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Really good news!
REALLY GOOD NEWS!
There is really good news for you! It is indeed really good news! It begins with a view of heaven coming down to earth; a time when the prayers of God's people for centuries, will be answered “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
Chapter 21 of the book of Revelation contains almost all the Bible records concerning the eternal state. Most of the prophetic passages of the Old Testament that picture a time of great blessing on earth refer to the thousand-year reign of our Lord which precedes this last great event. Very little is said in the Old Testament about the new heaven and earth. But here it is in the 21st chapter. Following the Great White Throne judgment, recorded in Chapter 20 of Revelation, John sees a whole new creation spring into being.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” [Rev 21:1-4 NIV].
What encouraging words! They bring us full circle, to the beginning of the Bible again. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"(Genesis 1:1). That creation is what is called here "the old heavens and the old earth." They shall pass away, as we are told, but a new heaven and a new earth are coming. It is the Apostle Peter who tells us what happens to the present heavens and earth. In Second Peter he says, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar. The elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare" [2 Pet 3:10]. That ends the old heavens and earth, but now a new heavens and earth appear where Jesus Christ our Lord of lords and King of kings will continue His reign, not only upon earth, but throughout the entire reach of the vast universe of God.
There are four statements in these verses that tell us the purpose of the new heavens and the new earth:
The first verse suggests strongly that the New Jerusalem, this great city that John describes, is to be the capital of the whole new universe. And it will be a universe greatly changed. It will not be like the one we have now. This does not mean that God will eliminate the present heavens and earth but He changes it and cleanses it.
When we become Christians we become new creatures in Christ, but we are still the same persons, but now changed and cleansed. So also the old heavens and the old earth will be cleansed- by fire and changed.
We know today that the present universe in its farthest reaches [even farther than the Hubble telescope can show us], is governed by the same laws. One of them is the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the law of entropy, which says this present universe, is running down. It is all decaying; losing its energy; it is growing old. But in the new heavens and the new earth apparently that law is reversed. Instead of running down, the universe begins to come together again. Instead of losing energy it will gain it and manifest a unity, stability, symmetry and unimaginable beauty that the old heavens and earth never had.
One aspect of this, pictured here, is that there will be no more sea. A brother in Christ said to me once, "I don't think I'm going to like the new heavens and the new earth, because I love the ocean." I understand that feeling. I love the ocean too. But the one reason we have a salt sea that covers more than half of this planet is because it is God's great antiseptic to cleanse the earth and make life possible on earth. Had it not been for the ocean and the salt in it particularly, life on this planet would have ceased many centuries ago. It is the ocean that purges, cleanses, and preserves it. The sea is an antiseptic in which all the pollution and filth that man pours into it is absorbed, cleansed and changed. But there will be no more pollution, no more filth; no more need for cleansing in the new universe. Though we are not told this, I think there will be large bodies of fresh water, larger even perhaps than the Great Lakes, that we may enjoy in that new heavens and new earth.
Then the second thing said here is the New Jerusalem is called a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. Everyone loves that picture. We all experienced weddings, the climax is when the bride comes down the aisle, beautifully dressed for her husband! Everyone forgets that poor fellow waiting for her at the altar! Every eye is on the bride because she has prepared herself for weeks to meet her husband there.
This new city is called both a city and a woman. A bride speaks of intimacy, and a city speaks of community. So we have a picture here of the redeemed of God, each one given a body of glory empowered with limitless energy. When opportunity comes in that day you will not say, as we often say today, "The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" [Matt 26:41 NIV]. No, then you will be able to respond to every opportunity with a glorified, fresh and living body. We will live in close intimacy, not only with the Lord Himself, but with each other as well.
How often do you think of the phrase in John's letters where he says, "....It does not yet appear what we shall be..." [1 Jn 3:2 KJV]. Do you keep looking in the mirror for signs of change? But what do you see? Wrinkles-and scars! But it won't be like that then. We will have bodies of glory and beauty that will be like His.
The third thing we are told here is that this will be the dwelling place of God. Isn't that breath taking and marvelous? The home of God! The place where God lives with His people. This is when the name "Emmanuel" ["God with us"], will be fulfilled, and when the New Covenant will be fully worked out, "They shall be My people, and I will be their God" [Jer 24:7 KJV]. It is all in this beautiful setting. New Heaven, someone has well said, is the place of "no more" -- no more death, no more sorrow, no more parting, no more pain, no more tears, no more evil!
A wonderful hope, isn't it? It is so beautiful that it is even hard to believe. I think John felt that way for he is given at this point certain words of assurance to help him with his possible doubt.
“He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" [Rev 21:5-6 NIV].
He brackets all of time in the phrases, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." Everything in between comes from Him. These are words of truth that help us to believe.
Remember on the stake our Lord uttered the words "It is finished" [John 19:30]. After the gloom, the darkness, pain, sorrow and anguish of His separation from the Father, He cried out, "It is finished!" The basis of redemption was settled. The sacrifice was ended. The basis was fully laid. Now He says, "It is done!" Redemption is complete. The redeemed are safe home in glory. Everything that God wants done is done! Not one thing is left unfinished.
The fourth thing the passage suggests as the purpose of the New Jerusalem is that it will be the home of the redeemed:
"To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be My son" [Rev 21:6b-7 NIV].
What encouraging and powerful words! This city will be the home of the redeemed, and the only qualification for it is that you be thirsty. Nothing on earth satisfies. Wealth, fame, pleasures or treasures - none will meet that deep thirst of the soul. That is why the rich, the wealthy, the powerful people, all are looking for something more. They are not satisfied.
But here is the promise to satisfy that thirst. People who want more-who want God-are promised that they shall drink of the water of the spring of life. These are also called "over-comers" who "inherit all this," all that God has created. Peter tells us in his first letter that there is waiting for us "an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for us" [1 Pet 1:4 NIV]. Those who are thus changed by God's mercy are to be forever His sons and daughters. He is "bringing many sons to glory." So we shall all be sons of God in that day!
Martin Martinez
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