I Am Making Everything New

Scripture: References only Series: The Lamb Reigns Date: Unscheduled Preacher: Ed Rangel Location: Chile Scripture: References only Sermon Type: Expository Status: Not yet preached

Thesis

God will bring history to a new creation where He will dwell with His people, wipe away sorrow forever, and exclude every evil that has not been forgiven and abandoned.

Opening

Many changes merely move pain from one place to another. A new government does not eliminate death, a new home does not heal every wound, and a new year does not wash away sin. When God says, "I am making everything new," He promises something that no human reform can produce.

The new creation is not a more comfortable version of the present world. Death disappears, sorrow ends, and God dwells with His people. But the very voice that promises water of life warns about the second death.

Introduction

1. Revelation 20 ends with the final judgment before the great white throne.
2. John then sees a new heaven, a new earth, and the holy city coming down from God.
3. The central hope consists of the fact that God will dwell forever with His people.
4. The promise of inheritance for the victor stands alongside the warning for anyone who persists in rebellion.

Complete Biblical Text, Revelation 21:1–8

I. GOD PREPARES A CREATION WHERE HE DWELLS WITH HIS PEOPLE (Revelation 21:1–3)

A. The present order will not continue forever.

1. John sees a new heaven and a new earth because the former things have passed away.
2. Christian hope does not consist of escaping creation eternally, but rather in God's renewing work.
3. The city comes down from heaven because the future is not a human construction rising toward God.

B. God's presence occupies the center of the promise.

1. The city appears prepared as a bride for her husband.
2. The voice from the throne declares that God will dwell among men and they will be His people.
3. Every future blessing springs from a communion free of sin and separation.

II. GOD WILL REMOVE EVERYTHING THAT NOW MAKES HIS PEOPLE WEEP (Revelation 21:4–6)

A. Death and its works will cease to exist.

1. God Himself will wipe away every tear from His people's eyes.
2. There will no longer be death, mourning, crying, or pain.
3. The promise does not treat suffering as a small matter, because it names what has wounded humanity and announces its end.

B. The eternal God guarantees the promise.

1. The One seated on the throne declares that He makes everything new.
2. His words are faithful and true, and therefore hope does not depend on optimistic emotion.
3. The Alpha and the Omega rules the beginning and the end of history.
4. He freely offers water of life to the thirsty because eternal life proceeds from His grace.

III. THE INHERITANCE HAS A PROMISE AND A WARNING (Revelation 21:7–8)

A. The victor receives the inheritance as a son.

1. To conquer in Revelation means to remain faithful to the Lamb in the face of deception, pressure, and suffering.
2. The inheritance is not purchased through merit, nor is it promised to a faith that abandons Christ.
3. God will be the victor's God and will receive him as a son.

B. Unrepentant rebellion ends in the second death.

1. Verse 8 names cowardice, unbelief, violence, immorality, sorcery, idolatry, and lying.
2. Grace offers pardon to the repentant sinner, but it does not make protected sin part of the holy city.
3. Whoever prefers rebellion to God receives a different inheritance: the lake of fire.
4. Christian hope comforts the faithful and calls the sinner to respond while there is still time.

Anticipated Questions

Will the new creation be merely a spiritual existence without a body or a created world?

John sees a new heaven, a new earth, a city, a people, and the dwelling of God with humanity. Biblical hope does not reduce salvation to souls escaping creation forever. God brings His purpose to a renewed creation where death and pain no longer rule.

Is the New Jerusalem exclusively a material city separate from the redeemed people?

The city descends prepared as a bride. The image unites place, people, and communion with God. Its details should be read as a revelation of the holiness, security, and glory of the final dwelling, not as material to calculate celestial real estate.

Does the promise "I am making everything new" mean that everyone will be saved without repentance?

The same passage freely offers the water of life and also names those who remain outside because of their rebellion. Grace is free, but it does not turn unbelief into security. The invitation calls the thirsty to come and the sinner to abandon what God judges.

Does this passage allow us to date the end based on wars, disasters, or political changes?

The vision guarantees the final outcome without providing a date. Its purpose is to form fidelity, hope, and holiness while we wait. Whoever turns the promise into a calculation replaces the certainty that God did give with a date He did not reveal.

Application

The Christian can weep without despairing. God does not promise that every tear will end during this life, but He has promised a day when He Himself will dry it and its cause will never return. That hope makes it possible to endure loss without denying its pain.

The promise also demands holiness. No one should speak of the New Jerusalem while embracing what God excludes from it. The water of life is offered freely, and it must be received through a faith that repents and remains with Christ.

Conclusion

1. The present order will pass away and God will make everything new.
2. God will dwell with His people and will remove death and pain forever.
3. The thirsty person freely receives the water of life.
4. The victor inherits as a son, while unrepentant rebellion ends in the second death.

Invitation

Jesus Christ died and rose again to open the way to life. If you are thirsty, respond to His gospel. Believe in Him, repent, confess His name, and be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins. If you are a Christian, remain faithful and abandon any sin that competes with the inheritance God has promised.