Okay. If you can open up your Bibles please to Revelation 21 and let me do the same thing. We're going through Genesis 1, as you know, in our service, and we've been going through Revelation for now, I don't know, has it been a couple of years maybe? It's been a while. It's been a good 18 months. And so I just think it's worked out very, very well. as we've come into Genesis to now just be hitting these last two chapters of the new creation when we're talking about the creation that started everything. So creation, new creation, which by the way, creation on its own is not just simply God's plan. God's plan goes from creation to new creation. You understand that, right? To the eternity of glory with him in the exaltation of Christ and what he's done for us. hear all about that this morning. There is reason to see God's covenantal plan in creation, new creation. Because God does have a covenant with creation. Now, if anyone wants to doubt that, go to Genesis chapter six. and you'll see God making a covenant with Noah, but it's for the whole of creation. God has a covenant in faithfulness to his creation to restore his whole creation. In fact, the words in Genesis 6, and we're going to do this in the service, so I'm not going to take a long time trying to explain this this morning, but the words in Genesis 6 aren't the normal words for the establishment of a covenant, even though our English Bibles might say the word establish. To have a covenant with God is, the words that are used normally in the establishment of a covenant is to cut a covenant. And that's what we see particularly in Genesis 12, 15 with Abraham. But here in Genesis 6, it's more like uphold a covenant. But the word covenant isn't found in Genesis 1, but the words in Genesis 6 and Genesis 1 are exactly the same. Right? Go, therefore, and be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And there is a covenant then God gives. And actually, even with a sign, God's faithfulness over his creation. What's the sign of God's faithfulness over his creation that will never be destroyed by a flood again? A rainbow in the sky. And so there's even a sign of God's faithfulness on this covenant, that with this covenant of creation that God has. So God's big plan is his creation. the creation of His glory and for His glory to be seen in creation and reflected in creation most prominently in those who are His vice-regents in creation, human beings, to reflect His glory as we fill the earth and govern under the authority of God. It's huge, which obviously we failed. So God's whole program is going from this to this. to this in his covenantal love for his creation. That's why we read verses like John 3, 16 saying that God so loved the world, the cosmos, the whole creation, right? That he gave his only son. So this is a glorious, what we're seeing here is the glorious span of God's covenant and God's covenantal love that then gets worked through the other covenants in scripture. Covenant of Abraham, Moses, David, and fulfilled in Jesus new covenant to bring about a new creation. It's a glorious thread all through scripture. Now, I'm going to say more about that in a sermon at some stage, probably a bit in Genesis 2 and Genesis 6 particularly. But this is what we're doing. We're coming together to look at this new creation. And we're going to get to verse 8 this morning, hopefully, hopefully. And so let me start by asking Brandon if you would read Revelation chapter 21. 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. Okay. As we go through Revelation 21 and 22, here is what I want to ask you to keep in your mind. Maybe we'll remind you of this throughout the weeks. Brothers and sisters, we're not there yet. Right? We're not there yet, are we? No, we've just had 20 chapters saying that we're not there yet. Okay? We're not there yet, but I want to put this to people who aren't there yet, in the struggles and the difficulties of the world. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Yeah? Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We have sin and sorrow now, and we're going to see that, and we know that, but listen, the Church lives for the perfect satisfaction of sanctuary with God later. It's coming, the perfect satisfaction. We have sanctuary with God now, but not yet. It's not in perfection, it's not in consummation, is it? Stuff in this world is not right right now, and yet, We have this beautiful intimacy and communion with God now and yet there's coming a time where this dwelling with God is going to be in all of its perfect consummation, glory. That's what we're looking at for the next number of weeks as we go through chapters 21 and 22 in Revelation. Before we do that, I want you to have a quick table talk. And so at your tables, I just want you to quickly discuss this question just for a few minutes. And that is, everyone in this world seems to want a utopia. Okay? Both sides of the political divide think they've got the answers for a utopia, don't they? Everyone in this world wants a utopia. What are some worldly ideas about what that utopia is? What are some worldly ideas about what that utopia is? Because I want you to think about those ideas and then we're going to contrast all of that, okay? Three minutes, go. Okay, let's keep going. Okay. The Brains Trust. What did you guys come up with? We had two different utopias. One was the utopia of communism, where people share the wealth and all that, and people want to do their part to work. And then Jeremy's utopia was... Jeremy's utopia was? Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were passing it to me. What did I say? Oh, yeah. Everybody can just kind of do whatever they want and, you know, be whatever they want and everything else and, you know, everything is great. Did a lot of you have some of those sorts of things? Yeah? Anything different at this table? Disease, no hunger, world peace. Disease, hunger, world peace, yep, okay. How about the back table? Autonomy. How many of you had something like autonomy? I want to make my own rules, do what I want to do, nobody get in my way, that's my utopia. Peace at any cost, right? Just whatever we want. Yeah, which is no peace at all, is it? Yeah. Yeah, good. Thank you. Okay, that's fantastic. So, as we now go through this, the context of Revelation, because we haven't been there in a while, just remember we have His book written, there's seven churches depicting the entire church, but they're real churches in a real time, and they are really having a difficult time. There's all of the persecutions and influences and enticements of the world, right? And so how do we keep persevering? So don't forget this book is being written to persecuted Christians living in the world. And really the big idea of Revelation is to help us to persevere. I hope you see that. I hope you've seen that for 20 chapters. It's to help you persevere according to the glory of God, knowing that he is in control, he is sovereign, he's in charge, he's the king, Jesus wins. Yeah, how often we have heard something like that. Okay. And so let's walk into, um, there's no way I've got enough time for this this morning. Let's walk into verse one. And we see, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and earth passed away and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, uh, coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. All of those phrases, by the way, we could take a full Sunday school lesson on. Easy. New Jerusalem, church as a bride, right? All of those. So, but there's this, I saw a, there's a big word here, new heaven and a new earth. Do you see that? So, then I saw is the next vision of John, but there's something different about this vision because it's a new earth. It's not the same earth we've been talking about for 20 chapters. He's getting a vision of a new earth and a new heaven. Why do we need a new earth and a new heaven? Come on, this is a elementary Sunday school question. Why? Sin and corruption. Yeah, somebody answer Jesus, because that's the Sunday school answer. Jesus, God and the Bible. Yes. Yeah. No, because of sin and corruption, we need a new heaven and a new earth. So, you know, Genesis 3 shows us all of the curse in this world, doesn't it? Perhaps we should hear it. The curse in this world as a result of sin. Zach, could you read for us please Genesis 3 verses 14 through to 19. The curse from God So the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heels. He said to the woman, I will intensify your labor pains. You will bear children with painful effort. your husband, yet he will rule over you. And he said to the man, because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, do not eat from it. The ground is cursed because of you. You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you and you will eat the plants of the field. You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground since you were taken from it for you are dust and you will return to dust. Yeah. And then later we find God separates Adam and Eve out of the garden, right? Never to return into that garden. And we see separation from communion with God in itself. And so many things. Relational difficulties, difficulties just living in the creation, working in the creation. Work is a good thing. Work is a good thing. But not this type of work, not the way that it, the creation was never meant to be like this for us, thorns and thistles. The difficulty of life, everything is hard and, and sin has consequences. Let me just tell you, I'm glad sin has consequences. Can you imagine if sin didn't have consequences? We would just live in it and love it to the ignorance of God. No. God in his grace has given consequences for our rebellion. That's a gracious act that doesn't leave us in rebellion. Through repentance and he's even in those verses you heard hope, didn't you? That there will be one who will come and crush the head of the serpent, seed of the woman, one from one of, from humanity, coming out of humanity. We know that's Jesus. Now, as we come and look at what is new this morning, this is new. There's a new heavens and earth. So we're put into this new creation. As we've been going through these weeks, we've seen that John has consistently referred us back to Old Testament books, hasn't he? Consistently. So in Revelation 21, let me suggest to you there's going to be two prominent Old Testament books that we're going to see. Hopefully next week, Joe will bring us through this part of it, unless I have to do some and then he'll do it the next week. But there's Isaiah, and the chapters are from 60 to 65. They're big chapters, really looking at what God's doing in renewing, bringing something new, the consummation of all things, 60 to 65. Now, as we go through this, and then there is going to be Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48, because the description of this dwelling place with God in the new creation is taking directly from this incredible vision of this temple to Ezekiel that is beyond imagination even for the people in his time. And what does it actually mean? Well, Revelation 21 takes directly from Ezekiel 40 to 48 to say, look at this, here it is. Here it is. And so we're going to be looking at those two texts as we go through this. Today's a little bit more of Isaiah, though, and so, as I said, we're going to just read through some of these. We have hope for exiles, hope for those who Isaiah foreseeing, knowing that Israel's disobeying God is going to be brought into exile and what hope would be given to exiles to help them know that there is something better, still better for them, that God is faithful, he's going to keep his people and he's going to bring them back and there's something bigger for them. And in these chapters 60 to 65, we get so much of this. So turn with me please to Isaiah chapter 65. Isaiah chapter 65. In it you'll hear some language and you'll say, wow, just acknowledge that this is poetic language to a people understanding as they understand things in their time to give them hope for where they are in that moment. But it's pointing to something even bigger. So, Ben, would you mind? Okay, so Ben's going to read for us Isaiah 65 verses 17 to 25, and as you hear the descriptions, listen particularly to the very first statement you're going to hear from Ben. It's why John just goes immediately back here, look at this statement, okay? So, Isaiah 65, 17 to 25. For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be gladness. I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people. No more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days. For the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. They shall build houses and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit. They shall not plant and another eat. For like the days of trees shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them. Before they call, I will answer. While they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and the dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy, and all my holy mountain, says the Lord. talking about a new heavens and a new earth isn't he in Isaiah pointing us look at this this is what I'm talking about and then John in Revelation 21 reflects directly on that also talking about a blessing of Jerusalem there's a new Jerusalem a blessing of Jerusalem and and this this is discussing this is what a utopia is going to be looking like no no early death right I know You know, in the parallelism of poetry, we can kind of get hooked up on literal statements, but basically what Osiris is saying is no one's going to die young. All right? We actually know in the new heaven and the new earth, is anybody going to die at all? No. No. There's not going to be people passing before their time, which is glorious. And did you notice that he also even talks about animals? You notice that? Talks about animals. Why? Why is that part of a utopia? Yeah, God cursed all of the creation as a result of sin, but here it is in explicit language that animals don't need to fear each other, do they? We get an understanding of that even in the hope that it's going to come from the one who's going to be the root from the stump of Jesse. Who's that? Jesus. In Isaiah chapter 11, we get the same statements made. Isaiah 11 talks about this one who's going to become forth a fruit from the stump of Jesse, a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And then talking about the blessing of that branch that they can hope in, in verse 7 in Isaiah 11, the cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall dawn lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox, the nursing child shall play over the hole of a cobra." Who's going to let their baby play with a cobra right now? Right? Oh, Ben? You're going to? Yeah, okay. Let's do some counselling later. So, wow, parental counselling for Ben. Okay, I'm sorry Brie, it's going to have to happen. So, you know, wow, right? And, you know, when you read Colossians, when you read about what Jesus does, Jesus brings a reconciliation to creation through the cross, doesn't he? Now and not yet, it's done, the victory's won, and it's yet to be consummated. But he's gonna bring a reconciliation, it's gonna go back, reconciliation means go back to its former condition. If anybody wants any, an answer as to why, I mean, you can give all the answers under the sun why you don't think there's any animal death in Genesis 1. For me, this is it. For me, this is it. When we are looking at the new heavens and the new earth, there is not animal death. And it's a reconciliation of creation through Jesus Christ, which means he's not reconciling it back to a whole bunch of animals dying. Okay? He's reconciling it back to there being a utopia where there is no fear of anything. Isn't that great? Isn't that amazing? And so that's what we have here. And Isaiah is showing us that. And then we also get to look forward to this new Jerusalem. And as you read about this new Jerusalem, then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and earth had passed away. Sea was no more. And by the way, the sea as you go, continue walking on through scriptures, you find that the sea kind of is a significant symbol of turmoil, okay? There's no turmoil. None of that is basically what this is saying. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, but prepared as a bride. Question. Did Christ marry actual bricks and cement? No. No. What is the new Jerusalem? We need to consider what that is. There is no way. He's talking about a bride. A bride, right? God gives his people a huge promise here. You will one day be completely restored and secured and holy and living in God's delight and that's what the new Jerusalem is. It's the dwelling of God with his people as a bride. So we also get some of that type of language that we see in Isaiah, in Isaiah 52 and Isaiah 62, particularly. So let's read some of these verses. Alex. Over there, thanks, Matt. Isaiah 52, 1 to 10. And then you can pass it straight over to Brittany. Do you mind reading for us? OK, thanks. I need a lady. I haven't picked a lady yet. So you can do Isaiah 62, verses 1 through to 12, OK? Isaiah 52, 1 to 10. Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake yourself from the dust and arise. Be seated, O Jerusalem. Loose the bonds from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord, you were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money. For thus says the Lord God, my people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing. Now therefore, what have I here, declares the Lord, seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail, declares the Lord, and continually, all the day, my name is despised. Therefore, my people shall know my name. Therefore, in that day, they shall know that it is I who speak. Here I am. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, your God reigns. The voice of your watchmen, they lift up their voice. Together they sing for joy, for eye to eye they see the return of the Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the Lord has comforted his people, he has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. Do you see all of the ends of the earth shall see all the nations? There's this, even in that text, there's this understanding that it's more than just a people within a city in a select geographical boundary in the Middle East, right? It's what they represent, the people of God, dwelling with their God. That's what Jerusalem represents. And in here, in Revelation 21, the new heavens and the new earth, it's not just the people who are actually living in Jerusalem at the time that are coming down as a bride from heaven. It's everybody who's in Christ, right? It's everybody who is in Christ. It's this new Jerusalem and it's glorious and we just see that representation. So we have this representation of these people giving hope to what is going to be so much bigger in its full consummation. Isaiah 62, 1-12. For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not keep quiet, until her righteousness goes forth like brightness, and her salvation like a torch that is burning. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory, and you will be called by a new name which is the mouth of the Lord will designate. You will also be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal headband in the hand of your God. It will no longer be said to you, forsaken, nor to your land will it any longer be said desolate, but you will be called, my delight is in her, and your land married. For the Lord delights in you, and to him your land will be married. For as a young man marries a virgin, so your son will marry you. And as the groom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you. On your walls, Jerusalem, I have appointed watchmen all day and all night. They will never keep silent. You who profess the Lord take no rest for yourselves and give him no rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem an object of praise on the earth. The Lord has sworn by his right hand and by his mighty arm, I will never again give you your grain as food to your enemies, nor will foreigners drink your new wine for which you have labored. But those who harvest it will eat it and praise the Lord, and those who gather it will drink it in the courtyards of my sanctuary. go through the gates, clear the way for the people, build up the highways, remove the stones, lift up the flag over the peoples. Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say to the daughter of Zion, behold, your salvation is coming. Behold, his reward is with him and his compensation before him. And they will call them the holy people and the redeemed of the Lord. And you will be called sought out a city not abandoned. Should we just stop there? I mean, should we just stop there, right? Surely that's not just for a people in a time talking about God marrying a piece of dirt. And it says so, right? Because it talks about young men and young women, like a bride, as a husband loves a bride. And he's talking about people here and what everything represents, and God's people dwelling with their God as a bride. And so we see in the New Heavens and the New Earth, this is in the symbolic language of Revelation, the Bride, the Bride is the New Jerusalem. And in all of its glory, and whenever you see the Bride, when you read texts like Isaiah, you can't take the Bride away from the dwelling presence of the husband, can you? Can you? They're together, bonding together. It's just glorious. So we can't just go to this and say, oh good, there's gonna be a new heavens and a new earth, there's not gonna be any sickness or death. I mean, that's all true. But we can't look at the new heavens and the new earth without also reminding ourselves that this is primarily, primarily the return of the glorious dwelling presence of their people with God without any distraction of sin and suffering. And that's the hope that Isaiah is giving to these people who, when they're trying, needing this hope the most, they're in exile, right? In Babylon, under the jurisdiction of the world. But there's a better hope for them. There's one who is authority over all of those. It's absolutely wonderful. So please don't just see these texts and think dirt and land and local. Think beyond that, because its nations are going to glory in this. And we see that in the culmination of what happens in Revelation 21. Who is the husband of the bride that we know it is? Who is it? Jesus. That's the Sunday school answer. But it's the right one. Jesus. 2 Corinthians 11, 2. For I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. I'm not a... I'm a sinful man. In a room full of sinful people, we are not pure virgins. Okay? When it comes to righteousness before God, we are harlots. But because of Jesus, because of His death on the cross for us, because of Him imputing His righteousness to us and taking our sin on Him, we can be presented as pure virgins to God because it's His holiness that stands before us. Isn't that just glorious? To know right now, right now, there is a time. Is this new heavens and new earth for me? Yes. Why? Because of Jesus. because of Jesus. Do I need to worry about the day that I stand before God and I will never be able to enter this glorious, glorious existence? No. Why? Because of Jesus. Should I have to worry? Yes. Without Jesus? Absolutely. With Jesus, it's absolutely certain I'm, this is mine. This promise is mine and yours in Jesus. So, Let me ask you this question. Just throw a couple of answers at me. What does it do for your life right now in this world knowing that you are being prepared to be a pure and wonderful gift for Jesus? What does it do for your life right now in this world knowing that you are being prepared to be a beautiful and wonderful gift for Jesus? Come on, someone give me something. Hope. Hope. Thank you. Confidence. Confidence. Purpose. Purpose. Thank you, Rosanne. Purpose in your life right now. So you're saying this gives me effect in how I live my life right now. You see that? Storing up your treasures. Storing up treasures. Because it's the way I live now. I don't live to store up my treasures on earth. I'm living to store up my treasures in heaven. Yes. We see his purity in what he's done for us. And so how important it is that motivates us now to be pure in ourselves. All right? It doesn't say, oh, that's coming later. I don't have to worry about it. I can go out and sin as much as I like right now. It does the opposite. If it's true, it does the opposite. It motivates me to tell others about it. Thank you, Eric. Can something evangelize, motivate us for evangelism in this? Look at what you think utopia is. You've got it all wrong. You've got it all wrong. In fact, you are heading towards something that is the absolute opposite of utopia. Let me talk to you. Thank you. Yeah, this is... This is incredible. It's 10.13. I'm not going to do it. Next week, part two. OK, I have to because it's just too much here. I'll put Joe off for a week. As I finish, also, let me say something to you. I know as we went through some of the other chapters, particularly Revelation 20, a few of you would have liked to say, hey, I maybe would like to hear what the historical, so the two views that we would say are kind of the acceptable views for us to consider in our church would be historical premillennialism and and our millennialism, they're those two views there. And we've actually got those two views even represented on our eldership, which means we can minister with those two views still in unity, right? I hope you see that and know that. But I think a few of you were saying, hey, I'd like to hear maybe something about the other view, because as I was teaching through and Ryan was teaching through, he was doing that. I'm willing. I'm not scared of doing that. I'm willing for that to happen. And so we might do that kind of even towards the end and we might have a bit more of a panel discussion with the elders there so that you've got a little bit of a panel and we can discuss a few things. But I just want to say to you, don't fear going up to Joe and saying, hey, what would be your difference with Steve in this passage? Can you show me? I want everybody to be convicted by the word of God, right? Not just by Steve Hamm. So, you know, do that. And then come back to me for rebuttal. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. That's a joke. That's a joke. Do you hear what I'm saying about that? Okay? Because we've talked together through this, haven't we? Through Revelation, Joe and I, right? You've seen that. We've talked together through Revelation. We've had wonderful unity through doing that. And so, I'm not worried about that at all. But I'm saying this. We have exactly the same hope in Revelation 21. Exactly the same hope. We're going to teach about Isaiah and about Ezekiel in the same way in Revelation 21. And so I look forward to seeing that and enjoying that. Let's stop and pray and go to church this morning. Sarah, would you close us in prayer, can I ask you? Is that okay? Thank you.