Revelation Chapter 21. We'll
read the first six verses, Revelation Chapter 21. The title of my message
is Christ Makes All Things New. And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were passed
away. As a vesture, the psalmist said,
our Lord shall just fold them up, lay them aside, he's done
with them. And there was no more sin. And
I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, this is the church,
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride, prepared
by the grace of God, washed from her sins in his own precious
blood. and now as a bride adorned for
her husband, a chaste virgin without spot or blemish or any
such thing. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people,
and God himself shall be with them and be their God. And God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be
no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there
be any more pain. For the former things, like the
old heaven and earth, are passed away. And he that sat upon the
throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto
me, write, for these words are true and faithful. You can count
on them, John. Verse 6, and he said unto me,
it is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. I will give unto him that is
a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely, without
cost. As our text was this morning,
our Lord promised all that come unto him If anybody, labor, any
man, and were heavy laden, come unto him, and he would give them
rest. In verses 1 and 2 that we just
read, John tells us what he saw. And then in verses 3 and 4, John
tells us what he heard. And what he heard is no less
certain than what he saw with his eyes, because of the one
he heard speak, because of the one who sat up on the throne.
In verses 5 and 6, we have the reason for these blessed things,
why they are so, because of that one who says so. That makes all
the difference. As Abraham found, and Paul tells
us in Romans chapter 4, Abraham believed that what God promised,
he was able to perform. What God said he could do, he
would do. Who can stay his hand? Who can
say unto him, what doest thou? So the trustworthiness of the
promise of what John saw and also of what John heard depends
upon that one who sits upon the throne. That makes all the difference
between whether it be true or whether it be fiction, whether
it be fulfilled or whether it ends in failure. Whether it gives
us any comfort in these words depends upon that one who uttered
the words. And in the last two verses of
what we read, these six verses, we're told, it was he that sat
upon the throne that said, behold, I make all things new. I mentioned this morning, and
I shared the note from Kathy Pruitt with you, but when I got
home Friday, I also had a letter from my dear friend, I should
say our dear faithful friend, brother Henry Mahan. I had written him just before
I went up to Kentucky and he wrote me back. And as you know,
both are going through heavy trials. Henry just recently lost
his grandson, Robbie, and I wrote him gave me my condolences. I couldn't say to Darwin and
Kathy or Henry or Doris, I know what you're going through. I
couldn't say that because I don't, Lester. I don't know what that's
like. But Henry has always wrote back
and he said, Larry, it's been a deep heartache. It's a deep
heartache. But our Lord's word is a deep
comfort. It's a deep, deep comfort for
all times and for all cares. And they both, Kathy in her note
and Henry in his, both gave a scripture reference and it was interesting
to me they were both from Isaiah. Let's look at them briefly. Turn
it back if you will to the book of Isaiah. We'll be looking at
several scriptures in this blessed book. And it's no wonder, is
it? Because he has been well called
the evangelical prophet. the fifth evangelist. Oh, he
has such clear views of our Redeemer and Lord. But Kathy, in her note,
jotted down from chapter 41 this verse, this reference, rather,
to this verse in Isaiah 41, verse 10. And you're familiar with
their circumstances. We know what the doctors have
said. And this is where she found comfort.
Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I
am thy God. I will strengthen thee, yea,
I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand
of my righteousness. Brother Henry's, his reference
was to chapter 40 in the book of Isaiah, a very familiar and
comforting passage Beginning at verse 28 of Isaiah 40, Henry
referred to this. This is our God speaking, reminding
us of who he is. Has thou not known, has thou
not heard that the everlasting God, this is what that one who
sat upon the throne, who's told John, behold, I make all things
new, said, didn't he? I'm Alpha. and Omega, I'm the
first and I'm the last. The everlasting God, the Lord,
the creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither
is weary. There is no searching of his
understanding. He giveth power to the faint,
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even
the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall. But they, but they that wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up
with wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint. Both our dear friends found comfort
in this blessed truth. Behold your God. When our Lord told Isaiah in
chapter 40, the comfort, comfort ye my people, among the things
that he told him to comfort them by were these words, Behold your
God. It's true, Isaiah, and remind
him of this truth. All flesh is grass. And the glory
of man is like the flower of the field. It knows sooner is
risen than the sun comes out and it's gone. All flesh is grass,
all but, but behold your God. And the promise of our great
Savior and Redeemer making all things new resides in His blessed
hands. in whom God has entrusted and
given all power over all flesh. The promise is dependent not
upon John, not upon you and I, but upon him who sets up on the
throne. Behold your God. Believing, as we said earlier,
what he promised, he's able to perform. That's exactly what
we have here. Look again in Revelation 21 and
verse 5. And he that sat upon the throne said, that makes all
the difference in the world, doesn't it? Who says so? Who makes this promise? That
one, that one that we read about in chapter four. John said, behold,
I saw a throne in heaven, one throne. Only one. There's only
one ruler in heaven and earth. There's only one king. There's
only one potentate. There's only one sovereign. And
John said, therefore, I saw one throne. Not two. There's not
two rulers. There's only one. And John went
on to tell us, and one sat upon the throne. It's his throne. It's reserved for him. And the
same thing we find here in verse 5 of chapter 21. And he that
sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. That same one who spoke or willed
this world into existence, the old heavens and old earth that
John tells us in verse 1 were passed away. That same one who
said, let there be light in the beginning is that same one who
sets up on the throne and says, I make all things new. All things were made by him.
This same apostle tells us in his gospel, in John chapter 1,
that all things were made by him, that is Christ, the eternal
word. All things were made by him and
without him. Without Him, forget about it. Without Him, nothing. Without
Him was not anything made that was made. Turn back, if you will,
to the book of Isaiah. You might want to just hold your
finger in the book of Isaiah. As I said, we'll be referring
to several passages in this book. Who's that one who sets up on
the throne? Who's that one that makes this
proclamation, behold, I make all things new? Verse 6 of chapter
9, years, hundreds of years before he was born, before Gabriel went
to Mary with the announcement of his birth, and then Joseph. For unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. and the
government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Only one. Of the increase of
his government and peace there shall be no end. Upon the throne
of David and upon his kingdom to order it and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this. He'll do it. It's his work. That's the same one whom John
saw upon the throne who declared, I make all things new. He did the first in the first
creation. In the beginning, he created
the heavens and the earth, and he says, Behold, I shall do this
also. I'll create new heavens and a
new earth, wherein, Peter tells us, dwelleth righteousness. Absolute, perfect, continual,
perpetual righteousness. Again, in Isaiah chapter 14. Chapter 14, verse 24. Look, the Lord of hosts have
sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to
pass. You can't say that, Louis. You
can say it, but it wouldn't be true. Neither can I. Neither
can any other man. Oh, but the God-man can. He that
sits upon the throne can say, Surely, as I have thought, so
shall it come to pass. And as I have purposed, so shall
it stand. Verse 27. For the Lord of hosts
hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? That's a good question,
isn't it? And his hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back? Now that's the one who makes
the promise to John. That's the one in whom the souls
of all God's elect have been entrusted. He that sets up on
the throne. Are you still in Isaiah? Look
in chapter 42. Chapter 42. Verse 1, God the Father says,
Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. This is my beloved son, he said
on several occasions in the Gospels, in whom I am well pleased. I
have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed
shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He
shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail. Do you like that? Child of God,
isn't that comforting concerning your Redeemer? He shall not fail
nor be discouraged till he has set judgment in the earth and
the owl shall wait for his law. That's the same one. that we
read of in Revelation chapter 21. That same one who said, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me. Behold, John, I make
all things new. One more place in Isaiah 43,
Isaiah chapter 43. Concerning the work of our great
Redeemer, listen to what it says. Chapter 43 of Isaiah, verse 1. Now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, O Jacob, that you and I, and he that formed
thee, O Israel, fear not, fear not, for I have redeemed thee,
and you remember the price of our redemption? Not with silver
and gold, Oh no, but with the precious blood of Jesus Christ,
I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy name. Thou art mine. Thou art mine. You belong to me. Therefore,
in light of that, when thou passest through the waters, I will be
with thee. You're mine. I've purchased you
with the price of our own precious blood. I will be with thee. And through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the
Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Sheba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honorable. Oh my, what grace! And I have
loved thee, therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy
life. Fear not. How often He says that
to us, does he not? Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, and to the south, keep not back. Bring my sons from
far and my daughters from the ends of the earth. And that's
what our Lord said in John chapter 6, did he not? All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. shall come to him in time. They'll
hear his voice and they'll follow him. They may be like Zacchaeus
up a tree, but when the master comes and says, come down, they'll
come down. They may be a hater of Jesus
of Nazareth, but when he says, Saul, come down, Saul comes down. Oh, the master and captain of
our salvation's arm is not shortened that he cannot save. Brothers
and sisters in Christ, we all have lost loved ones, sons and
daughters. relations, children, grandchildren. Take them before God. Take them
before Him who is able to save to the uttermost. His arm is
not shortened. Bless God and His precious blood
shall never lose its power. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me. They'll come so that none shall
ever be lost. They'll come so that none will
ever be able to be plucked out of my hand," he said. Not one. Not even one. Well, John saw,
again in Revelation chapter 7, God's elect as being a multitude
that no man could number. He said of all kindreds and tongues
and people, a multitude that none could number. And every
one of them stood before the throne. And every one of that
multitude wore a crown. Every one of them had on the
robe of Christ's righteousness. Every one of them waved the palm
leaf of victory. His victory. His victory is their
victory. And every one of them, as we
said a moment ago, saying the same song, worthy is the lamb. And you're telling me that not
one of them, of that multitude, not even one should perish? Not
even one? If one should, that would make
him, who said no man can pluck them out of my hand, would make
him a failure. That's right. If one Louis, just
one, of that multitude, those hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
of thousands that he redeemed with his own precious blood,
if just one should fall away, it would make him a failure and
that won't happen. That won't happen. We read in
Isaiah, he shall not fail nor be discouraged. He said, I give
them eternal life. and they shall never perish.
They shall never perish. No man is able to pluck them
out of my hand. I've had folks who are deceived
in proclaiming man's free will tell me, oh yes, no man can pluck
them out, but they can walk out of their own will. No, no, no. No, no, no. That won't do. That won't do. No, Christ said,
no man can pluck them out. The Father which gave them to
me is greater than all. They're in my Father's hand and
they're in my hand. They shall never perish. It's that one who sits upon the
throne and says in verse 6 of Revelation 21, John, it is done. It is done. He said unto me,
it is done. Period. Period. Not will be done,
might be done, depending upon any other than myself to see
it accomplished. It is done. What he purposed,
he's able to bring the past. He said, it is complete, John. Write it down. Send it to the
churches. Tell them, he that sets up on
the throne declares, I am Alpha and Omega. I'm the beginning
and I'm the end. I'm the first and I'm the last. And it's complete. It's finished. Do you remember? When in John
chapter 17, just prior to Judas, the traitor, leading that mob
to arrest our Lord, in chapter 18 we're told, Jesus, knowing
all things that should come upon him, went forward. He didn't
try to hide. He went to a place Judas well
knew. And knowing all things, he went
forward and said, Whom seek ye? But just prior to that, he offered
that high priestly prayer, Father, I've finished the work that you
gave me to do. I've glorified thee on the earth. What did he mean? The old writers
referred to it as the active obedience of Christ. He said,
I finished the work which thou gavest me to do, the work of
fulfilling and honoring God's holy law. He said, I didn't come
to destroy the law. I come to fulfill the law. And
that's what he did in his life. He honored and kept from the
cradle to the grave every precept. Every precept, every jot and
tittle of God's holy law was fulfilled, obeyed, and made honorable
by our substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. That was necessary. Therefore,
he said, in that high priestly prayer, I finished the work.
Oh, but there was another work. What about the penalty of God's
broken law? What about justice that demanded
payment? What about satisfaction to the
holy God? Oh, therefore, in John 19, he
bows his head upon the cross and cries, It is finished! He finished that work, too. He
put away sin. He brought in an everlasting
righteousness. He that sits upon the throne
said, John, this will be done, too. This will be accomplished,
too. Just as I accomplished the eternal
redemption of my people, I will accomplish this, too, John. All
things will be made new, a new heaven and a new earth. Some
folks view God as God himself said, thinking that he is altogether
like them. Do you find any comfort in that,
Kenneth? thinking God is no more than
you, no more wise than you, no more powerful than you, or any
of the rest of us? Oh, no. God said, I'm not like
you, but some people's view of God is like that. It's like they
look through the wrong end of a telescope. And everything looks
small. And they talk about a God who
wants to do something, but can't. Wants to have His way, but just
can't seem to get it done. Oh, but the God of glory, the
God of glory, if your eyes are open to behold Him, you'll see
Him setting upon His throne, and He'll declare, It's done. It's finished. I'm Alpha and
Omega. When you see Him high and lifted
up, Again, like the prophet Isaiah, chapter 6. In the year that King
Uzziah died, yes, King Uzziah died. As all men die, all flesh
is grass. Oh, but I looked toward heaven,
and I saw another throne. King Uzziah, his throne was vacated. But I looked toward heaven, and
I saw another throne. I saw the Lord high and lifted
up and His glory filled the temple. His throne is never vacated. He's always ruling. He's always
reigning. When you are blessed by God to
see Him, you'll bow down and cry of Him and through Him and
back to Him are all things to whom be glory forever and ever. Now look just briefly at these
first two verses that John saw in chapter 21 of Revelation. As we said, in verses 1 and 2,
we're told what John saw. In verses 3 and 4, what John
heard. He says, I saw a new heaven and
a new earth, because sin had entered both the old, heaven
by the rebellion of Satan, and then also earth by the rebellion
of man. Therefore our Lord says, I make
a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness."
Dwelleth. I like that, don't you? Dwelleth. That's the makeup of this new
heaven and new earth. Here sin dwells. Ever since the fall of our father
Adam, sin dwells. But in that new heaven and new
earth, there'll be nothing dwelling there but righteousness. Righteousness. And then we're
told, and there was no more sea. Someone said, see, the sea divides
us. It separates us. But in heaven,
there shall be no more sea, nothing to separate us from God forever. And then in verse two, it says,
I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, the church. Oh yes, there's new
heavens, there's new earth, Oh, but there's new creations made
completely holy in Him, a new people, a new race of redeemed
in body, in soul, in spirit that will inhabit the new heavens
and a new earth, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Turn, if you will, to the book
of Ezekiel. I can't think of a better a better
place to read of the description of his redeemed bride than Ezekiel
chapter 16. Ezekiel chapter 16. We'll just read a portion of
it. Here God's elect, God's church
is described as to their nature, an aborted infant, cast out into
the field to die. But in Ezekiel 16, beginning
at verse 8, We read, now when I passed by, this is God speaking,
when I passed by and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was a
time of love. I loved you with an everlasting
love, and now it's time that you know it. And I spread my
skirt over thee and covered thy neckiness. Yea, I swear unto
thee and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God,
and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water,
yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed
thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered
work, and shod thee with badger skin, and I girded thee about
with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee
also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and
a chain on thy neck, and I put a jewel on thy forehead, and
earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus was thou decked with gold
and silver, and thy raiment was of fine linen and silk, embroidered
work. Thou didst eat fine flour and
honey and oil, and thou wast exceeding beautiful. What a picture,
what a different picture of what we are now than what we were
by nature. And thou didst prosper into a
kingdom, and thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy
beauty. For it was perfect, for it was
perfect through my comeliness which I had put upon thee, saith
the Lord God. What do we read in the book of
Jude? Unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory. In Revelation 14, We read concerning
the redeemed, they are without fault before the throne of God. Paul in Ephesians 5, Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it that he might present it to
himself without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Is it any
wonder that we read these words in chapter 5 of the book of Revelation
concerning this multitude and what they sing. And they sung
a new song, saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to
open the seals thereof, for or because thou wast slain and has
redeemed us to God. You accomplished our redemption. You did everything necessary. You have redeemed us to God by
thy blood. You bought us, we're yours, out
of every kindred and tongue and people and nation and has made
us unto our God kings and priests. You did that, Lord. You did that. Salvation is your work and we
shall reign on the earth. And now what John heard in verses
three and four. of Revelation 21, verse 3. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. The tabernacle of God. You remember
again what John wrote in his Gospel chapter 1? And the word
was made flesh and dwelt among us. The word for dwelt is tabernacle. The Lord of glory became flesh
of our flesh and bone of our bones and for a while tabernacled
amongst us. And John said, we beheld his
glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth. But then three and a half years
later, he told them, I'm going away. John said, we beheld his
glory. We saw God in the flesh. We saw He who was and is the
eternal God. And then three and a half years
later, He looked at them and said, I'm going away. I'm going
away. But here in Revelation, we're
told, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. He'll not go away again. and
He will dwell with them and be their God, and they shall be
His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. Dwell with us, we with Him, and
He with us forever. Forever. And then in verse 4,
Another, this same voice of our great God said, he shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes. He promises that too. I thought
that the best I could do with that verse was just to use an
outline by dear brother Scott Richardson. Not long before he
died, where he pastored so faithfully, like Henry did in Ashland. Brother Scott pastored for as
many years in Fairmont, West Virginia. He said, I've come
across some things that helped me and I want to pass it on to
you. We understand more about what
heaven is and will be to us by what it is not and will not be. And as verse four tells us, Scott
wrote, there'll be no more sin, no more sin. Bobby, after service
this morning, said, oh Larry, I continually struggle with my
sin. Sin in me. Not out here. Touch not, taste not, but in
here. But Bobby, in glory, there will
never be a cry uttered. There will never be such a prayer
of anguish like this. Oh wretched man that I am. I see in me this principle that'll
never be heard. It'll never be spoken. There'll
be no more sin. No more pain, we're told in verse
4. Physical, emotional of any kind. No more sorrow. There's nothing
there to be sorry about or to be sorrow or to sorrow for. It's all gone. He that sat upon
the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And no more crying. Again, nothing to cry about. No more death. Martha, he that
liveth and believeth in me shall never die. No more death. No more sickness. The former
things are passed away. No more confusion, Scott wrote. No more lacking anything. No
more vanity. No more waiting. No more going
astray. No more reproach or affliction
or darkness or troubles. No more curse. No more dishonoring
my God. We'll be children of the living
God. And Scott said, And when we take
our last breath and go out into that world, we'll feel good about
it. Since we know a little about
it, what it will be, and I myself, he said, experience it every
day. I know that I'm going to die.
Not very long. And I'll be glad if I make one
turn over in my bed tonight and go to sleep. And that's about how it happened.
I'll be happy about it, because heaven is my happiness. The Lord
bless us. Amen. Amen. He that sat upon
the throne said, behold, I make all things new. And he said unto
me, write, for these words are true and faithful. Brother Henry enclosed a poem
in his letter to me. He said, Larry, here's a good
anonymous poem. Don't know who wrote it. It doesn't
matter. But he sent it to me. I want
to share it with you. He said, the writer of this said,
for every pain we must bear, for every sorrow and every care,
there is a reason. For every falsehood that is said,
for every teardrop that is shed, there is a reason. For every
grief, for every trial, for every weary, lonely mile, there is
a reason. For we will trust God as we should,
and this will work for our good, because our Lord is the reason. God bless you.