The Gift of Revelation

     Everybody has a dream house.
     Everybody has a vision of a perfect home they would have if money were no object.
     What would yours be like?
     Would it have a private office? A library? A home theater? A sports bar?
     If you have kids, imagine a playroom with a full-sized child scale dollhouse, or a life-sized design based the kids favorite book.
     Imagine being able to hand pick your furniture, artwork, and other décor, regardless of price.
     Would you live alone? Who would be allowed in? Who would be kept out? Would you allow family or friends to stay with you?
     Now imagine that someone came to you and told you that they were going to build your dream house for you. No charge and no strings. Now imagine they told you that you fantasy designs were limited, and your future home would be beyond anything that you could imagine.
     This week, we will begin to see the description of our future eternal home.
     Enjoy!

Opening Discussion

-What would your dream house be like?
-Describe it.

Read

Here is this week’s study passage.
Please pray before you begin.

Revelation 21:6-11 (Message)

6 Then he said, "It's happened. I'm A to Z. I'm the Beginning, I'm the Conclusion. From Water-of-Life Well I give freely to the thirsty.

7 Conquerors inherit all this. I'll be God to them, they'll be sons and daughters to me.

8 But for the rest—the feckless and faithless, degenerates and murderers, sex peddlers and sorcerers, idolaters and all liars—for them it's Lake Fire and Brimstone. Second death!"

9 One of the Seven Angels who had carried the bowls filled with the seven final disasters spoke to me: "Come here. I'll show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb."

10 He took me away in the Spirit to an enormous, high mountain and showed me Holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God,

11 resplendent in the bright glory of God. The City shimmered like a precious gem, light-filled, pulsing light.

Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright ? 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Study

Please read Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-15; 21:1-5.

Revelation 21:6-11 (NIV)

6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb."

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.

Verse 6:

-Who is speaking? (verse 21:3)
-What does He say?
-What is done?
-How does He describe Himself?
-What does He do?
-For whom does He do it?

Verse 7:

-Who will inherit?
-What will he inherit?
-What will the relationship be?

Verse 8:

-Who will not share this relationship?
-Where will they be?
-How is it described?

Verse 9:

-Who came to the author?
-What did he say?
-What will he show to him?

Verse 10:

-Where did the angel take the author?
-What did he show to him?
-From where was it coming?

Verse 11:

-How is the City described?

-What do we learn about God?
-Christ?
-The Spirit?
-The author?
-His readers?
-His purpose?
-What do we learn about our eternal home?
-We will be living in a city. What images does that bring to your mind?
-What is the significance of the City being compared to a bride and a wife?
-What words are used to describe the City?
-How do these words make you feel?
-What will life be like without the people mentioned in verse 8?
-How should that affect your walk with Christ?
-What has God shown you through this passage of Scripture?
-With whom can you share what you learned this week?

This Week’s Challenges

Challenge A-Reading

Continue reading the book of Revelation.
Read at your own pace.
Take notes as you go.

Challenge B-The Text

Read some or all of the verses below.
Note any similarities with this week’s passage.

2 Samuel 7:14;
Psalm 5:6; 89:26;
Isaiah 12:3; 55:1; 60:1-2, 19;
Ezekiel 40:1-2; 43:2; 48;
Zechariah 8:8;
John 4:10;
1 Corinthians 6:9-10;
2 Corinthians 6:16, 18;
Romans 8:14;
Galatians 5:19-21;
Ephesians 5:5;
1 Timothy 1:9;
Hebrews 8:10; 12:14;
Revelation 1:8-10; 2:7-11; 4:3-6; 7:17; 9:21; 10:6; 15:1, 7-8; 16:17; 17:1-3; 19:7, 20; 20:14; 21:2-3, 18-19, 23, 27; 22:5, 13-17;

Challenge C-Strand Challenge

Read
Genesis 21;
Psalm 21;
Romans 10:1-11.
Note any similarities between each and with this week’s passage.