A New Heaven and a New Earth sermon explores what the future will be like after the old heaven and old earth pass away.
Key verses:
Revelation 21:1-8
Take your Bible and turn with me to the Revelation chapter 21. To begin with, we want to read just the first verse. After we look at the first verse then we are going to look at verses one to eight. John writes and he says:
Revelation 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
At our Sunday School this morning, we were talking a little bit about what the new heaven and new earth are like. We were not looking at this passage, we were looking in chapter 22. But I want to go back to the beginning. Keep your Bible open if you will to Revelation 21, we’re going to come back to that but before we get into the first eight verses here, I want to talk to you about the very beginning. The beginning of what? The beginning of everything. So, we’re going to go back in our thinking to Genesis. You can turn there if you like but I am going to go quickly and so, you may just want to listen.
The Beginning of Everything
The book of Genesis is the book of beginnings. The word “genesis” means beginnings. And it is the record of the beginnings of the heaven and the earth. It is the beginning of everything on the earth. In chapters one and two we have the creation of the planet, this planet, Earth, which is unique.
If you look at our solar system whether you say there are eight planets or nine. I don’t know if you are even aware of this as a controversy, but it is nowadays. Do we have eight planets, or do we have nine? Because is Pluto really a planet or is it not a planet? People are talking about these kinds of things.
But none of the other planets in our solar system are capable of sustaining human life or animal life for that matter. “Well, I heard that there might be life on Mars.” There may be but no one’s found any yet and there have been several missions to Mars, unmanned missions, so far, and they’ve not found any life on Mars.
“I heard that they had.” Well, then you heard incorrectly because they found all kinds of things there, possibly evidence that there was once water there but actually haven’t found water. The planet is not set up to have the atmosphere to sustain life, doesn’t have the water to sustain life, it doesn’t have the capabilities to sustain life and neither do any of the other planets in our solar system.
What if you go beyond our solar system? Well, I’m not sure what you’ll find beyond our solar system. We’ve had exploratory craft that has gone beyond our solar system, but so far, they’ve found nothing, no other planet that can sustain life.
What’s beyond that? Well, truth is, nobody knows, do they? Nobody’s been out there to see, nor has any exploratory craft gone farther than what we’ve already described. So, we are talking about the creation of the planet of Earth and a description of the early days upon Earth.
In chapter one you have the creation, verses one to five:
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Genesis 1:2: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
The earth is created “without form, and void.” It means it didn’t have a particular shape as it does now. Apparently, the earth was originally covered with water. And then in the third and fourth verses it says:
Genesis 1:3: “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”
Genesis 1:4: “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
Genesis 1:5: “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Verses six to eight:
Genesis 1:6: “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
Genesis 1:7: “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.”
Genesis 1:8: “And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
On the second day, there was a vapor in the sky above and a water below.
It Was Good
Verses nine to thirteen:
Genesis 1:9: “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.”
Genesis 1:10: “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:11: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.”
Genesis 1:12: “And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:13: “And the evening and the morning were the third day.”
The third day, dry land and plant life appear and at the end of verse 12 it says, “and God saw that it was good.” What was good? Everything that He had made up to that point was good. Verses 14 to 19:
Genesis 1:14: “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:”
Genesis 1:15: “And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.”
Genesis 1:16: “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.”
Genesis 1:17: “And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,”
Genesis 1:18: “And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:19: “And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”
The sun, moon, stars are made and at the end of verse 18 it says, “and God saw that it was good.” Verses 20 to 23:
Genesis 1:20: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.”
Genesis 1:21: “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
Genesis 1:22: “And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.”
Genesis 1:23: “And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”
On the fifth day, God created the birds and sea life and at the end of verse 21 we read again, “and God saw that it was good.” Verses 24 to 25:
Genesis 1:24: “And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.”
Genesis 1:25: “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”
On the sixth day, God created other land animals and mankind. Verses 26 and 27 say:
Genesis 1:26: “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”
Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
And in verse 31, once again we read:
Genesis 1:31: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
So, what is the point of all that? To give us a narrative of the creation, yes. But that phrase, “and God saw that it was good.” – everything that was created was good. There was nothing about it that was not good. There was nothing about it that was corrupted. There was nothing about it that was diseased. There was nothing about it that was not quite right. It was all very good.
Sin and God’s Judgment
In chapter two of Genesis, we read about early human life. The environment of the original creation is described. The creation of woman occurs, and the first marriage takes place. In chapter three we find the introduction of evil into the world by the first lies. And as evil, or sin, entered into the world, death came with it.
Romans 5:12: “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
Genesis 3:16: “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”
Pain, particularly pain in childbirth, became a part of the human experience. And at the end of verse 17 and continuing into verse 18 God says:
Genesis 3:17: “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”
Genesis 3:18: “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;”
Genesis 3:19: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
In chapter four, we have the first childbirth, the first offerings to the Lord, and the first murder. Civilization begins with the first cities in that chapter. In chapters five and six, the corruption on the earth has grown in the human race until in chapter six verse five, we read:
Genesis 6:5: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Mankind has gone into a state of corruption where “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Now, we talked about this often and I’m going to mention this again. Some people object to belief in God. They say, “If there’s a God and if he’s real and he’s loving and caring as Christians say, why doesn’t he do something about the evil in the world?” Well, again:
Genesis 6:5: “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
And so, God judged the world. The same people who will say to you, “Why doesn’t God do something about the evil in the world?” And then God does something about the evil in the world and they say, “God’s mean.” But God did judge the world and a great worldwide flood came after which only eight people survived.
After this second chance, you would think that the surviving human race would say, “You know, we don’t need to be the way our ancestors were, we need to be better, we need to live a better life, we need to be a godlier race of people.” But that isn’t what happened.
God’s judgment came upon the earth again. In chapter 11 in the book of Genesis, there was another judgment. It was not another flood. God promised He would never flood the world again. It came in the form of the division of languages and the scattering of people over the face of the earth. Civilization started in what we call today the Middle East or some would say northeastern Africa, there is very little if any difference there. And that’s where civilization began. Again, people who do not believe the Bible will admit to that.
But since that time, we’ve had about 5,000 years. Notice I’m not saying 5,000 years since creation. I’m saying 5,000 years since God brought these judgments upon the earth. We’ve seen the difference in this world, and we’ve seen a lot of progress. I’m a person who likes progress.
“I thought you were an old-fashioned man.” I am in many ways. “I didn’t think you believed in progress or science or anything.” Well, if that were true, just think about it. You wouldn’t be sitting on padded pews. You wouldn’t have electric lights around you. You wouldn’t have air conditioning around you. Obviously, we believe in doing things modern.
I’ll make a confession to you, those of you who are here for the first time, I don’t think this will matter much to you, but for quite a while there, I was opposed to having the screens up here (pointing to the TV screens), not because I’m against having screens and not against technology, I just didn’t think we needed them. I didn’t think they were necessary. But then something happened to change all that. What was it? The COVID situation.
You see, we don’t have hymnbooks in the pews for you to use anymore. We don’t do some of the other things like pass around the offering plate anymore. We don’t do some of the other things anymore to limit physical contact or to limit the possibility of germ contamination and so forth.
And a man who was a boy attending our day camp here came in and said, “I’ll put those screens in for you.” And he did and you know what? I think they’ve been a blessing. I really do. So, again, I’m not opposed to technology. I’m not opposed to realizing that we live in the 21st century. I’m not opposed to those things at all.
But I’m saying, we’ve seen a progression even in our day, in our lifetime, a progression of evil in the world. We’ve seen in Bible prophesy how this age in which we live is going to end with an outpouring of God’s judgment once again. It will not be another worldwide flood. We have God’s promise on that. But we also have God’s promise that there’s going to be a seven-year period of the outpouring of God’s judgment upon this earth.
After that, there will be a 1,000-year period in which Jesus Christ is going to reign on the earth from the throne of David in the city of Jerusalem. After that time, there will be one final rebellion and it will culminate – that is not all there is to this story – but it will culminate in the destruction of the original planet Earth, that original creation that God created, and it was all good until it became corrupted. Peter writes about this in 2 Peter:
2 Peter 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”
The Promise of a New Heaven and New Earth
Then in verses 12 and 13 Peter writes:
2 Peter 3:12: “Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?”
2 Peter 3:13: “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
What Peter was saying 2,000 years ago, there will one day be the destruction of this planet. “How far out is that preacher?” I don’t know, we’re not told that. I’m going to tell you it’s at least 1,007 years away and I told you the reason for that already. But how much longer is that? Again, I don’t know. But that day will come as surely as you and I are here today. In Revelation 20 verse 11, John writes:
Revelation 2:11: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”
But the prophecy of a new heaven and a new earth is not just a New Testament prophecy. It is not something we find in just the latter books of Peter and the Revelation. This prophecy of a new heaven and a new earth dates back more than 2,700 years to the days of the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 65:17: “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
Isaiah 65:18: “But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.”
Now, that’s in Isaiah 65, in the next chapter:
Isaiah 66:22: “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.”
So, we have promise in both Testaments, the Hebrew scriptures and the New Testament. We have the promise that God will make a new heaven and a new earth. Now, with that in mind, I want us to just look at the first eight verses of Revelation chapter 21. In verse one as we read earlier, John writes:
Revelation 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
“And I” – John – “saw a new heaven and a new earth” – just as God prophesied. Just as God had prophesied for over 2,700 years. “Well, if it hadn’t happened in 2,700 years, do you think it is still going to happen?” I do.
Let me say something here I’ve said often. I think it is something you ought to remember. It’s a very simple statement. But just because something hasn’t ever happened does not mean it will not happen. Now, I could prove that very quickly. I’ve never died but I’m pretty sure I will one day, okay? Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t happen. We could give you other illustrations, but I think you get the point.
So, God has said for 2,700 years plus, that He is going to create a new heaven and a new earth. Why? Because this one became corrupted. “Well, God should have made it right the first time.” He did. “Well, then how did He mess it up?” He didn’t. “Who did?” People did. And so, God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth.
Now, there will be people living on this planet who will be living on the new earth. “Who are those people?” Those are people who have placed their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. “Where do you get that?” From the Bible. But let’s get back to the text here.
No More Sea
This is a completion of the prophecies, verse one, John says:
Revelation 21:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
“The first heaven and the first earth were passed away” – they’re gone, and we already read to you Peter’s description of that. But the last phrase in verse one says, “and there was no more sea.” Now that is a little controversial for some folks. So, let’s try to help you with that.
The Greek word translated “sea” here literally means, are you ready for this? “Sea.” Boy, that was hard, wasn’t it? Okay. So, in Revelation 13:1, the same word “thalassa” in Greek, is used where John writes this:
Revelation 13:1: “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”
Generally speaking, the beast that John writes about here, we learn in that same chapter, Revelation 13 – I encourage you to read it for yourself – is a man, a human being. And as we’ve seen before, this is considered to be a world political leader who will one day come to lead a global government and that idea is being championed today. Now, it’s not brand new today. People have been talking about it for a very, very long time. I can give you specific examples where people have talked about it. Let’s go back in history a little bit.
There have been men throughout history who wanted to conquer the entire world and they wanted to have the whole world for their kingdom. How many of them succeeded? None. Some of them got pretty far with it but they did not conquer the entire world.
But for many years world leaders even in our country and other countries have talked about the idea of having one government for the entire planet. They use terms like one world or globalism or globalist society or new age. They use different terms.
One of our former presidents said there will be a new world order. Isn’t that interesting? A new world order. Our current president made this statement, he said, “Brussels, Belgium” – I can’t tell you what his basis is for saying this, but I’m telling you what I heard him say. He said, “Brussels, Belgium will be the capital of the world.” Will it be? I don’t know. I’m just telling you what was said.
The idea I am trying to get across to you is again, not a new one. People have for many, many centuries wanted to have a one-world government. Part of the reason people want that is if we have a one-world government, then that will put an end to all the wars because we won’t have governments to fight against each other. We’ll only have one government and so we’ll finally have world peace.
Let me ask you a question about that. Just a little logical thinking. Has there ever been – not a one-world government – but has there ever been a place, a government, let’s say a national government, call it a kingdom, an empire, or whatever you want to call it – where there was a war within that kingdom or empire? Has that ever happened? Yeah, many times.
What’s my point? Just because we’re all under one government doesn’t mean we’re going to have peace. It’s a nice idea but it hasn’t worked, and I don’t think it’s going to. But back to the controversy at the end of verse one.
This sea it talks about here, “no more sea” – some people see it as a different sea. It is the word “sea” the literal ocean or sea, and some think it means the Mediterranean Sea. Now, the Mediterranean Sea would indicate if that was correct and going back to Revelation 13:1, it would indicate that the one-world leader would come from that region of the world that is touched by the Mediterranean.
The word “Mediterranean” comes from the Latin and it literally means the sea in the middle of the earth. Is the Mediterranean in the middle of the earth? Well, that depends on what you consider the middle of the earth, doesn’t it? It’s in what we call the Middle East. It touches Europe, it touches the African continent, it touches the Asian continent. So, in some ways it might be the middle of the earth.
Another interpretation is that the sea mentioned here in chapter 21:1 and in Revelation 13:1 refers to the great sea of humanity. Now, if that is true, if that’s what it means, then saying there is no more sea, there is no more great sea of humanity.
Or perhaps it means there will be no longer a Mediterranean Sea, it won’t exist. There are those that hold that there will not be any sea on the new earth then, and there are those who hold only the Mediterranean that will not exist at that time.
One thing is certain. There will be a new earth and it will be different than the original earth and different in a better way. That much we know for sure.
God Will Dwell With Men
Look at verse two:
Revelation 21:2: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
“And I John saw the holy city” – now let me help you study your Bible. Anytime you see those two words “holy city” it always without exception means Jerusalem. “Oh, I thought it means Rome.” It never means Rome. It always without exception means Jerusalem.
So, this is the first mention of the new Jerusalem in the book of the Revelation. It’s not the first mention in the Bible, but it is the first mention in the book of the Revelation. It is already prophesied in Isaiah 66:22. And here, John describes it as coming down from God out of Heaven. It is described as a bride adorned for her husband – a beautiful sight.
I have attended more weddings than I can count, and I have performed more weddings than I can remember. And to be honest with you, I’ve never seen an ugly bride, never had, not one. The bride always looks beautiful on her wedding day. “I’ve seen some women…” Beside the point, that’s beside the point. The bride always looks beautiful on their wedding day. And that’s the way John describes this new Jerusalem.
But notice it says, “coming down from God out of heaven.” So, this new Jerusalem comes from Heaven and comes down to the earth. Some believe it will actually hover over the earth while others believe it will rest upon the earth. In either way, it is the new Jerusalem, the city of Jerusalem, but not the one we have now. That one will be gone. There will be a new Jerusalem. And then it says this in verse three:
Revelation 21:3: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Let’s read that again. I want you to get hold of what John is saying here. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men.” The “tabernacle is with men” refers to the old tabernacle built in Moses’ day where God met with the people of Israel. “The tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them” – God will live with men, where? In the new Jerusalem in the new earth. “And they” – people – “and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Just a few years ago, I had a young man who I think was honest in his question. But he said, “If this God of yours is real, why doesn’t he come to earth and show himself?” And I said, “Well, He did.” He stood there and thought a minute and said, “You’re talking about Jesus.” I said, “Yes, I am talking about Jesus.” He was called Emmanuel which literally means God with us. Isaiah wrote of Him and said, “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” So, God did come to earth and show himself.
But I’ve got news for you. He’s coming again. He’s coming again. And it says God will dwell with men on earth and they shall be his people, and He shall be their God. John 14:8-9 gives us some understanding of this, when after Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 14:8: “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”
I told you this before. I can see Philip there and in essence saying, “Can you show us God? I want to see God.” I think you understand how Philip felt and what he meant.
John 14:9: “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
They had been together for over three years at this point. “Don’t you know me?” Jesus went on, He said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” That’s pretty clear, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
Let me share something else with you and then we are going to move on. I’ve had people, numerous people, over the years come to me and say, “You know, Jesus never claimed to be God.” Really? The truth is yes, He did and not once but many times over. But here is just one of those examples. Jesus said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” That’s a pretty clear statement. It doesn’t require a lot of elaboration.
2 Corinthians 6:14: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”
2 Corinthians 6:15: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?”
2 Corinthians 6:16: “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:17: “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,”
2 Corinthians 6:18: “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”
There’s a lot in that passage we don’t have time to explain at this point. But several things it talks about, one of those is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and that means now as a believer in Jesus Christ. If you’ve trusted Jesus as your Savior, you have the Holy Spirit living inside you right now.
“You mean if I go in and have surgery and they cut me open, they’re going to see the Holy Spirit?” No, I don’t mean that. “Well, why wouldn’t they?” Because you don’t see spirits. “I have preacher, I have seen spirits.” Well, we can talk about that another time. But the fact of the matter is you don’t see spirits.
Here’s the situation you need to understand. That is now but in the future, God will see, people will see, perhaps you will see God living on earth with people. “Where did you get that?” Well, we read it to you a couple of times, “God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
What Will It Be Like?
What’s going to happen in that time? Look at verse four:
Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes” – let’s stop right there. Why would they have tears in their eyes at that point? This is the new heaven and new earth, and the former things are passed away. Do you suppose there might be some people who have some grief attached to that? It’s the most logical thing in the world. If someone you loved and cared about passes out of this world, do you not feel sorry, sorrow, and grief? Of course, you do. But that’s only part of it.
Perhaps the people of that time also reflect back at their own actions and at what they have done or perhaps not done. Now they wish they had. Let me ask you this question again. As you look back over your life is there anything you ever did that you wished you had never done? Don’t answer that, just think about it. Sure, all of us have that. Is there anything as you look back over your life that you wish you had done that you didn’t? Sure, we all have those kinds of memories.
So, it is logical that the people living in the new heaven, the new earth, the new Jerusalem might have tears for these two reasons and others. So, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death.” No crying, no more death.
When I was a little fellow, I can remember that I didn’t like to have my hair shampooed because I’d get shampoo in my eyes, it burned, and I’d cry. Then Johnson & Johnson Company came out with Johnson Baby Shampoo, and they called it the “no more tears shampoo.” You use that and you wouldn’t get tears. You know what? You get it in your eyes, you’re still going to have tears. I promise you. This is so much better than Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” No more weeping. Nothing more for which you need to weep.
And “there shall be no more death.” I want you to think about that for a minute. No more hospitals, no more funeral homes, no more cemeteries, no more saying goodbye to a loved one for the last time. No more. No more separation. No more death. Neither sorrow nor grieving for those who have passed on because there is no more death.
Nor crying – Isn’t that repetitious? It says, God wipes away all tears and now it says “nor crying”. Crying here means crying out. Crying out as in pain, anguish, or calls for help – no more. No more crying out.
And then it says, “No more pain.” No more pain. Everybody in this room has felt pain. Maybe you’re feeling it right now. If you haven’t, I have good news for you, you will. That just made you feel better right now, did it? But it is the truth. No more pain. Think about that. No more pain. For some of us, that means more than to others and for some who aren’t here, it means more than to others who are here. Pain, gone forever. Death, gone forever. Sorrow, gone forever.
The end of verse four says, “for the former things are passed away.” All of these things are gone. Gone forever. Then in verse five:
Revelation 21:5: “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” – A new start. Do you ever come to a point in your life where you could just stop and start over? Isn’t that great? God says you are going to get to. You’re going to get to. “Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me,” – John – “Write: for these words are true and faithful.” That’s an assurance that what we’ve just read is for real. It’s genuine. This is not some fairy tale. This is not some myth. It is true and faithful. God’s Word is true and faithful. He says, “I make all things new.”
We talked about Genesis:
Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Gospel of John chapter one verse one says:
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
It goes on to say:
John 1:3: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”
Now, that’s John chapter one and in verse 14 it says “And the Word was made [or became] flesh, and dwelt among us” – lived here with us. God was a man on earth, talking about Jesus Christ, telling us that He is the Creator. Again, His words are true and faithful.
It Is Finished
In verse six, He says:
Revelation 21:6: “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
“And he said unto me, It is done” – it is finished, it is complete. Once He makes the new creation, it is done. And in verse six it says, “I am Alpha and Omega” – alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. So, He says, “I am Alpha and Omega” – I am the first and the last.
He goes on to say, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.” We talked about that in the Sunday School hour. And we talked about the Gospel of John chapter four where Jesus meets a woman in Samaria at a well that Jacob had dug many centuries earlier. And there, He asked her for a drink. She asks [paraphrased], “Why do you ask me for a drink? I’m a Samaritan, you are a Jew. Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.”
And Jesus said to her, “If you knew who it was who was asking for a drink, you would ask me for water and I would give you living water.” Would you notice what it says here again in verse six:
Revelation 21:6: “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
700 years before that, Isaiah writes:
Isaiah 55:1: “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
John 4:13: “Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:”
John 4:14: “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The water of life. Come and drink freely.
Revelation 21:7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
Now, that’s interesting. “He that overcometh.” What does that mean overcometh? “Oh, I know what that means, preacher.” You’ve gone through a lot of difficulty in your life, you have a challenge, and you overcame them all.” That’s not what it is talking about. Now, if you overcome things in this life, that’s great. I’m for you and keep doing it. That’s not what it is talking about here. What is it talking about here? This is Revelation chapter 21, verse 7:
Revelation 21:7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
If we were to look back at Revelation chapter 12 in verse 11, we find this, the same book, same writer:
Revelation 12:11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
“And they overcame him [meaning Satan]” – “And they overcame him” – listen, how’d they do it? By being tenacious and being strong and having courage. No, that is not how they did it. Now, do I think you ought to be strong and have courage? Yes, I do. Do I think you ought to try hard to overcome difficulties? Absolutely, and I hope for you all the success you can possibly have. It’s just not what He is talking about here. Let me read it to you again:
Revelation 12:11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
How did they overcome him? By the blood of the Lamb and by the Word of His testimony. They trusted in the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross to pay for my sin and to pay for your sin and they trusted Him to forgive their sins because they were paid for at the cross. And they trusted in the word of their testimony, they overcame by the word of their testimony. What testimony? The testimony of how they’ve been saved.
Psalm 107:2: “Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;”
You and I who have been forgiven, you and I whose souls have been saved, you and I who have a guaranteed home in Heaven, we need to say so and we need to tell others so that they can have the same thing. That’s not all it says:
Revelation 21:7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
“Shall inherit all things” – In Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus is giving what’s called the Olivet Discourse. It was His last major sermon that was recorded before the cross. And He gives this sermon in answer to the question, “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming?” at the beginning of chapter four. We get to chapter 25 verse 34 and Jesus speaking about the end:
Matthew 25:34: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:”
Come, inherit the kingdom. It’s prepared for you. “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
Verse eight and we’re finished. There are some people who will not inherit all things. “I will b his God, and he shall be my son,” God says.
John 1:11: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
He came to His own people and His own received Him not.
John 1:12: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
John 1:13: “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Born of God, born again. Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”
1 John 3:1: “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”
1 John 3:2: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Isn’t that wonderful? “An old preacher I loved and admired very much stood in this pulpit right here and he referred to that verse. When we see Him, “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” He said, “I so look forward to that day.” He said, “I’ve tried to be like Him for so many years now and one day I will be. I’ll be like Him when I see Him as He is.”
The Second Death
Contrast the blessedness of verse seven with the lossness of verse eight:
Revelation 21:8: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
The verse starts with “But” – there’s another side to this coin. “But the fearful” – the fearful in this case are those who do not trust in God by faith, they do not trust God at all. They are fearful, they’re afraid.
And the “unbelieving” – those who chose not to believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior; that He paid for their sins at the cross which is all He asked us to do; that he rose from the dead and is alive; that He’ll forgive you if you but trust Him – the unbelieving.
The “abominable” – those who commit sins that cause God to turn away, so He cannot look upon them. In Psalm 22:1, prophetic words are written. All of Psalm 22 is a prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, down to the words He would utter from the cross, and the actions the people around the cross would take, words that they would say. It’s all there in the 22nd Psalm. You know the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” Look at the one right before it.
Psalm 22 begins with the words “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There came a point when Jesus was on the cross that He called out “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” – “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The answer to that question is found later in the writings of Paul, where Paul writes:
2 Corinthians 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
When God, the Father, looked upon His Son and saw all the sins of wicked human beings of all time, He turned away. What comes home to my heart is my sin was included in that.
The fearful – those who do not trust God. The unbelievers – those who choose not to believe that Jesus Christ is their Savior. The abominable – those who commit sins that cause God to turn away in disgust. Murderers – one who wrongfully and willingly takes the life of another. Whoremongers – people who deal with what we call today sex trafficking, a softer way of saying sex slavery, buying and selling people for sexual purposes.
Sorcerers – the word in the Greek translates sorcerer in English is pharmakeia or pharmakis. It means what you think of as a pharmacy, a place where you go to buy your medicine. In this case, it means a poisoner or a drug dealer. Idolaters – those who worship false gods. And then, liars – one who seeks to deceive another with words – liars, all liars. Not only by raising your hand or responding in any way, just think about it.
Out of that list, you might say, “Well, I’m not so fearful. I kind of believe and certainly am not guilty of anything abominable. I’m no murderer. I’m not a whoremonger. I’m not an idolater.” Have you ever lied? Don’t answer that because if you stand up and say “no” then you will. All of these “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” What is brimstone? Hot molten rock, think lava, that’s what brimstone is.
All of these “shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” I came to this conclusion over half a century ago. Not saying that I had an original thought nobody else had. I’m just saying I came to a realization. And here’s the fact. If you are born only once you will die twice. If you’re born twice, you will only die once.
Most religious men of his day and perhaps of any day came to Jesus and Jesus said to this very religious man, He said:
John 3:3: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
The man asked a question that I suppose any of us might have asked. He said, “How can a man be born when he is old?” Seems logical. Jesus said, “Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?”
John 3:6: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
Talking about the spiritual birth. You have a physical birth; we know you do because you are sitting here. You need to have a spiritual birth as well. You need to be born again. Peter writes:
1 Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”
This lake of fire is also mentioned in Revelation:
Revelation 20:15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
This idea of the second death means to be eternally separated from God without hope, lost forever. That is what we often think of when we speak of Hell. There is more to it than that. If your Bible’s open to chapter 21, look right above it the end of chapter 20:
Revelation 20:12: “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
Revelation 20:13: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
Revelation 20:14: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.”
That’s the second death. “Well, I didn’t come here this morning to hear all this doom and gloom.” Well, I need to tell you the truth. But I can also tell you the story doesn’t end there.
Revelation 20:15: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
He That Overcometh
But look at chapter 20 verse 1:
Revelation 20:1: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”
Revelation 20:2: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 20:3: “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Revelation 20:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”
Revelation 20:5: “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.”
Revelation 20:6: “And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.”
Revelation 20:7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
This is what we often think of when we talk about Heaven. It’s a place where there is no sin, only forgiven sinners. It’s a place where you can live with God who loves you and will love you forever. Get to the end of the Bible and there’s a great invitation.
Revelation 22:17: “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”
Anyone who will, “Let him take the water of life freely.” I say this so often here, but I refer you back to the story in the book of Acts. Paul and Silas, two preachers were in jail. What was their crime? They’ve been preaching.
There’s an earthquake, and the jail was shaken. We talked about this last Sunday. The doors were opened, and the Roman jailor thought the prisoners had escaped. When a prisoner escapes it meant your life, so he was just going to take it right there and then. He pulled out his sword and was about to kill himself.
Paul calls out and says, “Do thyself no harm, we’re all here.” The prison was wide open, nobody left. The man sprang in and knelt down before them and said, “Sir, what must I do to be saved?” They said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”
What does God want you to do? He wants you to believe in Him. He wants you to trust Him. He wants you to trust in the fact that when He paid for your sins at the cross, He paid for all of them forever. He wants you to trust Him to forgive you and He will.
If you’re here this morning saying, “Preacher, I’ve already done that.” Thank God. Thank God for you.
Maybe you say, “It kind of sounds good to me. But I’m not sure I totally understand it.” Friend, I’ve been where you are. There was a time when I said the same thing and said, “Sounds good to me but I’m not sure I get it.” Somebody sat down and took the Bible, the Word of God, and explained it to me so I did get it. We’d be happy to do that for you.
We’re about to sing a hymn we call a song of invitation. As we sing that, if God has spoken to your heart, I want you to come. I want you to come to the front here. I’ll be down the front, I’ll help you. We’ll take the Bible, just takes a minute or two, it won’t take the rest of the day, it won’t take an hour or two, it won’t take half an hour, it won’t take 15 minutes. Just take time to show you how you can know for sure that your sins are forgiven, your soul is saved, and you’re on your way to Heaven.
Maybe there’s something else on your heart, something I haven’t even talked about, but God has spoken to you. This is your opportunity to do business with God and let Him do business with you. We’ll be glad to pray with you. We’ll be glad to help you find the answers. We don’t know all the answers, but we know the person who does.
Let’s pray. Father, I thank you so much for blessing us. Thank you for each and every soul who is here today. And Lord, it is my prayer that there is listening today either in person or electronically, even one who would have to say, “I’m not sure when I close my eyes the final time, when I take my last breath that I’m going to enter into the presence of God forever. I’d like to. I hope I will. But I’m not sure.”
Lord, if there is even one person like that, my prayer is that they would open their heart right now and they would call upon you and say, “Lord Jesus, I believe. I believe that you love me. I believe that you died on the cross to pay for my sins. I believe that you rose again. And right now, I’m trusting you to forgive me, to save me, and give me everlasting life. Thank you, Lord Jesus.”
Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. Just as I said, we are going to sing the song of invitation. If God has spoken to you, you need to respond. This is your time to come. Father, bless and move in this invitation time, we do pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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About the Speaker
Dr. Michael L. McClure
Senior Pastor
Dr. Michael L. McClure, our lead pastor, is known for his in-depth knowledge and effective teaching style of biblical truths applicable to everyday living.