Title: Until He Returns
Text: Revelation 21:10
But what about now?
We are still in the Easter season. We are still celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Death, what most of us fear most, had no power over Christ. Because of His resurrection, we have hope for the future.
But what about now? What about today? Now that Christ has gone, what do we do now? Once we get off of our Easter high, we will remember that we still live in a suffering world. Once we come down from the mountain and turn our tv’s back on, we will see death again. We see the destruction of families because of our economic struggles. We see the death of animals because of a terrible oil spill. We see the suffering of immigrants who are desperate to provide for their families, causing a political controversy that’s dividing our nation. Christ has risen, but from our view, it still looks as if death has won. As we are called to give our allegiance to Christ, we live in a very real world with many other gods calling our name. Many other gods seeking our obedience and allegiance and it’s very tempting to turn to them instead of God. Our Lord has risen from the dead, but sometimes it seems that his lordship on earth is missing. Has he forgotten us?
It’s in this context that the book of Revelation was written.
Explanation of Revelation
The book of Revelation is probably one of the most intriguing books in the bible. It’s intriguing because of its imagery and its focus on the end times. It’s interesting because, after many years of reading it, we still know very little about what it means. Most American Christians have turned to pop culture to find its interpretation. Books like the Left Behind series have sold millions of copies of the book because people are trying to understand what happens at the end. However, the book is probably as concerned with our devotion to Christ now as our future victory.
At the time of the writing of the book of Revelation, the church is in flux. The Roman authorities are pushing society to “emperor worship” and everyone was to give their allegiance to the emperor. At this time, many are at risk of being persecuted if they choose Christ as Lord over Caesar while others are giving their allegiance to the emperor rather than to Christ.
John, the author of Revelation, is exiled on the Island of Patmos at an old age. There, he received the vision that he described in the book. Throughout, he offers encouragement to the churches to remain faithful until the end because eventually the Lord will return and reign on earth once again.
John’s vision
By the time we get to chapter 21 John has already described much of his vision. He describes a beast that will rise up and demand obedience from everyone, causing Christians to decide who they will be faithful to. Now, John describes when Jesus comes back, a new Jerusalem is build, and God reigns over all on earth.
John says that he was carried away by the Spirit to a high mountain and was showed the Holy city coming down out of heaven from God. He sees no temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are now the temple. He also sees no sun or moon giving light because the glory of the Lord lights the city. He then says that nations and the kings of the earth will flock to this city and bring their glory into it. Also, the gates to this New Jerusalem will never be closed. He then describes the Lamb’s book of life and says that only those whose names are in it can enter and nothing unclean is welcome. He then describes the new city bringing back memories of the garden of Eden as seen in Genesis. He describes a river, crystal clear, coming from the throne of God. Then, there is the tree of life bearing twelve kinds of fruit and leaves on the trees that were to heal the nations. The curse is gone, and the Throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and everyone will serve him. And, those in the city will see the Lord’s face.
This is the description of the new Jerusalem that was revealed to John. Once evil has been destroyed and no longer has power over the earth, this is how the world will function. The Lord God will be seating on his throne and will restore all things.
God’s kingdom on earth
Every Sunday we pray the Lord’s Prayer. In the prayer we ask for God’s kingdom to come on earth in the same way that it is in heaven. We ask God’s will be done “on earth as it is in heaven.” We are boldly asking God to reign on earth. We are asking for the world to look less like what it does now and more like heaven. Less like Eden after the fall and more like the New Jerusalem.
The truth is, as the church we are called to bring God’s kingdom on earth now. That’s our mission. That’s why we feed the poor. That’s why we gather for worship. That’s why we share our faith with others. It’s because we want the earth to look less like the earth after the fall and more like heaven or the New Jerusalem. We are called to be instruments to bring God’s kingdom to earth.
What would it look like?
If God’s kingdom did reign on earth, what would it look like? What would be different? Remember that John is writing to the churches and urging them to remain faithful to Christ and be loyal to him over the emperor. So, one thing that would be different is that everyone would worship the triune God over all other gods. Rev. 21:24 says, “The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” Our world will above all be grounded in the worship of God.
Imagine that. Imagine what our world would look like if everyone’s main priority was the worship of God. Imagine what our world be like if Christian‘s main priority was the worship of God. Worship is important because what you worship is what shapes your life.
Joe Montana
When I was a kid, I was a really big Joe Montana fan. Joe Montana was the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers. Every game that he played I watched. If he had an interview on tv, I watched. If he was doing a commercial tv ad, I watched. And because of this devotion to him, I had a lot of Joe Montana stuff. I had his jersey, a plate with a picture of him in my room, at least 100 Joe Montana football cards, a big poster on my wall, hats, t-shirts, I wore his number during football season, etc. My most prized possession was a card that I sent him and he signed for me and sent it back. I still have a lot of this stuff to this day. Because I spent so much time watching Joe, my room and wardrobe was starting look like him to.
Whatever you fill your mind with is what you worship. As a child, it’s safe to say that I worshipped Joe among other athletes. Also, whatever your worship is what shapes your life. You will act like what you worship. That’s why worshipping God is so important. That’s why Sunday morning is so important for your life. It’s because what you worship shapes your life. What’s most important to you is the king of your life and rules you. Protect Sunday mornings. Don’t allow other things to get in the way. I know that our calendars can be busy and that Sunday is no longer off limits for the secular world. But there comes a point when you have to ask yourself, “Who is Lord of my life?” Who am I going to worship today? What are my priorities?” Imagine a world where the church says no to the world and makes God a priority?
Included
Another characteristic of God’s kingdom is that all are included. Rev. 21:2 says, “Its gates will never be shut by day- and there will be no night there.” The doors of this kingdom are open to all. The gate is always open, just asking people to come in. Are we also an inclusive community? Are our doors opened to everyone? Do we make everyone feel welcome?
In my hometown, there was a church that hired a new youth pastor several years ago. Everyone liked him and the youth group was really growing. However, not long after he was there, he was mysteriously fired. You see, he was reaching out to everyone in the community, regardless of their color. The church was very happy with him when his youth group was growing with white children, but whenever he was reaching out to the black community, people got uncomfortable and fired him. Are our doors opened to everyone? To difference races? To the handicapped? To the poor? In the New Jerusalem the doors are always opened.
God’s kingdom is completely inclusive and everyone is invited. Or are they?
Exclusion
Verse 27 throws us a curveball: “But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
The gates are open to all, but not everyone can enter. Those who are unclean aren’t allowed to come in. There is an exclusive side to God and this hard for us to deal with. Why would a God of love and mercy close the doors on some? Does not the death of Christ on the cross cover the sins of all?
This is an argument that, even after 2000 years, hasn’t been settled yet. Who’s in and who’s out? The truth is we have no idea who’s in and who’s out and it’s not for us to know. Those that can enter, enter only because of the grace of God. Thankfully it’s up to a God and not us. God is a good God, yet, for God to love the good means that he must hate evil. For God to include all people into a sinless kingdom means that he must throw all sinfulness out. God is serious about sin and does not accept it in his kingdom.
This should challenge our understanding of grace. Grace is certainly reaching out to all and all come to Christ only by grace. Yet, once we encounter grace, we will eventually be changed. Through grace and worship, God is trying to form us and bring us back to who we are supposed to be. Because of sin, the image of God has been corrupted. Yet through the gift of grace, we are to become more and more like Christ and the image of God.
This text invites us to take our sin seriously. God doesn’t just overlook sin. God’s grace is free, but it’s not cheap. It costs us our lives.
One of the Protestant critiques of the Catholic Church is their practice of penance and confession. Whenever they sin, they must confess to their priest their sins and do something to pay for their sins. Their salvation isn’t at stake with these sins, but this is a practice to deal with them. Most Protestants don’t like this practice and I think it’s important for us to ask ourselves why. Is it because we don’t agree with it theologically or is it because we don’t like the idea of telling someone our sins? Is it because we don’t like the thought of seriously coming to terms with our sins, being honest about them, and trying to overcome them? God is serious about our sins and we should be to. We should be serious about them because they hurt others, something not tolerated in the New Jerusalem. Sin separates us from the community and it separates us from God. Sin isn’t something to be overlooked but to be dealt with.
God’s kingdom on earth will be a place of worship and honesty. A place where the doors are open to all. May the church help create that place on earth.
Living in the not-yet
We believe in the New Jerusalem. We see the blue prints. But we are aware that it’s not here yet. We see glimpses of it every now and then, but it seems that there’s more darkness in our world than light. So, as this New Jerusalem is created, we must sit with our hard hats on and make the best of our situation.
Wallace-Wade renovations
Within the last week, the athletic department at Duke University announced that they will be renovating Wallace-Wade stadium, the home of Duke football. If you follow college football at all, you probably know that Duke has been one of the worst teams over the last 15 years. Also, Duke’s football stadium regularly ranks last in the ACC in regard to its quality. Without a doubt a renovation is much needed. However, whenever you have a building project you don’t just go out and start building. You must raise the money. Then you have to find a contractor. Then they begin to build. And as they build, things can get a little messy. They have to bring in the bulldozers, tear down the old buildings. Then as you are waiting for a new building, you must suffer through the construction. We know that eventually a new stadium is coming, but right now the place looks like a mess.
This is where we are. We know that a new kingdom is coming. But it’s not here yet. All that we can do is suffer through it wearing our hard hats and get to work to try to make God’s kingdom come “on earth as it is in heaven.” In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen
