Revelation 21:22-27; Revelation 22:1-5
The Curse Reversed
Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman and his family endured a terrible tragedy eight years ago when one of their teen drivers accidentally backed over their toddler in the driveway of their family home. The girl died instantly. Chapman later wrote a song about heaven, dreaming of when he will see his daughter again. Listen to some of the words:
God, I know, it's all of this and so much more,
But God, You know, that this is what I'm aching for.
God, you know, I just can't see beyond the door.
But in my mind's eye I can see a place
Where Your glory fills every empty space.
All the cancer is gone,
Every mouth is fed,
And there's no one left in the orphans' bed.
Every lonely heart finds their one true love,
And there's no more goodbye,
And no more not enough,
And there's no more enemy (no more).
Oh God, I know, it's so much more than I can dream.
It's far beyond anything I can conceive.
So God, You know, I'm trusting You until I see
Heaven in the face of my little girl,
Heaven in the face of my little girl
Today we are looking more at the heaven on earth that God has promised for those who believe. Last week we talked about how there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more tears; how God will be with his people; how the church will be in relationship to Jesus much as a bride is to her groom; how we will live in complete fulfillment with our God as his people, in the heaven on earth city of Jerusalem.
Last week I told you about some things that would NOT be in heaven: no ambulances, no hospitals, no Kleenex. From today’s scripture we have to add a couple more things to the list of what will NOT be in heaven: First, verse 22 tells us there won’t be a Temple there. Why not? The Old Testament Temple, like its predecessor the Tabernacle, was the residence of God’s glory on earth. The Temple moved progressively more holy from the outside in, beginning with the outer Gentile courtyard, where God even allowed room for us as non-Jews; to the Jewish women’s court, then the men’s court, then the places of prayer and animal sacrifice by the priests, and finally the Holy of Holies, the small room at the very center, where the High Priest would enter once a year, on Yom Kippur, and offer atonement on behalf of all the people. The other priests would tie a rope around his leg, so that if he died while encountering God’s holiness, the others could pull him out. That’s how holy God’s presence is.
The rest of verse 22 tells us why there won’t be a temple, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb ARE the temple. God the Father and God the Son will be living among us in this heaven on earth. We no longer have to fear his presence, because we will continually be IN his presence.
Verse 23 tells us something else that won’t be present in heaven: lights. There won’t be any flashlights, nor ceiling lights, no flood lights, no candles. Why? Because, verse 23, the glory of God will be heaven’s all-sufficient light source. We won’t even need a sun or a moon! The Lamb, Jesus Christ, is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light. Revelation 22:5 says, “They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.”
Light suggests clarity, goodness, purity, warmth, growth. Sometimes, when I’m not overwhelmed by the South Texas heat, I’ll let a sunbeam hit my face and relish in a feeling of being loved by God. Light to me represents love. God is our light!
Light also suggests God’s glory. Do you remember when the Old Testament leader Moses wanted to see God, and God said, “No, because you’re a sinful man; if you saw me you would die!” But God did allow Moses just a small glimpse of the backside of God’s glory while passing by, as Moses hid in the cleft of a rock. Exodus 33:19 quotes the Lord as saying, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”
This is the Shekinah glory of the Lord. Now we can’t handle it, but someday it will be our light, all around us, in a wonderful place called heaven. NOW we get little glimpses of God’s glory as we see God’s mercy and compassion. And we extend God’s glory in this world as we choose to show mercy on and compassion to those who hurt us, instead of trying to hurt them back. Those are little previews of heaven on earth. Someday they will be the norm, as God’s glory will be our light.
Verse 27 tells us about heaven’s purity. “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are in the Lamb’s book of life.” Heaven will be a perfect place, full of perfect people once all of our sin has been stripped away. We are all sinners saved by grace, who through God’s mercy have our names written in Jesus’ book of life. Once you truly belong to Jesus, you always belong to him. He writes your name in his book with indelible ink. His Holy Spirit holds onto you.
The next image is this amazing river full of the water of life, flowing from the throne of God himself. It reminds me of the fountain of living water we talked about last week. Water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Here the Holy Spirit proceeds from God the Father and God the Son right into the midst of the heavenly city of Jerusalem.
The water feeds two trees of life in the new Jerusalem. This is the same tree Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat from, lest they live forever. Now there are two of them, a double blessing, and they are available to anyone. Their fruit, which is always in season, brings healing among the nations. The word for healing here might better be understood as “ongoing health,” since there is no more sickness in heaven. It is the word from which we get our English word “therapy.” God will maintain our good health throughout eternity.
Chapter 22, verse 3 says, “No longer will there be any curse.” The curse in the Garden of Eden has finally been lifted. All has been made right. The world and its people are back on track, and God is there with them, just as he was in the original Garden.
The curse is reversed! God says, “Behold, I make all things new!” Think about the parallels between the first and the last books of the Bible, between Genesis and Revelation. The Word in Life Study Bible summarizes them like this:
Genesis - Revelation
God creates world - God creates a new heaven/earth
Devil introduces sin into the world - Devil is destroyed; sin done away with
Humanity falls into sin - God restores humanity to sinless state
The world is cursed - The curse is removed
People are separate from God - People live with God forever
People shed tears and know sorrow - God wipes away tears; removes sorrow
People barred from the tree of life - People eat freely from two trees of life
Death enters the world - Death is done away with
God’s master plan goes from cover to cover of scripture. God is in control. And God is going to work it all out. Trust your life to him and ensure your name is in his book.
Robert Lowry pastored a New York congregation in 1864 when a terrible epidemic broke out across the city. Lowry visited many homes where loved ones were dying, crying out for help in the midst of sickness and death. He wrote that he often turned to our passage today and read these words, “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life ... No longer will there be any curse ... and his servants will serve him. They will see his face.”
As he thought about that great reunion and gathering of the faithful at the waters of life, Lowry wrote a poem which later became a great hymn of our faith. Let us now sing together, #125, “Shall We Gather at the River?”, 1st, 2nd, and 4th verses.
[Hymn]
Let us pray: Father in heaven, like children who forget who they are and to whom they belong, we pray to you. You tell us of a place prepared for us where there is always light and never a need. Encourage us to remember that we are on our way home as we go through this day, no matter what we endure, that we are yours and you are ours. And you have an ultimate plan you are working out to save those who call upon your name. Help us to share your love and hope with others around us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
