A New Heaven, A New Earth, A New Year

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Revelation 21:1–6 NRSV
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, the 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, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he 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.” 5 And 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.” 6 Then 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.
Epiphany —> Jesus, The Christs, manifestation to the gentiles, Three Kings Day.
As Christians we are always caught between the now and the not yet. We are awaiting the New Heaven and the New Earth but we are here with no heaven on this earth. At the end of 2020 we were begging for a better 2021 and now here we are in 2022, hoping and praying that it brings an end to COVID-19, vax vs. non-vax, and any other controversy or problem that the last 365 days have brought on. Well friends, if you are waiting for another trip around the sun to put the world “back to right” you may be waiting for a long long time. The truth is the calendar doesn’t change the reality that we are a part of a broken, hurting, desperate world, that wants love, hope, peace, joy, justice, mercy, and a myriad of other things but constantly looks in the wrong places to get them. In a might makes right society, where cancel culture and the court of popular opinion rule the day, as followers of Christ we can find it difficult to see a light at the end of this tunnel. Yet, we know it is there.
In our passage today, the Apostle John, not to be confused with John the Baptist, John Smith, John Doe, or John Wayne, is experiencing visions in a conversation with God. We are catching the story near the end when we begin our reading in Chapter 21 verse 1...
Revelation 21:1 NRSV
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.
John has told his readers about trials he has foreseen. He has told them about the battle between good and evil, about the state of the earth as he has known it. Now he comes to the end. After all this destruction, war, devastation, and division, he says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...” The old has passed away, what we know, what we experience is no more in this new heaven and new earth. The sea, which represents our fears, our doubts, the evil in this world, and the powers and principalities it is no more, and all that is left is the “new heaven and the new earth”.
And John continues...
Revelation 21:2 NRSV
2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
John sees a place, a residence for his people, a residence prepared by God, nothing like this world has ever seen. a residence not where the people will merely dwell with each other but where God dwells alongside and WITH his people.
Revelation 21:3 NRSV
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them;
3 times in verse 3 does it say that God is with the people.
1 - “See, the home of God is among mortals...”
2 - “He will dwell with them as their God...”
3 - “…God himself will be with them”
John is making it crystal clear that in the “new heaven and new earth” there is no more separation between God and man. Instead there is a union that has taken place, a removal of all the barriers between us and God. God has come to dwell with man.
Now…let’s think about this…haven’t we heard something like this before. Haven’t we heard of God coming to dwell with his people on earth. Didn’t we just have a whole season that celebrated the anticipation of the coming Messiah, the coming of God’s son to dwell among us. Capped off by the birth of the Christ child in a manger. (wink, wink, the answer is yes!) Didn’t this same Apostle John write down in his Gospel account,
John 1:1 NRSV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:14 NRSV
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
The truth is God has come and dwelt among us. God has done the things in verse 4...
Revelation 21:4 NRSV
4 he 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.”
This happened in the person of Jesus Christ. The reality is that Jesus healed the afflicted, the hurt, the broken. He redeemed the shamed, the burdened, and the outcast. Jesus brought back people from the dead, and put an end to mourning and crying, and pain. When Jesus did this and people saw it and experienced it. People took note and those that realized the fullness of what was happening followed and their lives were never the same again. Almost as if they had a rebirth, a 2nd life, where the first had passed away and they were left with only what was now, only the life with Jesus remained. And God, the Father looked down and said...
Revelation 21:5–6 NRSV
5 And 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.” 6 Then 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.
In Jesus Christ, God yet again changed the world, God came and dwelt among his people, all people in hopes that they would see the love that He has for them. Some did, and some didn’t. When Jesus came to make things new and give humanity a fresh start, some took it, and ran with it. They ran towards love and grace, and the hope of something better. Others weren’t ready to accept this love and grace and clung to the old ways. The certainty that was the power and principalities of the world that they knew, that they “controlled”. So instead of turning to Jesus for the answers they instead only questioned. Some questioned openly while others stood by in silent doubt. The questions and doubt lead to death. The death of Jesus on the cross. A death that wasn’t just for this life but a death that would be for the eternal souls of all humanity. A death that wouldn’t be the final act but would be the beginning. A death that would set in motion an opportunity to a new and eternal life for all that would begin with the resurrection.
John goes on to write more about this new heaven and new earth, the new Jerusalem but for us our journey with John ends here for now. It ends and yet at the same times begins. While there is nothing magical about the turning over of a new year, the beginning of a new trip around the sun. It does give us a chance to think about what it means to have a fresh start. While our problems and burdens didn’t disappear on January 1st, we do have the opportunity to off load them on to someone who can carry our burdens with us.
When Jesus came and died and rose again from the grave he did so to offer us an eternal and everlasting new hope. A hope in the future that is now and not yet. The reality is, as you all well know, we don’t live in a perfect world. There is no “new heaven or new earth” as of yet in Longview, Texas. (Some would say Texas is as close to heaven as you get on earth, but I think the jury may still be out on that.) While the physical manifestation of a “new heaven and a new earth” are still to come and we don’t know when or where that may happen. We each have the opportunity to live into this new reality in our hearts and minds.
If we unshackle ourselves from our current reality and live into the reality that no matter what God does love us, wants to give us hope, peace, and joy. If we accept the grace and mercy offered to us we can be a part of this “new heaven and new earth” that is now and not yet, that we know as the Kingdom of God.
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