Vol.4, No.54 – January 12, 2019, Countdown to the end – 41
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 –Revelation 21:1
Humanity is consumed with that which is new. (Yes, we are part of humanity, so it is “us” as well.) New cars, new clothes, new flat screen TVs, new houses, new boats, new lake houses, new computers, new iPhones, and even a new year.
We are at a point in the book of Revelation of an end to the history of time. Now something new is beginning, eternity. Eternity unveiled. There is a new Heaven, a new earth, a New Jerusalem, all things are new for the believer!
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.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” (21:5-6)
When God speaks, He does so in absolute perfection. We live on a globe that is approximately 25,000 miles in circumference, and 8,000 miles in diameter. The earth is likened to a hollow ball with an outer crust. There is a core that is liquid, seething and boiling, in the heart of the earth. Essentially we live on a giant bomb, and according to Scripture, one day it will pass away (explode), be gone. Satan loses. God (father, Son, and Holy Spirit) wins!
But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly (2 Peter 3:7).
Now we dealing with all the redeemed of the ages who, at last, find themselves in God’s Utopia—the holy city, the New Jerusalem. The wicked are no more. They have been judged at the Great White Throne. God’s Day has come! The heirs of eternal life begin to live in all fullness –Donald Grey Barnhouse
What is plain:
- A new community (21:3-4). Those who have placed their trust in Christ are with Him, for all eternity. He is the joy of the redeemed. In this eternal state, death is a thing of the past. There will be no more funerals, no more graves, no more hospitals, no more broken homes, no more broken hearts; what a day of rejoicing that will be!
- A new constitution (21:5-8). A place that seems unbelievable, with a structured oversight that one cannot help but identify it as heavenly. It will be a place of safety, satisfaction, and splendid. God will lavish the genius of His creative imagination upon it and will furnish it from resources of His unlimited power. –John Phillips
- A new city (21:9-27). It will be unusual, new every day, a marvelous home. It will have an aura of a giant diamond, glow with a light all its own, its 12 gates direct to the points of a compass, and its great walls are bedded in twelve foundations—breath taking!
Who will live here? Nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
Worthy are you, our Lord and God! Revelation 4:11
He, who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches! Revelation 2:7
Behold, Jesus is coming soon Revelation 22:6
Life Application
Life in eternity requires one to respond to Christ for His offer of salvation. The ones who responds are cleaned, renewed, for an endless impeccable life. It is only because of Christ that one can come in salvation. It requires a choice this side of Heaven, eternity. That is the only opportunity we have to make that decision. That is God’s elected, predetermined, chosen plan. The requirement? Respond to Him, there is no other way to have eternal life, but through Him alone.
