1. "Progress is only as good as what it's heading toward. If you're heading toward a cliff, progress is the opposite of what you want. You want to find the brakes and then the reverse."

2. "Our desires for progress are driven by yearnings for something better. Yearning for this world to be free from the mars of sin and the scars of suffering. And every desire for progress, even ones that are distorted or twisted, contain some seed of good."

3. "Despair is only valid if God is dead. Despair is only valid if there's no God here to keep these promises. But instead, as long as God lives, hope lives. Because hope is anchored in God's unshakable future."

4. "God created us empty so he could fill us. God created us empty so we would long for him and be satisfied by Him. At the very bottom of our souls, we crave what only God can give."

5. "There is no temple because God is the temple. We won't need a place for God to dwell because God will be the place where we dwell. As Austin Ferrer put it, God is temple to the city and the city is temple to God."

6. "The priest carried on his chest glory salvaged from the ruin of Eden. Twelve gems for twelve tribes, each a precious jewel in God's sight. Those gemstones on his breastplate formed a square four by three, just like the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The priest carried on his chest a blueprint of the new creation."

7. "We won't just see a greater glory than what was lost in Eden. We will become a greater glory than what was lost in Eden. It'll get into us. It'll irradiate us. It'll shine back out from us."

8. "The beatific vision will satisfy desires in your soul because that nothing else ever will. The beatific vision will fill you and still you and hold you enraptured like no earthly delight can."

9. "To be a Christian is to have your heart captured by a land that you've never seen, because your heart is captured by a king, a father, a savior, whom you love, though you've never seen him."

10. "This final vision of the Book of Revelation is a map. But it's not a map to a land any of us has loved and lost. It's a map to a land that none of us yet loves as we should. It's a map of our home."

Observation Questions

1. In Revelation 21:1, what specific things does John see, and what does he note is "no more"?

2. Look at Revelation 21:3-4. What promises does the voice from the throne make, and how are they connected to earlier biblical covenants?

3. In Revelation 21:6, what invitation does God give, and what specific words does He use to describe Himself?

4. Examine Revelation 21:22-23. What is notably absent from the city, and why does John say it isn't needed?

5. In Revelation 21:18-21, what materials make up the city? What might the significance of these precious stones be?

6. Looking at Revelation 22:1-2, describe the key features of the river and tree of life. What Old Testament passages do these remind you of?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why does the sermon suggest that mere human progress can never achieve what Revelation 21-22 describes? How does this passage challenge modern ideas of progress?

2. The city is described as a perfect cube (Revelation 21:16). How does this connect to the Old Testament temple, and what theological significance might this have?

3. What is the significance of God wiping away every tear personally (Revelation 21:4) rather than simply declaring tears to be gone?

4. How does the imagery of precious stones in this passage connect to both Eden and the high priest's breastplate? What story does this tell about God's redemptive plan?

5. Why is seeing God's face (Revelation 22:4) presented as the ultimate fulfillment of human existence? How does this relate to other biblical passages about seeing God?

Application Questions

1. When did you last find yourself putting hope in human progress or solutions? How does this passage reshape your perspective on where true hope lies?

2. What specific tear would you most long for God to wipe away? How does the promise that He will do this personally speak to your current struggles?

3. The sermon speaks of being "empty vessels" created to be filled by God. Where are you currently trying to find satisfaction apart from God?

4. How does knowing that you will one day be like a precious stone reflecting God's glory change how you view your current spiritual growth?

5. What aspect of seeing God face to face most captivates your imagination? How might this shape your worship and daily walk with God now?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Isaiah 35:1-10 - See how this prophetic vision of restoration and joy finds its ultimate fulfillment in Revelation's new creation.

2. Romans 8:18-25 - Explore how present suffering relates to future glory and how all creation awaits final redemption.

3. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 - Consider how our present limited knowledge of God relates to the promise of seeing Him face to face.

4. Exodus 28:15-21, 29 - Examine how the high priest's breastplate prefigured God's people becoming precious stones in the new creation.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Cultural Myth of Progress and Yearning for a Better World (Revelation 21:1–22:5)

II. Newness: The Reversal of the Fall and the Promise of All Things New (Revelation 21:1–5)

III. Security: God’s Trustworthy Promises and the Perfectly Safe World to Come (Revelation 21:5–6, 12–17, 25)

IV. Satisfaction: The Fulfillment of Our Deepest Thirst in God (Revelation 21:6)

V. Intimacy: Face-to-Face Fellowship with God as Our Covenant Promise (Revelation 21:2–3, 9, 22)

VI. Holiness: The Exclusion of Evil and the Radiant Purity of the New Creation (Revelation 21:8, 16, 27)

VII. Glory: Divine Light, Human Surrender, and the Beauty of God’s People (Revelation 21:11, 18–21, 23–26)

VIII. Life: Eternal Sustenance, Healing, and the Beatific Vision (Revelation 22:1–5)

IX. The New Creation as Our True Home and Final Hope

---

Detailed Sermon Outline

• 1. Modern ideals of progress (technological, moral, personal) reflect a desire for a better world.
• 1. The problem: Progress is only as good as its goal, which humanity cannot define or achieve.

• 1. Revelation 21:1–22:5 is the pinnacle of biblical hope, revealing God’s ultimate restoration.
• 1. Contrasts human striving with divine fulfillment.

• 1. A new heaven and earth replace the old order (Revelation 21:1).
• 1. The sea—symbolizing chaos—is abolished, signaling eternal peace.

• 1. God’s personal act: Wiping away every tear (Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 35:10).
• 1. Death, mourning, and pain are eradicated as consequences of sin (Genesis 3).

• 1. “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5).
• 1. Hope is anchored in God’s sovereignty, not human effort.

• 1. God’s promises are “trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:5).
• 1. His eternal nature (“Alpha and Omega”) guarantees fulfillment (Revelation 21:6).

• 1. Symbolism of walls and gates: Protection and inclusion (Revelation 21:12–14).
• 1. Open gates signify no threat of evil (Revelation 21:25; Zechariah 2:1–4).

• 1. God satisfies spiritual thirst through Himself (Revelation 21:6).
• 1. A free gift, purchased by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.

• 1. Earthly desires point to a deeper need for God.
• 1. Only Christ can fulfill what temporary pursuits cannot.

• 1. “God will dwell with them, and they will be His people” (Revelation 21:3).
• 1. Fulfillment of Exodus 6:7 and Jeremiah 31:33.

• 1. The church as Christ’s purified bride (Revelation 21:2, 9).
• 1. Eternal union with Christ surpasses earthly marriage.

• 1. No temple is needed because God’s presence is universal (Revelation 21:22).

• 1. Exclusion of the wicked (Revelation 21:8, 27).
• 1. Only those in the Lamb’s Book of Life inherit the new creation.

• 1. The city’s cube shape mirrors the Most Holy Place (1 Kings 6:20).
• 1. The entire creation becomes sacred space.

• 1. No sun or moon—God’s glory illuminates all (Revelation 21:23).

• 1. Kings surrender their glory to God (Revelation 21:24, 26).

• 1. Precious stones symbolize God’s people as Edenic treasures (Exodus 28:17–20).
• 1. Believers reflect God’s glory as radiant jewels.

• 1. The river flows from God’s throne, offering eternal sustenance (Revelation 22:1).
• 1. The Tree of Life heals the nations (Revelation 22:2; Genesis 3:22–24).

• 1. Seeing God’s face fulfills humanity’s ultimate purpose (Revelation 22:4).
• 1. Eternal worship and joy in God’s presence.

• 1. The vision of Revelation is a “map” to a home we long for by faith.

• 1. Cultivate holiness and hope as we await the new creation.

• 1. A plea for perseverance and anticipation of seeing God’s face.

Progress. We all want it. It's a word that shines up whatever it touches. Technological progress. Economic progress.

Progress toward a more just and equitable world. After all, what does progress mean? Going forward. What's its opposite? Going backward.

And who wants that? Far better to be progressive than regressive, right? So modern people worry about being on the wrong side of history. If history is going this way, I don't want to go the opposite way. Progress is the defining myth of the modern world.

It is the story our whole culture tells itself about itself. The biggest problem with progress is, what's the goal? Progress is only as good as what it's heading toward. If you're heading toward a cliff, progress is the opposite of what you want. You want to find the brakes and then the reverse.

What kind of progress Do you crave moral progress toward justice, toward a better world, not just for you but for everybody? What about progress in your career, your status, your accounts? What about progress in personal growth, whether physical, mental, emotional, spiritual? What propels the desire for progress? Is ultimately the yearning for a better world.

Not just for a better life, but for a better earth. Our desires for progress are driven by yearnings for something better. Yearning for this world to be free from the mars of sin and the scars of suffering. And every desire for progress, even ones that are distorted or twisted, contains some seed of good. We all strive for some better world.

We all have desires that in some way reach beyond what we can see and experience right here, right now. This morning we come to Revelation 21:1-22:5, our second to last sermon in the series. It starts on page 1041 of the Pew Bibles. Even though this is the second to last passage, it's really the climax of the book of Revelation. And it's the climax of the whole Bible.

It is a stunningly glorious passage. We should not pick favorites or play favorites in Scripture, but really, if you have to, this is the greatest passage in the Bible. Okay, if you wanna put Romans 8 up against the next to it, fine, fine, fine. Romans 8 is kind of this reality scene from our side now. Revelation 21 is seeing it from what it's going to be like then.

So, sure, pair it even tie with Romans chapter 8. Greatest passage in the Bible. In this passage, we will discover that there is a better world coming, but it's not one we arrive at through human striving for progress. Please follow along as I read the whole passage. Revelation 21:1-22:5.

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

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. 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.

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.' and 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 from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. But as 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 sulfur, which is the second death.

Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed, on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had had 12 foundations, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.

And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod at 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement.

The wall was built of jasper while the city was pure gold like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third a gate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth sardonyx, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth jacinth, the tenth agate, the eleventh amethyst, the twelfth sapphire, the thirteenth jasper, the fourteenth beryl, the fifteenth onyx, the sixteenth Carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst, and the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold like transparent glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day, and there will be no night.

They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city.

Also on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

Here's the main point of our passage in one sentence: God promises not the progress of this world, but the perfection of the world to come. God promises not the progress of this world, but the perfection of the world to come. This perfection comes not in this world by human effort, but as the next world. By God's gift.

Because this passage is a single unified vision, we're simply going to turn the diamond to see its different facets. I'll walk us through it roughly in order, but I'll pull together material that's topically arranged. Ultimately, desire for progress reveals a yearning for perfection. Desire for progress is a clue to a far greater desire which will have a far greater fulfillment. So here's a question to guide our meditation as we walk through the passage.

What will it be like when God satisfies every good desire you've ever had? What will it be like when God satisfies every good desire you've ever had? We'll see seven answers to that question in our passage. Point one, newness. Newness.

We see this newness in the first five verses of chapter 21. This newness is a reversal of all of the conditions of the fall and of the curse. It's everything that has gone wrong since Genesis chapter three being undone and transformed. It's the end of sin, the end of suffering, the end of sadness, and the end of our estrangement. From God.

Look again at verse 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. Heaven is our immediate hope and the new creation is our ultimate hope. This is the whole universe made right forever. The final state we as Christians look forward to is not an ethereal, bodyless existence.

Instead, it's everything good about this world purified.

And glorified and made permanent. Verse 2, and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. We'll see throughout this chapter and change that the holy city is a metaphor for both God's people and God's place. It symbolizes both the dwelling and those who dwell in it. More on that soon.

But for now the point is simple, the long awaited wedding has come. We've been made ready and we're about to be given away. Verse three, 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. This is an ancient promise.

What's new is the perfect fulfillment. This is a new intimacy, a new presence, a new unending friendship with God. He'll be ours, we'll be his, forever. And because of that, verse four will come true. 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. Everything that ruins this life will be gone. Everything that ends this life will be gone. Everything that robs joy and brings fear will be gone.

Name anything at all that makes your life worse. Name anything at all that makes your life hurt, whether now or the memory of it. Every single one of those God will banish forever. They'll all die like death itself. That's what's coming when God fulfills this promise.

And note the personal touch. God won't just do this in some general, grand, sweeping, stadium-sized gesture. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. He will get close enough to touch each face, to dry each cheek of each of his beloved children. Our passage echoes many passages from the prophet Isaiah, including the part of chapter 65 that Dinah read a few minutes ago.

Verse four particularly echoes Isaiah 3510. And since we're indulging in some Bible favorites this morning, I'm just going to let you know, Isaiah 35:10 might be my favorite verse in the Bible.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. They shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

The last century plus have seen so many grand schemes to try to improve the human condition. So many that have utterly failed. One reason they've utterly failed is that they can only address the symptoms of the symptoms of our deepest problems.

Look at verse 4. Death, mourning, crying, pain. What scheme to improve humanity can get rid of death, mourning, crying, pain? No matter how much you try to improve and ameliorate the conditions of human existence, what are you going to do about death, mourning, crying, pain? Pain.

How can this promise come true? No human being can do it, no earthly scheme can do it, no political power can do it. How can someone come to banish death, mourning, crying, pain? It's because Jesus came into this world and bore all those things himself, death, mourning, crying, pain. All these sad realities are results of God's curse against our sin.

They're consequences of God's punishment that we deserve, his judicial displeasure against our rebellion against him. This is the condition we all suffer under because Adam and Eve sinned and all of us have sinned ever since. The deepest cause of all our problems is sin and God's righteous curse against it. Jesus came to bear the curse. Jesus came to take away our sin.

Jesus, as Paul says, became a curse for us. So now there's no more curse left for all who trust in Christ. He suffered that curse in his death. He triumphed over that curse in his resurrection. And now he calls all people to trust in him as the only possible savior from death.

Mourning, crying, pain. If you want release from those, if you want a future without any hint of those, repent of sin and trust in Jesus. Only he can make all things new. Verse 5 summarizes this whole set of promises. It states the thesis of the whole vision.

And he who is seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. Everything, nothing old will be left. No scent of death, no stain of sin, nothing to take away from the perfect joy of all of God's people rejoicing in God forever. Some of you are news junkies. Some of you, I understand, have jobs that depend on staying up to the second with the latest tiny fluctuations of the the political wind is blowing.

But some of you are news junkies and your job doesn't depend on it. I suppose for you it is perhaps a form of entertainment, relaxation.

Watching that endless stream of doom tick by just somehow calms you down.

I confess that I try to consume as little news as possible while still maintaining a basic awareness of what's going on here politically, what's happening in our nation, what's going on around the world, but I try to get as little as possible.

The news is called news because it's what's new, right? But of course, what's in the news is always same old, same old. Same old human condition, same old sins, same old struggles, same old death, mourning, crying pain. Why do we crave what's new? Why do you habitually check the news even if your job doesn't depend on it?

Because we want change or at least distraction and escape from the pain and boredom and suffering of the present. You compulsively check the news because you want something good from the future to puncture your present.

One day, if you're in Christ, something good from the future will puncture your present and make it perfect forever. That will be really news.

No matter how dark your life gets, don't despair. Don't give up hope in God's promises because who's the one making all things new? Not you, not me, but God, the one who was seated on the throne. If you're supposed to make all things new, then yes, please, despair quickly.

You can't, we can't, we won't, we shouldn't. But God can and God will. Despair claims a false knowledge. It claims knowledge you can't possibly have. Despair claims things can't get better.

Things won't get better. Despair claims things can't change.

Despair claims this world is going to stay the same. Despair claims my life is only going to be this bad or worse. But you can't know that. Despair is only valid if God is dead. Despair is only valid if there's no God here to keep these promises.

But instead, as long as God lives, hope lives because hope is anchored in God's unshakable future.

Which brings us to point two: security, security. I mean this in two senses, one present, one future. We see the first sense in chapter 21, verses 5 and 6, also verses 15 to 17.

We see the second sense in chapter 21, verses 12 to 14, also verse 25. The first sense of security, secure words, secure words, meaning these promises we've just been hearing are staggering. They're too good to be true, right? Fantasy, science fiction, utopianism, wishful thinking, opium for the masses.

A promise is only as good as the one making it. Which means a promise is every bit as good as the one making it. God's promises are secure words because of his perfect character and perfect power. That's what he declares in the second half of verse five, first half of verse six. 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. And he said to me, it is done. I'm the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The trustworthiness of God's words is rooted in the infinite perfection of his being and character. When he says, it is done, it is a perfect assurance ahead of time that it will be.

And this assurance is rooted in God's character as the first He's the creator and the source. And as the last, he's the sovereign and goal of all things. Then in verses 15 to 17, we get a further picture of security. John sees an angel measuring the city that's going to come down from God out of heaven. Why this act of measuring?

It echoes earlier prophecy. In the first four verses of Zechariah chapter two, a prophetic act of measuring is an assurance that Jerusalem, which is now in ruins, is going to be rebuilt. Now, this passage also promises security in another sense, not just secure words now that are surely going to be fulfilled, but a perfectly secure world then, a secure world. Look at verses 12 to 14. It had a great high wall with 12 gates and at the gates 12 angels.

And on the gates, the names of the 12 tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed. On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. In ancient cities, walls were for security. They kept invading armies out.

So these high, thick walls are a sign of the New Jerusalem's perfect safety, perfect security. Not only that, but look whose names are on the walls. Each of the 12 tribes of Israel is written on the gates, each of the 12 apostles written on the foundations. This picture is the fullness of all of God's people throughout history. If you belong to God, you'll be there.

If Jesus has purchased you, you'll make it. You will be forever secure in this perfectly secure city. Another feature of ancient cities that brought security was gates. They'd be let down so people could travel and go farm and have commerce and then they'd be closed for any protection. Look at verse 25.

And its gates will never be shut by day and there will be no night there. Again, in the ancient world, city gates would be shut to protect residents. They'd be shut by day in the case of a threat or an invasion and they'd be routinely shut at night so people could sleep secure. Now, nothing harmful will come by day, and there will be no night. There will be no need whatsoever for these gates to be shut.

No dark corners for threats to hide in, no cover of darkness for evil to take place in, no harm, no evil, no threat of harm or evil, no possibility for the conditions of the existence of harm or evil. Point number three, satisfaction. Satisfaction. We see this in the second part of verse 6. It's implicit throughout our passage, comes to the surface in verse 6.

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. When's the last time you were really, really thirsty? A few days ago I got to go on a walk with Matt Tyler, a former intern here who pastors with workers we support in Southeast Asia. Matt and I were visiting a desert city in the southwestern United States that sits at over a mile high. Matt, the day before our walk, had gone on a 10 mile hike up and down a mountain and he ran out of water halfway.

I was getting parched just strolling to Starbucks. I don't recall the exact details of what, you know, good Samaritan Matt was able to borrow water from, how he finally got, but you know, he was fine. He was a little sore, but he was not apparently dehydrated or anything like that. Meanwhile, unknown to me, I was coming down with strep throat. Oh well.

Don't worry, I'm better now. Past contagious stage, et cetera. What's thirst? Thirst is a sign of a deep and urgent need. It's your body letting you know that it needs something immediately.

Thirst is a sign that your body's not gonna keep going on its own. It's a sign that presses in on your attention, your feelings, your thoughts. When you get thirsty enough, it's hard to focus on anything else. Here in this verse, God uses thirst to stand for all our deepest needs as creatures. We are by nature empty.

We exist to be filled. And not just filled biologically by food or water. Those physical needs are pointers to a deeper need. God created us empty so he could fill us. God created us empty so we would long for him and be filled and satisfied by him.

At the very bottom of our souls, we crave what only God can give. We crave God himself.

The spring of the water of life here in verse six is God himself. The water he gives is God himself. And the one who qualifies you to drink is God himself. What does this water cost you? Nothing.

Without payment. This is another picture of the gospel. God himself provides your greatest need at no cost to you. The only cost came to the one who cried out on the cross, I thirst. If you're not a believer in Jesus, what do you thirst for?

What do your deepest urges relentlessly drive you toward? What do you yearn for so much that it feels like an all-encompassing need?

If you got to drink from that fountain, whatever it is, would it be good for you?

Would it satisfy?

Point number four, intimacy. What will it be like? When God satisfies every good desire you've ever had. Point four, intimacy, meaning a relationship of perfect face-to-face intimacy with God. This is one of the key themes of the whole passage.

We see it again and again and it shows up in three main ways, three main images. Number one, the covenant formula. This is a promise God makes to his people repeatedly throughout Scripture. It's the essence of his promises in both the Old and the New Testaments. I will be their God and they will be my people.

Look again at verse 3. 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. And then down in verse 7. The one who conquers will have this heritage and I will be his God.

And he will be my son. When God says son here, he means heir, one who inherits all that God has stored up by his word of promise. And the chief good God has stored up is himself. The ultimate purpose of this covenant formula is union. It's like the form of the wedding vows between God and his people.

Fellowship, communion, friendship. Belonging to God in the presence of God forever. That is the goal of God's entire plan of creation and salvation. And this is also the point of the image of God's people as the bride of the Lamb, the wife of our Savior. That's the second image in this section, the bride of the Lamb.

Looking again at verse two. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Then again in verse nine, Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues, and spoke to me saying, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. In this life, we who trust in Christ are engaged to Christ. We've committed ourselves to Him, we've pledged our loyalty to Him in baptism, and altogether in the Lord's Supper, we regularly dine together on an hors d'oeuvre.

Of the marriage supper of the Lamb that is to come. But only in the new creation will we be married. Only in the new creation will our union with Christ be consummated. On that day, everyone who trusts in Christ will experience an intimacy with Christ so profound that marriage is only a shadow of it. The third image for our intimacy with God in this passage is the missing temple.

Or rather, the everything temple. It's both at once. There is no temple because everywhere is the temple. We'll see more on this later, but for now, look at verse 22. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb.

There is no temple because God is the temple. We won't need a place for God to dwell because God will be the place where we dwell.

As Austin Farrer put it, God is temple to the city and the city is temple to God. There is no temple because the new creation is the everything everywhere temple. What the restricted access temple of the old covenant was in teeny tiny part, the new creation is everywhere. It's a place of perfect intimacy with God.

What does Jesus want for you? He wants to give you this intimate face to face fellowship with himself. We hear this in his prayer in the last night before his death in John 17:24. Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me. Because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Here's how the Puritans, Thomas Goodwin, meditated on those words in a way that deeply fits our passage. He's imagining Christ unpacking his own prayer.

The truth is, I cannot live without you. I shall never be quiet until I have you where I am, so that we may never part again. That is the reason of it. Heaven shall not hold me, nor my Father's company, if I have not you with me, My heart is so set upon youn, and if I have any glory, you shall have part of it.

Point number five, holiness, holiness. What will it be like when God satisfies every good desire you've ever had?

Perfect holiness all around and perfect holiness within. We see this especially in chapter 1, verses 8, 16, 22, 27. Verse 8 is a sobering warning. It's a reminder that this vision of the new creation is not for everyone. It is not a blanket provision that will obtain for absolutely every human being.

Instead, this promise, this vision is for those and only those who trust in Christ and whose lives prove it. Verse 8, But as 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 sulfur, which is the second death. Similarly, down in verse 27, But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. We do not gain admission to the new creation because of our holiness, but only those who are holy will obtain the new creation. The faith that justifies transforms.

The faith that saves works. All those who are in the Lamb's Book of Life will demonstrate that fact by their righteous deeds that get recorded in God's other books. As we just saw in verse 22, the whole new creation is a temple. There's no divide between sacred and profane. It's all sacred.

It's all perfectly pure and perfectly saturated with God's holy presence. We get another clue to this. How the whole new creation is a temple in verse 16, when we learn about the measurements that the angel took. It says, the city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.

Its length and width and height are equal. The first thing we need to notice is that this city is massive. 12,000 stadia is almost 1,500 miles. So this city would fill the entire Mediterranean basin. This city would fill half of North America.

It's impossibly vast. The point is it has room enough for all God's people. But we also need to notice another detail of this city vision and remember it's symbolic. That is, the city is a cube. Its length and width and height are equal.

Why would this city be a cube? Not because God is a bizarro modern architect with no concern for how real people actually live. Instead, the cube dimensions are a symbol. They send a clear scriptural signal. The only other cube in Scripture is the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and the temple.

For instance, 1 Kings 6:20 describing the building of Solomon's temple, the inner sanctuary was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high, length, width, height. And he overlaid it with pure gold. The point of the image is the whole new creation is the Holy of Holies. What was restricted to the most sacred space, the most guarded, the most limited is now everywhere. The whole thing is the Holy of Holies.

And that's why the gold is significant too. In this temple city, like the Holy of Holies laid in gold, now gold's everywhere. Verse 21, and the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold.

Was pure gold like transparent glass. The point is that the whole city is entirely holy. Do you desire holiness? Do you desire to be like God for God's sake? Do you desire to resemble God so as to delight in God?

And glorify God. Do you desire that everything in your life that is against God be removed and purified so that your life is more pleasing to God? As we read earlier from Matthew 5, do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Only those who do now will dwell in the New Jerusalem then. So what should you do now?

Delight in holiness, Desire holiness, cultivate holiness, pursue holiness above everything that competes with it. Above success, above entertainment, above wealth, above status, above approval, above ease and comfort. Point number six, glory, glory. Glory without and glory within. We could equally say beauty, beauty in all you see and beauty in every part of everyone doing the seeing.

All earthly glory reflects the Son's glory. Turn off the Son's glory and we would see nothing at all. No sun, no moon, no stars, no no glory, no sun, no beauty. So what happens in the new creation? Look at chapter 21, verse 23.

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. We'll see no sun in glory land. No sun, but that doesn't mean no glory. Just the opposite. In full sunlight, a candle's flame disappears.

The new creation won't have a sun because it won't need it. God will be all the light we need. The Lamb will be our light and life forever. We will see the glory of the new creation by the light of the glory of of God, glory lit and seen by glory, glory shining on glory, glory all the way down. Another glory we see in this passage is the glory of human authority totally submitted to God.

Throughout the book of Revelation, the kings of the earth consistently rebel against God. They refuse to repent even when God's judgment shakes the earth to its foundations. But this vision of the new creation shows us that ultimately, There will be earthly rulers who gladly give their glory back to God. Look at verses 24 and 26.

By its light will the nations walk and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. The point of these verses is not that any particular human cultural achievement will persist into and thereby enrich the new creation. As D.A. Carson has said, to read the passage that way is to make an apocalyptic image walk on all fours.

Instead, the point is simply that human glory will be there. Glory perfectly surrendered to God's greater glory. But there's yet another kind of glory in this city. It's the glory that radiates from all of God's redeemed.

People. And to see it, we have to go on a bit of a textual journey. We need to trace out a series of references to adornment and precious stones in our passage. Look first at verse 2: and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Remember, the New Jerusalem is both people and place.

Both dwelling and those who dwell there. That's how the city itself can be called a bride. So then when the gemstones, the radiance, the glory of the city are described, it's not merely the place's glory that's being described, but the people's glory. This is the adornment with which God will beautify his people. The adornment is beauty, it's glory.

On that day, all of God's people will be like a bride on her wedding day. But what is the glory and where does it come from? Next, we have to look at verse 11. Similar vision of the bride coming down from heaven, from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper clear as crystal, having the glory of God. There is a sense in which God does not share his glory with another.

There is a unique glory that belongs only to him of worship, of absolute devotion pertaining to the unique divine nature. That can't be shared with anyone who is not God. But there's also another sense of glory, of beauty, radiance, fullness that the whole point of God's work of creation is to share, to grant creatures to participate in. Creatures can share in that glory. Plenty of other scriptural passages teach this.

Romans 8:30, those whom he justified, he also glorified. 1 Corinthians 2:7, But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. So this city bride is radiant with God's own glory. The glory that he created us to be saturated with, the glory that fulfills creation's purpose and our heart's greatest longings. This glory is described as a most rare jewel, like Jasper.

Back in Revelation 4:3, God himself seated on his throne has the appearance of Jasper. Now the bride, symbolized as the city, glimmers with the glory of God's own Gemstone. Believe it or not, there's more I would love to tell you about the Jasper if only I had time. I am serious. There is Jasper material on the cutting room floor.

Feel free to ask me at the door. But we have other gemstones we have to pay attention to. 12 of them, in fact. Look at verses 18 to 20. John is revealing the materials of the city's walls and foundations, not brick or stone, not wood or cement, instead their precious stones.

The wall was built of Jasper while the city was pure gold like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was Jasper, the second sapphire, the third a gate, the fourth emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz. The 10th chryso-praise, the 11th Jason, the 12th amethyst. Why 12?

Again, to symbolize the fullness of God's people, like the 12 tribes of Israel or the 12 apostles. Why represent them as precious stones? To show that God's people themselves have become radiant and glorious. Our destiny is at once to behold glory and become glorious. To grasp something of the fullness of this point, we need to recall two previous lists of precious stones earlier in Scripture.

The first is in Ezekiel 28, where the king of Tyre is said to have been in the Garden of Eden, covered with every precious stone. It's a kind of metaphorical description of the glory he had. Verse 13 lists nine precious stones that were said to be in Eden. That reference in turn is based on Genesis 2:12 which says that a river flowed out of Eden. It watered a land where bedelium and onyx stones were, precious stones in the neighborhood of Eden.

In other words, those precious stones are one of the treasures and the delights of Eden. The other significant Old Testament list of precious stones is in Exodus 28:17-20. Which describes the breastplate that Aaron and all the succeeding high priests were supposed to wear. It was set with four rows of three stones each, 12, just like the foundation stones in our passage. And the list strikingly overlaps with what Ezekiel says was found in Eden.

So we find precious stones in Eden, that are picked up and put on the priest's breastplate and that show up in the New Jerusalem. From Eden to the priest to the New Jerusalem. What's the point?

The priest carried on his chest glory salvaged from the ruin of Eden.

12 Gems for 12 tribes, each a precious jewel in God's sight. Those gemstones on his breastplate formed a square, four by three, just like the foundation of the New Jerusalem. The priest carried on his chest a blueprint of the new creation.

Every part of God's plan of redemption contains a microcosm of the whole. God knew what he was doing all along when he put those gemstones in Eden, when he put them on the high priest's breastplate. He was saying, Those treasures that were lost in the fall are gonna be redeemed, carried, and brought to me in glory. And that's each one of you who trust in Christ. Each one of you who trust in Christ are those treasures lost in the fall, ruined, rescued, carried on the high priest's chest, and brought into God's presence forever.

When you look to Eden, when you look to the priest's breastplate, you can sing, my name is written on his hands. My name is written on his heart. God isn't just ushering us into a city made of glorious gemstones, he's making each of us into a glorious gemstone. We won't just see a greater glory than what was lost in Eden, we will become a greater glory than what was lost in Eden. It'll get into us, it'll irradiate us, it'll shine back out from us.

In the new creation, God's people and place will both be glorious, reflecting each other's glory in an endlessly escalating spiral of glory. What desire will that satisfy? It's the desire named so well by C.S. Lewis in his profound essay, the Weight of Glory.

We do not want merely to see beauty, though God knows even that is bountiful enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words: to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.

Point number seven, life.

What will it be like when God satisfies every good desire you've ever had? Life, pure life, perfect life, fullness of life, nothing but life, eternal life. That's the keynote in the last five verses of our passage, chapter 22, verses 1 to 5.

These verses raise the question, what is it about the new creation that makes it the perfection and the fullness of life? Let that question linger in your mind as I read these five verses.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more.

They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

In verse 1, the river flowing from God's throne symbolizes the fact that God himself is the infinite fullness of life. The river, a spring, a source of life. Where is it coming from? It's coming from God. In the new creation, God will abundantly grant us his redeemed people to drink from his infinite fullness.

He will always perfectly sustain our lives. Because he is the unbounded fullness of life, all who drink from him will live abundantly forever. When verse 2 says that the tree of life grew on either side of the river, it's not picturing one tree that somehow straddles the river but a grove, like we would say oak grew on both riverbanks. The tree of life was denied to Adam and Eve after they sinned. If they had obeyed, they would have eaten it and lived forever.

Now, all those who conquer by faith in Christ eat of this tree. This includes people from every nation, as verse two says, its leaves are for the healing of the nations. This healing is a perfect, permanent cure. There is no strep throat in the new creation. There is no far worse diseases in the new creation.

Nothing at all that could hinder our life in the least. Will be there. The tree of life takes care of all diseases once and for all.

When our daughter Lucy was about four years old, she painted a picture of this verse inspired by the illustrations in the Big Picture Story Bible. I kept it safe and flat, brought it back from Cambridge here to DC. A few months after we moved, I had it framed. It's hung in my office ever since, right above the couch. The painting is of two delightfully multicolored T-shaped trees in front of a double throne for God and the Lamb.

I think part of the reason that Lucy's picture appeals so powerfully to me Part of the reason this verse speaks so powerfully, the reason the whole vision speaks so powerfully is that it makes our hope tangible. It presents it to our senses right now. You can hear the crystalline river flowing. You can taste the fruit of the tree of life. You can feel the healing tingle of the leaves on your tongue.

It is hard to imagine that there is a world this good coming. It's even harder to believe it. And so what this vision does, what this concrete sensory imagery does, the river, the tree, the fruit, the leaves, it holds it right before your senses so that by faith you can sense it now.

And if you have faith in Christ, one day you won't need faith anymore to experience this with all your senses. What makes this city a perfect fullness of life is God himself. God himself giving us himself in all the fullness we can bear. Verse 3 again tells us that nothing of Genesis 3's curse will remain. Instead, we'll worship him in perfect intimacy.

And then comes the climax in verse 4.

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. This is the blessing of blessings. This is the fullest fullness. This is what makes heaven heaven. This is what makes eternal life life.

Theologians call this the beatific vision. Normally, I would not trot out a theological term right at the high point of a sermon. But one time I taught a seminary class at an institution devoted to equipping people to give God the most glory by us being the most satisfied in him. These were graduating students and they'd never even heard of the beatific vision. Now they knew the concept but it's a helpful phrase.

Beatific vision, what does it mean? It's from a Latin word meaning beatific means makes you happy. The happy making vision, the sight of God that will satisfy your soul forever. Pretty good substance for a doctrine. Pretty worthwhile technical term.

The sight of God that will make you perfectly happy forever. The beatific vision will satisfy desires in your soul that nothing else ever will. The beatific vision will fill you and still you and hold you enraptured like no earthly delight can. It's the high point of the vision, the high point of Revelation, the high point of the Bible, and the goal of all creation. The beatific vision is the infinite strength magnet that alone can perfectly hold your heart and perfectly hold you together with God forever.

Attaining the beatific vision is the supreme point of your existence. Existence. I love how Augustine put it. He shall be the end of our desires, who shall be seen without end, loved without loathing, praised without weariness. This outgoing of affection, this employment shall certainly be like eternal life itself, common to all.

There we shall rest and see See and love, love and praise. This is what shall be in the end without end.

There's another picture that I got framed along with Lucy's little one of the Tree of Life. It's a lot bigger. In fact, the good folks at Hobby Lobby told me it was the largest picture they had ever seen anyone bring in to get framed. Despite Hobby Lobby's general pattern of affordability, this bad boy was not cheap.

The picture is a geological map of England. If you've ever been in our dining room, you've seen it. It was meticulously researched and hand-drawn in the early 19th century by the pioneering geologist William Smith. It's the first map of of its kind. It shows a color coding of all the geological strata that England is made of and all these swaths and twists and, you know, there's dozens of colors showing the rock that England's made out of.

It's gorgeous. It's a beautiful map. I bought the map for like the equivalent of $15, just a couple weeks before we left Cambridge to move back here. Meant it to be a keepsake of our time there. I had no idea how much it would cost me to frame, but I'm glad I did.

Jamie Southcomb was one of our church interns at the time, and he accompanied me on this framing errand. Jamie is from England, had come to the States to sojourn and study, and he was about to return to his homeland. We were driving out to Northern Virginia in the dark winter evening. Jamie asked me, So do you miss Cambridge? I paused.

I looked at him in the dark. I said, Nah, I'm just taking the largest map of England anyone has ever seen to go pay hundreds of dollars to get it framed, to hang it up on my dining room wall so that I can look at it every day. Don't miss it at all, really.

In a small amount of time, Cambridge had captured a large portion of my heart. That map was a link to a land I'd loved and lost.

Brothers and sisters, this final vision of the book of Revelation is a map.

But it's not a map to a land any of us has loved and lost. It's a map to a land that none of us yet loves as we should. It's a map of our home. It's a map of the land that, by faith, each of us who trusts in Christ is getting nearer to every day. It's a map of the land that even though we've never been there, is our real and permanent home.

This home hasn't arrived yet, but it's coming soon. To be a Christian is to have your heart captured by a land that you love, even though you've never seen it, because your heart is captured by a king, a father, a savior, whom you love, though you've never seen him. On the day that home does come, on the day we see him face to face, we will never stop beholding glory and being glorified. And so we will never stop being satisfied in him. Behold, our God shall live with us and be our steadfast light.

And we shall air his people be all glory be to Christ. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this staggering promise of one day seeing your face. We pray that we all who have this hope would purify ourselves as you are pure. We pray that we would persevere and press on. Until the day when our faith in you becomes the sight of you, and we're infinitely happy in you forever. We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.