Revelation 21:1-8
All Things Made New
1 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, 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 heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.”
6 And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
We now are given a glimpse past the final judgment where those rejecting Christ and His gospel of eternal reprieve (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9) will suffer unending torment (Matthew 25:46), while we who take God at His word and received His forgiveness by Christ’s work of sacrificial death (Isaiah 44:22, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 John 4:18) will instead enter into the new creation. It will be as if going back to the beginning when the Garden of Eden was our first home that was free from sin until the snake in the grass corrupted us with the disbelief and disobedience of that original rebellious sin to know better than our Maker. That sin of deception and resulting corruption of sin on us and all creation (Romans 8:21) will be forgotten as all is made anew; the very earth we will stand on in His presence (Job 19:25-27, ) and the universe of stars and galaxies in the heavens above will be redone apart from the presence of sin at last! We read in 1 John 5:20-21 that the Lord gives understanding to know Him who is the true God, Jesus Christ, and to be found in Him is knowing the true God and having eternal life. We who therefore are found in Him as the bride which is the true church comprised of all in Christ and His righteousness will enter into the Celestial City, New Jerusalem, to be forever joined to the Lord and to love with Him there to worship in that holy place before His face with unending praise. As His redeemed people, we will have Him with us as the eternal Immanuel and God will reach out to wipe away all our tears of sorrow and suffering because death has been defeated (1 Corinthians 15:26, 54-55, 56, 2 Timothy 1:10) with all the pain of sin that will be vanquished and vanish at last from our presence, unable to corrupt us or God’s entire creation anymore. The One who alone is faithful to do all He says gave these promises to John for us to know that the word of God is likewise just as faithful and true as He is. He will absolutely make all things new! We can count on it. He is the beginning of all things and the end of them as well, and offers to all who trust these words hidden in time but revealed in Christ by the gospel the fountain of life (Isaiah 12:3, 55:1, Revelation 7:17) to quench our thirst (Psalm 63:1) for Him. We who now believe and receive Jesus Christ and His work on the cross have overcome the world (1 John 5:4-5) and will inherit everything in the new kingdom on earth as His beloved sons and daughters. But those who refuse to accept this, who shrink back into sin away from Him and continue in disbelief and immortality will face the same fate as the deceiver the devil and spend forever in torment as a second death (Hebrews 9:27-28) after dying physically in this life. Do not be deceived by those who tach there is a purgatory and a second chance; there is no chance other than that obtained in this life before we die. Choose life by trusting the Lord’s word and work while you are alive and able (Deuteronomy 30:19, John 11:25, 14:6) and live forever! Remember that the faithful and true will make all things new.
No comments:
Post a Comment