(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.)
When a person invests himself in something, whether a project or an occupation, he hopes it will be worth the effort in in the end.
The apostle John begins his Revelation, describing some of the first believers in Jesus and ends his Revelation describing some of the final believers in Jesus. Between those two periods, he does not present a continuous narrative. Rather, after his initial report, John skips large portions of history to concentrate on six key events in a grand finale for The Drama of Redemption.
...of the divine plan, which occurs in...
John is writing to those who knew only the earthly dwelling of God, the (second) temple in Jerusalem, which Roman forces had destroyed twenty years earlier. While the grandeur of that structure remained in the collective memory of God's people, the physical reality was long gone. The prophet Ezekiel indicates that it will be rebuilt in the Messianic Age, but the apostle is looking farther still into the future.
While the Jerusalem sanctuary served and will serve again as God's earthly house,3 that structure is only a replica of God's heavenly house.4 As the author of Hebrews says...
It might be nice if God resided in an earthly temple today, proof to which you could refer unbelieving friends and relatives, but absence of the temple in no way impedes you from communicating with God. The line is still open, as it has always been, through prayer. Nevertheless, might it not be nice to have contact with God in a tangible way? ...not necessarily. Even when the temple stood, the Israelites' actual contact with Him was limited. Man's fallen state, a condition that even regeneration does not remedy,5 at least not in this life, disqualifies him from seeing God.6
Because the Lord is omnipresent, He is not limited to heaven or earth,8 so the biblical writers describe Him as "God in heaven above and on the earth below" (Deut 4:39; Josh 2:11). Still, God has chosen to make heaven the base of His operation.9 Hence, David says in...
When Linda was growing up, her family moved around quite a bit, twenty-two times when we met. One of the things that attracted her to my family was its stability. (The main attraction was actually my mother, as the two of them hit it off from the start. I have since come to accept the fact that Mom loves Linda more than me, but I digress.) My family had moved once, when I was six years old. So, we represented a constant that Linda never had. When we were married, she thought she could finally stop moving. That lasted for three years, until her husband got the bright idea that he wanted to go to college in another state. Twenty-eight moves later, we bought house and unpacked all the boxes we had been carrying around with us, some of which had simply stayed packed for years. At this point, we have lived in the house eight years, longer than we have lived anywhere else.
For most of you, our experience is completely foreign. You grew up and settled in a wonderful place that only took us 21/2 decades to find. Whatever further changes God may have planned in this life, eternity will include at least one more move, as you follow Him to His and your next residence. Wherever that is, you can count on the fact that your eternal home will have the presence of God.11
The second feature of this culmination is that...
After the resurrection, and when you move into your eternal home, any lingering reservations will disappear. As the divine plan reaches its conclusion, you will recognize that "the Judge of all the earth" has done right (Gen 18:25). Proof of that contentment may lie in the fact that just outside your new home, in full view whenever you come or go, will be the torment of the wicked.12
God has a grand finale for The Drama of Redemption that includes a place where the redeemed will live eternally with Him. It will be The Foremost Consummation of His plan, an event you will not want to miss and, indeed, you will not miss.
Having considered The Foremost Consummation, we will look next at The Foremost Conservation, which is in the planting of God, in Rev 22:14.
For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.
A medical doctor, a school teacher, and the director of a large HMO, all pass away and meet St. Peter at the pearly gates. Peter asks the doctor, "What did you do on earth?" The doctor replies, "I healed the sick and, if they couldn't pay, I treated them for free." Peter says to the doctor, "Okay, you can go in." Then Peter asks the teacher, "What did you do on earth?" The teacher replies, "I taught physically and emotionally challenged children." Peter says to the teacher, "Okay, you can go in." Then Peter asks the director, "What did you do on earth?" The director replies, "I ran a large HMO, overseeing billing for hundreds of physicians and hospitals." Peter says to the director, "Okay, you can go in... but you can only stay for three days."When a person invests himself in something, he hopes it will be worth the effort in the end. That is not always the case, except when the investment is the kingdom of God, which ends with The Foremost Consummation.
The apostle John begins his Revelation, describing some of the first believers in Jesus and ends his Revelation describing some of the final believers in Jesus. Between those two periods, he does not present a continuous narrative. Rather, after his initial report, John skips large portions of history to concentrate on six key events in a grand finale for The Drama of Redemption.
- The Day of the Lord, when God pours out His wrath on rebellious mankind;
- The Great Tribulation, during which Satan attacks Israel in a desperate attempt to thwart the divine plan;
- The Battle of Armageddon, where Jesus returns to defeat the devil and his forces;
- The Messianic Age, when the messiah raises the saints, restores Israel, and reigns for a thousand years;
- The Great White Throne, where God sits to judge all who have opposed Him through the ages; and...
- The New Jerusalem, where the redeemed will live eternally with God. That last event is...
...of the divine plan, which occurs in...
- The place of God (Rev 21:3-4)
Rev 21:3 ...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. 4 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."Think about this: History in its entirety, everything that has happened since the creation of the world, has been moving toward and will culminate in this one event, when all the people of God will be with the person of God in the fullest sense imaginable. In this passage, John relates some of what this event will entail as it describes your eternal home, that it will possess two distinguishing features. The first feature of this culmination is that...
1. Your eternal home will have the presence of God (Rev 21:3).From the 15thc. BC, with Moses' construction of the tabernacle, to the 6thc. BC, with Nebuchadnezzar's destruction of the temple, during that thousand year period, "the dwelling of God [was] with men." When God's people returned from exile in Babylon, they rebuilt the temple, but God's presence did not return. Nevertheless, they wanted His house to be ready, should the Messianic Age arrive when He will inhabit it again.2 but that is not the house John has in view.
John is writing to those who knew only the earthly dwelling of God, the (second) temple in Jerusalem, which Roman forces had destroyed twenty years earlier. While the grandeur of that structure remained in the collective memory of God's people, the physical reality was long gone. The prophet Ezekiel indicates that it will be rebuilt in the Messianic Age, but the apostle is looking farther still into the future.
While the Jerusalem sanctuary served and will serve again as God's earthly house,3 that structure is only a replica of God's heavenly house.4 As the author of Hebrews says...
Heb 8:5 [The Levitical priests] serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."Although believers never needed the temple to communicate with God, having a physical structure that God graced with a physical manifestation of His glorious presence (shekinah) gave Israelites what none of their idolatrous neighbors had: living proof of the living God. It also gave them contact with Him in tangible way.
It might be nice if God resided in an earthly temple today, proof to which you could refer unbelieving friends and relatives, but absence of the temple in no way impedes you from communicating with God. The line is still open, as it has always been, through prayer. Nevertheless, might it not be nice to have contact with God in a tangible way? ...not necessarily. Even when the temple stood, the Israelites' actual contact with Him was limited. Man's fallen state, a condition that even regeneration does not remedy,5 at least not in this life, disqualifies him from seeing God.6
- As Moses learned...
Exod 33:20 [God] said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
- As Isaiah lamented...
While your fallen state prevents you from seeing God in this life, it will not be a problem in the next life.7 which why John says about believers in...Isa 6:5b "I am ruined! For...my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
Rev 22:4a They will see his face....That will happen when "the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them."
Because the Lord is omnipresent, He is not limited to heaven or earth,8 so the biblical writers describe Him as "God in heaven above and on the earth below" (Deut 4:39; Josh 2:11). Still, God has chosen to make heaven the base of His operation.9 Hence, David says in...
Ps 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven....Heaven is also where God's people go when they depart this life. Paul writes that...10
2 Cor 5:1b ...we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven....It is, perhaps, something to note then that God changes His and our address in Rev 21. After the final judgment at the Great White Throne, Peter describes the next event...
2 Pet 3:12b That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.John describes the same change in the opening verse of this chapter.
Rev 21:1 ...I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away....At this point, God will change His address and ours, as we read in v. 3.
Rev 21:3a ...the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them.To adapt the State Farm slogan: 'Like a good neighbor, the Lord is there.'
When Linda was growing up, her family moved around quite a bit, twenty-two times when we met. One of the things that attracted her to my family was its stability. (The main attraction was actually my mother, as the two of them hit it off from the start. I have since come to accept the fact that Mom loves Linda more than me, but I digress.) My family had moved once, when I was six years old. So, we represented a constant that Linda never had. When we were married, she thought she could finally stop moving. That lasted for three years, until her husband got the bright idea that he wanted to go to college in another state. Twenty-eight moves later, we bought house and unpacked all the boxes we had been carrying around with us, some of which had simply stayed packed for years. At this point, we have lived in the house eight years, longer than we have lived anywhere else.
For most of you, our experience is completely foreign. You grew up and settled in a wonderful place that only took us 21/2 decades to find. Whatever further changes God may have planned in this life, eternity will include at least one more move, as you follow Him to His and your next residence. Wherever that is, you can count on the fact that your eternal home will have the presence of God.11
The second feature of this culmination is that...
2. Your eternal home will have the peace of God (Rev 21:4).For those who die before the resurrection (i.e., in the Intermediate State), there may be an emotional element to life.
- In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man expresses concern for his living relatives.
Luke 16:27 I beg you...send Lazarus to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.
Although your experience will certainly not be the same as the rich man's, you still might have a similar concern for relatives and friends.
- In the description of martyrs from the Great Tribulation who are in heaven, they express impatience for vengeance against their enemies.
Rev 6:10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord...until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?"
Although your experience will probably not be the same as these martyrs, you still might have a similar desire for vengeance against those who wronged you.For whatever reason, prior to the resurrection, you may not be entirely at peace, because you know the best is yet to come.
After the resurrection, and when you move into your eternal home, any lingering reservations will disappear. As the divine plan reaches its conclusion, you will recognize that "the Judge of all the earth" has done right (Gen 18:25). Proof of that contentment may lie in the fact that just outside your new home, in full view whenever you come or go, will be the torment of the wicked.12
Rev 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.Although you may see the torment of the wicked, it will not disturb you,13 not because you have suddenly become callous but because you will finally view things from God's perspective. As Paul describes it:
1 Cor 13:12b ...then [you] shall know fully, even as [you are] fully known....and "There will be no more...mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Your eternal home will have the peace of God.
God has a grand finale for The Drama of Redemption that includes a place where the redeemed will live eternally with Him. It will be The Foremost Consummation of His plan, an event you will not want to miss and, indeed, you will not miss.
Having considered The Foremost Consummation, we will look next at The Foremost Conservation, which is in the planting of God, in Rev 22:14.
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