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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has
been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you.
Welcome to All In with Pastor Jordan Eastley. Today's message
is about to begin and re invite you to prepare
your heart and mind to hear an inspiring message from
God's Word. We hope and pray for God to speak
to you today as you seek to live your life

(00:21):
all in for Jesus Christ. And Now from First Baptist
Church in Cleveland, Tennessee, here's Pastor Jordan Easley.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, today we are wrapping up our study of the
Final Book of the Bible, so I want to encourage
you to grab your Bible today turn to the Book
of Revelation. As we go to the end of the book,
the Lord's going to give us an incredible view of
what is to come. You know, many years ago I
heard a preacher tell a story about two babies, a
set of twins that were still in the womb. But

(00:52):
they were having a conversation and one baby asked the
other baby. They said, Hey, do you believe in life
after birth? The baby responded and is, of course not.
I don't believe in life after birth. This is all
we have. We live in the dark, we are fed
by these little tubes in our bellies. This is it,

(01:12):
This is the world, and this is all there is. Well,
the other baby persisted and said, but what if there's more.
What if there's a world out there? What if there's
air to breathe and a sight to see, and what
if there's a world to experience beyond our imagination? And
when he said that, the other baby looked at him
and said, man, that's ridiculous. Why would you even think

(01:33):
that those things are a possibility. No one has ever
come back from life after birth to tell us anything
close to what you're insinuating. He said, trust me, this
world is all there is. Hey. In the same way,
for a baby, there is life after birth. For us

(01:54):
as believers, there is life after death. But sometimes in
this life, if we get so consumed with this world
that it's pretty hard for us to even imagine what
it's going to be like to have life beyond the grave. Hey,
life for many of us is like the life of
a caterpillar. When you think about it. It spends day

(02:15):
after day just crawling around the ground and eating leaves.
When it gets hungry. And living a limited life with
no understanding of what's to come to a caterpillar, life
is all about the here and now. It's about surviving
one more moment. It's about existing one more day. A
caterpillar lives in order to have its needs met, and

(02:35):
it can't imagine anything beyond its current form. But then
one day, and we know about this day from science class.
One day that caterpillar what it after living this confined
life on the ground, it enters a cocoon. Think about
the cocoon today. From the outside, that has to seem

(02:56):
like the end, right. A cocoon is like a coffin.
There's confinement, there's darkness, there's no sign of life at
all inside of a cocoon. I'm sure to other caterpillars
watching their caterpillar buddies wrap themselves up in the cocoon,
I'm sure it's pretty sad because you're like, oh no,
I mean he's gone. A cocoon is like a coffin.

(03:19):
But on the outside the cocoon, it seems like that's it.
But we know today that the cocoon isn't the end.
The cocoon may seem like a coffin, but it's the
confines for a miraculous transformation. You may not know it
when it goes into it, but that's what it is.
The cocoon isn't a place for a caterpillar to die.

(03:40):
It's a place to prepare a butterfly to fly. Hey,
the Lord's got a message for you today. You know
what that message is. The message is Death isn't the end.
Death isn't the end. And man, if I say something
today that you agree with, I want you to say, amen.
Today we're talking about some good stuff, and I want
you to preach back at me just a little bit.
Death is not the end? Can I get an amen? Right? Ay?

(04:03):
Life on earth is compared to the blink of an
eye in the Bible. Scripture tells us very clearly, this
is not our home. It feels like home, it ain't
your home. In fact, the Bible says we're here for
just a moment. It says your life is like a vapor.
It's here for a second and then it's gone. And
yet the Bible also says that where we spend all
of eternity will be contingent on what we do with

(04:26):
Jesus in this vapor called life. What you do with
Jesus will determine what's next for you for all of eternity. Hey,
last week we talked about the reality of a place
called Hell. The Lake of Fire is what the Bible
calls it, an eternal place of darkness and pain and torment.
We saw that Hell was designed by God for the
devil and his demons, but we also saw that it'll

(04:49):
be occupied by every single person who denies Christ and
chooses sin in the world over, surrendering their life to
the savior named Jesus Christ. Real place. I want to
say it again. It's real, and many people are gonna
call Hell home for all of eternity. But you know
what else is a real place. Heaven. Heaven is a

(05:12):
real place. And today, from Revelation chapter twenty one, John
is going to tell us in great detail a vision
that the Lord gave him of this incredible place called Heaven.
You know, I hope you're taking notes today, because the
first thing I want to point out is that in
your Bible there are actually three heavens. There are three

(05:33):
heavens in your Bible. The first heaven is known as
the sky and the atmosphere that comes from Genesis chapter one,
verse twenty. It uses this word that says the expanse
of the sky or the firmament of heaven. Well, that
phrase is a reference to the first heaven, which is
immediately above us. The first heaven is where the birds

(05:54):
are flying right now. The Bible also talks about a
second heaven, and the second heaven is a reference to
outer space and the universe. That word comes from Genesis,
chapter one, verse fourteen. It's the same phrase, the firmament
of heaven, but it's a different word this time. It's
a reference to the second heaven, and that is where
the sun and the moon and the stars live. But

(06:17):
also your Bible talks about a third heaven, and in
the third heaven that is God's dwelling place. That word
comes from Second Corinthians twelve, verse two, where Paul is
talking to a saved man who was caught up to
the third Heaven. Where was he caught up to the
place where God lives? Someone said it this way, we

(06:38):
see the first heaven by day, we see the second
Heaven by night, and we see the third Heaven by faith. Today,
in this passage, God is going to give us a
glimpse of the third Heaven, and it's an unbelievable scene.
I say it's a glimpse because First Corinthians two nine
tells us that the human heart can't even conceive God

(07:00):
has prepared for us in heaven. We can't even conceive it.
You understand what that means. That means I can preach
this as boldly and as strongly as I can, and
I can talk about the beauty and the perfection of heaven,
but in the end of this message, you still you
still can't even conceive how good it's gonna be. I

(07:21):
can't convey to you how incredible Heaven will be. But
in this passage Revelation twenty one and twenty two, John
is gonna show us what God revealed to him. And
it's a scene that God also wants you to see
as well. So let's read that together. Beginning in verse one,
he said, then I saw a new Heaven and a
new Earth for the first heaven and the first Earth

(07:42):
had passed away, and the sea was no more. I
also saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down
out of Heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned
for her husband. Now, real quick, for those of you
who are taking notes. I want to point out two
things from this passage the scripture that you need to know.
The Bible says that Heaven is a real place. It's

(08:05):
a real place. In these first two verses, John tells
us what he saw. I want to point that out.
He saw these things. He said, I saw a new Heaven,
I saw a new Earth, and I saw a new Jerusalem.
And I want you to remember, he's not dreaming here.
He's not using his imagination here. He's not having a hallucination,

(08:26):
he's not tripping on acid. I mean he in this moment,
is seeing a real place, a literal place that the
Lord allowed him to see. Don't forget what Jesus said
in John fourteen three. He said, I'm going away to
prepare a place for you. He's preparing a place, a
real place. He's not preparing some eternal nothingness for you

(08:51):
that can't be seen. Heaven is a real place. But
not only is it a real place. The Bible also
says Heaven is a new place, a new place. What
did John just say in verse one and two? He
said there is a new Heaven, a new Earth, and
a new Jerusalem. The question is, what does that mean? Well,
that word new in your bible. That's a good one

(09:13):
to circle in your bible, because that word new in
the English is different than the words that you see
in the Greek. You see, it's all the same word.
To us, it's the word new, But the Greek words
have different meanings. And there are multiple words that talk
about this word new. For instance, you have the first word,
which is Neosnos is the word that's used many times

(09:35):
in scripture. That word nios, it means to be new
in time. Say that with me new in time. That's
the word nios. This word canaan means something different. This
word means new in kind. Say that with me new
in kind. So the two words look the same in English,
but these two words mean something completely different. Here's the difference.

(09:58):
A few weeks ago, I bought a new shotgun. I
was excited about it. I'm still kind of fired up
about it, honestly, But I bought a new shotgun. Now,
let me tell you something about this shotgun. It was
made in the nineteen seventies and it was owned by
a dude before I had it. But when I got
the shotgun, I texted on all my buddies and I said,
guess what, boys, I just got a new shotgun. You

(10:21):
see it. That's what it means to be new in time.
It's new to me, but it's old. It's old but
it's new. It's been regifted or redistributed. It's old but
it's new. That's the word nios, that's to be new
in time. I point that out because when John uses
the word new in the passage we just read, he

(10:42):
does not use the word NEOs. He's not talking about
the heavens and the earth being new in time. And
we know that because he uses the word canaan when
he's describing the new Heaven and the new Earth in
the New Jerusalem. In fact, every single time you see
the word new in the Look of Revelation, he uses
this word. He uses the word canaan. And so that

(11:06):
tells us the new Heaven and the new Earth and
the New Jerusalem aren't gonna be the old ones refurbished.
He's not saying the old Earth is gonna get a
new code of paint. He's saying the new Earth and
the new Heaven and the new Jerusalem will be new
in kind canaan, meaning both the physical universe and the

(11:27):
spiritual realm will be brand new, never been one like
it before. You tracking with me, say, amen, See, the
new Jerusalem is gonna be a new place. It's not
gonna be the old Jerusalem made new. It's a new city,
a holy city that the Bible says will come down
from the heaven and come down from God. And by

(11:48):
the way, that's not symbolism, all right. This verse is
talking about a literal city where God's people, hopefully all
of us, are going to live with God for all
of eternity. In fact, in verse fifteen, he gonna give
us the measurements of this new city. In verse eighteen,
he's gonna give us the materials that are going to
build and make up this new city. And Isaiah forty

(12:10):
three nineteen, the Lord said, look, i am about to
do something new. We've read that verse. That verse is
written seven hundred years before Christ. He said, I'm about
to do something new. And now you fast forward to
the end of the book. And in Revelation twenty one,
verse five is what is he saying. Jesus said, look,

(12:30):
I am making everything new. He's making all things new,
and when he does, these places will be new and
kind and unlike anything that's ever been. Hey, you know
why heaven will be so perfect and so beautiful Three reasons.
Number one, because Jesus is the Lord of heaven. That's

(12:51):
why it's gonna be so beautiful. Verse five. Then the
one seated on the throne said, look, I am making
everything new. And then he said to me, it is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega in the beginning
of the end. And when I read that, I'm reminded
that Jesus is the lord of this city. The Bible
says he will rule and reign and be worshiped in

(13:12):
this perfect place for all of eternity, and will be
there with him. He is the Lord of heaven. But
not only that, he's the light of heaven. Check that out.
Verse twenty three says the city does not need the
sun or the moon to shine on it, because the
glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the lamb.
The nations will walk by its light, and the kings

(13:34):
of the earth will bring their glory into it. Not
only is Jesus the light of this world. Jesus is
the light of the world. And when the Bible speaks
about heaven, it says that this will be a place
where there will be no darkness, and there will be
no night. Why is that. It's because Jesus is there,
and the glory of God will illuminate all of heaven,

(13:57):
and that's why there will be no darkness for all
of eternity. Chapter twenty two, verse five says, night will
be no more. People will not need the light of
a lamp or the light of the sun, because the
Lord God will give them light and they will reign
forever and ever. It's hard to imagine a world where

(14:17):
we don't even have a need for a sun or
a moon or stars any longer. It's hard to imagine
an existence where we no longer have to flip on
a light switch when we walk into a room. We
no longer have to go to bed scared of the dark.
We don't need a night light because we have the
light of Christ illuminating all of heaven for all of eternity.
He is the Lord of Heaven, and he is the

(14:40):
Light of heaven. But the Bible goes on to say
that Jesus is also the life of heaven, the Life
of Heaven. Chapter twenty two, verse one says, then he
showed me the river of the water of life, clear
as crystal, flowing from the throne of God, and of
the lamb down the middle of the city's main street.

(15:02):
The tree of Life was on each side of the river,
bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month.
This is the final vision of the new Jerusalem. And
in these two verses, John is actually telling us a
lot about heaven. It says, there will be a river
of life, and there will be a tree of life.

(15:23):
And I want you to notice that right here, the
river of the water of life, it flows from where
what's the mouth of the river? It said, it flows
directly from the throne of God and from the Lamb
of God. When I read this passage, I'm reminded of
another passage in John chapter seven. In John chapter seven,
Jesus is talking, and he's standing up at a festival,

(15:44):
and he says to the crowd, if anyone is thirsty,
let him come to me and drink. And in this context,
I want you to understand that Jesus, when he's talking,
he's not saying He's not saying, if you're physically thirsty,
come to me, and I'll provide you a temporary solution.
No he's saying, if you are spiritually thirsty, come to me,

(16:07):
and I will give you an eternal solution. In fact,
that's what we read in that very next verse and
verse thirty eight. He said, the one who believes in me,
as the scripture has said, will have streams of living
water flow from deep within him. What's he saying there,
He's saying that Jesus is the source of living water.

(16:32):
Jesus is the source of eternal life, and he is
the mouth of the river of the water of life
in heaven, which flows from the throne of God and
flows from the lamb of God. But I want you
to notice that this also says in the New Jerusalem,
not only will there be a river, but there will
be a tree. You have a river of life, and

(16:54):
now you have a tree of life. In fact, the
Bible goes on to say that this tree will bear
twelve different kinds of fruit, and it will produce every
single month. The number twelve, by the way, has a
meaning in your Bible. The number twelve is used to
signify completeness and abundance from God. It's also used as

(17:16):
the number that signifies God's people. There were twelve tribes
that's the completion of God's people. So I believe when
it talks about the Tree of Life producing twelve kinds
of fruit, and it says that this will happen twelve
times a year, that's another way of saying that God's
provision of life is sufficient for all God's people. He

(17:37):
said I got all, y'all. I am a big enough
God to provide for all of my people. In verse
twenty or two, that verse goes on to say, the
leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and
there will be there will no longer be any curse.
What does that mean, Well, it tells me that this

(17:58):
tree will not only give life, you know, it would
also provide peace. This tree will give life, but it
also provide peace. That's what it's talking about, healing the nations,
seeing this new creation for all of eternity. God will
unite everything that's been divided. And I want us to

(18:18):
remember this about heaven. God will unite everything that's been
divided and everything that's been broken between nations, everything that's
been broken between nationalities or races or people groups or
voting blocks. Hello will be healed once and for all.

(18:39):
And the Bible says that all of us will exist
in perfect peace. Verse three goes on to say, the
throne of God and of the Lamb will be in
the city, and his servants will worship him. They will
see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Night will be no more. People will not need the
light of a life lamp or the light of the sun,

(19:01):
because the Lord God will give them light, and they
will rain forever and ever. You know, it's hard to
explain to you in a thirty minute sermon the eternal
perfection of this place called heaven. It's hard to even
attempt that. I'm reminded of a story that I heard

(19:22):
a long time ago about a little boy who was
born blind. The doctors told this little boy that there
was hope to cure his blindness. In fact, they told
him that there was a surgery that they could perform,
and they believed a ninety nine percent chance that at
the end of this surgery he would be able to see.
And so they decided to perform the surgery. They wrapped

(19:43):
his head in gauze, and at the completion, at the
completion of that moment, they were removing that gauze from
his eyes. And as the final strip was removed from
this young man's eyes, the doctor leaned down and whispered
in his ears, saying, open your eyes very slowly, And
as he did, the doctor watched as a smile appeared

(20:04):
on this little boy's face. He looked up at the
face of that doctor as the first person he had
ever seen. And then he looked over to the left
and he saw the face of that nurse who had
been helping him, continuing to smile. And then he looked
at the foot of his bed, and for the very
first time, this little boy saw the face of his

(20:24):
own mother. She cried happy tears of joy. At that point,
he got up from the bed and he walked over
to the window, and for the very first time he
saw things that you and I take for granted. He
looked up and he saw the sky, but it wasn't
just a sky. It was the most beautiful blue sky

(20:45):
any eyes had ever seen. He looked over to the
left and he saw a man mowing the grass. But
it wasn't just grass. It was the most beautiful green
grass that any eyes could even conceive. He looked over
to the other side and he saw a flower bed
filled with roses. But these weren't just flowers as a
part of a routine landscape job. These were the most

(21:09):
beautiful flowers he had ever even imagined. Finally, he turned
and he looked back at his mom, and he said,
with tears in his eyes, Mother, why didn't you tell
me how beautiful all of these things were? And she said, son,
I've tried to tell you your entire life, but in

(21:30):
order for you to understand fully how beautiful something really is,
you have to see it for yourself. Listen, I've tried
my best over these last thirty minutes to tell you
how beautiful and how majestic and how perfect Heaven will be.
But in order for you to really get it, you're

(21:51):
gonna have to see it for yourself. But hear me
when I say this, Not everyone's gonna see heaven. And
the Bible says very clearly that there's only a select
group of people that will ever see the city that
God describes for us in these final chapters. In Revelation
chapter twenty one, verse twenty seven, it says nothing unclean

(22:12):
will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is
detestable or false, but only those written in the Lamb's
Book of Life. Don't miss this part. Listen. The only
people who have a home reserved in this city, the
only ones who gained access to this place called Heaven,

(22:32):
are those of us whose names are written in the
Lamb's Book of Life, in God's book that says your mind. So,
as we conclude this message, and as we wrap up
this series, I want to ask you one final question,
one final time. Can you say with certainty today that

(22:53):
your name's in the book? Can you remember the moment
where the hand of God wrote your name in the
Book of Life that determines eternity. And if you can't, man,
I just plead with you one final time, don't leave
this place. Don't put your head on your pillow tonight

(23:13):
without knowing that your soul has been saved and that
your sins have been forgiven, and that your security has
been sealed in heaven once and for all by the
Son of God. Because that's what this book is all about.
This book is to give you a heads up and
to tell you what's coming. And God doesn't beat around

(23:34):
the bush, and he doesn't hesitate to tell you the truth,
and that there is a real heaven and there's a
real hell, and one hundred percent of people that have
beating hearts in their chest will one day reside in
one of two places. So why would we even go
another second of another day with a question mark next
to our eternal destination? When the Son of God says, sir,
you can be saved. Turn from your sin, turn to

(23:57):
a savior that can change everything. Hey, Jesus gives you
that opportunity today. You can turn to Christ and be saved,
or you can turn to your car, go home and
act like you never heard these words. But day of
judgment is coming. This earth as we know it will
be no more, and there will be a new Heaven,

(24:17):
and there will be a new earth, and there will
be a new Jerusalem, and those of us who know
Christ will live there for all of eternity. Is your
name in the book. If it's not, I want to
invite you to come to Christ today. Lord, today, thank
you for your word, thank you for this book. I
pray your blessings over every single person. Lord, as we
leave this place, I pray for the person who's wrestling

(24:38):
with this decision. I pray that you would give them
faith to take that next step and do what they
don't think they can do, but what you're calling them to. Lord,
I thank you for giving us hope for the future.
I thank you that we have hope in Jesus, and
it's in His mighty name that we pray. Amen. The

(25:04):
words of Psalm one nineteen serve as a gentle reminder
that God's word is like a guiding light, illuminating our
path and directing our steps. It's a daily blessing to
immerse ourself and the wisdom and the love and the
truth found in God's word. When we dive into God,
it's like God dives into us, and when we do that,

(25:26):
he allows us to discover His purpose for our lives
and really gain strength that we need in order to
be maximized. Hello, I'm Pastor Jordan Easily, and I believe
that dedicating time to daily Bible reading will enrich your life,
empower you with God's presence, and provide for you lasting
strength as you navigate this part of your journey. You know,

(25:48):
I've never had someone except a Bible reading challenge and
then come back saying I really regret reading God's word,
and so today I want to extend to you that
same challenge. But don't worry. I'm not only challenging. I
want to equip you. In fact, today I want to
provide for you a free Bible reading plan to support
your spiritual journey. This is a thoughtful, crafted plan that

(26:10):
will guide you through the entire Bible in just one year,
and if you follow this plan, I will guarantee that
you will not only grow in wisdom, but also in
your personal walk with Jesus. To receive your free Bible
reading guide, please follow the instructions on the screen and
rest assured we will do everything we can to promptly

(26:31):
deliver your guide to you. Supplies are limited, so please
make sure to order your copy today so that you
can benefit from this valuable resource. Hey, we never want
to end our broadcast without giving you the opportunity to
know Jesus as your personal Lord and savior. If you'd
like to make the decision to trust Jesus and want
to know more about what it looks like to follow Jesus,

(26:53):
get in touch with me right now. Follow the instructions
at the bottom of the screen so that we can
pray for you and also put in information in your
hands right away. Today we celebrate your decision and look
forward to being a part of your personal journey of
going all in with Jesus Christ.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Eeseley has
been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you.
We hope today's message encourages you as you strive to
live your life fully committed to Jesus Christ.