, our encouragement, our edification. So, what will be missing?

What will not be there? There shall be no more curse. And the most dominant, conspicuous, preeminent reality that all of life will be centered around is the throne of God and of the Lamb. We've seen that in verse 1.

We don't want to lose sight of that. Every blessing comes from that throne. Life will be centered around that throne. All activity will be centered and concentrated there. So the nature of life in the new earth, what will it be like?

What will it be like? And I don't have Randy Alcorn's book on heaven, but I have a more reliable source than Randy Alcorn, and I'm not troubled by Randy Alcorn. I'm a little puzzled how he can write a book that thick on what heaven is going to be like when we have nothing anywhere near that kind of truth from God. But nonetheless, he has a sanctified imagination.

And again, if you've read the book, I'm not fussing about you about the book, nor am I fussing with him about the book. I'm just trying to tell you that all we have in terms of a description is confined in a few places. But we want to learn what God has said here. So the nature of life in the new earth, number 1, verse 4a, he says, they shall see his face. We shall see his face. Faith will give way to sight. We will be in the presence of our Redeemer. We will be able to see him. Are you longing for that? I think every saint of God ought to long for that. Face to face with Jesus.

I can't imagine what that will be like. But we shall see his face. Number 1, latter part of verse 3 tells us, his servants shall serve him. His servants will serve him.

You say, well, I thought that's what we were doing here on the earth. Well, yes, but we'll be doing it better there. It will be fulfilling. It will be delightful. It will be energizing. God will have work for us to do.

I don't know what that is. I don't know how we will serve him, but it tells us right there, and his servants shall serve him. So he will have work for us to do, and it will be untethered from the toilsome, tiring, sometimes exhausting nature of our work here. That's good news.

The nature of life in the new earth. We shall see his face. We shall serve him. Number 3, the fullness of our mental capacity will be restored. The fullness of our mental capacity restored.

You say, well, where are you getting that? It tells us in verse 4, they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. Now, this will not be a tattoo.

This is, again, symbolic language. It's speaking of the fact that no longer will our minds be clouded. No longer will our minds be distracted. No longer will our minds be darkened by the effects of sin. Our minds will be filled with thoughts of God.

That is what is meant by those words. His name shall be on their foreheads. It is symbolic language that thoughts about God will have the highest place in our thinking. I have benefited greatly from a retired pastor.

His name is Max Doner. He has written a very helpful and practical and insightful commentary on the book of the Revelation. And I want you to hear what he says and you'll see how contemporary he is and what he is saying here as he's helping us to understand what this means. He says, quote, in this world our minds are often a jumbled mess, and our thoughts are occupied with the mundane, the ridiculous, and the sinful. Often our thinking is confused and darkened and distracted. We focus on the wrong thing, we focus on even good things in the wrong way, and we often come to wrong conclusions. Our mental health on this earth is very, very poor.

The more we look at the internet, the worse it gets. The more we play on our phones, the less we think the thoughts of God. But in the new earth, with perfected bodies and souls and with all sinful impediments removed, the clarity of our thinking, the focus of our thinking, the wisdom of our thinking will be perfect. Our thinking will dwell without distraction on the most satisfying object conceivable, and that is the person and work of God. That is what we will be thinking about all of the time. It will be at the forefront of our minds and have the highest place of prominence in our thoughts.

His name, that is all He is and all He has done will occupy our thoughts all the time. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Doesn't that sound amazing? To think that God will so eradicate us from the presence, the power, and the penalty of sin that we will be able to give our minds in totality to thoughts of God is, and as Pastor Barkman reminded us this morning, the object of our thinking and meditation will carry us through all eternity, will never come to the end of our discoveries of our God.

So what a thrilling thought that is. Again, we're thinking about what will the nature of life be in the new earth. We will see His face, we will serve Him, we will be able to think about Him in ways we have not been able to think about Him in this life. Number four, we will have the light of God's special personal presence restored to us. Verse five, there shall be no night there, they need no lamp nor light of the sun for the Lord God gives them light and they shall reign forever and ever. No night there because God will be the source of that light. God is light and in Him what is no darkness at all.

We will be in His presence. The light will be so continuous and pervasive and brilliant that it will render all other sources of light as irrelevant, insignificant and unnecessary. I'm not saying there will be no sun, I'm not saying there will be no moon, I'm not saying that none of those things will be present, I'm a little divided on that point, but the issue is that even if they're there, they will be unnecessary. They'll be insignificant, they'll be irrelevant because God in the brilliance of His glory will fill the new earth. What will the nature of life be in the new earth?

Number five, the fifth characteristic that will define the nature of life in the new earth is we will have the dominion over the earth restored to us. Notice verse five again, there shall be no night there, they need no lamp nor light of the sun for the Lord God gives them light and they shall reign forever and ever. Adam was given dominion in the garden and he forfeited that dominion by his sin and the devil became the god of this world. But Christ came and destroyed the devil, cast him into the lake of fire and recaptured for man in the new earth that dominion that was originally meant for Adam. We will exercise dominion on this earth, we will reign forever and ever. And again, I don't know what that is all going to look like, but as we go back to Genesis chapter 2 and read about that, he was given dominion over the fish of the sea and over all the animals on the earth and dominion.

Man has forfeited that and it will be restored to us. So what will it be like in heaven? Well, there's a lot of things we could say, but according to these verses tonight, faith will give way to sight and we will see our Savior. We will be able to look him in the face and express to him our gratitude for what he did in redeeming us. We will enjoy unbroken communion and fellowship and all of these activities that we will enjoy are centered around the throne of God. We will see his face, we will serve him, we'll be able to think about him, the Godhead, in a way that we have not been able to because of the limitations and the defilement of sin. How many of you have the experience of feeling robust, feeling rested, feeling like, okay, I'm in a good place, I'm in a good head space, I want to sit down, I want to read something and you read about 15, 20 minutes. You have that experience?

Yes, that's part of the residual effect of the fall. That will not be our experience in the new earth. A sharp mind all the time to think right thoughts about God and to enjoy our exploration of all the questions we have thought about in this life and questions we've never thought about. Someone said, do you have the answers? No, I don't have the answers.

In fact, I don't even have all the questions. But such is life. We will have the light of God's special personal presence restored to us. I don't know what it meant for Adam to walk in the garden with God, to have fellowship with God. But you and I will know what that is. And we won't know that second hand.

We will experience that. Unbroken, unhindered communion and fellowship with our Creator. And not just for a day, not for a few days, not for a week, a month, for all eternity. Again, you see how frustrating it can be to try and describe what we are going to be enjoying for all eternity. But here it is set before us. And we will have dominion over the earth restored to us.

So what a blessed God we have. You understand the first few chapters of Genesis and you understand the last few chapters of Revelation. How paradise was lost at the beginning and how it's restored in the end and read in between. It's God's work of redeeming a fallen world and restoring a world broken by sin. So the Bible really has a basic message, doesn't it?

It's a pretty simple, simple to understand its structure, at least. And I've been thrilled in these days of preaching through this book to come to this place this evening. And we will continue in our study as we make our way.

I think tonight is either the 61st or the 62nd message in this series. And I look back with some satisfaction as a preacher. You're praying, God, illuminate my mind that I might understand the scriptures, not just for my benefit, but for your people's benefit. We desperately need your word. We desperately need to understand what you've revealed and what you've said. And as I prayed and studied, I feel a measure of contentment and satisfaction that God has indeed answered that prayer. But as I've moved my way through, I thought, oh, my, oh, my.

So much here, so much here beyond my ability to communicate it to you. But aren't you glad we're not confined to me just trying to explain it to you, that what I'm struggling to explain to you, we're going to enjoy together in glory for all eternity? Let's bow and pray. Father, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your word and for the wonderful things you have revealed to us. Thank you for the Apostle John, for his obedience to dutifully write the things that were revealed to him for our benefit. Father, truly, Paul's words are so true. Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man the things that you have prepared for those who love you.

What a gracious God you are, what a kind God you are, what a merciful God you are. You could have confined us all to a Christless eternity. You could have judged us. You could have poured out your wrath upon us. And yet, beyond our comprehension, you poured out the wrath that was due us on your son, that our lives might be restored and redeemed to enjoy these things that you have prepared for us. It's amazing, amazing grace indeed how sweet the sound that saved wretches like us. Cause your word to encourage us, to feed us, to thrill us, and to strengthen us as we make our way in this world. Help us to serve you well. Help us to live with an eye toward heaven. Help us to live with this resurrection hope before us, I pray in Jesus' name. Amen.