December 22, 2024

Revelation 19:11-16, 21:1-7, 22:1-21

Advent Fully Realized

Sunday Sermons

What has Revelation got to do with Advent?

The apostle John wrote with the heart of a pastor, the voice of a poet, the insight of a prophet, and the depth of a theologian. In the book of Revelation, John delivers the promise that the Advent story is not yet complete. In fact, he assures us that the best is yet to come! The child born in humility, who died in ignominy, and rose again in victory, has promised to return to this world one day and set the world to rights, to make all things new.

Christ’s birth and death proved His great love for us.
Christ’s resurrection displayed His great power to save us.
And based upon these historical realities, we believe and now proclaim His great promise to return one day at His second coming.

Join Pastor Jim as he walks us through some of the events recorded at the end of the book of Revelation in a study titled Advent Fully Realized.

Speaker

Jim Thomas

Series

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus

Go to Series

Scripture

Revelation 19:11-16, 21:1-7, 22:1-21

Topics
Big Questions

Sermon Notes

What does the term “Advent” mean?

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “arrival” or “appearing.” In the Christian church, Advent is a season of reflection looking back at the first arrival of Christ in humility—His Incarnation. But Advent is also a season of anticipation as we look forward to Christ’s second arrival—His future appearing in glory.

  • Advent Foreshadowed – Genesis
  • Advent Promised – Isaiah
  • Advent Fulfilled – Matthew
  • Advent Fully Realized – Revelation
  • Advent Proclaimed – Luke

“The biblical story began, quite logically, with a beginning. Now it draws to an end, not quite so logically, with a beginning. The sin-ruined creation of Genesis is restored in the sacrifice-renewed creation of Revelation.”
Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder

Advent Fully Realized means at least three things:

1. God is sovereign over the entire sweep of history.

“Can you understand the Book of Revelation? Yes, you can. You can summarize its message in one sentence: God rules history and will bring it to its consummation in Christ.”
Vern Sheridan Poythress

2. God intends the ultimate renewal of all things.

“That the peoples of the Roman Empire came to worship as the Son of God not a warlord who had ruled them as emperor but a man who had suffered death at the hands of its soldiers was the marker of as profound a transformation in the understanding of power as any in human history.”
Tom Holland, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World

“The Bible is unique among the sacred books of the world’s religions in that it is in structure a history of the cosmos. It claims to show us the shape, structure, origin and the goal not merely of human history but of cosmic history.”
Lesslie Newbigin, The Open Secret

3. God extends an invitation for us to believe and receive.

“The power of a metaphor is contained in the fact that it ultimately points towards something that exists in reality. We cannot live on metaphors alone. We cannot use poetry, psychology, and myth to hold God at arms length forever. What if the 2000 year-old story is only able to reconnect with our deepest desires for meaning, purpose, and identity, because it is the true story to which all other stories point?”
Justin Brierley, The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“Christ began a journey in which we have been enlisted. We are on the journey, and the journey is not yet over. The unfinished aspect of the journey is part of the adventure of discipleship. We keep standing on tiptoes, awaiting what God will dare to do among us next.”
William H. Willimon & Stanley Hauerwas, Lord, Teach Us: The Lord’s Prayer & the Christian Life

“May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass!”
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, The Message

Discussion Questions

  1. As we celebrate the first Advent, what is the significance of studying the book of Revelation?
  2. Why is there no need for a temple, a lamp, or a sun in John’s description of the re-creation and the second Advent (Revelation 21:22).
  3. In the Revelation passages, we studied why are “faithful” and “true” prioritized by John as descriptors for God/Jesus?
  4. Why is Jesus described as both a lion and a lamb?
  5. In Revelation 21:6 and 22:7 we are invited to drink from the water of life freely and without cost. What does this imply?
  6. We have been redeemed by Jesus, we are being restored, and we will be renewed. What is our current situation? Do you ever get impatient in your current position in redemptive history and try to earn your salvation?

Transcript

We study through books of the Bible here at The Village Chapel. We have extra copies if you didn’t bring one with you, and you would like one to follow along, and today’s a great day to follow along. So, raise your hand up real high if you’d like a paper copy here in the building. And if you’re online, we’ll give you a chance to turn to the last book of the Bible, to the Book of Revelation. That’s where we will be our message this morning. And as we go through Revelation, it’ll become apparent why this is the message: “Advent Fully Realized.” And we’ll be looking at three different sections, just short passages from the Book of Revelation. And if you’re opening your Bible right now, go to Chapter 19. That’s where we’ll start, and then the rest of the passages will come to you quite easily.

The notes and quotes can be had if you are in the room and/or watching online. I think you can get all of that by putting your camera, your phone camera up to the QR code there. You’ll find the notes and the quotes for the sermon. We talk each and every week during Advent about what Advent means. There are people that did not grow up in a stream of the church that practices or observes Advent. And so, I like to just one more time state that it comes from the Latin word adventus, which means arrival or appearing. And in the Christian church, Advent is a season of reflection, looking back at the first arrival of Christ in humility, His incarnation as we call it. But Advent is also a season of anticipation as we look forward to Christ’s second arrival, his future appearing in glory. This has been our pattern this year during the Advent season.

We’ve talked about Advent Foreshadowed from the Book of Genesis, Advent Promised in the Book of Isaiah, Advent Fulfilled in the Gospel of Matthew last week. Pastor Matt led us through that. This week we’ll talk about Advent Fully Realized today from the Book of Revelation. And then on Tuesday night… I hope you’re planning to join us. Maybe bring two or three friends that don’t go to church anywhere, that’d be really great. I know you have some friends that don’t go to church. I know you don’t live in a little bubble with only people that come to Village Chapel. So, think about who you might want to invite, and we’ll be talking about Advent Proclaimed very simply stated in a very succinct presentation of the Gospel from Luke on Tuesday.

So now, what does the Book of Revelation have to do with Advent? Some of you might be thinking that. It is often misunderstood, this Book of Revelation. It’s thought of by some as a cryptic puzzle or some kind of a maze of mysterious sequences that we’ve got to figure out and get our numerology right and make sure we do the right thing with the right maps and the right parallels to Gog and Magog and figure out who they are, and all these different sort of things that people do to sell books and to sell movie tickets and that sort of thing, and as well, just out of curiosity, some out of honest curiosity. I think it’s partly because we’ve lost sight of the original meaning of the term apocalyptic. We tend to think of it as only cataclysmic instead of what apocalyptus, the Greek word means an unveiling. It’s a revelation, and that’s why the last book in the Bible is called Revelation.

And by the way, there’s no S on the end of it. I’ve heard some of you say, let’s go to the Book Revelations. There’s no S, just a little pet peeve of mine. Let’s get that straight, okay? And it’s the book we call Revelation. It’s the revelation of Jesus Christ because that’s who it reveals. That’s the subject of the book, not figuring out the end time sequence, not seeing how bad things are going to get for all the mean people and how great it’s going to be for us virtue signaling nice people. No, it’s not that at all. This is about Jesus, and we’ll keep it that way this morning. The Apostle John who wrote this book along with the Gospel of John, the Letters of John, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, he also wrote this, and he writes as a pastor, a prophet, and a theologian. I mean, this guy is a Renaissance man before there was a Renaissance, and he wrote the Book of Revelation to deliver the promise that the Advent story was and is not yet finished.

It’s not over yet. We live 2000 years after, generally 2000 years after the time of Christ. And we look back to his first arrival, as we said in the definition of Advent. And so, we celebrate that. We remember, we reflect upon that, but we’re still looking forward to His second appearing. The child that was born in a lowly manger, Jesus of Nazareth, that same child born in humility, died in ignominy and then was raised again in victory. He is the one who has promised to return to this world one day and set the world right. I don’t know about you, but I’m in. I would like that to happen. There’s enough broken in the world. There’s enough about the world that it’s still got some marks of beauty. That’s so true, but there’s so much of it as well that it’s such a struggle. There’s so many tears. There’s so much loss. There’s so much anger in some people’s lives.

God’s coming to Earth the first time, and dying on the cross that first time, proved His great love for us. That’s what drove Him here. That’s what motivated Him to come. So, if you’ve gone to the cross to get saved, go back to the cross and get loved. You might be missing some of the best part of it. He loved you that much that He died on the cross. So, the cross, His incarnation of the cross, His resurrection, all that, that just reminds us of His great love for us. And then His great power’s on display in that resurrection, His ascension, and will be really on display when He returns again. And that’s kind of what we’re going to talk about based on these historic events of the incarnation, the crucifixion, the life and teachings of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, resurrection of Jesus. These historical events we believe and now proclaim this morning: His great promise to return one day in His second Advent.

So, we gather during this Advent season; we look not only to the manger in Bethlehem but also to the culmination of all things, where our faith will find its ultimate hope fulfilled. And we’ll read just a few passages from Revelation 19 through 22 to paint a vision for us of what God has in mind with us and with all of human history. First, pray with me if you will: Father, as we open our hearts and minds to Your Word, may Your promises become our inexhaustible hope and proper confidence. May Your purposes become our meaning and mission. May Your presence become our delight and joy. Grant to us Lord, a clearer vision of Your truth, a greater faith in Your power, and a more confident assurance of Your love for us. This we pray in the name of Jesus for His sake and for His glory. Amen and amen.

So, Revelation 19, just a few verses from there, a couple comments right before I read. Revelation is one of these books that is really several different genres of literature. A lot of times when we start a Bible book study, we’ll identify the genre of literature. Is it historical narrative? Is it a letter? Is it prophetic literature? Is it poetry? This is like a library, a 66-book library. And so, it has different genres of literature in it. Revelation could be apocalyptic. Yes, that’s right. It’s prophetic in that way. It’s also epistolary. It’s a letter that has been written. Matter of fact, there are seven letters of seven churches in chapters two and three. You’re familiar most of you with that, but it is an unveiling. It’s an apocalyptic book. It is a revelation if you will. John’s mind is blown all the way through this book and so too should yours be when you read it.

As a matter of fact, at the beginning it says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to his bondservants the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bondservant John.” And when John writes all throughout the Book of Revelation over 100 times, he has to resort to saying, “like or as.” He’d say, “like emerald” or “as if by this.” In other words, he’s struggling to communicate what he’s seeing in these visions that the angel has given him and so he… A hundred times, better than a hundred times like or as, and you’ll just see it. As a matter of fact, let me turn this to Chapter 19. I’ve got to move quickly because I want to cover a lot of text today. Chapter 19 begins with the fourfold hallelujahs. Verse 1 has that, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” I love hearing you sing the word hallelujah. You were actually designed and created for that word. And hallelujah is the same word in a lot of different languages.

Sometimes it’s alleluia, but it’s hallelujah, hallelujah. It’s praise to God. We were designed and created for this. So, there’s four. In chapters 19 through 22, as he unpacks the real vision, sort of the ultimate vision of what it’s going to finally be like as the Lord returns and sets up the new kingdom and new Heaven and new Earth. He starts with this right here in the beginning of Chapter 19, this fourfold hallelujah. Verse 1 has a hallelujah in it. Verse 3 has a hallelujah in it. Verse 4 has one. And then if you drop down to Verse 6, you see another one, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.” So that’s there, and then there’s the marriage of the lamb verses 7 through 10. And then I want to read verses 11 through 16 for you because this is about the second advent, the second appearing of Christ.

John writes this, “And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and He who sat upon it is called faithful and true.” Just right there, see. I get overwhelmed when I think of that. In a world of faithlessness and falsity, Jesus is faithful. Jesus is true. And so, we look to Jesus, and we long for His return. He’s on a white horse. He comes… He’s called faithful and true and in righteousness He judges and wages war. Against what? Against evil, all evil of all forms, anything that sets itself against God. “His eyes are a flame of fire, and upon His head are many diadems; [or crowns] and He has a name written upon Him which no one knows except Himself.”

In other words, if you even tried to understand the name that is written on Him, it would blow your mind. Nobody knows. Nobody… This is how huge this vision is. Yes, several names for Christ have been revealed to us along the way, but evidently, there’s a heavenly version of His name that will fry our circuits. None of us could even begin to understand it. He’s clothed with a robe dipped in blood. You know why? Because He died for me, and He died for you. “His name is called the Word of God,” and this same John who wrote this also wrote “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God” in John’s Gospel, Chapter 1. “He was in the beginning with God, and everything that was made was made through Him.”

It’s pretty big stuff John claims about Jesus, Clothed in a robe, dipped in blood. “His name is the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.” So just imagine hordes and hordes, a great multitude of horses coming out of the heavens, white horses, with all of the armies of God on them, “And from His mouth comes a sharp sword.” That’s a weird look, isn’t it? “So that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.” All right, that’s all I want to read from Chapter 19, but it is because I got other stuff to read. It’s in Chapter 21. Go there with me if you will, first seven verses, “And I saw a new…” By the way, “saw” or “I saw,” it is like 50 times in the Book of Revelation. So, some of you go, well see then it is revelations. [Congregation: No]

No, no. This is all for him. This is all… For John, this is all mind… Eye popping. He saw so much stuff. It’s eye popping, mind blowing, heart thumping, and he’s just trying to communicate. And he has to keep going like this and has that and here’s what he says, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” Can you even imagine that? Sorry, surfers, scuba divers. Sorry, sorry, deep sea fishermen guys, sorry. There’s no longer any more sea. “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” It’s a city as a bride adorned for her husband.

“I heard…” So, there’s seeing, there’s hearing going on. “I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death.'” Oh, yes. “There shall no longer be any mourning, “M-O-U-R-N-I-N-G,” or crying or pain; the first things have passed away,” or the former things, some of your translations will say. “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'” Now, in some of your Bibles, some of this will be in red letters. Some of you have red… Raise your hand if you have a red-letter English translation of your Bible. Just raise your hands, just want to see.

Okay. Usually, that’s the translator’s attempt to identify which words are being said by Jesus as opposed to by, say, in the Book of Revelation, sometimes it’s the voice of God the Father, and that’s not going to… Probably the English translators won’t put that in red. Sometimes it’s the voice of the angel speaking. Sometimes it’s the narrator John’s voice. And so, we have a lot of different voices, and it’s not always easy to tell which one is actually speaking. In this particular case, I think myself, it’s God the Father, but I can’t say with 100% certainty. All I can say is I really love what it says. He’s making all things new. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

I came home to some dead batteries. A lot of dead batteries around our house in the outdoor lights. I have to go make them new this afternoon so that the lights around our house will look festive. I think our neighbors might be mad about this, I’m not sure, but we have these fading Christmas lights, and they need to be renewed, made new. He said, “Write, for these words are,” here it is, “faithful and true.” How refreshing. “And He said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega.” That’s like the beginning and the end. And that’s what it is, the beginning and end. “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.” You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. You can’t achieve it, but you can receive it. Why? Because he’s giving it. That’s awesome. “He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God, he will be My son.”

Now, drop down to Chapter 22. We got to read this too, “And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” By the way, go read all of Chapter 19 to 22 this afternoon and just enjoy it all. I have to skip because I’ve only got a little bit of time here, but I wanted to talk about the return of Christ, the second advent of Christ and the impact, the eternal impact that it has. So, there’s this river of water of life clear as crystal coming from the throne of God and of the lamb in the middle of its street, which is it’s unavoidable. And it’s odd that it’s in the middle of the street. It flows right down the middle of the street. So right down Hillsboro Road, it’d be a river in the middle of it, but two sides, two roads on either side. Two directions for the road to go on either side of it, right?

“And on either side of the river was the tree of life bearing…” So that’s interesting too. the tree of life bridges the river bearing 12 kinds of fruit, and 12 is an awesome number and throughout the Bible. It’s not just one of those. I’m not just trying to do one of those sorts of trendy numerology-type things. Hey, 12 is important. It shows up all the time. 12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples, 12 apostles, okay? And here, there will be 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. That means it’s 12 is sort of the number of completion, the totality of God’s people, 12 tribes of Israel, the totality of Jesus followers, 12 disciples represent his followers. The apostles represent all of us who have been sent out in a very general way. They had a very unique position in that they saw Him. They heard Him. They saw the resurrected Jesus. And so, it’s 12 kinds of fruit, everything you’d ever want, yielding its fruit every month “and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” Isn’t that beautiful?

The shade of the leaves of this tree, and he’s seeing a vision of a future and the impact of the return of Christ who came back on the white horse and all that it means for the future. And there shall no longer be any curse in the throne of God and of the lamb. By the way. Look at how closely that is the throne of God and of the Lamb. Together, not separate. Again, we have Trinitarian in our beliefs here. God has revealed Himself as God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. And so, you constantly read about God the Father, and you read about the Lamb, who is Jesus, the Son of God. You’re going to read about the Spirit throughout Revelation as well. So, throughout Scripture, you get… from all the way in Genesis, all the way to Revelation… you get Father, Son and Spirit all the time, even though the word trinity doesn’t show up in our Bibles.

But this “throne is of God and of the lamb and they shall be in it.” This curse is done away with and “the throne of God and of the lamb shall be in it, and his bondservants shall serve Him; and they shall see his face and his name shall be on their foreheads.” What is that about? Is that just the opposite of the mark of the beast? Maybe in a way, but maybe it’s also God saying, “That one is mine. And nobody but nobody can change that,” because God has put his mark on us. “There shall no longer be any night; they shall not have need of light or of a lamp or light of the sun,” no more electric bills. Somebody say amen, “because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.” Do you understand how beautiful the word forever is and that he tags on and ever?

I like that. We did that with the Lord’s prayer up here. Some of you have noticed and come up and ask me, “Hey, that’s not what it says in Matthew 6. It just says forever, amen. How come you put the and ever in there?” And I always just say, “We just got a little too excited when we had that sign made,” and that usually stops the inquiry, but John’s excited like that. “They shall reign forever and ever. And he said to me, ‘These words are,” what? Somebody? [Congregation: Faithful.]

Faithful and true. “And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his bondservants the things which must shortly take place.” And now in red in my translation, this is the New American Standard. This is Jesus according to these translators, this is the voice of Jesus, “Behold, I am coming quickly,” by the way, He’ll say that three times in this chapter alone, Chapter 22, “I’m coming quickly,” not I’ll be there sometime, not I’ll be there in a few thousand years. He’s saying this now to John on the Isle of Patmos. John’s getting this vision of the way it’s going to be. And the Lord Jesus is saying, “I’m coming quickly,” and He’s going to say it three times in this chapter alone. You can circle it if you would like to. “Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” He says “this book” six times in this chapter alone.

Again, it’s not magic but it is a reference and it’s meaningful. This book, is he talking about the Book of Revelation or the entire Bible? Take your pick. I’m okay with either one. This book is important, and he wants you to heed the words of the prophecy of this book please. Six times he will say it. “I, John am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he [the angel] said to me, ‘Do not do that. I’m a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren, the prophets, and of those who heed the words of this book; worship God.” He’s already done that one time before in Chapter 19. He fell down and worshiped the angel as well. And the angel rebuked him and said, “No, no, no, no. Worship doesn’t belong to me,” the angel said that. Even in our own day and time, there are people that go nuts over the subject of angels. They’re obsessed with angels.

Are they real? Yes. Hallelujah. I’m glad they’re real. Are we supposed to worship them? No. Unequivocally, they even tell us that right here in this book and they say, “Worship God, that’s where your worship’s supposed to go. That’s what you were designed to do with your worship.” And some of you have been to some holiday events and that sort of thing and you’ve seen the most incredible production on stage. Kim and I, just this week, we saw the most incredible production on stage. I mean, unbelievable. The kind of thing that you’re just going, “How in the world does somebody think of that?” And yet that is nothing that fades. It will be completely blown away by this that John is talking about in this book when the Lord wraps up human history and comes and brings the new Heaven and the new Earth. That’s really exciting to me.

Well, John is eager. He wants to respond. He falls down and worships at the foot of the angel, but the angel says, “No, worship God, don’t worship me.” Verse 10, “And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the one who does wrong still do wrong. Let the one who is filthy still be filthy. Let the one who’s righteous still practice righteousness. And let the one who is holy still keep himself holy.’” What’s verse 11 about? He’s basically saying people at the end will be settled into what they are. They will prove themselves to have been wicked or righteous. They will prove themselves to have been for God or against God. And God is the one who decides when it’s time to draw the line on history, right? And that’s exactly what he’s saying there, I believe.

Verse 12 in my Bible is in red ink, it will be the second time Jesus says “I’m coming quickly.” “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” In other words, Jesus claiming right there that He will have the last word on human history. I don’t know about you, but I’m glad He’s the one that has the last word on human history. If I have it, you guys are sunk. Well, some of you are, okay? If you have it, I might be sunk and any number of other people that you just don’t happen to like might be sunk, but God by His grace because He is both the Lion of Judah who can and rightfully should judge the world, but He’s also the Lamb of God who lays down His life for the sins of people like me and you.

He’s the only one powerful enough like a lion and gentle enough like a lamb to handle the power and to give justice and at the same time, grace and mercy. He’s the only one that can do that because He’s faithful and true. Verse 14, “Blessed,” this is… I love it. Last chapter of the entire Bible, we get another beatitude. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city.” We wash our robes in the blood of the lamb, and our sins are washed. Oh, have you done that? I hope you’ve done that. If you haven’t done that, why wouldn’t you do that? He’s offering it to you. He died for you. He died for me. Why wouldn’t you come to Him and receive from Him this gift of salvation?

“Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolators, and everyone who loves and practices lying,” some of you’re sitting there saying it sounds like verse 14 says there are some people who are in, and verse 15 says there are some people who are out. And that is exactly what it is saying. For there to be real justice, there must be truth. You cannot have justice without truth. This world we live in likes to play with these things. And for years and years and years, we’ve been sort of handed this bill of goods. There’s no such thing as absolute truth, and we are suffering the consequences of it right now. If nothing is true, then I just define myself. If nothing is true, we’ll just define our own culture. We’ll define each person. We’ll define what’s right and what’s wrong. If nothing is true, then it doesn’t matter that there are 30 million people caught up in human trafficking right now.

So, if you like me are repulsed at the notion that 30 million people are caught up in human trafficking, and you’re longing to believe in justice, but you cannot claim to know what justice is unless you believe in truth. It is true that human trafficking is wrong. I say that unequivocally. If you believe that as well, then you actually do believe in truth. It is on a simple level, it is true that the double yellow line in the street means something, absolutely means something. That’s a very everyday experience for all of us. You and I all believe in absolute truth even though our culture presses us not to believe in it, but He believes in absolute truth. The Lord will end it one day, and He’s the only one that can handle judgment because He’s the only one who’s righteous, faithful and true. And I long for the day that He sets things right. That’s what He means when He says there will be some who will be in because they’ve depended on the grace of God, the mercy of God.

They’ve turned to God in repentance, looking for forgiveness, redemption, looking for renewal. And there are some who don’t want that and God simply is giving them what they want. They want life without God. I hope that’s not you. If that is you, I hope that pricks your conscience just enough this morning to perhaps make you think a little bit more about the disposition of your heart and your mind toward God. Jesus says this in Verse 16, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I’m the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star.” Do you know how many claims Jesus made that are just wild? He’s saying He’s the one that was prophesied. And remember, we’ve looked all the way back into Genesis, we looked in Isaiah, we looked in Matthew, and we heard phrases like this, the root of David, the bright morning star.

Verse 17, “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come,” and let the one who is thirsty come. And let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.” The invitation is there. It’s there for you; it’s there for me. “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book. If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book. If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.” In other words, what God says matters. We must take His Gospel, His good news and all of it. This book is important. This is God’s Word.

Verse 20-21, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.'” That’s the third time Jesus says I’m coming quickly. When is Jesus coming? A lot of people have written lots of books on this subject, and the answer is it’ll be two o’clock somewhere on the planet. I don’t know where on the planet it’ll be two o’clock. I just know that it’ll be two o’clock. What day? Haven’t got a clue. I’ll stand with Jesus he said no man knows the day or the hour. I’m standing with Jesus on that. Okay? The Father knows there is an appointed time. It’s imminent because He’s coming quickly. And today, we’re one day closer. I personally hope He comes before I finish this… It would’ve been great if I just dissolved right then, or we just dissolved. Sorry. I mean, all of us and you guys at home too. Yeah. “Yes, I’m coming quickly,” third time, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus,” in the Aramaic, some of you are used to it “Maranatha.” Yeah, the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you all. Amen. Say Amen with me. [Congregation: Amen.]

You know what that means? It means truly. It means verily. It’s the way the entire Book of Revelation ends. As a matter of fact, it’s the way the entire Bible ends. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all of you. Amen. Wow. All right. What did we learn here? Quickly, I think I can do this fast. Let’s see if we can. “The biblical story,” Peterson says “began, quite logically, with a beginning. Now, it draws to an end, not quite so logically, with a beginning. The sin-ruined creation of Genesis is restored in the sacrifice-renewed creation of Revelation.” That’s exactly right. So, what has Advent got to do with it? What’s Revelation got to do with Advent? Everything. I mean, this is where everything’s going.

If you’ve ever had a question about where the world is going to, where’s this all leading? Do we have a destiny? Do we have a future? Look at the Book of Revelation. It says yes. And amen, it does. And it’s in the one who is faithful and true, and He’s written about it in this book. So, we do well to read this book, to study this book to worship the God of the word. Advent Fully Realized means at least three things: that God is sovereign over the entire sweep of history. I don’t know about you. I’m glad about that. Sometimes I think the planet, the entire planet, is careening off like God just created it and then drop-kicked it over the back fence of the universe and just said, “Have a good time. Hope y’all survive. Hope y’all make it by yourself.” That’s the way I feel sometimes. The world is nuts sometimes. In another way, the world is dark, really dark sometimes.

In another way, there are some really beautiful moments that are more than just lights on a Christmas tree, and they are the light of the world Jesus shining through His people in this dark world. Can we be that? Let’s be that with a light that is not our own, but it belongs to Jesus. “Can you understand the Book of Revelation?” Vern Poythress says, “Yes, you can. You can summarize its message in one sentence. God rules history and will bring it to its consummation in Christ.” There you go. See? He could have saved you a lot of money on books, some of you guys, and movies and things, right? But I’m with him on that, I love that. Secondly, not only is God sovereign over the sweep, the entire sweep of human history, but God intends the ultimate renewal of all things.

This is really amazing. We have been redeemed. Jesus died on the cross for me in space-time history. The price for my sin has been paid. Same for you if you trust Christ as your savior. Your sins, all of them past, present and future, the price has been paid. Lean into that; rest in that gift of God’s grace. If you don’t… If you’re unsettled all the time, maybe you’re not believing in this God, maybe you’re believing in a performance-based teacher god or some kind of a troll-under-the-bridge god waiting for you to have a good time so he can smack you down. No, no. Believe in this God. He’s paid the price for your sins once and for all. We’ve been redeemed, we are being restored, and we will be renewed is what the Book of Revelation tells us. He’s making all things, what? [Congregation: New.]

That’s right. Are you part of all things? Yeah, we are. Hallelujah. Isn’t that great? Tom Holland, this is so moved, this guy, world-class historian, who I think he was led to write this book. Anyway, Dominion: How the Christian Revolution [literally] Remade the World. He said, “That the peoples of the Roman Empire came to worship the Son of God, not a warlord who had ruled them as emperor, but a man who had suffered death at the hands of its soldiers was the marker of as profound a transformation in the understanding of power as any in human history.” You see that God is sovereign over all history and that God intends to renew everything, make all things new is evident. It’s on a roll now because God’s people are being… They’ve been redeemed, and they are being restored, and they are headed for full renewal. Lesslie Newbigin said it this way, “The Bible is unique among the sacred books of the world’s religions in that is in structure a history of the cosmos.”

Remember it begins within the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. And here, toward the end of Revelation we start to see, we don’t need the sea anymore. Don’t need the sun or the stars anymore. Why? Because God Himself is all of that. Everything we need, right? “It claims,” the Bible does, “to show us the shape, structure, origin, and the goal not merely of human history but of cosmic history.” I want to be in on that. We all tend to think that our little slice of where we live right now is the most important. It’s the only thing that really… No, listen. The world is so much bigger than me and so much bigger than you and how much bigger your life would be if you were smaller in it. Let that sink in. Chesterton said something like that. I can’t remember the exact quote, but how much bigger your world would be if you could just see yourself as smaller in it.

Why? Because now all of a sudden, the disenchantment that’s all around us becomes re-enchantment because there’s a transcendent God who’s over all things and is in control of all things and intends to renew all things including you, including me, including doing away with all the injustice and the wars and the disease and the death. Let it go. Trust Him. Thirdly, not only is God sovereign over the sweep of history and intends to ultimately renew all things, He also extends an invitation for us to believe and to receive, and that’s through there as well, isn’t it? “Come” is said multiple times. It’s interesting because in a couple of different voices from a different perspective or two. We’re invited. It’s almost a universal invitation in this. It’s like anybody who will come and believe. And the Gospel and the four gospels, we read the call, the invitation of the Gospel is repent and believe. It’s not just, “You guys at The Village Chapel, repent and believe.” No, it’s said publicly to everyone within hearing could possibly hear it and respond.

So, the Gospel is an offer, it’s an invitation, and it’s a universally spread invitation. Anyone, not just the zip code, not just this country, not just this race, not just this education system, achievements or any of that sort. No, anyone. It’s a universal offer. It’s the most inclusive religious belief system in the world because the offer is to everyone. Everyone does not accept the offer, but the offer is to everyone. Jesus died on the cross. He paid the price for your sins, for my sins. And if everybody on the planet did repent and believe His cross and His resurrection efficacious, they’re effective enough to cover it all. If you’re here today and you have not repented and turned in faith toward Christ, why wouldn’t you? What would stop you? This is what He has planned for the future.

“The power of a metaphor,” Justin Brierley says, “is contained in the fact that it ultimately points towards something that exists in reality.” In other words, the metaphor is meaningless unless there’s something it refers to or points to. “We cannot live on metaphors alone.” That’s so true. “We cannot use poetry, psychology and myth to hold God at arms’ length forever.” Some people do that. It’s all just so poetic, and it’s also just sort about the way we feel and we’ve kind of leaned into this where all the feels over the last couple of generations. And we even say, I feel this. I feel like this is true, instead of I believe this is true or I know this is true or I’m convicted that this is true. We say, “I feel all the time,” when we should be saying I believe, or I know or I have some conviction about it. I like this quote a lot.

He says, “We can’t use poetry, psychology, and myth to hold God at arm’s length forever. What if the 2000-year-old story is only able to reconnect with our deepest desires for meaning, purpose and identity because it’s the true story to which all other stories point.” Yes, there is a God, the Bible says, and it’s not Jim. Yes, there is a God and it’s not you. You are longing for Him because He put eternity in your hearts. You didn’t do that. He did that, and He put within you a longing that will never be satisfied by anything else. All the lights of Christmas, all the presents under the tree, all the advancement in your career, all the success, all the pleasure, all the money of the world would not satisfy you because you were created with God in mind, a connection with your creator in mind. And so, you will be forever, chronically, longing to know Him until you turn to Him and begin to know Him and walk with Him. And He’s made that possible.

“If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth ‘thrown in:’ Aim at Earth and you will get neither,” words of CS Lewis. I think he’s so brilliant. That’s so true. I think that’s from The Weight of Glory. Is that right? Oh, Mere Christianity, yeah. So powerful, so good though. You were created with this in mind. Don’t settle for Earth and all that. I mean, again, enjoy the lights we love. We love Christmas. We got the trees, we got the candles, we got all kinds of symbols that are fun, but we recognize all the symbols point to something greater than the symbol itself, and so we look to Him.

One more quote and then I’ll close with a couple verses from 1 Thessalonians. William and Hauerwas, these are professors at Duke University. They have a book on the Lord’s Prayer. I just finished recording a new series of the podcast that’ll air in January, February, I think it is, on the Lord’s Prayer, but this just jumped out at me when I was studying for that and knew this day would come. We talk about Advent as well but, “Christ began a journey in which we’ve been enlisted. We are on the journey and the journey is not yet over. The unfinished aspect of the journey is part of the adventure of discipleship. We keep standing on tiptoes, awaiting what God will dare to do among us next.” So, as we come to the end of the year, get up on your tiptoes, church. Lean into Him, not just from sensational entertainment, but to Him personally.

The more I give my heart to Jesus, the better husband I am. The more I give my heart to Jesus, the better pastor I am. The more I give my heart to Jesus, the better brother in Christ I am to you as well, and we want to do that. He is faithful and true, and He has called me, and He has called you. How will you respond? The Apostle Paul said, “May God Himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together, spirit, soul, and body, and keep you fit for the coming of our master, Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”

Let’s pray: Lord, thank You. All we need to do is turn to You as the Apostle Paul just said. We don’t pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We don’t gin up some kind of feeling. We simply turn to You, and You bring it to pass. Lord, thank You for that. Thank You that into our darkness, You have brought the light of the world, Jesus, and now we can belong to Him and join Him and His mission in this world as lights in the world. Lord, put in our hearts a new song because of not only what You’ve done in the past, but what You intend to do in the future. Put within us, Lord, this song of great joy that we talk so much about at Advent and at Christmas. The peace, the love, the joy, and the hope that are all available to us in the person and work of Jesus. Let us respond now, Lord, with a resounding acceptance of the gift of joy through Jesus in whose name we pray. Amen.

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs:

“O Come All Ye Faithful“ by C. Frederick Oakeley and John Francis Wade
“Hark The Herald Angels Sing“ by Charles Wesley Music: Felix Mendelssohn
“In The Bleak Mid Winter“ by Christina Georgina Rossetti
“Joy To The World“ by George Frederic Handel and Isaac Watts
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois

All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #200369

Call To Worship: Advent Realized

Leader: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!
People: Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created.

Leader: Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!
People: Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God

All: Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory. Hallelujah! Amen!

Classic Prayer: Geerhardus Vos, 1862-1949

Thanks be to you God, our Savior who seeks the lost, with eyes supernaturally farsighted you discern us a long way off, and draw our interest to yourself by the sweet constraint of your grace, till we are face to face with you and our soul is saved. As once, in the incarnation, you came down from heaven to seek mankind, so you still come down silently from heaven in the case of each sinner, and pursue each individual soul following it through all the mazes of its waywardness and the devious paths of its folly, sometimes unto the very brink of destruction, till at last your grace overtakes it and says, “I must lodge at your house.” For, besides the divine omniscience here manifested, we are made witnesses of your sovereign and almighty power.

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