2011-05-22pm Sermon Revelation 21
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110522pm Rev 21:1-14 Zechariah 4:1-10 Psalm 147:1-12 The readings continue the theme of building the Temple, and this time we look beyond the literal temple that was in Jerusalem, beyond the temple which was the body of Jesus on earth, beyond the temple which is us the church throughout the world, and forward to the the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down from heaven. But it's not a different theme, it's the same theme brought to its culmination: what the temple symbolised, what the incarnation actualised, what the church realises now, is shown in all its glory when everything will be brought to its fulfilment. This is the outworking of the Resurrection. What came to pass when the one man Jesus was raised from the dead is seen here as all people are raised to judgement and to life. Revelation is often thought of as a very difficult book, but the broad sweep of what it says is pretty clear: there is now in this life struggle for believers, many forces ranged against them, but the Lion of Judah, the Lamb that was slain, has triumphed. Everything is brought back to God for his final word of judgement to be pronounced, so that the human race can be brought into what it was made for, to enjoy the love of God for ever. It's an experience of creation (v.1). John is quoting Isa 65:17 and 66:22 (also quoted in 2 Peter 3:13). The way you sometimes here people talk about this, it's as if God started this project called Creation, and then it went wrong and he decided to pull some people out of it and take them away to heaven. This view is reflected in lots of hymns, for example, but it's not the Biblical view. In fact it's more like the view of some early opponents of Christianity, the gnostics. The Biblical view is that in Christ God came to affirm his Creation, to save it, redeem it and make it new. Now we can scarcely begin to imagine what this will be like: we can only speak in terms of space and time, even when we try to say it's 'outside space' and 'beyond time'. But what we can say is that it is the creation that we belong to that God has saved and will bring to this newness. It's an experience of humanity. At the end of the previous chapter, we see the General Resurrection (22:12-14). All people without exception are presented before God. It's hard to imagine how the new creation will have room for all the people that will have ever lived, but there it is! In this chapter they become what they were meant to be, the Holy City, the Bride of Christ. This is what God makes people for! This was his plan before the foundation of the world, that we should be chosen in Christ. From all eternity the Father planned to give the Son this inheritance, so that he would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters. This is how we should see ourselves and other people. It's an experience of God (v.3, 7). I wonder how you envisage what eternal life will be like? It's impossible to imagine. All the ways it's portrayed in art, from the sublime to the ridiculous, are only hints. But what we do know for certain is that at the heart of it all will be God himself. Paul says, Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror (through a glass darkly), then we shall see face to face; now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Cor 13:12). It's an experience of healing (v.4-6). Some people cry easily, others less so, but God knows there are plenty of tears that will need wiping away. Last week Stephen Hawking the renowned scientist was reported in the papers as saying there is no life after death, it's just a fairy tale for people who are afraid of the dark. Now Stephen Hawking does have experience of a lot of suffering, having had MND for nearly 50 years, a disease which is slowly but surely killing him. However, it was interesting that an answer to him was published by Michael Wenham, a retired vicar, who also has MND. He points out that Stephen Hawking as a scientist has no special insight into theology, and also that the hope of resurrection and eternal healing is based on solid evidence and firm theological sense. God doesn't owe us anything, we are just creatures in his hands, but he is love, and his purpose in making us is to bring us to complete joy in his love, in Christ. It's in this context that we must see the apparent exclusions of v.8. There has been a lot of discussion about the subject of hell in recent years, and rightly so. One strong traditional view is that if you accept Jesus you are saved from hell, and if you don't you go to hell: and what is meant by hell is eternal, conscious torment, suffering and punishment. That view has been strongly questioned. What about those who never heard the gospel? What about those who are not able to make conscious decisions? What about people of other religious traditions? Doesn't it mean that the number of the saved is tiny compared with the countless billions in hell? And how can any sin merit such a vast sentence? John Stott, whom I often quote, came out as opposed to this view in a 1988, and so did some other prominent evangelicals – not people who disbelieve the Bible, but who think this may not be the correct understanding of what the Bible teaches. Clearly the lake of fire is an image or metaphor, but what does it stand for? The traditional view says it's the fire of punishment, inflicting pain. Stott and others say it may be the fire of destruction, so that those who finally refuse to be saved cease to exist. Others go further and say it's a fire of purification, from which they may emerge saved. Others go further still and say that God will eventually succeed in bringing all people through the fire of judgement to eternal life. What shall we say? On the one hand, it's hard to imagine how eternal life can be one of boundless joy if you know that in the basement is a prison. On the other hand, those who persistently, wilfully, knowingly and finally refuse Christ and hate everything he stands for can't hold up the party by saying I'm not coming in and you can't enjoy it without me! Personally, I think Stott is right that no one can really seriously believe that the vast majority of people are in endless suffering, and were indeed specifically made so that they could go to hell, without either completely hardening their heart or suffering theological schizophrenia. The Bible very clearly teaches that Christ came to save the world, that he died for the sins of the whole world, that he has destroyed death, that no one deserves eternal life but he has willed freely to give it to us purely by grace. The good news of Christ's death and resurrection is unequivocally good news. The test of everything we say about God is whether it measures up to what we see in Jesus in the Four Gospels. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, is not Yes and No, but in him it has always been Yes. We cannot dogmatically assert that no one will be lost – in each case that is for God alone to determine, and there is surely a real warning here of the danger of missing out – but we can say that the Holy City is made up of redeemed sinners, not saved because we were righteous, not even because we had strong, well informed faith, but with faith no bigger than a mustard seed, because Christ is our righteous representative. So therefore, it's an experience of glory (v.11-14). The city of the Twelve Tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb – Paul speaks in Romans 11 of the full number of the Gentiles coming in and of all Israel being saved, for God has bound all men over to disobedience that he may have mercy on all. In this vision, Jesus has shown John and us what he lived and died and rose again to accomplish, the salvation of the human race, so that we could enjoy him and he could enjoy us for ever. So there is God, creation, humanity, healing and glory. When you really know and feel that life is real and is for ever, and death has been defeated and destroyed, how can you ever be truly miserable again? There is a love and joy and hope in this gospel that should fill our lives, and it's by reading again and again what he has done and what he has in store for the world that we keep fanning the flames of that joy. These images, a glorious city and a beloved bride, speak of the joy of redeemed humanity in God and God's joy in us. Think of the look on the bridegroom's face when his bride enters the church, beautifully adorned. That is the look on the face of Christ in the fulfilment of his kingdom.
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