-This American Life, the Sound of Music favorite movie, sharing it with a friend who agreed, minus the Nazis. The primary person said what Nazis? Turned out she’d only ever seen half the movie, so in here mind it was a charming flick about a nanny who brings order to this house, teaches children how to sing, and then rides off into the sunset singing “Good night!” When she was growing up, her family only had 1 of the VHS tapes and had somehow lost the second one.

-That’s the temptations of the human heart, to miss the end of the story. Think of the impulse toward “eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.” If this is the only life we have that impulse makes sense. Pursue pleasure and alleviate pain

-But the reality is much different than that. Friends, life is only going to get better, but I can’t promise that will happen before eternity. However, when we know what eternity is like, it makes it easier to endure whatever happens here.

-Norwegian rats and swimming. 

-Book on navigating the future “We tend to oscillate between naïve optimism and cynical pessimism (see the narratives of decline across the political spectrum or the alarming statistical trends in depression, loneliness, and suicide.” “It is only if we can reclaim a sense of Purpose that we will be able to articulate a fully human and cosmic sense of flourishing and address our crisis.” I would say that Purpose (capital P) is to prepare for a new heavens and a new earth.

READ/PRAY

1. What is New (1-8)

-New heaven and new earth: there is an earth! 

-Passed away – some debate about the significance of this, I would argue that this is similar to the death we will go through. We’ll be raised again, we’ll still be ourselves, but purified.

-Sea: place of chaos, doesn’t mean there’s no water in the new heavens and earth! Probably best to refer to it as the new earth, because the point of this passage is that heaven comes down to earth so they’re now 1 place instead of 2, where right now they separated, they won’t always be

-The holy city, new Jerusalem

–Gal. 4:26 – “The Jerusalem above” Heb. 12:22 “the heavenly Jerusalem”

-We’re supposed to contrast this description with the other woman John saw: Babylon the prostitute. Here all of God’s people are described as a new city

3-The goal of this entire thing, the goal since the Fall has been this reality: God dwelling, tabernacling, living with His people.

-Promised back in Leviticus, promised again in Ezekiel, God is saying all those promises that He made in the past are fulfilled here in the new earth.

-Also shows us that in the new heavens & earth we’re in community. There’s no isolationism in Christianity, there’s no just me and God, it’s always WE and God

4-God will take away all sadness and pain. Those are gone, along with death.

-I want to just mention this briefly (if you want to talk more about this let me know) but one of the realities of heaven is we’ll understand God’s justice rightly, so there won’t be the sadness of knowing someone we loved is in the lake of fire

-Goes on to say that nothing is left out of this renewal! EVERYTHING is made new. Trees and bees and grass and buildings and stars and planets and galaxies, all made new.

-And He guarantees it “faithful and true.”

6-Just like Jesus “it is finished” God has been there from the beginning, He will be there until the end. He gives ridiculously generously to all. But there is a caveat:

7-The one who conquers. Remember that language from the beginning of the book? To each of the churches, God had promised something to the one who conquers, pointing here. Sonship isn’t saying men only, it’s signifying the familial blessing, that context women didn’t receive inheritance

-Unlike the one who conquers is those who go to the lake of fire, not a complete list but representative of a wide assortment of sins

• What is Symbolic (9-21)

-Some debate about this section (again), is this referring to a literal city, or is it signifying something else. Probably won’t surprise you that I lean toward this signifying something else, we shouldn’t expect to see this giant cube city on the new earth (but again, I’m fine being wrong because God can do whatever He wants!) Just to give you some perspective, here’s the measurements as outlined in the book.

-Why do I think it’s symbolic? Because of vs 10, carried me away in the Spirit, that happened before! Rev. 17 where he saw the fight between the dragon and the woman in labor. Just like that was a symbol of something else, I think this is a symbol of something else.

-Beautiful city, without any of the vices or problems of cities today. Cities in the 1^st century were places of protection and security, walls meant bad guys were kept out.

12-12 gates, 3 on each side, named for the 12 sons (tribes) of Israel (Jacob), and 12 foundations built on the apostles.

-God’s goal has always been to have a people living in His place serving under His rule and reign. This is signifying that the ways the world divides people no longer exists. God’s people have come from every nation and culture and all of them are given unmediated access to God Himself! 

15-Angel is given a measuring rod, need the original wording here to not miss the focus of the numbers (symbols not statistics): 12,000 stadia. Just like the 12 gates and 12 foundations, 12 x 10³ ALL of God’s people. Not just square, a perfect cube (which has 12 sides)

-Did you know that there’s 1 other place in the Bible that’s a perfect cube? The Most Holy Place in the temple, 1 Kings 6:20 tells us the measurements of it. What’s significant about this is where the Most Holy Place was only accessed 1/year by 1 person, now the whole city is the Most Holy Place, and everyone is welcome there! Direct access to God’s presence!

17-144 cubits (again perfect, 12×12)

-What is the significance of the jewels? No one’s sure, there’s some overlap between this list and the jewels on the priestly garments, but what scholars have found is this exact same list used in the signs of the Zodiac, but backwards. So some think it’s John’s way of saying all the predictions the world offers are cheap imitations, but this is the reality.

-Pearls were the most costly jewel in the 1^st century, and I think it should make us think of the parable Jesus tells of the pearl of great value! In the new earth gates are made out of them, and lastly the streets of gold. Picked up from 1 King 6:30

-The temple was meant to be a picture of Eden, which was thought to be modeled after heaven itself, and here we see we now have the full picture. Turns out it was modeled after heaven! 

• What is Missing (22-27)

-John notices something that’s gone that he was expecting to see. After millennia of God only meeting with his people in a temple, now there’s no temple because there’s no need for one! God is the temple! We have full access to Him without needing anything or anyone else standing in between.

-Vs. 23 doesn’t say there’s no sun or moon, it says there’s no need for them. God’s light illuminates everything else.

-Then vs. 24 says that the nations will walk by its light. So here we see that nations still exist, which means if you haven’t gotten to travel on this side of eternity but there’s places you’ve wanted to visit, just wait. But I would also argue that what is meant by this isn’t just referring to illumination, but is referring to the way everyone’s living is according to God’s will and way. Think of Psalm 119 which says God’s word is a lamp for me feet and a light for my path. Doesn’t mean we hold a Bible to navigate when we go into a dark room, it means our life is guided by God. And think of what Jesus says in John 8 “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” 

25-Gates will never close by day, and no night. 

-What’s the point of gates if they never close? Gates are meant to provide protection, and night is the time when people are most susceptible to being attacked. See I don’t think John is saying there’s no more sunsets or sunrises in heaven, I think we’ll still be able to enjoy them, as well as sleeping. What’s meant (similar to the sea) is the negatives that come during night no longer exist. Again, I could be wrong, I’m making speculations based on all Scripture, but I have reasons to think these things!

26-Bring the honor and glory of the nations. Friends, this means things will be redeemed from here and brought there. We’ll still have technology, we’ll still have trees and grass and food and water, but they’ll all function perfectly without ever breaking.

-I read Heaven by Randy Alcorn this week, if you haven’t read it PLEASE get it and read it ASAP, it’s just beautiful. (don’t read “heaven tourism books though) But one of the words he uses in there that I want you to understand is what is being described here is very earthy. It says new heavens and NEW EARTH. I would postulate that what we’ll see there will look very similar to what we see here, but better. Colors will be more vivid, smells will be more potent, but it will be real. 

-Picture of this in The Last Battle of Chronicles of Narnia where Peter and Edmund are looking around at Narnia’s version of heaven where they start to notice familiar hills nearby, then looking closer they realize they are the exact hills they were thinking of!

-What I would argue based on Scripture, is that heaven is all around us, but our eyes can’t see it. Sometimes you can get glimpses, maybe it’s through a specific song or a conversation with a friend or a bite of the most delicious food you’ve ever had or a time of prayer where you get a sense of how wonderful God is, God allows us these glimpses to spur us on. I think there are 2 examples in the Bible that bear this out – think of the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. He’s giving a glimpse of heaven to encourage him as he faces death! And then 2 chapters later, I think Paul is given the same glimpse, but because he’s not saved he falls on his face. 

-I realize this sounds a little weird, but I truly believe that heaven is a different realm that we can’t see right now. Quantum physics even points us in this direction where they say that there’s all these quarks (real word!) that all interact and engage with each other across the universe. Over my head, so I’ll stop there, but I think heaven is real, those who have died in faith before us are there now waiting for the Lord to enact his Kingdom here just like it is there. There’s more, but let’s finish these last 5 verses:

• What is Central (22:1-5)

-River of the water of life, where does it come from? Throne, God’s provision for His people. Straight through the heart of this city. Tree of life (apparently a LARGE tree, enough to go across the river) 12 seasons of fruit.

-Once again, I would argue science backs this up. People are trying to bio-hack their bodies to lower their biological age. I read a story this week of someone who celebrates his birthday every 19 months because that’s how long he believes it takes his body to advance a year. What if God has created a fruit that allows our bodies to live forever?

-Leave are for healing of the nations (once again, nations in heaven) 

-No curse, no thorns or thistles in response to our work

4-Right now, no one can see God and live is now changed to we will see His face and our entire orientation is toward Him.

-Finally, we will reign with God. God will have some area (I’m sure of varying sizes) delegated to us. Think of the parable of the servants who were left with talents to steward, then God commissions them with more. Some will be given oversight of a little piece of land, others will be given oversight of cities or nations, but everyone will have some oversight of something in the earth.

-So what? Why is all this important? Because we need to have hope in the midst of the uncertainty of this world. The movie doesn’t end in the middle where we sing “the sun has gone to bed and so must I” and ride off into the sunset, there’s a direction we’re heading. AND in Col. 3 we’re commanded to set our minds on heaven. I believe we’ve over-spiritualized heaven and neglected to read Scripture as God has actually revealed the new heavens AND EARTH to us. 

-And here’s what I mean when I say that. The primary thing we’ll get is being with Jesus, but there’s also additional benefits that are OK to hope for and look forward to. Things like time with dear friends, going for long walks where you knees don’t hurt, time to spend doing the things you love that you don’t have time for now. All those things will be redeemed in heaven. Here’s why I believe that, Heb. 11, the hall of faith: seeking a homeland, desire a better place. Friends, it’s ok to get excited about the gifts of God’s creation, He wants you to! That’s why there’s things that are enjoyable even on this side of heaven. That’s why sunsets are so pretty, that’s why the gentle lapping of the waves at the beach is so soothing, that’s why a perfectly cooked medium rare steak tastes so good, God gives us these things to point to Him and help us remember that He loves us extravagantly!

-But what’s even crazier about this is when can we start getting excited about heaven and preparing for that new home? Right now. Look up at vs. 5, what tense is the verb in? Present. God right now is enacting this new heavens and earth among us. Think of what Jesus said when He taught His disciples to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God’s eternal kingdom is breaking into this earth right here and right now. When you are a humble you’re living in heaven, when you are a peacemaker you’re living in heaven. When you live as God intends you to live, you’re living as a citizen of heaven instead of earth. You’re preparing yourself for life after life after death. God’s plan to redeem creation has already started, it started the moment Jesus rose from the dead. 

-So what are you doing today to take 1 step closer to living in the new earth? And not just for you, who else are you encouraging to grow 1 step closer to living in the new earth? You don’t need to wait to live for eternity, because eternity starts now. Friends, set your minds on heaven, and as the old hymn says “The things of earth (the old earth) will grow strangely dim.” By focusing on heaven we are able to live faithfully here and now.