Answers Bible Curriculum Year 3 Quarter 4 Lesson 12
In our final lesson of the Answers Bible Curriculum, we look at how the Bible answers questions such as: What does God have in the future for our planet and universe? Where will people spend an eternity? How to live in a world that mocks the second coming of Christ? and What will Heaven be like?
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ready oh maybe the sound needs to get adjusted little okay we can everyone hear me out there okay great okay well let’s begin we have a full hour here well good morning and happy Father’s Day to you fathers thank you for coming this morning to Sunday school what today is the final lesson in the Answers in Genesis answers Bible curriculum and for the last four years David has taught through the scripture from Genesis to Revelation and it has been a blessing hasn’t it last week he introduced what the Answers in Genesis calls the last of the seven seas of history or the consummation and his lesson focused on the second coming of Jesus Christ that will usher in the end of all things and in David’s absence I am privileged to teach this lesson to you although we will have one more week of Sunya school next week I will wait until the end of the class to share with you what that will be well last week and this week our study surrounds what theologians call eschatology which means a teaching when the Bible says about future end times last week David surveyed key and timed doctrines such as the rapture the tribulation and the Millennium he also briefly looked at various views on the timing of these events concluding that at Calvary we understand the scripture to teach the following a pre-tribulational rapture which means that Jesus will come to take his church to heaven before the tribulation before the Tribulation Period occurs on the earth and also a futuristic premillennial second coming of Jesus Christ meaning that Jesus will return to earth before the Millennial Kingdom and at his return he will set up the Millennial Kingdom physically on earth and reign in Jerusalem along with all the redeemed for a thousand years and at that time Satan will be bound in the abyss so be sure to view last week lesson online if you want to either get the details well today our agenda will be looking at what the future of our current earth and its surrounding heavens or universe will be we’ll also look at where people will spend in eternity and theologians call the final destiny of the redeemed humanity they call it the eternal State for believers we often think of the future eternal state that’s simply heaven but the scripture actually teaches that there’ll be both a new heaven and a new earth and just to clarify will not be studying what happens immediately after one dies it is true that the Bible teaches that immediately upon death the believer will go to heaven an unbeliever will go to Hades but in both cases it is not their final destination those places are what theologians referred to as the as immediate States in choosing the intermediate states and not their final destination we’re not going to be covering those details today instead we’re going to look at what the Bible tells us is are the future events that God has in store for both believers and unbelievers at the end of what has currently got to reveal the will in the Bible so for today’s lesson we’re gonna look up several passages today if you’ll please we’re going to start with 2nd Peter chapter 3 so please turn there in your Bibles 2nd Peter chapter 3 and I’m gonna just set the context here to give you some background and then I’ll I’ll read we know that Peters writing to Christians since he addressed the letter to those who have received a faith by the righteousness of Jesus as he indicates in his letter many of these Christians are the same people to which he wrote his first letter at which time he encouraged them how to respond to persecution in this second letter Peter senses that he’s nearing the end of his life and also he’s keenly aware of false teachers that will surely arise when Peter is gone and they’ll try to persuade the believers through some deceptive means to turn away from believing the promises of God and so Peter wanted to leave these brethren with a written reminder of what the Word of God declares with certainty his purpose is to encourage them to be grounded in the truths that they had been taught so that they will recognize error when they hear it and they will not be dissuaded by the scoffers who will come mocking these truths and as we read notice also that there is a connection between the Genesis account of the global flood of Noah’s day and the events to come in the future so 2nd Peter chapter 3 verses 1 through 13 this is now beloved the second letter I am writing to you in which I’m stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles know this first of all that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking following after their own lusts and saying where is the promise of his coming for ever since the father’s fell asleep all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation for when they maintained this it escapes their notice that by the Word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of by water through which the world at that time was destroyed being flooded with water but by his word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men but do not let this one fact escape your notice beloved that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years in a thousand years like one day the Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness but is patient toward you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance but the day of the Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and its works will be burned up since all these things are to be destroyed in this way what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for the for in hastening the coming of the day of the Lord day of God because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat but according to his promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells well notice in verse 1 and 2 that Peter’s purpose in writing is to remind them of words spoken by the holy prophets and apostles that is to say to remind them of what is written in the scriptures the holy prophets representing the Old Testament scripture and the Apostles representing the New Testament scripture that was in the process of being written and so by including them together that is the prophets and the apostles Peter’s holding both old and new Testament at the same level of authority both being in the Word of God verse 3 Peter starts off by saying know this first of all it’s intended to communicate priority importance rather than timing Peter wants them to know that mockers will come in the last day you could expect this to happen mark my words don’t be caught by surprise he says in verse three that what will characterize their conduct is their own lusts and so a question then for you is what message will these mockers promote in their mocking what are they going to mock when they call where’s the Lord’s coming the second coming that’s in verse four it says they’re saying where is this coming they’re gonna not deny the attempt begin to deny and attempt to shed doubt on God’s promise of the second coming of Christ and the reason that they give here in verse four is that in the past all things have continued without interruption just like they have from the beginning in essence they are denying the reality of the past of past supernatural events from God that’s a philosophy known today as uniformitarianism which is the view that the slow and gradual processes that we see in the created order today are the same as what happened in the past and this is the prevailing erroneous view of geological history that’s taught in our schools today of course an atheist that is when not believing in God would deny and certainly may Mock the second coming of Christ but these specific people that Peters referring to they’re not necessarily announcing themselves as atheists how do you know that what is what in the text does it say that might indicate that they’re not coming announcing themselves as atheist Roy yes and also that’s true also there they’re speaking about from the beginning of of the time of creation of course an atheist would not acknowledge any kind of creation and so maybe there would be someone like a deist who would say that you know God created and then kind of left things go and didn’t have anything to do with it also if we would read the context of 2nd Peter we would see that all of chapter 2 Peter is talking about warning them about again false teachers and so false teachers they’re going to come in and sneak in her secretive heresies that are destructive and so they certainly have some knowledge of the Bible as a false teacher would have to be able to deceive someone who would be a Christian well also next question here is in making the claim the claim that all things have continued naturally up to this point so there’s no reason to think that a supernatural events such as Jesus Christ’s return will actually happen what past events are they willingly ignoring was that the flood right Peter mentions that he says there there what’s escaping their notice or they’re willingly ignoring the flood actually there’s two things it says here they’re ignoring first of all the specific details of the biblical account of creation they may acknowledge some sort of creation but they ignored the details that are in Genesis as well as the global catastrophic flood that will destroy the earth that has destroyed the earth in the past also by the way Peter acknowledges the Genesis creation account of the earth being formed out of water verse 5 you can see that in Genesis chapter 1 and that’s in direct contradiction to the current day Big Bang evolution which claims that the earth was formed by a fireball explosion and then cooled down over time so evolution is not consistent with the with the scripture it’s very contradictory to it well it seems as I was thinking about this that a current day example a modern counterpart of who this might be describing would be someone who holds to a kind of a maybe ideas who believed in a creation but then has no details and just says that the things evolved like a theistic evolutionist or or sounds like a liberal professor professor of a Biblical Studies class in college and so very much to be aware of what are what are these mockers trying to avoid so they’re dismissing the second coming of Christ but in reality what are they actually trying to avoid in doing so they forget about a past judgment yes they’re ignoring future judgment the promise of future judgment and if you think about what their motive might be as to why they’re dismissing future judgment and denying past judgment is so that they can live ungodly lives without consequence without without accountability and so that they can also get this snatch naive disciples away to follow after them who are willing to do so Romans chapter one speaks of people who deny God so and do so not because of a lack of evidence but because they suppress the truth in unrighteousness they love their sin more and so to ease their conscience they deny God and future judgment well Peter gets very specific about how God will bring about this coming feature judgment the idea of fire consuming and cleansing everything is repeated several times you can look at that in verse 7 verse 10 and verse 12 the elements that says the basic parts of the earth will melt with intense heat this judgment will be global in extent similar to the past global flood but far worse because it’ll be more than global will be universal after Peter exposes the mockers motives for their mocking and he reassures his readers of the certainty of future judgment he then explains why Christ has not returned yet the same reason is true today and we’ll see that answer in verse 8 9 he begins by reminding his audience that God’s view of time is very different than ours he says with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day and then he adds this the Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness the point is that God is outside of time and is not subject to the definition of slowness that others place on as the sovereign God he does things in his own time and for his own reasons for an eternal being one thousand years is no different than a day but for humans with a lifespan of not much more than a hundred years even relatively small amounts of time can seem very long and so Peter wants this his readers to keep this in the forefront of their thinking when they listen to mockers then Peter explains God’s purpose for seeing for seeming to delay worldwide judgment and he does this in verse nine the verse that he gives is that God is patient toward you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance and he further clarifies this in verse 15 if you’ll just look over in verse 15 he says that God’s patience and waiting is for the purpose of salvation in other words today is the day of salvation as Paul has said and one once Christ returns and God begins to pour out the judgment described by Peter the day of salvation will be completed there will be no more opportunity for salvation no more opportunity to repent and trust Christ similarly as in the days of Noah once the rain started falling there was no more opportunity for salvation for the lost who are outside the ark let me remind you that Peter is talking to believers in this letter and so in this and his first letter he refers to them as in his letter as the called or those who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God and so Peter is saying here that God is not willing for any of you that is the called the elect of God is not willing for any of them to perish of course any of them in that day and any of them in any day as long as they are still the elect who will come to Christ and haven’t yet so he will not allow any of them to miss salvation and receive judgment and so until all the elect are saved Christ’s Second Coming is being delayed that is what God is waiting for even though mockers mock it will not hurry God any faster he will put up with their mocking because he loves the elect and patiently waits for them to become saved in his timing well in verse 10 Peter returns to describing the judgment and this time giving it a name the name is the day of the Lord and he and adding to it that it will come like a thief meaning that it will come unexpectedly to those who are not looking for it this phrase the day of the Lord it appears at least 19 times in the Old Testament and for uncontested times in the New Testament the Old Testament prophets used this term when speaking of both near historical and far excuse me near historical events and far future and time events always involving God’s wrath the New Testament writers applied the day of the Lord both to the judgment that will climax the Tribulation Period and also to the judgment that will usher in the new heavens and the new earth which is the context here in our passage in 2nd Peter ever since the fall of man in Genesis 3 mankind has been in rebellion against its creator but a time is coming when God will judge the entire world with calamitous wrath to prepare for the establishment of his kingdom the day of man will give way to the day of the Lord and if you skip down to verse 13 with all this talk about judgment of unbelievers and destruction Peter reminds believers of God’s promise for them for us that God will create a new heavens and a new earth one in which righteousness dwells note that this promise is not new but as Peter indicated in verse 2 it is said to be promised through the holy prophets in the Old Testament for instance the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 65 verses 17 and 19 says this for behold I create new heavens and a new earth and the former things will not be remembered or come to mine but be glad and rejoice forever in what I create for behold I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people and there will be no longer be heard in her the voice of weeping and the sound of crying and so God states that he will alter the present heaven and earth in in a way that amounts to a whole new creation notice also that in this new creation a new Jerusalem will be the focus of everything Isaiah mentions the new heaven and new earth again in Isaiah 66 verse 22 where God indicates that it will endure or it will remain forever before him well Peter Peters reminder of these promises is not merely informative but he emphasizes a practical life response for all believers look back to verse 11 and Peter exhorts his readers this way since all these things are to be destroyed in this way what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for and hastening the coming of the day of the god of day of God see if we want to dwell in God’s new creation later where there is only perfect righteousness scripture is clear that those headed there should want to live righteously now on earth the Apostle John says it this way about the believers hope of seeing Christ at his return he says and anyone who has this hope fixed on him purifies himself just as he is pure well that is all that we have time to cover in 2nd Peter we’re going to be headed to Revelation 21 but before we get there we’re going to take a brief in Acts chapter 3 and so here in Acts chapter 3 we’re gonna look here what the Bible refers to as the period of restoration of all things it’s a future time coming here in acts 3 Peter is preaching to the men of Israel and he said and look at what he says will happen in the future beginning in in acts 3 verse 18 he says but the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets that his Christ would suffer he has thus fulfilled this happened in Christ’s first coming therefore repent and return so they your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord and that he may send Jesus the Christ appointed for you whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from ancient time well very briefly because there’s a lot more to cover notice what Peter is saying in verse 18 Old Testament scripture has been fulfilled regarding Christ’s first coming and then notice that God’s plan for Israel is not terminated just temporarily suspended we know this because here in verse 19 and 20 Peter says something must happen with Israel the nation before Christ before Christ returns a second time and so prior to Christ’s second coming which is indicated here in verse 20 Israel must experience what’s it say it says therefore repent and return and he’s talking to the men of Israel he’s talking about not individuals because there’s individuals today and have been for the last two thousand years who are Israelites who have been coming to Christ on a one-by-one basis but he’s talking about in this passage about the repentance and return of national Israel the leaders the the Israel as a whole not just a few of them and so he’s he’s commanding them the national Israel to repent and return that your sins may be wiped out and then at that point times of refreshing will come at that point Christ will return and then it also says that in verse 21 when Christ returns it says that there will be restoration of all things well restoration means to return to its original condition or close to it so this passage speaks of a future time when God will restore the creation which is currently under the curse return restore the creation to similar but not exactly identical pre fall-like conditions Peter said that God spoke of these things through the Old Testament prophets and if you want to read about them I encourage you to do so you can look them up on your you can look them up on your own I have some passages listed here that speak of a future restored earth Isaiah 11 Isaiah 35 65 Ezekiel 36 Amos 9 sucker ayah 14 there are many other passages those are some unfortunately time does not permit me to show you the details in the scripture but I believe this future restored creation that’s described in these and other passages it will take place during the Millennial Kingdom which David taught about last week and that’s part which is part which in part is the time when mankind through the last Adam Jesus fulfills the Genesis mandate to rule and subdue the earth successfully on God’s behalf and we believe that Christ for a future Kingdom will in fact be a two-phased Kingdom okay beginning with the Millennial Kingdom on a restored earth for a thousand years and then culminating in a newly created earth forever earlier we read about the promise of this new earth and second Peter and now if you will please turn your in your Bibles over to Revelation chapter 21 and before we read I’ll set the context of Revelation at this point Christ has returned to earth and fought the Battle of Armageddon in Revelation 19 and the earthly Millennial Kingdom reign of Christ has come to an end revelation 20 and the final judgment of God through Christ has sentenced Satan and all the ungodly to eternal hell also revelation 20 at which time the whole universe was dissolved and you can see that in Chapter were dissolved by fire you can see that in Revelation 20 verse 11 and also and it was dissolved wishes me the the whole universe was dissolved by fire and it was uncreated into non-existence by the command of God so God by his command created everything out of nothing he also uncreated everything into nothing into nothingness so it will have been gone the earth will not be uncreated or dissolved by nukes it will be dissolved by the Word of God and so revelation 21 and 22 is the New Testament exposition of the promise of the new heaven and the new earth that’s found we just read about it briefly from Isaiah 65 and 66 we saw that earlier the last two chapters in the Bible contained the most exhaustive and clear description of the future new heavens and new earth and all of Scripture this is the beginning of the time when everything we know will be made perfect evil be purged from the universe from the universe confined forever in the lake of fire death and sin and sadness and pain have been entirely done done away with at this time the new heaven and a new earth that replaced the old will be the glorious realm in which believers will dwell eternally and that is what theologians referred to as the eternal state it will last eternally we will only have time to selectively touch on some of the points here so let me read then beginning with chapter 21 verses 1 through 8 then I saw a new heaven and new earth for the first heaven and the first earth passed away and there is no longer any sea and I saw the holy city New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God made ready as a bride adorned for her husband and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the tabernacle of God is among men and he will dwell among them and they shall be his people and God Himself will be among them and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes there will no longer be any death they will no longer be any mourning or crying or pain the first things have passed away and he who sits on the throne said behold I am making all things new and he said write for these words are faithful and true then he said to me it is done I am the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost he who overcomes will inherit these things and I will be his God and he will be my son but for the Cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all Liars their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone which is the and death well the Apostle John the Apostle John saw the new heavens and the new earth here new doesn’t just refer to new as opposed to old by the way I want to mention please as Christians do not read those books do not get those books that talk about people who’ve gone to heaven and back there’s one heaven is for real about a four-year-old boy who went to heaven came back do not get those books do not read those books they have a tendency than by reading such things to to to take the take such as someone that someone claimed that isn’t verifiable and hold it above the Word of God we only know what God has told us in the Word of God about what is in the new heavens and the new earth and what is in life to come so as believers we should not be giving money to support those kind of things okay here the Apostle John is the one who saw the new heavens and a new earth and the new heavens then the word new she’s me doesn’t just refer to new as opposed to old but I understand the greek word translated new stresses that the earth the god will create will also be different it’ll be new different this same word is used also in 2nd corinthians 5:17 you know the verse well it describes the new birth of the believer says therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creature the old things passed away behold new things have come see genuine salvation given by God guarantees that the believer is in will is and will be different from the way that he was as an unbeliever if there has been no change in a person’s life then there is no genuine salvation in a moment we’ll see what the text reveals are some of the differences between the old and a new of the old earth and heavens and the new earth and heavens some of the changes though differences that we can be certain of but first some theologians believe that although the new earth will definitely be different it doesn’t necessarily mean that all all sense of familiarity will be lost in fact there is reason to believe that there may be more familiar components in the new heavens and new earth than we realize for instance believers are not annihilated but rather were resurrected and like Jesus who rose bodily from the grave and in new form he had both different as well as familiar aspects compared to before so it should be with the Redeem it should be with the redeemed as well there is a one-to-one correspondence between believers now and who they will be in the future if the destiny of the earth parallels that of believing mankind then some aspects of the physical creation that exists now will also exist in the future albeit in glorified form okay back to the text here in verse 1 it ends with and there shall be no longer any see note that this is the first difference listed although it doesn’t say explicitly why there’s no see in the new new earth so we can so we can’t know with certainty some commentators have suggested that it indicates the elimination of natural boundaries stressing the unity of God’s people others point out the sea often symbolized to fear in the minds of ancient peoples and so stating that there’s no sea it may indicate that there’s no longer any fear well John’s description here of the new heaven and the new earth doesn’t say much about the new earth per se the primary focus in the remaining verses is really on the on the holy city New Jerusalem which comes down from heaven to be the ruling capital of the earth we see this in verse 2 the new help the New Jerusalem is set is called a holy city meaning that it is separated unto God it is prepared by God and it is a city adorned by God the New Jerusalem will be a threat will be the home of the bride the glorified Saints all the glorified Saints God will recreate the heavens in the earth merging his heaven with the new earth into a perfect combined dwelling place that will be our new home forever heaven and earth will be united and God’s sovereignty will reign supreme everywhere that’s a quote from Pastor Bobby as he preached through revelation 21 some years ago in verse 4 you can look scripture comforts and excites us to hear the things that we dread and dream on and deem unfavorable they’re totally absent in the new heavens and the new earth for instance our number-one enemy death along with all pain sorrow and crying is specifically said to be to no longer exist such an inclusive list means that there also be no sickness there’s no hunger no trouble no tragedy nothing that will provoke any worry and no more sin that weighs us down will be present heaven nothing will be present in that regard heaven is a place then where God’s people will dwell together with him eternally utterly free from all the effects of sin and evil God is intimately pictured here as personally wiping away the tears from the eyes of the redeemed and only complete delight in eternal blessing nothing but absolute perfection which means perfect righteousness joy and peace such things are honestly hard for our minds to even imagine having never known anything in this life that is free from the stain of sin and its calamities if you look in verse 5 God instructs the Apostle Paul he says write these things down and he announces that they are faithful and true words the Lord is emphasizing the reliability of these great promises and brethren this is much needed this is much needed truth for our minds to dwell on in an age as today where mockers abound scoffing such precious promises notice that verse 7 speaking of the ones who are granted to dwell here are those who are said to have overcome according to first John or according to John in first John 5 verses 4 and 5 and overcomer is one who exercises saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ it’s a description of every redeemed person all believers are promised the blessings of heaven as of forever inheritance God will be our God we shall be his children heaven will be our eternal home and we will dwell there listen not as mere guests but with all the privileges of family members children of the Lord scripture teaches that all who are believers are children of God and if children heirs also romans 8:17 says heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ so if we are errors that means we receive an inheritance so brethren revelation 21 is God giving us a peek at our future inheritance it is only by the grace of God that anyone will enter the new heavens and new earth after saying who will dwell in the new creation John presents a very sobering contrast by giving a representative list of those who will not be there revelation 21 verse 8 says this but for the Cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all Liars their part will be the lake that burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death okay there we go it reminds me this list reminds me of the Apostle Paul when he gave a similar list in first Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9 through 11 it says this or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate nor homosexuals nor thieves nor the covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God in verse 11 he says such were some of you but you were washed but you were sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of our God notice that Paul says they will that these in the list will not inherit the kingdom of God in our revelation text John spoke of the new heaven and new earth as our inheritance Paul’s first print the in tax gives hope that the new gives gives hope here that the new heaven and new earth will be filled with men and women who previously lived these ways but repented of their sins and trusted Jesus Christ to save them from their sin making them fit for this inheritance but all who reject the salvation that Christ offers and that refused to repent and trust in Christ alone for forgiveness they’ll be sentenced to hell for all eternity this list of sins in Revelation it shows the lifestyle of those who have rejected the truth it is a difficult truth but is the truth from the Word of God and we must not shrink back from warning unbelievers of the dire consequences of sin and plead with them to turn to Christ for salvation revelation 21 versus back in Revelation verses 9 through 21 it contains a description of some of the physical details about the New Jerusalem which we don’t have time to read now I encourage you to read them on your own but to finish up our lesson today I’ll pick up reading from chapter 21 verse 22 and read through chapter 22 verse 5 and Revelation so please follow along in your Bibles as I read chapter 21 beginning in verse 22 I saw no temple in it reference to the New Jerusalem for the Lord God the Almighty and the lamb are its temple and the city has no need of the Sun or of the moon to shine on it for the glory of God has illumined it and it’s lamp is the lamb the nations will walk by its light and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it in the daytime for there will be no night there its gates will forever excuse me will never be closed and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nation’s into it and nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying shall ever come into it but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life then he showed me a river of the water of life clear as crystal coming down from coming from from the from the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street on either side of the river was the tree of life bearing twelve kinds of fruit yielding its fruit every month and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nation’s there will no longer be a curse and the throne and the throne of God and the lamb will be in it and his bond servants will serve him they will see his faith they will see his face and his name will be on their foreheads and they will no longer be any Knight and they will not have need for the light of a lamp nor the light of the Sun because the Lord God will illumine them and they will reign forever and ever well the holy city Jerusalem is said to have no physical building as its temple and no need for a Sun or moon for the light source instead John says that God himself and the G and Jesus are the temple and the glory of God will and Jesus will illumine illuminate the city the next section is very interesting in may be new to your way of thinking about the new creation in verses 24 26 and if you’ll look over in chapter 22 verse 2 John mentions the presence of nations and even kings of nations the presence of nations and the world and world leaders show that littoral nations exist on the earth stating that they bring their glory into the New Jerusalem implies that activity takes place outside the New Jerusalem well how can we understand this while there is one people of God in regard to salvation the presence of nations reveals ethnic and national diversity on the earth the best cultural contributions of these nations are brought to the New Jerusalem and these nations act in complete harmony since the leaves of the tree of life which appear for the first time since the fall of man in Genesis 3 they functioned for the healing of the nation’s we’ll consider this quote from Mike block while the new earth will certainly be filled with corporate worship of God the presence of nations and kings outside of the New Jerusalem indicates that the people of God are involved in more than an eternal church service the new earth is full of diversity and activity one of the greatest miracles which will bring glory to God the unity that will take place among different ethnic groups and nations as they exist in peaceful harmony and work together to bring glory to our great God and quote notice in verse three another of the many connections back to Genesis there’s no more curse there’s no more curse on man or creation it is removed and yet for all the beauty and blessing of this New Jerusalem City the best part is the presence of God and the lamb himself who are on the throne verse 3 and 4 says this that his servants the redeemed will serve Him and see his face now seeing God’s face is very significant and Exodus 33 verse 20 you may remember God told Moses you cannot see my face for no man can see me and live the hope and assurance of Old Testament Saints was that they would one day see God’s face Psalm 11 verse 7 says the upright will behold the Lord’s face certainly King David had this hope in Psalm 17 15 he says as for me I shall behold your face in righteousness in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus promised that the pure in heart will see God and in John’s first letter he writes of the glorious promise for all Christians that we’ll see Jesus face-to-face in all his glory well this is where it happens the hope of every genuine believer to see God face-to-face and live this implies the ultimate perfection of our intimacy and communion and fellowship with God John adds in verse 5 that God’s name will be on our forehead this speaks of both his ownership of us and our wholehearted commitment to him and what a contrast to the passage earlier in the book of Revelation that you may be familiar with it speaks of unbelievers having taken the mark of the beast on their forehead finally in verse 5 the final depiction of the New Jerusalem it reveals that the Saints will reign forever and ever Genesis 1 revealed that God created man to rule and subdue the earth and the last verse describing the new earth explains that God’s people will be doing just that and how is this so all glory and honor goes to the god man the lamb our Lord Jesus Christ it is the sure hope of every believer that Christ will return for those whom he has been preparing a place we know this will happen because we trust in God’s character and know that he will fulfill his promises this same message that brings hope and encouragement to balute to the believer he should bring fear and trembling to the unbeliever whose future is eternal judgment if you are that unbeliever then please know that it doesn’t need to be that way with you if you will humble yourself and call on the name of Christ confessing your sins to him and trusting in his sacrifice alone for your forgiveness then heaven and the inheritance that God has for his children can be yours and so as believers our heartfelt response to the end of the story that we eagerly anticipate and vigorously strive for should be that of the Apostle John very last words of Scripture amen come Lord Jesus let us pray Lord Jesus you are king of kings and Lord of lords and one day in the new heaven and the new earth you will reign and God thank you for making a way through Christ for sinners to dwell with you for all eternity help us to realize that this world and the things of this world are passing away and to grasp the amazing wonder of what is to come that it would so affect us to live godly lives now and proclaim this truth to those who are lost in Jesus name Amen at the beginning of the lesson I said that this is the last Answers in Genesis Bible curriculum lesson and I understand unless that has changed since I last heard that David will be starting up teaching the whole thing again we’ve been for years going through this he will start again in the fall and so if you came in in the middle if you just started attending partway through or even if you’re here from the beginning I know that he’s learned a lot since those four years ago and he’ll I’m sure be enhancing the messages so they won’t be exactly the same in the years to come but we’ll beginning again in the end September now next week however is one more Sonya school class I could be corrected here but is is there going to be another one after next week or is next week the last one next week is the last Sunday school class so there’s nothing they won’t be in Answers in Genesis lesson like this we just finished but next week the plan is to show a DVD there’ll be about 45 minutes for that and it will be entitled the the building of the Ark Encounter although actually the bill the ark the ark encounter is a life-size Ark with interior exhibits it’s not just what you see on the outside but these people actually the chief designer was someone who worked at Universal Studios came and designed the whole creation Museum and also then designed the arc and you’ll see the DVD next week it’ll talk to show you all the inside exhibits that were as they were being created and thought out this was built by the Answers in Genesis ministry it resides in Kentucky and the intent in showing this next week is to whet your appetite for a spiritually enriching vacation for the whole family and so I like to encourage you to please attend and I think you will be greatly encouraged if you do actually I did end earlier than I anticipated so I kind of practiced several times and went over every single time so I wasn’t sure how this was going to be so if you any have any questions that we have just a couple minutes left No okay if not then you can get started on your food earlier