Revelation 21:1-6, Revelation 1:1-8

Revelation 21:1-6
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 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 water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Revelation 1:1-8
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. 4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Let us pray,

May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing and acceptable to you, our rock and our redeemer.

Today is the last Sunday of our Summer Sermon series on Revelation. Next Sunday we’ll be back to the gospel of Matthew as we finish up Ordinary Time. Our Scripture reading for today should sound familiar to you. It is taken from the end and the beginning of Revelation. I chose these texts so you could see that Revelation comes full circle. Despite the church’s complacency. Despite the dragons, and the whores, and the flames of fire, and the plagues. Revelation is about Jesus. The Alpha and the Omega. The first and the last. Evil must be allowed to do its worst. So that Jesus’ victory over evil will be complete.

In Bible Study last week, we learned a new word. Eschatology. Eschatology comes from the Greek words “eschatos” meaning “last” and -logy meaning “the study of.” Eschatology, then, is the study of the last things, or the end of times. When Christians talk about the end of times, they are to draw their inspiration from John’s vision in Revelation 21. There will be a new heaven and a new earth. God’s dwelling place is now among God’s people. God will be our God and we will be God’s people.

I want us to think back to the Old Testament for a minute. Remember the covenants that God made with the Israelites? With men like Abraham, Moses, Jacob, and David. In each of these covenants, God promised to be the Israelites God if the Israelites would worship God alone. God had to keep making covenants because the Israelites couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.

In Revelation we learn that the eschaton will be the final fulfilment of the covenants God made with the Israelites. In the end of times we will once and for all be God’s people. Because evil will have done it’s best to separate us from God. So that God will have the final victory over the powers of evil.

The eschaton- God will have the final victory over evil- is the revelation in Revelation. God is revealing to us what creation will look like when Jesus returns. Until Jesus returns, we are to hold onto this hope that Jesus will return to restore creation to its intended glory. While evil is having its day, it doesn’t have the final say in who we are. Our hope is in Jesus. The Alpha and the Omega. Jesus will have the first victory and the final word.

I’m really glad we’ve had a chance to work our way through Revelation during the coronavirus pandemic. I think the pandemic has been revelatory for all of us. This week I asked you to reflect on what has been made new for you during this pandemic. And what is the hope you have for a new heaven and a new earth.

I want to share with you what I learned as I reflected on these questions over the course of our sermon series on Revelation.

This pandemic has taught me the importance of community during difficult seasons of life. I know this may sound incredibly obvious to some of you. Particularly for those of you who have lived through difficult seasons of life before the pandemic began. But I definitely entered quarantine with a sense that I would be able to socially distance from my friends, my family, and my church communities with relative ease. And that worked for a couple of weeks. But as the pandemic wore on, I realized that I simply cannot go it alone. That sermons work best live, not printed on a manuscript. And sometimes Zoom has outages on Sunday mornings that make online worship incredibly frustrating.

The greatest pastoral challenge of the coronavirus pandemic has been creating opportunities for community while socially distancing. I think technology has helped us find points of connection during the week- Zoom is great for things like Bible Study, Session meetings, and staff check ins. But technology isn’t a substitute for human interaction. Particularly for things like Sunday morning worship services, pastoral visitations, and staff check-ins. Some of this support has to happen in person. And discerning what must happen in person has made our community stronger.

When I look back over the course of our Revelation sermon series, I find a lot of hope in knowing that empire does not have the final say in who we are. That even though Rome and Babylon and Allegheny County’s covid-19 dashboard try to tell us who we are, they are not that powerful. Only Jesus is powerful enough to give our lives meaning and purpose.

On the really bad days of this pandemic. When the politicians are fighting about whether we should wear masks in public. When positive cases are rising in Allegheny County. When a friend or family member tests positive for the virus and has to isolate for two weeks. On those days I hold onto hope that Jesus is actively working to create a new heaven and a new earth. Even when I can’t see it. Even when I’m not sure I believe it. Jesus is Lord and Jesus is with us.

Another thing that gives me hope right now is knowing that we are living between the times. Between the time when Jesus came, lived, and died, and the time when Jesus will come again to restore creation to its intended glory. We refer to this time as the “already-but-not-yet-kingdom-of-God.” We already know how the story starts. It starts with a baby born in a manger. We know how it ends. It ends with Jesus destroying evil once and for all. But Jesus hasn’t returned quite yet. Our task in the meantime, in this in-between time, is to be as faithful, hopeful, and worship-ful of Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega as we can be.

This gives me hope because while living a life of Christian discipleship is certainly hard, it is certainly possible at the same time. While nations rage, empires crumble, and evil is allowed to do its worst, Jesus is Lord and Jesus is with us. If you take nothing else away from our sermon series on Revelation, I hope you take away this. We are engaged in a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil. We will face many obstacles, and many distractions along our journey. But we do not go into battle alone. Jesus, the Alpha and the Omega, goes out ahead of us to prepare a place for us. Our job is to join in with the voices of the multitude as they proclaim:

He will wipe every tear from their eye. There will be no more death or morning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Thanks be to God,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.