Easter 6                                                                                                          May 13, 2007

“Paradise in the Full”

Revelation 22:1-6

            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 forever and ever.

            6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true.  The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.

They say at Seminary that a common mistake made by young men learning to write sermons is this: he is so excited to preach, and so thrilled at the chance to share everything he knows since the day he entered PreK Sunday School, that he tries to preach on the entire Bible in one sermon.  He says a little about a lot, rather than saying a lot about a little.

Well, guess what I am going to do today.  At the risk of boring you, I am going to preach on the entire Bible.  Not the whole Bible, I guess; just a little from the very beginning and a little from the very end.  The sermon verses for today are some verses from the end, from Revelation 22, the very last chapter in the Bible.  As we study the end of the Bible we will discover how closely the END of the Bible fits with the BEGINNING.  To enjoy the end of Revelation, you benefit greatly from pondering the beginning of Genesis.

So we begin our study of Revelation 22 today with some thoughts not from Revelation but from Genesis.  What are Genesis 1 and 2 about?  The first chapters of the Bible tell the story of creation.  They tell the story of God thoughtfully creating the entire world with jaw-dropping beauty.  God especially made the Garden of Eden to be a lovely playground for Adam and Eve.

In Eden were many trees; two of them are named.  One is the tree of life, the other is the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  God commanded them, “You may eat from any tree you want – any tree! – but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Here’s a point to remember - in Eden, access to the tree of life was granted.  They were free to eat from that tree if they wished.

It is also worth noting that in Eden there was not any curse.  The term “curse” was like the term “man in the moon” for us.  Here’s what I mean.  The man in the moon does not exist; the man in the moon cannot be found; the man in the moon simply is not there.  In Eden, a curse did not exist.  A curse could not be found.  A curse simply was not there.  There were no curses in Eden.  Adam and Eve were never blindsided; they never miscommunicated; they never hurt one another in any way.  They had perfect trust in God and in one another.  No anxiety.  No sleepless nights.  No curse in Eden.

In Eden, they had access to the tree of life.  In Eden there was no curse to be found.  In Eden they saw God face-to-face.  There were no blockades between them and God.  They had perfect unity; for God had given them paradise.

But it wasn’t long and paradise given became paradise lost.  God had been so good to them.  God had given them paradise!  But Adam and Eve, after some encouragement from Satan, decided in a heated moment that they didn’t like serving God anymore.  “I’ve gotta do what’s best for me and my family!” they thought.  “I want to control my life; I want to decide!”  All those trees and only one from which they couldn’t eat!  But they ripped the fruit out of the one tree out of which God had told them not to touch.  And now everything changed.

• Before they had open access to the tree of life.  But now the access was gone.  God placed angels on the east side of Eden armed with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

• Before they knew life without curse.  The term curse was made-up like out term “man in the moon.”  But what did God say in the aftermath of the first sin?  “CURSED are you, devil!  You will crawl on your belly all the days of your life.  CURSED are you ground!  You will produce thorns and thistles and only through painful toil will you eat of it.  CURSED are you, Adam and Eve!  For dust you are and to dust you will return.”  They had known what curse-free life was like; but their sin had cut that off.

• Before they knew unity and calm in God’s presence.  But their sin had blocked the way to God’s presence.  Now the holy God who hates sin would turn his face away from them.

• Before they had life, but now death; before they had blessings, but now curses; before they had peace in God’s presence, but now they scrambled to hide.  Before paradise had been given; but now paradise was lost.

Specific law…”In Adam, we have all been one; one huge rebellious man.”  We are part of the rebellion.  We are part of the curse.

Specific gospel…How Christ changes everything…

Jesus came so that whoever believes in him will be saved, not cursed.  Jesus came so that we may have life and have it to the full.  Jesus came to restore Eden.  And that brings us full circle to Revelation 22.  Paradise was given, lost, restored in Christ; and now, for the Christian who departs earth, it is reality.

§ In heaven, as in Eden, we once again have access to the tree of life.  Listen to Rev 22:1-2.  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.  The tree of life is once again growing on the banks of this wonderful river with water as clear as crystal.  There are no angels with flashing swords blocking the way to its fruit.  In heaven, as in Eden, we have access to the tree of life.  Help yourself.

§ In heaven, as in Eden, there will be no such thing as a curse.  Listen to Rev. 22:3a.  3 No longer will there be any curse.”  Literally, that verse in the Hebrew reads, “Every curse shall be no more.”  The curse of Satan’s temptations will be no more.  The curse of toiling for food will be no more.  The curse of miscommunication between husbands and wives will be no more.  The curse of God hating our sins will be no more.  The curse of death will be no more.  In heaven, as in Eden, there will be no such thing as a curse.

§ And there is more.  In heaven, as in Eden, we will see God face-to-face and there will be nothing blocking the way.  Listen to Rev 22:3b-5.  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 forever and ever.  More about seeing God face-to-face…

Applications of calm and peace…

And now listen to verse six, the triumphant grand finale of this whole thing.  “The angel said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true.’”  The words of Scripture are trustworthy and true.  You can put your money where God’s mouth is.  Not just the words of Revelation 22, or the words of Genesis 1 and 2…but everything in between as well.  Scripture fits together.  Scripture never contradicts itself.  Scripture is the truth.  And that means that the paradise was given, lost, restored in Christ and will be reality as soon as our heart beats for the very last time.  Amen.