Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5a)
Introduction
I debated ending the Essentials series with The Return of Jesus Christ—Part 3: The Lion Invades but I decided on this brief finale so that we believers may be enlightened now about the eternal glory that awaits us.
The Lion Invades ends with the return of Jesus Christ after which He will establish His Kingdom and reign from Jerusalem over the Earth for one thousand years. The Millennial Kingdom will climax as follows:
Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10)
Even after a thousand years of peace and prosperity, an enormous contingent of man whose numbers will be "as the sand of the sea" will have the gall to attack Jerusalem, from which the Lord Jesus will be reigning. What more needs to be said about the deceitfulness of sin and the wickedness of man under its sway? God will snuff it out once and for all. He will then have a precious gift for those of us true believers remaining who have proven to be His.
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. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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. 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."
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."
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. "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. (Revelation 21:1-7)
God will deliver to His beloved an entirely new heaven and earth. (I think the "heaven" here refers to the visible heavens or sky.) Shockingly, there will be no more sea which I frankly find disappointing. Nevertheless, I suspect that God will fulfill this natural and nautical longing of His children through some other creative route. An entirely new earth (will it be the same size?) promises much for the curious, enterprising explorer in union with God. My Father, in His infinite wisdom, has not given us any details. What of mountains, snow, and so on? I find this all to be so refreshing, so inspiring for me to focus on the voice of the Lord.
This new earth will be an eternal world without the capacity for sin—Satan will be permanently in the Lake of Fire—and thus lacking all of its brutal effects (no more sorrow and death). Most notably, God's heavenly tabernacle will descend from heaven and be placed in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12).
The Lamb is the Light
The third from last verse in the Bible presents the following warning:
... if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:19)
There are three points of emphasis here:
- the Book of Life
- the holy city
- the things which are written in this book
These three rewards for the faithful encompass (1) salvation, (2) access to the New Jerusalem, and (3) the promises made to the overcomer throughout Revelation. It is this second one concerning the holy city that I now want to focus on, starting with the following description:
But I saw no temple in it [New Jerusalem], for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of Life.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. (Revelation 21:22-27; 22:1-5)
Here we are given a glimpse into God's eternal government of the new earth. The "nations of those who are saved," which is to say those whose names are written in the book of life, shall walk in the light of the lamb. From the description, it appears that this Lamb light will illuminate the entire new earth. Students of the Essentials series may also surmise—righly I think—that there is more to this light than simply natural light.
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
We are given but a glimpse here, of an eternal glory in the light of Christ that we cannot yet fully comprehend.
The Final Analysis: The Great Look Back
Brothers and sisters, this is the great eternal glory that we all long for. These are "the things which are not seen" that our innermost being looks on towards (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
This present life is but "a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14b). It is a proving ground for eternity, but eternity it is not.
The purpose of this life is to know the only true God through Jesus Christ, as Jesus Himself made clear:
"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." (John 17:3)
This theme has been the constant, underlying focus of the Essentials series. I pray that this series continues to be a powerful tool to inspire all readers to this beautiful end. It is the only path to "all things new."