8/4/13 Revelation 21:1-7 Relationship Restored

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Revelation: The Present Future

Week 4: Relationship Restored

August 4, 2013

 

GETTING THINGS STARTED

·         What’s the biggest change or transition you’ve ever experienced in your life?  Why was it particularly difficult or unexpected or challenging?

·         Why do some people have a tough time with changes?

·         If you could change one thing in your life right now, what would it be—and why?

 

Some people like to say that change is an inevitable part of life.  Sometimes we experience changes that are good, and sometimes we experience changes that are bad or difficult or frustrating.  We’re going to see in today’s lesson that someday, we all have a new reality coming our way.  We’ll experience a changing of our existence.  But it won’t be painful or disappointing or difficult for those of us who are followers of Christ; it will be incredible and amazing and truly awesome.

 

Read Revelation 21:1-7 (nlt)

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.  And the sea was also gone.  2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

 

3I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people.  God Himself will be with them.  4He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever.”

 

5And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!”  And then He said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.”  6And He also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End.  To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.  7All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.”

 

 

This passage should quicken the pace of any Christ-follower.  In Revelation 21, we see God restoring much of His original creative intent.  Babylon the prostitute has been defeated, as have the “beasts,” the “dragon,” and death itself.  In the aftermath, God ushers in a new existence.  A new heaven and a new earth are delivered by God.  As with other passages in Revelation, scholars differ on the exact nature of this new heaven and earth, but one thing is clear: The death, suffering, and tragedy brought about by sin will no longer be a part of this world.  Furthermore, the personal relationship God had with Adam and Eve, a relationship marked by his physical presence with them in fellowship, is restored to all of God’s children.  This should be reason for all Christ-followers to celebrate.

 

Scripture teaches us that we have very real, very personal access to God.  We have the Bible to teach us about God and His character, and God’s actions throughout time.  We really can know God.  We have the Holy Spirit to intercede for us in our prayerful communication with God.  Christ Himself mediates with the Father on our behalf.  Yet there is still a physical distance between us and God.  Unlike Adam and Eve, unless God supernaturally intercedes, we cannot walk and talk with God.  Not now.  But this passage tells us that there is a day coming when this will no longer be true.

 

What an incredible hope all Christ-followers have to look forward to expectantly.  One day, God Himself will dwell among us once again.  We will be in God’s presence for eternity, praying, praising, and worshipping God in heaven.  It’s a message that has the ability to powerfully impact all Christians, including us.

 

 

This is the last lesson in our four-lesson study of Revelation.  As we just read, what we’re looking at is the end of the old order of things.  In this passage, we see God bringing in a new existence.  Let’s take a closer look to learn what this will look like and what it means for us now.

 

 

1. God promises to make all things new

 

  • What are some of the things about the earth’s natural beauty that you value and appreciate the most, and why are they so meaningful to you?
  • Sin, suffering, death, disease, poverty, war—all of these things are a result of sin. None of these elements existed before Adam and Eve sinned back in Genesis.  How does this truth make the “new heaven and new earth” of verse 1 sound?  What would be the most exciting aspect to you?
  • The idea of the new Jerusalem in verse 2 is simply just the dwelling place of Christ-followers forever with God.  Think about the dangers some Christ-followers face.  For Christians who daily risk their lives for their faith, what do you think it means to have a safe dwelling place with God as a promise and a future hope?

 

There is a day coming when we will join God in heaven at the end of our current existence. When we do, it will not be as we are now.  God will create a new existence.  We will be living in a new world, so to speak, where God’s original intent for humanity is restored.

 

 

2. We will no longer be separated from God

 

  • What emotions do you experience when you’re separated from loved ones or close friends?  Why does separation create these feelings?
  • What emotions do you experience when you’re reunited with loved ones or close friends?
  • When Adam and Eve sinned in the book of Genesis, their action created separation from God.  Why is it significant that we’re told in verse 3 that God will make His home with His people and will dwell with them?
  • We have God in us in the form of the Holy Spirit, if we’re followers of Christ.  But how is this different than actually being able to walk with God, to actually be in physical proximity to God?

 

When God brings an end to this flawed, frustrated world, He will bring in a new world where He lives with humanity—among us, dwelling with His people.  Instead of separation from God, we will experience an amazing reunion.  How awesome is that?  It’s so hard for us to comprehend. But we can be confident that it will be a reality.

 

 

3. God promises to remove all suffering

 

  • In verse 4, we learn that God will wipe away our tears, and in verse 6, we see that God will freely give the water of life to all who are thirsty.  If God is going to remove all suffering, what will He replace it with, and why?
  • If your life is basically pain and discomfort free, what does a future with no suffering really mean to you?

 

Think for just a second; let your mind wander a bit.  Think of this world if no one died, if no one got sick, if no one went hungry, if no one was ever abused, if no one ever died in war—what would it be like?  What would it be like with none of these things in our lives?  Heaven will be like this, only much, much better.  It’s an awesome future to look forward to expectantly.

 

 

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION

Philippians 3:17-21 (nlt)

17Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.  18For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. 19They are headed for destruction.  Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. 20But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.  And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.

 

  • Read Philippians 3:17-21.  What do you think it means to be a citizen of heaven, as Paul says in verse 20?
  • Why should Christians eagerly await the return of Jesus, as Paul notes in verse 20?

 

  • How does verse 21 echo some of the ideas we discussed from Revelation 21?

 

 

APPLICATION

  • The passage we have been studying today leads us to an important question: How will this future life predicted by God in His Word affect you today?  Why is this type of question challenging?

 

  • What can you do to allow this type of thought to have room to grow?  How can you let yourself have the time to continue to be moved by the ideas from today’s lesson?

 

  • If you live in an environment where you suffer because of your faith, how can you take strength from the new existence God promises to His children?  If you don’t live in a place where you suffer because of your faith, what are some ways you can still stay focused on the new existence God promises?

 

 

SUMMARY

In the beginning, God created a perfect world, a world where he walked and talked in relationship with Adam and Eve.  There was no suffering, no death, and no disease.  When sin entered the world, God’s relationship with humanity changed.  Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden.  But there is a day coming when God himself will restore both the nature of His original relationship with His children and the original state of creation. God will once again physically dwell with us, His people. Furthermore, God will personally wipe away the tears of suffering.

 

For Keeps [Memory Verse]

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4 NLT).

 

 

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