Do You Hear The Song?

Rev. 21:1-7 (ESV)
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. [2] And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. [3] And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. [4] He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." [5] And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." [6] And 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 from the spring of the water of life without payment. [7] The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.


Today’s reading from Revelation almost seems like cheating. We’ve heard three readings from the Revelation to John so far – the beginning, the reappearance of Jesus; the ascension as the Lamb who was slain, who was raised, now takes His place in the throne room of God. Last week, we were given a glimpse of the multitude of the Church Triumphant and their song of triumph.

Now, though, fourteen chapters hence, we reach the climax of the book. It’s like we read a couple of really neat chapters and then went to the end to find out how everything turns out. If that’s all we do with this reading, it’s the old, “Hmmm. Okay,” and then go on about our business. That happens because our reality is one where half truths and lies, failed relationships and cheating, weak and deteriorating bodies are all the norm. It’s what we live with every day. If there’s no context, then chapter 21 of Revelation is just another pie-in-the-sky, Mother Goose tale.

But, what episodes have been bypassed as we page to the end of the story? There are the four horsemen of the apocalypse who bring violence and imbalance and death on a global scale in chapter 5. There are the souls of the martyrs under the incense altar of heaven crying out for vengeance, and being told to wait. There are the three woes of chapter 8, followed by the trumpet angels as the boom of judgment is lowered upon the earth. In chapter 11, there are the two witness who faithfully proclaim their Lord, and then are put to death as God’s protection is seemingly taken away from them. There is the great beast and his inscription on the foreheads of the nations, and the great prostitute of Babylon who grows drunk on the blood of the martyrs, whose lies make the lies we hear and tell seem like pitiful rumors. And, don’t forget the angels and their bowls full of God’s wrath that are poured out on the earth.

The scenes of the chapters we’re bypassing are frightful to say the least. In fact, the disasters are global. The ecological disaster makes this week’s oil platform disaster look like a bath tub, and the destruction poured out makes what we consider monumental happenings to be mere Tinkertoys.

The truth is, before ascending to the pinnacle of good news, we need to descend fully into the pit of really bad news. It’s all around us, the pit of bad news. Think of the death and the crying and mourning and the pain. Christians continue to come to faith, only to be betrayed by those around them and then put to death because of their faith. Churches venture into places where they shouldn’t be, teaching and professing that which is contrary to what the Lord of the Church has taught. Disasters of global proportion are unleashed against unsuspecting populations and the gaps in economic imbalance rival the grand canyon.

But, then again, it’s always been this way. As I regularly tell Bible classes, we just have better media coverage today. History is full of the death and pain and crying and mourning and anguish, and there hasn’t been a generation that hasn’t wondered when it will all pass away. The natural reaction is to attack the pain, to make it go away and stop. But it doesn’t stop, and when one attack relieves a pain, a new one takes its place.

It’s like a symphony of anguish in which each day a new tune of pain is composed in which the day’s anguish is worst than the last. When will the symphony come to its finale? When will the last movement close?

It’s wrapped up here. The old heaven and the old earth, the ones we know with all of their imperfections, that bear the brokenness as a result of our sin, pass away. The sea, that great source of chaos for God’s people is gone. A new heaven and a new earth appear, with the sign of God’s grace: the heavenly Jerusalem. As God’s people had been given the assurance of His gracious presence through the ark of the covenant, now, with no temple needed, God dwells among His people in His holy city. The symphony of pain and anguish has had its last curtain call. In its place is the music of peace and triumph and safety and blessing.

And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” With the enemies of God’s people banished for all eternity, all things are restored to the way the true God had intended them – new.

Today, as we look forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises as we read in Revelation, we look backward to the historic event of our salvation, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The cross colors all of our life, even the pain and the anguish we endure today. For, it is in the cross that all things are made new today in the forgiveness of sins as Christ exchanges His righteousness for us, and takes our sin and rebellion onto Himself. It’s at the cross that the very Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, offers up Himself as the very atoning sacrifice for all sin, and the empty tomb, His declaration is that His sacrifice is complete – there is nothing more to do.

It’s at the cross that all things are made new, and those who trust in Christ the crucified will enjoy the presence of almighty God in His holy city even as they receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament now. God the Father had the first word in creation also refused to let sin and death have the last word for His creation. Instead, the last word is Christ, and His answer was given at the cross: It is finished. The last word from our Lord is a word of life, and in this word of life, all things are made new by the triune God who possesses the power in Himself to be the first and last word. What a song of praise will respond!

But, even though these things are made new in forgiveness, we also know that Revelation 21 has the character of the now and the not yet. Yes, we experience the newness and restoration of forgiveness. God’s great gifts are showered upon us through Word and Sacrament and, by faith, we are confident of His grace and mercy today. We live in the now.

But we also know the frailty of our flesh and the world in which we live. We love the hymns and the assurances we receive this morning, but we also know we have to leave this place and go back out there where things are not merciful and our faith is challenged daily. We’d like to think things are really getting worse, but they’re not. It’s the way rebellious, sinful man has always been. We live in the not yet, awaiting the time when the heavenly Jerusalem will be fully realized. We still live in a world where the symphony of pain and anguish seems so loud. What will overpower it? What will keep us faithfully following?

In the book of Revelation, a song is begun in chapter 4 and reaches its fevered pitch in chapter 19. Do you hear it? It’s the song sung by the heavenly chorus of angels, joined by those who have gone before us in the faith and are awaiting the resurrection. Sometimes, when the symphony of pain and anguish get going, the song’s hard to hear, but it’s there. It’s still being sung. We hear it at our Lord’s table and as we go back to the promise of our baptism. We hear the song with every amen to every promise of God. There’s no title to the hymn, but often we give it one.

Do you hear the song – the song of the victory of the Lamb who was slain, the song proclaiming God to be worthy of all praise and honor? It’s the song of the faithful in Revelation 7 as they stand before the throne, the song sung as the great beast and the great prostitute of Babylon are destroyed. It’s the song we long to sing: the Distant Triumph Song – the song that grows a little louder each day as the reality of the heavenly Jerusalem and the dwelling place of God with men for all eternity grows nearer. In this Good Friday life, as we long for the eternal Easter season, as the symphony of pain and anguish seem almost insurmountable, our Lord brings us to faithfully follow the distant triumph song, even as He faithfully speaks to us and feeds us and strengthens us. Behold, He says, I am making all things new, and the day when it is done will indeed come. Amen.