Amazing, beautiful chapter of the Bible,
which does lots of things for us,
but it certainly is gonna do this for us, I think.
It's gonna complete God's story of salvation.
So there's a story that runs all the way through the Bible,
from creation and Genesis to new creation and revelation.
And here we are going to find the great happily ever after
that your heart and mind deep down longs for,
of a universe reborn and made perfect,
of paradise regained and restored,
of a glorious reunion that lasts for all eternity.
Here too, we're gonna find a chapter
that captures some of our deepest human longings.
We're all different and we're all from different places,
but there are certain things that we have in common.
The desire for a love that is permanent.
The desire for a glorious home and a homecoming.
And for a life that is truly satisfying.
And we're gonna see in all of this
that Christ Jesus is the key.
So the book of Revelation has kept on reminding us
that Jesus is the one who died and then rose again,
who returned to heaven and who will return one day.
And now he's pictured in wonderful ways.
He is the bridegroom who loves his bride.
He is the one who prepares an eternal home
for all of God's children.
And he is the one who supplies the life that satisfies.
And so taken together,
this chapter as we come towards the end of Revelation
reminds us that our future as followers of Jesus
is glorious.
And it's glorious because he, Jesus, is glorious.
I hope as well that as we get into some of the details
of this chapter,
it's gonna stir up certain emotions.
Perhaps it's gonna stir up for us a sense of hope
as we're being presented with a world of perfection,
a world of perfect love.
Here is the world we all want.
Here is the goal.
But it might also,
and this isn't necessarily a bad thing,
it might stir up a sense of homesickness in us,
especially as the people of God.
As we recognize that there is this world
that we all want the way that we want it to be,
but often don't we find it so different.
And we struggle in the tension
that life is not supposed to be like this,
we often think.
Difficulties in our relationships,
difficulties and frustrations with work,
in our health, even in our churches.
But Jesus offers promise,
he says, that when he comes back,
that's when everything is made new.
Here is when we will enter into the life
that we were made for.
Here is where we will live forever
in this world that we all want,
when everything sad will forever come untrue.
And remember that this book
and these pictures are given in the first instance
to help Christians who are struggling
and who are suffering.
And it's a way for God to say to us,
remember, it is all worth it.
But maybe as we read this,
maybe especially if you're not a Christian,
you're new to church,
you're thinking, is this too good to be true?
Is this something that we can trust?
Does it all sound a bit pie in the sky?
And so it's really important
before we get into the details
to just consider who is speaking.
In a way, this is very similar
to what we said to the children.
Verses five and six,
we have God seated on the throne saying,
I am making everything new.
He presents himself as the eternal,
the almighty king.
And it's this one who says,
it is done.
And it's this God who speaks truth from heaven,
who invites us to come with our thirst
and to be satisfied.
He is the one who makes everything new
and he invites us to listen in,
to receive what he has for us.
So our plan this morning,
we could spend forever on this.
So this is a wonderful chapter.
We're going to take three big themes.
We're going to take the theme of the wedding
and the home and the garden.
I think God's glory and the gospel is so good
that he gives us different pictures
and maybe our hearts will go to one
or other of these this morning.
And we're going to think about
how do they kind of speak to our longings
and how does Jesus, the Savior,
fulfill the story?
How does Jesus bring us into this world
that we all want?
So that ultimately, all of us,
whoever we are,
we would take the invitation
to trust in Jesus,
that we would be enjoying life with him today,
looking ahead gladly for the promise
of eternal life with him.
Okay, so we're going to do this very briefly.
The first story that we see in our chapter
is the story of a wedding
in the first four verses of Revelation 21.
And that takes us back to creation,
Genesis 1 and 2.
There was also a wedding.
There was Adam and Eve.
Remember that God gave a wife to the man.
And he gave to them a marriage with a mission.
He said, here is your calling.
Fill the earth, rule over the earth,
spread the glory of God
and enjoy life with me while you're doing it.
But into that perfect picture came the devil,
came the serpent.
Genesis chapter 3,
into the marriage came sin.
As the man and the woman disobey God,
ultimately they want to replace God,
to reject his rule.
And the moment that that happens
and sin comes,
relationships break down.
They're now hiding from God.
They feel a sense of shame together.
There's blaming.
There's pain.
There's the loss of the presence of God.
But God comes and he calls to them.
And even in that,
it's a reminder that God desires
to invite people again.
He would have a people whom he loves.
And that's the story of the Old Testament.
See, if we go all the way
towards the end of the Old Testament,
we go to a prophet like Hosea.
Hosea is a really dramatic book.
God says to Hosea,
Hosea, I want your marriage
to be like a picture
of my relationship with Israel.
Hosea was a good husband
married to an unfaithful wife.
And God said,
that's like my people.
They commit spiritual adultery,
turning to follow other gods,
turning to make alliances
with other kings.
God was showing love and faithfulness,
but again,
the people of God
turning their back.
It's a picture of the heart of sin.
God offers us himself.
God offers us love,
but we turn our back
because we want to be in charge.
We think other things will satisfy.
But God's purpose
to have a people whom he will love
and be with together forever
does not fail in the end.
Look at chapter 21 of Revelation.
We're reminded that this is new creation.
I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The first things have passed away.
The world has been remade.
The curse of sin is gone.
There's no more sea.
The sea is always a symbol
of chaos and evil.
So when sin and evil are done away with,
there's going to be another wedding.
God again is going to give a wife.
Look at verse 2.
The holy city comes down
out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride,
beautifully dressed for her husband.
And God pronounces his blessing
over this marriage.
God's dwelling place is now among the people.
They will be his people.
God himself will be with them
and be their God.
This is the goal of salvation,
that God would live with his people
in a perfect world forever.
And there's this wonderful picture
of intimacy in this marriage
that we have a Savior who is so good
that he comes so near
that he wipes every tear,
that he removes everything that spoils.
No more sorrow,
no more grief,
no more death.
The powerful King ensures
that he will be with
his bride made beautiful forever.
Now what's the significance of this
for you and me today?
It's significant because
we are made for relationship.
All kinds of relationships.
And they are a source of profound joy
and happiness to us often.
Think about the picture of the passage.
Some of us here will have had
the joyful anticipation
of being a bride waiting
for the wedding day.
And that sense of here is a love,
here is a sense of permanence,
here is a place of security.
But we also know in our relationships,
disappointments,
and griefs,
and losses,
and longing.
We know that death casts its shadow,
that death always comes.
But we are made for relationship,
and most of all,
we're made for relationship with God.
And the Bible says to us,
the love that you and I long for,
that we can spend maybe all our life
looking for,
it's found in God and in His Son,
the Lord Jesus.
Here is a love that is eternal
and unbreakable.
Here is the one whose love never fails,
who will never disappoint.
Here is the promise of perfect
and forever love in Jesus.
And that tells us that the Savior,
Jesus,
is so important to this story.
And actually by God's design,
Ephesians 5 tells us,
every time we go to a wedding,
every marriage that we see,
speaks to us something of the gospel,
speaks to us something of the relationship
between Jesus and His church.
A bridegroom is supposed to love,
and to sacrifice,
and to serve as a picture
of what Jesus does
for His bride,
His people.
There is union,
and there is love,
and there is joy,
and there is safety.
Now how does Jesus show
His undying love and commitment
to His bride,
His people,
the church?
What we do in a wedding ceremony
is we give wedding ring,
but Jesus gives something much more.
He gives His own body.
That it's the broken body
and the shed blood
of the Lord Jesus on the cross
that is a sign
of the covenant commitment of God
to save and to love
a people for Himself.
And the Lord Jesus
is such a wonderful bridegroom
that He removes all the ugliness,
all our sin,
all our shame,
and He clothes us
with His perfect righteousness
so that the church
and all of our sin,
in the end,
we will be this radiant bride
for Jesus.
And so the Savior invites us
to look to Him,
to trust Him,
and to find that one love
that never fails,
that never disappoints.
That's one way of thinking
about the story of the Bible.
Here's the second way.
It's the story of a home
and a homecoming.
This is a kind of a theme
that runs through
the rest of chapter 21.
But again,
just to take us back
to the beginning
of God's story,
in the beginning,
God made the world
and He made,
He planted a garden
called Eden.
And this was a special place.
This was like a garden sanctuary
because God came
and God met
with Adam and Eve there.
And God planted Adam and Eve
in that garden
and it was a place of beauty
and they had everything
they needed
and His glory
was on full display.
Imagine there,
I don't know what your first home
was like,
but that was Adam and Eve's
first home.
And it was wonderful
and it was wonderful
because God was present.
He would come,
as it were,
to walk with them
and to talk with them.
And so they were
to live their lives
working and worshipping
and resting
and serving,
loving and enjoying
relationships with one another
but with God
in this true
and beautiful home.
But if we know the story again,
we know that they failed
to look after that home.
They failed to guard
and keep it.
And so again,
the serpent,
the snake,
the devil came,
temptation came,
sin came,
and the consequence
was they were sent
out of that home
into exile.
But again,
God's goal
that He would be God
with His people,
that would continue.
And key to this whole promise
of God living with His people
were a couple of different structures.
One was a tent
called the tabernacle
and one was a mighty building
called the temple.
But they were both
in different ways
sanctuaries,
places where the God of glory
lived among His people.
So if you wanted
to meet with God,
to be with God,
you had to go to this tent
or you had to go
to this temple.
And in both the tabernacle
and the temple,
there was one particular room
that was especially significant.
It was called
the Holy of Holies.
We're told the dimensions
of this room.
In the tabernacle,
it was 10 cubits
by 10 cubits
by 10 cubits.
It was a cube.
By the time
they were building the temple,
it became 20 by 20 by 20.
Okay, so there's this cube,
this box.
And once a year,
one man,
the high priest,
could go in
and meet with God
and offer sacrifice.
And it was the job
of the people
to look after
and to be holy
around this home.
But again,
they would fail
to guard and to keep.
Instead,
they would set up idols.
They'd be half-hearted
in their worship.
They'd be divided
in their loyalty.
And in the end,
again,
God's people
would lose their home.
And in the end,
the prophets tell us
that God's glory
would depart.
And so the story
of the Bible,
by the time we get
to the end
of the Old Testament
before Jesus comes,
the people of God
are left with a longing.
Will God return?
Will God's glory
return to His temple?
Will take that with us
into Revelation 21.
As we recognize it
in the new creation,
hope becomes promise.
And here we find
the people of God
invited to an eternal home
and an eternal homecoming.
Look at verse 10.
Here is the home
for the people of God.
What do we know about it?
It's the holy city
comes down out of heaven
from God.
It shines with the glory
of God.
God's glory
has got these 12 gates
reminding us
that the way of access
is open because of Jesus,
because of the gospel.
There's security.
There's high walls.
But there's also
no fear of intruders,
we're told later.
There's nothing
that's going to come
and spoil.
Nothing that's going
to ruin this life
that God has made
with His people.
And so there is
this great homecoming
here within our text.
In verse 12,
who lives here,
whose names are written
on the gates,
that say this is their home.
Twelve tribes of Israel.
Verse 12,
that tells us
all the Old Testament
believers about their faith
in God,
that He would send
as Messiah Jesus.
They're going to be there.
Verse 14,
the wall of the city
had twelve foundations,
and on them
were the names
of the twelve apostles
of the Lamb.
And so here's
what this is saying.
Everyone who believes
in the message
about Jesus,
they're also going
to find their home
in here.
So what started
as a garden
where Adam and Eve
live with God
now becomes
this huge city
where everybody
who believes in Jesus
across all time
and countries
and cultures
gathers together,
people from every nation
and background
united together
in the presence
of God
in perfect love
and joy.
We have found
our true forever home
in these pages,
and God
is wonderfully present.
So we talked
a little bit
about the dimensions
of the Holy of Holies.
Now pay attention
to verse 16,
and it explains
why we get
the numbers here.
The city
was laid out
like a square,
as long
as it was wide.
He measured
the city
with the rod
and found it
to be twelve thousand
stadia in length
and as wide
and as high
as it is
long.
Here's the symbolism.
The new creation,
like a massive cube.
And the point of that
is to say to us
that the God of glory
will fill
the whole earth
and God's people
will live forever
in the true
Holy of Holies.
We will never be
a moment
outside of the
perfect presence
of God.
We will enjoy
life with
our God forever.
We too
will work
and worship
and rest
and serve
and love
and enjoy
and God
will be there
always.
This isn't just
for one person
once per year.
This is for
everybody
who puts
their trust
in Jesus
for all
of eternity.
Now what's
the significance
of this theme?
home,
even just to say
the word
home,
can have really
powerful associations
for us,
can't it?
For some
it connects us
with places.
Often it connects us
with the people
that we love.
At its best,
home is associated
with warm welcome,
a place of true
belonging,
a place where we feel
secure and we feel
joy.
It's the world
we want.
But in part,
home and homecoming
is such a powerful image
because we know
this to be true
that we live
among the ruin.
Most days of the week
our church is open
so that asylum seekers
can come
and they can learn English.
What does home
mean to them
if you have to flee
from persecution
and war?
But to take it
closer to home
for ourselves,
many of us here
today,
I imagine,
have lived at
different points
with a sense
of homesickness.
This isn't your
home country.
Even if it is
your home country,
sometimes you
perhaps wish you
were where your
parents were
or where your
friends were.
In a city like
Edinburgh,
it's really easy
to be surrounded
by people but yet
to feel like a
stranger.
There is a real
problem of loneliness
in our own city.
The idea of home
can bring mixed
emotions for us.
It can be a castle
for us.
At times it can be
a prison for us.
Where do we find
our true home?
Where do we find
that warm,
loving welcome?
Where do we find
those arms that are
open to welcome us
into true belonging,
to bring us into
a place where love
and joy will be
unbroken?
And the answer
again is from
Jesus.
To think about
the story of
Jesus, he is the
eternal son of God
but he entered
into history,
leaving his true
home of heaven
to come down,
to be born on
this earth,
to be God
with us,
to be the true
temple actually.
So he would say
that so that now
if we want to
meet with God,
we go to Jesus.
If we want to
encounter the glory
of God,
we need to go
to Jesus.
And Jesus gave
that wonderful
promise in
John 14.
Just before he
was about to die,
he says,
I'm going to
prepare a place
for you.
My father's house
has many rooms
and I'm going to
go and I'm going
to make a room
ready and one
day I'll come
back and I'll
take you to be
with me,
that you may be
where I am.
Jesus prepares
an eternal home
for his people
by going to
the cross to
die in our
place for our
sin before
rising again
and going back
to rule in
heaven for us.
Jesus went
into exile
for us,
went into
the far
country,
on the cross
felt forsaken
by his father.
So if we turn
from sin to
trust in Jesus,
we can be
brought home
to God
so that we
will live
for all
eternity
in the true
holy of holies
and that
involves
a tearing.
Mark's gospel
does something
really helpful
for us.
It tells us
that when Jesus
was dying on
the cross
and his body
was torn
as a loving
sacrifice,
over there
in the temple
the curtain
was torn
and the curtain
was torn
so that
the glory
of God
would break
out and begin
to fill
the earth
so that now
God comes
to dwell
in the hearts
of men
and women
and boys
and girls
all around
the world
and the church
continues
to grow.
The good news
of Jesus
spreads to
the ends
of the earth
and that
process of
filling the earth
with glory
that will be
completed
at the new
creation.
That's the home
that we were
made for
and Jesus
invites us
to come home
to God
to enjoy
that glory
and that love
to have that
home and that
homecoming
that will never
end
and as Christian
pilgrims
we're invited
every day
to remember
that's our
true home
so that we
would keep
the faith
that we would
go through
the struggles
knowing
that we
will make
it home
because
we are
connected
to Jesus.
So we
thought about
the wedding
we thought
about the
home
now we
need to
think
very briefly
about the
garden
and we
sort of
talked
about the
garden
but the
imagery
really picks
up in
Revelation
21
22
rather
but again
to go back
to creation
Genesis 1
and 2
we have this
paradise
garden
made by
God
and within
the garden
there are
those rivers
that flow
to give life
to irrigate
the land
and in
the centre
of the
garden
there was
this tree
known as
the tree
of life
reminding us
that God
is a generous
giver
what he wants
to give
is life
but there
was another
tree in
the centre
of the
garden
and it
was called
the tree
of the
knowledge
of good
and evil
Adam
and Eve
were told
you have
this whole
garden
and I'm
saying yes
to you
enjoying
this whole
garden
there's
one tree
that I
want you
to say
no to
it's the
tree
of the
knowledge
of good
and evil
it was
forbidden
that was
their test
of obedience
but they
failed that
test
and when
they failed
the test
again they
were expelled
from the
garden
and they
lost access
to that
tree
and the
entrance to
the garden
was now
guarded by
an angel
with a
fiery sword
but there's
still that
longing
for life
and for
satisfaction
the prophets
again would
pick up
these themes
Jeremiah
is one
very early
on in his
prophecy
he said
this to
them in
chapter 2
my people
this is God
speaking
have committed
two sins
they have
forsaken
me
and listen
to how he
pictures himself
the spring
of living
water
and have
dug their
own cisterns
broken
cisterns
what's his
point
God is saying
I'm offering
to give
myself
to my
people
and that's
everything
that's true
and lasting
satisfaction
but his
people in
the Old
Testament
were searching
for life
and satisfaction
meaning in
all the wrong
places
and they were
coming up
empty
another prophet
Ezekiel
in chapter 47
has this glorious
image
he sees a
renewed temple
and underneath
the temple
there's a stream
that starts to
flow
and as the stream
continues to flow
it gets wider
and it gets deeper
till it becomes
this roaring river
and whenever the river
goes
life
goes
and this is the
picture of
this is what God
does
this is what God
gives
he is the one
who gives life
true life
now pick up
your Bible
and look at
Revelation 22
verse 1
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
it is the
symbol
of life
giving
refreshing
water
that comes
from God
God
is a fountain
God
is never
thirsty
he has
perfect
satisfaction
in himself
but he
overflows
his goodness
his beauty
his truth
his love
to us
in our thirst
look at verse 2
and 3
down the middle
of the great street
okay
on each side
of the river
stood the tree
of life
bearing 12
crops of fruit
yielding its fruit
every month
and the leaves
of the tree
are for the healing
of the nations
no longer
will there be
any curse
here's a return
of the tree
of life
here is a symbol
of God's generosity
and God's provision
I will give you
perfect life
and I will give it
to you in relationship
with me
and there is a
constant supply
of this perfect life
that is healing
and not just for some
but for all peoples
from all nations
because the invitation
runs wide
and the high point
of life in this garden
is that once again
God is here
the throne of God
and of the Lamb
will be in the city
so it's a garden city
and his servants
will serve him
they will see
his face
and his name
will be on their foreheads
this is the happily ever after
this is God
and his people
in the garden
become a city
together forever
seeing the face
of Jesus
basking in the glory
of God
belonging to him
forever
there's no more darkness
there's no more night
there's no more danger
there's no need
for the sun
because we get to live
and join the light
of God's glory
and we serve him
and we reign
with him forever
this is the life
that we were
made for
and the significance
of this
I think comes
when we acknowledge
that all of us
in different ways
we have a thirst
a thirst
sometimes for meaning
and purpose
a thirst
for work
or for life
that satisfies
a longing
to find
our ultimate
hopes
met
so our hearts
can be at peace
but often
don't we discover
that our hearts
come up empty
that we often
find that our hearts
remain restless
speaking to a friend
this week
who'd gone on
what sounded like
it should have been
the trip of a lifetime
to Japan
taking in
the wonders
of Disneyland
Tokyo
some people
that'd be the best
thing ever
and she came away
thinking is that it
long cues
and silly
Mickey Mouse ears
that's often
our experience
in this life
we imagine
this is the thing
this is the one
my heart's gonna
find my everything
here
and if that's not God
we're gonna come up
empty
God is a generous
giver
and the greatest
gift he gives
is himself
that's what the book
of Revelation
tells us
and that takes us
again to Jesus
the saviour
who will speak
in the gospels
to a woman
in John chapter 4
beside a well
she is thirsty
she is longing
to find security
to find relationship
to find love
and Jesus says to her
I can give you
living water
that will spring up
to eternal life
Jesus makes
the bold
amazing statement
that he is God
and he gives the life
that satisfies
now how does he
do that
how does he give us
the access
to the tree of life
well the Bible
tells us of another tree
the cross of Calvary
and there as we
as we pan
to that mountain
to that tree
we see Jesus
as it were
going under
the fiery sword
of God's judgment
not for anything
that he had done wrong
but as he bears
the sin of his people
as he takes our day
as he is cut off
so that you and I
could be forgiven
and brought near
and enter life
with God
we hear Jesus
cry on the cross
I am thirsty
as he becomes
the sacrifice
so that you and I
can taste and see
that the Lord
is good
that we can enjoy
the goodness of God
in this life
with a certain hope
of eternal joy
in the life to come
so here is
the world we all want
truly the life
that we were made for
to be brought into
this wonderful story
of God's commitment
to be with his people
to let his glory
overflow to us
to invite us
into perfect life
with him
and this story
creates a thirst
in us
and I hope it says
to all of us
I want to go deeper
not to be too easily
satisfied
I want to find
true love
in knowing God
I want to find
my true home
in him
and to find
that joyful life
that will never end
and wonderfully
we're also reminded
who's the great hero
of this story
it's the Lord Jesus
for us to have
our happily ever after
Jesus has come
to defeat
our great enemies
he has come
to rescue
and win a bride
for himself
he is the one
who will return
one day
to take his people
to his glorious home
forever
this is the world
we all want
come to him
trust him
and live