Refreshment

 

Text: Revelation 21:1-6

Focus: renewal

Function: to see how God continually renews us

21:¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
⁴he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”

⁵And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Good morning! Today’s scripture lesson is taken from the text that would have been used if we had a worship service November 1, all Saints Day. I wasn’t raised in what is called a high church tradition. The only thing we celebrated was Halloween, and that was just for the fun of it. We didn’t place any religious significance to the celebration.

But All Saints Day is a day when we remember those who have gone on before us. Or as the Encyclopedia Britannica says, “Those who have obtained heaven.”

I love that concept. Instead of focusing on our loss of the loved one who is no longer with us and we will certainly miss, we focus on their gift, or their reward, in heaven.

All Saints Day is a day of faith in the fact that we believe in the resurrection of the dead. Hope!

I want to look at the passage with a little bit of Bible Study. It comes in two parts: A description of the setting and the voice from heaven.

The description is what I call the threshold of time. God promises to make a new heaven and a new earth. I believe this is symbolic. I believe the symbolism is identified in the fact that now the throne of God is no longer separated from humanity in the heavens, but is now right in the midst of humanity.

His vision of the future is God showing their self plainly in the presence of humankind. He says the original system of God’s interaction with humanity changes.

Revelations is a highly symbolic book and the end of the book warns us not to make up doctrine or theology based on it. Historically, scholars understand it to be a book written to help the Jewish people during the atrocities committed against them during the Roman Occupation. And symbolically, the prophetic message is that God will in the end judge wickedness and evil.

Do you remember how I have been explaining the the word translated in John 3:16 as eternal life is literally a life without boundaries?

This passage is clearly a description of heaven given to us so that we do not lose hope in this world while we are doing good for our redeemer.

But it goes much more than just the concept of getting to heaven for a reward when we die.

Which draws us to the second part of the passage: The Words spoken from heaven to the prophet.

The voice is God whom God names God’s self as “The Alpha and Omega.” The common alphabet used that day had Alpha as the first letter and Omega as the last letter. In our terms, it would be A-Z, a metaphor for the beginning and the end.

And God describes God’s mothering, or nurturing qualities to them as a benefit of the fact that God is now dwelling in their presence in heaven. Or, maybe to be precise, heaven comes down to earth.

It is referred to as the City of God. And symbolically, that city of God is also referred to as the Church.

The message is that God is going to continue to dwell with humanity through us, the church. God empowers all of us to be part of God’s healing for this world.

I don’t believe that God is speaking of this healing only for the future for us. But that God, through the Spirit of God, is present now healing and restoring us.

And I love the promises to us through this majestic voice that the prophet hears.

They are promises of healing and restoration. God will:

• Wipe away every tear

• End the separation of death

• Eliminate mourning and crying.

This is our picture of heaven, a place where we cease from struggle and rest in God.

But again, it isn’t just heaven, or the afterlife that God is talking about here for us.

The passage says that it is already done, already accomplished, already begun, already here.

At the end of the passage, he changes the description he uses for God from “the A-Z” to “The One sitting on the Throne.”

I believe he is emphasizing God’s power and authority. And he reinforces the words with the promise that they are trustworthy and true.

And he says two things. First: I am making all things new.

I have to remind myself of this, especially when I am facing a difficulty with my perspective, or the perspective of someone who is close to me but is different and is causing conflict. I have to remind myself to rest in God and look for the way that God is making this situation new. Even in conflict.

I try to hang on to that promise and have a positive perspective about outcomes because God is still making all things new. Praise God. God forgets and heals the mistakes of the past as God restores us. Praise God!

And then he ends with a common theme throughout the scriptures repeated by the prophets: “To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of life.”

And to us, God promises to continually refresh us through their Spirit.