And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
We know that the resurrection is a historic event. Two thousand years ago. But it has impact for our lives now. We are going to explore this event in God's word and then see how it affects our lives now.
"the first heaven and the first earth" - this is passing away. Our bodies are decaying. It is corrupt & decaying. This started when sin entered through Adam as it says in Genesis. It is clear from the world around us that the world and the people are broken. The current news speaks of a seven year old who was gang raped. The various earthquakes happening around the world. Whether you are christian or not, whether you are religious or not, we all wish this world was better. When death comes, we wish there was something more. This is not right, it is not the way it should be. We notice this even more when someone close to us dies. Even when Jesus went to see Lazarus, He wept. Even though Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus and knew He had the power to raise him, Jesus still wept. This is probably because Jesus saw how wrong it was.
Some of us wish for a utopia in this world. They try to make a perfect little world with the perfect ideology. But this is futile. We are broken people in a broken world. We corrupt all those things that we touch. Or we try to carve out our little piece of happiness separate from the brokenness. But even then the broken world can break into our little happiness. One drunken driver can completely destroy our little happiness.
"Behold, I am making all things new." - Through Christ, we have a new place where all things will work as they should. This is going to be a bit difficult. There are allusions to other literature. We are viewing heaven through an ancient man's point of view. It's like a man trying to describe apple macbook pro's two thousand years ago. "new" in this case refers to qualitative better. Now there is some continuity in our lives. There are cities... and bodies. How do we know? Jesus' resurrection body. His disciples recognize him. So we are not going to be chubby babies playing harps. But the doors were locked. So somehow, Jesus entered to visit disciples... through locked doors.
"the sea was no more" - The ancient people were scared of the ocean. It was a place of danger & death. You would be eaten by ocean monsters. So John was trying to say there was no more danger. It also separated nations & people. So, John was trying to say people were all be together.
"the holy city, new Jerusalem" - now those suburbanites, it's not like God hates you. In cities now, there is lots of messed up things. But also consider the great things in cities: arts & culture, great food, being able to get to know your neighbors. But the new city will not have all the bad stuff, no more fear of gangs, poverty, etc. Jerusalem is the city were the ancients went to meet God. So the inhabitants of the city would have access to God. Instead of having a single high priest meeting God once a year within the holy of holies within the temple of God within the city of Jerusalem.
"prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" - it will be like the culmination of a long-distance relationship. Two people in love who spoke through Gchat & Skype. They finally get married and they will live together forever. Imagine the joy.
So what does this have to do with us now? What does the life in heaven mean for us now in this broken life?
This book was written to christians who were being persecuted. They were being killed, being fed to lions, & their corpses used to light Roman roadways. The christians were being encouraged that heaven was waiting. So they could persevere through anything! If we saw clearly what heaven promised, we could do anything. Life becomes more than just getting a paycheck. Working for pay becomes only a part of life. We would not believe that our status is dependent upon the amount in our bank accounts. We would invest our money differently.
For those who are suffering, it tells us that we should not be surprised. We are broken people in a broken world. But we have hope, there is something beyond the suffering of this life. God is working through our suffering. We would not be afraid of aging. This body is falling apart, but we have a resurrection body. We would not have to fear dying either. We will be resurrected with Christ.
If I believe in an eternity of rest, I can give this life away. A place of joy and happiness is promised to us. So we willingly throw our lives away, to meet those who need Christ & life. There is willingness to go to dark & dangerous places. It is said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. We are willing to throw our lives away for others, to save others... because our lives to come are secure.
The hope of heaven & the hope of life is not for everyone.
Who gets it? Those who are thirsty. "To the thirsty I will give"
How do we get it? It comes without payment. All you need to do is believe that the one who offers it is true. "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega" That through Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection, our salvation was purchased.
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