I do not doubt that many of these have received these visions and revelations they claim they have received, but knowing the life of some of these professing Christians, I do doubt that these visions and revelations came from God.
Some are quick to point out that many of the New Testament Saints had such visions.
Yes, they did, but they did not have the complete revelation of God’s Word that we have, and God would often speak to them in this manner.
But two thousand years ago, John had a vision from the Lord.
• It was not some kind of MEDICATION that caused him to hallucinate and see things
• It was not something that he ATE for supper that caused this vision to occur
• It was not a bump on the head caused by falling off the back of a camel that caused this vision
God gave this vision to John, and the Word of God records what he saw.
Look at Revelation 21:1-3, we read, “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 the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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.”
Notice, there is going to be a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH.
WHY MUST THERE BE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH?
Because Satan has left a trail of sin and corruption wherever he has been.
Illus: Have you ever seen one of those slimy snails that crawl around, and every where they go they leave a trail of slime behind them?
Wherever Satan goes, he leaves a TRAIL OF CORRUPTION, TEARS AND SORROW BEHIND HIM. For example:
• When he was in heaven, he rebelled against God and caused one-third of the angels to oppose God
• When he was cast to earth, he continued to rebel against God, and has caused the majority of the population to rebel against God
• When he is in full glory during the tribulation period, he will leave behind him a trail of sin and sorrow
Everything that Satan has come into contact with has been corrupted by sin.
God is going to completely wipe from existence the old heaven and the old earth that Satan has corrupted.
The writer of Hebrews talks about this in the Book of Hebrews.
Look at Hebrews 1:10-12, we read, “And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: THEY SHALL PERISH; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.”
Illus: The writer of Hebrews tells us that after the Great White Throne Judgment, this old existing heaven and earth will become like an old dish rag that has served it’s purpose, and it will be done away with.
After the completion of the Great White Throne Judgment, a new heaven and earth will be created.
Look again at Rev. 21:1, we read, “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 new earth will be the location of the New Jerusalem, which will come down from God.
Let me give you some scriptures.
Look at Rev. 21:2, we read, “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
The New Jerusalem is also called the Bride of Christ.
Look at Rev. 21:2, “…Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Look at Rev. 21:9-10 we read of the bride, “And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.”
Jerusalem is the eternal home for all Christians.
I. WHERE WILL GOD BE DWELLING DURING THIS TIME?
He will be dwelling with mankind.
Look at verse 3 in our text again, we read, “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.”
Maybe the highlight of our life is that we have been:
• In the presence of Presidents
• In the presence of Queen Elizabeth
• In the presence of Celebrities
But the greatest privilege that will be bestowed upon mankind, is for those who are saved to literally dwell with God.
There is no way anyone can describe what it is going to be like when God literally DWELLS AMONG US!
WHAT WILL LIFE BE LIKE WITH GOD DURING THIS TIME?
The Bible says He will tabernacle (dwell) with us.
II. WHAT WILL LIFE BE LIKE FOR THE REDEEMED DURING THIS TIME?
Look at Rev. 21:1, we read, “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.”
Notice, God’s Word talks about the heavens and the earth having passed away, then we read, “…And there was no more sea.”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN THAT DURING THIS TIME FOR US THERE WILL BE NO MORE SEA?
The sea stands for two things in our life:
(1) THE SEA STANDS FOR TURBULENT TIMES IN OUR LIFE
We read in Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”
This verse of scripture is saying two things:
• You are not going to be here long (Few Days)
• You can expect to have plenty of trouble while you are here
We see some who try to give the impression that they have the perfect life, that they never have any trouble!
But they are only putting on a false front, the fact is, God’s Word says that if you are born of woman you are going to have troubles.
But notice, it says life will be FULL OF TROUBLE!
Some days it seems that if something CAN go wrong, YOU CAN BE SURE THAT IT WILL.
Illus: English novelist James Payne stated it this way, he said,
“I never had a piece of toast
Particularly long and wide
But fell upon the sanded floor,
And always on the buttered side.”
In spite of the trouble we have in this life, we have to keep our chin up high.
Illus: A man once found a five-dollar bill. After that he always looked down when he walked along the street. Over the course of the years:
• He found twelve hairpins
• Five paper clips
• A ball point pen
• One nickel
• Four pennies
• And a very large assortment of gum wrappers
But during those years he never saw a flower, a tree, or the smile of a passing stranger. If we just look down at our problems, we will never succeed.
Man that is born of women can expect two things:
• To be here a few days
• That those few days will be full of trouble
But here is the good news, the storms of life that we go through on the sea of life are going to come to an end one day.
Look at Rev. 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.”
• This OLD BODY is going to be replaced with a NEW GLORIFIED BODY
• This OLD EARTH that is full of trouble, is going to be replaced with a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH
God’s Word says that when this NEW HEAVEN and this NEW EARTH come into existence, there will be, “No more sea!” That is, there will be no more turbulent times in our life.
The sea represents the STORMS we all have to face in this life.
But also, the sea represents something else-
(2) THE SEA STANDS FOR SEPARATION
Illus: Many Navy housewives have kissed their husbands and watched them get on a ship and disappear out of sight, as they crossed the sea.
They stand on the seashore longing to be with the one they love, but the sea separates them from their loved ones.
But one of these days, there is going to be a NEW HEAVEN and NEW EARTH, and when that time comes:
• There will be no more TURBULENT TIMES IN OUR LIFE
• DEATH will no longer separate us from our loved ones who have gone on before us
We have looked at WHERE WILL GOD BE DWELLING DURING THIS TIME and WHAT LIFE WILL BE LIKE FOR THE REDEEMED DURING THIS TIME, but look at -
III. WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH DURING THIS TIME?
Look at Rev. 22:5, we read, “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
Two things that are going to make this NEW HEAVEN and NEW EARTH such a great place to live are:
• Satan will not be here to make life miserable for us
• Satan’s workers will not be here to make life miserable for us
Look at Rev. 20:10, we read, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Look at Rev. 20:15, we read, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Satan and his evil followers will be nowhere around.
Conclusion:
Very soon, we can expect these twelve events to take place.
(1) MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF MILLIONS
Chaos will reign the day that millions of "Christians" are called home to heaven, to escape the coming judgments on people still living on earth. The chaos that took place when the New York Trade Towers and the Pentagon building were attacked, will seem like nothing compared to the world wide disasters that will take place at the rapture.
(2) WORLD LEADER SIGNS “SEVEN YEAR” PEACE TREATY
It is scheduled to last for seven years, and will be the cause for rejoicing throughout the world. (Daniel 9:27)
(3) WORLD RELIGIOUS LEADER JOINS WITH ANTICHRIST
Once the new world political leader has established himself, he is joined by a religious leader who unites the world’s religions to support history’s new hero! The new religious leader will be a “wolf in sheep’s clothing”, leading many souls into deception and false security. He will make an image of the world leader and require that all world citizens worship that image. (Rev. 13)
(4) WORLD LEADER IS FATALLY WOUNDED BUT LIVES
There will be plenty of TV coverage on this one! The world community will be stunned and mesmerized by the miraculous recovery of our new hero, as he rebounds from some kind of fatal injury. Bible scholars generally believe this will happen half way through his seven year reign, and that at this point, Satan himself is thrown down to earth and possesses this leader. After this event, the Antichrist (the world leader) demands worship from the rest of the world and turns against his supporting religious leader. He has to, since he now claims to be God, and enters the Jews holy temple to show his arrogance. (Rev. 13:3; 2 Thess. 2:3,4; Rev. 12: 7-9)
(5) 144,000 JEWISH EVANGELISTS REACH THE WORLD
Amidst the horrible judgments befalling mankind, there will be a revival within Christianity. During one of Israel’s brightest moments in history, she will nurture and send 12,000 from each of her 12 tribes out to preach the gospel of Christ, their Messiah, to the world. These 144,000 total four times more than the number of missionaries now out in the field (approximately 35,000). God uses them in one last harvest time of saving souls. (Rev. 7:1-8; Rev. 14:1-5)
(6) JERUSALEM’S TEMPLE IS REBUILT
Israel and Judaism have not been able to practice temple worship since the Romans destroyed their last temple, in 70 AD. At present, the very same site is occupied by Islam’s third most holy place, the Omar Mosque. Many of the prophecies concerning the Jews during the last seven (7) years of this age, include a temple. The Jews are actually planning for this already. They are preparing priests, the temple furniture, and holy utensils that will be used.
(7) TWO RESURRECTIONS ON LIVE TV
Another one of the bright and glorious events we will see is when two powerful miracle-working prophets are slain in the streets of Jerusalem, and resurrected as the whole world watches. These two prophets (many believe they will be Moses and Elijah brought back to finish their work) spell trouble to the world system and are killed by the Antichrist. The world actually celebrates by exchanging gifts, and watches as the bodies are not buried for three and one half days. Then, while all the TV news coverage is watching, they rise to their feet, hear a great voice from heaven, and ascend! The scriptures say, "…Great fear fell upon those who beheld them..." (Rev. 11: 1-12)
(8) THE MARK OF THE BEAST IS COMING
The scriptures refer to the last world leader, the Antichrist, also as the Beast. He will be cold and ruthless. And one of his claims to fame will be his ability to integrate the entire world monetary system by eliminating all currencies and operating with Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT). After starting with the typical credit card, he will eventually convert the system so that your number will be written on your FOREHEAD OR HAND. And it will be mandatory to participate, with a penalty of death. This is one event I truly hope you will be ready for, since ANYONE WHO RECEIVES THE MARK AND JOINS INTO THE "666" SYSTEM, WILL BE MARKED FOR HELL. (Rev. 13: 16-18; Rev. 14:9-12)
(9) SEVEN YEARS OF GOD’S JUDGMENTS: THE TRIBULATION
This is much more than one event, rather it is a series of events that represent very strong judgments that will span a seven year period – the same period when the new world leader (Antichrist) promises a peace treaty to Israel. There will be no mistaking these judgments, since they are graphically described for us in Revelation, chapters six through sixteen. Angels described them to John, as they open:
• Seven (7) seal judgments
• Seven (7) trumpet judgments
• Seven (7) bowl judgments
(10) ARMAGEDDON
(11) MILLENNIUM
(12) NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH
I. WHERE WILL GOD BE DWELLING DURING THIS TIME?
II. WHAT WILL LIFE BE LIKE FOR THE REDEEMED DURING THIS TIME?
III. WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE IN THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW EARTH DURING THIS TIME?
