5/2/21 Rev. 21:1-6 “We Are Going to Paradise”

30 Apr 5/2/21 Rev. 21:1-6 “We Are Going to Paradise”

5/2/21    Rev. 21:1-6       “We Are Going to Paradise”

Well, here I am back in Revelation again after just telling you that I don’t go there very often. But I’m here again because I love to talk about how great eternal life will be.  I wanted to come back and talk about what heaven will be really like.  I would like to dispel any images of floating around on clouds and playing harps.  That is not going to happen.  We will also not be standing around singing all the time.  We will have things to do.  Many people have these wrong images of heaven and they feel that it would be boring.

I have talked with people like this who feel that this is the reason that they don’t want to go to heaven.  Can you imagine that?  They feel that they would be better off in the other place.  I have had many people also tell me that they wouldn’t mind going to the other place because all of their friends will be there.  This may be true but this is also false hope.  Due to the absence of light, you will never see your friends there.  Why would anyone want to go to a world where there is only darkness?  As a society we hold so many false hopes about the afterlife.  This is one of the only generations in the history of the human race that has so little regard for the afterlife.  We don’t care!  The reason for this is that people believe all these false things like I just mentioned.  Let’s take a look at our reading and see if we can get a little better perspective on heaven.

Let me begin today with a little story from Melvin Newland.  He tells the story, and this is fiction, of a very wealthy Christian who was obsessed with the idea that he could take some of his wealth to heaven.  So, he prayed and prayed and prayed about this.  Finally, God answered and told him that he could bring one suitcase with him.  Now the man was in a dilemma as he didn’t know what to take.  He finally decided and got the suitcase ready.

Then he died and we catch up with him again as he is approaching St. Peter at the pearly gates with his suitcase behind him.  St. Peter stopped him and told him that he couldn’t take anything with him.  So, the man told him that he had special permission from God to do this.  “Well,” St. Peter said, “This is highly unusual.  I can’t imagine that God would do this but let’s have a look and see what you brought.”  So, the man opened the suitcase and it was filled with gold bars and gold ingots and gold bricks.  St. Peter finally said, “I suppose that if God said you could bring this then you can.  But why in the world would you go through all the trouble of bringing more paving material into heaven?”  Look at the jewelry that you have today.  Or look at the car or pickup you drive.  None of it will go to heaven.  We will not need it because everything will be perfect.

It will be perfect for all believers.  I would like to mention before I start today something about the seven seals and the seven plagues that are in earlier chapters of Revelation.  If you don’t know Jesus yet, then these should concern you more than a little.  When Christ returns, there will be trouble for those who don’t know Him.  For those of us who do know Jesus, we will be taken to a place of safety.  This is one of the reasons I don’t like to preach from Revelation.  There is judgment and condemnation for those who don’t know Jesus.  Many will perish because they will hang on stubbornly to their unbelief.

Many people will tell me that I cannot preach judgment.  It is not politically correct.  Well, I don’t really care about that stuff.  I care about the people who don’t know Jesus.  I would like everyone in the world to know Him so that we can all be saved.  When Jesus comes back, these plagues and judgments are terrible.  They are going to be a horrendous way to die.  And then after they have died, they are in for eternal damnation.  The book of Revelation tells us of the horrors to come.  This book is bad news for non-believers.  It is even bad news for us believers because we all have so many family, friends and neighbors who fall into the unsaved category.  I feel terrible for all the people who will not make it.  But we must remember, it is their choice and no one else’s.  Each one of us decides where we will spend eternity.

The first thing that I want to point out from our reading is that God is there.  He promises us that He will be a physical presence in our future.  I know that most of us know that He is already here today in the form of the Holy Spirit.  But when we get to heaven, we will be able to see Him face to face and talk with Him.  Our comfort will be right there all the time.

This has to be a great joy for the readers of the ancient times.  When this was written sometime in the 90’s AD, there was a tremendous amount of persecution happening to the Christians.  Their own people, the Jews, had turned their backs to them.  As a matter of fact, they would shun the Christians.  Most of us think that this cannot be that bad a deal.

I know of a place that is within 300 miles of here where this has happened.  It may even be still happening.  This is a small town that only welcomes people from their sect of Christianity.  If you are a Methodist or a Catholic or a Lutheran you cannot live there.  Here is what I mean.  All the businesses are owned by the sect.  Therefore, there are no jobs for outsiders.  They will try not to sell you anything from their stores.  They will not let your children go to their schools.  Socially, they will not have anything to do with you.  And anyway, they would never sell you any property to begin with.  Outsiders are shunned.  This is what the Jews did to the Christians.

So, the Christians had to live off by themselves somewhere or else keep a very low profile.  This sounds like Saudi Arabia or some other Muslim country today.  And not only were the Jews persecuting them but the Romans were also.  There were thousands of Christians who were killed by gladiators and lions in the various arenas in the area.  These were dangerous times for Christians.

This is no different than the beheadings that take place in the Middle East today.  We also hear reports of various so-called religions that just kill the Christians for no reason other than hate.  These types of things are happening today, as I speak, in various parts of the world in the name of some demonized religion.  When I think of some of the slaughters and genocides that have happened in Africa I shiver, because they could be happening here next.  Times were and are dangerous for Christians.

Therefore, the readers of this ancient text would take much comfort when they read, they will be in the actual presence of God.  Plus, God has made a new heaven and a new earth.  Everything that you see around you will be gone.  It is all junk.  I talked about this just a couple of weeks ago about how this earth is a dump compared to heaven.  Well, here it is again.  All the things that we cherish in this world will go up in a puff of smoke and be replaced by a world where God is present at all times and everything, everything is perfect.  This is a promise from our Lord.  I personally cannot wait to sit at the feet of Jesus Christ.  This is a very comforting thought, both today and in long ago times.

Another thing I want you to notice in this passage is the love.  We can’t help but notice the love because God is love by definition.  If we are going to be in a place where we will be in the physical presence of God then we will be in the physical presence of love.  This is totally against our way of thinking.  Love for us is usually associated with a feeling.  In heaven it will permeate everything about us.

Notice how John describes the New Jerusalem.  It is like a bride coming from heaven.  Please note here that John is trying to describe something that is beyond our comprehension.  It would be like us trying to describe a place that has ten dimensions.  It is really hard to describe something that we have never seen before because we have no reference points.  God uses a perfect illustration as he tells John to use the bridal scene in his writings.

The ancients knew the beauty of a bride.  They knew of the love involved here.  Do you remember the last time that you saw a bride who wasn’t radiant?  I’ve never seen a bride who wasn’t radiant, sometimes a little nervous but radiant.  I’ve never seen a groom who wasn’t striking.  I’ve never seen a wedding where there wasn’t a tremendous amount of love everywhere.  We can all relate to this.  God is sending us New Jerusalem which will have all the wondrous assets and charms of a bride.  This is the love that God has for us.  He wants us to marry him and then everyday can be just like a wedding day for all of us.  There are no harps and clouds here.  There is only the love of Jesus for us.

Once again this is what those ancient people needed.  They were down.  They were beat up.  They needed the assurance that God will always be there to love them.  It is the same way for us today.  I know that there are people among us who are having a tough time.  Some find it hard to pay bills.  Some are having family problems.  Some of us are dealing with the death of a loved one.  Jesus is telling us here that we are not to give up.  Have faith in Him.  And when we are done with this life in this world, then we will have a place that is so good, that we can’t even describe it.  We will have work to do that will be more satisfying than anything we have ever known.  You will be able to feel and see all the love that God has for you.

God also shows us love in that he has made everything new.  There is nothing of the old world left, all is new.  For the Christians of 2000 years ago, this meant that there would be no more Romans and no more Jews.  There would be no more hardships.  All the evil of the world would be gone.

This is really hard for us to get our minds around.  Imagine a world where there is no evil.  One of the biggest problems that we have in our society is that there is so much evil that we tend to think that something that is less evil is something that is good.  For example, we feel that one political party is better than the other.  We get so carried away that we forget the problem that needs to be addressed and just attack the other party.  Well, I’m going to tell you something that you may not like.  Jesus Christ would hang his head in shame over the behavior of both parties.  Neither one is Christian.  They are both so far removed from good that we accept them as the lesser of two evils, neither is good.  Jesus would be telling us to stand up against both and preach the gospel.  Evil is everywhere we look.  But there will be none of this in heaven.

A place where there is no evil will make this a wonderful place for us as individuals.  This is just a continuation of what we have talked about earlier and last week.  There will be no more tears.  There will be no more sadness.  Death will not exist.  Pain will be gone forever.  You will be able to see again.  Your hearing will be perfect.  All of the bad things in life will be gone and you will live in perfect harmony with everyone and God.  I would like you to think of the happiest time you have ever had in your life.  Now magnify that by 1000 and you will get an idea of what it will be like in heaven. It will be perrrfect!

Now, I have a confession to make.  Sometimes I get a little discouraged with life, with our ministry.  I had a dear friend ask me this question recently.  “I just don’t understand,” he said. “We have this wonderful God who gives us all these great things and most people just don’t understand it.  Why?”  At times this is my question also.  We try to reach people and reach people and reach people but they are only interested in worldly things.  They are only interested in themselves.  I sometimes get discouraged.  But you know what?  I would feel the same way if we had 1000 people attend services every week.  I would still be looking for more people to come to Jesus.  Sometimes I get discouraged but I praise the Lord that He is there every day to give me a kick in the pants when I need it.

It is like the story of Henry C. Morrison who was a great missionary and served the Lord in Africa for over 40 years.  I wonder if he is similar to a roommate I had in college who was a missionary doctor in Africa for years.  Anyway, they were on their way back to the United States on a ship and were wondering if anyone would be there to meet them or if anyone even remembered them.  Unknown to Henry Morrison and his wife was that Teddy Roosevelt, the President of the U.S., was also on board.  He was returning from a hunting trip to Africa.  Anyway, they were docking at the harbor in New York and the missionaries were looking to see if anyone was there to meet them.  They saw bands playing and thousands of people cheering.  There were signs and banners waving which said, “Welcome Home.”  Henry and his wife were excited about the crowd of people there to meet them as they went below to retrieve their luggage.  When they got back top side, they found that all the crowds had gone.  They learned that they were there to welcome the President home.  No one was to meet them so they went to their hotel room and Henry was a little depressed.  He said to his wife, “Honey, I just don’t get it…for 40 years we poured our lives into ministry and service.  And yet we come back to America and not a single soul comes to welcome us home!”  His wife came and sat down next to her husband; she put her hand on his shoulder and comforted him with words that he would never forget.  “Henry,” she said, “you have forgotten something, you’re not home yet!”

These are words I need to remember and you do also.  No matter what happens to us or what we do, we are not home yet.  You are not home yet!  You have a little parcel in heaven with your name on it.  And it is filled with goodness, greatness, and love like you cannot begin to imagine.  That is your real home and all this is temporary.  I praise the Lord that He loves each and every one of you so much that He has a place in paradise for you.  Praise the Lord!  And thank you, Jesus for first loving us.  Let’s pray.