Sermon Tone Analysis

Psalm 48:1–3 (ESV)

1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.

Revelation 21:1–8 (ESV)

1 Then 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.

2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”

Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done!

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

T for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”

Introduction

We have seen that the time is to come when the Lord shall return.

The dead will be raised, believers living at the time will be caught up to heaven we shall share in the full glory of heaven.

Unbelievers will know the full horror of hell.

The vision of a new heaven and a new earth are a vision of the at full glory to come.

New Heaven, New Earth v1

New Jerusalem v2

God’s Dwelling Place v3-4

All Things New v5-8

1.

New Heaven, New Earth v1

a.

New

The first heaven and the first earth have passed away.

In our imagination let us try to see this new universe.

The very foundations of the earth have been subjected to the purifying fire.

Every stain of sin, every scar of wrong, every trace of death, has been removed.

Out of the great conflagration a new universe has been born.

The word used in the original implies that it was a ‘new’ but not an ‘other’ world.

It is the same heaven and earth, but gloriously rejuvenated, with no weeds, thorns or thistles, and so on.

Hendriksen, W. (1967).

More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (p.

198).

Baker Books.

b.

Old

God will not annihilate heaven and earth and then create them anew out of nothing.

Instead he will transform them in a process that is the same as calling forth the lowly bodies of the saints to make them like the glorious body of the Lord (Phil.

3:21).

Just as Jesus’ body was transformed at his resurrection, so at the coming of the Lord the bodies of his people will be not annihilated but completely changed and glorified.

Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001).

Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Vol.

20, pp.

554–555).

Baker Book House.

2 Peter 3:10–13 (ESV)

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

The ‘old’ order has vanished.

The universe in which the dragon, the beast, the false prophet, and the harlot were carrying out their programme of iniquity has vanished.

Hendriksen, W. (1967).

More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (p.

199).

Baker Books.

c.

Sea

The sea, as we now know it, is no more.

At present the sea is the emblem of unrest and conflict.

The roaring, raging, agitated, tempest-tossed waters, the waves perpetually engaged in combat with one another, symbolise the nations of the world in their conflict and unrest (13:1; 17:15).

Hendriksen, W. (1967).

More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (p.

199).

Baker Books.

2. New Jerusalem v2

a. Holy City

This Jerusalem is called ‘new’ in contradistinction to the earthly, Palestinian Jerusalem.

It is called ‘holy’ because it is separate from sin and thoroughly consecrated to God.

This new and holy Jerusalem is very clearly the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, Hendriksen, W. (1967).

More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (p.

199).

Baker Books.

Psalm 48:1–3 (ESV)

1 Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, in the far north, the city of the great King. 3 Within her citadels God has made himself known as a fortress.

b.

From God

We read that John saw this Holy City coming down out of heaven from God.

This, too, is true with respect to both the ideal Church of the present and the Church of the future.

It is always born from above.

It is always the result of the transforming work of the Holy Spirit (3:12; 21:9 ff.; cf.

Gal.

4:26; Heb.

11:10, 16; 12:22).

Hendriksen, W. (1967).

More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (p.

199).

Baker Books.

c. Bride

The one who has prepared and adorned the bride cannot be the bride, that is, the church herself.

No, it is Christ Jesus who has cleansed her and then presented her without stain or wrinkle or blemish to himself (Eph.

5:26–27).

The wedding ceremony is now about to begin, and from this time on bride and bridegroom will be together forever.

Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001).

Exposition of the Book of Revelation (Vol.

20, p. 556).

Baker Book House.

3. God’s Dwelling Place v3-4

a. God With Us v3

Thus, beautifully, the everlasting marriage-feast of the Lamb, Christ, and of His bride, the Church, is pictured to us.

It is the climax of that entire process whereby God comes to His people.

So close is this eternal communion between God and His elect that He, as it were, dwells with them in one tent—His tent, the glory of His attributes (Rev.

7:15) Hendriksen, W. (1967).

More than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation (p.

200).

Baker Books.

b.

The Former Things v4

4. All Things New v5-8

a. Trustworthy and True v5