"Our Eternal Garden Of Eden"

Weekend of November 14, 1999

Sermon on Revelation 22:1-5

Saint Mark's, Watertown

Pastor Karl Walther

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John reports this regarding our eternal home: I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Amen.

God's Word for our special consideration this morning is also from the book of Revelation-- chapter twenty-two, verses one through five. There the Apostle John further describes Our Eternal Garden Of Eden:

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 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. 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. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 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 for ever and ever.

This is God's Spirit-inspired Word of Jesus Christ.

Introduction: This Morning Let's Shift Our Perspective

From This-Worldly To Other-Worldly

Dear fellow Christians-- whose home will someday be Our Eternal Garden Of Eden:

As you came into church today, what was foremost on your minds?

I'm guessing it was probably something "this-worldly". If you're like me, most of the time you are focusing on something to do with this world.

Maybe you're thinking of the homework you still need to do today-- or how classes will go this week. Maybe you're thinking of what you need to do at work tomorrow. Maybe your mind is on entertainment-- say, whether the Packers could possibly beat the Cowboys at Texas Stadium this Sunday afternoon. Or maybe your heart is filled with concern over a family member, or over pain you yourself are suffering, or over your own failing health.

Well, whatever is on your mind today, I'd like to take the next fifteen minutes or so to focus your attention on something "other-worldly"-- because that's what God's Word to us today insists on doing.

Theme: Our Eternal Garden Of Eden

In fact, the Word of the Lord to us today actually focuses our attention on:
(*) OUR ETERNAL GARDEN OF EDEN. As we consider that heavenly home of ours today, we will ask two questions. First of all: (1) WHAT WILL IT BE LIKE? and secondly, (2) HOW WILL WE GET THERE?

Part One: What Will Our Eternal Garden Of Eden Be Like?

So, what will our heavenly home be like? Well, among all the writers of Scripture, it's probably the Apostle John whom the Lord privileged to answer that question in fullest form-- especially in the last two or three chapters of the Bible. And it's very interesting that these chapters represent a return to the first two or three chapters of the Bible-- because these final chapters here describe our heavenly home as Our Eternal Garden Of Eden.

John begins this way: Then the angel: the apostle's God-given guide-- 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 down the middle of the great street of the city.

Can you visualize that? Sparkling, shimmering, shining-- this river flows, and interestingly: right down the middle of big, broad Main Street, Heaven. Like the river in the original Garden of Eden, it just keeps flowing-- here from the throne of God the Father and God the Son. Since this living water probably represents the Holy Spirit, you've got God in all his triune entirety present here in paradise.

And think of what this means to us! Doesn't this river of the water of life tell us that in heaven the Lord will supply all our needs? Isn't he telling us that when we're thirsty, there will be an ample supply of cool refreshing water to quench our thirst? Doesn't this tell us -- if ever we were tempted toward hate or tempted toward sadness or tempted toward worry -- the Holy Spirit would immediately take it away in paradise?

Going on, John says: Of the river, from here and from there-- that is: 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. No longer will there be any curse.

You can only imagine how big that tree must be! Growing out of the river -- in fact, dwarfing it in its spot -- the tree must tower almost beyond eyesight! And what an unusual tree! This side of heaven there's no plant that continually bears its crop, no plant that yields its fruit every month of the year. But this one does-- and apparently fruit enough for everyone: millions upon millions. It's a new and improved Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden. And its leaves do a better job of hiding sin than did the fig leaves Adam and Eve sewed together.

Doesn't that sound wonderful? Doesn't this tree of life again emphasize that in heaven the Lord will provide for all our needs? Doesn't it assure us that we will always have plentiful food-- without even the bother of visiting a grocery store or visiting a restaurant? But doesn't this tree do much more? It emphasizes to us that all the spiritual nourishment we need -- and all that's necessary to hide our sins eternally -- will happen for us in heaven: so much so that the curse of death is over.

And then we read: The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

What a relationship to the Lord we'll have there! No more president, no more governor, no more mayor: as good or evil as those men may be -- God himself will rule us. No more simply pleasing a teacher or a boss or a customer or others: even sometimes against our better judgment-- God will be our teacher, God will be our boss, God will be our customer. We'll never wonder, "Is he there?" because we will always see him. And we will always belong to him and bear his name.

Finally: 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 for ever and ever.

What safety we'll enjoy there! No more night-- with its dangers and evildoers. Always daytime-- which is essentially the same time, eternal time, so that we'll really never need to be in a hurry. Whatever we do, we'll have eternity to finish it. And after it's done, there'll be just as much eternity afterwards to enjoy. And we ourselves will reign forever and ever!

Part Two: How Will We Get To Our Eternal Garden Of Eden?

Ah, it sounds great doesn't it?! What a change -- what a wonderful change! -- from this world's want and need and hustle and bustle and sin and death! So, how do we get there? How do we get to our eternal Garden of Eden?

Well, first of all, let's recognize: it's not a part of our birthright originally. Although our first parents Adam and Eve had the Garden of Eden as their original inheritance, they rejected it. The river of the water of life? -- "No, thank you; we'll quench our spiritual thirst in the statements of the serpent," they said. The fruit of the tree of life? -- "No, thank you; we'll calm our spiritual hunger by dining with the devil," they said. The Lord as their ruler and him as their light? -- "No, we'll follow the wicked one, and plunge ourselves into darkness," they said.

And like every other human trait: two ears, a nose, a mouth, two hands, two feet-- Adam and Eve passed this trait, sin, on to all their offspring-- to all of us. And so, in the sinful self-centeredness of babies -- and in the sinful self-centeredness of us! -- we see that for us the tree of life had been cut down and ignited into fiery, eternal, hellish, damnable judgment against us.

Nevertheless, the river of the water of life flowed to us anew in holy baptism. There in the river flowing from Christ's cross God bathed us clean. There God quenched our thirst for righteousness by giving us the holiness of his Son. Now, along the shores of that river of forgiveness and love, we live. And by that river's current, God will transport us to glory.

Isn't that everything?! Does anything else matter?! Wouldn't you give up absolutely anything else so as to hold on to this heavenly hope?!? So, God bids you, "My child, stay by my river. Don't wander off looking for non-existent springs of water in the outlying forests of apathy toward me, or lives of sinful thrills, or simple self-reliance. Stay by my river. Drink daily its refreshing waters as you read my Word-- and then live my Word. Imbibe weekly from this river of the water of life as you hear and study my Word-- and then live it. My child, you need me."

Conclusion: Throughout Life Let's Shift Our Perspective

From This-Worldly To Other-Wordly

That's how we get to Our Eternal Garden Of Eden. So, whatever was on our minds as we arrived here today, my prayer is that we leave with our minds firmly fixed on Jesus Christ.

School sometime will cease; so, study Christ! Work will come to its conclusion; so, serve Christ! Entertainment will end; so, find your greatest joy in Christ! And thank God: sickness, suffering, and death will also cease; so, long for Jesus Christ-- who is coming again for you! Amen.

In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John reports this regarding our eternal home: God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Amen.