New Order of Things

May 22, 2011


Background Scripture: Revelation 21
Lesson Passage: Revelation 21:1 – 8, 22 – 27

As the book of Revelation nears its close, John is shown a new Heaven and a new Earth. Once again, God can look and see that it is good! All evil has been destroyed. Heaven and Earth both proclaim God’s glory and bow to the name of Jesus. Then the New Jerusalem is revealed as the bride of Christ. She will be composed of all that have been washed by His blood. Jews and Gentiles will be one. She will be given an unimaginable glory. John could only describe the majesty of her glory by stating that she will be adorned with all the precious stones of the earth.

As the Church makes her graceful re-appearance, she descends down the atmospheric aisle from Heaven and stops and is suspended between Heaven and Earth. Jesus’ next great display of love to an unwed church will be to meet her for their wedding in the sky. Glorification is the final stage of the salvation plan. It ushers in an eternal state whereby God delivers us from the presence of sin. We are then made like Jesus. In that day, God’s promise is fulfilled. Mankind is again in His image and after His likeness. Sin no longer separates or disrupts fellowship. At this point, the Apostle John has a glimpse of eternity in view. As we look through John’s eyes at the edge of eternity, we must understand that eternity is not a good day or a bad day. It is not a moment in time. In eternity, time has been suspended. There is no aging or the stealthy appearance of aches and pains. The former things have now passed away. All things have been made new. The full scope of eternity is beyond our limited imaginations. Eternity is the culmination of the Good News. John lived in the old earth. God had called him up and allowed him to see the old heaven. This became a needful point of reference for John. He saw the throne of God. He saw the four and twenty elders. He saw the heavenly host and the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. During the time of tribulation, he saw the steady march of humanity towards eternal damnation. One of our challenges today is to steer others away from eternal damnation by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. The choice is Heaven or Hell; eternal life or eternal damnation. If we must have an eternal home, why not make it Heaven? Jesus promised to prepare a place for us. Therefore, let us constantly look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Even as we wait for the final redemption of our bodies, we must not be idle in our waiting. There are lost souls that need to know that God loves them and has provided a way out. They need to hear the gospel. We must not take lightly our mandate to deliver the gospel to every creature. This gospel delivery must start with home mission before we concern ourselves with foreign mission. The neighborhood around us must take a higher priority. All of heaven watches with anticipation waiting to rejoice at just one repentant sinner—the fruit, if you will, of our labors that result from the power of the Holy Ghost working through us. After we have completed our works on earth, we look forward to living an eternal life free from the presence of sin. That is God’s new order of things.


Robert C. Hudson
May 14, 2011