Revelation (Written)

Wednesday, 11 August 2021

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.” Revelation 21:8

The Lord noted those who would inherit all things in the previous verse. It is “he who overcomes.” Anyone who doesn’t fit into this category will have a different fate ahead of him. To give an idea of the type of people this includes, a list is provided. The idea here is that all who don’t believe in and accept the finished work of Christ are a part of this list, demonstrating their actual state of lowliness, regardless of how they think of themselves.

Understanding that, Jesus begins the list of those who are disqualified. Each is in the dative case, meaning that they are the recipients of the action that will be expressed. One can think of each category being preceded by the word “for” or “to.” Thus, “To this group, and to this group, and to this group there will be this consequence applied to them.” As such, Jesus begins with, “But the cowardly.” Hence, think of “But to the cowardly.”

The idea of being a coward brings up the thought of shrinking back in fear during a time of war or the like. This is not what is being referred to. The word is deilos. It signifies fearful, timid, or cowardly. The word is used in Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40, Hebrews 12:28 (where it is translated as “godly fear”), and in this verse.

HELPS Word Studies defines the term – “properly, dreadful, describing a person who loses their ‘moral gumption (fortitude)’ that is needed to follow the Lord. / refers to an excessive fear (dread) of ‘losing,’ causing someone to be fainthearted (cowardly) – hence, to fall short in following Christ as Lord. / deilós is always used negatively in the NT and stands in contrast to the positive fear which can be expressed by 5401 /phóbos (“fear,” see Phil 2:12).”

As it has already been noted concerning those who “overcome” from the previous verse, this cannot be referring to someone who expresses fear after salvation. It refers to one who never receives Christ out of fear of the consequences of doing so.

The next on the list include the “unbelieving.” The word, in this context, is anyone who has failed to believe the gospel. As belief in the gospel is required to be sealed with the Holy Spirit, such a person is unsaved. Paul defines this in Ephesians 1 –

 ^“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13, 14

A person who believes the gospel is sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of his salvation. Those who do not believe will not be saved. The context of Jesus’ words is after His completed work and ascension. Thus, a lack of belief in the gospel is the focus of what is stated here. Next, it refers to the “abominable.”

The word is a perfect participle, and it signifies “to stink.” Thus, it speaks of the total corruption of the person. He is foul, detestable, and loathsome. Remembering that those on this list are given as comparisons, it is saying that those who may think they are pure and good smelling are rejected, vile, and loathsome without Christ.

Jesus next mentions “murderers.” This refers to those who commit unjustified, intentional homicide. Jesus uses the verb form of this word to make a point about people’s need for Him –

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Matthew 5:21, 22

God looks at the heart when He evaluates man. The act of murder carries punishment, but the intent of the heart is no less convicting before God. This is true with the next category, the “sexually immoral.”

The word speaks of a male prostitute. However, in the New Testament, that is given as a type of any who engages in sexual immorality. Of such conduct, Jesus uses adultery as an example of the intent of the heart –

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27, 28

The next on this list includes “sorcerers.”  HELPS Word Studies defines this as “properly, a sorcerer; used of people using drugs and ‘religious incantations’ to drug people into living by their illusions – like having magical (supernatural) powers to manipulate God into giving them more temporal possessions.”

From there, Jesus refers to “idolaters.” This speaks of a server or worshiper, either literally or figuratively, of idols. Being in a congregation where Christian images, such as crucifixes, statues of “saints,” and so on are served must be included in this. Without Christ’s atoning sacrifice to cover one’s sins, such actions merely heap up added guilt. They are no different than worshiping statues of Buddha.

Jesus finishes this list by saying, “and all liars.” The word used is general in nature. It certainly includes liars, but it signifies false, deceitful, lying, and untruths.

Of these, Jesus says they “shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.” This is hell. It is a place from which there is no escape and no end. God promised full restoration to man of that which was lost. But that is conditional on the work of the Messiah. He completed His work, and all who receive Him will be saved. All who do not are included in this list of doomed souls.

Again, and as stated before, the list is given as a comparative list to show that those who have not come to Christ are like any of those mentioned in this verse. There is no gradient scale by which man can be saved. There is no bell curve. There will be no evaluations of how hard or how well someone worked. There is either being in Christ and being covered by His righteousness, or there is nakedness and exposure. Those who stand naked and exposed before God will find their place in this lake of fire, “which is the second death.”

The second death is that spiritual death that all humans are born with. We are born physically alive, but spiritually dead. Being born again in Christ restores the spiritually dead condition to life. Not being found in Christ leaves that person dead in sin. When he dies, his spiritual condition is in an unconverted state. As such, his fate is sealed. The lake of fire becomes his eternal home. As Jesus says, “this is the second death.”

The 21^st letter of the Hebrew aleph-bet, Shin, corresponds to the 21^st Chapter of Revelation. Shin is pictured as the two front teeth, and it signifies sharp, press, eat, and two. However, it also represents the eternal flame. Thus, there is a contrast between the lake of fire in verse 8 and the illumination of God and the light of the Lamb in verse 23. There are those condemned to the flames, and there are those who will be illuminated by the light of God – both are eternal.

Life application: One of the most common misperceptions about Jesus is that He is a cosmic pushover and that through His work there is an “anything goes” attitude concerning our walk and conduct. This attitude leads to heretical groups and cults by the bucketful.

People who spend all their time solely in the beatitudes fail to take in the whole counsel of God. They fail to realize that the same God who thrust Adam from the Garden of Eden, who swept the world clean in the Flood of Noah, who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone, who punished the people who had stood at the base of Mount Sinai – making them wander in the wilderness until all the disobedient were dead – and who also exiled His chosen people from their land – among many other acts of judgment recorded in the Bible – is the same God who spoke out those beatitudes. He is the Lord Jesus. He is the Judge of the sins of the world, and He will cast those who fail to meet His perfect standard into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.

In the end, all of the sins of man can be forgiven, but they must acknowledge their violations of what God expects of and from His people. Only through the cleansing power of the precious blood of Christ can man be purified from these things. Let us come to the throne of grace and receive God’s offer of mercy while there is still time to do so. Let us come to JESUS.

Lord Jesus, we come before You and confess that our lives have been lived apart from You. We have committed sinful acts and deserve only God’s wrath. But we look to You for forgiveness and mercy. Thank You, Lord, for the undeserved favor You offer. Amen.

Tuesday, 10 August 2021

He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. Revelation 21:7

In the previous words, Jesus said to John that He would give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. The implication is that they have the Source of eternal life flowing to sustain them forever, and thus they will live forever. In this, there is an implication made that Jesus next explicitly states to John, saying, “He who overcomes shall inherit all things.”

As a side note, some manuscripts say, “shall inherit these things” instead of “shall inherit all things.” It would then be referring to those things promised in this passage (and elsewhere that are connected to the things mentioned in this passage).

Either way, one must overcome in order to receive the fountain of the water of life. This demands that we remember exactly how one overcomes. The subject was addressed in detail in Revelation 2:7, but it is now the last time that the word nikaó, or overcome, is found in Scripture. Thus, it is worth repeating again, towards the end of Revelation, to ensure the matter is properly understood. John’s letters provide the necessary detail –

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The words are based on 1 John 5:5 (cited below), and which are taken in connection with John’s other words of that epistle.  Look at how John weaves thoughts together in the book of 1 John in order to ensure that all ends are secure –

“…whatever is born of God overcomes the world.” (5:4)
“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” (5:1)
“He who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” overcomes the world. (5:5)
“Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God.” (4:2)
“…every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. (4:3).

In this, John is obviously equating “Christ” with “Son of God.” The Christ is God incarnate (come in the flesh) – where the fulness of the Godhead dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9). John is revealing that which is true and that which is false. This calls out for proper understanding because to believe otherwise is the spirit of the antichrist.

There are those who claim that Jesus is the Christ, but they do not believe He is God incarnate. Thus, verse 5:1 does not apply to them. There are those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but they do not accept that He is then fully God. Thus, verse 5:5 does not apply to them. In other words, there are sons of God recorded in both testaments – such as in Genesis 6 and Job 1. These are referring to human beings, not the divine Son of God.

There are also sons of God in the New Testament, such as in Romans 8:14 and elsewhere. These are adopted sons of God, not the Son begotten of God – meaning Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God.

One must take the words of John on a much more global scale to fully understand what he is referring to. Without doing so, a Mormon or a Jehovah’s Witness might appear to pass the test of one who overcomes the world. But such is not the case. Through evaluating the entire scope of what John is referring to, we find that such heretics do not pass muster, and have not overcome the world. As John asks, “Who is he who overcomes the world…?”

It is the person who will meet the qualifications he will state in a moment, but that person must meet the other qualifications which are directly tied to those words as well. John says that it is “he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” This is the person who overcomes. But he only does so if he believes that the Son of God (Jesus) is the Christ. And further, he only does so if he confesses that Jesus Christ has also come in the flesh.

If he does so, he is of God and has both been born of God and has overcome the world. If he does not confess the deity of Christ (having come in the flesh), he “is not of God.” In proper theology, one plus one will always equal two. However, sometimes the equation is built upon other such simple equations. When each is properly realized, then the truth of the situation is confirmed. This is why it is so important to have a larger understanding of what John is conveying when talking with people from aberrant cults.

Also, in his words, John uses present participles, each prefixed with an article when speaking of the one who overcomes. More literally, he says, “Who now is the one overcoming?” The response is, “…the one believing.” As noted, one can believe in a “Christ” who is not the Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:4, for example). It is the one believing in the proper Christ, who is the Son of God – fully Man and yet fully God. In his belief, he is overcoming the world. For those who believe in the wrong “Christ,” they are not overcoming anything. They are still in their sins, and they belong to this world.

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To sum up this most important point of doctrine, it is to the person who trusts in the Person and work of Jesus Christ, the God/Man, that overcomes. With this understood, Jesus next says of he who overcomes, “and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”

Of this, Vincent’s Word Studies notes, “This is the only place in John’s writings where υἱός son is used of the relation of man to God.” The Father/son relationship that began to be revealed in Genesis 6:2 with the “sons of God,” meaning those of the line of Seth that trusted in the promise of the coming Messiah, and that is then carefully and methodically built upon throughout Scripture, is fully realized in this verse.

The promise is that any who overcomes (placing their trust in the Messiah according to the level of understanding given in any particular dispensation) is granted this Father/son relationship. The hope of returning to paradise, and of spending eternity in the presence of God, is explicitly promised in these verses of Revelation. The thing God promised in Genesis 3:15, and which He has continued to slowly and progressively reveal since then, is realized here. God, who is ever faithful to His word, sent His Christ. He has restored all to the state it was originally intended. For His redeemed, the coming of that day is as certain as the word uttered forth by Him.

These wonderful words are the final fulfillment of what Paul hinted at for any who are already in this relationship because of faith in Christ –

“I will be a Father to you,
And you shall be My sons and daughters,
Says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18

For the one who has overcome, the position is already realized. We are just waiting for the redemptive narrative to unfold, but we already possess this blessed Father/son relationship.

Life application: In the evaluation of Revelation 3:22, the promises made by Jesus to those who overcome were noted. They were made in the seven letters to the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2 & 3. That list is –

(1) Jesus will allow him to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
(2) He shall not be hurt by the second death.
(3) He will be given some of the hidden manna to eat. Jesus will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
(4) Jesus will give him power over the nations – “He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessel” – as Jesus also has received from His Father; and He will give him the morning star.
(5) He shall be clothed in white garments, and his name will not be blotted out from the Book of Life; Jesus will confess his name before His Father and before His angels.
(6) He will be made a pillar in the temple of God, and he shall go out no more. Jesus will write on him the name of His God and the name of the city of His God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from His God. And He will write on him His new name.
(7) He will be given the right to sit with Jesus on His throne, as He also overcame and sat down with His Father on His throne.

All of these things are coming to the one who overcomes. Along with that is promised the intimate Father/son relationship noted in the verse analyzed above. As noted, the “sons of God” in Genesis 6:2, is a passage speaking of the chosen line that will lead to the Messiah.

From that springboard, there is a succession of adoption which leads all the way to this verse in Revelation. The promise was made to Abraham in Genesis 17:7. Israel was proclaimed the Lord’s firstborn in Exodus 4:22. They were given the promise of being His special treasure in Exodus 19:5, 6. After this was seen the confirmation of this covenant line through David in 2 Samuel 7:14. Eventually, these promises were made to the church on several occasions in the New Testament.

This Father/son relationship is made possible because of Jesus. In Hebrews 1:2, He is noted as the “heir of all things.” We are called “joint heirs” with Him in Romans 8:17. We are united to God through the work of Christ. And that is based on simple faith, with nothing else added. Jesus tells us this in John 3:16, Paul states it again and again in his epistles, and finally John gave us the great and wonderful news of how to overcome in 1 John 5:4, 5 (noted above).

To be a son of God, one must look to the work of the Son of God. To overcome and reign with Christ one must look to the One who overcame and reigns with God. To be an heir of the great promises of God, one must be adopted through the Son of God. It is the most wonderful and glorious promise ever, and it comes by simple faith. Praise God for His glorious gift! Praise God for our Lord, JESUS!

Heavenly Father, how wonderful it is to be called a son of God! We, your people, accept Jesus and we come to You in faith, knowing that only through Him can we receive Your gift of eternal life. Thank You for Jesus, thank You for His work, and thank You for the grace and faith You have granted us to come to this wonderful place. Hallelujah and Amen!

Monday, 9 August 2021

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. Revelation 21:6

The Lord on the throne just proclaimed that He makes all things new. In order to demonstrate that this is not just an empty promise, the words of this verse are now provided. John says, “And He said to me.”

The words are spoken by the Christ of God, Jesus. It is He who sits on the throne at the right hand (meaning the position of all power and authority) of God. And His words are, “It is done.” Some manuscripts say here, “They have come to pass.” Thus, it refers to the words that were promised. Either way, the words are words of surety. That which was spoken would come about is that which is now accomplished. And the reason for this is given in His next words, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.”

It is the same expression first used in Revelation 1:8. As noted then, the meaning is found in the fact that these are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, comparable to saying “A to Z” in English or Aleph to Tav in Hebrew.

It thus forms an all-inclusive statement. Everything that can be expressed by the language is contained within the letters of the language. This includes the concepts of time, space, and matter. If the concept is explainable by the language, then it is included in this thought because the first and last letters are representative of the whole.

Of this, the scholars at Cambridge state, “Alpha and Omega] As in Revelation 1:8 …. Here, as in the former passage, it is God the Father that speaks.” This is incorrect. They have arbitrarily divided the words coming from the throne into two categories – some spoken by Jesus and others by the Father. Rather, the words are all spoken by the Lord. Each time, He uses the titles necessary to explain His nature in relation to the surrounding events.

In this case, the intent is to show that He is outside of time. He was there at the beginning, creating all things. He is at the end of each successive step of the redemptive process, seeing it to its completion. Nothing has happened apart from Him, and all that has happened has occurred because He has allowed it to occur. The words spoken forth ask the reader to trust that what He says will come to pass shall, in fact, come to pass.

He next says, “the Beginning and the End.” Unlike in Revelation 1:8, where the same terms were used without definite articles, they are now spoken forth with the articles – the Beginning and the End. The words convey the same general meaning as those of Paul where, in Colossians 1, he describes Christ as the firstborn over all creation (meaning prior to creation), the Creator, the Sustainer, the head of the church, the firstborn from the dead, etc. Paul’s words were given to show the preeminence of Christ in all things.

The words now spoken by the Lord show the absolute existence of Christ – the “I AM THAT I AM.” Nothing exists in all of creation apart from Christ Jesus because the existence of all things is derived from His eternal, unchanging existence.

With that understood, He next speaks out words that convey the very idea of man’s existence, saying, “I will give of the fountain of the water of life.” The existence of man is intimately tied in with water. Without it, man cannot exist. There is the thought that the waters were gathered together, and the dry land appeared. From that ground, man was brought forth. But without water, the man could not survive. These physical truths are brought forward into spiritual pictures in Scripture.

Isaiah 55:1 calls out an offer for any who thirst to come forward and do so –

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters.”

And though it is true that man needs literal water to survive, the words of Isaiah are conveying a spiritual truth that was already set forth several times in Scripture, including in the psalms –

“O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
² So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.” Psalm 63:1, 2

The thirst of the physical body is equated to a spiritual thirst that only God can satisfy. That is then more fully expressed at the coming of God’s Messiah –

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
¹¹ The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? ¹² Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
¹³ Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:10-14

The words of Jesus to the woman at the well are then more fully explained in John 7 –

 ^“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39

The offer of the Lord spoken forth now towards the end of Revelation is actually one addressed to the people of the world who read Revelation at any point in history. The offer is made to any who will believe the message of Scripture – that God has sent His Christ to bring us back to Himself. Whoever accepts this message of reconciliation, as Jesus next says, He will give this water of life “freely to him who thirsts.”

It is the thought re-expressed from Isaiah 55:1 (cited above). There is no charge for what God offers. It is a gift of grace and not of works. To work implies a wage is due. That which is free is given without accepting anything that requires wages to be paid. For those who thirst after God, the fountain of the water of life will be provided to him. The next verse will specifically explain how that is obtained.

It should be noted here that those who were punished with the seven bowls of God’s wrath in Revelation 16 faced the punishment of drinking blood (16:6), symbolizing the drinking of death. It is the exact opposite of what is promised now to the redeemed of the Lord. As in Revelation 21:4, a contrast is made to the judgment of those who fail to come to God, and the joy of those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Life application: What needed to be accomplished has come to pass; what was lost has been restored; that which has been anticipated has been realized. When the Lord says, “It is done,” it reveals a truth to us. The fact that the words were spoken means that it is already accomplished. What we don’t yet perceive because we are in the stream of time, God has already brought to pass. The very word He speaks is the indication that it is done.

When God speaks out a prophecy, such as the granting of eternal life, it is for our benefit so that we can understand what He has already determined. And because he is outside of time, it is already known by Him what the outcome of all things will be.

If God is at the beginning, then He must have been prior to the beginning in order for it to begin. He is the Necessary Being by whom all things came into existence, and apart from Him, nothing has come into being.

Further, if He is the End and God is eternal, then the End stretches into eternity as well. Because God has stated that all who believe in Jesus will have eternal life, then it must be true. There will never be a time when the true end is realized. Rather, the end is the moment-by-moment existence in the eternal state.

As a note concerning the term “Alpha and Omega,” it is used four times in the Bible, all in Revelation – 1:8, 1:11, 21:6, & 22:13. The term “Beginning and End” as used in this context is stated three times, again all in Revelation – 1:8, 21:6, & 22:13. When compared between uses, they confirm (as many other things have) Jesus’ deity.

He is the Lord God Almighty and the second member of the Trinity. This is an inescapable truth and one that is not to be overlooked. The entire Bible reveals this. To deny Jesus’ deity is a heresy. One cannot call on Jesus as Lord if He is a created being. Rather, He is the Lord our God.

Looking at the structure of this verse, the final thought is positioned to complement the first two statements: 1) “It is done,” and 2) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” It is also a witness to the truth of Jesus’ deity because only God can provide what He offers, meaning the fountain of the water of life. That offer was made in the book of John as noted previously.

As the eternal state has no end, there is the need for an eternal stream of life-giving nourishment to sustain God’s people. This is the “water of life” that Jesus speaks of. Without water, all life dies. Therefore with the water of life, there can be no death. God is outside of His creation and therefore is eternally existent, but we are within it. As such, we need to be eternally sustained. This is noted in Colossian 1:17 and in Hebrews 1:3, both of which are speaking of Jesus as the One who sustains all creation. Only God can sustain what God has created. In understanding this, the words of this verse clearly present the deity of Jesus Christ.

He is our Creator, Sustainer, and Hope. This is revealed in a beautifully unique way in this verse. As we move through our eternal state, we will never tire of the wisdom and life which flows from Him. We can learn about and contemplate Him for a billion times a billion years, and yet we will still have an eternity of learning ahead of us. He is a great God, a wonderful Lord, and a beautiful Savior! He is JESUS.

Jesus, how absolutely astonishing it is to contemplate eternity and to know that we will never be able to fully grasp all that it can reveal to us about You. What a marvelous and glorious Lord You are. Hallelujah to You. Hallelujah in the highest! Amen.

Sunday, 8 August 2021

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.” Revelation 21:5

John just described the delightful state of what it will be like at the regeneration of all things. Now, as a confirmation that what he saw is what will certainly come to pass, he says, “Then He who sat on the throne said.”

The Greek is a present participle. It says, “Then Him who is sitting on the throne.” The scene is active and alive. Words will issue directly from the throne of God, meaning from the Lord Himself. They are words of confirmation concerning the vision, and they are words of surety that can be trusted by those who read them. And the words He calls out are, “Behold, I make all things new.”

This is a confirmation of everything just seen. In verse 21:1, it said, “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.” That began the regeneration. Then the next three verses then described what would occur after that, including the joyous state of those who will participate in that glorious time.

The Lord Himself has promised to make all things new. An order will come that is the ideal setting for man in his walk before God. John wasn’t just imagining some wonderful place. Rather, he was being given a view into the future when all things are made new. John then says, “And He said to me, ‘Write.’”

This is the last time in the Bible that anyone is specifically told to write anything. The first time the directive was given was in Exodus 17 –

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’” Exodus 17:14

From that initial call for Moses to write down something specific, the Bible has followed a long and specific path, detailing the redemptive process of God. Now, the final directive is given to John, ensuring that the word will be faithfully documented as it closes out in these final two chapters. The voice finishes this verse with, “for these words are true and faithful.”

Some manuscripts say, “faithful and true.” Either way, the content of what is spoken is based upon the content of the vision. What John saw will come to pass, and the Lord confirms that it is so. The sentiment of Amos 3 is found in these words –

“Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
⁸ A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who can but prophesy?” Amos 3:7, 8

Some prophesy with their mouths, and some prophesy with their pens. Either way, the Lord has spoken to John, and he can do nothing but prophesy. The word is sure because the One who speaks it out is true and faithful.

Life application: There will be a new order to all things. Death and Hades have been cast into the Lake of Fire, sin (which brings about corruption and death) has been dealt with in Jesus’ cross, the saints of God have received glorified bodies, and all pain has ended. The former things have passed away.

Now, because of Christ’s work, these things which could come about have come about. This is the time of the realization of every hope rooted in the human soul. It is the time that God has known would come even before the original creation occurred. As noted in the previous verse, without the fall and all of its associated woes, we couldn’t fully appreciate the glory of what is coming; the knowledge of it would remain hidden and obscure from us.

But there is one other thing that would have been hidden from us as well – the glory of Christ. Without pain, we cannot appreciate health. Without seeing God’s wrath, we could not understand God’s love. In the Garden of Eden, man lacked one thing necessary to grasp the many facets of his relationship with God – the knowledge of good and evil.

Innocence of these things implies creatures that can never understand the difference between such things. Happiness and sorrow, comfort and pain, beauty and ugliness, right and wrong, love and hate, etc., are all concepts that can only be realized when placed in the context of contrast. Man had knowledge, but he had nothing to use for comparison. Until Eden was lost, it couldn’t be appreciated.

And so, in the ultimate display of contrast, we have the cross of Jesus Christ. Without the cross, we couldn’t understand the depth and the enormity of God’s wrath at sin, nor could we see the infinite scope of His love for His creatures. The cross is what provides the contrast, and therefore it is the center of God’s redemptive plan. Everything that we will ever experience in our eternal state will be seen with clarity because of the cross.

Thus, Jesus’ words to John can be understood in their proper context, that His words are true and faithful. The One who went to the cross is the One who is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11). And His words reflect His being. What He says is the ultimate in surety and the epitome of truth.

In the directive for John to “write,” the special revelation given directly to him is then intended for all who would read what is spoken. The content is to be taken as literal. In other words, what God is telling us concerning these things is to not be spiritualized or thought of as allegory. Instead, it is the truth of what will come about. God has spoken, He has done so clearly, and we are to accept these words at face value.

What is spoken from the throne of God is true, and it is faithful because it is uttered forth by JESUS!

Oh God! The cross… it all centers on the cross. Your love for us, Your anger at sin, Your intent to make us understand Your very heart and mind – it is all to be found in what Jesus did there. Thank You for what You have done. Thank You for the beauty and perfection of this glorious plan to reconcile us to Yourself. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.

Saturday, 7 August 2021

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.” Revelation 21:4

The previous verse noted that the people of God will dwell with Him. They will be His people, and He will be with them and be their God. In this precious position of intimacy, it next says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

It is an indication that in the renewed state, there will be no reason to weep. For God to wipe away our tears signifies that He will remove anything that would cause tears to come forth. That is then explained by the next clauses, beginning with, “there shall be no more death.”

This great enemy of man has been cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14). As such, death will no longer be a consideration, nor will it come to mind again. Death resulted from the entry of sin into the world, but it couldn’t hold Jesus. This was impossible because He was born without sin, and He never sinned after His birth. In Romans 6:23, it now explains that we too can have what He accomplished because He offers to be our Substitute –

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

At this point in time, death is defeated in God’s people, but it is allowed to run its course until the time of renewal. But someday, as Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 15:54, death will be swallowed up in victory. This is the state that is promised to those who are in Christ. As such, John next says, “nor sorrow.”

The Greek word is penthos. It actually goes beyond sorrow. It is a sorrow that cannot be hidden from sight, thus it is a state of mourning. It is well described by the state of Nehemiah when he stood in the king’s presence. The king could openly see the condition of Nehemiah’s soul –

“Therefore the king said to me, ‘Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.’” Nehemiah 2:2

Such a state as this will never be seen again. It is to be replaced with an eternal joy of the Lord filling the souls of the redeemed. Along with this, John says, “nor crying.”

The word is kraugé. It signifies “clamorous screaming (shrieking) that is extremely boisterous, like a wounded person emitting ‘unearthly’ (non-human) types of sounds” (HELPS Word Studies). This goes beyond the mere crying of joy or sadness, but it extends to the emotions that well up in a person overwhelmed with grief. This will be gone forever, never to be remembered again. Further, John says, “There shall be no more pain.”

This is one of the great enemies of man’s joy, and it is that which can rob us of concentration, sleep, and the ability to perform properly. It can even take away our capacity to utter praises to God. Pain can be so overwhelming that it destroys anything of value in our day, including the ability to simply function normally.

Pain was introduced into the narrative in Genesis 3:16 when the Lord God noted that the woman would bring forth children in pain. From that first mention of it, the idea of pain permeates Scripture, and it permeates the human experience – both in physical and emotional ways. This foe is defeated in Christ, and it will be realized some wonderful day. It is a sure promise from our God who cannot lie.

All of these things will be gone and forgotten because “the former things have passed away.” The idea here is that an entirely new state of existence will be ushered in. That which exists now will come to an end, the way of things will close out, and a new economy that is completely new will be realized.

It should be noted that there were those who were punished with the seven bowls of God’s wrath in Revelation 16, and they faced all of the evils that the redeemed in this verse will never again face. A contrast is made to the judgment of those who fail to come to God, and the joy of those who put their trust in Jesus Christ.

Life application: In a mere brushstroke of the magnificent panorama of what John’s words signify, we can revisit passages from the Bible that show us where we were, where we are, and thus the glory of what lies ahead.

There is coming a time when the eternal joy intended for man will be finally realized. In the psalms, David acknowledges his life of tears, but that God is aware of every one of them –

“You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
Are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8

Some beautiful day that bottle will be opened and poured out never to be remembered. The Book of Life will overcome the death and anguish of the soul in God’s redeemed. This will be realized when death is forever removed from the equation.

If we accept Christ’s work, then we move from Adam to Jesus. Our sinful state is crucified along with the Lord, and we are granted His sinless perfection. It is completely just, and it perfectly satisfies God’s righteous standard.

Because of this, sorrow will forever be removed from man’s existence. As noted above, pain entered into the narrative in Genesis 3:16, but that is also where sorrow is first mentioned –

“To the woman He said:
‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.’” Genesis 3:16

The bride of Adam received these woes because of his disobedience. The bride of Christ will forever have them removed because of His obedience. This is the hope that we possess because of God’s goodness to us in Christ.

From the first moments of life apart from God, sorrow entered humanity and it has been carried by each subsequent generation. Mourning and sadness have overwhelmed life and have sent many even to the point of suicide. This, in turn, only produces more grief. Such a life is an endless pit that overcomes the hearts of sorrow-laden humanity. But through Jesus’ work, the pit is to be completely covered over by the endless love of God.

This work of Jesus wasn’t just a trial of physical pain. Rather, it was a walk filled with sorrows and griefs as well. An example of this is found in John 11 where we see that Christ Jesus was intimately involved in the state and condition of those around Him. In order to demonstrate to us His full understanding of our situation, God took on flesh and lived a life like any of us – experiencing pain, trials, separation, and weeping –

“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. ³⁴ And He said, ‘Where have you laid him?’
They said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’
³⁵ Jesus wept. ³⁶ Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’” John 11:33-36

Though the multitudes rage and strive against God, searching for fault in Him, none can truthfully say that He isn’t intimately aware of our needs, emotions, and desires. The loving Creator has demonstrated His compassion for His creatures in every possible way.

Instead of directing our anger at Him for what we now experience, we should be praising Him for what He has done in Christ, and for what that means in the ages ahead. Not only will we be freed from the emotional woes that we now experience, but we shall be free from any sort of pain – be it emotional, mental, or physical. There will be a new order of existence for God’s people. It will be as He intended for us all along.

What Adam had was a taste of what we will possess, but it will be even better. You see, without the fall, without the tears, without the death, the sorrow, and the crying, we couldn’t appreciate the joy. It would be like a person who had never gotten sick. Without sickness, health can’t be fully appreciated. But coming out of our fall and all of the evils that resulted from it, there sprang a hope and an anticipation of something better.

That which is better, even infinitely greater, came in the form of a Baby, lived in the form of a Man, and died in the form of a Savior. By the power of the work of Jesus Christ, and through the glory of His resurrection which destroyed death, we now have the hope of eternal and unending joy. Thanks be to God for the glorious work He has worked for the sons of men. Thanks be to God for Jesus!

“So the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness;
Sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 51:11

Yes, indeed! Thank God for JESUS!

Jesus, thanks be to You for the marvelous work You accomplished for Your redeemed. Yes, even for me. Amen.