A Spiritual Vision of the Future

Revelation ends with a beautiful picture of restoration. We discover that God’s agenda is not judgement and condemnation, but healing and restoration. Revelation promises us the victory of God and a world without sin or suffering – perfection without end.

STUDY THE SCRIPTURE

Click here to access the reading from Revelation 21:1-5 

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You will find the Sermon Notes for today’s message here.

REFLECTION

Tomorrow's Song in our Hearts
by Elaine Pierce

When we’ve been there 10,000 years, bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less case to sing God’s grace, than when we first begun.

                                                              Amazing Grace, John Newton, 1779

What has caused you mourning, crying and pain in 2020?  For many of us, this could be a long list. We have lost friends and loved ones, whether to Covid-19 or other causes. We have lost income, and we may be facing economic ruin – savings wiped out, no end in sight. School is starting virtually, and we don’t know how we are going to cope. Racial tensions are high. Indeed, these are reasons for mourning, crying and pain.

What does it mean to you to know that “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.” (Revelation 21:4). This passage doesn’t say that “some” tears will be wiped away. It says “EVERY” tear will be wiped away. No more death. No more crying. No more pain. What does this mean for your life today?

I will admit, that, at times, heaven seems very far away. In the midst of struggle and pain, I sometimes find words of assurance to be empty  Yes, someday, this will all be over, and I will be floating on my heavenly cloud playing my harp- but what about now, Lord?  How do I get through this pain, this grief, today?

I wish I had a perfect answer to that cry of pain. I do know that we have a perfect savior, who died for our sins, who will come again, and who offers eternal life to all who believe. I know that he suffered greatly on the cross for our sins – a man who was sinless took on the sins of the world – my sins.

And he gave John this vision of a new heaven and a new earth – the new Jerusalem. John wrote these words while in exile, on the lonely island of Patmos. He was certainly not surrounded by ‘a new heaven and earth.’  His life was not one of luxury and ease. And yet, God gave him hope and joy in the midst of persecution.

Yes, we will have hardship. We will have sorrow. We will mourn. We will have pain. But there is joy in knowing with certainty that God will wipe every tear from our eyes, and the old order will pass away. Heaven is indescribable, but it is real, and it will last forever. Thanks be to God!

UALC’S CAMPAIGN OF PRAYER - SUNDAY

SCRIPTURES - Pray the Scriptures. Some examples are Psalm 91:1-15 / Psalm 121:5-8 / John 14:27 / Philippians 4:6-7 / 2 Timothy 1:7

Making all things new

He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!"  Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."  Revelation 21:5

When Peggy and I decided to turn the half-story upstairs of our first house into living space, her father came for a week to help us.  OK, the truth of the matter is, having built his own house largely on his own, he was pretty much the authority ... and a very good teacher.  I was the help.

We toiled the first few days, installing electrical wiring, extending the plumbing from the downstairs, and putting up furring strips where needed for drywall.  Yet even after a considerable amount of work, it looked as though we were hardly progressing at all toward the transformation I had envisioned.  Then on the fourth or fifth day, everything seemed to "pop" at once.  Floors tiled and bathroom accessories installed.  Drywall hung and doors, too.  We had, indeed, been steadily advancing all along, even though almost imperceptibly at times.

Ever since mankind welcomed sin into the world, God has been progressing toward "making everything new."  Centuries of Messianic prophecies have been fulfilled in Immanuel, God with us, full of grace and truth.  An old covenant of righteousness through sacrifice has been satisfied and set aside, replaced by a new covenant in his blood. Jews and Gentiles have been made one people in the Christ of God.  The Spirit of him we sought externally, we now experience internally.  And through it all, step by step, "our God" has been drawing ever nearer to "his people."

Certainly God's progress is more evident to us than to those who toiled in millennia past. They labored as we do, yet longed for a glimpse of what we see clearly - God in flesh, the perfect sacrifice, risen to life, once for all who believe.  Still, for all the clarity revealed to us, our view of what is yet to come remains dim.  No eye has seen it; no ear has heard it.

Yet God is preparing it.  And it will be breathtaking, far beyond imagination.  The Apostle John has caught a glimpse and shares it with us ...

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.  I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And 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.  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."  Revelation 21:1-4

We know it will come to pass.  For God has been completing his plan all along.  He is not about to stop now.  It will come to pass.  In this, we can take comfort.

Knowing God to be faithful to his promises for tomorrow, what pains and fears can we relinquish today?  

Who are we freed to serve today, knowing our loving God owns an eternity of our tomorrows?

Word of God - Speak!

Revelation 21:5 (NIV)
 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."


This past weekend the church I attend held a Renewal Weekend for women.  This is like a retreat, a time to draw close to God, to fellowship with other Christians and to share. We share our stories of God's love and His provision. We share our hearts and our time and our prayers with one another. Each of these weekends has a Scripture verse which is a theme verse.  Revelation 21:5 was that verse.

Because Scripture is living and active, these words spoke to the hearts of the 24 women in attendance in differing ways. Because God meets us where we are, His words will minister to each heart individually, on a day by day basis. This is one of the things I find so exciting about digging into the Word. Every morning when I ask for a word - He gives me one!

For example, May of 2012 I was living in the north woods of Wisconsin.  My husband had recently died and I was working through all the change my life now faced.  I had been here for 10 months and was sensing during my daily time with God, that things were about to change again. The time was approaching for me to return home. I called my former pastor to explain my feelings and he said, "God is making everything new." It was this very verse I had read and underlined in my Bible that morning.

The Bible begins with the majestic story of creation and ends with the fulfilling picture of the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.  God is making all things new and you can write it in indelible ink; for the words from God will not be erased. (paraphrased by this writer)



Revelation 21:1-5

If you are fascinated by the Book of Revelation I would encourage you to read Heaven by Randy Alcorn.  After reading that book I read through Revelation again and got a better perspective of heaven.  Now, I know it is only the author's take on things, but I feel he is right on with lots of what he wrote.

New heaven and a new earth - what a great picture that brings to mind.  Just read through these 5 verses and see if you don't come away feeling really good about things.  Verse five is my favorite, "I am making everything new!" Oh, I can't wait.
Revelation 21:1-5 (NIV)

 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.   I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.  And 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.  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."  He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."    

Read Revelation 21:1-5

Listen to Revelation 21:1-5

All Saints' Day focus - Revelation 21:1-5

The New Jerusalem

It is very hard to imagine a world with no suffering, pain, sorrow or trials.  The older we get, it becomes even more difficult to get a picture of what that might look like. But, as the body ages and begins to deteriorate in ways we never dreamed, the idea of a new body is appealing. 

Revelation 21:1 (NIV)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

The words, “and there was no longer any sea,” caught my attention.  I don’t believe I ever read those words before now.  Looking into it a little bit I found that the sea was viewed as dangerous and changeable.  It was also the source of the beast.  The fact that even the sea will be no more means everything that causes me stress, or worry or anxiety, will be gone.  Only perfection will inhabit the New Earth.  Only new and perfect bodies will live on the New Earth.

When we become believers now, God does a new thing in us, but we are still not perfect and neither is our life.  We have broken bodies and bruised emotions.  Our world has not changed, only our outlook and our future have changed.  God has instilled in us a new hope, and we have access to a new joy—all of which come from a relationship with Jesus.

This relationship with Jesus guarantees we will be inhabitants of The New Jerusalem.  All Saint’s Day is a day which celebrates the lives of these citizens of a perfect world.  In that perfect world we will be reunited.

Read Revelation 21:1-5 here

Listen to Revelation 21:1-5 here