Sermon
for Pentecost 22, November 9, 2025
Now
may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to
believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Revelation
22:1-5 The
angel showed me the river of the water of life, which was as clear as crystal,
flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb.
2In the middle of the city’s street
and on each side of the river was a tree of life that yielded twelve kinds of
fruit. The tree yields its fruit every
month, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. 3There will no longer be any
curse. The throne of God and of the
Lamb will be in the city. His servants
will worship him. 4They will
see his face. His name will be on their
foreheads. 5There will no
longer be any night or any need for lamplight or sunlight, because the Lord God
will shine on them. And they will reign
forever and ever. (E HV)
The
faithful dwell with God forever in peace.
Dear
saints, washed in the blood of the Lamb,
This is the first time I have
preached on the Revelation of Jesus Christ two Sundays in a row. I didn’t plan it that way, but by God’s
grace, He shows us the life that is ours through faith in Christ Jesus. Last week, our text showed us what mankind
will see in the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ return in glory. Today, we are given a vision that tells us
about everlasting life. Still, in both
texts, there is a certain amount of both life eternal and life given in the
here and now. The vision is an
apocalyptic message that The faithful dwell with God
forever in peace.
In
an apocalyptic vision, we must be careful to realize that it is not likely an
exact replica of what heaven will look like.
Instead, the picture gives a message of the grace of God and how He
delivers His mercy to sinners like you and me.
Thus, we gaze upon this picture as an explanation of how God has loved
us and will continue to do so forever.
John
wrote, “The angel showed me the river of the water of life, which was as
clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb.” The message for you and me and for all people
is that salvation comes from God alone.
Grace is granted to us from God and the fact that Jesus offered Himself
as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We are not remiss to say that this also
represents the Gospel of our Lord which is the message of all God has done
through His Son to reconcile Himself with sinners and purify us for His kingdom. Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman
congregation, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of
God for salvation to everyone who believes—to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek. For in the gospel a righteousness
from God is revealed by faith, for faith, just as it is written, ‘The righteous
will live by faith.’” (Romans 1:16-17)
God’s
Gospel is pure living water, bringing to the stricken soul, dying in this
wilderness world, the pure saving news of what Jesus has done for us. Again, it is a both and. This living water brings us life now, and it
sustains that life for all eternity after the Lord brings us home to His
paradise to dwell in everlasting peace.
Remember Jesus’ words to a thirsty Samaritan woman at a well: Jesus answered her, “If you knew the
gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would
have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
(John 4:10) That woman, so afflicted
with sin had heard the promises of the patriarchs about the coming
Messiah. Jesus stopped at that well to
show her the way of life. The woman said to him, “I know that
Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ). “When he comes, he will explain
everything to us.” Jesus said to her,
“I, the one speaking to you, am he.” (John 4:25-26)
In
line with that Samaritan woman, our natural flesh thirsted for this living
water, even if we didn’t yet know it. Therefore,
what shame do we find in our lives that separates us from God? As we dwell in this world so corrupted and so
troubled by the curse of sin, how much trouble do we need to experience to know
we need Jesus? Sadly, like that
Samaritan woman, no one can find that living water on our own. The sin that dwells within is in constant
rebellion against God. Therefore, we by
nature are in constant rebellion against God.
The picture John paints for us here shows that we do nothing to gain
forgiveness and life, but that God grants salvation to us through His living
water.
You
see, we have been blessed by the water of life flowing from the living God and
from the Lamb, Jesus. In Baptism, God
applied water along with the Gospel as a rebirth, or really a birth from above. In that saving bath, God cleanses us from the
guilt of our sin, wrests us from the devil’s control, and adopts us into His
own family through faith. In that saving
bath, the Holy Spirit puts the name of our God on our foreheads just as
pictured here. Just like our earthly
father’s name typically becomes our surname, God’s name goes with us telling
the world that we are His own.
Of
course, just like with our physical lives, our spiritual lives need nourishment
to keep us vibrant. This is where so
many people today fool themselves into falling prey to the devil’s deceptions. Our flesh and Satan love to tell us we don’t
need God or the life-giving refreshment of His Word and Sacrament. Yet, without the water of life and food from
the tree of life, the new life God implanted in us at Baptism will gradually
fade into starvation and eternal dehydration.
It’s not a pretty picture. We are
horrified when we see images of people who were starved in prison camps or
caught in the throes of severe famine.
The pictures of babies shriveled into skin and bones revolt us. Yet, the same thing happens to souls that are
not continually fed from the tree of life and refreshed by the Gospel’s living water.
Because
of His loving mercy, God is already offering this life-giving refreshment to
all who partake. However, in heaven, no
one will ever refuse this saving gift, nor will it ever run short. St. John reports of the vision, “In the
middle of the city’s street and on each side of the river was a tree of life
that yielded twelve kinds of fruit. The
tree yields its fruit every month, and its leaves are for the healing of the
nations.” Forever after, God Himself
will provide all we need for life. The
picture shows an overabundance of God’s mercy and grace sustaining His people
forever.
Perhaps,
the most important clue given, though, is that “There will no longer be any
curse.” This curse was laid on the
world when Adam and Eve listened to the serpent in the Garden. The curse of sin is that because of sin we
all die. That curse causes all the
trouble, sorrow, deterioration, and persecution in this world. Every part of creation crumbles to
destruction directly as the result of the curse of sin. St. Paul explained in his letter to the Roman
congregation, “Creation is waiting with eager longing for the sons of God to
be revealed. For creation was subjected
to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it,
in the hope that even creation itself will be set free from slavery to
corruption, in order to share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans
8:19-21)
Because
the curse of sin was lifted when Jesus rose from the grave, you and I are not
subject to the second death which is eternal separation from God in hell. Consequently, for those who believe in Jesus
as Lord and Savior, we are no longer banned from the presence of our
Creator. The angel showed John, “The
throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him. They will see his face. His name will be on their foreheads.”
Just
as Adam and Eve enjoyed perfect harmony with God in the Garden of Eden before
their fall into sin, so in heaven, you and I will be in God’s presence without
fear and without any danger. His glory
will be a light to our way. God will be
to us as the Father we could only dream about, and Jesus our Brother and King
will be our joy continually as The faithful dwell with God forever in peace.
There
in heaven, we will serve God without hesitation, not as slaves but as fellow
members of the royal family. The vision
shows us “There will no longer be any night or any need for lamplight or
sunlight, because the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.” Here on earth, people often fear the darkness
of night, because we know that in the dark, criminals and ne’er-do-wells often
seek to harm those they come across. Because
the glory of our God and Savior will cover us in heaven, there is nothing there
to fear. Never again will we be
dissatisfied with anything. Even our
assigned service, whatever that might be, will only bring joy to our hearts.
By
His life and death on our behalf, Jesus made us His equal in holiness. How that can be is a mystery. Yet, the Bible tells us that the Church, that
is the whole assembly of those who believe in Jesus as their Savior, Redeemer,
and King, are pictured as the Bride of Christ, having been cleansed of all
guilt by the water and blood shed from His side on the cross, and dressed in
the pure, magnificent gown of Jesus’ righteousness; they are thus prepared to
reign with Him forever, just as it says here.
Our
world is full of people who are afraid of the Bible’s message. They fear God because they reject Him, and in
their hearts, the curse of sin often reminds them that God’s justice demands
punishment. Sadly, for many people,
their fear and contempt for God’s mercy keeps them from enjoying the
life-giving water of the Gospel and the healing food of the Tree of Life.
Just
as many people fear God, many also are intimidated by the Book of the
Revelation. The pictures terrify many who
don’t understand the Gospel, even though the revelations were given to John to
show fellow believers that Jesus has already won the eternal victory on our
behalf, and though the devil and the world may rage against us, we have peace
with God and the eternal joy of dwelling with our God, Creator, and King in heavenly
peace.
All
glory to His name, for The faithful dwell with God forever in peace.
To Him who sits on
the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever
and ever. Amen.
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