May
13, 2007pm Heaven
on Earth Revelation
21:10, 22-22:5
By Ronald E.
George Jr. at the
What is heaven like? What do we have to look forward to when we all get to heaven. I remember one Sunday during our Junior or children’s church that I was preaching to the children about the Lamb’s book of life. I explained to them that it was like the roll call in school. I told them that you have to be a Christian to have your name written there. One of those students whose name was Brent nearly jumped up out of his when he realized that his name was not written there. He said, “I want to have my name written there. I want to be a Christian.” That day he asked Jesus to come into his heart.
Ode Coombs was a senior member of my first church. He invited me up to his house one day to talk about heaven. You see Ode was an old coal miner and he was dying of lung disease. He had an oxygen hose and had to try to talk as he caught his breath. He wanted to ask me about heaven. He said, what do you think heaven is going to be like? I should have discussed this chapter with him that day, but at the time the only thing I could think of was the streets of gold. He told me that an old preacher had said at a funeral he attended that no man can preach another man’s funeral. We all preach our own by the lives we have lived. Ode certainly preached his for it was on that day that he passed over into the city not made with hands. That is the place described in this passage from the Bible. This is where Ode is today and this is the place where all your loved have gone who had their names written in the Lamb’s Book of life. They have gone to that city that is soon coming down.
Revelation
21:10 And
he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the
Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
22
I did not see a temple in the city,
because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23
The city does not need the sun or the moon
to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The
nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their
splendor into it. 25 On
no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26
The glory and honor of the nations will be
brought into it. 27 Nothing
impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2
down the middle of the great street of the
city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of
fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the
healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will
serve him. 4
They will see his face, and his name will
be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They
will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will
give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. [1]
1. Heaven on Earth. God is going to recreate his creation. The city is coming down because it is prepared and ready for habitation. Sin marred the first creation so God will remake it all in the order of the original design.
2. Worship is new! We will see Him face to face and worship Him face to face.
3.
A New Light!
God is the light of the
4. Walking in the Light. The light is the glory of the Lord and we will walk in it. We can walk in it today.
5. Open the gates. The gates will never be closed. There will be no more night and thus no need for sleep.
6. Entrance is only for those who are written in the book. Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
7. See the River of the Water of Life. Go fishing and swimming in the river. Drink the water that gives life. This could possibly be the fountain of youth. Where does it come from? It flows from the throne of God and the Lamb.
8. Taste the fruit of the Tree. The tree of life is on each side of the river with 12 different types of fruit with a new fruit for every month of the year. The leaves will heal the people. No more vitamins just eat your leaves to be made whole.
9. No More Curse. The curse of sin will be gone. No more death, disease, and disaster for the inhabitants of the earth.
10.
What will we do?
We will see the Lord, we will have his mark on our forehead, and we
will serve him forever and ever.
11.
The Lord will
give us light. He is the light.
12.
We will reign
forever and ever. The servants
of God will rule with him and for him. He
has a plan for those who have given him their to live forever and rule with Him.
Is your name written
in the Lamb’s Book of life? I look
forward to seeing you there.