(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)
In the past, it was not unusual to see trash thrown by the side of the road. Today, people are a bit more sensitive to preserve the environment, and they generally follow posted signs.
The Bible came to us as a single book, but it did not begin that way. Originally, it was a series of separate documents, composed then collected in groups over hundreds of years. God's people recognized those groups as inspired—first the Law, next the Prophets, then the Writings, lastly, for Christians, the New Testament—and they added each collection to a growing corpus of literature the believing community held as authoritative for faith and practice.
There is no indication that the apostle John, whose gospel and epistles contributed to the final collection, thought his Revelation would be the last in that collection,1 but it offers a fitting conclusion to The Drama of Redemption, whose telling begins in Genesis, especially as it recalls elements readers first encounter there and as it resolves some lingering questions about man's fate.
Were Jesus on earth today, would he be a member of the Sierra Club or of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)? Would he be an advocate for green energy and against global warming? Would he be a vegetarian and drive a (Toyota) Prius? Would he work for the EPA and celebrate Earth Day (04/22)? Would Jesus be a staunch conservationist? As Jesus' views reflect the Father's views,2—the answer is...probably not. (He could not afford a Prius [$25-30,000] on his salary, and working for the EPA would conflict with his preaching schedule.)
These last installments of the series, What Is Foremost?, bring us to the last chapter of the final book in scripture. It is the end of the Bible, but it is not the end of the story, only the end of what is written thus far. Here, John reveals that God has been saving something for us from the beginning of creation. It is...
* LX VIII. The Foremost Conservation3
...which is...
Most of you are not wearing the same clothes you wear when working around the house or working in the yard. You may even have cloths you wear mainly, even exclusively, in church on the Sabbath, clothing you keep clean and presentable. You do that because God, the one you have come to worship, deserves your best. You will do something similar when you come before God in the end. Then as well, you will wear clothing that is clean and presentable, but the process for making it so will be different. John mentions others in this book with "white robes," explaining that they "made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:9, 14).6
This cleansing is probably an allusion to forgiveness, which you have experienced, as well—the washing away of your sins. John then describes their and your advantage as two-fold, looking back and looking forward. Looking back—way back—he recalls an element from man's first contact with God, in the garden of Eden. We read in...
Having looked back, John then looks forward. After the final judgment in chapter 20, which marks the end of Satan's rebellion and seals the fate of the wicked, God will destroy the old order of things, including the current stage for The Drama of Redemption, and create a new stage for the last scene. Peter writes...
When Linda and I were studying in Israel, we lived in the suburbs of Jerusalem and went to school in the city itself. It is a beautiful area, rich in culture and history. Over the centuries, the city has undergone repeated periods of decline and recovery, a process that will continue in the future during the Great Tribulation and the Messianic Age.
In the plan of God, Jerusalem is the most important city in the world. You may not feel a particular affinity to a place half way around the globe, but God, through David, instructs you to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps 122:6a).13 As incentive, David adds his own petition on behalf of those who heed that admonition: "May those who love you be secure" (Ps 122:6b).
What will your new home be like? From John's description in this chapter (22), the heavenly city is considerably enhanced over the earthly City:14
The first reason having a clean robe is advantageous is that your salvation allows you to eat from the tree of life. The second reason having a clean robe is advantageous is that, unlike the wicked...
In this last chapter of the Bible, John identifies two advantages of having clean robes, of being pardoned for sin. First, you have access to the tree of life, which is The Foremost Conservation, as God preserves for His people one of His earliest plantings. Second, you gain entrance through the gates of New Jerusalem, the place where God dwells.... This is the last chapter of the Bible, but it is not the end of the story. You will be writing more, much more, in eternity.
Having considered The Foremost Conservation, we will look next at The Foremost Cultivation, which is the partnership we have with God in 1 Cor 3:6.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
The sheriff pulled up next to a guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch. The sheriff asked, "Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don't you see that sign right over your head?" "Yep," the man replied. "That's why I'm dumpin' it here...'cause it says: 'Fine For Dumping Garbage.'"Some people are a bit more sensitive to preserve the environment. God is also concerned and has taken a big step to preserve an important part of the environment in The Foremost Conservation.
The Bible came to us as a single book, but it did not begin that way. Originally, it was a series of separate documents, composed then collected in groups over hundreds of years. God's people recognized those groups as inspired—first the Law, next the Prophets, then the Writings, lastly, for Christians, the New Testament—and they added each collection to a growing corpus of literature the believing community held as authoritative for faith and practice.
There is no indication that the apostle John, whose gospel and epistles contributed to the final collection, thought his Revelation would be the last in that collection,1 but it offers a fitting conclusion to The Drama of Redemption, whose telling begins in Genesis, especially as it recalls elements readers first encounter there and as it resolves some lingering questions about man's fate.
Were Jesus on earth today, would he be a member of the Sierra Club or of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)? Would he be an advocate for green energy and against global warming? Would he be a vegetarian and drive a (Toyota) Prius? Would he work for the EPA and celebrate Earth Day (04/22)? Would Jesus be a staunch conservationist? As Jesus' views reflect the Father's views,2—the answer is...probably not. (He could not afford a Prius [$25-30,000] on his salary, and working for the EPA would conflict with his preaching schedule.)
These last installments of the series, What Is Foremost?, bring us to the last chapter of the final book in scripture. It is the end of the Bible, but it is not the end of the story, only the end of what is written thus far. Here, John reveals that God has been saving something for us from the beginning of creation. It is...
* LX VIII. The Foremost Conservation3
...which is...
- The planting of God (Rev 22:14)
Rev 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, [so] that they may have the right to the tree of life and [so that they] may go through the gates into the city.This is a beatitude (macarism), a proverbial saying that marks the way to success in life, in this case, life in the world to come. Another way to translate the opening phrase of a beatitude is, "O, the advantage for the one who does this or that..." Beatitudes in scripture (79) appear in two forms, both of which John uses in this book:
- The simple form (2x) of a beatitude just states the advantage without explanation, because the advantage is obvious to the reader. For example, he writes in...4
Rev 19:9b Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!
This will be a very big event, the marriage celebration of Christ and the Church. It is obvious to John's readers why they should want to be there. Those who do not get an invitation will miss out on more than a good meal. The simple form of a beatitude just states the advantage without explanation, because the advantage is obvious.
- The compound form (5x) of a beatitude states the advantage and offers an explanation, because the advantage may not be obvious to the reader, at least the particular advantage John has in mind. For example, he writes in...5
Rev 1:3 Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy...because the time is near.
There are many reasons to read this book—to see how future events will unfold, to understand the animosity of Satan for Israel, to confirm that our side wins—but the main reason John wants us, his readers, to recognize is the one he gives, that the end is almost upon us. The compound form of a beatitude states the advantage and offers an explanation.Of the two kinds of beatitude, which is John using in v. 14, stating the advantage without a reason or stating the advantage with a reason? ...stating the advantage with a reason, in fact, with two reasons.
Most of you are not wearing the same clothes you wear when working around the house or working in the yard. You may even have cloths you wear mainly, even exclusively, in church on the Sabbath, clothing you keep clean and presentable. You do that because God, the one you have come to worship, deserves your best. You will do something similar when you come before God in the end. Then as well, you will wear clothing that is clean and presentable, but the process for making it so will be different. John mentions others in this book with "white robes," explaining that they "made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Rev 7:9, 14).6
This cleansing is probably an allusion to forgiveness, which you have experienced, as well—the washing away of your sins. John then describes their and your advantage as two-fold, looking back and looking forward. Looking back—way back—he recalls an element from man's first contact with God, in the garden of Eden. We read in...
Gen 2:9 ...the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.... 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil...Two trees, both bearing fruit, one kind permitted, the other kind prohibited. How different man's experience would have been had he obeyed God! Alas, he did not, costing him and his descendants dearly.
Gen 3:22 ...the LORD God said, "The man....must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever."While eating from the tree of knowledge was bad, the situation could have been worse. If God allowed man to eat from the tree of life after he ate from the tree of knowledge, man's fallen state would become his permanent state. By banishing man from the garden, God could fix the problem man had created for himself, providing both a remedy for sin and a way to live forever, but the order of those two events was critical to the success of God's plan: forgiveness first, eternal life second.7 To prevent any interference...
Gen 3:24 After [God] drove the man out, he placed...cherubim and a flaming sword...to guard the way to the tree of life.Apart from a few metaphorical allusions in Proverbs,8 that is the last reference in the Bible to the tree until the end of Revelation. The first reason having a clean robe is advantageous is that....
1. Your salvation allows you to eat from the tree of life?9What was once prohibited to you is now permitted for you: You will "have the right to the tree of life."
Having looked back, John then looks forward. After the final judgment in chapter 20, which marks the end of Satan's rebellion and seals the fate of the wicked, God will destroy the old order of things, including the current stage for The Drama of Redemption, and create a new stage for the last scene. Peter writes...
2 Pet 3:10b The heavens will disappear with a roar [and] the elements will be destroyed by fire....10 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.That new stage is what John describes in chapter 21, along with its most distinguishing feature.11
Rev 21:1 ...I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away.... 2a I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God....In the New Earth, although God could recreate any place from the old earth, any of the major population centers of this world, God chooses Jerusalem, the only city He designates as holy,12 and the only city that ever hosted His presence.
When Linda and I were studying in Israel, we lived in the suburbs of Jerusalem and went to school in the city itself. It is a beautiful area, rich in culture and history. Over the centuries, the city has undergone repeated periods of decline and recovery, a process that will continue in the future during the Great Tribulation and the Messianic Age.
In the plan of God, Jerusalem is the most important city in the world. You may not feel a particular affinity to a place half way around the globe, but God, through David, instructs you to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Ps 122:6a).13 As incentive, David adds his own petition on behalf of those who heed that admonition: "May those who love you be secure" (Ps 122:6b).
What will your new home be like? From John's description in this chapter (22), the heavenly city is considerably enhanced over the earthly City:14
- The New Jerusalem will offer a closer association with the Lord. Presently, the throne of God is in heaven, but John says in v. 3....
Rev 22:3b The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city,
This echoes what he said earlier, in...
Rev 21:3a ...Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.
- The New Jerusalem will provide a brighter illumination for the righteous. Presently, the main source of light is the sun, but John says in v. 5....15
Rev 22:5b They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.
This echoes what he said earlier, in...
Rev 21:11a It shone with the glory of God....
- The New Jerusalem will maintain a clearer separation from the wicked. Presently, they live side-by-side with the righteous, but John says in v. 15...16
Rev 22:15 Outside [the city] are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
This echoes what he said earlier, in...
This last difference is what John is highlighting in v. 22.Rev 21:27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.
The first reason having a clean robe is advantageous is that your salvation allows you to eat from the tree of life. The second reason having a clean robe is advantageous is that, unlike the wicked...
2. Your salvation allows you to enter through the gates of Jerusalem.What will be available only to the righteous, will be available to you: You will be permitted to "go through the gates into the city."17
In this last chapter of the Bible, John identifies two advantages of having clean robes, of being pardoned for sin. First, you have access to the tree of life, which is The Foremost Conservation, as God preserves for His people one of His earliest plantings. Second, you gain entrance through the gates of New Jerusalem, the place where God dwells.... This is the last chapter of the Bible, but it is not the end of the story. You will be writing more, much more, in eternity.
Having considered The Foremost Conservation, we will look next at The Foremost Cultivation, which is the partnership we have with God in 1 Cor 3:6.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)
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Jim Skaggs