Ecclesiastes...Pastor Phil Strong

Part 29

11-20-11                                              

Text: Revelation 21                                    

Solomon has suggested that …

For those who remain under-the-sun (no God speaking, no God interacting, no God restoring), the best you can hope for is to extract as much pleasure from each person and each circumstance you encounter because… this is it.

For those who live under-the-sun, but have connected with the ‘eternity in your hearts’, you can enjoy what God has given without attempting to squeeze every last drop of satisfaction because… this is just the beginning.

Summation…

►God has promised that he will restore all of creation so that it will one day become all that it is presently “groaning” to be.

►God has made possible, through Jesus, a new way to relate to him and to one another; a way which eliminates any obstacle which might prevent us from being with him and each other in restorative ways (‘atonement’- every movement of God toward his creation motivated by his purpose of setting things right).

►God has made possible a way to live “normally” in an “abnormal” world. He has inaugurated his Kingdom in, with and among us so that we might experience a taste/sampling of a world set right in the here and now.

The Holy Spirit is the “collateral” (Ephesians 1:13-14) ensuring that he will not abandon the process. The Spirit is not only God’s guarantee of the life we hope for, but the sure sign that we will never experience it fully prior to the return of Jesus and the establishment of God’s rule on the earth.

► Repentance signals our desire to cooperate.

            Salvation always requires a response, even if it’s simply to stop resisting and allow ourselves to be saved!

I believe in judgment because I believe in love.

I believe in heaven because I believe in justice.

I believe in hell because Jesus did and, because I believe in love and justice.

Ultimately, nothing short of God’s “yes” to all that’s good and his “no” to all that is contributing to the continued disorder (evil) will be required for all of creation to realize the “shalom” for which is was designed.

            So, if we only have one life… and if there is life after death… and if that life will last a really, really long time … then I want to start living right now in light of the forever life [Hebrews 9:27 “Destined for man to die once, after that, face judgment, so also Christ died once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to all who are waiting for him”].

I think it’s fair to say that Jesus was totally preoccupied with the vision of the “Kingdom” [It’s what formed and informed all of his interactions]. The consummation of that Kingdom would be what prophets described as the “new heavens and new earth”.

            This “Kingdom come on earth” would not be the result of human ingenuity or progress, but would require one final and climactic display of grace.

● But, I think it also fair to say that Jesus’ vision of the future also included a reality called “hell”.

Since we are learning to reference Jesus for all matters of life and faith (“way, truth and life”, John 14), we must assume that there is validity to his convictions about such a place, otherwise, I can’t trust what he said about anything else… not even heaven.

[Matthew 7:13-14, 19, 10:28, 32-33, 18:8-9, 23:33, 25:41]

“Gehenna”- (derived from the Hebrew, 'Ge-Hinnom', the valley of Hinnom) proper name of a literal place south of Jerusalem. It was a valley notorious for pagan worship and child sacrifice. It was a frequently used metaphor for the final judgment and came to represent the ultimate in human arrogance and the most inhumane of conditions. It was a place of ruin [2 Kings 16:3, 21:6; Ezekiel16:20-21; Jeremiah 7:29-34, 19:6-9, 32:35, 7:32]

Are we to understand these images literally? If not, is the end result any less horrific?

These are powerful word pictures utilized to describe the indescribable; to convey inexplicable devastation. Jesus was attempting to depict such horrors as to evoke a response--- so that people would avoid it at all costs. Jesus, as well as the other NT writers, believed that warning people of judgment was actually the most loving thing to do.

Unfortunately, having attached such ridiculous, medieval images to it, it becomes easily dismissed as non-sensical.                                                                                                                                

Jesus’ very message was “inclusive” for all who would believe and “exclusive”, in that it defined the boundaries of belief.

● Although I’ve always wanted to be a “universalist” when I grow up, it doesn’t seem to fit the story of reality that has been offered to us; and, that although offered to all, it will be missed by many [Matthew 7].

● Boundaries help to distinguish “identity”. It says, in effect, “Some things are in and some things are out; some things are acceptable and some things must be dismissed” (e.g. you cannot participate in a Kingdom of loving-reconciliation and forgiveness if you are unwilling to forgive. You can’t celebrate the loving Kingdom and hate your neighbor).

Matthew 13:40 “… at the end of the age, the Son of Man (Daniel 7) will weed out of his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil” [1 Corinthians 6:9 Galatians 5:21]

When it comes to forever, the final analysis is purely relational: either, “I know you!” or, “I never knew you”.

[John 17:3; Matthew 7 “Many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord…”]

“Knowing” God (or, anyone else for that matter) involves, amongst other things: mutual self-disclosure, mutual seeking of the other (not because the one attempts to remain aloof, but because we are to be desired), a depth of understanding which surpasses superficial acknowledgement and experiences of each other which authenticates the relationship.

The life of the ages (what constitutes the life to come) is nothing less than an inter-active experience of God which will one day no longer require faith.

Jesus (as well as other NT authors) seemed to offer only (2) options for our post-mortem condition: 1) “death after death” (second death), or 2) “life after death” (life of the ages which has actually already begun).

Jesus believed that those who refused to follow him into life would ultimately experience death: a physical death and, even worse, a ‘second death’ (Rev.20:14-15; 21:8)

In the Bible, heaven and hell are not (2) distinct geographical locations; they are the (2) conditions of existence: either forever conscious of absence or forever conscious of presence [2 Thessalonians 1:6-9].

Conscious of presence- a full-sensory-experience; fully aware of and response to all that we were meant for as humanity.

Conscious of absence- in a sense, somehow ceasing to be human, in that they no longer reflect the image of their Creator God. Conscious of all that was possible, all that was within reach, all that was missed. All that causes one to ‘weep, lament and gnash their teeth’?

● But, Jesus never used talk of hell as a means of manipulating people into following him because although such things as guilt, fear and condemnation are powerful responses, they cannot initiate, nor sustain a healthy relationship… which is what God desires.

It seems that when we are disturbed by what is constantly before our eyes, a vision of a preferred-future must be large enough to capture our imaginations, kindle hope and compel a fitting response.

● As I read, I realized that this is the Spirit-inspired vision of an extravagant God who longs to share all of this with us.

● The very first word of Revelation summarizes its intent: “revelation”---  a disclosure of truth, to uncover, lay open what has been veiled or covered up.

            John says that what we are about to consider is, in a sense, like a pulling back of a curtain to reveal a truth that is not currently available to all.

● It was a “virtual tour”, of sorts. It was a means of transporting one to another dimension or reality.            First, we walk in the door to establish our identity as those purchased of God (Rev.25:9).

            Secondly, the visionary would walk back out with an encouragement to faithfully persist, or repent. They would return with a renewed sense of mission--- as a kingdom of priests, reigning on the earth (25:10).

● Imagine the virtual tour as you are guided through the city where homelessness is eradicated; where no one locks their doors in fear; where there are no “Will work for food signs”; where no one goes without. You’re safe. You can rest. Imagine fully enjoying, again for the first time, all that creation was meant to be with the limitations and restraints of sin removed.

One thing seems certain: in the end, we don’t go to heaven, heaven comes to us. Heaven may be our temporary resting place, but this is our home.

Heaven is not some disembodied bliss, disconnected from all of the trappings of what we know on earth. It’s not about morphing into some type of winged-creature—believe me, the last thing you want to do for eternity is see me buzzing around you in a loin cloth!

Rather, heaven is God and man, finally at home together again.

The incarnation fixes our identity and our response: “in, but not of the world [John 17].

Because of what we have seen, everything must change; we cannot remain the same. We can’t return to work, to school, to our neighborhood, without being somehow transformed by what we have just seen.

It says that we don’t have to wait for some distant future to be a part of God’s healing community.

● We must retain a vision of the Lamb as the Sovereign… who already reigns and longs to bring his restorative, healing Kingdom-desires to bear on our present reality.

       We must also preserve a vision of the Lamb as the vulnerable servant… incarnating God’s dream for the world and, not only experiencing suffering in the interim, but willingly meeting the world at the place of their pain, not just for sympathy, but for restoration and comfort.

I dare say, our best and most sincere response to such a vision: “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20)

● The question, then, becomes: “Who or what are you trusting for life? How’s that workin’ out for you? Would you be willing to ‘re-think’ it according to the God-story told in the narrative of the Bible?”